Evidence of meeting #118 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 cbcradio-canada.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
I hope that when that conversation comes up again at the June meeting, you can look at a revisit because you may be in a similar situation in the upcoming fiscal...where you're going to have to make some adjustments. Please provide that flexibility if possible.
I have 50 seconds left.
Do you have any updates on anything that's happening to support young people through the CBC?
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
Absolutely. This is my favourite subject.
We have absolutely blown it out of the court on a show called Street Cents, which is now running on TikTok. If you'll remember, 25 years ago, it was a TV show produced out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Today it has been rethought and reimagined, and millions of kids are using it. It's fantastic.
What I'm really delighted to talk about is what we're doing for the Olympics and the Paralympics this year in Paris.
Liberal
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
Absolutely, full broadcasting.
We just did a launch event, a 100-day countdown. The slogan is "Brave is Unbeatable". We have Michael J. Fox doing the voice-over on the English takes—
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
—and Céline Dion doing the voice-over on the French. This is thrilling for our kids.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Now I go to the Bloc Québécois, Martin Champoux.
Martin, you have two and a half minutes, please.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Tait, I am going to try to navigate somewhere between the aggressive posture taken by the Conservatives and the deferential one adopted by my Liberal friends, and ask questions in order to get answers.
I am wondering whether it is appropriate to be proposing this deliberation about a merger, which we were talking about earlier at the end of my last round of questions.
The message is not getting through between you and the francophones at Radio-Canada and the public in general. What gets reported about your decisions is not always something to brag about. There was the podcast translated in Paris; you apologized, but it was a huge gaffe. There was how the “N-word” was handled with the episode involving columnist Simon Jodoin. There was also Wendy Mesley, fired simply for trying to explain the different sensibility of Quebeckers, who used the “N-word” several times at a work meeting. There are also the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Michel Bissonnette and the cuts you announced as being equally divided between the CBC and Radio-Canada, when CBC and Radio-Canada have nothing like the same performance or the same number of employees.
In short, you have done a lot of things that did not really result in you having a high popularity rating in Quebec. There is an expression in English that you must know: “read the room”—interpret the signals. Do you think the time was right for engaging in that exercise when you knew that the minister is in the process of doing the same thing herself? She is in the process of reviewing the governance, structure and mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada herself. But along you come with just about the same project and the same process, at the same time as the minister, whose job it also is to review the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada.
I have to wonder about your motives. You are getting to the end of your term. Why not leave this project to your successor, who will be announced in the months ahead, rather than tying their hands with decisions that have already been made? That is how a columnist recently put it.
I would like to hear your comments on this, unfortunately in just a little time, because time is running out.
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
To be quite clear, this work was initiated at the request of the board of directors, precisely in order to define options and ideas for the next CEO.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Why not let the minister do her job? Did you question the board's decision?
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
I hope that all our findings are going to contribute to the expert panel's work. We are going to convey all the ideas considered. This is certainly not something that has to be decided today. The board of directors asked that we engage in this kind of deliberation before I leave. That was the idea.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Nice try, Martin. I now go to Ms. Ashton.
Niki, you have two and a half minutes, please.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you.
One of the anonymous messages that I received refers to the use of NDAs by the CBC as “an ironclad policy that is enforced by CBC's legal department”.
One of the people who reached out was a journalist who was dealing with a trauma-related injury as a result of the type of stories they were being asked to cover. After taking a pause from their job to heal, they returned to work with a request for accommodation, something that CBC was unwilling to accommodate. CBC eventually fired them, beginning a long fight for compensation. CBC refused to take responsibility for the injury. Not only that, despite this person's saying to the CBC that they couldn't do their job, CBC management reached out to their insurance provider to get the person's benefits cancelled, saying that they could do their job. This person felt this was retribution. It's hard to imagine otherwise.
Under your leadership, Ms. Tait, is it CBC's policy to punish employees who became disabled on the job and spoke out?
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
Absolutely not.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Yet this person went through this situation and your corporation not only fired them—
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
If I can have a moment to respond to—
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
—but cancelled their compensation.
No, that's okay. I think the fact that this case exists is very problematic for the reputation of the CBC.
I would say that another case—
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
We'd appreciate the opportunity to respond.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
—was an example of the CBC targeting an employee who required specific accommodations for their disability, yet CBC refused despite the fact this would be a contributing factor to their disability. This employee made clear they felt that this was punitive and retaliatory. CBC was unwilling to make accommodations in that case. NDAs were used.
I also want to bring up the fact that the BBC, as a matter of policy, stopped using NDAs in 2014 following the clear abuse of these to cover up for Jimmy Savile's pedophilia.
Has the CBC discussed eliminating the usage of NDAs to stop silencing employment complaints, including on cases of harassment?
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
I'd ask Marco to answer that question.
Chief Transformation Officer and Executive Vice-President, People and Culture, CBC/Radio-Canada
Yes.
Thank you for your question.
Madam Chair, I think the MP is misinformed. We don't comment specific on HR files, but I don't think the MP is conveying information that's completely accurate. Since it is anonymous information, it's very hard for us to be able to respond in a specific way, but I will say that we take all allegations very seriously—
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Mr. Dubé, we are talking about the rampant usage of NDAs and you have said nothing that refers to that reality.