The CRTC’s Performance, 1969-2025 looked at the commission’s role and performance based on three strategic objectives established by the Treasury Board in 2024 – transparency, accountability, and participation by the public in government decision-making.

Breaking down the CRTC’s own numbers, the FRPC report takes aim at the gradual reduction in hearings the public can actually attend – from dozens in the 1980s to a handful in the last decade, supplemented by private meetings with lobbyists (an average of 44 per year in the same period), which it says raises concerns about whose interests are being heard.

FRPC also reviewed CRTC resources, finding that from 1969-88, it issued nearly 31,000 decisions with an average staff of 380 people (some 80 decisions per staff person). From 2005-24, the commission issued just over 12,000 decisions, with an average staff of 460 full-time or equivalent persons, or roughly 27 decisions per staff person. Its 2025-26 Departmental Plan indicates a contingent of 717 full-time or equivalent staff, a 56% increase over the 2005-24 average.

“FRPC believes there are evidence-based grounds for serious concerns about the degree to which the CRTC is meeting TBS’ [Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat] 2024 principles of Transparency, Accountability and public Participation. The concerns centre around the fact that, in 2025, the CRTC is effectively unaccountable to Parliament and to Canadians due to: the non-transparency of the CRTC’s decision-making processes, the lack of any published objective evidence from the CRTC describing how it has implemented and is implementing Parliament’s broadcasting and telecommunications policies, its noncompliance with reporting requirements regarding CBC non-compliance which the Broadcasting Act mandates, its evasion of requirements for public hearings by redefining the term to mean both ‘appearing’ (public) and ‘non-appearing’ (non-public) processes, and its general lack of timeliness in its licensing, policy-making and alternative-dispute resolution processes,” the report states.

FRPC believes it’s time to undertake a review of the CRTC to determine “whether and how it has been and is implementing Parliament’s broadcasting and telecommunications policies, and whether it is meeting this responsibility in an efficient, effective and timely manner,” however the organization is emphatic that it is not suggesting the commission be replaced or dismantled.

“To the contrary, as the CRTC is empowered to change its own by-laws and its procedural rules, the CRTC can readily amend its processes to make them transparent and to facilitate its accountability – and can do so on its own motion and quickly,” it stated.

Recommendations

Among its recommendations, the Forum is suggesting the CRTC publish minutes of the meetings of the commission and its committees, including copies of any presentations made at meetings within one week; ensure that all of its decisions are signed by the commissioners who made the decisions (including those who dissented), and published, if necessary, by providing abbreviated summaries of the facts and outcomes; ensure decisions are published on matters resulting “in now-secret Letter Decisions”; and improve the timeliness of its decision-making by publishing decisions concerning broadcasting, telecom and online news applications within four months of receiving the applications, and policies within six months of initiating proceedings.

It is also asking the CRTC to publish annual – or more frequent – statistical updates on its implementation of Parliament’s broadcasting and telecom policies, convene an annual meeting of interested parties to respond to questions about data published by the CRTC, and invite comments every two years on the measures it uses to evaluate its performance.

Read an OP-ED from FRPC Executive Director Monica Auer on CARTT.ca, our sister web publication, here.

The post CRTC performance termed ‘secretive and slow’ in FRPC report appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

The executive bonus structure, known as the Short-Term Incentive Plan, sparked outrage in late 2023 when the Canadian Taxpayers Federation released data indicating that in 2022, the CBC paid out more than $16 million in bonuses in the face of a looming $125 million budget shortfall. Catherine Tait, then president of the public broadcaster, went on to defend the bonus structure before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage saying that “like every other Crown Corporation” performance pay was a key part of the total compensation for non-union staff – about 1,140 employees.

The corporation’s Board of Directors commissioned a review last June. Conducted by HR consulting firm Mercer, it found that overall compensation of non-unionized employees is in the middle (50th percentile), in line with its peer counterparts in media, private and public organizations.

In a statement released this week, the board said while performance pay is focused on short-term competitive targets like generating revenue or annual digital reach, arguably progress on longer-term public service goals – like improving CBC/Radio-Canada’s value to all citizens and strengthening Canadian culture – “are in many ways a more effective measure of success. They also align more closely with the priorities of public media organizations around the world.”

