Travis Dhanraj, former CBC Television anchor and host of the prime time Canada Tonight show, is calling for an investigation into possible conversations between the then-Prime Minister’s Office and senior management at the broadcaster to try and influence the news agenda. Dhanraj was testifying before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa Tuesday.
Responding to a question from Conservative Member of Parliament, Rachael Thomas, the former anchor said, “I know that concerns have been raised” about such conversations, adding that CBC journalists “fearful of professional reprisal” have not pressed for an investigation. “Whether or not there was influence from a former prime minister’s office in terms of editorial decisions … even the allegations on its face needs to be investigated,” he told the committee.
Dhanraj, who capped a 25-year career in journalism when he announced his resignation seven months ago, testified before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which is studying the “State of the Journalism and Media Sectors.”
His suspicions appeared to stem from the period when former prime minister Justin Trudeau was in office.
In a written submission to the committee, with 11 recommendations to improve editorial fairness and transparency at the CBC, the former news anchor called for “Commissioning an independent, data-driven audit of political coverage across CBC’s principal political programs over the past five years, including AI-assisted analysis of airtime distribution, framing, and frequency of scrutiny applied to recognized political parties, to assess balance and editorial consistency.”
Following his resignation, the CBC journalist also filed a complaint before the Canadian Human Rights Commission, citing a toxic work culture and discrimination. He told the MPs that he started his media career as a 19-year-old as an “audience coordinator” at the CBC to buttress his assertion that he has always been an advocate for public broadcasting.
During his testimony, Dhanraj repeated allegations that he first aired in his letter of resignation. They included charges that the national broadcaster was biased against the Conservatives, had a “blacklist” of about 45 guests who could not be invited on his news show, “gatekeeping” by a group of Ottawa senior journalists who had veto authority over whom he could feature, and “tokenism” by using his “face and name” as a hallmark of diversity.
“This is not about left or right,” he said at one point scanning the committee room, stressing later that “I’m not a cheerleader for the Conservatives … nor for the Liberals.” The committee is chaired by a Liberal, Lise Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Ontario), who said she began her career as a community reporter, and includes Conservative and Bloc Quebecois members.
Tuesday’s meeting had several speakers, including Paul Deegan, president and chief executive of News Media Canada, representatives of Friends of Canadian Media, and the co-founders of Freshet News, a non-profit, reporter-led newsroom that serves Burnaby, New Westminster and the Tri-Cities in British Columbia.
However, the former CBC news personality received the most pointed questions, mostly from the committee’s vice-chair Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge, Alberta) and another Conservative member Kerry Diotte (Edmonton Griesbach, Alberta).
Diversity of thought
Diotte wondered whether the witness thought the three panelists on the CBC’s flagship political news segment At Issue reflected “fairness, balance and diversity.” Dhanraj demurred, deferring to CBC management who make these decisions. However, he did confirm that he was not allowed to invite the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, on his news show and agreed to provide the committee with the list of 45 Canadians who he said were barred from being invited as guests.
At one point Thomas, stressing that “the public are the [CBC’s] shareholders” because the corporation receives over $1.4 billion in annual federal funding, asked Dhanraj for his thoughts on restoring trust in the media, including at the CBC. “The CBC should not be a polarizing force,” Dhanraj replied, adding it would need to show greater accountability to Parliament, besides an overhaul of its management.
Among his other recommendations submitted in writing to the parliamentary committee: a review of “newsroom culture” to protect journalists who complain about bias, hierarchy, harassment or retaliation; scrutiny of CBC’s political booking system; the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence criticism; and enhancing whistleblower protections.
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