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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to as Bell Canada’s choice to put off 4,800 staff, unload radio stations and cut back information protection a “rubbish choice” by an organization that ought to know higher.
Bell introduced the cuts Thursday, ending CTV’s investigative program W5 and midday newscasts in lots of markets, whereas additionally shedding journalists throughout the nation. Trudeau was requested in regards to the layoffs Friday morning and stated he was outraged at Bell’s transfer.
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“This can be a rubbish choice by a company that ought to know higher,” he stated. “I’m fairly pissed off about what’s simply occurred.”
Bell lately obtained regulatory selections from the CRTC saving the corporate $40 million in prices.
The Liberals have handed laws requiring such on-line giants as Google to assist fund journalism, though the ultimate laws for that laws should not but in place. The federal government has additionally launched tax credit to assist cowl the salaries of journalists, though these credit don’t apply to broadcast retailers.
In a information launch asserting the layoffs on Thursday, Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of Bell Canada, stated the layoffs had been troublesome however mandatory.
“Whereas it’s clear that we’re persevering with to execute with self-discipline in a aggressive market, we have to take extra measures in response to more and more unsupportive federal authorities and regulatory selections,” he stated.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge stated corporations like Bell are doing nicely and must be stepping as much as present information.
“They don’t seem to be going bankrupt. They’re nonetheless making billions of {dollars}. They’re nonetheless a really worthwhile firm they usually nonetheless have the capability and the means to carry their finish of the cut price, which is to ship information studies,” she stated.
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Trudeau stated his authorities has executed a lot to help native information and media corporations must do their half.
“Over the previous years, company Canada — and there are numerous culprits on this — have abdicated their duty in the direction of the communities that they’ve all the time made excellent earnings off of,” he stated.
Trudeau stated high quality information is crucial to a wholesome society.
“Canadians must demand higher as we will likely be demanding higher from company leaders, like on this case Bell, which can be eroding Canadians’ means to know one another, to belief one another and to belief within the nation and the longer term we’re constructing collectively.”
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