TORONTO — Former CBC host Travis Dhanraj told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that editorial interference, internal culture problems and political bias at CBC News have eroded public trust in the publicly funded broadcaster.Early in his testimony, Dhanraj described an incident during editorial discussions about Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich. He told MPs that after he noted Lich had multiple last names, David Cochrane, host of Power & Politics, allegedly responded that “people who live in trailers usually do.”Dhanraj said remarks like that, while sometimes made off-hand in newsroom conversations, should be examined if they reflect a broader pattern.“CBC is gaslighting Canadians,” he said.“If this is a pattern, you have to look a little bit deeper into it,” he told the committee. “If staff on your own show are raising this, if people are leaving the program, you have to examine what’s going on.”.Dhanraj, who previously hosted Canada Tonight, said he repeatedly raised concerns internally about political balance on CBC programs and alleged management blocked conservative voices from appearing on his show.“There were continued hurdles and roadblocks set up to really have a certain group of folks in Ottawa in control of who was allowed on programs,” he said. “There were repeated episodes of conservatives being blocked.”He said he pushed for a wider range of perspectives in political coverage.“This is not about just having a show with conservatives or just with liberals,” Dhanraj said. “But if Power & Politics is going to have Liberal talking points on all the time, we should have balance as a network.”Dhanraj testified he warned managers the broadcaster risked violating the Broadcasting Act if it failed to provide equitable representation of political viewpoints.“I told them we are in contravention of Section 11 of the Broadcasting Act if we are not providing equitable time for all perspectives,” he said.According to Dhanraj, internal discussions sometimes resulted in explicit restrictions.“At one point I heard, ‘You can have NDP folks on, but conservatives are a no,’” he testified. “It should blow the Canadian public’s mind that this was the stuff that was going on.”Dhanraj also alleged he was prevented from contacting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for an interview.“I basically wasn’t allowed to pick up the phone and talk to conservatives,” he said.He said internal messages indicated that if another CBC program was already attempting to book a Conservative guest, his show could not pursue them.“If Power & Politics is not able to secure a conservative, then we are not allowed to,” he said he was told.Dhanraj argued such restrictions limited the ability of his program to respond quickly to developing political stories.“Canada Tonight is a melting pot of news of the day, and politics and decisions from it largely impact Canadians,” he said. “So we need flexibility to respond to emerging stories.”During his testimony, Dhanraj also criticized the use of non-disclosure agreements by the public broadcaster, saying he was presented with an NDA that would have required him to waive potential claims under the Canadian Human Rights Act related to disputes with the organization..“That should be shocking to every member on this committee,” he said. “We should not have a public institution silencing their own employees and having them waive their rights.”Dhanraj said the agreement would have barred him from pursuing remedies under the Canadian Human Rights Act regarding the issues in dispute, a condition he argued was inappropriate for a publicly funded institution.He told MPs such practices risk discouraging employees from raising concerns about editorial independence, workplace culture or discrimination.“If journalists feel they cannot speak out about problems without losing their rights, that has a chilling effect not just inside the newsroom but across the entire organization,” he said.Dhanraj also referenced allegations from another former CBC employee about workplace culture within the broadcaster.He told the committee that former colleague Karen Johnson, a former CBC weather specialist, alleged she experienced harassment and inappropriate comments while working at the organization.According to Dhanraj, Johnson has alleged she was called a “brown Barbie” and a “bimbo,” and described the workplace environment as “a very high school culture.”Dhanraj said such claims illustrate broader concerns about management oversight and accountability within the corporation..“These are things that management is responsible for dealing with,” he said. “If management is not going to do anything, these practices will continue.”He argued stronger oversight is needed to ensure the publicly funded broadcaster addresses such issues.“If the president of the CBC is going to come here and expect a tongue-lashing and then go back and continue to get funding without accountability, these practices will continue,” he told the committee.Speaking on a podcast after the hearing, Dhanraj said the broadcaster’s response to criticism reflects a broader refusal to acknowledge problems inside the organization.“If these issues are brought up and there’s no accountability, we’re just discussing things,” he said. “We’re on this endless merry-go-round and the gaslighting of Canadians — saying nothing to see here.”He also questioned how many employees may be unable to speak publicly because of non-disclosure agreements.“How many people are under these non-disclosure agreements that can’t speak out?” he said.Dhanraj argued deeper reforms are needed rather than superficial changes.“We can paint the walls all we want, but if the foundation is crumbling, we’ve got an issue,” he said.Despite his criticism, Dhanraj said he still believes in the role of public broadcasting.“If there is a hope in hell of this place surviving, they’ve got to start fixing some things,” he said.He said reforms should begin with how staff are treated inside the organization.“This committee hearing was about fairness in media,” he said. “There’s not fairness in terms of staff — let’s start with that.”The Western Standard has reached out to CBC for comment on Dhanraj’s testimony.The testimony came during a broader parliamentary study examining the challenges facing Canadian media, including declining public trust, the rise of digital platforms and falling advertising revenue.Committee members also heard from representatives of community radio stations, newspapers and new independent outlets, who warned that shrinking newsrooms and closures across the country are creating “news deserts” where communities lack local coverage.Witnesses told MPs the disappearance of local reporting threatens civic engagement and democratic accountability, particularly in smaller communities where local media outlets have shut down or reduced staffing.
