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OTTAWA – The federal Liberal government has not made a decision about whether to approve bonuses to CBC/Radio-Canada CEO and President Catherine Tait for the past two fiscal years, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The new details come as the Opposition Conservatives and other critics heap fresh scrutiny onto the Crown corporation for paying executives bonuses after cutting 141 jobs and eliminating another 205 vacancies during the last fiscal year.
The national broadcaster announced it was doing so in December to make up for a $125-million budget shortfall.
Tait raised eyebrows for not ruling out paying bonuses, which the Crown corporation has defended as “performance pay” used by other federal arms-length organizations.
In a rare show of unanimity, the governing Liberals and opposition parties voiced concerns over the corporation paying out bonuses while it was slashing jobs. Members of Parliament also questioned the impact the job losses would have on programming within communities.
Back in June, the corporation’s board of directors announced it had approved performance pay for 1,194 employees. However, it was not until earlier in the week that a report by The Canadian Press revealed the amount to be around $18 million, citing figures that were released through access-to-information legislation.
Of the $18 million, $3.3 million went to executives, while another $10 million was paid to managers and $4.6 million to “other eligible employees,” according to the document, which was also released to the National Post.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pointed to the payouts as the latest example of why he said he promises to defund the Crown corporation, which receives slightly more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds from Parliament every year.
Asked about the bonus pay to Tait herself, a spokesman for the corporation says the last time she received any was the 2021-2022 fiscal year, which covers from April 2021 until March 2022.
“She has not received performance pay for subsequent fiscal years, i.e. 2022–2023 and 2023–2024,” Leon Mar wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Tait has testified before a parliamentary committee that the federal government is the one that decides her bonus. The board of directors evaluates her performance and then makes a recommendation, which it sends to the Canadian Heritage minister, who passes it along to government.
A spokeswoman for Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge cited testimony she provided back in May that no decision on that matter had been made for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
“That remains the case,” said Ariane Joazard-Bélizaire, who added nothing has been decided for 2022-23.
“For vital institutions like this, it’s crucial to carefully review the board’s recommendations and collaborate closely with officials to ensure proper procedures are followed,” reads a statement.
“The minister will take the time we need to get board evaluation processes right, while ensuring the government follows human resources best practices and meets strict privacy law requirements.”
Asked whether the corporation’s board had recommended Tait receive a bonus for most recent fiscal year, Mar said its recommendations to government “are private and confidential.”
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet questioned the need for bonuses at all in the public sector.
“Against whom is CBC competing,” he told reporters Thursday. “They have all means, all the tools, all the money … and yet, let’s add a lot of huge bonuses.”
“I’m not very comfortable with that,” he added.
Tait’s mandate as head of CBC/Radio-Canada is set to expire in January 2025. She was first appointed to the role back in 2018.
The government has announced that a process is underway to find her replacement.
National Post
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