Lloyd Robertson speaks out on Lisa LaFlamme’s firing from CTV: ‘She held to her own integrity’

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Former CTV National News anchor Lloyd Robertson has spoken out after his successor Lisa LaFlamme was ousted from her hosting gig on the network’s evening news broadcast earlier this month.

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“She held to her own integrity, all through with the old man. From the beginning, saying, ‘My bond is our father-daughter relationship.’ Right to the end, she was there for him,” Robertson, 88, said, comparing LaFlamme’s experience to that of Cordelia in William Shakespeare’s King Lear.

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“You don’t go laying off that person the way you laid off Lisa LaFlamme,” Robertson added during a panel entitled Staging Democracy at the Stratford Festival’s Tom Patterson Theatre, according to Guelph Today. “These people are good human beings, communicating with the public in a real way, and being true to their own identities and their own integrity as they go along.”

Robertson was chief anchor of CTV’s national evening news program from 1984 to 2011 before LaFlamme, 58, took over the role. She informed viewers her contract was not being renewed in a video statement posted to Twitter on Aug. 15.

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In a Twitter post, the Canadian Screen Award-winner said she was informed June 29 that her contract was not going to be renewed and it was a “business decision.”

“I was blindsided and I’m still shocked and saddened by Bell Media’s decision,” LaFlamme said. “I was also asked to keep this confidential from my colleagues and the public until the specifics of my exit could be resolved.”

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In a press release, Bell Media said it was “recognizing changing viewer habits” as it moved “the role of its Chief News Anchor in a different direction.”

In her video, LaFlamme, who began her career in 1989 in Kitchener, Ont. said the job has meant “everything” to her.

“Reporting on the darkest days of war — from Iraq, Afghanistan and this year, Ukraine — to covering natural disasters, this pandemic, federal elections and so many other consequential events, including this summer’s papal apology tour to residential school survivors and their families, is a trust I have never taken for granted,” she said. “I am forever grateful to you — such loyal viewers — for sharing in the belief that news delivered with integrity and truth strengthens our democracy.

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“At 58, I still thought I’d have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives. Instead I leave CTV humbled by the people who put their faith in me to tell their story. I guess this is my sign off from CTV.”

LaFlamme’s departure has been met with anger coast-to-coast, with Michael Melling, the vice-president of news for Bell Media, announcing a leave of absence from the company last week.

Bell Media has also been forced to contend with claims that was ousted because of her grey hair with a number CTV News journalists asserting that her firing was based “more on personal malice than any business-related reasons.”

On Saturday, an open letter published in the Globe and Mail and signed by notable Canadians including Sarah McLachlan, Anne Murray, Jann Arden and Romeo Dallaire, pointedly asked Bell to “make things right.”

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“Bell Media’s ‘business decision’ to fire CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme, in the very prime of her career…struck at the heart of not only who we are as Canadians, but who we aspire to be,” said the letter addressed to the board of directors and management of BCE and Bell Canada.

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“In making their ‘business decision,’ Bell confirmed one sad truth: even after all the progress women have made, they continue to face sexism and ageism at work everyday in a way which is unacceptable.”

Since announcing her departure, LaFlamme has courted support from mainstream businesses. Wendy’s, Dove and Sports Illustrated all waded into the fray backing the journalist.

Wendy’s changed its red-headed mascot’s hair to grey, while Dove pledged to donate $100,000 to a Canadian organization that helps build better workplaces for women.

Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated retweeted a cover that featured 74-year-old model Maye Musk.

Following its announcement that it is replacing LaFlamme with Omar Sachedina next month, Bell Media said in a statement it “regrets” the way in which LaFlamme’s departure was handled.

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