A House of Commons committee says it would be “inappropriate” for CBC executives to receive bonuses just weeks after the Crown corporation cut hundreds of jobs across the country.
“Given the job cuts announced at CBC/Radio-Canada for the year 2024, it would be inappropriate for the CBC to grant bonuses to executive members,” said the report.
The move comes after Ms. Tait did not clarify whether bonuses would still be paid out during an interview on CBC’s The National on Dec. 4.
“It’s too early to say where we are for this year,” Ms. Tait said in response to a question from journalist Adrienne Arsenault about the likelihood of executive bonuses. “We'll be looking at that like we do with all our line items in the coming months.”
Ms. Arsenault asked again if there was a chance the bonuses would happen.
“I’m not going to comment on something that hasn’t been discussed at this point,” Ms. Tait said.
The company said it made the decision in response to $125 million in “budget pressures,” such as rising production costs, a drop in television ad revenue, and digital competition.
“CBC/Radio-Canada is not immune to the upheaval facing the Canadian media industry,” said Ms. Tait in the release.
“We’ve successfully managed serious structural declines in our business for many years, but we no longer have the flexibility to do so without reductions.”
The Crown corporation also said it anticipates a reduction in parliamentary funding, including the $21 million in special funding received annually since 2021.
The public broadcaster said it will also reduce English and French programming, which includes $40 million in independent production commissions and program acquisitions. CBC acknowledged the move would result in fewer new television series and episodes of existing shows, as well as fewer digital original series.
“We understand how concerning this is to the people affected and to the Canadians who depend on our programs and services,” Ms. Tait said.
“We will have more details in the months ahead, but we are doing everything we can to minimize the impact of these measures.”
Search for CEO Replacement Set To Begin
Heritage Minster Pascale St-Onge told reporters on Dec. 12 that Ms. Tait’s mandate would soon be over and they would be looking for a replacement.“At the beginning of 2024, we will put together a committee that will start searching for the best candidates around the country that can lead our public broadcaster into that transformation that it needs to go through because of the media crisis,” she said.
When questioned by reporters about whether she had confidence in Ms. Tait, Ms. St-Onge didn’t respond directly, but said that Ms. Tait’s mandate would end at the beginning of 2025.
A reporter asked a second time if the minister had confidence in Ms. Tait.
“I am saying right now we are going to concentrate on finding the right person to lead the public broadcaster at the end of Catherine Tait’s mandate,” Ms. St-Onge said.
The minister also said that CBC executives should “consider the financial situation and the impact that it has on employees at large” before accepting bonuses this year.
The Epoch Times reached out to Ms. St-Onge for further comment but did not immediately hear back.
