Evidence of meeting #115 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was company.
A recording is available from Parliament.
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
That's a pretty major mis-characterization of our position.
Bell Media is in full transformation from being a traditional broadcaster to a digital media company. That would be the first point.
Second—very quickly—I'm always very surprised with positions that would so evidently favour the Disneys, the Netflixes, the Amazons and the Apples of the world against—
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
—good Canadian companies that employ tens of thousands of Canadians.
That's where my position is.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
I'll just conclude with this: You stated yourself that people don't want cable packages anymore. They want access to online streaming. Bill C-11 pulls people back from the future into an antiquated past. It's terrible legislation.
I'm passing my time on to my colleague.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Bibic, you used the same budget reduction strategy in Quebec in francophone communities. Over 1,000 regional jobs have been cut, including at regional radio stations. None of these people understand why they lost their jobs, given the huge profits made by Bell. It may have been an unfortunate coincidence, but Bell's share reached a high of over $65 in May 2023, and then fell below $50 in October. I think these people feel that they have been sacrificed so that shareholders can pocket some decent dividends and be reassured about the worth of their shareholdings.
Have you been pressured by your board of directors or major shareholders to increase the value of your stock?
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
Quebec is an extremely important market for Bell. I care about it too. I was born in Montreal and grew up on the south shore. So I am a proud Quebecker. In Quebec, 12,000 people work for Bell.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
Are you under pressure from the board of directors?
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
We continue to invest in the province—
Conservative
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
—to better serve Quebeckers, whether it be in telecommunications, content or news.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
You didn't answer my question.
Were you pressured by the board of directors? It was the employees who paid the price to reassure Bell's shareholders.
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
We need to become more and more efficient, given—
Liberal
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
The Canadian economy is in trouble and we all have to adjust. It's not just Bell. All industries in Canada and all companies doing business in Canada have to adjust. We are becoming more efficient at serving our citizens.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We'll move on now. We are well over the time.
I'm giving people a lot of leeway in going over their time.
I'm going to go now to Mr. Noormohamed for five minutes.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Bibic, you can be faulted for many things, but I don't think your support for Bill C-11 or Bill C-18 can be counted among them. You talked about the importance of the transition you're making to a digital company, and I think part of the work that we're doing, as a government, is to support that.
The work our government is doing and the support we have given to news media across this country is not intended for you to pay further benefits to your shareholders and senior executives.
Mr. Bibic, do you know who Scott Roberts is?
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Scott Roberts is a Jack Webster winner and a two-time Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist who used to do the news in Vancouver. He was laid off under your regime.
Do you know who Paul Workman is?
President and Chief Executive Officer, BCE Inc.
I don't know him personally, but I know who he is.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Okay. Do you know that he no longer works for CTV?
Liberal
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Okay. Do you know that she was also laid off by CTV?