Ontario's public broadcaster says it has launched an investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment against host Steve Paikin.
TVO says Paikin is alleged to have made inappropriate comments to a woman during a lunch in 2010.
The broadcaster says it became aware of the allegation on Saturday when Paikin notified TVO of an email he received from Sarah Thomson.
TVO says an independent third party will investigate the allegation.
It says Paikin will stay on as host of its flagship current affairs program, The Agenda, over the course of the investigation.
TVO says that based on current evidence, it doesn't see any reason to remove Paikin from the role.
Paikin could not immediately be reached for comment. The allegations have not been verified by The Canadian Press.
The following is a statement from Lisa de Wilde, TVO Chief Executive Officer:
Over the weekend, an allegation of sexual harassment has come to the attention of TVO that we believe we have a responsibility to disclose. TVO became aware of this allegation on Feb. 3 when an email from former Toronto mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson was sent to Steve Paikin, Host of TVO’s The Agenda, relating to comments she alleges took place at a lunch in 2010. Mr. Paikin immediately notified TVO of the email. Ms. Thomson made references to this allegation in two articles on her website and on social media.
TVO does not tolerate sexual harassment. We believe it is important that allegations be fully heard and investigated. Therefore, TVO is appointing an independent third party to investigate Ms. Thomson’s allegation. However, based on the evidence to date, TVO sees no reason to remove Mr. Paikin from his role as Host for The Agenda pending the outcome of the investigation. During the investigation, stories related to this subject matter will be handled by other TVO journalists.
On her website, Thomson writes,
"The time has come for men who abuse their power to pay for their actions.
"There is still one man whose actions haunt me. In 2010 when I was running for Mayor of Toronto, I was on a political talk show with the other top four candidates. The show was widely watched and it helped my numbers in the polls, so the next time I saw the host I asked if I might get on his show again. Always kind and friendly, he suggested we meet over lunch to discuss. My assistant and I met him at Grano’s on Yonge Street, and the three of us ordered our lunch. Not five minutes into the lunch the host asked me if I would sleep with him. My assistant almost spit his drink all over the table. I politely told the host that I loved my husband and would never do that. I then excused myself, went to the washroom and called my campaign manager. My manager was at first angry that I was alone with a talk show host, but when I explained that my assistant was actually sitting there with us and had heard the entire thing, his anger turned to shock. He was great at calming me down and joked that if I didn’t want to “take one for the team” then I should excuse myself and leave. I followed his instruction, and later asked my EA what he and the host had talked about while I was in the washroom. He told me he questioned the talk show host to see if asking directly for sex actually worked for him. The host said that it worked 50 percent of the time. I hope he was just bragging, but I’ve always wondered if the women who are frequent guests on his show have slept with him."
