The CBC faces mandatory disclosure of top salaries for announcers and executives under Broadcasting Act amendments proposed yesterday by Senator Percy Downe (P.E.I.), a Liberal appointee. It follows disclosures that the CBC paid itself $30.4 million in pandemic bonuses while petitioning cabinet for more subsidies..“I do have a concern about transparency,” Downe told the Senate. “As a public broadcaster largely funded by taxpayers the CBC has a greater obligation than private broadcasters to be open about how it spends that money.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, Downe proposed an amendment to Bill C-11 An Act To Amend The Broadcasting Act that would compel the CBC to “disclose all names and total compensation of employees who received a salary that is greater than that of a senator’s salary, which is already a matter of public record.” Senators are paid $164,500 a year..“The amendment I am proposing will lead to a more open, responsive and accountable national broadcaster which would be to the benefit of all Canadians,” said Downe. The Senator noted the British Broadcasting Corporation already mandates disclosure of salaries paid to top executives and on-air personalities..“We only know that five CBC staff earn between $250,000 and $300,000 with an average salary of $342,000,” Senator Downe said yesterday. “No names, no programs.”.The CBC in Access To Information records earlier disclosed it paid 1,034 employees a total of $15 million in bonuses in 2020 and $15.4 million the following year. The network at the time complained it was under such “immense pressure” it required a $21 million top-up to its $1.3 billion annual parliamentary grant..“The COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of covering it put immense pressure on CBC’s workforce, operations, finances and systems,” said an April 20, 2021 cabinet briefing note Funding Support For The CBC. Network executives had complained money was so short the CBC was forced to lay off eleven employees in its Radio Canada International division..Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation also disclosed the CBC paid $12 million in raises last year in addition to bonuses. “It’s not fair to ask struggling taxpayers to pay higher taxes so the taxpayer-funded CBC can give itself millions in bonuses and pay raises during a pandemic,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Federation..Senator Downe’s amendment if passed would rewrite Bill C-11, a cabinet proposal to have the CRTC regulate Netflix and YouTube videos. An identical Bill C-10 lapsed in the last Parliament in 2021 after senators proposed numerous amendments.
