11th June, 2015
CBC journalist facilitated sales of art to wealthy Canadians he dealt with in his job — including one buyer who had no idea Solomon was collecting a commission
CBC has fired marquee host Evan Solomon after the Star reported that he was taking secret commission payments related to art sales involving people he dealt with as a host.
“I regret to inform you that CBC News has ended its relationship with Evan Solomon,” executive Jennifer McGuire said in a brief statement issued late Tuesday, a day after the Star presented the findings of its investigation to the network.
Solomon, 47, was the Ottawa-based host of Power and Politics on television and The House on CBC radio, and had been one of the people touted to replace Peter Mansbridge on The National when the veteran newsman retires.
The Star found Solomon had been brokering the sale of paintings and masks owned by a flamboyant Toronto-area art collector to rich and famous buyers.
Solomon, in at least one case, took commissions in excess of $300,000 for several pieces of art and did not disclose to the buyer that he was being paid
fees for introducing buyer and seller.
The CBC had taken Solomon off the air Monday pending an investigation “over the next couple of days.” That move came after the Star presented the CBC with the results of its probe of Solomon.
The network severed its relationship with Solomon on Tuesday without further explanation. McGuire, general manager and editor in chief of CBC News and Centres, said in the statement that the network would “be making announcements about the interim hosting of these programs in the next few days.”
Among the people to whom Solomon has brokered the sale of paintings are Jim Balsillie, co-founder of Research In Motion (now BlackBerry) and Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor and current governor of the Bank of England.
Solomon, as a journalist, has dealt with both men in his high-profile host jobs at the CBC. Carney, who is also a friend, has been a guest on both of Solomon’s shows.
Solomon met Balsillie while courting him as a journalist two years ago in unsuccessful attempts to get him on CBC to discuss sustainable development and small businesses, as well as Balsillie’s role in backing the search for the Franklin expedition ships.
In email correspondence between Solomon and art collector Bruce Bailey, Solomon uses code words to disguise the identity of each man: Carney is “the Guv” and Balsillie is “Anka,” the latter an apparent reference to a similarity in looks with singer Paul Anka.
In one email exchange from 2014 — after Carney made a purchase — Solomon tells his art collector partner that Carney’s international contacts will be very important as they move forward in their attempts to sell more paintings.
“Next year in terms of the Guv will be very interesting. He has access to highest power network in the world,” Solomon writes.
In another exchange, this one referring to Balsillie, the CBC host said in an email that “there are other Ankas out there as we build a portfolio. It will be a fun journey.”
The CBC code of ethics states that employees “must not use their positions to further their personal interests.”
In an interview Monday, Solomon first told the Star that he had no involvement in the art world. “I have never been involved in an art business,” he said. “I have never sold any art to anyone.”
When the Star inquired further, Solomon said he was involved but had done nothing wrong. “I have been involved in an art business and it is all disclosed to CBC.”
Solomon then said: “I am no longer involved in the business. It is over.”
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson initially said Solomon had disclosed his involvement with an art business sometime in the past two years and that CBC had no concerns.
“Evan didn’t trade on his journalistic contacts,” Thompson said, explaining Solomon and his wife have long had a personal interest in the art world. “It was made very clear he has to ensure there can be no lines crossed with the journalism.”
After the Star provided the CBC with detailed allegations, including a copy of the draft contract between Solomon and the art collector, Thompson told the Star the CBC would look into the matter.
Solomon is a two-time Gemini Award winner who came to the CBC in 1994. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Shift, a magazine he co-founded about technology and culture.
His job as host of two flagship CBC shows has brought him in constant contact with the movers and shakers on Parliament Hill. He frequently entertains at his Rockcliffe home and is often invited to dinners and events by Ottawa power brokers. To give back to the community, he is involved with the annual
Riverkeepers charitable event, which raises money to protect the Ottawa River.
Solomon has been friends for many years with Bailey, a well-known patron of the arts who has been referred to in social circles as Canada’s “Gatsby,” a nod to the wealthy and popular character of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. Bailey is known for his generosity and love of a good party, many of which he has hosted over the years.
Bailey wanted to part with some of his pieces, including paintings and ceremonial masks. His large collection includes works by Kim Dorland and Peter Doig.
In the summer of 2013, and into the fall, Solomon was trying to land an on-air interview with Balsillie on CBC. Balsillie had received a federal appointment to chair an initiative to help small and medium-sized companies bring sustainable technologies to market. Balsillie was also a key figure in the Arctic mission to find the ships from the ill-fated 1846 Franklin expedition.
Written by Kevin Donovan and originally published on www.thestar.com: CBC host Evan Solomon fired after Star investigation finds he took secret cut of art deals