I just felt, wow, this moment of
vindication. Patricia Jaggernauth is feeling there could be light at
the end of the tunnel in her fight with Bell
CP24 in Toronto Caribbean Carnival,
giving you a taste of the island flavor.
The former CP24 host has alleged a pattern of racism,
sexism and discrimination during her eleven years at Bell,
including allegations that she and other women were paid significantly
less than men.
She filed a human rights complaint against the company at
the end of
2022, and now a new confidential report shared with CBC
Toronto by Jaggernauts legal team indicates her case is being
taken seriously.
In the report, the Canadian Human Rights Commission recommends her
case be referred for a hearing if it can't be
settled in four months.
The report says her complaint raises serious human rights issues
that are systemic in nature and that there's a strong
public interest around the case.
Jaggernaut says the report is validating.
I cried when I saw this because it's two years
of people thinking that it's not true.
It's two years of me fighting.
It's two years of hearing other people's stories and people
thinking that
we're just like, our stories don't matter to to get
this final report in the moment where I was like,
Catherine, what are we going to do?
It was so validating. Jaggernauts lawyer Catherine Marshall says she
hasn't seen the Commission respond to a case in this
way before.
What is unusual is to see language that is just
so
adamant that what happened here with my client,
with Patricia was wrong and that this is just the
tip of the iceberg.
The report also points to one of many pieces of
evidence Jaggernaut provided to the Commission,
including a letter written by one of
Jaggernaut's female colleagues to their union in 2019.
Jaggernaut's legal team provided CBC Toronto with that letter.
It's written on behalf of three female hosts and alleges
years of pay disparity.
It states the company clearly does not take our concerns
seriously.
Bell Media told CBC News the company respects the
commission's process and will not comment publicly,
adding Bell Media takes allegations of any potential discrimination or
workplace misconduct very seriously and is committed to a safe,
inclusive and respectful work environment where employees can thrive.
If a matter is brought to our attention where an
employee did not feel adequately supported,
a process is initiated to review and address when required.
As for what's next, Jaggernaut says she's open to hearing
from Bell,
but so far has heard nothing.
Still, she's sending them a clear message.
Are you listening to the people?
Are you giving the community who's actually watching your programming
what they're asking for?
You're not Bell. Do better.
Olivia Bowden, CBC News, Toronto.