Bell Media could lose bid to toss ex-CP24 personality's rights case
Bell Media could lose its bid to have former televi‐ sion personality Patricia Jaggernauth's human rights case thrown out, af‐ ter a Canadian Human Rights Commission report noting her complaint raises "serious human rights is‐ sues that are systemic in nature."
In a confidential report seen by CBC News, the com‐ mission said it found "rea‐ sonable basis" to support that the allegations of pay disparity and racial discrimi‐ nation made by the once-fa‐ miliar face on CP24 may be linked to sex, race, colour or other prohibited grounds of discrimination.
"The complaint raises seri‐ ous human rights issues that are systemic in nature, in‐ volve significant power asym‐ metries and potentially longlasting harms, disproportion‐ ately affect a historically dis‐ advantaged group," it says, adding there is a "strong public interest" aspect to Jag‐ gernauth's case.
The report recommends the case be referred to the human rights tribunal if it cannot be settled within four months. It will now be up to the commissioner to decide whether to take up the rec‐ ommendation.
Bell takes any such alle‐ gations 'very seriously'
A spokesperson for Bell Media told CBC News the company respects the com‐ mission's process and will not comment publicly on a report released to the parties on a confidential basis.
"Bell Media takes allega‐ tions of any potential dis‐ crimination or workplace misconduct very seriously, and is committed to a safe, inclusive, and respectful work environment where employ‐ ees can thrive. If a matter is brought to our attention where an employee did not feel adequately supported, a process is initiated to review and address when required," the spokesperson said.
WATCH | Patricia Jagger‐ nauth on why she's made her fight against Bell Media pub‐ lic:
Last spring, Bell asked that the commission dismiss Jaggernauth's complaint, ar‐ guing she could have filed a grievance through her union. The report rejected that, ar‐ guing many of the allegations stem from before Jagger‐ nauth was unionized.
Jaggernauth, a former weather specialist, remote reporter and co-host with Bell, first went public with her allegations against the media giant in 2022. Speak‐ ing exclusively to CBC News, she said her salary was sig‐ nificantly lower than her white male colleagues, de‐ spite performing similar du‐ ties, and that during her 11 years with the company, she was "treated as a token and a commodity."
Her story made headlines at a time when Bell was al‐ ready facing scrutiny over the sudden dismissal of CTV Na‐ tional anchor Lisa LaFlamme.
Part Guyanese and part Jamaican, Jaggernauth has said she was denied full-time stable employment and was at times forced to work for weeks straight without a day off - an experience she said landed her in hospital with pneumonia because she felt she had no choice but to put work ahead of her health.
'Vindication and valida‐ tion'
Seeing the commission's report was a "moment of vin‐ dication and validation that
I've been heard and seen," Jaggernauth told CBC News.
"Unfortunately, people see themselves in this story … in the racism, the to‐ kenism," she said.
"I just feel like unless you're banging down the door and kicking in the door and smashing these glass ceilings, sometimes if you don't make a big public out‐ cry like this when you can, you're never heard."
Among the many pieces of evidence provided in sup‐ port of the complaint, the re‐ port points to a letter written by one of Jaggernauth's col‐ leagues to the union in 2019 on behalf of three female hosts "that talks about the pay disparity that all of them have faced for years." The re‐ port notes the version of the letter it relied on was a draft.
"This company has heard our legitimate concerns about pay opportunities for women in our newsroom through this process. Per‐ haps they did not hear us loud and clear," the letter says.
According to the report, Jaggernauth is seeking pay‐ ment for pain and suffering, willful or reckless behaviour, lost wages and other ex‐ penses, as well as "an
agreement to end the dis‐ crimination."
But Jaggernauth says the case isn't so much about money as it is change.
And while she's hopeful a settlement will put an end to her ordeal, she says she's ready to make her case at the tribunal if that's what it takes.
"I'm here for the long haul, because it matters more than just a paycheque," she said.
'Pick up the phone,' lawyer tells Bell
Jaggernauth's lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, says she's represented several clients with human rights cases and it's uncommon to see "such an overwhelmingly strong endorsement from the com‐ mission for a case to have a public hearing."
And while the report is marked confidential, she says she believes it's up to the in‐ dividual to decide if they want to tell their story, adding it's "fundamental for justice" that reports these see the light of day.
As for what comes next, Marshall says she and Jagger‐ nauth remain open to hear‐ ing from Bell, but have so far heard nothing.
"If Bell has read this re‐ port and they're listening to what Canadians are saying and they're taking the tem‐ perature on the public dis‐ cussion that's happening in this country right now about workplace abuse and work‐ place misconduct and racism and inequalities, they should like pick up the phone," she said.
On its website, the com‐ mission says decisions are generally made within two weeks of a report, however Marshall says Bell has asked for an extension to respond to the allegations, meaning a decision isn't expected be‐ fore July.
That doesn't bother Jag‐ gernauth, who says she's will‐ ing to keep up the fight for as long as it takes. And while there may now be more di‐ versity in leadership, she says, that doesn't go far enough.
"You look around and the tokenism is so real. Placing the Blacks, the Indians, the Hispanics, even the LGBTQ+ community, just placing us there because look, there's one of you," she said.
"Are you giving the com‐ munity that's actually watch‐ ing your programming what they're asking for? You're not. Do better, Bell."