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TORONTO — Radio-Canada staff refused an award presented to them Wednesday by CBC President Hubert Lacroix in protest of ongoing job losses at the public broadcaster.

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The Sherbrooke, Que. newsroom had been selected to receive the President’s Award in the “Audience First” category — an internal newsroom honour — for their coverage of the Lac-Megantic disaster.

The newsroom of about 60 people had tied for the award with the Calgary office, who were honoured for their coverage of the massive flooding in June 2013.

But in Sherbrooke, the team refused the award because they were “uncomfortable” with job cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada, said Isabelle Montpetit, president of Syndicat des Communications de Radio Canada.

Montpetit stressed that the decision came from the employees, not from her union, which represents some Radio-Canada employees.

In a video posted to YouTube, Lacroix can be seen presenting the award to the Sherbrooke office before journalist Pierre Tousignant reads a statement in French refusing the honour.