(Ottawa) The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, believes that the trip to Australia by the President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada comes at a very bad time. The Press revealed on Tuesday that Catherine Tait is taking part in a conference on public broadcasting at the invitation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“It is certain that there was an announcement that was very difficult for internal employees last week,” recalled Minister St-Onge in the press scrum. There is a lot of uncertainty for people. It takes direction that is present, it takes leadership that is strong at the moment within CBC/Radio-Canada to manage all of that internally. »
“At the same time, it is clear that Mme Tait has an important role to play with international public broadcasters, she said. She is the president of these meetings, and currently, all public broadcasters across the planet are going through the same crisis that we are experiencing here. So, discussing solutions and the future is important, it’s positive, but it’s clear that now is not the right time. »
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Pascale St-Onge
She did not want to say if she still trusted Mme Tait. “I say we need to focus right now on finding the right person to lead the public broadcaster at the end of their mandate,” she replied.
This ends at the beginning of 2025. The minister intends to set up a committee at the beginning of 2024 to find candidates ready to take on the challenge.
His predecessor Pablo Rodriguez, who had extended his mandate, also avoided answering the question directly on Tuesday. “It’s the one that manages Radio-Canada,” he simply replied.
The attribution in part of the next cuts to the 3% savings that the federal government is demanding from ministries, the confusion over the bonuses paid to executives of the public broadcaster and this trip to Australia in the middle of a crisis are displeasing behind the scenes.
CBC/Radio-Canada is an independent crown corporation, so the government avoids interfering in its administrative decisions. However, its CEO must be held accountable. She will also have to explain to the standing committee on Canadian heritage in January on the upcoming cuts and the bonuses paid to her executives. A Bloc Québécois motion to have her testify was unanimously adopted last week.
CBC/Radio-Canada announced last week the elimination of 800 jobs across the country, or approximately 10% of its workforce. During an interview on the show The National, she had not ruled out the possibility that bonuses would be paid to executives. Four days later, senior management of the public broadcaster issued a statement specifying that “all possible measures, including those relating to senior management compensation, are being examined in order to deal with the financial pressures that await us in the future. months to come. »
“Everyone at CBC/Radio-Canada must consider the financial situation and the impact it has on all employees,” commented Minister St-Onge. Now they will take into account the current situation and revise their policies, and I will let them answer these questions. »
M’s stayme Tait in Australia takes place from December 9 to 16, but had been planned since September. Transportation and accommodation costs are covered by the ABC while it will cover the tourism portion itself. The CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada is the chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media established in 2020.