The number of CBC employees who earn six-figure salaries spiked over the past decade, according to newly unearthed documents.
Records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) via an access to information request found that of the national broadcaster’s 7,477 employees, 1,450 earn annual salaries above $100,000 — a more than 230% increase since 2015.
“The CBC has been raking in big paycheques and bonuses while the taxpayers footing the bills have been struggling,” CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano said.
“Is anyone in government going to step in, stick up for taxpayers and put an end to the CBC gravy train?”
The number earning above $100,000 is up significantly from previous years.
During fiscal year 2015-16, the year the Trudeau Liberals took power, only 438 CBC employees were in the six-figure salary club.
That number increased modestly to 467 in 2016-17, seeing increasingly larger numbers as the years went on.
A February 2023 report in the National Post put the number of six-figure CBC employees at 949.
This news comes just days after it was revealed CBC paid bonuses to 1,194 employees during fiscal year 2023-24, with more than $3.3 million paid to 45 executives — an average of $73,000 per person, more than Canada’s median net income in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
A report published earlier this year by Blacklock’s Reporter found that CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tate — who earns $497,000 annually — ran up more than $119,000 in expenses between 2021 and 2023 — a time period where CBC leadership were appealing for more money due to pandemic-related shortfalls.
The issue of executive bonuses at Canada’s national broadcaster came to a head earlier this year, shortly after CBC announced the elimination of nearly 800 jobs in late 2023.
“For the record, CBC/Radio-Canada does not award so-called bonuses,” Tait told the House of Commons Heritage Committee in March.
“What we have, like every other Crown corporation, is at-risk or performance pay, which is a key part of the total compensation for our non-union staff.”
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