The CBC says, although it is selling some of its real estate assets to meet its budgetary challenges, it is not, as reported by many media outlets Wednesday, selling all of them.

“We are not in the process of selling off all of our buildings right now,” CBC spokesperson Alexandra Fortier told Playback Daily in an official statement. “Nothing new was announced at yesterday’s Townhall.”

The CBC’s statement comes a day after the Canadian Media Guild union came out guns blazing against the pubcaster, blasting its decision to sell real estate assets ahead of a federal election in which some candidates have pledged to increase CBC funding cut by the Harper government.

“It makes no sense to plan this now, when three of the four national parties are promising to restore or increase funding to CBC,” said CMG National president Carmel Smyth in the union’s statement.

The CMG’s release stated that the CBC told its staff it would be “selling all its property across the country, including major production facilities in Montreal and Toronto.” The CBC refuted that claim, saying it was selling only what it previously pledged to sell in its 2014 vision statement A Space For Us All and that the sale was being planned for practical reasons. “We have committed to reducing our excess space by 50% because we have too much space and in some cases the buildings we own are old, in need of repair, and in many cases don’t suit our needs.”

In A Space for Us All CBC said, “By 2020, CBC/Radio‐Canada will have reduced its real estate presence by half, representing approximately two million square feet. The current infrastructure was established at a different time, with different market factors and with a different view of service offerings.” Also included in the Space for Us All document was the CBC’s plan to move to external producers: “CBC/Radio‐Canada plans to significantly reduce in‐house production across the organization, excluding news, current affairs and radio.”

Marc-Philippe Laurin, CBC branch president for the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), however, argued that the closure of the production facilities represented a threat to the CBC’s “ability to do meaningful production in the future.” 

“Our members believe the public broadcaster can’t only be a distributor, it has to also be a producer,” he said. “This plan threatens the ongoing legacy of award-winning documentaries, drama and other quality production at CBC and Radio Canada.”

The CBC, however, said it would put proceeds from the sale back into content creation, a strategy also touched on in A Space for Us All.

“Savings we generate will go into content creation,” Fortier’s email stated. “What’s more, new, modern spaces provide us with the opportunity to modernize our operations, make better use of new technologies and create more integrated, efficient and innovative workplaces.’