Catherine Tait, President and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) waits to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
OTTAWA – The president of CBC and Radio-Canada is set to testify on Parliament Hill today following the public broadcaster’s recent announcement that it would cut 10 per cent of its workforce.
Catherine Tait is scheduled to appear before a House of Commons committee this afternoon, where MPs are expected to grill her on the cuts – and whether executives are still receiving bonuses.
The committee agreed in a report before Tait’s appearance that it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant executive bonuses in light of the looming cuts.
But members of Parliament have no sway over how the independent broadcaster spends its money.
It said last month that it planned to cut 600 jobs and allow 200 vacancies to go unfilled over the next year, as the public broadcaster grapples with a $125-million budget shortfall.
CBC documents that were previously released under access-to-information law show more than $99 million in bonuses was awarded to employees at the public broadcaster between 2015 and 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2024.
