WHETHER STANDING UP to riot police during the G20 or scrutinizing living conditions in the townships of South Africa during the World Cup, Lisa LaFlamme lives by a few essential principles.
“It’s my job to give a voice to people who don’t have one, to land somewhere, some hellhole, and find a spark of light.”
In her 20-year career, she has been widely recognized for her professional contributions. She has been nominated five times for a Gemini Award in the Best News Anchor category and has won a prestigious media award for her coverage in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, when four RCMP officers were shot and killed in 2005.
However, nothing compared to when LaFlamme was offered the lead anchor position on CTV’s National News, taking over for long-time anchor Lloyd Robertson. LaFlamme’s reaction was a humble mix of surprise and delight.
“My head is spinning, so I’m just sitting and looking at the lake, contemplating life,” says LaFlamme over the phone from her cottage north of Toronto. “It looks pretty good right now.”
LaFlamme’s interest in news was developed early on. “I vividly remember my father coming home from work at lunch time,and we’d talk about the Andy Barrie Show and the news of the day.
Honestly, this was our lunchtime conversation.” She laughs.
Upon making the move to CTV and Toronto in 1997, LaFlamme knew instinctively where she wanted to live: Midtown.
“Before I got the job at the network, the only person I knew in Toronto was my roommate of four years at the University of Ottawa.… I used to come visit her and I loved it.”
She remembers trolling the area for real estate signs and finally finding an apartment on a leafy Midtown street. She chuckles.
“I used to call it my ‘apartment,’ but really it was the attic of an old house.”
Upon returning from Ottawa, and from her post as CTV’s parliamentary correspondent in 2001, to host Canada AM, she automatically moved right back to the same area.
Since then, she has held on tightly to her memories of home, even while working abroad.
“Sherwood Park is a hidden treasure in the city, and walking my dog through there has become real therapy for me. I think about it,when I’m in a war zone or somewhere nasty, and it brings me some serenity.”
Though she admits that sentiment may sound corny,it’s clear she adores the area.
“It’s everything about the neighbourhood, from my dry cleaner to the convenience store to the coffee barista. I know every single inch of Yonge Street along there, and most of the shopkeepers know me.”
After the announcement detailing LaFlamme’s promotion at CTV, “people popped out of their shops to say, ‘Hey Lisa, way to go!’”
Community has always played a major role in LaFlamme’s life.Her three sisters and eight nieces and nephews are the top priority. In fact, her 21-year-old nephew is currently living with her while he finishes his summer job in downtown Toronto.
And yet, LaFlamme’s family life and professional interests are never too far away from one another. She jokes that she observes her nephew like a social science project.
“I’m trying to figure out how to get a 21- year-old to watch a conventional newscast! And if he ever lifts his head from the laptop, I might get an answer from him.”
On a more serious note, two of the major stories LaFlamme has covered in recent years were made more poignant by the involvement of her family. During hurricane Katrina, LaFlamme found herself more emotionally affected than she would have thought.
“It horrified me because I had just been there on holiday with my sister. I went back a few months later, and there was a dead body lying in the mouth of the parking garage of the very hotel she and I had stayed in.”
The earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 was another heart-wrenching story for LaFlamme, but particularly so because her father had passed away only two days prior.
“I sort of see the news of 2010 through the prism of one of the worst and most painful experiences of my life — losing my father.”
LaFlamme chokes up momentarily, but in an instant, the smile is back in her voice.“It was six months to the day of my father’s death that I was offered the anchor position. He was there with me [the day it was announced],and I could feel some positive karma coming from somewhere.”
LaFlamme’s professional family is one she holds dear as well. Her fierce reaction to police arresting her longtime cameraman during the G20 was widely circulated through television and online media.
“The shot has become me screaming at the riot police, but I would say the message is that we were just there doing our job. My cameraman was just doing his job, and there was no reason for us to be rounded up in that situation.”
LaFlamme’s frustration with the experience stemmed from a real lack of communication by the police. No one had received any definitive warnings that they needed to vacate the area or face arrest, she says.
“After having been in riots and having dealt with riot police around the world, I couldn’t believe I was standing in Toronto and this was happening to me. I felt like all of a sudden, I had been picked up and dropped in Tehran.”
Ultimately, what LaFlamme showed Toronto during this experience was a gut instinct to protect those who need it.
“There [Brisson] was, thrown to the ground.They slapped the plastic cuffs on him, and what was I supposed to do?” LaFlamme explained to anyone who would listen that Brisson was an accredited journalist working for CTV. She was finally able to speak with a staff sergeant who agreed to have Brisson released unconditionally.
LaFlamme does concede that the police had a difficult job that weekend,but,like many other Torontonians, she is interested to see what results from the inquiries into the police’s behaviour.
“It was a very strange weekend, and much will be said over the years on how it unfolded. I know that I will remember that a lot of things that shouldn’t have happened, did happen.”
Of course, LaFlamme’s work family currently centres on Canadian news giant Lloyd Robertson. When LaFlamme was offered the position of news anchor, her fondness for Robertson was at the forefront.
“I think I got quite teary eyed at that moment because I couldn’t believe it. This is Lloyd Robertson, who, apart from being a Canadian icon, has also been a great friend and a great mentor to me over all these years.My first feeling was, ‘You’re not allowed to retire, you’re Lloyd Robertson!’”
Lest any CTV viewers be concerned, LaFlamme knows full well that the public expectation of her is high.
Over the coming year, Robertson will slowly hand over the reins, which will help viewers become accustomed to LaFlamme.
Ultimately, LaFlamme is confident that she will be able to uphold the high standard set by Robertson. “I hope that this is the start of a good long run at that desk. I’ll never beat Lloyd’s 35 years, but I’m really excited for my time there.”
