CBC has confirmed that programmers Michael Burns and Sarah Whitehouse are no longer with The Documentary Channel, following its takeover of the Category 1 digital channel, which became official on Sept. 1.

Burns was the channel’s programming director, while Whitehouse worked as a programmer. They were known as big boosters of independent, auteur-driven, feature-length docs, and the production community has expressed concerns that many of these will give way to CBC in-house productions. The Ceeb shrugs this off.

‘We will live up to the various commitments we’ve made with regard to commissioning and broadcasting, including throughout the independent documentary industry,’ says CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.

He adds that a new creative head will be named shortly from within the administrative structure of CBC, with programming boss Kirstine Layfield as the executive responsible for the channel.

The CRTC on June 22 approved CBC’s purchase of Corus Entertainment’s stake in the Doc Channel, giving the Ceeb majority ownership at 82%. Other owners include Barna-Alper Productions and the National Film Board.