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Austin Delaney's CTV retirement sparks debate, resurfaces Lisa LaFlamme firing: 'Unfair'

"I like him and am sorry to see him go, but I find it totally unfair that all these men get to retire but someone amazing like Lisa LaFlamme gets tossed out like garbage."

Austin Delaney's retirement is sparking a conversation about sexism in television.

On Monday, the 72-year-old CTV anchor announced his retirement after a 40-year-long journalism career.

“It’s time to go. I’m, I’d said, young enough, at heart, in good health, and I’m looking forward to it, I feel good about it. I’m at peace,” Delaney said during the 6 p.m. broadcast.

“I’m just going to chill a little bit for the first little while, I’m going to treat it like it’s a vacation and get used to retirement," he added. "I’ve been getting up doing news for 40 years; it’s time to take a break and do some other stuff, do some travelling.”

The news has since sparked an online debate after fans compared Delaney's departure to that of former CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme, who was abruptly ousted from her position last year.

While many are disappointed to hear the news of Delaney's new chapter, others were quick to weigh in, calling his retirement "totally unfair" to LaFlamme, who was not offered the same opportunity.

"He gets to retire and Lisa LaFlamme was let go," one person tweeted. "Ridiculous."

"Another man retires from CTV News and women get fired or let go," someone else wrote: "Got it!"

"I like him and am sorry to see him go, but I find it totally unfair that all these men get to retire but someone amazing like Lisa LaFlamme gets tossed out like garbage," another penned. "I will never watch CTV News again."

"Showing your true colours, CTV. Celebrating a man’s retirement but not giving that same courtesy to Lisa LaFlamme to step down gracefully," a Twitter user commented.

In June 2022, LaFlamme shared a video on social media informing her followers that her contract with Bell Media was being cut short by the network.

“I was blindsided and am still shocked and saddened by Bell Media’s decision,” LaFlamme said at the time. “While it is crushing to be leaving CTV National News in a manner that is not my choice, please know reporting has truly been the greatest honour of my life.”

Bell Media subsequently released a statement of their own, calling it a "business decision" to terminate LaFlamme's contract.

“Recognizing changing viewer habits, 'CTV' recently advised LaFlamme that it had made the business decision to move its acclaimed news show and the role of its Chief News Anchor in a different direction,” the statement read.

In August 2022, the vice president of news during LaFlamme's termination, Michael Melling, was reassigned elsewhere within Bell Media.

Yahoo Canada has reached out to Bell Media for comment.

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