Federal government won’t say if it approved CBC head’s bonus

The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., as Opposition Conservatives demand answers and New Democrats call for a ban on bonuses.

It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for Catherine Tait following a review of her performance and recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.

CBC deferred questions to the federal government. Canadian Heritage, which oversees the Crown corporation, then deferred questions to the Privy Council Office, which supports cabinet and the prime minister.

Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office said it cannot disclose details, even though some of that information from past years has been made public.

In May, Tait told the House heritage committee that she last received a bonus for the fiscal year 2021-22, and that she had not yet received performance pay for the fiscal year 2022-23, information that’s also available on the CBC website.

Tait’s salary range is between $468,900 and $551,600, with the government setting her bonus between seven per cent to 28 per cent of her salary, if she meets certain criteria.

Opposition Conservatives want Tait to return to the parliamentary hot seat and provide answers around bonuses.

The CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors recently approved over $18.4 million in bonuses for nearly 1,200 employees, managers and executives for the 2023-24 fiscal year after it eliminated hundreds of jobs.

The Privy Council Office wouldn’t say if the board had recommended a bonus for Tait, or if the federal government gave a stamp of approval.

“Clearly, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government are content to give CBC executives and their handpicked CEO huge