CBC paid more than $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after eliminating hundreds of jobs

CBC President and Chief Executive Officer Catherine Tait and CBC Chief Transformation Officer and Executive Vice-President Marco Dube wait to appear at the Heritage Committee in Ottawa on May 7, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle)

OTTAWA -

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. paid $18.4 million in bonuses this year after hundreds of jobs at the public broadcaster were eliminated. 

Documents obtained through access-to-information laws show CBC/Radio-Canada paid out bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

More than $3.3 million of that was paid to 45 executives. 

That means those executives got an average bonus of over $73,000, which is more than the median family income after taxes in 2022, according to Statistics Canada. 

More than $10.4 million was paid out to 631 managers, and over $4.6 million was paid to 518 other employees. 

The Conservatives said the bonuses are "beyond insulting and frankly sickening," adding they come at a time when many Canadians are starving and facing homelessness. 

This year's amount is an increase from the $14.9 million paid out to 1,143 employees in the 2022-23 fiscal year. 

The board approved this year's bonuses in June, but it had been refusing to disclose how much was paid out. 

Members of Parliament have been asking for the figure since last December, when CBC announced it would be laying off employees to help balance its budget.

Ultimately, 141 employees were laid off and 205 vacant positions were eliminated at CBC/Radio-Canada. 

The public broadcaster has said the money is performance pay and counts toward some employees' total compensation, as stipulated by contracts that promise payouts when certain company goals are met.

Government departments, Crown corporations and most private companies use performance pay, also called "at-risk pay," as a portion of compensation for non-union employees to help ensure delivery on specific targets, a spokesman for CBC said in a statement Monday.

"While the term 'bonuses' has been used to describe performance pay, it is in fact a contractual obligation owing to eligible employees," said spokesman Leon Mar.

In May, CEO Catherine Tait said it brings her "great frustration" that MPs refer to the payouts as a "bonus."

Nonetheless, the broadcaster's board publicly acknowledged the negative optics of giving out bonuses during the same fiscal year that it made cuts, and has since launched a review of its compensation regime for future years.

Tait was called twice to the House of Commons heritage committee in the last year to answer for cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada, and was interrogated by MPs over whether she would accept a bonus for the fiscal year that ended March 31. 

It remains unclear if Tait is among those who received a bonus. 

It's up to the Liberal government, not the board of directors, to approve any bonus for the CEO, unlike other CBC employees. 

"It is the height of smugness to see the CBC has awarded itself $18 million in bonuses with the $1.4 billion a year they receive from taxpayers to act as the mouthpiece for the Liberal party," Conservative MP and Opposition heritage critic Rachael Thomas said in a statement.

Thomas said CBC is "not worth the cost," while repeating the Conservative promise to defund the public broadcaster and pledging to "turn the CBC headquarters into beautiful homes for Canadian families."

The CBC's editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.

MPs on the Heritage committee unanimously concluded in a report to the House earlier this year that given the job cuts, it would be inappropriate for CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.

The public broadcaster has said its financial situation is looking better because of the recent layoffs, cuts to operational costs and an extra $42-million injection from this year's federal budget. 

Tait told the heritage committee in May that the estimated $125-million shortfall for 2024-25 had shrunk to $20 million. 

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge's office said in a statement that she has undertaken a mandate review looking at the CBC's governance, financing and mission. 

"Canadians expect rigorous management of public money from this vital institution," a spokesperson said 

"A majority of Canadians want a strong public broadcaster that connects us from coast to coast to coast — and we all know it can be even better."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.