Canadian Heritage committee  —executive ranks have been thinned out significantly since I became CEO, because we are always vigilant around costs and around the number of executives we have. That's resulted in a 40% decrease in compensation for the direct reports of the CEO.

Canadian Heritage committee  The legislative requirements also allow for the giving of notice combined with guaranteed 16 weeks' salary continuance. If we give 16 weeks' salary continuance as well as notice, we are in compliance with the federal legislative requirements.

Canadian Heritage committee  If we give notice to the Government of Canada before the implementation of the job reductions but combine that with a guaranteed 16 weeks of salary continuance to all employees, even those who may not otherwise have been eligible for a full 16 weeks, then we are compliant.

Canadian Heritage committee  If the macroeconomic circumstances that we operate in are extremely difficult, if the regulatory environment is particularly difficult, if competition has increased—which is a great thing for consumers, but that also means that prices are going down—every company will have to adjust to that kind of environment.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, not at all. We welcome competition and, because we compete against Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Apple and because those companies derive billions of dollars in revenue in Canada, we say that they, too, should be required to contribute to the same extent as Canadian media companies are.

Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, our main objective is to provide service to our audience and consumers, and that's what we do. We are producing more and more news, much more than the regulatory minimums imposed by the CRTC. That should give you some confidence. We're producing 150% more news than we're required to.

Canadian Heritage committee  The media ecosystem is in a state of upheaval in Canada, Quebec and across North America. To ensure the sustainability of news broadcasting, the regulatory playing field must be levelled and web giants operating in Canada must be required to contribute to the Quebec and Canadian media ecosystem.

Canadian Heritage committee  We gave notice, and all employees are therefore paid during the full 16 weeks, at minimum.

Canadian Heritage committee  Chair, just for clarification, I believe that question would be in respect of the unionized team members, because it depends. If you were management or union or non-management, we had a different process.

Canadian Heritage committee  There would be about 850 of the 4,800 that were vacant positions. Those positions were eliminated. About 800 of the positions were unionized team members, and 60% of those chose a voluntary separation package. They identified themselves as being willing to depart the company. Then there were management team members.

Canadian Heritage committee  Again, I'll just clarify, because I do want to properly answer the honourable member's questions. With respect to the unionized team members and the management members, there are different processes.

Canadian Heritage committee  No. Generally speaking, the individuals affected had individual meetings, either in person or by video, so that we could communicate the news and details around the separation packages, continued benefits and career transition services where applicable.

Canadian Heritage committee  Let's focus first on Bell Media. There are massive losses in conventional TV of $180 million. Our news service loses $40 million a year. Advertising revenues declined $140 million in 2023 over 2022. We need to adjust to those circumstances. The Canadian economy is not faring very well.

Canadian Heritage committee  We complied with all requirements that were imposed under federal law.

Canadian Heritage committee  Robert, do you have a precise answer to that?