CBC exec: ‘I never made a harassment complaint’
Outside firm will ‘conduct an environment scan’ of broadcaster’s workplace
A top CBC executive has confirmed to colleagues that public broadcaster vice-president Heather Conway apologized to him but says he “never made a harassment complaint” to CBC president Hubert Lacroix.
The CBC has confirmed an apology was made after an incident between Neil McEneaney and Conway and that an outside firm will “conduct an environmental scan of our workplace that will involve conversations with some managers.”
But what transpired between McEneaney and Conway in a meeting that led to these two actions, nobody will say.
Nor does McEneaney’s Wednesday email to colleagues say who he informed about the incident.
“About the exchange referred to with Heather, she apologized and we carried on,” McEneaney, the CBC’s chief business officer, said in an internal email to colleagues yesterday.
“I want to be clear,” he writes, “I never made a harassment complaint to Hubert against Heather. CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson has said he cannot provide any details of the incident, except to say, as the Star reported Tuesday, there was
“About the exchange referred to with Heather (Conway), she apologized and we carried on.” NEIL MCENEANEY CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, CBC
no “formal” complaint.
“There was an exchange at a meeting and apologies were made,” Thompson said.
In an email to the Star, Thompson also said “we have total confidence in the direction given to English Services by Heather Conway.”
The CBC has not provided a timeline for its workplace scan or outlined the terms of reference. Thompson said CBC has learned from the incident (which he would not describe) and the Crown corporation is “committed to a respectful working environment.”
In his internal email, McEneaney said he is leaving the CBC after being presented with a “wonderful opportunity” to be president of audience tracking firm Numeris. He said the job offer came after a long recruiting process that began in August.