Image Credit: FACEBOOK/104.7 The Lizard

A Kelowna radio host is suing 104.7 The Lizard radio station alleging the broadcaster fostered and promoted a "misogynistic" and "toxic" work environment.

Suzanne Milne, who broadcasts under the on-air character, Sue Tyler, filed the Notice of Claim at the B.C. Supreme Court, Nov. 15, naming the station's owner, the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, the station general manager Karl Johnston, along with three staffers in the suit.

The Notice of Claim says Milne made repeated formal complaints to management about the toxic workplace that "fostered a misogynistic ideology."

She claims that a culture of making sexualized innuendos from male employees towards female employees was accepted and encouraged both on and off the air.

Milne started working at the radio station in 2014 when it was called Power 104.7 and has had a 30-year career in radio.

The Notice of Claim also states that drinking alcohol and intoxication were commonplace at the radio station and that derogatory and demeaning comments about female employees were acceptable and encouraged.

Milne says the station used "power and intimidation to quell complaints from female employees and inappropriate behaviour."

According to the court documents, Milne's on-air persona, Sue Tyler, is a character specifically designed to push the envelope on women's sexuality and "embrace the fact that women are equal to their male peers in both confidence and their ability to express empowerment in their sexuality."

Sue Tyler would use a sexualized tone and innuendo in her shows to appeal to the target audience of males between 18 and 40 years old.

In real life, Milne is a mother of four with a successful long-term career in radio netting her roughly $80,000 a year.

"The male staff at (The Lizard)... did not differentiate between the character 'Sue Tyler' and (Milne) and accordingly deemed it appropriate to speak and treat (Milne) in a belittling and sexist manner simply because the 'Sue Tyler' character was overtly sexual and confident," reads the Notice of Claim.

In one instance, after complaining to management about the toxic workplace, a colleague then shared a video of another colleague making fun of Milne using misogynistic overtones while drunk at a public event.

"The video was subsequently shared with all the male employees in the office who capitalized on the video's contents to further make inappropriate jokes at (Milne's) expense," reads the document.

In another instance, Milne's colleagues laughed at a medical condition she has saying it was gonorrhea. When she asked them to stop as her condition was "not a joke" they laughed and ignored her. The Notice of Claim lists other similar examples.

The court documents say the station's manager refused to acknowledge Milne's complaints and the general consensus among the female staff at the radio station was to either endure the sexual harassment or quit.

The Notice of Claim says in November 2020 she met with the president of Pattison Media who acknowledge there were "significant cultural issues" at the station and at other stations the company owned in Kelowna.

A sensitivity training course was then mandated for all staff at the station.

However, this appears not to have changed anything as the court documents say the inappropriate behaviour "simply escalated."

Milne was then told to "tone down" her on-air persona and be a "nice mom" instead, with no more sexualized content on air.

Milne saw this as double standards as her male colleagues continued to broadcast ads that were "clearly sexualized and misogynistic."

The Notice of Claim says she emailed the company president about the situation with the subject headline, "misogyny alive and well in Kelowna." She says she didn't get a reply.

In January 2021, the company offered her an "optional" termination which she rejected.

The court documents say Milne is currently on long-term medical leave.

Milne claims the company and her colleagues listed in the suit left her suffering as a result of their carelessness and indifference.

The court documents say Milne has been left with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, among others.

Milne is seeking unspecified damages from the company and her colleagues named in the suit.

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group has yet to respond to the court action.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

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