Incoming CBC boss says debate ‘healthy’ and will look at compensation

Article content

OTTAWA — When Marie-Philippe Bouchard was first approached to put her name in the race to become the next president of CBC/Radio-Canada, she declined.

Article content

Article content

The Quebec television executive, who spent 29 years at the CBC before leaving to become CEO of TV5 in 2016, said she instead volunteered to be part of the committee tasked with advising the Heritage Minister Canadian, Pascale St-Onge, on developing a new mandate for the network. public station almost 90 years old.

Article content

“I thought, ‘Okay, that’s going to be my contribution.’”

Bouchard finally changed her mind and will officially start as the new head of CBC/Radio-Canada in January.

But no one at the parliamentary committee table where she testified earlier this week would have blamed her if she hadn’t reconsidered.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with premiers in a virtual meeting to discuss US President-elect Donald Trump and his threat of tariffs, Bouchard She spent Wednesday night being questioned about her plans to address the growing challenges facing the station.

Summoned by opposition parties demanding to know their plans for their future —including the very real possibility of losing funding under a future Conservative government—Bouchard’s proposal The responses suggest she is at least prepared to usher in a change in tone.

When asked by Conservative MP Damien Kurek if he had heard calls to “defund the CBC,” something outgoing CBC president Catherine Tait warned was gaining momentum at the beginning of the year -Bouchard He said that while he had not been personally asked to do so, he was aware of the debates taking place around the world about the value of public broadcasters.

Article content

Article content

“I understand that debate happens in Canada,” he said. “And I think it’s a healthy debate.

“I think there are a lot of issues that can be debated about the future value of a public broadcaster,” he said, adding that was all he could say on the matter for now.

“I’m sure that will change in about 40 days,” Kurek joked.

Bouchard’s response marks a shift from Tait’s recent weeks of warnings about the dangers of cutting the CBC’s $1.4 billion in annual funding, something Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to do.

Case in point: At the same committee earlier in the week, Tait told MPs that scrapping the CBC “lacks common sense” and risks making “Canada worse, not better.” He also accused unnamed MPs of using their committee appearances to discredit and insult the organization.

The animosity between Tait and the Conservatives was evident when House Leader Andrew Scheer thanked Tait for helping advance the party’s push to cut its funding and told Tait that she had “been tThe most successful person in creating the demand to defund the CBC”, outside the party group itself.

Article content

While Conservatives have long criticized the flow of taxpayer money to the public broadcaster, relations hit a new low when Tait denounced Poilievre’s campaign to “defund” it. as a conservative fundraising tool, which provoked a fierce reaction from the party and its followers. Poilievre accused Tait of launching a politically motivated attack. Privately, CBC employees lamented their judgment.

The fact that conservative parliamentarians sent video clips by Bouchard Not ruling out paying millions in bonuses to the corporation’s executives and other managers, as he was asked repeatedly during his testimony this week, suggests not much can change when it comes to conservatives’ attitude toward the CBC.

Bouchard, however, cited compensation as one of his first priorities when he takes over the five-year position on Jan. 3.

“I will work to ensure that we have a system that is transparent and that people can trust our administration and management of public funds, especially in the context of compensation,” he said.

He also poured water on expectations that Tait may receive an “exit package” when his term ends, which is something the Conservatives have asked of the outgoing chief executive. bouchard He said he would have no influence on the decision.

Article content

“It’s very interesting,” Kurek said, “because previously when we asked that question, there was a refusal to even talk about what it might or might not be like.”

Rebuilding the corporation’s local news services will be another objective, according to Bouchard, which has been another long-standing criticism of the station.

“My goal is not to have CBC as the only voice.

“It is important to have diversity of voices and different news sources. So we have to find a way not only to rebuild our regional services, but also to support other regional and local broadcasters and media.”

To ensure Canadians trust the CBC, it needs to be obtained, he later added. “You never take it for granted.”

Regarding the payment of bonuses or, as the corporation has explained, the “pay for performance” that is included in employee contracts, Bouchard He said he first needs to see the outcome of a third-party review, which he expects in early 2025.

“Because IIt’s one thing to say you’re going to ban something,” he said in response to a question from Conservative MP Jamil Jivani.

Article content

“How are you going to move forward? What is done with employees who have their contracts? What do you do in terms of fair compensation? “So I need a plan to commit to something.”

“I’m not deaf,” she added later.

On the question of possible job cuts, whether as a result of the corporation’s own budget or the disappearance of funding threatened by the Conservatives, Bouchard said he couldn’t speak to what CBC/Radio-Canada’s workforce would be like.

Much of the criticism from MPs of the corporation paying millions in bonuses came after it announced a budget cut last year that resulted in 141 job cuts and the elimination of 205 vacancies.

“I am very aware of how difficult it is to balance a budget and how heartbreaking it is to announce to people that they will not have a job,” Bouchard saying.

“I have done that. I had to do that and I don’t expect to have to do it again. If I could avoid that for the rest of my life, I would be the first to log in.”

National Mail

[email protected]

Get deeper National Post political coverage and analysis delivered to your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get the scoop on what’s really going on behind the scenes at Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Register here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, long reads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and subscribe to our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.

Article content