As CBC layoffs loom, ‘inappropriate’ bonuses in centre stage. How much are they?
Amid plans by CBC to cut 10 per cent of its workforce, the House of Commons heritage committee on Tuesday said it would be “inappropriate for the CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.”
That comes after the committee last week called the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s president and CEO Catherine Tait — who could make more than $120,000 in bonuses on top of her six-figure salary, according to CBC documents — to appear as a witness in the new year.
Tait and the CBC have faced scrutiny since the corporation, which receives about $1.3 billion in annual funding from the Canadian government, announced plans to cut 600 jobs and not fill 200 vacancies over the next year to help make up a $125-million shortfall.
When CBC News anchor Adrienne Arsenault asked Tait last week if executives would still get their bonuses despite the cuts, Tait said it was too early to say.
“We’ll be looking at that, like we do all our line items in the coming months,” she said in the interview.
The House of Commons heritage committee unanimously agreed on Thursday to question Tait about the cuts and potential bonuses. The committee summoned her to appear at its first meeting in the new year following the holiday recess, though it has not yet set a date.
The committee’s decision has put the spotlight on the public broadcaster’s potential layoffs and bonuses. So who gets bonuses, and how much can they get?
A CBC payment summary shows the executive team all make at least a quarter of a million dollars in salary — and can earn tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses on top of that.
A combination of public CBC and federal documents shows the range of the executive team’s salaries and bonuses.
The order-in-council re-appointing Tait
Read more on globalnews.ca
