The CBC is under scrutiny for issuing $14.9 million in bonuses in 2023, as revealed by access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) earlier this week.
This move follows a December 2023 announcement by the CBC of impending layoffs affecting numerous employees, due to a $125 million budget shortfall.
“CBC President Catherine Tait is wrong to hand out bonuses while announcing hundreds of job losses and begging the government for more taxpayer cash,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director, in a statement. He urged Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to halt these bonuses.
In 2023 alone, 1,143 CBC staff members received bonuses, totalling nearly $14.9 million. But since records obtained were only up to date as of October 26, 2023, the final number for the year could be even higher. Since 2015, the CBC has doled out a total of $114 million in bonuses.
Tait previously defended the bonuses, telling a parliamentary committee in January, “[Bonus] pay… is a key part of the total compensation of our non-union staff, about 1,140 employees.”
In addition to the bonuses, CBC also gave out $11.5 million in raises for the 2023-24 fiscal year for 6,575 employees, or 87% of its workforce, as per records obtained by the CTF. Records show there were no pay cuts. Since 2015, the CBC has approved $97 million in pay raises.
Obtained records also show a significant increase in the number of CBC employees earning six-figure salaries, now at 1,450. This number has surged by 231% since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office in 2015.
Following Tait’s claims of “chronic underfunding” at a committee appearance, the federal government announced an increase in CBC funding by $96.1 million. Consequently, the CBC will receive $1.4 billion in taxpayer funding for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
As for Tait’s compensation, it ranges between $472,900 and $623,900 annually, as per the CBC’s senior management compensation summary. This range is inclusive of her salary, bonus, and other benefits,
“Tait should be taking a pay cut and ending bonuses. It’s time for the government to end the taxpayer-funded bonuses at the CBC,” said Terrazzano.
