Bouchard must build trust as next CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada CEO, say observers

Quebec television executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard’s appointment as the next president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada comes with big challenges at the beleaguered public broadcaster, say observers who emphasized the need for renewed trust and a revamped funding model.

Marsha Barber, a former senior producer for the CBC’s flagship newscast, “The National,” said Tuesday that morale has been “extremely low at the CBC,” especially after millions of dollars in executive bonuses followed a round of layoffs.

She looked forward to “a fresh start.”

“There have been job losses, there have been vacancies unfilled, the bonuses were a slap in the face to people working on the ground and trying to do their jobs,” said Barber, now a journalism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Barber said low spirits have been compounded by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre vowing to defund the public broadcaster if elected in the next federal vote.

“When you take all of that, new leadership might signify that the CBC is better positioning itself for a brighter future, if Bouchard lives up to her promise.”

Heritage Canada announced Tuesday that Bouchard will begin a five-year term on Jan. 3, 2025.

The francophone TV veteran replaces Catherine Tait, who has been president of the CBC since 2018 and continues to draw fire over executive bonuses and the broader challenges of restoring public trust in the public broadcaster.

In a statement, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge touted Bouchard as “a talented, strong public broadcasting leader with a proven record of transformation.”

Bouchard said in the same release that she looked forward to “charting the path forward.”

“As society changes at a fast pace, so must our public broadcaster, continuing to build trust in order to remain relevant to all Canadians,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard has been president and CEO of TV5 Québec Canada since 2016 and previously worked in various management positions at the CBC in legal services, strategic planning and regulatory affairs, digital services and music.

Journalism professor Dwayne Winseck said Bouchard “rings the right bells” in terms of her management experience at the public broadcaster and her investment in its future.

Bouchard was part of a committee St-Onge set up last May to modernize the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada, which employs more than 7,000 people from “a multitude of backgrounds and cultures,” according to its latest annual report.

Heritage Canada has said there will be no report on the committee’s findings.

Winseck said Bouchard will need to create “some clear blue water” between herself and Tait, who he said leaves behind a troubled legacy and “has been tone deaf.”

Winseck, who teaches at Carleton University, also criticized Tait for living in New York as “a terrible look for the head of the CBC.”

The CBC disputed claims about Tait’s residency in a December 2020 media statement that said Canadian residency is a requirement of the post and that Tait moved back to Canada before assuming the role. However, it also said Tait had spent several months in New York in 2020 to care for her husband.

Winseck said he doesn’t believe Tait had “a grand vision of the CBC to help motivate people” and largely remained out of the spotlight.

“She’s tried to keep her head down for too long and she’s only stuck it up in the last couple of years when things like these bonuses have been on the line, which looks to me as pretty self-serving.”

At a hearing of the Commons heritage committee on Monday, Tait defended spending more than $18 million in performance-based pay to staff this year, despite laying off 141 employees and eliminating 205 vacant positions amid a budget shortfall.

Tait said she believes members of the parliamentary heritage committee have been using her appearances to “vilify” and “discredit” both her and the public broadcaster.

She pushed back against Conservative demands to forgo a financial exit package, including bonuses, when she steps down in January.

Peter Menzies, a senior fellow with the Macdonald Laurier Institute and a former vice chair of the CRTC, said Bouchard’s biggest challenge will be “building trust” both within the CBC and the broader public.

“Public trust has been an issue in recent years for media generally, but it’s been particularly challenging for the CBC on the English side because it’s somehow managed to allow itself to become a political football,” he said.

“The CBC has become a popular subject of derision for a lot of Conservative supporters. If you want to warm up the crowd for a Conservative party rally, just walk in there and shout, ‘Defund the CBC!’ and the room comes alive immediately.”

Menzies said the best way Bouchard can restore faith in the CBC is by implementing significant change right away. He suggests “thinning out” the broadcaster’s management levels.

“The CBC is notorious for having layers of management, and that’s where the bonus controversy comes in,” he said.

“That’s one action that would really get people’s attention: ‘CBC lays off 500 managers.’ Or maybe there’s a new way of funding that the government and the mandate come up with that catches people’s attention.”

Annick Forest, president of the Canadian Media Guild, said she hopes Bouchard will help Ottawa transition the public broadcaster to a long-term funding model. Funding is currently allocated on a yearly basis as part of the federal budget.

“CBC/Radio-Canada must have access to stable, and long-term funding to continue this valuable work,” Forest said in a statement Tuesday, echoing a similar call by Winseck.

Like many broadcasters, the CBC has been struggling with declining ad revenue and shrinking audiences as digital platforms increasingly dominate the media landscape. Its 2023-2024 annual report said trends over the last decade indicate that its traditional TV and radio audiences will “continue to erode as younger Canadians embrace digital technologies.”

St. Onge said she’s confident Bouchard will “provide a steady hand” for the CBC in “a critical time of modernization.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press