The public broadcaster has abruptly “ended its relationship” with news host Evan Solomon saying he acted in ways “inconsistent” with the CBC code of ethics. The decision came barely one hour after the Toronto Star newspaper reported Solomon had “secretly been brokering lucrative art deals” with people he dealt with through his job.
The report cited the code of ethics which states “employees must not use their positions to further their personal interests.
“I did not view the art business as a conflict with my political journalism at the CBC and never intentionally used my position at the CBC to promote the business,” said Solomon in a statement issued through his lawyer. He said he was “deeply sorry” for any damage done to the trust CBC and its audience put in him.
One of several embarrassments
This is the latest embarrassment for the public broadcaster which fired star radio host Jian Ghomeshi who is now facing several sexual assault charges.
CBC business reporter Amanda Lang was recently criticized for an alleged conflict of interest in her reporting. And CBC’s chief news anchor, Peter Mansbridge and free-lance radio host Rex Murphy faced criticism for fees they accepted for speaking to oil industry gatherings.
After internal inquiries the broadcaster concluded these last three did not violate journalistic standards, but CBC announced it would no longer allow on-air journalists to accept paid appearances.
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