The federal government will begin the search for a new head of CBC/Radio-Canada early in the new year, Culture and Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge said Tuesday, facing questions about his confidence in the current leader.
Catherine Tate’s term as the public broadcaster’s current president and CEO since 2018 is scheduled to expire in January 2025, after being extended in June.
“We will form a committee and start looking for the best candidates across the country,” St. Onge said on his way to the government’s weekly cabinet meeting.
He said the winner must “lead our public broadcaster through the changes it needs to undergo because of the media crisis.”
It had always been planned to form a committee to find Mr. Tate’s replacement, but the timing of that effort was not clear by Tuesday.
Mr St-Onge said the government’s focus was on finding her successor and did not directly answer questions about whether he still had confidence in Mr Tate.
“I’m now saying I’m going to focus on finding the right person to lead the public broadcaster as Catherine Tate’s term comes to an end,” she said.
Tait’s tenure has been challenged in recent days after the station announced last week that it would cut 600 jobs and not fill 200 vacancies over the next year to address a $125 million shortfall. Subject to monitoring.
Some of the criticism came from partisans, but it intensified after Tate appeared on the CBC show. The National The same day, he said it was “premature” to say whether executives would receive bonuses.
Lawmakers on the Parliamentary Heritage Committee last week voted to subpoena Mr Tate in the new year to question the amount of the cuts and whether executives will receive bonuses.
Tait and seven CBC vice presidents said in a statement last Friday that they were aware of the concerns and were considering “all possible measures” to address financial pressures, including considering “senior executive remuneration.” said.
Saint-Onge said on Tuesday that the public broadcaster “needs to consider its financial situation and the impact it will have on its workforce as a whole.”
He said questions about bonuses should be answered by executives.
As a Crown Corporation, CBC/Radio-Canada operates independently from Parliament but receives approximately $1 billion in public funding each year.
Public broadcaster spokesman Leon Ma referred to executives’ latest statements when asked for details on the options being considered regarding bonuses.
He also noted that Mr Tate is in Australia to appear on public media as chair of the task force at the invitation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where he will speak at events and meet other industry leaders. also admitted.
Ms Tate spends one week of her annual holiday in Australia, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation covering her travel and accommodation costs, Mr Mahr added.
“She pays all the other expenses,” he said. “Mr. Tate will also be taking some personal time during his stay, so we felt it would be more appropriate for him to take annual leave for this trip.”
Still, when reporters asked St-Onge about the trip on Tuesday, the minister said in French that while it was important for Tait to attend such gatherings, “now is not the right time.”
Mr Mahr said the broadcaster had “nothing to add” to Mr Saint-Onge’s remarks.
During question period Tuesday, Bloc Quebecois MP Martin Champoo also pressed the minister on his confidence in Tait in light of the cuts and Tait’s visit.
