April 30th, 2026

On-Air Product Quality: CBC Urged to Act in Montreal

During a recent labour relations committee meeting in Montreal, the STTRC raised concerns with CBC/Radio-Canada management regarding the placement of supers on CBC regional stations, which often obscures the faces of on-air guests.

The STTRC understands that this space at the bottom of the screen is necessary for the national network, CBC News Network, but when supers are added to the regional stations, problems arise and negatively impact the on-air product quality.

Here is an example:

The situation is even worse when we have to broadcast interviews filmed via video conference, over which we no longer have control since CBC/Radio-Canada eliminated the social media position in its acquisition department for budgetary reasons after the pandemic.

The incumbent of this position was responsible for quality control of all remote interviews, whether for live broadcasts or reports.

Another example:

The issue was raised by the STTRC during a meeting at the local LRC on July 8, 2025.

Our goal was to make management aware of the workers’ desire to maintain the quality standards expected by CBC/Radio-Canada’s audience, so that they would make the necessary adjustments.

The proposed solution seemed simple to us: create a second template for regional productions, allowing to lower the height of the super.

• From the outset, we were told that the message had been passed on to Toronto, but that it was up to us to adjust our framing when filming.
• From one meeting to the next, the message remained the same: Toronto has been notified, but no changes have been implemented.
• On October 28, 2025, after approximately four months without any concrete progress, management informed us of their desire to close the file. We refused. We have heard nothing since.
• On April 7, at the most recent meeting of the Montreal Local LRC, employer representatives stated that CBC is aware of the situation and that if they have the opportunity to change anything, they will, but that it is not a priority at the moment.

In light of this issue raised in a local labour relations committee, we observe that the quality of the content we offer on CBC is no longer a priority for the employer.