Federal government refuses to say if it approved bonus for CBC CEO Catherine Tait
Tait's salary range is between $468,900 and $551,600, with possibility of a bonus if certain criteria are met
The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., as Opposition Conservatives demand answers and New Democrats call for a ban on such bonuses.
It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for Catherine Tait following a review of her performance and a recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.
CBC deferred questions to the federal government. Canadian Heritage, which oversees the Crown corporation, deferred questions to the Privy Council Office, which supports cabinet and the prime minister.
Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office said it cannot disclose details, even though some of that information from past years has been made public.
In May, Tait told the House heritage committee that she last received a bonus for fiscal year 2021-22 and that she had not yet received performance pay for fiscal year 2022-23 — information that's also available on the CBC website.
Tait's salary range is between $468,900 and $551,600 and the government sets her bonus — which she receives if she meets certain criteria — at between seven per cent and 28 per cent of her salary.
Opposition Conservatives want Tait to return to the committee and provide answers on bonuses.
The CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors recently approved over $18.4 million in bonuses for nearly 1,200 employees, managers and executives for the 2023-24 fiscal year after the broadcaster eliminated hundreds of jobs.
The Privy Council Office wouldn't say if the board had recommended a bonus for Tait, or if the federal government gave its stamp of approval.
The
CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors approved more than $18.4 million in
bonuses for nearly 1,200 employees, managers and executives for the
2023-24 fiscal year after it eliminated hundreds of jobs. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)
"Clearly, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government are content to give CBC executives and their handpicked CEO huge multimillion-dollar taxpayer funded bonuses amid dwindling viewership and increasing irrelevancy so long as they remain good servants to their masters and continue to act as the propaganda arm of the Liberal Party," said heritage critic Rachael Thomas in a media statement on Wednesday.
CBC's editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.
Twice in the last year, Tait has been called to the heritage committee to answer for cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada. She was interrogated by MPs over whether she would accept a bonus for the fiscal year that ended March 31.
The New Democrats didn't say if they want Tait to return to the Canadian Heritage committee, but accused Liberals of failing to protect jobs at the public broadcaster and "rein in the greed from CBC executives."
They also swiped at the Conservatives, saying that while the Tories want to defund CBC, the NDP would improve it.
"Our public broadcaster provides an invaluable service to Canadians. They're also accountable to Canadians," said NDP heritage critic Niki Ashton in a media statement.
"Therefore, it's time to ban the CBC from paying executive bonuses and use that money to save local journalism."
In June, the broadcaster's board publicly acknowledged the negative optics of giving out bonuses during the same fiscal year that it made cuts, and has since launched a review of its compensation regime for future years.
Between December 2023 and March 31, when the last fiscal year ended, CBC/Radio-Canada eliminated 346 jobs from the organization by laying off 141 employees and eliminating 205 vacant positions.
Members of the committee unanimously concluded in a report to the House of Commons earlier this year that, given the job cuts, it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.
CBC paid out $18.4 million in bonuses in 2024 after it eliminated hundreds of jobs
The bonuses went to nearly 1,200 employees; $3.3 million went to 45 executives
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. paid out $18.4 million in bonuses this year after hundreds of jobs at the public broadcaster were eliminated.
Documents obtained through access to information laws show CBC/Radio-Canada paid bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
More than $3.3 million of that sum was paid to 45 executives.
That means those executives got an average bonus of over $73,000, which is more than the median family income after taxes in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
More than $10.4 million was paid out to 631 managers and over $4.6 million was paid to 518 other employees.
The Conservatives said the bonuses are "beyond insulting and frankly sickening," adding they come at a time when many Canadians are starving and facing homelessness.
This year's amount is an increase over the $14.9 million paid out to 1,143 employees in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The board approved this year's bonuses in June, but it had been refusing to disclose how much was paid out.
Members of Parliament have been asking for the figure since last December, when CBC announced it would be laying off employees to help balance its budget.
Ultimately, 141 employees were laid off and 205 vacant positions were eliminated at CBC/Radio-Canada.
CBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The public broadcaster has said the money is performance pay and counts toward some employees' total compensation, as stipulated by contracts that promise payouts when certain company goals are met.
