EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the employee had been fired. In fact, he has been put on a leave of absence.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation promptly put an employee on paid leave following a complaint by a former Mountie and an article by this publication.Leland Keane photographed a CBC employee in Fall River, NS making a trip to the liquor board store in a CBC vehicle. He complained to the CBC values and ethics commissioner and Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Andrew Scheer in an email sent 7:48 pm Wednesday.Keane also shared the email with the Western Standard, which also contacted the CBC commissioner and published an article on the incident. Within hours, the public broadcaster responded.At 3:38 pm an unsigned email from the office of the values and ethics commissioner told the Western Standard to talk to Marc Pichette at Radio-Canada's communications department. At 4:15 pm, Pichette replied, “Following your request send [sic] previously to the CBC/Radio-Canada's Values and Ethics Commissioner, here's our comment : “Radio-Canada acted quickly. The employee has been relieved of his duties and an investigation will be initiated.”The complainant also received an email from the commissioner’s office, but not until 6:14 pm: “Mr Keane, “Thank you for writing to our office to report your concern about the CBC employee you noticed yesterday at the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission.“We have reported the situation to representatives of human resources and the employee has been relieved of his duties. An investigation will be initiated.”The Western Standard thanked CBC for their prompt response and asked Keane for his.“I'm glad to have a reply,” Keane said by email. “Normally my experience with big GOC [Government of Canada] and its agencies, especially since 2020 and certainly after 2022, is one of no response, or worse some attempt at justification."“Your column/involvement is likely the only reason I received a response and that they claim they have relieved him of duties and are investigating.”Keane questions how matters will proceed.“I now wonder if they'll do an investigation, hire some friend's law practice to do one or actually look at dealing with the employee fairly and not over-reacting.“Without knowing the cause of the failure in judgement by the employee, it's difficult to know more.”It is not clear whether the commissioner herself wrote the replies. A signature block without an employee name was present in the response to the Western Standard but not to Keane.“The email was not signed….Not signing emails is typical sadly. It demonstrates a lack of connection or professionalism,” noted Keane.“Not even a signature block.”In his complaint to CBC, Keane said he was not asking for the employee to be fired, only to apologize and pledge to act differently in the future. The network went farther to “relieve the employee of his duties” pending an investigation.Keane said the Government of Canada has “cleptocrat monoliths” that are “unnecessary and expensive” and would rather the CBC not be “quick to judge.”“If the employee is in need of assistance this is an opportunity to provide it. Both management and the employee can learn from this,” he wrote.“He's likely represented but his union is more likely worried about Hamas than they are dues payers.”The former Mountie also wondered if employees buying liquor midday in company vehicles indicated a broader culture at the broadcaster.“Is this common practice? Is this the example that has been set by its CEO?“The situation is something out of Soviet times?”
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the employee had been fired. In fact, he has been put on a leave of absence.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation promptly put an employee on paid leave following a complaint by a former Mountie and an article by this publication.Leland Keane photographed a CBC employee in Fall River, NS making a trip to the liquor board store in a CBC vehicle. He complained to the CBC values and ethics commissioner and Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Andrew Scheer in an email sent 7:48 pm Wednesday.Keane also shared the email with the Western Standard, which also contacted the CBC commissioner and published an article on the incident. Within hours, the public broadcaster responded.At 3:38 pm an unsigned email from the office of the values and ethics commissioner told the Western Standard to talk to Marc Pichette at Radio-Canada's communications department. At 4:15 pm, Pichette replied, “Following your request send [sic] previously to the CBC/Radio-Canada's Values and Ethics Commissioner, here's our comment : “Radio-Canada acted quickly. The employee has been relieved of his duties and an investigation will be initiated.”The complainant also received an email from the commissioner’s office, but not until 6:14 pm: “Mr Keane, “Thank you for writing to our office to report your concern about the CBC employee you noticed yesterday at the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission.“We have reported the situation to representatives of human resources and the employee has been relieved of his duties. An investigation will be initiated.”The Western Standard thanked CBC for their prompt response and asked Keane for his.“I'm glad to have a reply,” Keane said by email. “Normally my experience with big GOC [Government of Canada] and its agencies, especially since 2020 and certainly after 2022, is one of no response, or worse some attempt at justification."“Your column/involvement is likely the only reason I received a response and that they claim they have relieved him of duties and are investigating.”Keane questions how matters will proceed.“I now wonder if they'll do an investigation, hire some friend's law practice to do one or actually look at dealing with the employee fairly and not over-reacting.“Without knowing the cause of the failure in judgement by the employee, it's difficult to know more.”It is not clear whether the commissioner herself wrote the replies. A signature block without an employee name was present in the response to the Western Standard but not to Keane.“The email was not signed….Not signing emails is typical sadly. It demonstrates a lack of connection or professionalism,” noted Keane.“Not even a signature block.”In his complaint to CBC, Keane said he was not asking for the employee to be fired, only to apologize and pledge to act differently in the future. The network went farther to “relieve the employee of his duties” pending an investigation.Keane said the Government of Canada has “cleptocrat monoliths” that are “unnecessary and expensive” and would rather the CBC not be “quick to judge.”“If the employee is in need of assistance this is an opportunity to provide it. Both management and the employee can learn from this,” he wrote.“He's likely represented but his union is more likely worried about Hamas than they are dues payers.”The former Mountie also wondered if employees buying liquor midday in company vehicles indicated a broader culture at the broadcaster.“Is this common practice? Is this the example that has been set by its CEO?“The situation is something out of Soviet times?”
