Last December, CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Catherine Tait surprised everyone by announcing $125 million in cuts. To achieve this objective, it was planned to eliminate 600 jobs across the country and eliminate 200 vacant positions, or approximately 10% of staff.
The reasons given were the loss of advertising revenue and the 3.3% efforts requested from state corporations in the 2023 Freeland budget. Newly arrived at the Department of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge was quick to say that nothing did not indicate that CBC/Radio-Canada would be affected by this measure.
At the same time, anonymous government sources said that CBC/Radio-Canada’s decision to announce these cuts was “premature.” “Catherine Tait did not understand the exercise we were doing at all,” said one of these sources.
The CEO defended herself by saying that she had received “directives like all ministries and state companies” and that the figure was “in her forecasts”.
Finally, in February, we learned that CBC/Radio-Canada would not have to participate in the 3.3% effort.
At the same time, the Treasury Board announced that the budget of the Crown corporation would amount to 1.4 billion in 2024-2025, which means an increase of approximately 100 million compared to the previous budget. I am told that this addition is linked to recent union negotiations.
Meanwhile, senior management at CBC/Radio-Canada began implementing its retrenchment plan which has led to date to a reduction in its workforce by 141 employees and the elimination of 205 vacant positions.
On Tuesday, in her 2024-2025 budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced additional funding of $42 million for the Crown corporation. In a memo sent Tuesday, Catherine Tait said she would now “update our plans based on new information.” For the moment, there is nothing “else to announce,” a Radio-Canada spokesperson told me.
In light of this outcome and this avalanche of figures, it is very difficult to say exactly how much CBC/Radio-Canada should have cut. If we had worked with more precise data, would we have made the same decisions?
CBC/Radio-Canada acted as other employers would have done. She wanted to take the lead and show that she was proactive. But the fact remains that all this smacks of haste and improvisation.
“It is in fact the conclusion of a major operation marked by improvisation,” Pierre Tousignant, president of the Union of Radio-Canada Workers (STTRC), told me.
I look at this and can’t help but think of the other waves of cuts that have hit the crown corporation over the last 30 years. The scenario is often the same: we make cuts, layoffs, we destroy the atmosphere, then we receive money and we rehire. We must stop this pernicious and devastating movement for the morale of the troops.
Pierre Tousignant told me that he had never seen so much dismay among his colleagues, young people in particular, as in recent months.
I have never had to deal with so much anxiety and worry. We received distress calls every day. I found it extremely difficult and taxing. Humanly, this is not acceptable.
Pierre Tousignant, president of the STTRC
For all these reasons, it will be necessary to closely monitor the operation that Pascale St-Onge intends to carry out over the coming months and which aims to review the financial structure of CBC/Radio-Canada, as well as its governance and its mission ( the expert committee will be appointed soon). The objective is obviously to achieve greater financial stability and, thereby, programming stability.
This renewal will be implemented by whoever succeeds Catherine Tait by the end of the year, whose mandate has experienced several upheavals and sparked numerous criticisms.
This festival of figures, hasty decisions and reversals will undoubtedly have negative effects for the state corporation, starting with the ammunition it will provide to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who will be happy to assert that the amounts paid to CBC/Radio-Canada are balls that can easily be juggled.
Poilievre and Masbourian
Invited to comment on the recent federal budget by Patrick Masbourian, host of All one morning, Pierre Poilievre also offered a salvo of criticism. Nothing surprising in this regard, this is the role of the opposition.
The host still asked him what satisfied him in the budget, mentioning the rebate of the carbon tax for SMEs. “That’s good news, isn’t it? “, said Patrick Masbourian.
“It seems to me that you are a spokesperson for Justin Trudeau,” replied with a laugh the one who dreams of putting the state corporation in the crosshairs.
By saying this, and on the basis of a single question, Pierre Poilievre publicly questions the objectivity and professionalism of a journalist. This does not bode well.
Patrick Masbourian did not react to these comments. But I said to myself internally: it sounds like I’m hearing the tactics used by a certain Republican candidate when dealing with journalists whose questions he doesn’t appreciate. And even less presence.
reference: www.lapresse.ca