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CBC approves more bonuses for 1,200 staff

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Ryan Thorpe 

Among the accomplishments the CBC cites to justify future bonuses, is the fact that among Canadians who use its digital services, “each unique visitor… spends 37.6 minutes every month” on its website – an average of less than 90 seconds per day.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation approved future bonuses for its executives and non-unionized staff, according to the state broadcaster’s latest annual review.

On June 25, the CBC quietly published a notice on its website announcing the approval of another round of bonuses, less than a week after the latest parliamentary session ended.

The bonuses are for work done in the 2023-24 fiscal year. It’s unclear at this time how much this next round of CBC bonuses will cost taxpayers. The approval of future CBC bonuses was first reported by La Presse.

“There’s no way taxpayers should be paying for another round of CBC bonuses,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “And it’s a little suspicious the CBC chose to quietly publish this news days after Parliament broke for summer and after CBC President Catherine Tait was routinely grilled by MPs on this very topic for months.”

The CBC rubberstamped $14.9 million in bonuses in 2023, according to internal documents obtained by the CTF.  The CBC cut 346 jobs during the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Since 2015, the CBC has handed out $114 million in bonuses.

In its strategic plan, the CBC lists five vague “key performance indicators” that trigger bonuses for staff. The CBC says its “annual report, with comprehensive reporting of the 2023-24 [KPI] results, will be available to the public later this summer.”

Among the accomplishments the CBC cites to justify future bonuses, is the fact that among Canadians who use its digital services, “each unique visitor… spends 37.6 minutes every month” on its website – an average of less than 90 seconds per day.

A total of 1,194 non-unionized CBC staff have been approved to receive another bonus.

Tait’s annual pay is between $472,900 and $623,900, which includes salary, bonus and other benefits, according to the CBC’s senior management compensation summary.

In 2014, Tait’s predecessor, Hubert Lacroix, told a Senate committee his annual bonus was “around 20 per cent.”

Even the state broadcaster acknowledged “the views expressed by some that [bonuses] should not be awarded … in times of financial pressures and associated workforce reductions.”

“As a result … [the CBC] is launching a comprehensive review of the Corporation’s compensation regime, including [bonuses],” according to the annual review. “This review will be conducted by a third-party human resources consulting firm.”

It remains unclear at this time how much this third-party review will cost taxpayers.

“The CBC doesn’t need to waste more tax dollars reviewing its bonus scheme, it needs to end the bonuses for good,” Terrazzano said. “If Tait isn’t willing to do the right thing, then the heritage minister, finance minister or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must step in and stop these taxpayer-funded bonuses.”

The CBC will take $1.4 billion in taxpayer cash this year, an all-time high. The federal government also gave the CBC a $42-million funding top-up in Budget 2024 after Tait complained the state broadcaster is subject to “chronic underfunding.”

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Molson Coors beer company walks back DEI policy after being exposed on X

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

An internal memo from brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Co. reveals that the company is abandoning its DEI hiring and promotion processes, meaning it will no longer be making decisions based on race, sexuality or other categories.

Brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Co., a large Canadian-American multinational company, will be dropping its woke corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies after it received backlash online following an exposé by a popular conservative activist. 

A recently revealed internal memo says that the company’s DEI employee training process has been discontinued, and as such it will no longer have specific “representation goals” in how it hires new people.  

The company, as per a Canadian Press report, will also no longer be participating in the Human Rights Campaign ranking program. The Human Rights Campaign is an LGBT advocacy group that ranks companies based on how “inclusive” their workplaces are.  

According to Molson Coors, it will now follow its own internal metrics to develop a “strong workplace where everyone can thrive.” 

Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist and filmmaker, had earlier called out Molson Coors for its woke DEI policies, noting on X on September 3 that he recently “let them know that I planned to expose their woke policies.” 

“Today they’re preemptively making changes,” he wrote.  

Starbuck said that the coming changes include, “Ending participation in the @HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index social credit system,” as well as “No more DEI based training programs.” 

Also gone will be donations to “divisive events.” There will also be no more “supplier diversity goals” as well as “executive/employee compensation tied to DEI hiring goals.” 

As reported by LifeSiteNews, over the past decade left-wing activists have used DEI dogma as well as “environmental, social, & governance” (ESG) standards to encourage major Canadian and U.S. corporations to take particular stands when it comes to both political and cultural issues, notably in promotion of homosexuality, transgenderism, race relations, the environment, and abortion.  

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Agriculture

P&H Group building $241-million flour milling facility in Red Deer County.

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P&H Milling Group has qualified for the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program

Alberta’s food processing sector is the second-largest manufacturing industry in the province and the flour milling industry plays an important role within the sector, generating millions in annual economic impact and creating thousands of jobs. As Canada’s population continues to increase, demand for high-quality wheat flour products is expected to rise. With Alberta farmers growing about one-third of Canada’s wheat crops, the province is well-positioned to help meet this demand.

Alberta’s Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program is supporting this growing sector by helping to attract a new wheat flour milling business to Red Deer County. P&H Milling Group, a division of Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited, is constructing a $241-million facility in the hamlet of Springbrook to mill about 750 metric tonnes of wheat from western Canadian farmers into flour, every single day. The new facility will complement the company’s wheat and durum milling operation in Lethbridge.

“P&H Milling Group’s new flour mill project is proof our Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program is doing its job to attract large-scale investments in value-added agricultural manufacturing. With incentives like the ag tax credit, we’re providing the right conditions for processors to invest in Alberta, expand their business and help stimulate our economy.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

P&H Milling Group’s project is expected to create about 27 permanent and 200 temporary jobs. Byproducts from the milling process will be sold to the livestock feed industry across Canada to create products for cattle, poultry, swine, bison, goats and fish. The new facility will also have capacity to add two more flour mills as demand for product increases in the future.

“This new facility not only strengthens our position in the Canadian milling industry, but also boostsAlberta’s baking industry by supplying high-quality flour to a diverse range of customers. We are proud to contribute to the local economy and support the agricultural community by sourcing 230,000 metric tonnes of locally grown wheat each year.”

John Heimbecker, CEO, Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited

To be considered for the tax credit program, corporations must invest at least $10 million in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta. The program offers a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit based on eligible capital expenditures. Through this program, Alberta’s government has granted P&H Milling Group conditional approval for a tax credit estimated at $27.3 million.

“We are grateful P&H Milling Group chose to build here in Red Deer County. This partnership willbolster our local economy and showcase our prime centralized location in Alberta, an advantage that facilitates efficient operations and distribution.”

Jim Wood, mayor, Red Deer County

Quick facts

  • In 2023, Alberta’s food processing sector generated $24.3 billion in sales, making it the province’s second-largest manufacturing industry, behind petroleum and coal.
  • That same year, just over three million metric tonnes of milled wheat and more than 2.3 million metric tonnes of wheat flour was manufactured in Canada.
  • Alberta’s milled wheat and meslin flour exports increased from $8.6 million in 2019 to $19.8 million in 2023, a 130.2 per cent increase.
  • Demand for flour products rose in Alberta from 2019 to 2022, with retail sales increasing by 24 per cent during that period.
  • Alberta’s flour milling industry generated about $840.7 million in economic impact and created more than 2,200 jobs on average between 2018 and 2021.
  • Alberta farmers produced 9.3 million metric tonnes of wheat in 2023, representing 29.2 per cent of total Canadian production.

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