CALGARY and TORONTO – Shaw Communications has apologized to Globalive’s Wind Mobile after the new wireless provider accused it of making “a racial slur” during a conference call with Shaw’s investment analysts last week.
While discussing the company’s latest financial results, Shaw president Peter Bissonnette and CEO Jim Shaw joked about Toronto-based Wind, whose customers have complained of poor network coverage in Toronto and Calgary.
At one point during the call, the duo laughingly asked, "Is the wind blowing in here?”, followed by "Or is that a camel?" and "Oh, it’s a camel."
According to a Canadian Press report, Wind Mobile chairman and CEO Anthony Lacavera demanded the apology for the remarks which he described as “a racial slur joking about Egyptians”. Wind’s parent company Globalive has major investment from Egyptian-based Orascom Telecom Holding.
Shaw’s Bissonnette responded to criticism of the remarks earlier this week.
"Frankly, there was no intention to be in any way racist at all," Bissonnette told CP. "It could have been a coyote, it could have been any kind of animal. If they took that in any other way than in a light hearted jest, I apologize for that. It wasn’t intended to be in any way mean spirited or anything.”