“To prioritize these objectives, the Board of Directors, with the advice and concurrence of the President and CEO [Marie-Phillipe Bouchard], has decided to discontinue individual performance pay as part of the overall compensation earned by eligible employees of CBC/Radio-Canada,” the statement said. “In order to keep overall compensation at the current median level, salaries of those affected will be adjusted to reflect the elimination of individual performance pay.”

“CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to set individual and corporate objectives and measure performance, but performance targets will no longer be used to determine part of individual compensation.”

The post CBC/Radio-Canada to end executive performance bonuses appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

It has also announced Paul Rutledge as the recipient of this year’s ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award. Known for his work in more than 145 feature films and series, Rutledge has performed stunt work in films like Nightmare Alley, RoboCop, The Incredible Hulk, and Johnny Mnemonic, and served as stunt coordinator on countless other productions, including TV series Reign, Relic Hunter, and Due South.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the 21st ACTRA Awards in Toronto together and in-person for the first time in three years,” said ACTRA Toronto President David Gale. “In 2023, we will applaud the outstanding performances by our members in everything from short and feature films to web series, animation and narration as well as honour the career excellence of our Stunt Award recipient.”

This year’s nominees are:

Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Female:

Raven Dauda as Angela McManus in Five Days at Memorial, “Day Five” (ABC Signature, International Famous Players Radio Picture Corporation, Scott Rudin Productions)

Grace Glowicki as Robin in Until Branches Bend (Ceroma Films, Experimental Forest Films, Reign Films)

Christine Horne as Dr. Lakeland in Ashgrove (Banana-Moon Sky Films, Cryingman Productions, Peter Harvey Productions)

Kiana Madeira as Aisha in Brother (Hawkeye Pictures, Conquering Lion Pictures)

Sheila McCarthy as Greta in Women Talking (Hear/Say Productions, Plan B Entertainment)

Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Male:

Constant Bernard as Flo in Rosie (Assini Productions, Night Market)

Jonas Chernick as Jason in Ashgrove (Banana-Moon Sky Films, Cryingman Productions, Peter Harvey Productions)

Adolyn H. Dar as Imran in Desi Standard Time Travel (Dunya Media)

Araya Mengesha as Phil in Revenge of the Black Best Friend, “The One Who Dies First” (iThentic)

Eric Peterson as Junior in Junior’s Giant (Bankrupt T Clown Productions Limited)

Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Female Voice:

AJ Bridel as Pipp Petals in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, “Izzy Does It” (Allspark Animation; Boulder Media; Entertainment One; Hasbro Studios; Hasbro; Thunderbird Entertainment)

Ellen Dubin, Narrator in Dance Me to the End (ECW Press Ltd.)

Ana Sani as Izzy Moonbow in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, “The Traditional Unicorn Sleepover” (Allspark Animation; Boulder Media; Entertainment One; Hasbro Studios; Hasbro; Thunderbird Entertainment)

bahia watson as Misty in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, “The Traditional Unicorn Sleepover” (Allspark Animation; Boulder Media; Entertainment One; Hasbro Studios; Hasbro; Thunderbird Entertainment)

Louisa Zhu as Bonz-Eye in Transformers: BotBots, “Lone Bot and Carb” (Bardel Entertainment; Boat Rocker Studios; Boulder Media; Entertainment One; Hasbro Studios; Hasbro; eOne Television)

Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Male Voice:

Josh Cruddas as Sterling in Doomlands, “Imaginary Fiends” (Blue Ant Media; Look Mom! Productions)

Cory Doran as Balloonicus in Super Wish, “Copycat” (Discovery Kids Latin America; Nelvana; Redknot)

Jeremy Harris as Phil in Big Blue, “Fraidy Phil” (Guru Animation Studio)

Billy MacLellan, Narrator in Each Man’s Son (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

Ivan Sherry as Old Bennett Bramble in Saving Me, “Mind Trip” (Sphere Animation)

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing over 15,000  professional performers working in recorded media in Canada.

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The post ACTRA Toronto announces Outstanding Performance nominees appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.