CBC boss refuses to say if exec bonuses will be scrapped amid hundreds of job cuts
CBC president Catherine Tait is in hot water after CBC News anchor Adrienne Arsenault confronted her with a pointed question on air.
Tait sat down for an interview with Arsenault on The National on Monday, hours after CBC/Radio-Canada announced that it plans to lay off 600 employees nationwide at the beginning of the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
A clip from that interview has gone viral after being shared on X. In it, Arsenault asks the CEO if there will be bonuses doled out this year.
“I’m just curious about something, I’m going to presume no bonuses this year?” asked the anchor.
“I mean, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said a freedom of information request showed $16 million were paid in bonuses in 2022. Can we establish that that is not happening this year?”
Arsenault is referring to this report from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). It revealed that last year, CBC management issued bonuses to 1,142 employees, for an average of $14,056 per staffer and a total cost of $16,052,148.
Tait appears to be shaken up by the question and doesn’t give a straight answer.
“It’s too early to say where we are for this year, we’ll be looking at that like we do all our line items in the coming months,” she replies.
“So, there’s a chance bonuses could still happen at a time when jobs are being cut?” Arsenault clarifies.
“Again, I’m not going to comment on something that hasn’t been discussed at this point,” answers the CEO.
Many are praising the anchor for asking the difficult question.
“Adrienne Arsenault almost made CBC CEO Catherine Tait swallow her tongue with her brilliant question about Christmas bonuses,” posted one X user.
Adrienne Arsenault almost made CBC CEO Catherine Tait swallow her tongue with her brilliant question about Christmas bonuses. pic.twitter.com/IclspMPLri
— Matt (@Constantinoplis) December 5, 2023
“Say what you will about the CBC, but no other news outlet would let one of their employees publicly ask their CEO a difficult question like this and then let them drown in their own words,” added another.
Say what you will about the CBC, but no other news outlet would let one of their employees publicly ask their CEO a difficult question like this and then let them drown in their own words. https://t.co/kGMnfx5moj
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) December 5, 2023
If a journalist from The CBC getting the CEO of The CBC to admit to bonuses when people are being laid off isn’t good journalism, that is in the best interest of Canadians, I don’t know what is.
— Roddy (@RodKahx) December 6, 2023
Others questioned whether Tait cares about the future of Canada’s national broadcaster.
I’ve worked in many small and northern communities across Canada where the CBC is a lifeline for local news.
It can both be true that CBC is necessary in Canada and that it has been horrendously managed over the course of the past five years.
If Catherine Tait cared about the… https://t.co/XwQWJmA4zK
— Jennifer Keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) December 5, 2023
Tait told employees about the mass layoffs during a meeting on Monday.
The layoffs will impact union members (85%) and non-union workers (15%) across the organization.
At least 250 positions will be eliminated on the French-speaking side of the broadcaster, according to a statement issued on Monday.
The corporation faces budget cuts of $125 million, stating that the cuts are due to inflation, “fierce competition from digital giants,” and dwindling television ad revenue.
With files from Irish Mae Silvestre