CBC Accused of Withholding the Salaries of Its Stars

Lacroix responded to the Senate’s committee on transport and communications’ request for financial disclosure by submitting 184 pages of base employee salary scales that senators said left out the full take-home income of many of the corporation’s big-name personalities.

For instance, Lacroix’s submission revealed that the host of CBC’s The National, Peter Mansbridge, one of the most famous journalists in Canada, makes roughly $80,000 — the same as a lower-level reporter.

“It’s just not credible,” said committee member and Sen. Terry Mercer on Wednesday. “You can’t give us numbers like that and expect us to believe it,” he said.

Sen. Dennis Dawson told QMI Agency that Lacroix’s non-disclosure was “an insult to the committee.”

Dawson said British citizens know how much their public broadcasters make, “so why should we have an exception for the CBC in Canada?”

The CBC has often refused to disclose its financial information, despite its annual $1-billion taxpayer subsidy.

Lacroix’s spokeswoman, France Belisle, said specific salary information is confidential under the Privacy Act, but that the CBC “is continually looking at ways to improve how and what it reports to Canadians.”

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http://www.torontosun.com/2014/05/14/senate-says-cbcs-moves-to-hide-salaries-of-big-names-an-insult