CBC president likely to be grilled by senators about Ghomeshi affair

OTTAWA — The president of the CBC will have one more turn testifying in front of a Senate committee early next year, and in a rare move, he’s been provided the questions for his final grilling.

If the most recent meeting on the Senate’s study of the CBC is any indication, there will likely be questions to Hubert Lacroix about management actions around the public broadcaster’s handling of the Jian Ghomeshi affair.

Ghomeshi is the latest issue to pop into a Senate study of the challenges facing the CBC and the future of public broadcasting in an era of declining government subsidies and advertising dollars. Questions about Ghomeshi, the salaries of top personalities such as Peter Mansbridge, and questionable expense claims from Lacroix himself have raised objections from Senate Liberals that Conservative senators were putting too much of a political tinge on the study.

Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.

To get ahead of his next appearance, the Senate communications committee decided in October to send Lacroix a list of questions he should be prepared to answer.

A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance.

Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.

Nor could Racine answer some questions about the Ghomeshi affair. Under questioning, Racine told the committee that CBC managers informed the board of directors of Ghomeshi’s firing hours before it became official on Oct. 26. Directors also received a briefing on the matter, he said.

Racine said the board wouldn’t normally be told about an employee issue, but Ghomeshi “was different.”

Ghomeshi has been charged with sexual assault and choking, stemming from complaints by three women. The allegations have not been tested in court, and Ghomeshi’s lawyer has said he will plead not guilty.