Media Beat: The CBC Budget Continues to Expand as CEO Catherine Tait Gets Grilled (Column)

CBC Budget Continues To Increase

With about $1.3B in federal funding for CBC in 2023, the new budget promises another $42M in 2024-25 for CBC/Radio-Canada for "news and entertainment programming,” as per the broadcaster’s news service.

Last year, the CBC announced a financial shortfall, cut 141 employees and eliminated 205 vacant positions.

On Tuesday, as reported by Canadian Press, CBC CEO Catherine Tait gave testimony at a House of Commons heritage committee hearing. It’s the second time this year that Tait has been placed in the spotlight to answer questions including those from Conservative MPs who have been openly critical of the pubcaster’s budgetary spending and executive bonuses. Tait blasted the attacks about executive bonuses, terming them “deliberately false accusations.”

In December, CBC announced it was set to cut 600 jobs and would allow 200 more vacancies to go unfilled, along with $40M in cuts to productions. It said it would aim to head off a projected $125M shortfall in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Tait told the committee that “all Canadian media organizations face serious challenges from a digital world ruled by global players who simply do not share the same commitment to our country’s interests.”

As per Global News, she told the parliamentarians that the public broadcaster is there to keep people informed, build trust, strengthen democracy and promote local culture.

At best, Tait can only tread water as CEO of the Crown Corp. Under growing pressure from Conservative Party members who have threatened to slash or kill funding for the broadcasting network that offers programming in English and French and eight indigenous languages on its domestic radio service, CBC is also tasked with producing original content for its TV network, and plowing increasingly large resources to a multiplicity of online networks and services.

While the Liberal government has been keen to support the pubcaster, it has so far failed to offer a clear mandate as to what is expected of it, and as important to redefine its role in Canada.

As it is, too much is expected of the CBC – and given the fact that online content and fee-based subscription services have eroded its reach and audience, at some point a government will be forced to face the fact that too much is expected from the broadcaster. As it stands today, its budgetary needs can only be expected to increase.