Here’s a news story that caught my eye: It said, “Following a year of high-profile strikes and wage gains, Canada should brace for more turmoil and work stoppages this year in both the public and private sectors. Thousands of contracts are due to expire. I read another story yesterday on how Canadians are continuing to be laid off as part of a wave of job cuts that began last year. Tech companies, retailers and more have all begun shedding members of their workforce in a bid to navigate the economic downturn. Two major corporations in my industry have laid off workers, one being broadcaster Corus Entertainment which owns Global TV plus numerous radio stations and the other being telecommunications giant BCE which through Bell Media owns CTV as well as numerous radio stations. BCE announced on February 8th it was cutting 4,800 jobs across all levels of the company, ending multiple television newscasts and selling 45 of its 103 radio stations. As a result, the House of Commons Heritage Committee is inviting BCE and Bell executives to appear February 29th and answer questions about the cuts. So, apparently, we are in an economic downturn causing many companies to lay people off but at the same time we should brace for more work stoppages and turmoil in industries where contracts are expiring. The situation appears contradictory.
That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois