And when the CBC does work…
March 17, 2008 — britishgingerDoes the end justify the means? This following Toronto Sun article offers something to ponder…
The Toronto Sun Online, March 17, 2008
Puttin’ on the Ritz
CBC executives live it up at taxpayers’ expense
| By PETER ZIMONJIC, NATIONAL BUREAU |
OTTAWA — Executives at Canada’s public broadcaster have run up huge bills staying at luxury palace-like hotels in Europe where rooms go for a staggering $800-plus a night.
Documents obtained through Access to Information show former president and CEO of the taxpayer-funded CBC, Robert Rabinovitch, enjoyed a five-day stay at the posh Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel in Turkey.
The stay in September 2006 cost $4,377 to enjoy the hospitality of one of the world’s most luxurious resort accommodations.
The hotel’s website entices potential visitors with the promise of “a personal butler for each guest, award winning cuisine” and “luxurious facilities.”
The Ciragan hotel, located right on the Bosphorus, or Istanbul Strait, boasts that it “offers the ultimate in luxury and glamour of a genuine Ottoman Palace.”
Images on the website show pools where guests can swim as they take in the views, docks at the seaside where yachts can be parked and stunning palace-like facades.
Bill Chambers, CBC’s vice-president of communications, said Rabinovitch’s trip was to attend a conference of top broadcasting executives.
He called it “a very wise expenditure of our funds” because it provided a unique opportunity to discuss future co-productions from around the world.
Documents also show that Nancy Lee, former head of CBC Sports, and her deputy David Masse, spent $8,590 over five days staying at the sister hotel to the Ciragan, the Kempinski Hotel Adlon in Berlin.
The trip was from June 11-16, 2006, the beginning of the World Cup, to attend meetings with FIFA about buying soccer rights for the CBC.
Rooms at the Adlon cost about $840 a night. For that, guests stay in the lap of luxury and are provided with their own mobile phone to use throughout the hotel. The food is described as gourmet throughout and guests are promised the staff will “meet the most exacting demands for comfort and service.”
Lee also billed the CBC about $200 for something called “Kosmetik” during her stay. Chambers could not explain the expense, but staff at the hotel said it was likely for the purchase of skin lotion or another cosmetic product.
But Chambers defended the costs incurred.
“It’s an expensive night, but it’s worth it. After all, she came home with a FIFA deal.”
A few months after the luxury Berlin trip, documents show Lee staying at a $548-a-night hotel on Sept. 27, 2006 for meetings in New York.
