Former CTV anchor Lloyd Robertson speaks out on Lisa LaFlamme's ouster

Former CTV National News anchor Lloyd Robertson has entered the chat.

Robertson, who was Lisa LaFlamme’s predecessor at the national news desk, spoke out about his successor’s forced exit at a Stratford Festival panel over the weekend.

The veteran anchor compared LaFlamme’s integrity to Cordelia’s from Shakespeare’s King Lear, reported Guelph Today.

You might also like:
• #KeepTheGrey: Dove Canada throws shade at Bell Media in new ad campaign (VIDEO/PHOTOS)
• "We must break this cycle": Roméo Dallaire drags Bell Media for ousting Lisa LaFlamme
• Petition growing to reinstate Lisa LaFlamme as CTV's chief news anchor
• Bell Media announces internal CTV newsroom review over Lisa LaFlamme dismissal

“She held to her own integrity, all through with the old man. From the beginning, saying, ‘My bond is our father-daughter relationship.’ Right to the end, she was there for him,” he said at the panel on Saturday.

For those who weren’t paying attention in their high school English class, here’s the Sparknotes version:

In the play, Cordelia is the youngest of King Lear’s three daughters — and his favourite. When her elderly father asks for professions of love from her and her sisters to determine how to divide his kingdom’s land, her sisters give over-the-top, deceitful speeches.

Cordelia refuses to do the same and is banished for the majority of the play.

Robertson was moderating the “Staging Democracy” panel, which included Lt. Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae, and Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson.

Democracy, just like the arts, thrives with the exchange of ideas. Pleased to join @BobRae48, @Danmathieson, @lrobertsonctv and @stratfest’s Anita Gaffney and Daviorr Snipes for an engaging conversation part of the Meighen Forum. pic.twitter.com/6HZu9ZtIoV

— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) August 21, 2022

Attendees asked Robertson to comment on LaFlamme’s dismissal, according to Guelph Today. 

“You don’t go laying off that person the way you laid off Lisa LaFlamme,” Robertson added. “These people are good human beings, communicating with the public in a real way, and being true to their own identities and their own integrity as they go along.”

Last week, LaFlamme broke the internet after announcing that she had been abruptly let go by Bell Media due to a “business decision.”

Since then, numerous reports have detailed the underlying reasons behind LaFlamme’s ouster, one of them being allegations of ageism and sexism.

Many have compared LaFlamme’s age to that of other veteran anchors who were given proper retirements and send-offs.

Robertson, for example, helmed CTV’s national newscast from 1984 to 2011, serving 41 years as an anchor in total.

He retired at the age of 77. LaFlamme was let go at just 58 years old.

Recent national anchor departures:

2011 – Lloyd Robertson retires as CTV anchor at age 77

2017- Peter Mansbridge retires as CBC anchor at age 69

2022- Lisa LaFlamme contract cancelled by CTV at age 58.

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) August 15, 2022

Bell Media tweeted a statement last Friday expressing its regret for how it handled LaFlamme’s ousting. 

The cut has outraged so many Canadians that a petition to reinstate LaFlamme as chief anchor already has over 150,000 signatures and counting.

Omar Sachedina will be CTV National News’ chief anchor and senior editor effective Monday, September 5.