Full text of a memo sent to CBC staff by Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor in chief of CBC on Wednesday afternoon:

Unfortunately, this has turned into another difficult week.

Ending our relationship with Evan Solomon was upsetting for me and many other colleagues in CBC News. He’s been a popular host and has done notable work with our excellent teams at both The House on CBC Radio One and Power & Politics on CBC News Network.

But if there’s anything that journalists — and those interested in journalism — have been reminded of over the past year, it’s that ethics and trustworthiness matter.

People have questioned the integrity of our news. And that of CTV, Global, NBC and ABC. Despite this, it is worth nothing that the vast majority of working journalists are as honourable and honest as we want them to be. But the sad reality is that any ethical lapse reflects badly on the entire profession.

A journalist wrote this week that television news “is shooting itself in the foot.” It’s time for every single professional journalist and media organization to stop providing ammunition.

At this time, there’s very little I can say about the specific circumstances around Evan Solomon. But I can offer the following background:

Evan disclosed in April that a production company he owned with his wife had a business partnership with an art dealer. We told him, and he assured us, this could not conflict in any way with his work for CBC News. As you know, under the terms of our collective agreement, CBC employees have the right to earn income outside CBC.

On Monday, a Toronto Star reporter approached with allegations which, if true, significantly changed our understanding of the situation. Based upon information from our own review, it was determined that Evan’s activities were inconsistent with our conflict of interest and ethics policies, as well as our journalistic standards and practices.

On Tuesday, we made the decision to discontinue our relationship with Evan Solomon. Our announcement was made public shortly after the Toronto Star published its story. The decision was made before the article was published.

A decision like this is never pleasant. CBC News represents the very highest standard of journalistic conduct and ethics. We live up to that every day. In this case, that standard was not met. Yesterday, we took the steps necessary to protect the integrity of our colleagues and the service we provide to Canadians. Going forward we will continue to convey that message, clearly and proudly.