The Tea Makers

Hi!

I wanted to get an update to you on a few things, as well as a quick look toward the fall, before I head off on vacation for a couple of weeks to the South of France. It’s certainly been a busy month and a half since I last wrote to you after the Board meeting in June. In fact, I’d been thinking recently how tough and time-consuming government blow jobs are, but these activities might end up feeling light and easy when compared to spending my vacation teaching my 17-month old daughter how to eat properly with a spoon!

With the senior team, I have been spending a lot of time in Ottawa trying to move our fire sale forward.  We are fairly confident of being able to complete transactions and liquidate at least $125 million in assets, but I am concerned that the approval process is taking longer than anticipated. Yet, we are making progress and will continue to whine to the government to find ways to accelerate the process. In the meantime, we are keeping a tight reign on spending. We need to make you suffer to cover our mistakes.

We’re now in the midst of the bumping process, which we expect will take the whole summer; by the end of September, all the departures will have taken place. I know it’s been really tough and emotional for everyone involved, for those of you who are leaving and for those of you who are saying goodbye to some of your friends and colleagues. To all who are affected by these changes, tough shit. To those who are leaving, go fuck yourself. To those who will find themselves in another working environment, do not forget we are always watching.

As of the end of July, we have also said goodbye to most of the dead weight who participated in the voluntary retirement incentive program. I’ve disrespected them all on behalf of the entire Corporation in spite of their longstanding dedication and commitment. I’ve also assured them that we’ll quickly lay waste to whatever gains they helped us achieve over the years.

Now, on to what’s coming up in the fall. I’ll be heading back out to the regions again to intimidate folks and ignore what they have to say. I’ve been staying pretty close to Montreal and Ottawa given what we’ve been dealing with, and I have to say that I’m looking forward to patronizing our CBCers again. My first stop will be in Edmonton in September and I’ll be wrapping up the tour in December with a stop in Vancouver. There will of course be a bunch of visits in between, so beware. I’ll keep you posted on how all of this goes as my “surveillance tour” unfolds. While travelling across the country, I also intend get lucrative fees to speak at a couple of events in Western Canada so that more Canadians understand the way we are gutting the public broadcaster… as well as realize how privatization is the only outcome of the job we are doing in the current circumstances.

That’s it for now. I wish you all shitty weather for the rest of the summer. We have a very busy fall ahead of us; so now is your last chance to jump ship or abandon all hope.

It’s now August and we’re still on the air. Quite a feat!

Cheers,

Hubert