Source : Minister of Labour and Housing

OTTAWA, Sept. 26 /CNW Telbec/ - The Minister of Labour and Housing
commented following his meeting with both parties:

    "Both parties have demonstrated a willingness to resolve this dispute. They have agreed, at my invitation, to remain in the building and resume negotiations on the remaining issues with the assistance of our mediator and the Director General of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Labour Program. I will be meeting jointly with the parties later today to get a status of their talks."

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                                           Minister Fontana Speaking Notes

    Thank you for accepting my invitation to meet today to discuss the status of your negotiations and to attempt to develop a plan to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion without further delay.
    I very much hope that everyone here today has the same goal - and that is, to obtain a collectively bargained resolution of this dispute and a return to normal broadcast operations at CBC as quickly as possible. If there is anyone here present who does not have that objective, then I would ask that that person identify themselves right now.
    Mediation talks have now dragged on for over a month. I am very concerned about the length of time it is taking to deal with the issues in dispute, and want to hear from you as to why a settlement is taking so long.
    I simply cannot comprehend why people as talented and skilled as the members of these two bargaining committees cannot come up with creative ideas to resolve the issues at the heart of this dispute. But since this appears to be the case, I am asking those who make the decisions and set the mandate to turn their minds to finding the solutions that seem to be evading the committees.
    It is trite to say that the CBC is a Canadian icon. You all know that. But having said that, as representatives of the CBC and the CMG respectively, you all have a responsibility to the Canadian public to resolve your remaining differences and resume normal broadcast operations. Both parties to this dispute are doing a major disservice to themselves and to all Canadians by failing to find the means to resolve the remaining issues.
    Fifty-five hundred people have now been on the street for forty-three days and Canadians have been deprived of the service to which they are entitled, because your committees can't reach a compromise. This is simply unacceptable. You all need to keep in mind that the CBC is a public institution, not the private playground of the union and management.
    I have received an extraordinary number of complaints from Canadians expressing their frustration with this dispute, and I know that my Cabinet colleagues have also been inundated with complaints. I think it is also fair to say that the Canadian public and its elected representatives are fed up with the detrimental impact your dispute is having on the operations of the CBC. Canadians are starting to question the need for a public broadcaster.
    Clearly, it is time to settle this dispute, in the interest of all Canadians, and the CBC itself. Both sides need to take a hard look at their current positions and reconsider whether maintaining that position is likely to lead to a positive outcome. I am asking you, after this length of time, is that you need to look for another approach.
    I am asking each of you for a plan that could realistically be expected to bring your negotiations to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible timeframe.

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