CBC lies, but the records don't: state broadcaster IS hiring TFWs despite denials
Despite telling the House of Commons heritage committee there were no temporary foreign workers employed by Canada's state broadcaster, records obtained by Rebel News reveal the truth: three positions were approved through the Labour Market Impact Assessment process.
You’ve got to hand it to the CBC — they’ll look a room full of MPs right in the eye and deny something even when the paperwork proving otherwise is already sitting in the inbox.
At the Commons heritage committee this week, Conservative MP Rachael Thomas asked a very simple question of CBC president Marie-Philippe Bouchard: “It’s come to light that the CBC hired 20 positions since 2015 just within Ontario alone, and that these positions were deemed high-wage. Why are Canadian workers not good enough for the CBC?”
And how did the million-dollar-a-year CBC boss respond?
“As far as I know, currently there are no such temporary foreign workers employed at CBC… I don’t know the history of 2015 that you’re citing, but right now there are none,” replied Bouchard.
Translation: Don’t ask me about the past, I’ve only been in charge for eleven months. The slate’s clean since I showed up, so none of this counts.
Thomas pressed her again and again, and Bouchard just kept bobbing and weaving. She claimed she didn’t know whether those employment records “even exist.”
You heard that right: the head of the national broadcaster doesn’t know if her organization keeps employment records.
If this were a sitcom, you’d call that a punchline. But it’s not funny, because this is your money.
The very same day Bouchard denied using the temporary foreign worker program, the CBC quietly released documents to me under an access to information request showing exactly that to Rebel News.
CBC/Radio-Canada had three positions approved through the federal Labour Market Impact Assessment program — the bureaucratic gate you have to pass through before hiring foreign workers.
We’re not talking about summer interns or janitors. The files list:
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An Intermediate Backend Developer in Montreal maintaining Radio-Canada’s digital platforms.
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A Technology & Infrastructure Developer in Ottawa working on DevOps systems and automation.
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And a Senior Telecommunications Analyst responsible for CBC’s real-time network systems.
All high-skill, high-wage, long-term positions — and all filled through a program that literally requires the employer to prove that no qualified Canadians exist to do those jobs.
Think about that.
The CBC, sitting in the middle of two major cities packed with tech graduates and experienced engineers, told Ottawa there were no qualified Canadians — and then told the Heritage committee the exact opposite.
Core aspects of the CBC's mandate regarding Canadian arts say it exists to:
- Promote Canadian content: The CBC is tasked with producing and broadcasting content that is "predominantly and distinctively Canadian"
- Provide a national platform: It acts as a national public broadcaster, ensuring that Canadian artistic and cultural content is made available across Canada.
NOW MADE BY NON-CANADIANS.
What’s worse is the smug attitude. Bouchard insisted, “We employ 7,000 Canadians.”
Well, good for you. You also employ foreign nationals in Canadian jobs while taking more than $1.3 billion a year from Canadian taxpayers for Canadian content.
If a private company CEO said something misleading to Parliament, CBC would be first in line to crucify them on The National — in fairness, to an audience of almost nobody.
But when it’s their own house that reeks of hypocrisy, suddenly they develop amnesia.
CBC’s actions do say that Canadian workers aren’t good enough. They’ll spend our money on consultants, diversity bureaucrats, and now even foreign tech labour, all while lecturing the rest of us about supporting “Canadian stories.”
And Bouchard’s performance at the committee tells us something else: when cornered, the CBC doesn’t tell the truth.
It tells whatever version of the truth is most convenient at the time.
So, here’s the real question for the broadcaster that claims to “reflect Canada back to itself”: If the CBC can’t even hire Canadians — or be honest with Canadians — why on earth should Canadians keep paying for it?
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-10-23 21:14:35 -0400Cock and Bull Corporation eh? They’ve long outlived their mandate. Even a casual search for Canadian news and culture on the Internet is sufficient to make the CBC redundant.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-10-23 21:03:58 -0400The TFW program’s all about cheap labour, so it’s not surprising that the CBC should do this.
