CBC’s president refuses to rule out taking bonuses in the two most recent fiscal years

CBC president and chief executive Catherine Tait today refused to rule out accepting personal bonuses for the past two fiscal years if they are approved by the Privy Council Office.

Speaking before the House of Commons heritage committee, Tait said Canadians expect CBC to honor its commitments to non-union managers and executives if they meet key performance indicators.

This is the third time Tait has been called before the heritage committee to answer questions about bonuses during a year in which CBC cut 141 jobs and eliminated another 205 vacancies.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly promised that a government led by him would defund the CBC, although he has pledged to preserve parts of Radio-Canada, the company’s French service.

“You are coming to the end of your term, earning more than the prime minister of this country, and today you refuse to rule out that you will receive bonuses or so-called performance pay or a severance package at the end of your mandate,” Tory MP and committee member Damien Kurek said in an exchange with Tait.

“As I said, I consider it a personal matter,” Tait replied.

WATCH: CBC CEO won’t rule out getting bonus

Catherine Tait won’t rule out getting a bonus after she leaves CBC/Radio-Canada

Speaking before a parliamentary committee Monday, Conservative MP Damien Kurek asked CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait if she would refuse a bonus after her term ends in January 2025.

Tait’s salary range is $468,900 to $551,600, but if he meets certain criteria, he can earn another 7 to 28 percent of his salary in bonus. You are not entitled to severance pay.

Tait has repeatedly defended the CBC’s salary structure. He said executives and managers at the public broadcaster are paid about half of what their private sector counterparts can earn.

“I honestly think it’s extremely important to the future of the organization to be able to pay its senior executives and its non-union employees fairly,” he told reporters after the hearing.

WATCH: Tait rejects CBC ‘narrative’ of defunding

The sooner the defund-CBC ‘narrative’ is closed, the better, says Catherine Tait

Outgoing CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait said the current “narrative” about the CBC’s defunding being peddled by some is more damaging to the public broadcaster’s reputation and morale than the issue of performance bonuses.

During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, more than $18 million in bonuses were paid to 1,180 non-union CBC employees.

The federal government said in August it had not made a decision on whether to give Tait a bonus for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, adding that because of privacy law, it will be up to Tait to publicly disclose if it receives one.

Tait told MPs he has not received a bonus so far this year. He could also receive a bonus for the 2023-2024 tax year.

Tait will step down on January 3, 2025. His replacement has already been chosen.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge is expected to announce changes to modernize the public broadcaster in the coming weeks.

Earlier this month, a senior government official told CBC News that the government was in the final stages the drafting of legislative and regulatory changes for the public broadcaster.

The CBC’s current mandate is set out in law in the Broadcasting Act. It was created in 1991 and has not been updated since the advent of the Internet.