Catherine Tait to become CBC president, the first woman to hold role

OTTAWA -- The federal government is making a Canadian television and film executive the first woman to head the CBC/Radio-Canada in the organization's history.

Heritage Minister Melanie Joly will make the appointment of Catherine Tait official in an announcement this morning on Parliament Hill.

Tait, 60, has worked in the film and television business in Canada and the United States for more than 30 years, including time at Telefilm Canada and as a former president of Salter Street Films, which produced a CBC mainstay, "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."

People who have worked with Tait say she has a deep understanding of the domestic and international industry and describe her being unafraid to take risks.

She lives in New York and is currently president of Duopoly, a company that produces digital, television and film content.

Tait's appointment is the latest in a series of moves the Liberals have made at the public broadcaster that began in 2016 when it boosted funding to the CBC by $675 million over five years.

The government also launched an overhaul last year of how members of the board of directors are chosen -- a response to complaints that the selection process was open to political interference and did not reflect Canada's diversity.

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