Kathryn Borel

Last updated
Kathryn Borel
Born (1979-06-23) June 23, 1979 (age 44)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationWriter, editor and radio producer
Alma mater University of King's College

Kathryn Borel (born June 23, 1979) is a Canadian writer, editor and radio producer. [1] She was a founding producer of the CBC Radio One show Q . Borel is the author of Corked: A Memoir (2009). [2]

Contents

Personal life

Borel was born in Toronto. She studied journalism at the University of King's College, a liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia. [3] She is an atheist. [4]

Career

Broadcasting

Borel has written and broadcast for many local and national programs on CBC Radio One, including Metro Morning , GO! , Q , Day 6 and As It Happens . [5]

Writing

Her print journalism includes a past column for the National Post called "Indignities," and a food column, "Column Dine," for Eye Weekly . She has written for The Guardian , The Times of London, The Believer , The Globe and Mail , EnRoute , the Toronto Star , The Walrus , Salon.com, and Nerve.com. She is listed as of 2015 as an interview editor at The Believer . [6]

Borel's Corked: A Memoir (2009) was nominated for the Stephen Leacock Award in 2010. [7] According to a Globe and Mail review, the memoir "recalls two darkly humorous weeks in a tumultuous father-daughter relationship, replete with the author's mutually escalating insecurities: insecurity about paternal love and the inevitability of death, lover love, wine love, wine speak and insecurity about insecurity." [8] Jay McInerney, New York Times bestselling author of How It Ended, called it funny, quirky and bittersweet. [ citation needed ]The National Post, Quill & Quire and Eye Weekly cited it as one of the best books of 2009. [2]

Borel's film and television work includes the USA Network's Rush, American Dad! on TBS, the Adult Swim series Mostly For Millennials, and Anne with an E on Netflix. In 2019, she was nominated for a Canadian Screenwriting Award for Best Drama Writing for episode 203 of Anne with an E.

Jian Ghomeshi controversy

In December 2014, The Guardian published an article by Borel in which she described having been sexually harassed by former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi while she was a producer for Q from 2007 to 2010. She approached her union, the Canadian Media Guild, for assistance, and wrote that the union representative and Q's executive producer both failed to act. As a result, she left the CBC in 2010 and moved to Los Angeles. [9]

The CBC fired Ghomeshi in October 2014 after reviewing "graphic evidence" that he had caused physical injury to a woman. [10] In April 2015 an independent inquiry concluded that CBC management had mishandled—and in some cases condoned—his abusive behavior. [11] He was charged with several accounts of sexual assault in relation to other women and was acquitted in March 2016. [12]

An additional charge of sexual assault against Borel was to be addressed at trial in June 2016. There was a publication ban on Borel's name at the time, later lifted. [13] On May 11, 2016, the Crown withdrew the charge. In return Ghomeshi signed a peace bond and, in court, read a formal apology to Borel without acknowledging assault. "No workplace friendship or creative environment excuses this sort of behaviour," he stated, "especially when there's a power imbalance as there was with Ms. Borel." [14]

Later that day Borel issued a statement, insisting that Ghomeshi was guilty of sexual assault. "He made it clear that he could humiliate me repeatedly and walk away with impunity. There are at least three documented incidents of physical touching," she said. "Jian Ghomeshi is guilty of having done the things that I've outlined today ... And that is what Jian Ghomeshi just apologized for: the crime of sexual assault ... So when it was presented to me that the defence would be offering us an apology, I was prepared to forego the trial. It seemed like the clearest path to the truth. A trial would have maintained his lie, the lie that he was not guilty, and would have further subjected me to the very same pattern of abuse that I am currently trying to stop." [15]

Borel was critical of the CBC for its handling of her complaint. "When I went to the CBC for help, what I received in return was a directive that, yes, he could do this and, yes, it was my job to let him," she said. [16] The CBC apologized to Borel publicly, on May 11, the second such apology by the corporation. In a statement, head of public affairs Chuck Thompson said, "What Ms. Borel experienced in our workplace should never have happened and we sincerely apologize." [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Broadcasting Corporation</span> Canadian public broadcaster

