Witness Testimony

Anita Krishna, a long-time control room director at Global News BC, testified that she observed what she described as fear-driven and one-sided reporting during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. She stated that concerns about alternative treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin were dismissed in the newsroom, that dissenting perspectives were discouraged, and that coverage of vaccines was framed in a manner she characterized as overwhelmingly promotional. She also expressed concern about reporting encouraging vaccination among pregnant women without, in her view, sufficient scrutiny.
Krishna testified that she raised concerns internally about COVID-19 coverage and later attended a rally in North Vancouver as a private citizen. She spoke spontaneously at the rally after being introduced as a Global director, and the speech was recorded and circulated online. She stated that she was subsequently suspended for three days with pay for allegedly violating journalistic principles, although she testified that management did not specify which provisions were breached.
She further testified that she was terminated in early January 2022, citing alleged violations of social media policy related to a tweet questioning why certain businesses remained open while gyms and churches were closed. She stated that she was dismissed shortly after the rally, was characterized as terminated “with cause,” and was not eligible for employment insurance. Krishna described the newsroom environment as polarized, stated that some colleagues privately shared her concerns, and characterized her termination as a consequence of speaking out about media practices during the pandemic.