OTTAWA — Canada's public broadcaster is feeling the heat after its president declined to rule out the possibility of holiday bonuses this year, hours after announcing massive layoffs. CBC spokesperson Leon Mar confirmed Tuesday the public broadcaster won't be reconsidering the bonuses it would have paid under existing contracts. While the planned cuts were announced on Monday, the public broadcaster has not yet moved forward with laying off employees. But when asked whether it was an option to exempt the public broadcaster from overall spending cuts, Freeland skirted the question. However, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge hinted last week that the federal government is open to limiting how much money the public broadcaster gets.
