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CBC boss says no need for 800 job cuts, rules out merger with Radio-
Canada
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Open this photo in gallery:
CBC Chief Transformation Officer and Executive Vice-President Marco
Dube and CBC President and Chief Executive Officer Catherine Tait wait
to appear at the Heritage Committee in Ottawa on May 7.PATRICK
DOYLE/The Canadian Press
CBC boss Catherine Tait says the public broadcaster will not press
ahead with the 800 job cuts it warned of last year because its
financial outlook has improved after the federal budget provided an
additional $42-million in funding.
She also would not rule out granting executive bonuses this year - a
decision she said would be made at a board meeting next month.
Speaking to the Commons heritage committee, the chief executive
officer and president of CBC/Radio-Canada said the public broadcaster
is not yet "out of the woods" financially.
To compete with digital giants, she said, the broadcaster is looking
at sharing some resources between CBC and Radio-Canada, such as
equipment, production and distribution. However, she said there would
be no merger of CBC and Radio-Canada, including of their content.
Ms. Tait prompted an outcry in December when, on the day the
broadcaster announced 800 job cuts to address a $125-million
shortfall, she told its newscast that it was too early to say if
executive bonuses would be cut.
Ms. Tait told the committee Tuesday **** that the estimated shortfall
of $125-million has now been reduced to about $20-million for the
fiscal year, partly because of the $42-million cash injection by the
federal government in the budget. She said there is now no need for
"significant jobs cuts relating to balancing our books."
The CBC has cut 346 jobs since forecasting a financial shortfall in
December.
Ms. Tait added that about 500 jobs are naturally reduced each year at
the corporation through staff who retire and leave the broadcaster.
Facing questions from the Conservatives, Ms. Tait did not rule out
executive bonuses, saying that the decision would be made at next
month's board meeting, after reviewing financial data from the fiscal
year that ended at the end of March.
She said performance pay was part of employees' remuneration packages
and also helped motivate CBC staff.
Ms. Tait's bonus, unlike that of most staff, would have to be approved
by the government, she said.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail in December, Heritage Minister
Pascale St-Onge said Ms. Tait "needs to be transparent" about whether
she is going to give out the bonuses or not.
Ms. Tait told the committee the corporation is not "tone-deaf" and has
heard the criticism, saying it had asked an outside remuneration
consultant to examine other models for performance pay.
She was asked about a Conservative threat to defund the CBC while
protecting French services. She denied that she is considering saving
the CBC by linking it to Radio-Canada more closely.
Marco Dubé, chief transformation officer and executive vice-president,
people and culture, said combining the programming of CBC and Radio-
Canada was not being looked at, but aligning resources, such as
technology, could be an option.
He said it would be too early to say what the public broadcaster's
board would be looking at this fall, but said there are ways that CBC
and Radio-Canada could work more closely and share resources.
Ms. Tait said the CBC and other Canadian media organizations are
facing stiff competition from digital giants such as Netflix and
Amazon, which face fewer regulations.
She said the CBC is focusing on its digital audience, including on CBC
Gem, saying more and more Canadians are shifting to watching online.
"The future is digital. We are moving to an entirely digital world,"
she said, adding that in English Canada "the shift to digital is
already well on its way."
Ms. St-Onge has begun looking for a replacement for Ms. Tait, who has
been at the helm of CBC since 2018. Former heritage minister Pablo
Rodriguez extended Ms. Tait's contract earlier this year for an extra
18 months until January, 2025.
**Editor's note:** A previous version of this article incorrectly
stated that the search for a replacement for Catherine Tait will begin
in the new year. The search is already underway. This version has been
updated. May 9, 2024: This article was updated to add that the CBC has
cut 346 jobs since forecasting a financial shortfall in December.
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