CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait today declined to rule out receiving personal bonuses for the past two financial years, subject to approval by the Privy Council Office.
Speaking before the House of Commons heritage committee, Tait said Canadians expect the CBC to keep its promises to non-union managers and executives if it meets key performance indicators.
This is the third time Mr Tate has been called before the Heritage Committee to answer questions about bonuses in a year in which the CBC cut 141 jobs and cleared a further 205 vacancies.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poièvre has repeatedly vowed that his government will cut funding to the CBC, but has promised to keep parts of its French service, Radio-Canada.
“You are coming to the end of your term with more pay than the prime minister of this country, but today you are eliminating the possibility of receiving either a bonus, so-called performance pay, or severance pay at the end of your term. ‘You’re in office,'” Conservative MP and committee member Damien Cleck said in an exchange with Tait.
“As I said, I think it’s a personal matter,” Tate replied.
At a parliamentary committee on Monday, Conservative MP Damien Cleck asked CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tate whether she would refuse to receive a bonus after her term ends in January 2025.
Tait’s salary range is $468,900 to $551,600, but if you meet certain criteria, you can receive a bonus of 7 to 28 percent of your salary. She is not entitled to severance pay.
Tate has repeatedly defended CBC’s pay structure. He said executives and managers at public broadcasters earn about half the salaries of executives and managers in the private sector.
“Frankly, I think being able to pay senior executives and non-union members across the board is extremely important to the future of the organization,” she told reporters after the hearing.
Outgoing CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait says the current “narrative” being disseminated by some about defunding the CBC is more damaging to the public broadcaster’s reputation and morale than the issue of performance bonuses. He said that.
More than $18 million in bonuses were paid to 1,180 non-union CBC employees during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
The federal government said in August that it had not yet decided whether to give Tait a bonus for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, citing privacy laws. It is up to Tate to announce whether she has received it.
Mr Tate told MPs that to date he has not received his bonus for the year. He may also receive a bonus for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Mr. Tate is scheduled to retire on January 3, 2025. Her replacement has already been chosen.
Culture and Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge is expected to announce changes to modernize the public broadcaster in the coming weeks.
Earlier this month, a senior government official told CBC News the government was finalizing the policy. Drafting legislation and regulatory changes for public broadcasting.
CBC’s current mission is to stipulated by law Under the Broadcasting Act. It was created in 1991 and has not been updated since the advent of the Internet.
