Members of Parliament have issued a summons to the CEO of Bell Canada, compelling his testimony next month regarding the company’s recent decision to implement widespread job cuts across the nation.
CEO Mirko Bibic and several other executives were initially invited to appear before the Canadian Heritage committee on Feb. 29 and later on March 19, but MPs indicate they were unable to attend.
Following a closed-door meeting last week, the committee agreed to summon Bibic to testify on April 11, allowing MPs to pose questions and discuss the ramifications of the job cuts.
When a witness declines an invitation to appear, a committee may issue a summons to ensure their attendance.
NDP member Niki Ashton, who introduced the motion to summon Bibic, criticized Bell’s parent company, BCE Inc., stating that it “enacted its largest layoff in 30 years and haven’t even bothered showing up to explain to Canadians why.”
As the closed-door meeting did not disclose which parties supported the summons, clarity on this matter remains elusive.
A spokesperson for Bibic indicated that he had previously agreed to testify before the committee in March, but the meeting was postponed by the committee’s clerk. However, the clerk’s response to requests for confirmation is still pending.
Ashton expressed concerns in a letter to Bibic on March 19, citing repeated requests from his staff to postpone the appearance.
“You said in your correspondence with the committee that you were unable to attend any of our committee meetings until the end of May,” Ashton wrote. “Perhaps if any of the 4,800 employees you fired still had their job, you’d have less on your plate.”
Ashton emphasized that the committee’s proceedings are not merely a personal inconvenience and that Bibic “owes it to Canadians” to elucidate how Bell executed its largest job layoff in decades.
Unifor, representing numerous workers at Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. and Bell Media, previously stated that the decision to postpone the February appearance until March was at the company’s behest.