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and French-language service units commonly known as CBC and Radio-Canada, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moxy Früvous</span> Canadian comedic folk rock band

Moxy Früvous was a Canadian politically satirical folk-pop band from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The band was founded in 1989, and was active until 2001. Common themes in Früvous songs include Canada and the "human experience".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jian Ghomeshi</span> Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, and producer

Jian Ghomeshi is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became a television and radio broadcaster. He hosted, among others, the CBC Newsworld program Play (2002–2005), the CBC Radio One program The National Playlist (2005–2006), and the CBC Radio One program Q, which he co-created and hosted from 2007 to 2014, until he was fired by the CBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Hoggard</span> Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1984)

Jacob William Hoggard is a Canadian former musician who was the lead singer for the pop-rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004 when he placed third.

<i>Canada Reads</i> Canadian book competition

Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language Canada Reads on CBC Radio One, and the French-language Le Combat des livres on Ici Radio-Canada Première.

Antonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the Toronto Star from 1989 until she took early retirement from the paper on 31 October 2014. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the Montreal correspondent for the trade paper, Variety.

Lucy DeCoutere is a Canadian actress and Royal Canadian Air Force officer, best known for her role as the character Lucy in the television series Trailer Park Boys.

<i>Q</i> (radio show) Canadian radio show

q with Tom Power is a Canadian arts magazine show produced by and airing on CBC Radio One, with syndication to public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. The program mainly features interviews with prominent cultural and entertainment figures, though subjects and interviewees also deal with broader cultural topics such as their social, political and business aspects, as well as weekly panels on television/film and music on Mondays and Fridays respectively.

Patrick Brazeau is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34, he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. Brazeau was expelled from the Conservative caucus following his February 7, 2013 arrest for domestic assault and sexual assault. On September 15, 2015, Brazeau pleaded guilty to simple assault and cocaine possession as part of a plea deal in which other assault charges were dropped, and he was acquitted of sexual assault.

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada are well documented dating back to the 1960s. The preponderance of criminal cases with Canadian Catholic dioceses named as defendants that have surfaced since the 1980s strongly indicate that these cases were far more widespread than previously believed. While recent media reports have centred on Newfoundland dioceses, there have been reported cases—tested in court with criminal convictions—in almost all Canadian provinces. Sexual assault is the act of an individual touching another individual sexually and/or committing sexual activities forcefully and/or without the other person's consent. The phrase Catholic sexual abuse cases refers to acts of sexual abuse, typically child sexual abuse, by members of authority in the Catholic church, such as priests. Such cases have been occurring sporadically since the 11th century in Catholic churches around the world. This article summarizes some of the most notable Catholic sexual abuse cases in Canadian provinces.

<i>1982</i> (book) 2012 book by Jian Ghomeshi

1982 is a memoir written by Canadian radio personality Jian Ghomeshi. Describing a year in Ghomeshi's teenage life as an Iranian-Canadian, the book received mixed reviews.

Reva Seth is a Canadian journalist, author, lawyer, strategic communications consultant, speaker, coach and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Brown (journalist)</span> Canadian journalist

Jesse Benjamin Brown is a Canadian journalist, media personality, and businessperson. In 2013, he founded the Canadaland podcast that grew into a podcasting company.

Marie Therese Henein, KC is a Canadian criminal defence lawyer. She is a partner of Henein Hutchison LLP, a law firm in Toronto.

In late 2014, Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual assault, and one count of overcoming resistance by choking, in relation to three complainants. He was charged with three additional counts related to three more women on January 8, 2015. On October 1, 2015, Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to one count of choking and four counts of sexual assault. The trial began on February 1, 2016. He was acquitted of all five charges on March 24, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbowgate</span> 2016 Canadian political scandal

Elbowgate was an incident in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came into physical contact with two opposition Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on May 18, 2016 during the parliamentary session. During the incident Trudeau grabbed Conservative MP Gord Brown by the arm and then inadvertently elbowed New Democratic MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest. Trudeau subsequently apologized and was not subject to parliamentary sanctions for the incident.

