Former CBC journalist dies after random attack on Toronto street, new suspect photo released
Former CBC journalist dies after random attack on Toronto street, new suspect photo released
A long-time CBC radio producer who was the victim of a random assault in Toronto last week has died, the public broadcaster confirms.
On Wednesday, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson identified the victim of the assault, on Danforth and Jones avenues on Jan. 24, as former producer Michael Finlay.
Thompson said that Finlay died on Tuesday from “medical complications” following the attack.
"Michael will be remembered as an exceptional story-teller, documentary-maker and editor,” Thompson said in the statement. “He travelled the world producing radio documentaries for several programs but most notably for Sunday Morning. If you worked on a documentary with Michael, you were experiencing the pinnacle of the craft."
Police have previously said that a suspect was walking along Danforth Avenue at around 3:35 p.m. on Jan. 24 when he encountered another man, now understood to be Finlay, and assaulted him. The victim fell to the ground and suffered serious injuries.
Toronto police released a new photo of the suspect in the Danforth assault on Feb. 1, 2023. (Supplied)
On Wednesday morning, police confirmed the victim had “tragically” died, but provided no further details.
Police have not designated the assault as a homicide at this point, and said an autopsy will have to be conducted prior to such a designation being made.
“Nobody seems to know anything other than he was waking down doing some shopping on the Danforth last week in the middle of the afternoon and somebody just came up behind him and knocked him to the ground and then disappeared. That is all I have heard,” Frank Koller, who worked with Finlay at the CBC, told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
In the statement, CBC said Finlay spent 31 years with the public broadcaster before retiring in 2010.
A suspect in an assault in Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood last month is shown. (Toronto Police Service)
The statement notes Finlay was the "driving force" behind the documentary program "Dispatches," and also worked as an editor at "The World at Six.”
Koller worked with Finlay for about 20 years but had lost touch with him since his retirement. He said while Finlay had a reputation as an “absolute stickler” he was ultimately somebody most reporters wanted to work with because he “made your journalism better.”
“When it came time to have your stories reviewed before they went out on the airways, you kind of hoped Michael was going to be the one that would do the vetting process. It often hurt when he was finished with you but you knew consistently that the story would be better for it,” he said. “He loved the English language and he helped you deliver the English language in a way that made your journalism better.”
Koller said he got to know Finlay while working as a correspondent for CBC in Asia, beginning in 1985.
He said that he remembers his former producer as someone who “seemed to know everything” and “everyone.”
“He was never starting fresh on a story and a little flag would go off and he would say this is something we have to watch,” he said. “I remember we were heading off to China in 1989 to do some stories on the economy and just a few hours before we were leaving Michael came over and said ‘There is an elderly Chinese politician who has died and students are turning updowntown by the hundreds.’ He said ‘as soon as you get there you should check this out’ and of course that was the very first start of what came to be the Tiananmen (Square) protests.”
Police released a surveillance image of a suspect in the assault investigation, who remains outstanding.
The suspect is described as male, about six-feet tall and in his 20s with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a red paper mask with flames on it, a black sweater, and black pants.The attack is just the latest incidence of apparent random violence in Toronto in recent weeks.
On Jan. 20 an 89-year-old woman was also shoved while walking on a sidewalk in downtown Toronto. She was later pronounced dead and a suspect has been charged with manslaughter in her death.
“It is a tragedy, there is just no other word to describe it and when you hear of these tragedies, I can just speak for myself, it underlines my own determination to try to do better when it comes to safe streets, to programs to address the root causes of these things and to do better when it comes to some of the other underlying contributing circumstances as well,” Mayor John Tory told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the Greektown incident.
As Joe Biden makes his first trip to Canada as president of the United States, CTVNews.ca is offering live coverage of the leader's visit. Follow our live blog on CTVNews.ca and the CTV News app for the latest updates.
U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived on Parliament Hill for a jam-packed day of events as part of his first official visit to Canada since taking office.
Ontario’s self-described crypto king was allegedly abducted, tortured, and beaten for days as his kidnappers looked to solicit millions in ransom, his father told a court in December.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. Watch W5's 'Something in the Water' Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV.
An Ontario couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin, who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
Canada's restaurant industry is bracing for the biggest jump in the country's alcohol excise duty in more than 40 years, spurring warnings the tax hike could force some bars and restaurants out of business.
The idea of using firing squads is making a comeback in the U.S. Idaho lawmakers passed a bill this week seeking to add the state to the list of those authorizing firing squads, currently Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
The United States' first lady will be given a sweeping introduction to Canadian sports culture in Ottawa today as Sophie Gregoire Trudeau takes Jill Biden to the curling rink.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
A St. Catherines man has been charged after a reported robbery in London. Around 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, police were called to the parking lot at Cherryhill Village Mallon Oxford Street after witnesses reported that a man with a knife was demanding items from another man.
A woman is in hospital with critical injuries after an overnight house fire in north London. Crews were called to the scene on Adelaide Street near Dufferin Avenue around 1:20 a.m.
The ‘Catch the Ace’ jackpot is still up for grabs in Hagersville. There was no winner Thursday night so the total prize money is now an estimated $1,526,067.
An uncommon phenomenon lit up the skies across southern Ontario on Thursday night, including in Waterloo region where the aurora borealis – also known as the northern lights - shone bright enough to see with the naked eye.
Ontario’s self-described crypto king was allegedly abducted, tortured, and beaten for days as his kidnappers looked to solicit millions in ransom, his father told a court in December.
U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived on Parliament Hill for a jam-packed day of events as part of his first official visit to Canada since taking office.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
The Calgary Police Service confirms charges have been laid against a driver in connection with Thursday's crash of a semi-truck into the 32nd Avenue N.E. overpass along Deerfoot Trail.
With Calgary Board of Education students set to kick off spring break once the final bell rings Friday afternoon, some Calgarians are eager to leave the country in pursuit of warmer weather with their families.
Manitoba’s labour force is growing at a rate to supply enough workers for available positions into 2026, according to the province’s labour market outlook.
Canada's restaurant industry is bracing for the biggest jump in the country's alcohol excise duty in more than 40 years, spurring warnings the tax hike could force some bars and restaurants out of business.
U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived on Parliament Hill for a jam-packed day of events as part of his first official visit to Canada since taking office.
A series of ancient landslides have been “reawakened” in British Columbia's Cariboo region, costing hundreds of millions in federal disaster assistance funds and prompting warnings that logging is connected to the problem.
Beaumont RCMP are advising the public that officers are currently on scene at École Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School after a threat was made against the school online.
Canada's restaurant industry is bracing for the biggest jump in the country's alcohol excise duty in more than 40 years, spurring warnings the tax hike could force some bars and restaurants out of business.
Toronto police released a new photo of the suspect in the Danforth assault on Feb. 1, 2023. (Supplied)
A suspect in an assault in Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood last month is shown. (Toronto Police Service)
