HALDIMAND—Metroland Media Group, one of the province’s biggest news distributors, announced September 15 it is seeking bankruptcy protection and moving 71 of its community papers, including Haldimand-based publication The Sachem, to a digital-only model effective immediately.
The Sachem is Haldimand’s oldest print newspaper. First published in 1853 as The Cayuga Sachem, the paper adopted the name The Grand River Sachem in 1856. The title was shortened to The Sachem in 2004, the year it was purchased by Metroland and converted from a subscription newspaper to the free distribution model it utilized until last week. The free model included distribution of weekly flyers; these flyers will now have to find a new distribution method to continue.
In total, 605 employees across Ontario were laid off as a result of the announcement, including 68 journalists. The layoffs account for approximately two-thirds of all Metroland employees.
Metroland’s six remaining daily newspapers – The Hamilton Spectator, The Peterborough Examiner, The St. Catherine’s Standard, The Niagara Falls Review, The Welland Tribune, and the Waterloo Region Record – will continue normal operations.
A statement released by Metroland said the decision was the result of “substantial declines in both print advertising and the flyer business over the past several years.”
It continued, “We simply don’t have the financial resources required to fund large, sustained operating losses indefinitely.”
Due to insufficient funds, laid off employees will not be offered termination or severance pay, but can “file a claim in the course of the restructuring process for the amounts that they are owed by Metroland.”
A separate Metroland statement expanded, “The media industry continues to face existential challenges, largely because digital tech giants have used their dominant positions to take the vast majority of the advertising revenue in Canada.”
Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, blasted Metroland for the decision, in particular the lack of warning for employees. Unifor National President Lana Payne stated, “This is devastating. Devastating for these media workers. Devastating for local news. Devastating for the communities who depend on that local news and devastating for the fabric of our democracy…. As a former journalist myself, it’s days like these that weigh heavy on my heart and mind.”
This news is yet another blow to Canadian journalism, still caught in an ongoing standoff between the Federal government and tech giants over the controversial Bill C-18 that would force Meta and Google to pay for content shared to their sites.
Note: The Haldimand Press is independently owned. It has no affiliation with Metroland and will continue as usual.
