CBC head Tait grilled once again on executive pay, exit package

Outgoing CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Catherine Tait has once again been grilled by MPs on “performance pay” at the public broadcaster, this time facing questions on whether or not she would accept performance-based pay at the end of her term in January. Tait appeared before the federal government's Canadian Heritage committee Monday, Oct. 21, to respond to questions on compensation for managers at the Crown corporation. CBC is adamant that the performance-based pay in question, doled out to more than 1,000 non-unionized employees, is not a bonus. That portion of its staff have money withheld from their salaries until certain goals are achieved. That performance pay has garnered close attention in the wake of job cuts at the broadcaster and ongoing pledges by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to defund the English-language service of the CBC should his party come into power in the next federal election. He has indicated he would leave the French-language Radio-Canada intact. Tait on Monday faced repeated questions from Conservative MP Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot), asking whether or not she herself would accept performance-based pay as she exits her position as the head of CBC in early January. When asked by Kurek if she was paid a bonus for the fiscal 2022-2023 year, Tait said she has not received that money. She would not tell Kurek and committee members if she will accept performance pay for that year or the current fiscal year when her term with the CBC is up in January. “I consider that a personal matter and I believe I am protected by the Privacy Act in that regard,” Tait said. “‘It’s confidential’ doesn’t cut it for Canadians, it doesn’t cut it for oversight,” Kurek said during questioning. At a May appearance before the committee, Tait indicated no further job cuts should be needed this year. After what the she described as “significant cuts to operational costs,” the elimination of 141 workers and 205 vacant positions, as well as $42 million in additional funding from the 2024 federal budget, the CBC’s “financial outlook has improved” and no more cuts will be necessary, said Tait at the time. However, Tait said the impact of the additional federal money is temporary and that more such money will be necessary in the future to avoid further cuts. New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski) asked Tait whether or not the next head of CBC should look at ending performance pay. There is a third-party review underway on CBC’s compensation structure and Tait expects a report to be available early next year. “I believe that the board of directors has taken appropriate action and, based on the results of that report we’ll no doubt share with my successor, they will plan accordingly,” Tait responded. During questioning on an article published by the National Post Oct. 15, which reports on an email sent by Tait raising concerns over the calls to “defund the CBC, Tait pushed back on the committee’s line of questioning. “Having experienced now the third appearance at this committee, I would say that there is a clear effort on the part of members of this committee to vilify and to discredit me and to discredit the organization. Not one question has been asked about the accomplishments of the public broadcaster over the last six years and how we have served Canadians,” Tait said. Conservative MP Jamil Jivani (Durham) called that response an unfair representation of Tait’s appearance Monday, saying Liberal MPs did ask such questions. CBC is set to get a new mandate and an announcement on its new leader this month or early next month, as Tait’s term ends in early 2025. Preliminary media reports indicate TV5 CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard is expected to take over from Tait. The story first appeared in Le Devoir and was reported by CBC News. Bouchard was part of an advisory panel appointed by Canadian Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge (Brome-Missisquoi, Que.) to discuss the public broadcaster’s new mandate. She has been at the helm of TV5 since 2016. Prior to that, she worked at Radio-Canada in a variety of roles beginning in 1987. St-Onge’s office said in a recent statement to The Wire Report, that it is “currently in the process of selecting the new CEO of CBC/SRC and will make an official announcement once the decision has been finalized.” – Reporting by Hannah Daley at hdaley@thewirereport.ca with files from Paul Park and Phalen Tynes-MacDonald.

CBC head Tait grilled once again on executive pay, exit package

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By Hannah Daley
| October 21, 2024

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