Tory MPs table petitions to defund CBC

Three Conservative MPs tabled petitions from their constituents Monday to defund CBC/Radio-Canada. Conservative MP Colin Carrie tabled a petition in the House that called on Parliament to end public funding for public broadcaster. Carrie said petition, from “the residents of Canada,” was drawing attention to the government's annual $1.1 billion funding for the public broadcaster and that this “vast amount of government of Canada funding gives the CBC an unfair advantage over its private sector competitors.” Conservative MPs Brian Jean and Cheryl Gallant tabled similar petitions. “I am presenting a petition on behalf of people who want to see the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which is being overfunded at $1.1 billion per annum, sold,” Gallant said. Before Parliament took its holiday break in December, Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber put questions on the House of Commons order paper seeking information about the salaries and expenses of CBC broadcasters Peter Mansbridge and George Stroumboulopoulos as well as president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix. Rathgeber also asked how many CBC employees earn more than $100,000 per year. In response to those questions Monday, Heritage Minister James Moore said in the House of Commons that the public broadcaster has approximately 730 employees who earn more than $100,000 a year. Moore said the totals for Lacroix's expenses ranged from $3,114.93 in 2007 to $59,324.70 in 2008 and fluctuated slightly over the next few years to total $29,810.51 last year. “The president of CBC/Radio-Canada is paid by the corporation remuneration at the rate fixed by the Governor in Council in accordance with subsection 43(1) in part III of the Broadcasting Act. Hubert T. Lacroix earns a salary in the CEO 7 range, which for 2011 was $358,400 to $421,600,” Moore said, citing information available on government websites. He added that the cost of Lacroix’s company vehicle, a 2011 Ford Taurus—information also sought by Quebecor Media Inc. in a dispute with the broadcaster over the limitations of access-to-information law—is approximately $10,900 per year. Moore said the salary for Lacroix’s transportation assistant ranges from $34,000 to $56,500. Last November, NDP MP Tyrone Benskin responded to Rathgeber’s requests about the CBC by putting his own questions on the order paper. Among other questions, Benskin asked about the salaries and expenses of officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff Nigel Wright. “Mr. Speaker, under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, the names and exact salaries of personnel cannot be released,” Treasury Board President Tony Clement said Monday in response to Benskin’s query. In response to the disclosure of Wright’s salary, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan added that “an individual’s exact salary constitutes the personal information of that individual and is withheld in accordance with the principles of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.” The CBC came under fire last fall for its slow responses to access-to-information requests, which caused government and industry insiders to question how the corporation spends its yearly $1.1 billion in parliamentary appropriations. Kady Denton, a spokeswoman for a group called I Love CBC-Peterborough, told the House of Commons ethics committee last October that, on average, $34 per year is collected from each taxpayer in Canada to support the CBC. Advocacy groups OpenMedia.ca and Leadnow.ca launched a new online campaign this week, called “Reimagine the CBC,” which invites Canadians to share their ideas about the future of CBC. "As digital technology is breaking old business models, it is also enabling new forms of participation in our culture, economy and governance," the campaign website says. "Perhaps most importantly, it’s connecting Canadians as never before. Public media organizations have a mandate to serve citizens, and this puts them in a unique position to add value and opportunity in this period of change." news@thewirereport.ca

Tory MPs table petitions to defund CBC

Broadcast | January 31, 2012

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