Tait attacked for taking trip to Australia as CBC cutbacks loom

CBC/Radio-Canada continued to come under fire in Parliament Tuesday with the direction of the crown corporation being raised in both the House of Commons and the Senate. During the Commons Question Period, Bloc Québécois heritage critic Martin Champoux pointed out that CBC boss Catherine Tait is on a trip to Australia at the same time as the public broadcaster is laying off hundreds of workers. The CBC says the president’s trip is being paid for by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and that Tait is taking personal leave during the sojourn. “Does the Minister of Canadian Heritage still have confidence in Catherine Tait?,” he asked in French. “Does she approve of the CEO's decision to go ahead with these layoffs?” Minister Pascale St-Onge repeated her comment that she is looking to replace Tait when the president’s term expires. “The term of CBC/Radio-Canada's CEO ends at the beginning of 2025,” she replied. “Starting in early 2024, I will be striking a committee to search for the best candidates in the country to lead this organization, which is absolutely essential to Canadian democracy.” Champoux followed up by asking if the journalism tax credit, which has been increased from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, would be expanded to cover electronic media. “It is clear to us that Bell Media, Quebecor and Cogeco are struggling too,” he stated. “Electronic media outlets are all struggling.” St-Onge thanked the BQ for supporting media at a time when the Conservatives are attacking it. “As my colleague knows, we have modernized the Broadcasting Act, giving the CRTC the authority to lighten the regulatory burden on our broadcasters, which are indeed struggling right now. The CRTC will also be able to decide whether to create a new fund to support the news across Canada,” she said. Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus continued his party’s criticism of Tait. He too mentioned the Australia visit and wondered about some executive decisions. “The president of the CBC is completely out of touch with reality. A month ago, she hired a Paris-based company to translate a podcast, rather than hiring Quebeckers, because she did not like our accent,” he charged according to a translation. The minister did not respond to the question but took the opportunity to take a partisan shot at her questioner. “I thank my colleague for his question, because it gives me an opportunity to remind everyone in the House, as well as all Quebeckers, that the last time the Conservative Party was in power, it made cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada that jeopardized the public broadcaster's future,” she asserted. “Still today, the Conservatives want to destroy the CBC, even though they are saying that they will protect Radio-Canada, as if that were doable.” Down the hallway, the matter of CBC was raised in the Senate’s Question Period. Ontario senator Donna Dasko asked a question she forgot to mention during St-Onge’s appearance before the Red Chamber last week. She reminded government representative Senator Marc Gold that the minister has pledged to review the crown corporation’s mandate. “So my questions are as follows: Can you elaborate on anything with respect to this review? What might this review involve? Will it be a fulsome review? Will all of the options for the CBC be examined as part of this review? Will our committee be involved?,” she inquired. Gold regretted that time had run out and Dasko was not able to pose her questions to the minister directly. Still he was hopeful about the future of the study. “I have every reason to be confident that the review will be a fulsome one. We all know the challenges that the media are facing,” he stated. “We also know — at least some of us believe — that the CBC continues to perform an important function across the country, especially in certain regions and certainly in the province of Quebec.” He could not give a timeline for when the review will be conducted. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

Tait attacked for taking trip to Australia as CBC cutbacks loom

Broadcast | December 13, 2023

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Tait attacked for taking trip to Australia as CBC cutbacks loom

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