CBC approves bonuses despite layoffs, will review performance pay policy

The board of directors of CBC and Radio-Canada has approved paying bonuses to some employees for work done in the last fiscal year, despite MPs saying it would be inappropriate after hundreds of jobs were cut.

The decision was published on the public broadcaster’s website last month, following a board meeting.

The CBC did not disclose how much money was paid to the 1,194 eligible employees for the 2023-24 tax year. CBC spokesman Leon Mar said in a statement that the disclosure was part of “internal financial operations.”

The public broadcaster said the money was a performance bonus and counted towards some employees’ total pay, in line with contractual provisions that guarantee payments if certain company targets are met.

Despite this, the company’s management admitted that the granting of the bonus for the same fiscal year in which 141 employees were laid off and 205 vacancies were eliminated was a sham.

“The board and senior management recognize the views expressed by some that performance bonuses should not be awarded at CBC/Radio-Canada at a time of financial pressures and related workforce reductions,” the board said in a June 25 letter.

In this context, the Management Board announced that it will initiate a review of its remuneration system, including performance bonuses, for future years.

“The review will be conducted by an external human resources consulting firm and recommendations to the board will be made public,” the board said.

Following the announcement of job cuts at the public broadcaster, director general Catherine Tait was forced to answer questions at two parliamentary committee hearings about whether bonuses would be paid for the financial year ending March 31.

In December, the CBC said it planned to lay off 600 workers, eliminate 200 vacancies and cut production costs by $40 million to cope with a then-projected $125 million deficit.

Tait was summoned before the House of Commons Heritage Select Committee to answer allegations of budget cuts and was also questioned about accepting a bonus for the tax year ending March 31.

Mar, the CBC spokesman, said Tait herself does not receive a bonus under the program. Instead, her performance pay is set by the federal government, “after a performance review and recommendation” from the CBC board.

He said Tait has not yet “received performance fees for the 2022-23 fiscal year and has no idea of ​​the amount. The same is true for 2023-24”.

MPs on the committee said in a report to the House that, given the job cuts, it would not be appropriate for the CBC to award bonuses to board members.

The public broadcaster said its financial situation was improving thanks to recent layoffs, operating cost cuts and an extra $42 million in this year’s federal budget.

In May, Tait told the cultural heritage commission that the estimated $125 million shortfall for 2024-25 had been reduced to $20 million.

Conservative critic Rachael Thomas said Tait “continues to find ways to pay large taxpayer-funded bonuses to staff, executives and himself” for what she called “the Liberal Party’s reliable propaganda arm”.

In a statement Monday, she said the CEO “gave millions in bonuses to executives while they made cuts to radio and television and laid off staff due to declining ratings and a diminishing appeal to Canadian audiences.”

The CBC’s editorial independence from the government is guaranteed by law.

The CBC has released information about bonuses awarded under the Freedom of Information Act in previous years, including 2022-2023, when $14.9 million was paid to eligible employees.

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