Former CBC host says he was silenced, bullied and intimidated by senior leadership

OTTAWA — Former CBC journalist Travis Dhanraj told MPs Tuesday he was silenced, bullied and intimidated by senior leadership and hosts at the public broadcaster, which he says needs a “wake-up call.”

Dhanraj, who worked at the CBC until his public and fiery resignation last July, testified about his experience to the Commons Heritage Committee on Tuesday.

Dhanraj once hosted Canada Tonight with Travis Dhanraj, a nightly news show on CBC Television, until his departure that sparked a controversy over allegations of perceived bias in news coverage. In letters he made public at the time, Dhanraj accused the public broadcaster of “tokenism masquerading as diversity, problematic political coverage protocols, and the erosion of editorial independence.”

On Tuesday, Dhanraj detailed his allegations further, telling MPs that he was barred from inviting Conservatives on his show because they did not appear on the broadcaster’s flagship politics show, Power & Politics.

He argued that he even faced discipline after interviewing Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman.

“Political access was centralized, booking decisions controlled elsewhere,” he said. “Power & Politics, hosted by David Cochrane, was given gatekeeping authority over which politicians could appear on Canada Tonight.

“I wasn’t even allowed to pick up the phone and call to request (Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre,” he added.

CBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No CBC representatives were scheduled to testify at the committee on Tuesday.

At the time of Dhanraj’s resignation, CBC rejected his claims.

“We are dismayed by these attacks on our hosts and newsroom leaders. We will vigorously defend against false claims, including allegations of political bias in guest selection,” CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly said at the time.

Dhanraj was one of 10 individuals from seven groups testifying to the committee Tuesday on the state of journalism and the media industry.

He arrived at committee with one binder of documents featuring the CBC logo on the cover and another emblazoned with the word “receipts.”

The former journalist reiterated many of the allegations made in his complaint against the public broadcaster to the Canadian Human Rights Commission last summer.

That included arguing that CBC’s commitment to diversity was in reality tokenism and did not extend to diversity of ideas or political beliefs.

He also criticized CBC for allegedly trying to get him to sign a non-disclosure agreement after he raised concerns about editorial independence.

“It’s about systemic control, tokenism, selective enforcement, and a toxic culture where intimidation went unchecked,” said Dhanraj, who is of Caribbean heritage.

“I think CBC needs to have, you know, a wake-up call here in terms of accountability,” he said.

Many of Dhanraj’s issues came to a head after he wrote on social media that then-CBC president Catherine Tait had declined to appear on his show amid outrage over generous CBC executive bonuses at a time of attrition at the public broadcaster.

“The tweet was not the beginning. It was the breaking point. For months prior, tensions had been building, not over performance, but over control.”

National Post

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