TVO journalist Steve Paikin has been cleared of an allegation that he made an inappropriate sexual comment to a Toronto mayoral candidate during a business lunch in 2010.

“An independent third-party investigation commissioned by TVO to examine allegations by Sarah Thomson has been completed,” TVO chief executive officer Lisa de Wilde said in a written statement released Friday. “The investigator found that the allegations were not substantiated and Mr. Paikin did not violate TVO policies. As such, the investigation is now closed.

“TVO is proud of the work of Steve Paikin, who has been at the centre of TVO’s journalism for more than 25 years.”

On Twitter, Paikin, a married father of four, expressed relief that the ordeal was over.

“While the last 11 weeks have been pretty difficult, I’m relieved to read this report,” the veteran broadcaster tweeted.

“My deepest thanks to all who believed me,” he said.

Thomson had alleged that Paikin had sexually propositioned her during a 2010 lunch.

In an email to the Star, Thomson said she never wanted to go public with her allegations, and stands by them despite the report.

“I went to great lengths when I wrote about my #metoo story to make sure that even the media would not be able to identify (Paikin),” Thomson wrote Friday, referring to the allegation she posted on her website Feb. 2.

She said she feels TVO did not respect her privacy, and that the publicity around her allegations created a huge “public shaming of me.”

In early February, Paikin posted a statement to Facebook, denying Thomson’s allegations.

The 27-page report, by Rachel Turnpenney of the law firm Turnpenney Milne LLP, was written after interviews with 21 witnesses over 11 weeks. It calls Thomson a “complex complainant.”

“At times, the investigator had some serious concerns with Thomson’s approach to the investigation,” the report says. “The investigator learned that Thomson was contacting potential witnesses in what appeared to be either a fishing expedition to secure other potential complainants against Paikin or to garner support for her recollection. Thomson also demonstrated a tendency to suggest to witnesses a version of events (in line with her own perspective) prior to their interviews with the investigator.

“That said, Thomson ultimately presented in a forthright and unguarded manner.”

“...There is little doubt that Thomson genuinely believes that Paikin made a sexual advance and/or sexually proposition her at the 2010 Grano lunch,” but her version of events was not substantiated, the report continues.

“Ultimately, the investigator did not accept Thomson’s assertion that Paikin, a seasoned journalist with an immense knowledge of politicians, would have conducted himself as alleged.

“Specifically, the investigator found it implausible that Paikin would flagrantly ask Thomson, in a public place, to sleep with him or have sex with him (or words to that effect) in the presence of Thomson’s team member.”

The investigator said the team member who attended the lunch gave inconsistent evidence and could not remember sending an email to Thomson afterwards discussing the alleged incident.

Thomson also alleged Paikin had made follow-up comments to her in 2012 at a Liberal Party event regarding his 2010 proposition, but the report says “the date and location of the event was unclear,” she did not provide any expense records, and a witness she directed the investigator to “wasn’t sure if he ever met Paikin.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Thomson is the chief executive officer and publisher of Women’s Post, an online publication for women in business. She ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010, MPP in 2011, and again municipally in 2014.

Her complaint also alleged that after she rebuffed Paikin in 2010, he prevented her from appearing on his current affairs show, The Agenda. However, Thomson did appear on the show in 2011.

Thomson told the Star that when TVO went public with her allegations, it caused enough publicity and was “big enough to scare other witnesses into hiding.”

However, numerous people who’d worked or volunteered on Thomson’s 2010 mayoral campaign told the Star they weren’t aware of Paikin making an inappropriate sexual comment to her during that time.

Thomson’s lawyer, Saba Ahmad, said “we are disappointed that TVO’s investigator did not give sufficient weight to the email written and sent on the day of the lunch in question” by the witness who was at the lunch. “His contemporaneous recollection of the day’s events are the best evidence of what actually occurred.”