Canada’s public broadcaster is enjoying a funding boost, despite its executives’ claims that they have been asked to cut the budget for the next fiscal year.
Documents from the Department of Heritage show that CBC/Radio-Canada will receive a budget of $1.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase from the $1.3 billion spent in the previous fiscal year.
The broadcaster announced in December that it would cut 800 jobs and $40 million from its production budget due to a projected deficit of $125 million for the next fiscal year.
Leaders insisted earlier this year that the cuts were partly because the government had asked them to cut their budget by 3.3%.
The Treasury Board, which oversees federal budget spending, said there was no such directive. Instead, ministries, agencies and Crown corporations were asked to report on the impact of such a reduction on them.
The Treasury Board announced Thursday that Radio-Canada is not on the list of departments whose funds are being reallocated as part of the government’s spending reduction exercise.
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