Government departments, Crown corporations and most private companies use performance pay, also called 'at-risk pay,' as a portion of compensation for non-union employees to help ensure delivery on specific targets, a spokesperson for CBC said in a statement Monday.
"While the term 'bonuses' has been used to describe performance pay, it is in fact a contractual obligation owing to eligible employees," said spokesperson Leon Mar.
In May, CEO Catherine Tait said it brings her "great frustration" to hear MPs refer to the payouts as a "bonus."
Still, the broadcaster's board publicly acknowledged the negative optics of giving out bonuses during the same fiscal year that it made cuts, and has since launched a review of its compensation regime for future years.
Tait was called twice to the House of Commons heritage committee in the last year to answer for cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada, and was interrogated by MPs over whether she would accept a bonus for the fiscal year that ended March 31.
It remains unclear if Tait is among those who received a bonus.
Conservative MP for Lethbridge Rachael Thomas rises during Question Period, Friday, September 29, 2023 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
It's up to the Liberal government, not the board of directors, to approve any bonus for the CEO, unlike other CBC employees. Canadian Heritage did not immediately respond to questions about that on Monday.
"It is the height of smugness to see the CBC has awarded itself $18 million in bonuses with the $1.4 billion a year they receive from taxpayers to act as the mouthpiece for the Liberal party," Conservative MP and opposition heritage critic Rachael Thomas said in a media statement on Monday.
Thomas said CBC is "not worth the cost" while repeating the Conservative promise to defund the public broadcaster, and pledging to "turn the CBC headquarters into beautiful homes for Canadian families."
The CBC's editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.
MPs on the heritage committee unanimously concluded in a report to the House of Commons earlier this year that, given the job cuts, it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.
The public broadcaster has said its financial situation is looking better because of the recent layoffs, cuts to operational costs and an extra $42 million from this year's federal budget.
Tait told the heritage committee in May that the estimated $125-million shortfall for 2024-25 had shrunk to $20 million.
CBC chief says broadcaster isn't making specific plans for loss of public subsidy
Catherine Tait says payout of bonuses will have little real effect on broadcaster’s financial woes
The head of the CBC says that while the public broadcaster must prepare for "all possible outcomes," it doesn't have a specific plan in the works for the possibility of a future Conservative government cancelling all or part of the Crown corporation's public subsidy.
In an interview that airs Saturday on CBC Radio's The House, CBC president and CEO Catherine Tait said she has been working on efforts to transform CBC/Radio-Canada into a more efficient and valuable service — but the specific prospect of defunding is not a focus of those efforts.
"Of course we worry about the possibility, but I don't think that … spending a whole lot of time trying to guess what that will look like is really going to be effective over the next months. Our job is to convince Canadians of our value," she told host Catherine Cullen.
"Are we planning for that outcome? No," Tait said, when asked about the possible termination of the $1.3-billion subsidy the company receives yearly from the federal government.
The House16:03
Tait said that in polling commissioned by the public broadcaster, CBC found a "vast majority" of Canadians support its continued role in Canada. Two public polls conducted within the last year, by Spark and Angus Reid, suggest a significant minority of Canadians are in favour of defunding the CBC.
Tait said she's not in the business of predicting the outcome of future elections and her focus is on putting the CBC on a sustainable path.
"I don't even know what will happen in the election. I think what my role is, is to continue serving right to the bitter end what I believe to be the most important public institution for combating disinformation, for supporting [a] plurality of voices," she said.
Tait has played a central role in the public debate about the CBC's future. She was quoted in the Globe and Mail last year saying that "there's a lot of CBC bashing going on — somewhat stoked by" Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Poilievre replied that Tait was "not even pretending to be unbiased."
"She launched a partisan attack against me, proving my claim that the $1.2 billion corporation is a mouthpiece for [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau," Poilievre said in a social media post.
Tait told Cullen that she stands by those comments.
"I believe that my primary role is to advocate for a strong public broadcaster," she said.
Defunding the CBC has been among Poilievre's top policy promises. In stump speeches, he frequently talks about turning the broadcasting centre in Toronto into affordable housing — a major applause line. But the Conservative leader tends to focus his rhetorical fire on the English side of CBC/Radio-Canada, while expressing support for the French part of the corporation.
