The Jian Ghomeshi saga

[crazy canuck]

Toronto Star says that they investigated the story, declined to publicize it due to lack of corroboration, but changed their mind after Ghomeshi's "extraordinary statement on Facebook".

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/26/why_the_star_chose_to_publish_jian_ghomeshi_allegations.html

Again - I'm no PR professional but his decision to "get in front of this story" still seems very questionable.

Yes. The timing seems strange. There's some things we obviously don't know.
Why did CBC fire him this weekend? The Star's been working on the story for months, and CBC knew about it.
Why did Ghomeshi release his version of the story? ie. Why confess the lurid details and why now?

Seems to me he knew something was coming out and wanted to nip it in the bud. Or he new that the story would come out in any legal action he took, and wanted to come out first with a "see I got nothing to hide.'

One thing I had missed is he is a unionized employee.   I would have thought he was an excluded employee but apparently not.  So he is not entitled to take any legal action - nevermind one claiming 50 million.  All he is entitled to is a greivance procedure to try to get his job back with backpay.  That grievance procedure is not open to the public and so I really dont understand what he and his advisors are doing.  They seem to have really overplayed their hand.

[Malthus]

Toronto Star says that they investigated the story, declined to publicize it due to lack of corroboration, but changed their mind after Ghomeshi's "extraordinary statement on Facebook".

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/26/why_the_star_chose_to_publish_jian_ghomeshi_allegations.html

Again - I'm no PR professional but his decision to "get in front of this story" still seems very questionable.

Yes. The timing seems strange. There's some things we obviously don't know.
Why did CBC fire him this weekend? The Star's been working on the story for months, and CBC knew about it.
Why did Ghomeshi release his version of the story? ie. Why confess the lurid details and why now?

Seems to me he knew something was coming out and wanted to nip it in the bud. Or he new that the story would come out in any legal action he took, and wanted to come out first with a "see I got nothing to hide.'

One thing I had missed is he is a unionized employee.   I would have thought he was an excluded employee but apparently not.  So he is not entitled to take any legal action - nevermind one claiming 50 million.  All he is entitled to is a greivance procedure to try to get his job back with backpay.  That grievance procedure is not open to the public and so I really dont understand what he and his advisors are doing.  They seem to have really overplayed their hand.

For your reading pleasure, his Statement of Claim:

https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/244670383?access_key=key-LgQdNIkVrfNuroqKBJK6&allow_share=true&escape=false&view_mode=scroll

[crazy canuck]

I will give it to them, its a novel claim.  I expect a motion to strike will be issued by the CBC on the basis of Weber - ie he is a unionized employee and the proper forum to resolve the dispute is through arbitration under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Even if the defamation action is allowed to proceed I dont see much merit in the argument that the CBC saying that in their judgment the relationship could not continue is even defamatory but if it is truth is a defence unless they didnt actually believe that.

I am not sure what his end game is here.

[The Minsky Moment]

So it isn't an employment grievance at all.  Defamation plus breach of confidence. 

Does Canada have an equivalent to Upjohn warnings?

[crazy canuck]

So it isn't an employment grievance at all.  Defamation plus breach of confidence. 

Does Canada have an equivalent to Upjohn warnings?

Yes we have the same thing within our Rules of Ethics.  Imo Ontario has the best version of it in Canada - ironically.

I think this is an employment grievance but they are trying to dress it up as best they can as something else in order to avoid the application of Weber.  I hope an application to strike is brought so that the law in Weber can be revisited and clarified.  It has been some time since a Weber issue has arisen that has the potential to go the the SCC.

[Admiral Yi]

I've always wondered what it would be like to win the right to your old job back.  Surely it must be kind of strained to work for people who wanted you gone.

[Martinus]

I've always wondered what it would be like to win the right to your old job back.  Surely it must be kind of strained to work for people who wanted you gone.

I guess it boils down to getting paid while you do your job half-assed and send the cvs out.

[Barrister]

I'm shaking my head at how Ghomeshi can be unionized, and potentially restored in his job.

Surely key questions like "who hosts one of our biggest radio shows" can't be dictated by a labour arbitrator?

[crazy canuck]

I'm shaking my head at how Ghomeshi can be unionized, and potentially restored in his job.

Surely key questions like "who hosts one of our biggest radio shows" can't be dictated by a labour arbitrator?

I too am surprised he is a unionized employee.  But if he is the second part is not so surprising.  Labour arbitrators deal with reinstatement in the normal course of every termination case.  This issue is really why he was not an excluded employee in the first place.

The novel part of this case is that he is also trying bring a civil action.  To succeed in that he will have to establish new law or at least stretch the existing law.

[PRC]

I've always wondered what it would be like to win the right to your old job back.  Surely it must be kind of strained to work for people who wanted you gone.

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

Here is a very NSFW link to her hardcore scenes in shortbus (found only for research purposes): http://www.xvideos.com/video205981/sook_yin_lee_shortbus

[Jacob]

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

They fired her? The summary I read elsewhere explicitly claimed that they kept her on, but I guess that was wrong?

[Barrister]

I've always wondered what it would be like to win the right to your old job back.  Surely it must be kind of strained to work for people who wanted you gone.

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

Here is a very NSFW link to her hardcore scenes in shortbus (found only for research purposes): http://www.xvideos.com/video205981/sook_yin_lee_shortbus

She definitely hosted DNTO prior to 2006.

[crazy canuck]

I've always wondered what it would be like to win the right to your old job back.  Surely it must be kind of strained to work for people who wanted you gone.

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

No, they didnt.  There was talk she might be fired but they didnt actually do it.  She was the host of DNTO at the time and she is still in that position.

[PRC]

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

They fired her? The summary I read elsewhere explicitly claimed that they kept her on, but I guess that was wrong?

Ah... I guess you are correct.  I had assumed she was fired.  I just did a quick search and the articles I found claim that the CBC threatened to fire her but relented under public pressure.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=9b153b3a-46b2-424f-aea1-ab780e7cfd4d

http://contrarian.ca/2014/10/27/collateral-damage-sook-yin-lee-is-not-jian-ghomeshi/

[crazy canuck]

CBC also has a radio host named Sook Yin-Lee.  In 2006 she did an arthouse film called Shortbus with full-on sex scenes and the CBC fired her over it. 

There was a letter writing campaign to bring her back and she did come back and now hosts a popular radio show "DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)". 

They fired her? The summary I read elsewhere explicitly claimed that they kept her on, but I guess that was wrong?

He is misremembering what occurred.  They actually ended up giving her leave to shoot the movie


http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=9b153b3a-46b2-424f-aea1-ab780e7cfd4d