The Canadian Press
Published on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 6:20 PM EST
Last updated on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 7:27 pm EST
OTTAWA – Members of Parliament have invited several top executives from BCE Inc. and Bell Canada to testify later this month about the company’s decision to cut about nine per cent of its workforce this year.
The House of Commons culture committee has agreed to invite Mirko Bibic, CEO of BCE Inc., to address the cuts impacting newsrooms across the country.
The committee also agreed to invite Bell Media President Sean Cohan and the parent company’s chief financial officer, Curtis Millen, as well as a handful of others.
The Liberals’ motion to summon the leaders on Feb. 29 was supported by the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, with the Conservatives abstaining on the committee.
BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Media, announced last week that it would cut its workforce by 4,800 jobs, drop several television news programs and sell 45 of its 103 radio stations.
The company blamed the federal government and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for the cuts, saying Ottawa had taken too long to help media companies in crisis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2024.
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