"We are the ones who will protect Radio-Canada," he said during an exchange with Trudeau in question period earlier this month.
Speaking to The House, Tait pushed back on claims that possible plans to merge some elements of CBC and Radio-Canada are part of an effort to tie the two sides of the company closer together in order to protect English operations. She said the aim is to improve efficiency.
"The idea that we are trying to bring that sharing in closer in order to prevent an outcome is really absurd in my mind," she said.
"What we're trying to do is say, 'Do we have two different systems for doing the same thing?' If we do, let's see if we can have one system."
The question of bonuses
Last fall, Tait announced that CBC/Radio-Canada would look to cut 600 jobs and an additional 200 vacant positions as part of an effort to absorb a $125 million budget shortfall. Since then, the company has reduced its workforce by 141 employees and cut 205 vacant positions.
Those changes, along with $42 million in new federal funding in the April budget, led the company to announce there would be no "significant additional reductions this year."
A key issue in the fallout from
the job cuts announcement is the prospect that the company will pay out
bonuses this year to over a thousand non-union employees, including
senior corporation leaders. Tait referred to the bonuses as
"performance" or "incentive" pay and said it is a standard way to
structure compensation in Crown corporations.
Conservatives and others have hammered Tait for not committing to refusing her own bonus.
Tait told The House that established rules and procedures for determining performance pay for unaffiliated employees should be followed. Asked about her personal bonus, Tait said she wants to avoid setting a precedent for other governor-in-council appointees — and that cutting bonuses would not lead CBC to financial stability.
She said there is a lot of talk "about very small sums of money that don't solve long-term issues."
Choices must be made with limited resources: Tait
Tait, whose role as head of the public broadcaster will come to an end at the beginning of next year, said the CBC faces "enormous structural issues," such as declining advertising revenue and competition from major tech companies.
"But fundamentally, do I believe that the CBC and Radio-Canada still play a critical role in this country? I absolutely believe they do," she said.
Tait said she believes it's time to move away from the idea of the CBC being "everything, to all Canadians, all the time" and the company needs to decide where to allocate limited resources.
"We know that in some markets, for example, we're number one in radio, but we're not necessarily in the television news supper hour. So if we're going to be looking at where do we allocate resources … we have had the same budget for 30 years and yet we're producing and distributing a whole pile of new services.
"So we've got to make choices. Hard choices."
Tait said she welcomes a review of the CBC mandate. Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge recently named seven people to an advisory board to look at modernizing the company ahead of the next election.
Tait noted the CBC plays an important role in delivering information to people in the North and Indigenous communities, and to minority language communities.
Looking forward, she said CBC should look to be active in even more under-served communities, and that the more "present" the broadcaster is, the more likely Canadians are to appreciate its work.
"When we are present, at least there is a more ... diverse debate around how we're doing," she said.
"Give us a chance to serve you and respond to your needs."
Clarifications
- This story has been updated from a previous version to provide fuller context for a quote about "CBC bashing."May 18, 2024 9:38 AM ET
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With files from Catherine Cullen and Emma Godmere
CBC head spars with Conservative MPs as she testifies about executive bonuses
Tory MPs accuse CEO of misleading the committee about executive bonuses during a March meeting
An appearance by the CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. at a Parliamentary committee turned personal Tuesday, even before Catherine Tait faced a barrage of questions from Conservative MPs over executive bonuses.
Before Tait's testimony, the public broadcaster published a letter it had sent to the committee chair in March, which accused Conservative MPs of deliberately spreading false accusations about the company and Tait.
The same letter was handed out to media by a CBC executive prior to the meeting.
The letter said "deliberately false accusations" have been damaging to Tait's reputation and that of the CBC. It singled out Conservative MPs Kevin Waugh and Rachael Thomas for comments they had made.
Both had accused Tait of lying and misleading the committee about executive bonuses during a previous meeting.
Executive bonuses have been a focal point of the committee's work as it studies recent job cuts made within CBC/Radio-Canada.
Conservative MP for Lethbridge Rachael Thomas rises during question period on Friday, September 29, 2023 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
During one exchange with Thomas over the timing of a decision on whether executives will get a bonus this year, Tait rejected claims that she was misleading the committee.
"Either you lied on January 30 or you're lying now," Thomas said.
