(Montreal) It remains unclear whether CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding will be cut by 3%, like the rest of the federal apparatus, at a time when the media industry is under pressure. The answer is not without consequences on the number of jobs that will actually be abolished at the public broadcaster.
At CBC/Radio-Canada, we confirm that the cuts of approximately $125 million announced to employees on Monday take into account the budgetary effort requested from the federal apparatus. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, affirms for her part that no decision has yet been made in this regard.
In its calculations, the public broadcaster took into account the 3% reduction in spending requested from federal agencies by the 2026-2027 fiscal year, confirms the President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, Catherine Tait, in an interview Monday evening.
“We received directives like all ministries and state corporations,” she replies. The figure is within our forecasts. »
However, Minister St-Onge affirms that the decision has not yet been made as to whether CBC/Radio-Canada should participate in this exercise. “As for CBC/Radio-Canada, there is no final decision that has been made yet,” she said Monday in a press scrum.
CBC/Radio-Canada announced to its employees on Monday that it will cut 600 jobs as part of budget cuts of $125 million. Taking into account the approximately 200 positions already vacant, this represents 800 positions, which equates to almost 10% of the workforce.
If Ottawa decides to exempt the public broadcaster from the budgetary exercise imposed on other organizations, the number of job losses would be less significant, recognizes Ms. Tait. “If the situation changes, we will have the possibility of adjusting the number of positions cut. »
The cuts will be “progressive” and will be spread over the next 12 months. Ms. Tait said the majority of layoffs would occur at the start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, in April.
The 3% spending reduction represents approximately 38 million annually. At the Union of Radio-Canada Workers (STTRC-CSN), we judge that the amount involved has a significant effect on the announced job losses.
Of the 125 million budget plan, 25 million is earmarked for reducing discretionary spending and another 40 million is for reducing spending on independent productions.
“There remains 60 million to find and it cuts 800 positions,” reacts the president of the STTRC-CSN, Pierre Tousignant, in an interview. The 38 million that Ottawa is not demanding from Radio-Canada represents a lot of jobs that could not have been affected by the announcement. »
Federal budget cuts, however, represent a relatively “not so high” portion of the overall difficulties facing CBC/Radio-Canada, Ms. Tait adds. She adds that the media industry is going through a “perfect storm.”
The media industry faces many headwinds as web giants capture 80% of the Canadian advertising market. “I fear that the public broadcaster, despite its public funding, is not immune. […] Our financial models have been completely disrupted by these digital giants. »
Unlike streaming giants, Canadian media do not have access to the same listener pools. “We don’t have the advantage of global audiences. We are limited in our Canadian market. »
Fair for the French service?
Ms. Tait also defended herself from not being fair to the French service. Of the 600 job losses expected, approximately 250 will be linked to Radio-Canada while another 250 will come from the English-language network CBC. Around a hundred positions will be linked to administrative services.
The equal number of cuts between the two services has drawn criticism from employees as the CBC network represents a larger share of the crown corporation’s budget.
In Quebec, the Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, believes that Radio-Canada is suffering for CBC’s difficulties. “It’s difficult to understand, moreover, how a competitive channel like that of Radio-Canada can pay so much for CBC’s lack of performance,” he declared on the social network X.
For her part, Ms. Tait judges that the Crown corporation’s plan is fair. She adds that if job losses are equivalent in French and English, the reduction in production expenses will be greater at CBC, i.e. 25 million, than at Radio-Canada (15 million).
“All sectors are involved,” she replies. We are one and the same organization. »
