Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

=== Labour issues ===
During the summer of 1981 there was a major disruption of CBC programming as the technicians union, the [[National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians]], went on strike. Local newscasts were cut back to the bare minimum. This had the effect of delaying the debut of ''[[The Journal (Canadian TV show)|The Journal]]'', which had to wait until January 1982.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

The CBC has been affected by a number of other labour disputes since the late 1990s:
* In early 1999, CBC English- and French-network technicians in all locations outside [[Quebec]] and [[Moncton]], members of the [[Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada]], went on strike.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CBC Position on CEP Strike Action|url=http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/newsreleases/19990217.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304233622/http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/newsreleases/19990217.shtml|archive-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref> The [[Canadian Media Guild]] was set to strike as well, but the CBC settled with both unions.<ref>[http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/19990405/25116.html CEP, CMG ink deal with CBC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083757/http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/19990405/25116.html|date=September 29, 2007}}</ref>
* A similar dispute, again involving all technicians outside Quebec and Moncton, occurred in late 2001 and concluded by the end of the year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Search|url=https://www.unifor.org/en/search-cross-site|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005722/http://www.cep.ca/press/cepnews_e.php?id=102|archive-date=September 27, 2007|website=Unifor National}}</ref>
* In spring 2002, on-air staff in Quebec and Moncton (again, on both English and French networks) were locked out by local management, leaving, among other things, NHL playoff games without commentary on French television.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 3, 2002|title=North East RadioWatch: June 3, 2002|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020603.html|access-date=August 15, 2012|publisher=Bostonradio.org|archive-date=May 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529081747/http://bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020603.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 2005 lock-out ====
On August 15, 2005, 5,500 employees of the CBC (about 90%) were [[lockout (industry)|locked out]] by CBC CEO [[Robert Rabinovitch]] in a dispute over future hiring practices. At issue were the rules governing the hiring of contract workers in preference to full-time hires. The locked-out employees were members of the [[Canadian Media Guild]], representing all production, journalistic and on-air personnel outside Quebec and Moncton, including several foreign correspondents. While CBC services continued during the lock-out, they were primarily made up of repeats, with news programming from the [[BBC]] and newswires.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 17, 2005 |title=With lockout, depleted CBC struggling to stay timely |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/with-lockout-depleted-cbc-struggling-to-stay-timely/article4119988/ |access-date=April 24, 2023}}</ref> Major CBC programs such as ''[[The National (TV program)|The National]]'' and ''[[Royal Canadian Air Farce (TV series)|Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'' were not produced during the lock-out; some non-CBC-owned programs seen on the network, such as ''[[The Red Green Show]]'', shifted to other studios. Meanwhile, the locked-out employees produced podcasts and websites such as ''CBCunplugged.com''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

After a hiatus, talks re-opened. On September 23, [[Joe Fontana]], the federal minister of labour, called Rabinovitch and Arnold Amber—the president of the CBC branch of the [[Canadian Media Guild]]—to his office for talks aimed at ending the dispute. Late in the evening of October 2, 2005, it was announced that the CBC management and staff had reached a tentative deal which resulted in the CBC returning to normal operations on October 11. Some speculated that the looming October 8 start date for the network's most important television property, ''[[Hockey Night in Canada]]'', had acted as an additional incentive to resolve the dispute.

While all labour disputes resulted in cut-back programming and numerous repeat airings, the 2005 lock-out may have been the most damaging to CBC. All local programming in the affected regions was cancelled and replaced by abbreviated national newscasts and national radio morning shows. [[BBC World]] (television) and [[BBC World Service|World Service]] (radio), as well as [[Broadcast News (Canada)|Broadcast News]] feeds, were used to provide the remainder of original news content, and the CBC website consisted mainly of rewritten wire copy. Some BBC staff protested against their material being used during the CBC lock-out. "The [[National Union of Journalists|NUJ]] and [[Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union|BECTU]] will not tolerate their members' work being used against colleagues in Canada", said a joint statement by BBC unions. The CMG questioned whether, with its limited Canadian news content, the CBC was meeting its legal requirements under the ''Broadcasting Act'' and its CRTC licences.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC benefits on the backs of CBC employees|url=http://www.cmg.ca/cbcnegsmediaEN.html#BBC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211002604/http://www.cmg.ca/cbcnegsmediaEN.html#BBC|archive-date=December 11, 2005}}</ref>

[[Galaxie (radio)|Galaxie]] (which CBC owned at the time) supplied some music content for the radio networks. Tapes of aired or produced documentaries, interviews and entertainment programs were also aired widely. Selected television sports coverage, including that of the [[Canadian Football League]], continued, but without commentary.

As before, French-language staff outside of Quebec were also affected by the 2005 lock-out, although with Quebec producing the bulk of the French networks' programming, those networks were not as visibly affected by the dispute apart from local programs.