While negotiations continued, the war of words between CBC management and employees escalated, as the work stoppage at the network entered its sixth week.

CBC management was forced to cancel much of the already scaled-back programming around the 25th anniversary of Terry Fox’s famous marathon across the country, blaming the 5,500 locked-out employees who were planning to form a picket line at key points in the celebrations.

Meanwhile, Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore stepped into the fray, issuing a statement on Sept. 16 protesting the CBC broadcast of his Canadian-produced feature Bowling for Columbine, which the network aired on Sept. 18.

At the heart of the dispute is the fact that CBC wants the flexibility to hire more contract employees, while the Canadian Media Guild, which represents staff, wants to protect workers’ full-time status.

CMG president Lise Lareau says she remains ‘dumbfounded and confused’ by the lockout, which has effectively shut down the vast majority of CBC programming across the country. ‘Talks were ongoing before the lockout,’ notes Lareau. ‘Why did management feel the need to take services away from the Canadian public?’

CBC spokesperson Jason MacDonald insists the lockout was necessary. ‘The union had already made its intentions clear, that they intended to strike,’ says MacDonald.

‘We are now optimistic that we can reach an agreement. There is still a great deal of work to do. We recognize that this has implications for our audience. People want this to be over.’

But, he adds, ‘the things we’re working for, the things we’re asking for, are crucial to the future of the CBC. We are not prepared to mortgage the future of the CBC.’ As of press time, talks between the CBC and CMG were ongoing.

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