CBC CEO and president Catherine Tait says the organization has not yet decided whether it will award bonuses to executives in 2023, adding that a decision will be made in June.
“We have a process which is very rigorous. After internal deliberations with the board of directors at our June board meeting, once we’ve had a chance to present the audited financial statements, there will be a discussion and we will inform employees,” Ms. Tait told the Commons heritage committee on May 7.
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas raised the issue on May 7, asking whether Ms. Tait would personally receive a bonus. She answered that no decision had been made. “I do not know that I have a bonus, because the process as we have described for governor and council positions is separate from performance pay,” she said.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has repeatedly attempted to obtain access-to-information records on CBC bonuses for eight executives, and filed a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner on May 6. The CBC replied that it needed more time and would release details about the bonuses on or before May 10, 2024.
When Ms. Thomas asked Ms. Tait on May 7 if she could provide the information yet, the CBC executive said the corporation had not yet reviewed the final results of the year that ended on March 31, 2024, in order to make a decision.
At that, Ms. Thomas accused Ms. Tait of lying either now or during her previous appearance before the committee on Jan. 30 when she said the board of directors would make a decision at the end of the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Ms. Tait responded, “I really take objection to being called a liar, which has happened several times [at the committee].” She then said, “I made it clear that at the [Jan. 30] board meeting, following the end of the fiscal year, we would be reviewing the results for the fiscal year. That meeting is always held in June.”
NDP MP Niki Ashton characterized the public discussion around executive bonuses as “wildly irresponsible” given that employees were being laid off while the broadcaster’s coverage of local communities was decreasing.
“Will you commit to cancelling executive bonuses to save as many jobs as possible?” Ms. Ashton asked.
$100 Million Budget Deficit
In her opening statement, Ms. Tait told the committee that the CBC is looking at a $100 million deficit for the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year. To address its financial situation, the organization eliminated 205 vacant positions and laid off 141 employees.
The latest federal budget allocates an additional $42 million in funding to the CBC, on top of the $1.4 billion it received in 2023, which Ms. Tait said “will allow us to maintain our services and to manage this year without further job cuts to balance our budget. But to be clear, we are not out of the woods.”
She said all Canadian media organizations are facing challenges due to a “digital world ruled by global players who simply do not share the same commitment to Canada’s national interests.
“I think we’re all struggling with the structural issues, and when we look at Google, Facebook, Netflix, or Amazon, who have penetrated our market with no regulatory obligations or little regulatory obligations, we are really at a loss.”
