The Paris trips of Michel Bissonnette, Radio-Canada’s former senior vice-president of French services, cost taxpayers dearly, they say The newspaper.
• Also read: Radio-Canada’s vice-president resigns
If we examine the travel expense summary of the person who submitted his resignation on Tuesday, we see that each of the six refunds for round-trip tickets to Paris returned to him since July 2019 are worth between $7,649 and $9,107. had dollars.
These trips were used to attend TV5 Monde board meetings and business meetings, as we can learn in the Proactive Disclosure section of the Radio-Canada/CBC website.
From the time he took office in 2016 to July 2019, a period during which the Crown corporation’s disclosed transportation costs make no distinction between reimbursements for airplane flights and other types of travel, Radio-Canada never paid less than $6,600 for its trips to Paris . except in two cases ($4,377 in April 2019 and $5,833 in June 2018).
A trip to Banff is four times more expensive
In comparison, his former English service colleague Barbara Williams traveled to an International Olympic Committee meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, for $2,800 in January 2020.
Another expense that raises questions: Michel Bissonnette’s ticket to fly to Banff for the Banff World Media Festival in June 2022 was four times more expensive than the one Barbara Williams was reimbursed for the same event: $4,512 versus $1,085.
In total, from July 2019 to August 2023, Michel Bissonnette received a refund of $65,303 for his airline tickets, with a total cost (restaurant and accommodation) of $121,081.
As we can see in the box, the pandemic, particularly the travel ban period, has curbed spending by Radio-Canada executives.
In business class
When contacted by Le Journal, Radio-Canada was unable to explain why Mr. Bissonnette’s trips are so expensive compared to Ms. Williams’s.
“It is difficult for us to answer. We do not know the prices in effect at the time of reservation,” Radio-Canada spokesman Marc Pichette said via email, noting that in the case of the trip to Banff, the original ticket was changed to add a stopover in Vancouver for a Radio-Canada board meeting.
Mr. Pichette clarified that Mr. Bissonnette traveled in business class and never first class. The state-owned company’s rules allow executives and board members to book business class for trips longer than 850 kilometers.
Mr. Pichette also assured that Michel Bissonnette’s departure had nothing to do with his travel expenses.
Travel expenses of Michel Bissonnette
2023
- Total cost: $33,229.30
- Airplane: $17,177.94
2022
- Total cost: $38,689.73
- Airplane: $22,067.37
2021
- Total cost: $1083.52
- Airplane: $0
2020
- Total cost: $17,554.69
- Airplane: $10,383.42
2019 (from July)
- Total cost: $29,524.81
- Airplane: $15,674.90
Source: CBC/Radio-Canada website
Michael Goldblum, Treasurer
Since he was elected CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, we can’t blame Michael Goldbloom for erring on the side of excessive opulence. His travel expenses have cost Canadian taxpayers $24,812 since 2018, public SRC documents show, mostly for his attendance at meetings in major Canadian cities. In comparison, Michel Bissonnette billed his employers more than $33,000 in 2023 alone.
Catherine Tait, meticulous
The head of CBC/Radio-Canada meticulously fulfills her spending allocations. So in 2022, the year in which she claimed refunds of $ 68,129, especially for her trips to Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, Geneva and Brussels, she did not forget to add an invoice to her reports for … 6 $.22 to attach at a press – cafe counter.
Michel Bissonnette, gourmet
Former Vice President Michel Bissonnette has a refined palate and enjoys visiting Montreal’s best restaurants for his business lunches. His expense accounts include several meals at Bouillon Bilk, a fine restaurant on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, and visits to Monarque.