(Halifax) The Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Thursday approved Postmedia’s $1 million bid to acquire Atlantic Canada’s largest newspaper chain.
Justice John Keith ruled that Postmedia’s proposal was “reasonable and fair,” allowing the Toronto-based media company to buy insolvent SaltWire Network and The Halifax Herald.
Earlier Thursday, a lawyer representing the court-appointed monitor overseeing the insolvency proceedings confirmed that the main union representing workers at both companies had agreed to some concessions demanded by Postmedia last week.
Speaking outside the courtroom, lawyer George Benchetrit confirmed Thursday morning that the union had agreed to amend some collective agreements and exclude some workers from union certification, eliminating “successor rights” when a business is sold — rights guaranteed by the Labor law in Nova Scotia.
Justice Keith was also told at Thursday’s hearing in Halifax that the pension plans for the two companies up for sale would be wound up — a move that would affect 426 employees.
SaltWire and The Herald publish newspapers and online content in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. As of last week, the two companies had 363 employees and 800 contract workers.
Postmedia Network owns the National PostTHE Financial Postthere Montreal GazetteL’Ottawa CitizenTHE Vancouver SunTHE Calgary Herald and dozens of other publications across the country, including about ten in New Brunswick — but no publications in the three Atlantic provinces targeted by the transaction.
Postmedia CEO Andrew MacLeod says the company wants to ensure “high-quality, trusted local news” continues to be provided to the Atlantic region, but has previously stressed that SaltWire’s business model is not sustainable.
In recent weeks, media critics and some academics have pointed out that Postmedia has often in the past generated profits by cutting newsroom staff.
The director of the Canadian section of the Communications Workers Union of America, the main union representing workers at the two companies targeted by the acquisition, also criticized the publishing giant.
“Postmedia has a history of gutting newsrooms and jeopardizing regional news coverage through short-sighted decisions,” Carmel Smyth said in a recent statement. “Our job will be to hold the company accountable for its commitment to investing in regional news and local jobs.”