Deliberate misrepresentation of the facts [Esther Enkin (CBC); Wayne Williams (CBC); Patrick Fox]

Dear Mr. Fox,

Thank you for your email of March 8 addressed to Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman, concerning our stories about your website and the dispute between you and your ex​-wife. Since CBC news in British Columbia is my responsibility I would like to respond.

First let me apologize for the delay in responding.

Your complaint suggests we deliberately misrepresented the facts. With all due respect I can not agree. Please allow me to address the specifics of your email.

While you say you provided proof Desiree Capuano, your former wife, lied about a number of allegations against you, the record is not clear.

For example your wife says your web site cost her a job and harmed her ability to find work

While your March 8 email suggests your ex-wife was lying about this, your response was, "If as a consequence of the website she's unable to get a job...Good." You had an opportunity to refute her claims but did not.

Any reasonable person would conclude a web site like yours is designed to have a negative impact on all aspects of your wife's life.

On that site you say Desiree Capuano is a drug addict, a child abuser and a white supremacist.

When you were asked "Is there anything that would convince you to take the website down? You responded, "When she is destitute and homeless and the existence of the website would become irrelevant."

You say you have proof Capuano lied when she said you threatened to kill her. We did not report that she said that. It was clear she "feared for her safety" and we explored that extensively with you.

We asked you about a conversation you had with your son when he asked if you would ever shoot his mother. You replied you'd have "no qualms" about killing her if that was legal.

You told us, "No qualms right...means no moral dilemma. That doesn't mean that I would actually do it."

We also reported that the Criminal Justice Branch told us that given what they understood to be your comment that they, "couldn't conclude that that would cause the complainant (your ex-wife) to have an objective fear for their personal safety."

You also say your wife was telling a lie when she claimed you hid your son from her. Your told our journalists the proof is in a transcript from a court hearing. Our read of that was far from conclusive.

When we did not see nor hear absolute evidence of proof we always provided both yours and your ex-wife's perspective in what is clearly a bitter dispute.

We reported what you had said in response to her accusation, "Fox told CBC that Capuano abandoned their son for years."

Now to your last point alleging we falsely reported the RCMP had recommended a charge of criminal harassment against you.

You say your proof is a police document you posted that says,"There is no criminal offense being committed."

That document was printed September 1, 2015, before the RCMP completed their investigation. We stand by our statement that the RCMP forwarded a charge of criminal harassment against you to crown in October.

We did report that the Crown did not approve the charge, quoting a spokesperson who said, "In this case, the fact the people live in different countries played a part in that assessment."

Finally, it is my responsibility to tell you that if you are not satisfied with this response, you may wish to submit the matter for review by the CBC Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman, an independent and impartial body reporting directly to the President, is responsible for evaluating program compliance with the CBC’s journalistic policies. The Ombudsman may be reached by mail at Box 500, Terminal A, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6, or by telephone at 416-205-2978, or by fax at 416-205-2825, or by e-mail.