Federal government refuses to say if it approved bonus for CBC CEO Catherine Tait

The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., as Opposition Conservatives demand answers and New Democrats call for a ban on such bonuses.

It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for Catherine Tait following a review of her performance and a recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.

CBC deferred questions to the federal government. Canadian Heritage, which oversees the Crown corporation, deferred questions to the Privy Council Office, which supports cabinet and the prime minister.

Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office said it cannot disclose details, even though some of that information from past years has been made public.

In May, Tait told the House heritage committee that she last received a bonus for fiscal year 2021-22 and that she had not yet received performance pay for fiscal year 2022-23 — information that's also available on the CBC website.

Tait's salary range is between $468,900 and $551,600 and the government sets her bonus — which she receives if she meets certain criteria — at between seven per cent and 28 per cent of her salary.

Opposition Conservatives want Tait to return to the committee and provide answers on bonuses.

The CBC/Radio-Canada 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 after the broadcaster eliminated hundreds of jobs.

The Privy Council Office wouldn't say if the board had recommended a bonus for Tait, or if the federal government gave its stamp of approval.

"Clearly, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government are content to give CBC executives and their handpicked CEO huge multimillion-dollar taxpayer funded bonuses amid dwindling viewership and increasing irrelevancy so long as they remain good servants to their masters and continue to act as the propaganda arm of the Liberal Party," said heritage critic Rachael Thomas in a media statement on Wednesday.

CBC's editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.

Twice in the last year, Tait has been called to the heritage committee to answer for cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada. She was interrogated by MPs over whether she would accept a bonus for the fiscal year that ended March 31.

The New Democrats didn't say if they want Tait to return to the Canadian Heritage committee, but accused Liberals of failing to protect jobs at the public broadcaster and "rein in the greed from CBC executives."

They also swiped at the Conservatives, saying that while the Tories want to defund CBC, the NDP would improve it.

"Our public broadcaster provides an invaluable service to Canadians. They're also accountable to Canadians," said NDP heritage critic Niki Ashton in a media statement.

"Therefore, it's time to ban the CBC from paying executive bonuses and use that money to save local journalism."

In June, the broadcaster's board publicly acknowledged the negative optics of giving out bonuses during the same fiscal year that it made cuts, and has since launched a review of its compensation regime for future years.

Between December 2023 and March 31, when the last fiscal year ended, CBC/Radio-Canada eliminated 346 jobs from the organization by laying off 141 employees and eliminating 205 vacant positions.

Members of the committee unanimously concluded in a report to the House of Commons earlier this year that, given the job cuts, it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.