Canadian Heritage Committee on May 23rd, 2024

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

In committee, it is customary that the witness is given the same amount of time to answer the question as was taken to ask it, and that they are not interrupted. I think the Conservatives are having a bit of a tough math day and maybe don't want to hear that, but it's important that we respect the rules of this committee.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Ms. Thomas, go ahead with your question. I think you have a minute left.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Chair, I have a point of order, though.

Just this morning, at the PROC committee, we had the translation bureau there. They were talking about injuries to the translators. One of the issues is when there is more than one person speaking at the same time. It's extremely difficult and harmful for the translators.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Thank you. We'll move on.

Ms. Thomas, you have exactly 59 seconds left.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Minister, I will make sure I make that document public so that you can see that it is for the year 2023-24.

Ms. Tait says she deserves a bonus, but here's the case: At CBC, trust is down, viewership is down and revenue is down.

In your opinion, does CBC CEO Catherine Tait deserve a bonus?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

I will set the record straight again, because my colleague does not seem to understand the document.

The performance bonuses for over 1,000 employees were part of the compensation granted in 2024, which was for fiscal year 2022‑2023.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

I'm sorry, Minister, I wasn't asking....

Mr. Chair, through you, I would just ask that she answer the question.

The question was, does CBC CEO Catherine Tait deserve a bonus when viewership is down, trust is down and revenue is down? Her performance has been abysmal.

Does she deserve a bonus?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

When you want to start a fire, you shout that there’s smoke. I will therefore correct the record regarding CBC/Radio-Canada.

Every month, nearly half of this country’s citizens use CBC/Radio-Canada’s websites and digital services. Nearly 17 million of them…

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

We're over time, actually, Minister. I have to move on. I'm sorry.

We'll go to the Liberals for six minutes.

Ms. Lattanzio, I have you on the list here.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to our Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Minister, in your opening remarks, you talked about historic investments made in arts and culture. They are the largest investments in all of Canada’s history.

Can you tell us more about some of these investments and the effect they should have on Canadian creators?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you very much for the question.

Our government made a clear choice, which was to invest in arts and culture, and it did so for several reasons.

First of all, in my opening remarks, I noted the sector’s importance for Canada’s economy. In fact, the economic spinoffs are more significant for the country than agriculture and the entire oil sector combined. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs all over the country. They are good jobs. They help families feed and house themselves. It’s one of the reasons why the government is investing in the arts and culture sector.

However, on a more fundamental level, we know full well that stories are, among other things, what connect communities and create social cohesion throughout our country. It’s what we tell ourselves about ourselves and for ourselves.

It’s fundamental for a democratic country. It’s essential not only to have information and news, but also to be able to count on a strong cultural sector that helps communities come together and share who they are. It’s important to be aware of that, especially in a digital universe where competition is ever more fierce, and where people have access, more often than not, to English-language content from the United States, our neighbour to the south.

It is even more important for a country that believes in itself, that has confidence in itself, to invest in its artisans, in its stories, in art and in culture.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I will share my time with my colleague, Ms. Damoff. I therefore ask you to let me know when there’s three minutes left.

Minister, yesterday, I attended PACTcon’s opening event. This association brings together a certain number of theatre companies to promote collaboration within the industry. Many of them spoke of the challenges they are experiencing in terms of labour and financial viability.

Could you tell us about the measures and funds set aside to help this sector? Could you give us a few examples of the effect they might have on the groups that would benefit from them?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

I thank my colleague for the question.

Since the pandemic, unfortunately, people are glued to their screens more than ever. One of the sectors that suffered the most during the pandemic was the performing arts. Obviously, we’re talking about theatre, festivals or music. I won’t talk about all the investments we made during the pandemic to support those sectors, which were practically shut down, but I’ll give you a few numbers.

The government added $32 million to the Canada Music Fund. This will help artists perform throughout Canada and create new musical worlds.

The government also invested over $31 million over two years to support festivals, big and small, across the country. Once again, we know that these are ways for people to find and discover our creators.

It’s important to bring people back to real physical places, and not just let them be captivated by screens.

Those are therefore a few of the choices we made to support theatre, music and the festival sector.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Ms. Lattanzio, you have two minutes left.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Chairman, I indicated that I would share my time with my colleague, Pam Damoff. Of my three minutes, I have two minutes left. Is that what you're telling me?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

I am.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

If you're telling me that we have two minutes left out of the six minutes, I will cede my place to my colleague.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Ms. Damoff, go ahead for two minutes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you.

Minister, I'd like to go back to the paying of bonuses.

I'm looking at a question response that was sent to Mr. Scheer. It talks about the bonuses that were paid. It also says: “The following represents incentive amounts paid in fiscal 2023-24 which were earned in fiscal 2022-23.” I'm wondering if you could maybe give some clarity on when the bonuses were earned and paid and perhaps why there seemed to have been some confusion earlier.

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Performance bonuses are part of the compensation for about 1,000 employees whose employment contract rests in part on achieving performance objectives. The leadership and the board of directors assess those employees’ performance. The last assessment was completed for fiscal year 2022‑2023, and performance bonuses for those evaluations were granted in 2024.

As for the performance bonus for CBC/Radio‑Canada’s leader, we’ve not yet received a recommendation from the board of directors for fiscal year 2022‑2023. Once it’s received, we will make a recommendation to the Governor in Council based on objective criteria used by the board of directors to determine whether those objectives were met.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Basically, they're paid a year in advance. Is that correct?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

The bonus is sent one year later.

Performance assessments are done after the fiscal year is over, meaning after March 31 of each year. Bonuses granted in 2024 are for fiscal year 2022‑2023. As I said, we’ve not yet received the assessment for the President and Chief Executive Officer.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Thank you, Minister.

We'll go to Martin Champoux and six minutes for the Bloc.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, Ms. Mondou, Mr. Ripley, good afternoon.

I’m going to talk to you about the Online Streaming Act, which flows from Bill C‑11. The committee worked on this bill, in good times and bad, for several months. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, is still trying to fine-tune its regulations regarding this legislation.

Are you closely following the CRTC’s work on the broadcasting regulations?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

The Act and the Order Issuing Directions to the CRTC include expectations and deadlines for implementing the legislation. Obviously, the CRTC is independent when it comes to implementation, its consultations and its decisions, but we expect our expectations to be met.