CBC 'ends its relationship' with host Evan Solomon

Evan Solomon has been a familiar voice to Canadians - as host of Power and Politics on CBC Television and The House on CBC Radio One. But yesterday, Jennifer McGuire the General Manager and Editor in Chief of CBC News and Centres announced that the Corporation was "ending its relationship" with Evan Solomon.

The announcement came after an investigation by the Toronto Star - alleging that Evan Solomon was selling art for commission. 

• 'I did not view the art business as a conflict with my political journalism at the CBC,' Solomon says

Jennifer McGuire declined an interview with us this morning. In a statement, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson says a two-day internal review found that some of Mr. Solomon's activities were inconsistent with the organization's conflict of interest and ethics policy, as well as journalistic standards and practices.  

Kevin Donovan is the Toronto Star investigative reporter who broke the story.   

We did try to contact Evan Solomon but he didn't respond to our request for an interview.  He did put out a statement yesterday saying that he formed a private business partnership with a friend in 2013 to broker Canadian art and that he disclosed the business to the CBC earlier this year and didn't view it as a conflict with his political journalism.  

He writes:

I am deeply sorry for the damage that my activities have done to the trust that the CBC and its viewers and listeners have put in me. I have the utmost respect for the CBC and what it stands for.- Evan Solomon

To talk more about the trust in the CBC and media outlets more generally, we were joined by two long-time journalists.

• Chris Waddell is an associate professor at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication, and a former CBC parliamentary bureau chief. He was in Ottawa. 
• Peter Klein is a Professor at UBC and Director of the Global Reporting Centre. He's worked at a variety of news outlets including CBS and NPR. He was in Vancouver.
   

What do you think?  Does the latest issue with Evan Solomon raise questions about the integrity of journalists and the news organizations they work for?  

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This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath and Cathy Simon.