Hana Gartner CM is a retired Canadian

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

who is best known as the host and interviewer of several programs for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Early life and education

Gartner was born in 1948 in

Prague, Czechoslovakia Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...

, but grew up in Chomedey,

Laval, Quebec Laval (; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in C ...

. She studied at Loyola College (now

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

), in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''.

Career

Gartner began her career as a radio host at Montreal's

CJAD CJAD (800 AM) is a commercial radio station operating in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station has an English language news/talk radio format and identifies itself on-air as ''CJAD 800''. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it has a daytime power ...

in 1970. In 1974, she joined the

as a TV news anchor at CBMT Montreal. She moves to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

the following year to work on the program '' In Good Company'', alongside

Roger Abbott Roger Abbott (July 10, 1946March 26, 2011) was an English-born Canadian sketch comedian who was a founding member of the long-lived Canadian comedy troupe ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'', and remained one of its stars and writers until his death. Ea ...

, Don Ferguson, Nancy White, and

Gene DiNovi Eugene Salvatore "Gene" DiNovi (born May 26, 1928) is an American jazz pianist. DiNovi was born in New York City. He worked with Joe Marsala and Chuck Wayne while a teenager. He was very active live and on record in the late 1940s, working with B ...

. Gartner became the host of CBC Radio's ''

This Country in the Morning ''This Country in the Morning'' was a nationally broadcast Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio from 1971 to June 27, 1975. Peter Gzowski was the host from 1971 to 1974. After the show During the summer of 1975, the show was replaced ...

'' and replaced

Judy LaMarsh Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, (December 20, 1924 – October 27, 1980) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, author and broadcaster. In 1963, she was only the second woman to ever serve as a federal Cabinet Minister. Under Prime Minister Lester Pearson' ...

in 1976. The following year, she moved back to television as a co-host of both the CBC's local newscast at

CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). B ...

in Toronto and the network's afternoon public affairs program ''

Take 30 ''Take 30'' (also expressed as ''Take Thirty'') was a Canadian television newsmagazine series, which aired on CBC Television from 1962 to 1984 for 2,500 episodes. An afternoon series originally designed as a "women's show", the series gradually ev ...

''. (Previous hosts of ''Take 30'' had included

Mary Lou Finlay Mary Lou Finlay (born 1947) is a Canadian radio and television journalist, best known for hosting various programs on CBC Radio and CBC Television.

Moses Znaimer Moses Znaimer (; born 1942) is a Tajik-born Canadian media executive of jewish descent. He is the co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia. ...

, and

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson (; ; born February 10, 1939) is a British Hong Kong, Hong Kong-born Canadian journalist who served from 1999 to 2005 as Governor General of Canada, the List of Governors General of Canada#Governors General of Canada, 1 ...

.) In 1982, Gartner became co-host of the CBC's primetime TV newsmagazine, '' The Fifth Estate''. In 1992, she worked alongside

Julian Sher Julian Sher is a Canadian investigative journalist, filmmaker, author and newsroom trainer based in Montreal, Quebec. He was an investigative producer for ten years then a senior producer for five years with the CBC's '' The Fifth Estate''. He has ...

and Daniel Burke in exposing Inspector Claude Savoie of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as corrupt. In her interviews with Savoie, she asked him questions about his business relationships with the shady lawyer

Sidney Leithman Sidney Leithman (14 October 1936 – 13 May 1991), better known as "Sid", was a Canadian lawyer known for representing numerous reputed organized crime figures in Montreal. Leithman was shot dead in a murder that remains unsolved. Mob lawyer Lei ...

and the gangster Allan "the Weasel" Ross. Savoie told her that he last seen Ross in May 1992 and that: "He osswasn't an informant, nor was I an informant for him. But I knew him. Put it that way. I met him". The scandal ended with Savoie committing suicide in his office at the RCMP's national headquarters in Ottawa. Gartner stated that she was in shock at the time as she recalled: “We were both like whirling dervishes. No story is worth anybody offing himself." In 1995, she replaced

Pamela Wallin Pamela Wallin (born April 10, 1953) is a Canadian senator, former television journalist, and diplomat. She was appointed to the senate on January 2, 2009, where she initially sat as a Conservative. Early life and career Wallin was born in W ...

as co-host with

Peter Mansbridge Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a British-born Canadian retired news anchor. From 1988 to 2017, he was chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of '' The National,'' CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. He was also host of CB ...

of CBC's flagship newshour, ''

Prime Time News ''CBC Prime Time News'' was a Canadian nightly newscast which aired on CBC Television from 1992 to 1995."CBC gives last rites to PTN, revives The National". ''Ottawa Citizen'', September 2, 1995. Background For the previous ten years, the CBC's ...

'', as it returned to 10 p.m. and reverted to its previous name, '' The National''. Gartner hosted the ''National Magazine'' portion of the programme, which has interviews, extended features, and documentaries and was the second half of the hour, following Mansbridge's newscast. Gartner left ''The National'', returned to ''The Fifth Estate'' in 2000, and remained with the programme for 11 years. On May 11, 2011, Gartner announced her retirement from the CBC.

Awards

Gartner has won five

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

and has been nominated 18 times in the Gemini hosting, anchoring, and interviewing categories during her career. She has also twice won the special Gemini

Gordon Sinclair Award The Gordon Sinclair Award is a Canadian journalism award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for excellence in broadcast journalism. Originally presented as part of the ACTRA Awards, it was transferred to the new Gemini Awar ...

for excellence in broadcast journalism: in 1985 and in 2006. In 2011, she was nominated for a Michener Award for her story about a troubled teen who died while in the Ontario corrections system. In 2019, she was appointed as a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gartner, Hana 1948 births Living people Canadian television news anchors Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada People from Laval, Quebec Anglophone Quebec people Loyola College (Montreal) alumni CBC Television people Canadian women television journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian women Canadian Screen Award winning journalists