Nova Scotia judge to decide fate of Atlantic Canada’s largest newspaper chain

A Nova Scotia judge is expected to decide Thursday whether to approve Postmedia’s $1-million bid to acquire Atlantic Canada’s largest newspaper chain.

The court hearing in Halifax follows intense negotiations between the Toronto-based company and a union representing some workers at SaltWire Network Inc. and The Halifax Herald Ltd., the two insolvent media companies behind newspapers and online publications in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Postmedia has said the deal will fail unless the companies wind up their pension plans, and it is demanding that unionized editorial staff in Halifax and Cape Breton agree to change their collective agreements in ways that are “satisfactory” to Postmedia.

As well, Postmedia wants unionized staff running the Halifax Chronicle Herald’s presses to give up their successor rights under the Nova Scotia Trade Union Act, which means those positions would no longer be unionized once the deal closes.

The proposed closing date is Aug. 24, but court approval must come first.

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Liam McHugh-Russell, a law professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says those demands may sound like ultimatums, but they actually represent a starting point for negotiations.

As of last week, SaltWire and The Herald had 363 employees, 800 independent contractors and about 100 of its employees are unionized.

Postmedia Network Inc. owns the National Post, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen and dozens of other publications across the country.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024