Production workers and support staff at CBC are ready to hit the picket line Aug. 15 to back demands for greater job security, following a July ballot in which members of the Canadian Media Guild voted 87.3% in favor of a strike.
A 21-day cooling-off period is in place. Both sides and two federally appointed mediators plan to continue negotiating up to the strike deadline. CMG represents 5,500 employees at CBC.
The vote comes at a bad time for the public broadcaster. An August strike could cancel its broadcasts of the Canadian Football League season and of the Canada Games in Regina.

Quebec continues to prove it’s a distinct society, especially in filmmaking, as the province’s entries in TIFF 2004, including the works of one notable veteran and three TIFF rookies, defy easy categorization.