Former CBC director sues over alleged harassment and wrongful dismissal

TORONTO -- A former senior director at the CBC has launched a lawsuit against the broadcaster alleging he was harassed by one of his bosses for two years before he was dismissed from the organization.

Christopher (Jim) Kozak alleges that Jean Mongeau, CBC's general manager and chief revenue officer for media solutions, harassed, intimidated and bullied him from late 2014 until his April 2016 dismissal.

In a statement of claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Kozak says the behaviour involved "speaking in a condescending manner" towards him, "unnecessary pressure tactics around work assignments," and "unjustly challenging and 'grilling' Kozak at one-on-one meetings and deliberately putting him on the defensive."

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

"We vigorously deny the allegations that have been made in the statement of claim," said CBC spokeswoman Emma Bedard in an email.

"We will be filing our statement of defence in the coming days."

Kozak began working at the CBC in October 2012 as director of sales for the network's Olympics and sports partnerships. He was later promoted to senior director of marketing.

He is seeking $350,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal, $500,000 in aggravated or moral damages, and $250,000 in punitive damages.

The filing alleges the CBC has failed to implement the recommendations of the Rubin Report, an independent workplace study by lawyer Janice Rubin.

Rubin was retained by the broadcaster to investigate how management responded to allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour involving former radio host Jian Ghomeshi.

Rubin's report, released in April 2015, stated management "did not enforce the behavioural standard." It also offered recommendations to "prevent similar issues arising in the future."

The statement of claim alleges the broadcaster only pays "lip service" to the recommendations.

"CBC's failure to properly implement the recommendations from the Rubin Report, and eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace, represents an organizational failure and constitutes a known harm to all its employees," the filing reads.