CBC speaks out in Ghomeshi case

The CBC’s Executive Vice-President is speaking out for the first time about the allegations that surfaced against the broadcaster’s former radio host, Jian Ghomeshi.

Heather Conway says she’s finally ready to talk about Ghomeshi. The CBC has, of course, been under pressure to discuss what it knew about the allegations and when they surfaced. spoke with the CBC’s Carol Off.

Conway says she hasn’t spoken for the last two weeks because she’s been dealing with the management of the issue as well as the implications of it. When asked if Ghomeshi was protected at the expense of other employees, she answers by saying it’s difficult to know, but from what she’s heard, he was a very difficult and demanding person to work with and he made the workplace toxic. Conway goes on to say that what made the CBC shift their view of the situation was when it went from being a story about Ghomeshi’s sex life, to the videos and messages they saw which showed violence against women.

Heather Conway, CBC Executive Vice-President: “If Chris Boyce and the others saw violence against women, why didn’t they take that to the police? Because the material in question was part of a record that was characterized by Mr. Ghomeshi and his lawyers as a proof of consent I step back. Our threshold at the CBC is not one of legal consent. My expectations of the behaviour of the people at the CBC and the people who represent it, is much higher than the low bar of legal consent.”

One of the women who is accusing Ghomeshi of violent behaviour is encouraging other victims not to be afraid of speaking to police.

“Trailer Park Boys” actress Lucy Decoutere says her interactions with officers made her feel “warm and validated”. She’s sharing her experience to make other women feel more at ease about reporting sexual violence. She’s one of at least nine women who have accused Ghomeshi of violence or sexual assault, allegations he’s disputed and said he will fight.

As for the CBC, Conway says it was clearly a dysfunctional workplace for those who worked with Ghomeshi on the radio show ‘Q’. She acknowledges that the broadcaster has to do better and that public trust will have to be earned back over time.