According to todays Toronto Star and Globe and Mail,Cuthbert had a contract that would have allowed CBC to give him a sabbatical during the strike and bring him back later,but they instead decided to terminate his contract.According to the Star,unlike other CBC staffers who were laid off during the strike,his termination is final,he will not be invited back when hoockey starts again.
."Globe and Mail
There was an indeed an uprising among many in the Canadian sports scene who viewed the CBC's decision to fire Cuthbert as both ridiculous and ill-founded.
He also had a freelance contract with the CBC that allowed for renegotiation if the NHL cancelled its season. According to the terms of the contract, Cuthbert could have taken a sabbatical until the NHL returned, or his salary, believed to be about $350,000, could have been renegotiated, depending on what he was assigned to cover.
"This decision doesn't makes sense," an industry source insisted. "Nancy Lee creates a position [manager of program acquisitions for CBC television sports] in order to hire her friend Sue Prestedge last year, then gets rid of Chris Cuthbert. I know Chris makes more money, but why hire Prestedge when the threat of a lengthy [NHL] lockout was so real?"
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