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.
5:55 p.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
For a federally funded journalism organization to abuse journalists and spend public funds on high-powered lawyers to fine them and then gag them through NDAs is unacceptable. Canadians deserve better. CBC employees deserve better. Canadian communities deserve better. We all deserve better.
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Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you, Ms. Ashton.
I will now go to the Conservatives for five minutes.
Ms. Thomas.
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Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Thank you.
Ms. Tait, you confirmed that under Trudeau, you've been granted another $140 million. Just over $96 million was part of the main estimates and then another $42 million was part of budget 2024. That's a total of $140 million.
Is this additional funding that is coming your way contingent on no more bonuses for executives?
5:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
First of all, the funding from Treasury Board in the main estimates is not incremental funding. That is the salary inflation funding that all government departments and Crowns get. What we have received is $42 million, and it is not contingent on performance pay. As we are operating as an arm's-length organization, we have a certain amount of discretion. Obviously, in this case, those funds will be applied to ensure no further job cuts and to ensure reinvestment in the independent production sector.
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Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
I'm sorry. Just to confirm, then, it is contingent on no further job cuts...?
5:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
I have assumed that it is. There is no direction when the government assigns dollars in the way that it does. There was nothing written in the decision.
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Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Okay. Are you committing today, then, that during the year of 2024-25, there will be no more job cuts at the CBC?
5:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada
There will be no significant job cuts related to balancing our budget. We are an organization that constantly, as you heard earlier, has people coming and going. We are constantly adjusting programming. I will never make a decision on behalf of the newsroom on a program that they may or may not decide to cut.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
On December 4, you announced that 800 jobs were going to be cut from the CBC. So far, close to 400 of those jobs have been cut. Meanwhile, the government has granted $140 million in new dollars, taxpayer dollars, to the CBC. You continue to contend for your own executive bonus and the executive bonus of—
6 p.m.
Liberal
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Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Look, I respect Ms. Thomas' right to tweet whatever she wants, but now she's making accusations here, and now the committee will witness, and basically that they're saying that—
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Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Madam Chair, this is not a point of order.
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Liberal
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Liberal
6 p.m.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
They're basically saying that their testimony is not factually accurate. She knows that she's the one misrepresenting what the witness said when she appeared on January 20. I have copies of the transcripts of what was said at that meeting where she verbally attacked the witness with the clear intention of trying to get a clip that she thought she might be able to use for whatever purpose. The records show that the witness and her team clarified this issue.
I don't know what the member was doing—
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Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
This is still not a point of order.
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Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
—but I would like to point to the fact of that testimony, and unless my colleague can point to an alternative set of facts, I'd like to ask her—
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Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
This is not a point of order, Madam Chair.
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Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
—to withdraw the accusations that Ms. Tait is not representing the truth.
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Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
This is not a point of order. That's not a point of order.
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Liberal
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Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
I'm sorry, Madam Chair. My request is that she withdraw the accusation that the witness is lying.
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Conservative