Robin Camp is a former Federal Court of Canada judge. Camp was the subject of a high-profile removal hearing before the Canadian Judicial Council for his role in a 2014 sexual assault trial that he presided over. The judicial committee recommended that he be removed from the bench. In 2018 Camp was reinstated into the Law Society of Alberta.

After a sexual assault or rape, victims are often subjected to scrutiny and, in some cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy and their credibility may be challenged. Victims may also become the target of slut-shaming, abuse, social stigmatization, sexual slurs and cyberbullying.

Robyn Urback is a Canadian journalist and political commentator. She is known for her work at the National Post, and as of 2020 writes an opinion column for The Globe and Mail.

Navigator Ltd. is a Canadian public relations, crisis management, lobbying, and polling company based in Toronto, with offices in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Moncton, Canada. They have represented a number of high-profile Canadian clients including Brian Mulroney, Michael Bryant, and Magna International. The company was founded in 2000 by Jaime Watt, a communications strategist tied to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Watt remains the Executive Chairman of the company.

References

  1. ↑ Corey Mintz (2010-02-06). "The ultimate compliment is cooking meat to order". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on 2014-12-02. However, after I spent a few months of writing free on a local blog, Borel called me with a huge opportunity. She'd signed a book deal (for Corked: A Memoir, the book that just came out, the book that I am, at this moment, shamelessly plugging in this column) and was taking a leave from both her jobs to write it.
  2. 1 2 "About" Archived 2016-05-23 at the Wayback Machine , kathrynborel.com.
  3. ↑ Barker, William. "Report of the President for the Academic Year 2008-2009" (PDF). University of King's College. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Religion Talk with Kathryn Borel", Yo, Is This Racist? podcast on Soundcloud
  5. ↑ Borel, Kathryn (2009). Corked. Wiley & Sons Canada. ISBN   978-0-470-15390-1.
  6. ↑ "Current Issue - Fall 2015". The Believer. 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Five in running for Leacock," Vancouver Sun, April 2, 2010.
  8. ↑ Kate Parsons (2009-10-30). "A father-daughter-wine tale". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2014-12-13. The outcome is a compelling and often uncomfortable blend of love, resentment, laughter and rage. Put simply, Borel's powers of perception - of her notoriously difficult father and of her own shortcomings - are acute and unrelenting.
  9. ↑ Kathryn Borel (December 2, 2014). "Jian Ghomeshi harassed me on the job. Why did our radio station look the other way?". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ Shum, David (October 2, 2015). "Jian Ghomeshi headed back to court in 2016 as pre-trial hearings end". Global News .
  11. ↑ "CBC inquiry concludes management mishandled Jian Ghomeshi", CBC News, April 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ Miller, Adam (March 24, 2016). "Jian Ghomeshi trial: Former CBC radio host found not guilty of all charges". Global News. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  13. ↑ Gollom, Mark (March 24, 2016). "Jian Ghomeshi found not guilty on choking and all sex assault charges". CBC News. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  14. ↑ Fraser, Laura (May 11, 2016). "Jian Ghomeshi trial: Ex CBC radio host signs peace bond, Crown drops sex assault charge". CBC News.
  15. ↑ "Complainant in Jian Ghomeshi case issues statement". Toronto Star. May 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ "CBC apologizes to Kathryn Borel over handling of Jian Ghomeshi complaint". CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. May 11, 2016. Circumstances around Ghomeshi complaint 'should never have happened,' CBC says
  17. ↑ "Full text: CBC statement on Kathryn Borel and Ghomeshi scandal". 680 News. Rogers Digital Media. May 11, 2016. We've revised our process for capturing the details of bullying and harassment complaints. We are responding to complaints with renewed discipline and rigour, and learning from the data to improve prevention and early resolution.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.