Members of Parliament have called on top executives from Bell to testify about the company’s recent announcement to cut approximately 9% of its workforce this year, or 4,800 jobs.
The House of Commons heritage committee will hear from Bell CEO Mirko Bibic regarding the layoffs, which notably affect newsrooms nationwide.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the layoffs, labelling them “a garbage decision” and stating that the company should have known better. The committee’s invitation extends to Bell Media President Sean Cohan and CFO Curtis Millen, among others, to appear on February 29. This decision, supported by the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, saw the Conservatives abstaining from the vote, reports The Canadian Press.
“In a time when Canadians are more divided than ever, good journalism has a critical role to play, not only to tell Canadians what they need to know, but to answer the critical question as to why something’s happening,” said Canadian Association of Journalists’ president Brent Jolly in an interview with The Hill Times, earlier this week.
“It literally does feel like death by a thousand cuts,” said Jolly, referring to media cuts over the past few years. “We’re going to see more and more news deserts grow across the country, and Canadians are going to be weaker for that,” he added.
Bell attributed the decision to cut 4,800 jobs, axe several television newscasts, and sell off 45 of its 103 radio stations to delays by the federal government and the CRTC in providing needed relief to media companies facing challenges.
MPs can summon executives to Parliament all they want, but it’s not going to bring back any lost jobs. Traditional media is dying as people are finding their news directly from the source on social media platforms such as X and more as it happens.
