“I was given the choice to walk away quietly and to publicly suggest that this was my decision.”

That’s what Jian Ghomehsi said in his infamous Facebook post. CBC management offered to stand silently by while he hushed it all up- or so he claimed.

Today, CANADALAND finally had an opportunity to ask the two top executives at the CBC if this was true. Here’s how that went:

Transcription:

MODERATOR

The next question is from Jesse Brown of CANADALAND, please go ahead.

JESSE BROWN

This question is for Heather Conway and Hubert Lacroix. Had I not reported on the abuse allegations with Kevin Donovan and the Toronto Star, what would you have told the public? And how involved were you with the decision of communications, which up to that point the public knew only from Ghomeshi that he was taking some “personal time” and that the CBC denied Ghomeshi was on indefinite leave, and instead said he was on “indeterminate” leave, with no other details provided?

HUBERT LACROIX

Jesse, it’s Hubert Lacroix, it’s difficult to opine or give any answer to a question which is about….uh,

HEATHER AND OTHER VOICE

hypothetical! (many chiming in)

HUBERT LACROIX

Hypothetical, that’s the word I’m looking for, Suffice it to say-

JESSE BROWN

(interrupts) Did you have a plan, was there a plan?

HUBERT LACROIX

Was there a plan to—?

JESSE BROWN

Was there a plan to tell the public what you knew about Jian Ghomeshi, had we not reported it in the Toronto Star?

HUBERT LACROIX

Uh, as soon as Heather had information in her hands, to identify a problem, spoke to me in that famous week on the Wed. night in October, 24 hours later our friend, uh Jian was off the air, 72 hours later he had left the corporation, we dealt with the matter very quickly, and that’s the beginning of what would have happened, and the communication to the world of our decisions would have been to explain the choices we had made during that week, but then your—

HEATHER CONWAY

(interrupts) Sorry, I think it’s important to bear in mind Mr.Ghomeshi was not terminated for the subsequent allegations-

HUBERT LACROIX

Absolutely.

HEATHER CONWAY

-of criminal behaviour, they were not known to us at the time and that’s not why he was terminated

JESSE BROWN

Yeah that’s not the question, the question is, having knowledge as you did of serious allegations of sexual assault

MODERATOR

Thank you, merci

JESSE BROWN

(muted from call) Really?

MODERATOR

The next question is for James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail….