Tory MP seeks CBC salaries, expense records, through order paper questions

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber intends to bypass the Access to Information Act’s section 68.1 exemption for CBC/Radio-Canada by using Parliament to obtain key programming information, according to the House of Commons order paper. Four questions submitted by the MP on the Nov. 25 order paper seek information about the salaries and expenses of CBC broadcasters Peter Mansbridge and George Stroumboulopoulos as well as CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix. Rathgeber is also seeking to know how much each CBC employee spent in the period spanning from 2000 to 2011 on expenses such as vehicle allowances and hospitality charges for food, drinks, and accommodations. According to the rules of the House of Commons, a government response to the questions is required within a period of 45 days. The House of Commons Procedure and Practice, a guide to parliamentary procedure, says “it is acceptable for the government, in responding to a question, to indicate to the House that it cannot supply an answer.” The House speaker also cannot pass judgment on the quality of answers, the book says. In another question on the order paper, the MP inquired about the salary of Rick Mercer, the host of CBC program the Mercer Report. Rathgeber also wants to know how much the public broadcaster spent to obtain the rights to Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and various American movies. “What contracts has the CBC signed with Zaibe Shaikh or Governor Films in the last five years?” he asks on the order paper. For the CBC’s foreign bureaus in Paris, London, Washington and Rome, Rathgeber has requested an itemized list of expenses for hospitality, food, drink, hotels and transportation. The MP is also seeking to obtain a list of every member of the CBC who earns more than $100,000 a year, specifying that he wants their names and salaries. Ottawa Citizen reporter Glen McGregor wrote in a blog post Friday that the disclosure of Mansbridge's salary “would ignite public outrage against the excesses of the public broadcaster.” He speculated that it “would nicely pave the way for what will certainly be cuts to CBC’s $1.1 billion parliamentary appropriation in the coming federal budget or even a total rethink of its mandate.” The move by Rathgeber appears to be a sign that the Tory government is turning up the heat in its dispute for information from the public broadcaster. The information requested by Rathgeber relates to CBC’s journalistic, programming and creative activities, which the broadcaster has argued is exempt from disclosure by section 68.1 of the Access to Information Act. Justice Marc Noël of the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has a right to view documents CBC was withholding under the exception. At a House of Commons ethics committee meeting Thursday, Maryse Bertrand, vice-president of real estate, legal services and general counsel at CBC, said releasing information about the salaries of CBC personalities could begin “a war for talent.” “If precise salaries for our talent, or even our programs are known, then others can try and poach it or somehow compete more efficiently against us than they would otherwise be able to,” Bertrand said. She said that, if competitors know how much to offer CBC talent, “it makes their lives a lot easier.” The CBC has come under scrutiny from Parliament and private broadcasters because of slow responses and high refusal rates to access-to-information requests—of which more than 400 were submitted by competitor Quebecor Media Inc. since the broadcaster was placed under the Access to Information Act in 2007. news@thewirereport.ca

Tory MP seeks CBC salaries, expense records, through order paper questions

News | 11/25/2011 8:54 pm EST

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