The Coalition Avenir Québec and the Parti Québécois denounced Tuesday the cuts which indiscriminately affect the English and French services of CBC/Radio-Canada.
Quebec Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, defended the right to be informed and entertained in French. A right which, according to him, is compromised by the abolition of 800 positions announced Monday by the public broadcaster.
The elected CAQ member believes that the distinct realities of the French and English services should have been taken into account. “We know that each dollar invested in Radio-Canada generates more listening, more attention in Quebec and in French-speaking Canada than the same dollar sent to CBC in the English-speaking community. So, for me, parametric cuts like that don’t make sense. »
Minister Roberge compared this lack of fairness to the financial conditions imposed during the merger of Upper Canada and Lower Canada in 1840. “It’s as if we were making Radio-Canada pay for the setbacks of the CBC,” he said. is he insurgent. The last time this happened, I think, was in 1840 with the Act of Union, when the debts of Upper Canada were sent to Lower Canada. »
For his part, the Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, once again denounced the decision. “We don’t have the details, but I don’t think it’s good news for regional information either. So, I think this is really bad news. »
CBC / Radio-Canada announced Monday the elimination of 600 positions — 250 in its English service, 250 in its French service and around a hundred elsewhere within the institution. Added to this are 200 vacant positions that management has decided not to fill.
An unfair symmetry, according to the PQ
For his part, the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, also deplored that the 10% reduction in the public broadcaster’s workforce affects both CBC and Radio-Canada. “We are talking about a cut of 250 jobs on both sides,” he said at a press briefing. “It is a decision that is unfair, incomprehensible, in a context where French is in decline in Quebec and, obviously, in the other Canadian provinces. »
The PQ leader pointed out that ICI Radio-Canada Télé attracts a larger share of the audience in the French-speaking market than CBC in the English-speaking market. “We have a CBC that is not breaking through, in particular because of content that is strongly ideological, while, clearly, the work of Radio-Canada is appreciated. And it would be up to Radio-Canada, in Quebec, to pay for the setbacks of the CBC,” he lamented.
In Quebec, solidarity co-spokesperson Émilise Lessard-Therrien was not surprised by the job cuts announced Monday, given the difficulties in the media sector. “This is a decision that we have learned, for Radio-Canada, which is very worrying. But I would tell you, again, that there is nothing new under the sun. »
Québec solidaire wishes to set up a fund to support the media while at the PQ, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon proposes to broaden the mandate of Télé-Québec to guarantee better access to information in the regions.
Tuesday morning, in Ottawa, the federal Minister of Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, refused to comment on the announced symmetry of the cuts at CBC / Radio-Canada. “As a government, we do not have to get involved in internal management [du diffuseur] “, she replied in the press scrum. “On the other hand, it is obvious that Radio-Canada does not necessarily yet experience the same difficulties as there are on the CBC side, where the problems are more important,” she added.
The federal Minister of Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, for his part admitted that these equal cuts could have disproportionate consequences in minority French-speaking communities. “There is always a risk. This is very important for Mr.me We need to manage this money very sensitively, as we have a responsibility to have media coverage in both official languages across the country. »
An exemption for CBC/Radio-Canada?
The 3% reduction in spending requested from federal organizations by the 2026-2027 fiscal year was taken into account in the calculations, the CEO of CBC / Radio-Canada confirmed in an interview Monday evening. , Catherine Tait.
However, it remains unclear whether the public funding granted to the public broadcaster will indeed be targeted by this measure, with Minister St-Onge still not having closed the door to exempting it from federal budgetary reforms. “It’s not necessarily something that will be applied without taking into consideration the impacts it can have. The decision has not been made,” she said Tuesday morning.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Treasury Board President Anita Anand did not offer further details on the upcoming decision. Mme Anand only said that the “process is not over” and that a response could be given in February.
Mme Tait acknowledged that the number of job losses would be lower than announced if Ottawa decides to exempt the public broadcaster from the cuts imposed on other organizations.