Tait previously told the committee a decision over bonuses would begin in March, at the end of the fiscal year. But during Tuesday's committee meeting Thomas, her party's heritage critic, took umbrage when Tait had no updates.
"I really take objection to being called a liar, which has happened several times. This is not the first time I have been called a liar by certain members of this committee," Tait said speaking to Thomas.
"This is the first time in 40 years anybody has addressed me in this way," Tait said, speaking to Thomas.
Following the meeting, Tait said there has been a lot of misinformation circulating "from certain members" but declined to say whom.
"I think you saw in the committee what happened. I think I'll go to the next question," she said.
Tait said no decisions on bonuses to executives have been made yet for the 2023-24 fiscal year, but the issue will be discussed in mid-June with the board of directors.
But Tait insisted that money is performance pay that is part of some employees' overall total compensation under existing contracts.
In December, CBC announced it was set to cut 600 jobs, would allow 200 more vacancies to go unfilled and would cut $40 million from productions. It said it would aim to head off a projected $125-million shortfall in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
But new projected revenue, including a $42 million injection from the federal government, will help the corporation manage this year without further job cuts, Tait told MPs Tuesday.
In total, the public broadcaster has eliminated 205 vacant positions and laid off 141 employees since December, she said.
'We're not out of the woods'
Twice as many managers were laid off as unionized workers, with more employees laid off within CBC, as opposed to its French arm, Radio-Canada, said Marco Dube, the company's chief transformation officer.
"But to be clear, we are not out of the woods," Tait said in her opening statement to the committee.
"You have heard it from other witnesses. All Canadian media organizations face serious challenges from a digital world ruled by global players who simply do not share the same commitment to our country's interests."
She told parliamentarians that the public broadcaster is there to keep people informed, build trust, strengthen democracy and promote local culture.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has said she wants the public broadcaster's role redefined before the next federal election, and has tapped a committee of experts to help with that.
Tait is set to remain in her role until January, and again didn't rule out a bonus for herself, which she said could come her way up to nine months after she leaves.
"I'll have to wait," she said.
CBC CEO grilled by MPs over management 'bonuses' with layoffs looming
Liberal MP says Canadians find the bonuses 'hard to stomach' in a time of layoffs
Catherine Tait, CBC/Radio-Canada's president and CEO, faced angry MPs Tuesday over the company's refusal to rule out performance pay for some managers in a year when hundreds of employees are poised to lose their jobs.
Tait said this additional pay is baked into a manager's salary — it's not like an end-of-year "bonus" that's standard in the private sector. Part of the pay is held back and only paid out if the corporation hits some preset "key performance indicators" or KPIs, Tait said.
If the company misses any of its KPIs, part of the "at-risk" management pay is withheld, as it was in the 2022-23 fiscal year when two of those indicators were not met, she said.
The KPIs are detailed in the company's annual report and they include certain metrics like audience size and reach.
Despite the political blowback, Tait told MPs on the House of Commons heritage committee that performance pay will continue for the 2023-24 year.
It will be lower than in past years because the company is expected to miss its revenue targets, she said.
"If we achieve the results of the current fiscal year, I will recommend that 1,140 unaffiliated, non-unionized employees receive their fair pay, their performance pay, if they achieve their targets," Tait said.
"We are on track to meet most of our targets. So that will mean that some portion of the corporate performance award should be awarded."
Asked by Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu if she would accept her own bonus this year, Tait ducked the question, saying it's up to the government to decide what she's paid every year.
Unlike every other CBC employee, Tait owes her job to the government of the day, which appoints her through an order-in-council. It's the cabinet that sets her pay, she said.
Tait spoke briefly to reporters after her committee appearance. She said she cannot unilaterally take her name off the list of people owed a bonus.
When asked to explain why, Tait walked away from the assembled journalists.
CBC/Radio-Canada announced in December that it expects 800 job cuts will soon be carried out — 200 of them will be unfilled job vacancies and 600 other layoffs will be split between the company's English and French language services as part of a plan to save about $125 million.
A spokesperson for the public broadcaster confirmed that some of those cuts have been enacted already.
"I can now confirm that there have been around 100 layoffs across the corporation: 50 from CBC, 40 from Radio-Canada and 10 from corporate teams," said spokesperson Leon Mar.
