While still waiting for the outcome of a lawsuit against Amazon, former workers at the multinational’s Quebec warehouses learned that CBC has signed a deal with the web giant to distribute its news channels. In response, they are organizing a demonstration tomorrow morning outside the public broadcaster’s Montreal offices.
On March 5, 2026, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that its ICI RDI and CBC News Network channels are now available on Amazon’s Prime Video platform, at $4.99 a month each. News Network is available on CBC’s Gem platform, but RDI is not available on its French-language equivalent, Tou.tv.
Dany Meloul, vice-president of French-language services at the public broadcaster, claims the deal would help offset the decline in cable subscriptions, which is currently the main revenue source for CBC/Radio-Canada’s continuous news channels.
Meanwhile, Mark Carney and his minister François-Philippe Champagne cut $192 million from the broadcaster’s 2026–2027 budget. Money that could have gone directly to the public broadcaster will now flow to American billionaire Jeff Bezos. The irony hits harder given the multinational’s recent history in Quebec.
Wesley Marceau worked nearly two years in Amazon’s Quebec warehouses before they closed. He was vice-president of health and safety at the Amazon Laval union (STTAL-CSN). For him, the Prime Video deal is a betrayal. “Radio-Canada is going with Amazon because it’s easier, it costs less. They’re selling us out to the Americans again for profit,” he told The North Star.
On January 22, 2025, Amazon announced without warning the closure of its seven Quebec warehouses, throwing more than 4,500 workers out of a job. The closures came just months after the first unionization of a company warehouse in Canada, in Laval. Negotiations toward a contract were on the verge of going to arbitration, which would have forced the first collective agreement in Amazon’s history.
The CSN filed a complaint before the Administrative Labour Tribunal, calling the closures a “vast subterfuge” aimed at wiping out the union. The federation is demanding the reopening of all seven warehouses, payment of more than one year’s wages per worker in severance, as well as moral and punitive damages.
Not only unions are pushing back
The announcement has also drawn criticism from within the media world. According to Alain Saulnier, former director of news at the public broadcaster, management made the decision without approval from its board of directors. “We can’t let the only way to stay informed become going through American web giants,” he added. Six former CBC/Radio-Canada executives and journalists also published an open letter in the media denouncing the deal.
CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard has been summoned before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa.
For Marceau, this is about respect for Canada’s working class and sovereignty. “They’re betraying us in the face of Amazon, in the face of American oligarchs who are threatening to invade us. They’re taking control of Canadian companies, buying everything up. And Radio-Canada is just selling itself to them. Enough.”
“What was the point of all our actions, the boycott, standing our ground, if our Crown corporations sell out to the Americans?” he said. “If this disgusts you as much as it disgusts me, come demonstrate Friday in front of Radio-Canada’s headquarters in Montreal. The CCMM-CSN will be there. Workers’ Alliance will be there. And Amazon workers will be there from 7:30 in the morning.”
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