It's Christmas for Radio-Canada! | Montreal Journal

1. Radio-Canada cuts positions as it has to cut its budget. 2. Despite the layoffs, Radio-Canada's president hasn't ruled out that senior executives will get a bonus. 3. The Treasury Board says Radio-Canada has never asked to cut its budget. 4. Radio-Canada's budget increased by nearly $100 million. 5. CBC stars say paying bonuses to top executives is obscene.

Cuckoo! Am I the only one who notices that strange things are happening at Radio-Canada/CBC right now?

Merry Christmas!

“CBC/Radio-Canada will receive a budget of $1.4 billion in 2024-2025, up from $1.3 billion the previous year.”

There have been a lot of headlines in the past few days Stunners. While the media crisis is in full swing and layoffs continue across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada is getting its Christmas present nine months early.

But I admit it's been a little hard to follow what's been going on at Rod-Ken for a while now…

In December, Radio-Canada announced it was cutting 600 jobs, laying off 200 people and cutting $40 million from its production budget as the government's requests to cut its costs left it with an estimated $125 million deficit.

But last week, we learned that “the Treasury Board, which oversees federal budget expenditures, has announced that it does not have this type of mandate and that Radio-Canada is not on the list of ministries targeted by government spending cuts.”

Just before Christmas, imagine being one of the 800 people told you'll lose your job because of the deficit… and two months later, you find out your employer is on the hook for $100 million. .. and your managers can get a big bonus.

I remind you that CEO and Vice-President positions at CBC/Radio-Canada range from $311,000 to $637,700. And these people still pretty much say NO to a bonus?

Knows how to say it

The Canadian Press published a very interesting story yesterday, “CBC must take risks on its stars on its shows.”

“The CBC should not be beholden to advertisers because they are not obligated to chase audiences like the private networks. They can take a risk and they have to do something a little different,” said Gregory Taylor, a professor of media and film at the University of Calgary.

In the article, we quoted the CBC star, the actor of the series Son of a Crich, Mark Crich: “If it's taxpayers' money, I don't think anyone should really get a bonus for anything unless they absolutely save the day. If someone finds a cure for covid, give them a bonus.”

While Radio-Canada's senior executives wait for a cure for cancer to be found, they all have to turn down a paltry bonus despite having 100 million in their coffers.