Wave of departures in sports at Radio-Canada. Upon return from the Paris Summer Games, nine key figures in the department will leave their posts, including two executives. This exodus is causing serious concern among the rest of the employees.
According to our information, seven veterans of Radio-Canada Sports – faces and voices known to the public – will retire after their Olympic and Paralympic missions. Management has offered increased compensation to sports journalists Guy D’Aoust, Robert Frosi, Diane Sauvé, Philippe Crépeau, Jean St-Onge, Jean-François Chabot and Michel Chabot. All have accepted the offer. Three sources confirmed this list to us. Aside from Robert Frosi and Guy D’Aoust (who announced his departure on Facebook on Monday), none of them responded to our messages.
These mass departures dismay several members of the existing team. “The people who are retiring are luminaries. What will happen with the rest of the know-how?” asks a journalist who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
When you remove 80% of the foundations of a house, I’ll let you imagine the consequences.
A source familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
Currently, the sports department has 26 permanent employees and 20 additional employees, according to data provided by Radio-Canada.
First Director of Sports and Olympic Production, Catherine Dupont has also reportedly decided to leave. Mme Dupont will reportedly be packing his bags after the Paris Summer Games, after eight years at the helm of the department. Radio-Canada’s public relations department declined to confirm the information. Catherine Dupont declined to comment on the news.
As for editor-in-chief Christian Doucet, he will retire in a few weeks, after 29 years of loyal service, members of the Sports team tell us.
Budgetary pressures
In December 2023, the public broadcaster announced it would cut 800 jobs due to a projected $125-million deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Since the Treasury Board revealed last February that it would exempt CBC/Radio-Canada from spending reduction requirements imposed on other federal agencies and departments, that pressure has eased.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The CBC/Radio-Canada House in Montreal
But according to CBC/Radio-Canada’s director of media relations, Leon Mar, competition from digital giants, declining advertising revenues and rising production costs continue to put budgetary pressure on the company.
Unsurprisingly, the anticipated cuts are undermining the mood within the sports department. The atmosphere has been even more tense since the announcement – and then cancellation – of a meeting during which the bosses were to detail the terms and extent of the cuts. This meeting, which was to take place in June, has not yet been rescheduled.
In the absence of a clear response from the leaders, anxiety is rising in the team, especially when we know that the federal Minister of Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, is currently preparing an overhaul of the CBC/Radio-Canada mandate. What place will sports occupy in it?
“We are in the dark,” warns a journalist. “People are worried about their future.”
This uncertainty is causing anxiety among several employees, who are trying to keep their heads above water, in the midst of preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games, which begin on Friday.
The train is moving at full speed. Colleagues are on the verge of a panic attack. It’s hard to find the motivation.
A source familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
Several contacts fear an axe blow like in 2015, when the sports sector of Radio-Canada went from 80 to 14 employees, the result of measures by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
“In progress” reflection
The union of Radio-Canada workers (STTRC) speaks of a “pretty difficult” climate throughout Radio-Canada due to budgetary pressures. “It’s been going on for a long time,” said the union’s secretary and treasurer, Lise Millette, in a telephone interview. “People don’t know if they’re going to be cut off or not. People are experiencing a lot of insecurity.”
By email, Radio-Canada management did not wish to provide any details on the future of the Sports sector, emphasizing that a reflection was “underway” and that it was normal, “in the current context of the media industry,” for a company to reflect on the operation and activities of the departments it administers.