Stepping into the thick of its worst-ever labor disruption, prolific author and producer Guy Fournier has been tapped as the new chairman of the board at CBC.

The 74-year-old Quebecker – author of many books, essays and some 200 TV scripts – joined the board as a part-time director in February and is well-liked in the arts world.

‘His vast experience in newspapers, film, television and the theater will be of great benefit to the corporation,’ said Heritage Minster Liza Frulla upon making the announcement.

He relieves Ceeb president Robert Rabinovitch, who has been filling in as chair since the springtime departure of Carole Taylor. Taylor left to pursue a political career in B.C. and is now the minister of finance under Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell.

The news comes as CBC enters the sixth week of a lockout that has put 5,500 of its staff on the street. Fournier’s appointment as chair – although it still requires the approval of Parliament’s Heritage committee – stands to smooth relations between the network and the Canadian Media Guild, which has complained about Rabinovitch’s double duty.

Fournier coauthored the script to CBC’s well-regarded Trudeau miniseries, and its upcoming prequel Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making. He has also been active with the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and authored a 2003 report on the state of Quebec drama.