During an interview with CBC News Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault, CBC President Catherine Tait refused to say whether bonuses will be awarded to staff this year.

Speaking about bonuses, Arsenault said to Tait, "Can we establish that that is not happening this year?"

Tait responded, "It’s too early to say where we are for this year. We'll be looking at that like we do all our line items in the coming months."

Arsenault pressed Tait, asking, "So there's a chance bonuses could still happen at a time when jobs are being cut?"

Tait replied, "Again, I'm not going to comment on something that hasn't been discussed at this point."

Adrienne Arsenault almost made CBC CEO Catherine Tait swallow her tongue with her brilliant question about Christmas bonuses. pic.twitter.com/IclspMPLri

— Matt (@Constantinoplis) December 5, 2023

Just yesterday, the public broadcaster announced that CBC and Radio Canada will be laying off approximately 800 employees in total.

As reported by the National Post, "CBC attributed the cuts to 'the same structural factors affecting all media companies,' which the broadcaster specified include rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and fierce competition from tech giants."

According to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF),  “The CBC handed out more than $16 million in bonuses to staff in 2022."

The CTF also noted, "Last year, CBC management issued bonuses to 1,142 employees, for an average of $14,056 per staffer and a total cost to taxpayers of $16,052,148."

Despite announcing the layoff of approximately 10% of its workforce less than a month before Christmas, Catherine Tait was tight-lipped while discussing potential bonuses for staff this year.