CBC CEO fined for ethical breach amid declining viewership
Catherine Tait has been fined for breaching the Conflict of Interest Act just days after lamenting that no one cares about her supposed accomplishments as the head of the publicly-funded broadcaster.
Catherine Tait, the CBC CEO earning nearly half a million dollars annually, was recently fined by the Ethics Commissioner for breaching the Conflict of Interest Act, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.
The $200 penalty came after Tait lamented that no one asked her about her accomplishments as the head of the publicly-funded broadcaster, while refusing to state whether her upcoming retirement would come with additional severance or bonus pay.
The mediocre fine pales in comparison to the $6,000 Tait billed Canadian taxpayers for her personal trip to the Paris Olympics. Her extravagant $1,000-per-night hotel stay reflects a blatant disregard for Canadians who are increasingly struggling with the cost of living.
Under Tait’s watch, the CBC handed out over $18 million in bonuses last year as the corporation was cutting over 800 jobs. Even the NDP acknowledge that the CBC acts “more and more like a private broadcaster, including on bonuses,” than an accountable, taxpayer funded entity.
“Catherine Tait's salary is between $468,000 and $551,000 a year. That is a pretty good wage. Most Canadians would be really happy to make a wage like that,” said Conservative MP Kyle Seeback earlier this week.
"In fact, they would be happy to make a fifth of that. As the performance of the CBC was going into the tank, [Tait] decided bonuses were great and the bonuses could be up to 28%. She tanked viewership, they have not met any of their KPIs and missed 79% of them, and what she thought would really fix things up was giving herself a $154,000 bonus. I really cannot make this stuff up."
Meanwhile, Tait cried wolf during recent testimony before the Commons Heritage Committee, stating that the state broadcaster is underfunded and expressing frustration over what she described as a concerted effort to vilify her and the CBC.
The claims fly in the face of Tait’s track record of lavish expenses billed to Canadian taxpayers, including $230 for an 'executive cab' in Ottawa and a $638 “working dinner” in 2022.
Last February, the Liberals increased CBC's subsidies by $96.1 million, bringing annual funding to a whopping $1.38 billion.
Despite this influx of taxpayer dollars, CBC's audience share has plummeted significantly over the years, falling from 7.6 percent of the national prime-time viewing audience in 2018 — a staggering 72 percent decline in just six years, details Sask Today.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-01 17:41:40 -0400CBC is irrelevant. It was set up to counter American programming on radio and later television. But the Internet has given us the ability to consume whatever we want. Canadians also can be broadcasters on the Internet without needing an expensive station and license. All that CBC money should be put to good causes like helping seniors and disabled people with aids to daily living. That money could hire more police and other EMS staff. Imagine the hospitals which could be built. All sorts of good projects could be funded with the money now wasted on crappy programming and overpaid managers.
