It's Radio-Canada's Christmas! | Montreal Magazine

1. Radio-Canada is cutting positions because it had to cut its budget. 2. The president of Radio-Canada does not rule out that senior executives will receive a bonus, despite the layoffs. 3. The Treasury Board says Radio-Canada has never been asked to cut its budget. 4. Increase Radio-Canada's budget by approximately $100 million. 5. CBC stars say it would be inappropriate to pay bonuses to top executives.

Cuckoo! Am I the only one finding weird things happening on Radio Canada/CBC right now?

happy birthday!

“CBC/Radio-Canada will receive a budget of $1.4 billion in 2024-25, up from $1.3 billion the previous year.”

Totally the headlines of the last few days amazing. While the media crisis is in full swing and layoffs continue across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada is being given a Christmas gift nine months early.

But I admit, it's a bit difficult to keep track of what's going on at Rad-Can for a while…

In December, Radio-Canada announced the elimination of 600 jobs, the reduction of 200 others, and the reduction of $40 million from its production budget due to an expected deficit of $125 million, due to government requests to reduce its expenses.

But last week, we learned that “the Treasury Board, which oversees federal budget expenditures, announced that there is no such directive and that Radio-Canada is not on the list of ministries targeted for government spending cuts.”

Imagine being one of the 800 people who were told, before Christmas, that you would lose your job due to disability… and that you learned, two months later, that your employer was receiving $100 million, and more. …and that your managers might get a big bonus.

I remind you that the CEO and President positions at CBC/Radio-Canada range from $311,000 to $637,700. And these people have not yet said a big “no” to the reward?

Know how to say no

Yesterday, the Canadian Press published an interesting article titled “CBC must take risks with its star programming.”

“The CBC doesn't have to be beholden to advertisers because they don't have to chase audiences in the same way that private networks do. They can take risks 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 quote the CBC star, actor of the series Son of CrashMark Creech: “If it's taxpayer money, I don't think anyone should get a reward for anything unless they save the whole situation. If someone finds a cure for coronavirus, give them a reward.

As they wait for Radio-Canada's top executives to find a cure for cancer, they all have to turn down the slightest bonus, even with another $100 million in their coffers.