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The senators are reportedly thinking of issuing supeonas to force the CBC to produce detailed salary information on Mr. Mansbridge, Mr. Ghomeshi, Amanda Lang and other stars of the corporation’s media networks, along with details of $8.5-million in bonuses paid to CBC senior managers and executives last year. The senators are not satisfied with a CBC document that merely reported Mr. Mansbridge’s basic scale salary of $80,485 or Amanda Lang’s even lower salary range.

The reported numbers are obviously below the actual total incomes of CBC personalities, a reporting shortfall that reflects the CBC’s long-standing and justifiable claim that such information is covered under the federal Privacy Act. Even without such a law, such personal information should remain private. Some senators, however, apparently see themselves as crusaders for a cause so high it requires breaches of personal privacy — although exactly what their mission is remains unclear.

Knowing there was a reporter in the Senate committee room, Liberal Senator Terry Mercer decided on Tuesday to generate a little bluster. “I don’t think we’re getting the full picture,” he said. “I think there’s a whole bunch more money being paid to certain people in the CBC that may be outside their salary.” Definitely true, but so what?

Another senator, Tory Don Plett, felt equally blustery: “I believe that people are making bonuses that are larger than what their salaries are indicating.” Again, that’s definitely true. But why isn’t that the end of it, since we all know media stars make relatively high salaries and since making the information public would serve no public purpose? If the CBC were forced to reveal all the details reported on CBC Radio star Jian Ghomeshi’s latest T4, what would be achieved — other than the titillation of right-wingers who could bloviate over how much capitalist cash CBC lefties make at public expense. It might be fun, but it is not substantial information on the state of the CBC, its management or the $1-billion-a-year corporation’s raison d’etre.