CBC president and CEO Catherine Tait waits to appear at the Heritage Committee, in Ottawa, on May 7.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
The Liberal government said it has not yet made a decision about whether it will grant a bonus for the head of CBC after the public broadcaster eliminated hundreds of jobs.
But because of the Privacy Act, it will likely be up to CEO Catherine Tait to publicly disclose if she does receive one. She previously confirmed she did accept performance pay for the 2021-22 fiscal year at a House of Commons committee meeting.
Heritage Canada confirmed the government is still deciding on a bonus for 2023-24, while CBC said Friday a decision hasn’t been made regarding a potential bonus for 2022-23.
The Opposition Conservatives have been seeking support from other parties to back their call to bring Tait back to committee to answer questions.
“If (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau isn’t planning to give his CEO of the CBC a massive taxpayer-funded bonus then he can clearly say so,” said Rachael Thomas, the Conservative critic for Canadian Heritage in a statement.
“The Liberals’ refusal to say as much tells you everything you need to know – that despite Catherine Tait’s many failures, the Liberals intend to give their hand-picked head of the CBC a fat bonus for faithfully acting as the Liberal propaganda machine.”
The CBC’s editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.
CBC/Radio-Canada’s 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.
More than $3.3 million of that was paid to 45 executives.
So far, no other parties have joined the Conservatives’ request, even though MPs on the committee unanimously agreed earlier this year that given the job cuts it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant bonuses to executive members after making job cuts.
“A lot can happen between now and the return in committee, so I can’t tell you what my position will be when a motion to invite Ms. Tait will be debated,” said Bloc Quebecois MP Martin Champoux, who sits on the Heritage committee, in a statement.
“For now, I urge the Liberals to disclose whether or not they approved Ms. Tait’s bonus and to request justifications from CBC-RC’s board.”
New Democrats didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment on whether they want Tait to testify at committee.
A spokesperson for Trudeau declined to comment on the bonuses.
Canadian Heritage declined to speak to The Canadian Press on the record this week and initially referred all questions to the Privy Council Office, including whether a decision had been made about Tait’s bonus for this last fiscal year.
The department said it couldn’t answer any question related to Tait’s bonus due privacy laws.
On Friday, Canadian Heritage changed direction by confirming it is still mulling over the decision to approve performance pay for Tait, but cited privacy laws again to say that its decision would not be made public.
It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for Tait following a review of her performance and recommendations by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.
“For vital institutions like this, it’s crucial to carefully review the board’s recommendations and collaborate 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 we need to get board evaluation processes right, while ensuring the government follows human resources best practices and meets strict privacy law requirements.” Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge was not made available for an interview.
In May, Tait told the House heritage committee that she last received a bonus for the fiscal year 2021-22, and that she had not yet received performance pay for the fiscal year 2022-23.
Tait’s salary range is between $468,900 and $551,600, with the government setting her bonus between seven per cent to 28 per cent of her salary, if she meets certain performance targets.
Canadian Heritage would not say if she has met the targets.
“The Liberals are desperate to avoid telling struggling Canadians they are going to be stuck paying her $149k bonus this year, on top of her base salary of approximately half a million dollars,” said Thomas.
“Clearly even the Liberals know this is indefensible, given they are avoiding giving an answer.”