Tait said she's "hopeful" that not all the expected job cuts will go ahead.
If there's a meaningful rebound in the advertising market or if the government comes through with more funding, Tait said, some of the job cuts could be avoided.
CBC facing a 'structural deficit,' Tait says
She said CBC's government annual parliamentary appropriation — about $1.3 billion — has been stagnant for the last 30 years.
The corporation starts every year with a "structural deficit" of about $36 million because government funding is not tied to inflation, which has been elevated in recent years.
Because of that, the company has to cut to balance its budget, Tait said.
"As I have said many times, the public broadcaster faces chronic underfunding," Tait said.
"At $33 per Canadian — a dime a day — CBC/Radio-Canada is one of the worst-funded public broadcasters in the world, with four times less funding than the U.K. and France and eight times less than Germany. Until that situation changes, we must continue to manage with what we have and do our very best to stretch limited resources to meet our mandate."
Tait defended the concept of performance pay in principle, saying the company must stay competitive.
Pointing to exit surveys from former employees, Tait said staff turnover is driven in part by poor pay compared to what's offered by other companies and public sector employers like the federal government.
That explanation did not satisfy MPs, who said it was fundamentally unfair for managers overseeing large-scale layoffs to be awarded their usual performance pay.
"When Canadians see like $16 million going out in bonuses, it's hard to stomach, especially when they see cuts," Liberal MP Michael Coteau said.
"Usually bonuses happen when things are good. When things are good we give bonuses — but things are not good. About a third of the jobs are being cut," he said. "It's hard for us to just accept."
Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner said it's fair to pressure Tait about executive compensation "when so many journalists and people who do the real work that Canadians are counting on are facing the uncertainty and the instability."
Tait said the bonus payout in 2022-23 was $14.9 million (not the $16 million figure that's been widely cited) and it's a relatively small amount compared to the approximately $900 million it pays out every year in salaries for all employees.
"I can understand people's concerns," Tait said. "It's an extremely small number and we need to keep our talented managers — it's not just journalists, although we absolutely honour and support their work."
"Given the cuts, can you assure Canadians you will not be continuing that performance pay?" NDP MP Peter Julian asked.
"I cannot reassure you of what you what you're looking for," she said.
When pressed by Coteau, Tait said she would consider asking the company's board of directors to review performance pay for the 2024-25 fiscal year, when most of the cuts will be carried out.
'Everything is on the table,' Tait says
While Tait presents recommendations to the board on how much should go to managers, it's ultimately the board that makes the final call, she said.
"I've publicly said that everything is on the table. Everything is on the table. We will consider all of our options, yes," Tait said.
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas questioned how Tait could justify bonuses when ratings reports suggest there's been a drop in CBC TV's audience share, with fewer eyeballs on the company's entertainment, sports and journalism programming in English Canada in particular.
"Most Canadians don't even see half of that in a bonus, not even a quarter of that in a year," Thomas said.
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas accused Tait of 'playing the poor-me card.' (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Tait said it's not fair to look at conventional TV ratings alone — she said the company's programming has generated large audiences on digital platforms like CBC Gem, the company's own streaming platform, and third-party services like YouTube.
Barbara Williams, CBC's vice-president of English services, pointed to recent ratings for the company's flagship newscast, The National.
About 300,000 people watch that show on CBC TV and roughly 200,000 watch on CBC News Network on any given night, Williams said.
A portion of the program is watched by another 400,000 viewers on YouTube every day, she said.
Tens of thousands of people also watch the show on Gem and CBC News Explore, the company's free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) product.
"We're a growing, relevant service," Williams said.
"If you're measuring viewership — you have to look at the totality of the experience," Tait said.
She said it's "nothing short of a miracle" that the CBC serves the country in two official and eight Indigenous languages across six time zones on digital, TV and radio platforms with its current "limited" budget.
Thomas said Tait was "playing the poor-me card."
"Every other media outlet in this country doesn't start off with 1.4 billion taxpayer dollars at the start of the year," Thomas said.
Corrections
- This story has been updated from a previous version that incorrectly attributed a comment about executive compensation to Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed. In fact, the comment was made by Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner.Jan 31, 2024 5:36 PM ET
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