The trip by the head of CBC/Radio-Canada to Australia for a conference on public broadcasting these days comes at a very bad time, according to Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge.
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After a “very difficult” announcement from the state company last week, “there is a lot of uncertainty for people,” she underlined Tuesday morning before entering the council of ministers.
“It takes direction that is present, it takes leadership that is strong at the moment within CBC/Radio-Canada to manage all that internally,” insisted M.me St-Onge.
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Catherine Tait recently flew to Australia to attend a summit of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an organization of which she is chair, at the invitation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), revealed The Press Tuesday.
“Mme Tait is on leave in Australia for a week,” a spokesperson for the state-owned company said by email. “The ABC covers the transport and accommodation costs of Mme Tait.”
Although accommodation costs are covered, Catherine Tait will take advantage of the trip to take time off on site, at her own expense. “She thought it was more appropriate to take time off, as she will also take time for personal activities during her stay.”
“It is clear that Ms. Tait has an important role to play with international public broadcasters. She is the president of these meetings, and currently all the media, all the 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,” said Minister St-Onge on Tuesday.
“But it is certain that the moment is not opportune at the moment,” she added.
Pascale St-Onge is hard at work finalizing the regulatory framework which will determine how the $100 million independent fund set up with Google’s money will be organized and administered.
Asked about her confidence in Catherine Tait, who has yet to decide on the bonuses of senior executives of the company, Mme St-Onge invited the management of the state corporation to “consider the impact” of their decisions.
“The idea of making bonuses at the same time as we have cuts at Radio-Canada, we find it incredible,” declared Peter Julian, of the NDP. And regarding the trip, “it’s not a good time when you’re laying off hundreds of people, in my opinion.”
The leader of the Bloc Québécois Yves-François Blanchet, the trip “just hurts”.
“If Ms. Tait had gone to Australia or anywhere less exotic at another time…but she’s doing it just days after putting forward a plan to cut 800 jobs at Radio-Canada /CBC which will particularly hurt French-speakers and which will particularly hurt the regions,” said Mr. Blanchet.