The Diversity and Inclusion section of Radio-Canada has been without a general director since the departure of Yolande James last August. And the resignation of the former Liberal minister was followed by the departure of the woman who had been her right-hand woman for almost two years. All this while efforts in this area are the source of strong tensions within the public broadcaster, although we assure that this change of guard has nothing to do with the current context.
The appointment of Yolande James as general director of diversity and inclusion was announced with great fanfare in June 2021. The first black woman elected to the National Assembly, this former minister in the Charest government was then a prominent personality at Radio -Canada, where she worked as an on-air analyst since her departure from politics, i.e. since 2014.
But barely two years after taking office, Radio-Canada confirmed his departure without fanfare, simply sending a simple email to its employees.
Yolande James left the state-owned company last August to become general manager and head of strategic communications for the PSP investment fund, which manages the assets of the federal civil servants’ pension fund. “It was a challenge I couldn’t refuse. […] My departure is strictly linked to a professional opportunity,” she said in a brief email exchange with The duty.
It was a challenge I couldn’t refuse. […] My departure is strictly linked to a professional opportunity.
She reiterated that she was proud of the work she accomplished at Radio-Canada, specifying that her departure was in no way related to the internal debates surrounding diversity and inclusion measures.
Another departure
At the same time as Yolande James submitted her resignation, the one who acted as number two on her team, Lilly Nguyen, also announced her departure. Mme Nguyen, a former liberal press secretary, was appointed director of culture and external engagements a few months after the appointment of Ms.me James.
The diversity and inclusion team, which has fewer than ten employees, therefore had to cope with the simultaneous departures of two of its superiors.
The process of replacing Yolande James was put on hold following the departure of former senior vice-president of French Services Michel Bissonnette, but it has just been relaunched. Lilly Nguyen’s position, meanwhile, has still not been posted. “It will be up to the person who will occupy the general directorate, Diversity and Inclusion, to assess the needs of their sector and to determine if, and how, they would like to fill this position,” Radio-Canada indicated by email on Wednesday.
Remember that in accordance with the budgetary restriction plan announced last week by the president of CBC/Radio-Canada, Catherine Tait, vacant positions will no longer be automatically filled.
Sustained discomfort
Since the arrival in office of Mme At the head of the state-owned company in 2018, the public broadcaster’s sustained efforts in terms of diversity and inclusion have caused unease, particularly on the French side.
In 2021, training on privilege and unconscious bias was very poorly received by some employees, who considered it infantilizing. For many, it is also inconceivable that senior management could call on members of the newsroom to march in memory of the victims of residential schools for Aboriginal people, which goes against the duty of confidentiality written in full in the Journalistic standards and practices of the public broadcaster.
The gap between CBC and Radio-Canada regarding issues of diversity and inclusion also widened last year, in the wake of the controversy over the use of the n-word. According to our information, Catherine Tait and Michel Bissonnette, then senior vice-president of French Services, disagreed on the issue, which would have contributed to the deterioration of their relations.
Mr. Bissonnette, one of the most influential people in the television industry in Quebec for twenty years, was fired at the beginning of the month. A few weeks earlier, he had opposed the budgetary restriction measures that the state corporation was then considering affecting Radio-Canada as much as CBC, since the French service reaps better market shares than its English-speaking counterpart.