QUEBEC CITY – Quebec City Mayor Jean-Paul L’Allier has filed a complaint with the CRTC about Global Television’s plan to transfer several key technical jobs to Toronto.
In a letter filed Monday, Mayor L’Allier, a former Quebec communications minister, accuses the network of breaking its promise made at licence hearings in 1996 and asks the CRTC to respect licencing conditions.
As reported by www.cartt.ca in July, Global will transfer master control and traffic jobs to Toronto at the end of this month, leaving eight full-time employees and one half-time employee at CKMI. Global insists however there will not be any reduction in locally-produced programming.
L’Allier said the city supported Global’s bid on the basis of a commitment to make Quebec City the hub of Quebec operations, with the production of at least 18 hours per week of programming and the hiring of more employees.
“We’re far from the promised 18 hours,” he wrote, noting the station contributes only a couple of daily reports into the regional news program.
Global also has a presence in Sherbrooke but about 100 of the 125 jobs in Quebec are based in Montreal.
“All these commitments, made formally by CanWest Global official, were not only considered during the licencing but also expressed clearly in the CRTC’s decision. It is obvious that Global is not respecting the conditions of its licence, not its obligations towards the population of Quebec,” L’Allier wrote.
Earlier this month, the Canadian Union of Public Employees also filed a CRTC complaint.
Glenn Wanamaker is the province of Quebec editor for www.cartt.ca
