Union calls for ownership legislation in wake of Postmedia layoffs

CWA Canada calls cuts ‘dark day for journalism’

In the wake of layoffs at Postmedia, the Communications Workers of America union is calling on the federal government to address media concentration and ownership concerns.

The CWA’s announcement immediately followed a move by Postmedia on Jan. 19 to cut 90 positions and merge newsrooms in Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

The union said legislation or regulations limiting the concentration of media ownership would “prevent destructive debt-leveraged takeovers” of the country’s major daily newspapers.

CWA Canada’s president Mark O’Hanlon called it a “dark day for journalism.”

“We’re now seeing why it’s so dangerous to let one corporation have so much control. “It’s bad for journalism, the economy, and democracy,” he said in a statement.

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