Statement by CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors

(The following statement was issued today, September 21, 2005, from Montreal by CBC/Radio-Canada's Board of Directors)

The Board of Directors of CBC/Radio-Canada has conducted a full review of the issues surrounding the lockout of the Canadian Media Guild.

First, we thank CBC/Radio-Canada listeners and viewers for their support of the Corporation's creative talent and its programs. We are inspired by the personal messages of the importance of public broadcasting to Canadians, and we will do our best to keep faith with them.

Second, we believe management's proposals are reasonable and prudent, given the reality of our funding expectations. We do not believe they will alter the nature of the work force in a negative way. Rather, they will allow programmers to take more creative risks, and they will open the door to new and diverse talent. These represent values that are fundamental to Canadian public broadcasting.

Third, we very strongly believe that the best outcome is a negotiated settlement between the union and management who will have to live with the contract, day to day, for many years. We commend management and the union for the progress they have made in recent weeks. They should build on that momentum.

Management has committed to us that they will continue to bargain in good faith and flexibly. Both parties must find ways to say yes to each other.

One of the issues that has attracted most attention, the employment of contract staff, in our view, has been seriously misunderstood and misrepresented. The new contract employees will remain a small fraction of the Corporation's work force, and they will be well paid union members with a superior benefit program.

We want to pay tribute to the President of the CBC/Radio-Canada, Robert Rabinovitch, for his commitment to public broadcasting. We fully support the strategic vision of his management team.

We also want to pay tribute to the talent, skills and hard work of the CMG members. They have produced work that is part of Canada's national treasure. We look forward to welcoming them back to the jobs they do so well.