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Maurice Switzer. Photo courtesy Anishinabek News.
The well-known editor of a local long-running First Nation media outlet has been laid off, the victim of federal budget cuts.
Maurice Switzer worked for Anishinabek News for 14 years before he was let go this past week.
Anishinabek News is operated by the communications unit of the Union of Ontario Indians, an organization that saw its core funding drop for 2014. The newspaper hasn't published a print edition since March.
"It's having a tremendous impact on our elders who don't have computers," UOI spokesperson Marci Becking told BayToday.
"We're hoping others will print articles off, especially the political ones, and hand them out," she added.
"We serve 39 communities. Some have connectivity, and some don't."
The cuts come on the 25th anniversary of the newspaper.
"We saw the writing on the wall," said Becking. "We lost our videographer last year."
Costs played a role. Becking says the paper's postage was three times its printing cost.
The online site has been up for just a year.
See it here: http://anishinabeknews.ca/
The cuts leave Becking as the sole employee of Anishinabek News.
“He (Switzer) was laid off last week due to business conditions, added Becking. ”This notice was necessary given the recent fiscal attacks against the (Provincial & Territorial Organizations) by the federal government, cutting core funding for such activities as communications.”
Becking says Switzer will continue to work with the Union of Ontario Indians as a contract public educator, speaking to various school groups.
