New CBC boss says Poilievre an ‘existential threat’ to public broadcaster

CBC’s new chief executive officer has suggested that Pierre Poilievre poses an “existential threat” to the public broadcaster.

Marie-Philippe Bouchard, who took over for Catherine Tait in early January, also said that despite backlash over bonuses given to executives in the past, she was unsure whether she would receive one herself.

During an interview with the ‘s Matt Galloway, Bouchard was asked about the Conservative leader’s repeated promise to defund the network, thereby doing away with all English services and leaving only some French services.

She noted that while it remains to be seen whether Poilievre gets elected and actually follows through on those plans, it was nonetheless worrying.

“It is to some extent an existential threat because it wouldn’t be the same corporation that we have today,” Bouchard said of the plan. “There’s a limit to how we can absorb budgetary change in the government money that is attributed to us to manage every year, and so yes, there are risks in many areas. We have to consider there’s a possibility something happens in that line, so what would be left depends on how it’s executed.”

She suggested cutting government funding would “cripple” both the English and French services, and create a void in the nation’s media landscape.

Bouchard called public media “an incredible tool” in the fight against misinformation and disinformation, especially for younger Canadians, emphasizing that she wants to “make sure that it exists for future generations as well.”

On the issue of bonuses, she acknowledged the controversy under Tait’s rule and noted that the results of an independent review requested by the CBC’s board of directors should be available in the coming weeks.

“I’ve just started this job,” Bouchard said, “so the issue of whether or not a bonus is available, or should be awarded, is not even an issue.”