CBC to stop paying individual bonuses after controversy

The CBC logo is projected onto a screen in Toronto on May 29, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

The CBC’s board of directors says the Crown corporation will no longer pay individual bonuses to employees.

The board says in a statement it will discontinue what CBC refers to as “performance pay” and adjust salaries of affected staff to compensate them.

The move comes after the public broadcaster was criticized for paying out millions in bonuses after eliminating hundreds of jobs.

The statement follows the release of an independent review by Mercer Canada of the broadcaster’s compensation for non-unionized employees, including senior executives.

That review says while the CBC is generally aligned with other companies and private sector organizations the bonuses have “faced scrutiny.”

It says if CBC decides to get rid of its performance-based incentive program, the broadcaster should take steps to ensure compensation stays in the “midpoint of the market.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press