The CBC has always seemed like a novel scam, whereby Ottawa takes our hard-earned money and uses it to sell us on the benefits of more socialism.
But when news broke over the summer that the public broadcaster doled out $18.4 million in bonuses last year, the same year in which it eliminated 141 jobs and went cap-in-hand to the Liberals asking for money to cover its $125-million shortfall, it became apparent that the CBC’s top brass could at best be described as champaign socialists — at worst, grifters who have grown fat gorging at the public trough.
On Monday, outgoing CBC president Catherine Tait was called to testify in front of the House of Commons heritage committee to explain the actions of the Crown corporation. And oh boy, was she unhappy about it.
Rather than taking questions about how public tax dollars are being spent seriously, Tait charged that, “There is a clear effort on the part of members of this committee to vilify and to discredit me and to discredit the organization.”
She’s not entirely wrong, as the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre are finally starting to question whether it’s worth paying over $1.4 billion a year to produce biased journalism and shows no one actually wants to watch. And Tait is the perfect target, not only because she is the public face of the CBC, but because she epitomizes the entitled, elitist mentality that pervades Ottawa these days.
Appointed to the role by the federal Liberals in 2018, Tait is the woman who the CBC assures us definitely does not live in New York (as was reported by Canadaland in 2020), but does not deny that she owns a $5.4-million house there.
She certainly doesn’t have a home in Paris, as she billed the corporation for a $1,000-a-night hotel room during the Summer Olympics. That sounds bad, until you compare it to the $6,000-a-night suite that her boss, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, rented while attending the Queen’s funeral in London.
Neither of them needs to force taxpayers to shell out for their fancy digs, as they both earn significantly more than the average Canuck. But Canadians may be surprised to learn that Tait rakes in between $468,900 and $551,600 a year — well over the $400,000 that the prime minister brings home. And bonuses can increase her salary by upwards of 28 per cent.
Would she be willing to forgo her bonuses given that Mother Corp was only able to make up its financial losses by firing staff and further pilfering the public treasury? Of course not. Tait told MPs that any money she’s entitled to from bonuses and severance pay when her term ends in January is “a personal matter.” In other words: how dare you ask me to give up my golden parachute!
As for the bonuses, Tait defended them as an “incentive” based on employee “performance.” Granted, the corporation is likely contractually obligated to pay many of them. But that doesn’t mean they’re defensible.
Bonuses often make sense for private corporations that need to compete for the best and the brightest talent. If used properly, they can incentivize executives to increase productivity and improve the company’s overall financial health.
The CBC competes for talent in the same labour market, but let’s face it: the corporation’s executives are not exactly captains of industry. They run an organization that doesn’t have to worry about turning a profit, because it’s backstopped by the federal government. They don’t have to concern themselves with whether Canadians want to consume their content, they just have to ensure it’s made in Canada and checks enough woke diversity boxes.
And when called to testify in front of their political masters to explain how they’re using public funds, they complain about how unfairly they’re being treated. On Monday, Tait complained that the questions she received were not “very welcoming or fair,” that the campaign to defund CBC was “highly demoralizing” and that it is being pushed by people who “do not believe in the value of public broadcasting.”
Maybe that’s because its own president seems unable to extol the virtues of a state broadcaster. Tait cited the potential for 3,500 job losses, but that is not at all a given if the CBC is sold to people who know how to run a profitable enterprise. And either way, the broadcaster should be more than a make-work project for lefty filmmakers and journalists.
She discussed the number of Canadians who tuned into the CBC’s Olympics coverage, but this is an event that is handled just fine by private broadcasters in other countries — and even in this country, when CTV was granted the rights to broadcast the 2010 Games.
Tait also claimed that losing the public broadcaster would reduce access to amateur sports and music. But if these competitions and bands are things Canadians actually want to watch and listen to, they will be aired by private broadcasters and streamers. If not, then what’s the point? There’s no reason why taxpayers should be forced to shell out millions of dollars to air events that only and handful of people are interested in watching.
In January, Tait will be replaced by Marie-Philippe Bouchard, whose appointment was announced on Tuesday. With any luck, she will be the last person to oversee such a bloated behemoth of a public broadcaster.
National Post
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