The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » PSAC Strike May Affect The CRTC

RadioActive · April 19, 2023 11:08 am

The Public Service Alliance of Canada members walked off the job on Wednesday, paralyzing many government services. I didn't realize the CRTC was one of them. But posted on their site in the morning was this warning:

"Due to the labour dispute, there may be service and publication delays and we may not be able to meet our usual service standards."

Hmm, the CRTC may not be able to fully do its job while the walkout lasts? See, there are some good things about a strike after all!

Glen Warren · April 19, 2023 11:18 am

How does this differ from their (increasingly) frequent weekly boiler plate statements...

"The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 3 to 7 April 2023. This is subject to change without notice.

We regularly conduct public proceedings to collect your views on important issues. Discover our consultations today!"

Last edited by Glen Warren (April 19, 2023 11:19 am)

RadioActive · April 19, 2023 11:22 am

I've seen those announcements. And you're right. They're very frequent.

I sometimes wonder when I see that announcement a few weeks in a row what the hell they're doing during all that time they have "nothing scheduled." Hey, at least in this instance, they have an excuse!

RadioActive · April 19, 2023 12:47 pm

RadioActive wrote:
"Due to the labour dispute, there may be service and publication delays and we may not be able to meet our usual service standards."

The CRTC has "usual service standards?" Who knew?

tvguy · April 19, 2023 4:22 pm

the CRTC website which which uses a pass key for filing documents is already malfunctioning. The "usual" meaningless error messages. bah!

RadioActive · April 20, 2023 4:03 pm

The website is still displaying info from two days ago, which appears to mean there will be no updates until the strike ends. I had no idea PSAC was responsible for anything the CRTC does. Yet someone put up the banner warning about the lack of updates - which makes you wonder who that was and if it wasn't a union member, why that person can't post the stuff.

Glen Warren · April 20, 2023 4:37 pm

was probably done by a Russian hacker....

RadioAaron · April 20, 2023 4:58 pm

RadioActive wrote:
The website is still displaying info from two days ago, which appears to mean there will be no updates until the strike ends. I had no idea PSAC was responsible for anything the CRTC does. Yet someone put up the banner warning about the lack of updates - which makes you wonder who that was and if it wasn't a union member, why that person can't post the stuff.

Post what stuff?

RadioActive · April 20, 2023 5:13 pm

They have a daily press release update every morning at 11 AM about what decisions are made. It hasn't changed since April 18th.

RadioAaron · April 20, 2023 5:33 pm

RadioActive wrote:
They have a daily press release update every morning at 11 AM about what decisions are made. It hasn't changed since April 18th.

But they won’t be making any decisions, I assume.

Last edited by RadioAaron (April 20, 2023 5:51 pm)

RadioActive · April 20, 2023 5:59 pm

Are CRTC Commissioners members of PSAC? If not (and I don't think they are) they should keep working.

RadioAaron · April 20, 2023 6:14 pm

They might not be, but there's a whole staff of researchers, data analysts, secretaries, translators, AV operators....

RadioActive · April 20, 2023 6:26 pm

My point was that we won't be able to see any of their decisions, which sometimes affect radio and TV stations in the GTA. I visit the site every morning to see what they're up to and sometimes, they can be quite newsworthy. I never said they would stop working, only that the strike may affect what we find out.

andysradio · April 20, 2023 6:41 pm

It could be the ones who maintain the web site are on strike or who process the work

andysradio · April 23, 2023 10:30 am

The Environment Canada weather app has been down all morning. Related?

RadioAaron · April 23, 2023 10:33 am

RadioActive wrote:
My point was that we won't be able to see any of their decisions, which sometimes affect radio and TV stations in the GTA. I visit the site every morning to see what they're up to and sometimes, they can be quite newsworthy. I never said they would stop working, only that the strike may affect what we find out.

My point is there won't. be any decisions to see in the first place. They'll be paralized without most of their staff working.

Glen Warren · April 23, 2023 11:08 am

RadioAaron wrote:
... They'll be paralized without most of their staff working.

And how will this differ from when most of their staff are working?

RadioActive · April 27, 2023 2:43 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
They have a daily press release update every morning at 11 AM about what decisions are made. It hasn't changed since April 18th.
But they won’t be making any decisions, I assume.

According to Broadcast Dialogue, they are still making decisions - they just can't post them.

"The CRTC says that the current strike by members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) may impact the release of commission decisions. A post to the commission’s website cautions that “Due to the labour dispute, there may be service and publication delays and we may not be able to meet our usual service standards.”

RadioAaron · April 27, 2023 6:29 pm

I'm fluent in Burocrat, and that roughly translates to "gone fishin'"

splunge · April 27, 2023 6:56 pm

i can confirm the CRTC is still working.... at a snail's pace. they're issuing "interim" decisions privately. nothing that is being posted on their website for now.

RadioAaron · April 27, 2023 7:10 pm

splunge wrote:
i can confirm the CRTC is still working.... at a snail's pace.

Oh, so business as usual. My bad.