CBC news anchor Travis Dhanraj quits, claims workplace ‘toxic’, says ‘silenced’, channel rejects letter

An Indian-origin broadcaster at CBC news (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) resigned on Monday, accusing the channel as ‘toxic’ with a culture marked by “tokenism masquerading as diversity”.

“After more than 20 years in Canadian television journalism, I have been forced to resign from CBC News. This was not a voluntary decision,” he wrote to his colleagues.

“It comes after trying to navigate a workplace culture defined by retaliation, exclusion, and psychological harm. A place where asking hard questions–about tokenism masquerading as diversity, problematic political coverage protocols, and the erosion of editorial independence–became a career-ending move,” he added.

The veteran journo said that he was promoted as a symbol of ‘progress’ until he started questioning the gap between CBC’s stated values and its internal reality.

He said that when he pushed for honest conversations about systemic issues and editorial imbalance, he was ‘shut out’, ‘sidelined’, ‘silenced’, and ‘erased’.

“CBC calls itself a champion of inclusion, and public trust. But those ideals are too often deployed as branding tools, not lived principles. And Canadians are noticing. What’s happening inside this institution is no longer just an internal problem. It’s a public one,” Dhanraj wrote.

CBC rejects allegations

His lawyer Kathryn Marshall confirmed plans to file a formal human rights complaint against CBC. 

Marshall updated on X that CBC has refused to accept Dhanraj’s resignation. A CBC spokesperson confirmed with me, saying Dhanraj is an employee but is on leave at the moment.

CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly reportedly said the Crown corporation ‘categorically rejects’ Dhanraj’s allegations about what led to his departure, including the assertion in his e-mail to staff that he had been ‘forced to resign’.