OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation calls on CBC President Catherine Tait to commit to ending bonuses at the public broadcaster during her committee appearance today. 

“You should go after the fat cats before you go after the little cats,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “What kind of message is Tait sending if she isn’t willing to end taxpayer-funded bonuses while laying off hundreds of staff and begging for even bigger subsidies from taxpayers?”

Today the Canadian Heritage parliamentary committee will “cross-examine” Tait “over her comments on potential job cuts” and her “unwillingness to commit to pausing planned bonuses for senior executives,” as reported by iPolitics. The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

Weeks before Christmas, Tait announced the CBC would lay off hundreds of staffers. She later refused to rule out bonuses for 2023, despite the layoffs. 

The CTF first discovered the CBC paid out $16 million in bonuses in 2022, and $99 million in bonuses since 2015.

Tait’s annual compensation is between $472,900 and $623,900, according to the CBC’s 2023 senior management compensation summary. This includes salary, bonus and other benefits. 

In 2014, Tait’s predecessor, Hubert Lacroix, told a Senate committee his annual bonus was “around 20 per cent.”  

“Tait should do the right thing, take a pay cut and cancel the bonuses at the CBC,” Terrazzano said. “If Tait isn’t willing to let go of her bonus, then Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge needs to step in and cut CBC bonuses and executive pay.”

The CBC takes more than $1.2 billion in direct subsidies from taxpayers ever year.