Tait Reappointed as CBC President for Just 18 Months as Public Broadcaster’s Mandate Is Reassessed

CBC President Catherine Tait arrives on the red carpet at the Juno Awards in London, Ont., Sunday, March 17, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Cabinet has reappointed Catherine Tait as president and CEO of CBC and Radio-Canada for just an 18-month term as Ottawa reassesses the public broadcaster’s mandate going forward in a shifting online “environment,” says Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

Tait was appointed to a five-year term as CBC’s president in July 2018, but Rodriguez told reporters in Ottawa on June 1 that Canada’s online information landscape will be “so different” in a year and a half due to the recent passage of the Online Streaming Act and the expected passing of Bill C-18 that he’s decided to reappoint Tait to only an 18-month term.