Canadian Unions Demand Government Action on Media Consolidation

Like their counterparts in the United States, CWA in Canada and other Canadian unions say the growth of Big Media is costing jobs and curtailing information, and they're demanding that the government put on the brakes.

"It's a great day when labor puts culture first," said Arnold Amber, director of CWA-SCA Canada, whose members include thousands of media workers. "Canadian culture matters to all workers because it's our identity, who we are as a nation. Action is needed, and through the CLC (Canadian Labour Congress), we've got three million voices behind us."

Amber and other labor leaders discussed a wide range of media and cultural issues at this week's CLC convention in Toronto and passed a resolution seeking government action. Topics included the provisions of a tax bill, Bill C-10, that would allow the country's Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to film and TV productions based on their content, which is fueling fears of censorship.

Media consolidation was also a hot topic. "Big Media is erasing local news, not only costing thousands of jobs, but clotting the flow of information – the very lifeblood of democracy," said Peter Murdoch, vice president of Canada's Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.

The concerns parallel those of unions, media workers and activists of all political persuasions in the United States, who are concerned that too much media concentration is limiting access to a diverse marketplace of ideas.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate – propelled by CWA and its media sectors, and other opponents – voted unanimously to overturn a 2007 FCC decision allowing a single owner to control both a newspaper and TV stations in the same community.

Jonathan Adelstein, one of the two Democrats on the five-member FCC, said that in allowing cross-ownership the commission majority "veered dangerously off-course from the American mainstream, so our elected representatives are trying to steer us back.  This unequivocal, bipartisan rebuke of the FCC is a wake-up call for us to serve the public rather than the media giants we oversee."

To push the House to follow suit, the grassroots coalition Stop Big Media – supported by CWA and its media sectors – has a petition online that citizens can send to their U.S. representatives. To learn more and send a letter Congress, go to www.stopbigmedia.com.