TORONTO — In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Unifor is condemning a round of cuts being made to Bell Media newsrooms this week, saying so far 100 Unifor members in Toronto have been let go, plus more to come outside Toronto, affecting all station operations including news gathering.
As we reported earlier, Cartt.ca has learned 210 positions at Bell Media will be cut in Toronto alone, and the company has laid off all staff in the newsroom of Montreal radio station CJAD.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, Canadians have seen how important a strong media sector is to their continued health and safety,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias, in the press release.
“These cuts go against the assurances made by the broadcasters last summer to the CRTC to stand by local news,” Dias added. “Despite their commitment to save local news, they’re not protecting newsrooms.”
Unifor pointed out Canada’s major broadcasters last summer asked the CRTC for relief from Canadian content rules — the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) warned of station closures and job losses without help from the regulator. (We first told you about the CAB’s Part 1 application seeking temporary relief here, and the Commission’s subsequent call for comments on the application.)
“Our democracy, our right to be informed and to push back against the tide of false information relies on a strong media sector,” added Unifor media director Howard Law.
“Bell Media had said that news gathering is sacred, but that doesn’t appear to be the case when cuts are made in news gathering,” said Law.
Unifor says it continues to monitor the situation and to work with affected locals to assist its members.
There is more to come on this story as the company continues its wave of layoffs with further cuts being announced Wednesday and Thursday.
