One of British Columbia's best-known talk-show hosts has been fired from CKNW radio after 19 years on the air.

Rafe Mair was forced to leave following complaints by his female producer about his behaviour.

She accuses Mair of forcing her to get his coffee and swearing in her presence.

Rafe Mair
Rafe Mair

The 71-year-old Mair denies forcing her to do anything, and while he admits he swore, he says the words weren't directed at her.

Mair says it was probably time for him to leave anyway, suggesting he had a number of differences with Corus Entertainment, which took over the station a few years ago.

Conflict 'a catalyst'

"The business that was going on with my producer, that acted as a catalyst," he said. "I suspect that this day would have come irrespective of this, somewhere down the line."

Mair was a B.C. cabinet minister in Bill Bennett's Social Credit government and started at CKNW in 1984.

In 1994, he won a Michener Award for meritorious service to Canadian journalism in recognition of his campaign to stop Alcan from completing a hydro-electric project in northern B.C.

Mair argued that it would be a threat to salmon and to the environment.