An access to information request by another publication has revealed that environmentalist and CBC TV show host David Suzuki, 76, charged West Island CEGEP John Abbott College $41,640 for a one-hour speech on October 23, 2012.Suzuki charged the school $30,000 plus expenses, including a $841 hotel bill.
So they spent the near equivalent of an entire salary for a single hour of David Suzuki.
Occasionally you sorta understand why students were very keen on knowing how every last cent of school money is spent, because this one seems a bit reckless.
One local paper described the speech as "sold out" but they most likely meant "full house" because there appears to have no entrance fee charged by the schol for the 1,600 in attendance.
So if you're a John Abbott employee that gets laid off for lack of funds, you'll know who to blame.
I'm not surprised. He's a dirty old man (like Rod Stewart) and is completely full of himself.
ReplyDeleteCompletely full of himself, the ego is bigger than any other CBC or CTV "personality". His former producer, Milan Chovstek, one of the nicest guys in the business, has more than his fair share of stories to recount about him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a rip-off.
ReplyDeleteThey could have simply arranged a podcast, or similar audio-visual hookup.
Ginette Sheehy is no Luc Henrico, that's for sure
ReplyDeleteThis is second-hand but a friend was on a flight with Dr. S. and plucked up the courage to ask him an ecological question. Dr. S. answered in a rude, dismissive tone, "How should I know?" My friend was shocked and so was I when I heard the tale. I guess we were naive about a celeb.
ReplyDeleteDr. S. issues pious statements about how the poor man has to pay so many carbon credits voluntarily to atone for his air travel ...
He used to get on the bus in Vancouver that I took to or from work. That was before he quit/or was pushed out? of UBC. Maybe he hid is Chev Suburban and drove it on weekends only! Joking. What an overpriced lecture. I guess it is the "fawning fee"...Oh well, it is disappointing when people who seem knowledgeable, smart etc. are rumoured to be less than charitable people. But people have bad days. Who knows of the truthiness of rumours. Robert
ReplyDeleteMany high-profile people--especially media personalities--have a "Jekyll-Hyde" contradictory personalities.
ReplyDeleteI can understand their annoyance when their privacy is invaded, but to be deliberately obxious is another thing.
I once spoke to someone who had business dealings with David Letterman, calling him a really miserable S.O.B.--quite the opposite to how the public perceives him.
Likewise, Frank Sinatra and Mickey Rooney had very dark sides. Cross them once and it's over.
To go along with the nice on air/miserable plick off it...Dave Van Horne, Wally Crouter (Toronto morningman), and Beverly Thomson of CTV. On the opposite side of the scale, Howard Stern, off-air, is a gentleman, a side he showed on NBC's "America's Got Talent"
ReplyDeleteWhen you rely on Sun Media, you're bound to get it wrong:
ReplyDelete- John Abbott didn't pay Suzuki's fee, a private donor did
- he stuck around for a fundraising dinner and speech that I'm sure more than covered the rest of the cost
-Suzuki donates his speaking fees to the David Suzuki Foundation
Good journalists check their facts...
Ha ha...everyone was gettin all into a populist snit about the hypocrisy of Suzuki and his "ethical" contradiction taking public money taking a blog as factual verified reporting.
ReplyDelete"When you rely on Sun Media, you're bound to get it wrong:
ReplyDelete- John Abbott didn't pay Suzuki's fee, a private donor did
- he stuck around for a fundraising dinner and speech that I'm sure more than covered the rest of the cost
-Suzuki donates his speaking fees to the David Suzuki Foundation
Good journalists check their facts..."
Oh look a Suzuki apologist.
So then all those documents from the AIA requests were fabricated?
Someone who makes claims like that doesn't hide behind an "Anonymous" handle.
I had the David Suzuki Foundation as a customer years ago when their offices were on the second floor above some stores on West Broadway.
ReplyDeleteI sold them recycled toner cartridges for about a year or so before I was replaced by a competitor.
The way I marketed recycled toner cartridges was to have them shelf ready. When a customer needed some we simply delivered them.
My competitor who replaced me went about things differently. He would go down to the Suzuki office and pick up the spent cartridges, bring them back to his office and refill them with toner and then drive back and deliver them.
I pointed out to the Suzuki buyer that this was a lot of wasted trips using gas but they just didn't seem to understand that the new supplier wasn't really environmentally friendly.
I thought if Suzuki was dumb enough to hire people who made decisions like that....
I used to see Suzuki at Costco in Richmond, BC once in a while. I can't remember what was in his cart. Mayve some of that computer duster spray?