The federal government will begin early in the new year the search for a new head of CBC/Radio-Canada, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said Tuesday as she faced questions about her confidence in its current leader.

The mandate for Catherine Tait, the public broadcaster鈥檚 current president and CEO since 2018, is set to expire in January 2025 after it was extended back in June.

鈥淲e will put together a committee that will start searching for the best candidates around the country,鈥� St-Onge said on her way into the government鈥檚 weekly cabinet meeting.

The successful candidate, she said, will have to 鈥渓ead our public broadcaster into the transformation that it needs to go through because of the media crisis.鈥�

It was always the plan to assemble a committee to find Tait鈥檚 replacement, but the timing of such an effort was not clear before Tuesday.

St-Onge, however, wouldn鈥檛 directly answer questions about whether she still has confidence in Tait, saying the government鈥檚 focus is on finding her successor.

鈥淚鈥檓 saying that right now we are going to concentrate on finding the right person to lead the public broadcaster at the end of Catherine Tait鈥檚 mandate.鈥�

Tait鈥檚 tenure has come under fierce scrutiny in recent days after last week鈥檚 announcement that the broadcaster would cut 600 jobs and not fill 200 vacancies over the next year to manage a $125-million shortfall.

The criticism only grew more intense, including from various partisan camps, after an appearance on CBC鈥檚 The National that same day where she said it was 鈥渢oo early鈥� to say whether executives would receive bonuses.

Last week, MPs on the parliamentary heritage committee voted to summon Tait in the new year to answer for the cuts and whether executives will receive bonuses.

In a statement last Friday, Tait and seven vice-presidents said they were aware of the concerns and that 鈥渁ll possible measures鈥� were being considered to manage financial pressures, including a look at 鈥渟enior executive compensation.鈥�

St-Onge said Tuesday that the public broadcaster must 鈥渃onsider the financial situation and the impact that it has on employees at large.鈥�

She said questions about bonuses should be answered by executives.

As a Crown corporation, CBC/Radio-Canada operates independently of Parliament, but receives roughly $1 billion in public funding annually.

Leon Mar, a spokesperson for the public broadcaster, referred to the executives鈥� latest statement when pressed for details on the options being considered when it comes to the issue of bonuses.

He also confirmed that Tait is in Australia at the invitation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to appear in her capacity as the chair of a task force on public media, where she planned to speak at an event and meet with other industry leaders.

Tait is spending a week of her annual leave while in Australia, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is picking up the tab for her transportation and accommodation, Mar added.

鈥淪he is paying for any other expenses,鈥� he said. 鈥淢s. Tait felt that it would be more appropriate to take annual leave for this trip, since she will also be taking some personal time while she is there.鈥�

Still, when reporters asked St-Onge about the trip on Tuesday, the minister said in French that while it is important for Tait to be at such gatherings, 鈥渋t鈥檚 not an opportune moment right now.鈥�

Mar said the broadcaster had 鈥渘othing to add鈥� in response to St-Onge.

During question period Tuesday, Bloc Qu茅b茅cois MP Martin Champoux also pressed the minister about her confidence in Tait in light of the cuts and her trip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press