The head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is facing scrutiny from members of a House of Commons committee for her roughly $6,000 worth of travel and hotel expenses at the Paris Olympics this past summer.
Catherine Tait, CBC president and chief executive officer, was pressed by MPs on the standing committee on Canadian heritage on Monday about her trip to France, which included a four-night stay at a five-star hotel in Paris.
Tait told the committee she was in France on a “personal trip” during the Olympic Games, but during that time she was also working for CBC/Radio-Canada, which was the official broadcaster of the Games in Canada.
Tait dismissed claims that she charged tax payers for her personal trip.
“I made it very clear why I was in Paris as CEO at the Olympic Games, one of the most important events where Canada performed spectacularly,” Tait said.
According to a proactive disclosure of her travel expenses, Tait travelled to the French capital for “business meetings and business event” during the Paris Olympics from July 25 to 29.
The document shows that Tait billed a total of $5,869,37 to the CBC for her stay in Paris.
This included $3,955.38 for lodging, $873.41 for meals and incidentals as well as $344.21 for transportation.
The National Post first reported on Monday that Tait spent four nights at the Hôtel du Collectionneur that cost $1,000-per-night.
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Tait said this was the official hotel of the Olympic games and there was no cheaper option available.
“There was no hotel room in Paris that was available at a lower price than that hotel,” she said.
“I was there with other delegates and I benefited from all of the services, for example, the shuttle that enabled us to go to the opening of the Games because there were security issues at stake.”
Tait said because she had taken a flight to France for her holiday, she did not ask CBC/Radio-Canada to pay for her airfare. Instead, she billed the expense of the train to get to Paris.
CBC head says her bonus is a ‘personal matter’
This was Tait’s third appearance at the heritage committee, which is studying recent job cuts made within CBC/Radio-Canada.
Tait last appeared at the heritage committee in May, where she was pressed over executive bonuses — a focal point of the committee’s work as it studies recent job cuts made within CBC/Radio-Canada.
The public broadcaster has come under scrutiny for giving out bonuses to senior management in the same fiscal year as it cut hundreds of jobs.
CBC/Radio-Canada paid out $18.4 million in bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press through access to information laws. More than $3.3 million of that was paid to 45 executives.
Between December 2023 and March 31, when the last fiscal year ended, CBC/Radio-Canada eliminated 346 jobs from the organization by laying off 141 employees and eliminating 205 vacant positions.
Tait said she did not receive what the company refers to as “performance pay” in the fiscal year 2022-23.
However, when asked by Conservative MP Damien Kurek, she did not say whether she will refuse a bonus or taking a severance package when her term ends on Jan. 3, 2025.
“I believe that Canadians would expect that the Corporation honour its commitments to its non-unionized employees as it would to its employees,” Tait said.
Kurek said saying that “‘it’s confidential’ doesn’t cut it for Canadians” nor for parliamentary oversight.
“So, again, I ask, will you specifically today share with this committee whether or not you will refuse a severance package or bonus at the conclusion of your term as president and CEO of CBC News,” Kruk said.
To which Tait replied: “As I’ve said, I consider that to be a personal matter. So I believe I’m protected by the Privacy Act in that regard.”
In June, the broadcaster’s board publicly acknowledged the negative optics of giving out bonuses during the same fiscal year that it made cuts. It has since launched a review of its compensation regime for future years.
Tait said the recommendations of the review will be shared publicly when they become available next year.
Members of the heritage committee unanimously said in a report to the House of Commons earlier this year that given the job cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada, it would be inappropriate for public broadcaster to grant bonuses to executive members.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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