TORONTO — Longtime on-air television character and CP24 temperature professional Patricia Jaggernauth has filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Legal rights Commission in opposition to Bell Media, alleging systemic discrimination through her 11-calendar year career.
Jaggernauth’s grievance, introduced on Wednesday and very first reported by CBC, makes allegations of discrimination primarily based on race, gender and incapacity by Bell, her previous employer. The Toronto-centered media enterprise owns cable news network CP24. In the criticism, Jaggernauth alleges Bell regularly passed her over for promotions and tried to limit her capacity to freelance outside the corporation irrespective of hardly ever offering her a complete-time work.
“She has been used as a token and commodity when it is handy and effective,” the Toronto-primarily based reporter’s grievance reads. Jaggernauth identifies as becoming of Guyanese and Jamaican ancestry on social media.
“And Bell now needs to have her likeness and her job, in spite of placing her in a posture wherever she are unable to make a residing wage irrespective of offering 11 decades of her occupation to the organization.”
Read far more:
Lisa LaFlamme exit: Will an unbiased workplace overview make a variation?
Read through Far more
-
![]()
Lisa LaFlamme exit: Will an impartial workplace review make a variance?
In a statement emailed Saturday, Bell Media reported it can’t comment on issues involving recent or former team.
“Bell Media normally takes allegations of any possible discrimination quite very seriously, and are fully commited to a safe and sound, inclusive, and respectful get the job done environment exactly where personnel can prosper,” the statement mentioned. “If a matter is introduced to our awareness exactly where an personnel did not feel sufficiently supported, a course of action is induced to overview and handle when necessary.”
In the criticism, Jaggernauth alleges Bell Media only provides her two times of paid employment for every 7 days, and she as a result acquired most of her earnings carrying out freelance perform. Her complaint alleges the firm enforced a expression this previous summer that she could not perform any compensated actions outdoors of the business with no management’s approval.
“Bell has done this though at the identical time denying (Jaggernauth) promotions she has gained and is certified for, and although refusing to give her with whole-time perform,” the grievance reads. The criticism aspects a number of positions she was allegedly denied “for no justifiable basis.”
Read through far more:
Protection of Lisa LaFlamme’s exit, fallout not affected by Bell Media, exec says
The human legal rights complaint even more alleges an “unsafe and harmful perform environment” at Bell Media triggered her “a myriad of wellbeing troubles,” including extreme stress, stress and melancholy. “Years of lengthy days, limited turnarounds, lengthy get the job done stretches and becoming advised to perform for months upon weeks, non-end with no breaks,” contributed to Jaggernauth currently being hospitalized in 2019, the declare alleges.
It says she afterwards seasoned a “traumatic” on-air breakdown throughout Bell Let’s Speak Day. A segment from this year’s Bell Let us Chat Working day posted to CP24’s YouTube channel exhibits five hosts, together with Jaggernauth, speaking about their mental well being.
Jaggernauth starts crying when she opens up about her struggles.
“In this business, what I have observed is you get to be in the shiny lights, you know, here you have this awesome occupation, and people feel you are a multimillionaire, you’re so blessed. But want to put my shoes on guys?” the clip displays her declaring by way of tears.
Read through extra:
LaFlamme ouster: Open letter to Bell outlines sexism, ageism confronted by gals at operate
Jaggernauth’s complaint promises she approached her manager weeks afterwards for support, and was available a corporation-encouraged therapist, who she reported she was not comfortable speaking to.
The document also alleges guys and women of all ages are compensated in another way at the corporation, and that Black females are not well represented on-air at CP24. “At Bell, people of color are cynically utilized as tokens,” the document reads.
The Canadian Human Legal rights Commission software states Jaggernauth frequently introduced up her problems with Bell administration — specifically to Bell’s president and vice-president of news Michael Melling — but that she was not taken critically. Melling took leave from his job in August, amid the fallout from the ousting of Lisa LaFlamme as anchor of CTV National News, the company’s flagship newscast.
Jaggernauth’s law firm Kathryn Marshall said in a statement that her client is “relieved to finally be telling her tale.”
Jaggernauth did not right away reply to a request for an job interview.
© 2022 The Canadian Push
