Exposed - Mike Duffy and the CBC

Our mission statement at CBC Exposed is to open the eyes of Canadians about the waste and goings on at the CBC.  To this end we ask our readers to submit their stories for publication.

Here is one such story from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous.  As usual, feedback is welcome at cbcExposed@gmail.com
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MIKE DUFFY AND THE CBC

ON TRIAL

The April 8, 2014 National Post front page headline screams: “You can’t just steal from your employer… You can’t abuse your position of authority to unjustly enrich yourself.”

Why not? Senior managers at the CBC appear to do it all the time.

In recent years, CBC CEO Hubert Lacroix overcharged the CBC by $30,000, but only went public with his ‘mistake’ after being outed in the press in 2014. Former CBC TV head Kirstine Layfield’s boyfriend[1] was cast in the lead of his own CBC TV series[2], then he was given his own CBC TV show to direct[3], then he was made the Executive Producer of the CBC 75th Birthday Special. With his limited experience, and with his wife in charge, would this seem like nepotism to the average Canadian? Well yes, of course it would.

Not to be outdone, Layfield’s successor, Sally Catto, a lawyer, presided over the CBC development department that granted her husband’s[4] company (Gangof2 Productions) five development deals within four years (2010-2013). And in 2011, long-time CBC executive Phyllis Platt was granted three development deals and three production orders (a six hour mini-series and two movies of the week) for her husband[5] to direct, mere weeks after leaving a position that presided over the granting of funding for – you guessed it – all CBC movies and mini-series.

The ‘old girl’s club’ certainly appears alive and well at the CBC.

But if CBC executives can use their positions of power to unjustly enrich themselves (or their spouses), then why not Duff? Why the double-standard?

The CBC Code of Conduct and CBC Conflict of Interest guidelines strictly forbid all of the above (including the appearance of conflict of interest, as management is meant to be held to a higher standard). But the willful blindness of management and the CBC board of governors allows CBC corruption to continue unchecked. The whistle is screaming, but is anyone in Ottawa listening? Well no, not really. If they were, they would have put a stop to it by now. So why does the government turn a blind eye to questionable practices at the CBC?

Answer: mis-management of the CBC reflects poorly on the Harper government because the PMO’s office appointed CBC CEO Lacroix. And though Lacroix has managed to cut some CBC funding and staff, he has not only failed to clean the CBC house of corrupt practices, he has set a poor example with his own $30k overspend. Trudeau and Mulcair, on the other hand, promised to “restore CBC funding” if elected. So CBC insiders want the Duffy and Wallin scandals to stick to Harper in the hope they will trigger regime change and new funding.

And that is why CBC management is thrilled to have Mike Duffy to kick around: to distract us from their own flawed mandarins while they plea to the left for votes and cash in the run-up to an election.

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[1] Zaib Shaikh is now married to Kirstine Layfield, who now calls herself Kirstine Stewart

[2] LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE

[3] OTHELLO

[4] Angus Fraser is married to Sally Catto.

[5] Peter Moss is the husband/partner of Phyllis Platt.