OTTAWA — Federal politicians condemned CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Catherine Tait’s refusal to rule out bonuses for executives this year despite plans to cut 10 per cent of the national broadcaster’s workforce.
“It’s embarrassing,” said Conservative Sen. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu on his way to his party’s caucus meeting on Wednesday morning. “When you lay people off, when you have to let people go, you need to lead by example and make sure to opt out of those bonuses.”
Tait told members of the House of Commons heritage committee on Tuesday evening that CBC/Radio-Canada’s board of directors will decide by the end of the fiscal year, on March 31, whether she and other executives will receive bonuses, which she called “performance pay.”
She refused to opt out from receiving a bonus, despite repeated attempts by all parties to make her understand how such a decision could be perceived by the public.
The national broadcaster announced in December that it plans to cut 600 positions and not fill 200 vacancies, as well as cut the production budget for television and digital original series, to deal with a $125-million budgetary shortfall.
“The idea that we would have bonuses at a time of cuts to vital services just doesn’t make sense. I think that Ms. Tait and those with her heard that message,” said NDP House leader Peter Julian after Tuesday’s meeting.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said on Wednesday that the budget cuts of 3.3 per cent are still “pending” and that no final decisions have been made for CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding in the next budget.
“Of course, what I’m thinking about is the future and the sustainability of our public broadcaster because they are facing the same media crisis that every other media is facing,” she told reporters.
About 100 jobs have been cut since December, including 50 positions at the CBC, 40 at Radio-Canada and 10 management jobs, said Shaun Poulter, CBC/Radio-Canada’s executive director of government relations and public affairs.
Poulter, however, cautioned against linking these job cuts to the planned cutbacks since hundreds of people come and go in the corporation at any given time, he said.
Last year’s CBC/Radio-Canada annual report shows it received nearly $1.3 billion in government funding, with another $515 million coming through other revenue sources such as advertising.
Tait told the committee the extra pay is part of a manager’s salary and is not an end-of-year “bonus.” Some of a manager’s pay is held back and only paid if the CBC hits “key performance indicators” or KPIs, she said.
Tait told MPs repeatedly that she will “consider all scenarios” for this fiscal year but insisted that there is a system in place regarding performance pay that needs to be respected and that it is too early to determine what the compensation would look like.
“If we achieve the results of the current fiscal year, I will recommend that 1,140 unaffiliated, non-unionized employees receive their fair pay, their performance pay, if they achieve their targets,” she said.
“We are on track to meet most of our targets. So that will mean that some portion of the corporate performance award should be awarded.”
Poulter said it would be “premature” to dismiss compensation before March 31 “because you want to send a signal that frankly, doesn’t save jobs and doesn’t address the structural deficit that we’ve been talking about here.”
Poulter said it is “not the government’s role” to rule out executive compensation or bonuses for Crown corporations, which was confirmed by a government official.
St-Onge was careful not to voice her support or her disapproval of Tait after her testimony, but noted that the CBC president’s mandate ends at the end of the year and that the search for her replacement is underway.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implied that the national broadcaster will be able to count on the federal government’s support.
“In an era of misinformation and disinformation and the transformation of our media in the digital era, we need CBC/Radio-Canada to be strong, to protect our culture, to protect our democracy and to tell our stories from coast to coast,” he said in question period Wednesday.
“We will always be here to defend CBC/Radio-Canada, and we’re going to seek to make necessary investments to make sure it continues to fulfill its mandate to inform, entertain and to strengthen democracy here in Canada,” he added.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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