(Ottawa) The Liberal government said Friday it had not yet made a decision on whether to award a bonus to the management of Radio-Canada/CBC after the public broadcaster cut hundreds of jobs.
Due to the Privacy Act, it will likely be up to Executive Director Catherine Tait to publicly disclose whether she receives a bonus, as she did in the past for the 2021-22 fiscal year at a meeting of the Canadian Heritage committee. It has not been made public whether or not she received a bonus the following year.
The Department of Canadian Heritage confirmed that the government is still considering the 2023-24 bonus, while CBC/Radio-Canada said Friday that a decision has not yet been made on a potential 2022-23 bonus.
The Conservatives have sought support from other parties to back their request to reconvene Mr.me Tait before the committee for questioning.
” If [le premier ministre Justin] “Trudeau is not planning to give his CEO and CBC a massive bonus with taxpayer money, so he can say that clearly,” Conservative Rachael Thomas said in a statement.
“The Liberals’ refusal to say the same tells you all you need to know; that despite Catherine Tait’s many failures, the Liberals intend to give their chosen CBC director a big bonus for loyally acting as a Liberal propaganda machine.”
CBC/Radio-Canada’s editorial independence from the government is enshrined in law.
The CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors recently approved more than $18.4 million in bonuses for nearly 1,200 employees, executives and managers for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Of this amount, more than 3.3 million was paid to 45 executives
So far, no other party has joined the request, even though committee members unanimously agreed earlier this year that given the job cuts, it would be inappropriate for CBC/Radio-Canada to award bonuses to management.
“A lot can happen between now and when we get back to committee, so I can’t tell you what position I’ll take when a motion to invite Mr.me “Tait will be debated,” explains Bloc Québécois elected official Martin Champoux, who is on the Heritage Committee.
“For now, I am asking the Liberals to reveal whether or not they approved Mr.me Tait and to request justifications from the board of directors of Radio-Canada/CBC”.
The New Democrats did not respond to numerous requests for comment on their desire to see Mme Was to testify before the commission.
A spokesman for Mr. Trudeau declined to comment on the bonuses.
The Department of Canadian Heritage declined to comment publicly on the matter with The Canadian Press this week. The department initially referred all questions to the Privy Council Office, saying it could not answer any questions related to Ms.me Tait due to privacy laws.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Heritage
On Friday, the ministry confirmed that it was still considering whether to approve Mr.me Tait, but again cited privacy laws to say the decision would not be made public.
It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for M.me Tait following a review of his performance and recommendations by CBC/Radio-Canada management.
“For vital institutions like this, it is essential to carefully consider the council’s recommendations and work closely with officials to ensure proper procedures are followed,” the heritage minister’s office said in a statement Friday.
“The minister will take the time necessary to put in place proper evaluation processes, while ensuring that the government follows best practices in human resources and respects the strict requirements of the Privacy Act.” Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge could not be reached for an interview.
In May, Mme Tait told the House Heritage Committee that she received her final bonus for the 2021-22 fiscal year and has not yet received performance pay for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
M’s salary scaleme Tait’s pay ranges from $468,900 to $551,600, and the government sets her bonus at between 7% and 28% of her salary if she meets certain performance targets.
The Canadian Heritage Department would not say whether it had achieved those goals.
“The Liberals are desperate to avoid telling struggling Canadians that they will have to pay the minister a $149,000 bonus this year, on top of her base salary of about half a million dollars,” Thomas said. “It’s clear that even the Liberals know this is indefensible, as they avoid providing an answer.”