Daily newspaper closure damages Canadians

Support of professional quality journalism vital to national interest

OTTAWA, Jan. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - The sudden closure of 149-year-old daily newspaper, the Guelph Mercury, hurts not only the people of Guelph but Canada's national fabric, says the union representing journalists there.

"Closing the Guelph Mercury is an unconscionable blow to the people of Guelph," said Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M. "Guelph is now one of the only Ontario cities with over 100,000 people without a daily newspaper," said Morse.

"Newspapers play a vital role in keeping Canadian society healthy. Canadians must recognize that professional, quality journalism is critical in supporting our democratic way of life," he said.

The Guelph Mercury began rolling off the presses as a daily broadsheet newspaper in the same year that Canada became a nation through Confederation in 1867. Its predecessor, the weekly Mercury and Advertiser, began printing in 1854.

Unifor Local 87-M represents Editorial Employees at the Guelph Mercury among 2,500 media workers across southern Ontario, including the Hamilton Spectator, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun and London Free Press.

Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union with over 310,000 members in all sectors of the economy, including 12,000 in media across the country.

SOURCE Unifor Local 87-M

Gary Ellis, National Representative, cell 905-719-9981.