During a tense session of the House of Commons heritage committee, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic faced tough questions from angry Members of Parliament (MPs) from all political parties. Bibic appeared virtually and did not make the trip to Ottawa.
Bell, which recently announced it would cut approximately 4,800 positions, including slashing several TV newscasts, and the sale of 45 of its 103 radio stations in February, was criticized for its executive compensation policies amidst these cuts.
“The idea you saw fit to take substantial bonuses and equity packages at a time your workers, employees and journalists could have had their jobs saved is a bit disappointing,” said Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed. He pointed out the longstanding support Bell has received from Canadians, implying a betrayal of that trust, reports the Canadian Press.
Echoing Noormohamed’s sentiment, Conservative heritage critic Rachael Thomas blasted Bell for laying off workers despite being a $40 billion enterprise that has benefited from government subsidies. “It’s really rich,” said Thomas, also accusing Bibic of dodging her questions, which she said made him appear “shady.”
You can check out some of the questions asked and answers below from X:
DEI policies are a smokescreen used by big businesses like Bell Canada to create a fake sense of compassion and progress.
Bell Media CEO Mirko Bibic proved this in his responses to my questions today. pic.twitter.com/y1fwKar7aB
— Jamil Jivani (@jamiljivani) April 12, 2024
I had a heated exchange with Bell Media President and CEO, Mirko Bibic today. The Liberal government gave Millions to Bell Media and then Bell goes and unnecessarily kills off local journalism and spends Billions in American programming.#skpoli #cdnpoli #cdnpolitics #yxe pic.twitter.com/ddwatZezHR
— Kevin Waugh (@KevinWaugh_CPC) April 11, 2024
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also joined the fray, accusing Bibic of prioritizing corporate greed over the financial well-being of Canadian consumers, particularly in the context of cellphone fees. “Choosing greed” was how Singh described Bibic’s actions.
In his defense, Bibic pointed to the broader context of the media industry’s struggles, claiming productivity challenges, inflation, and regulatory hurdles, particularly delays in the implementation of the federal Online Streaming Act. This legislation is supposed to equalize the regulatory burden between traditional broadcasters and streaming giants, from which Bell is expected to gain. You can see Bibic is referring to notes and supposed talking points in his answers.
Bibic described the Canadian media ecosystem as being in a state of crisis, driven by technological disruptions, changing consumer habits, and intense competition from international online platforms not bound by Canadian regulatory frameworks.
As for what’s next, it’s unclear if MPs will be able to force Bell to reverse the job cuts. The union Unifor has been protesting Bell’s job cuts that affected its membership, using a “Shame on Bell” campaign. Bell fired back at Unifor pointing out “facts matter”.
