CBC News Toronto - Our Team

Diana Swain | Contact

Diana Swain is the CBC News Toronto at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. She also handles other assignments for CBC including hosting the Olympics from Beijing this summer for CBC Sports and appearing on The National as substitute host.

After working in private radio and television, Swain arrived at Canada's public broadcaster in 1990. She quickly moved from local news reporter to The National as a correspondent in 1993, covering Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She then anchored the award-winning local news program in Winnipeg until 2001. More »

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Aaron Saltzman | Contact

Aaron is the host of CBC News Toronto at 5:30 p.m. He started his career in Toronto at CFRB as producer, reporter and newscaster.

"It gave me a breadth of experience and a confidence with tight deadlines that has helped me immensely over the years".

In 1998, Aaron joined CBC TV in Edmonton. As a local reporter and sports anchor, Aaron covered both news and sports, from the Weibo Ludwig oil patch bombings to the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. More »

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Michelle Cheung | Contact

Michelle has been a reporter for more than 15 years.

She has covered major stories in Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore - including the handover of Hong Kong to China and the impact of the Asian economic crisis.

Now, as part of Toronto's News at Six team, Michelle tells many original and powerful stories about people in Toronto and the GTA. She has a particular interest in the environment, travel and food. Michelle loves Toronto, especially her favorite neighbourhoods - College and Ossington, Kensington Market and Chinatown.

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Christine Birak | Contact

Christine has lived in some of the world's great cities, including London and Tokyo, but calls Toronto home.

"Where else can I experience the world's cultures all in one place?" she asks.

Her many interests include environmental science, geography and volunteer work. These blend well into her life as a News at Six reporter.

She's covered the International AIDS conference, the SARS outbreak, the Homolka release and many other stories since joining the CBC team.

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Nick Czernkovich | Contact

Meteorologist Nick Czernkovich tracks all of your Greater Toronto Area weather every evening on CBC News at Six.

Nick is a graduate of McGill University at the Master's level; his research specialty was short-term thunderstorm forecasting, known as nowcasting.

He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Science from York University.

He not only forecasts the weather, he checks it out first hand as a commercial pilot. Nick particularly loves flying the Twin Otter.

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Michael Dick | Contact

Michael Dick was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario as a member of the Fort William First Nation. He believes in the importance of being a voice for aboriginal people and telling their stories. The media comes naturally to Michael - his father is one Canada's best known aboriginal comedians, "Moccasin Joe".

Michael loves living in Toronto and covering the local news on CBC News at Six. "Everyday you're doing something new. And that at the end of the day people across the GTA can see how you spent your day and what made news in this city." Michael's favorite things about Toronto are the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jays and the great diversity of food.

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Steven D'Souza | Contact

Steven D'Souza graduated from Ryerson University in 2000, joined CBC News, and soon picked up a camera to become a video journalist. He's had a chance to meet people like Wayne Gretzky, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and filmmaker Michael Moore. He's covered national and local stories that have taken him from the lawn of the White House during the 2004 State of the Union Address to inside the Confederation Bridge in PEI to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton.

Steven grew up in Richmond Hill and loves being back home in Toronto. "I always try to find a way to make the viewer understand what is happening and why it is important. There is so much going on in your everyday life, you need to know how things will affect you and your family. If I can inform and maybe even entertain a bit then I've done my job."

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John Lancaster | Contact

John Lancaster joined the CBC News at Six team in the spring of 2007. For the past 12 years. John has covered almost every major news event in the Greater Toronto Area, from high profile court and crime cases, to elections and sports. His reports frequently challenge newsmakers and hold them accountable as he exposes issues of public safety, poverty and injustice. John is passionate about Toronto and the GTA. "It's not only my beat, but it's my home as well."

John's investigative work has been recognized by the Radio Television News Directors' Association. He was awarded the RTNDA's 2006 National Television Award for his continuing reports on Ontario's bail system. He also won the RTNDA's 2005 Central Canada award for short features and was awarded MADD Canada's National Television Award.

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Debbie Lightle-Quan | Contact

Debbie Lightle-Quan was a high school and Queen's University athlete pursuing a career as a police officer when she was brought in as a ringer for CBC's The National baseball team. "The second I stepped into the newsroom, I knew CBC was the place I wanted to work."

Today, she puts her athletic skills to work as a video journalist on CBC News at Six. She loves to play and cover sports. "I try to capture the essence of a person with my camera then tell the story of what motivates them whether they are a professional hockey player or a female kick boxer."

Debbie has two Gemini nominations for her work. She enjoys working and playing in Toronto with her husband and two children. She has three hobbies: "sports, sports and more sports".

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Muhammad Lila | Contact

Muhammad Lila isn't your run-of-the-mill storyteller. With a background that spans three continents, he's a reporter, anchor, shooter, and editor - all rolled into one. He's covered radicalism in the U.S. prison system, been involved in a high speed car chase, and was once detained at gunpoint. He's even hitch-hiked out of Iraq. And each time, he managed to get the story.

"There's no point being a journalist if you're afraid to take risks" he says. "That means doing things, or going places, that other reporters are afraid to."

For the past several years, Muhammad has been covering and uncovering stories that make a difference in Toronto. From school shootings to massive fires to undercover investigative reports, he believes strongly in standing up for the disadvantaged. Muhammad is a graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, travelling, reading, and is training for the Scrabble World Championships.

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Lucy Lopez | Contact

Lucy grew up in the suburbs of the GTA, so the opportunity to be the 905 Reporter for CBC News at Six 905 is like coming home. Establishing the 905 News Room in this fast growing region is just the type of challenge Lucy enjoys. Over the last eight years, she's worked in news markets across northern and eastern Ontario, and has done everything from reporting and anchoring to shooting, editing, and producing.

With a range of experience - everything from anchoring on 9/11 to reporting on the newest video game craze - Lucy enjoys connecting viewers to the story and the people behind the story.

"The best part about being a reporter is the people you meet every day. Each one has a unique, sometimes extraordinary story to tell. I feel very fortunate to hear their stories and to share them with our viewers."

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Stephanie Matteis | Contact

Stephanie Matteis started as a newspaper reporter almost two decades ago, earned a Masters in Journalism and has worked in television and radio ever since. She's been on-air and behind-the-scenes, as a national and local reporter, producer, director and writer.

Some highlights of Stephanie's career include an award-winning documentary about medicine for the Discovery Channel; a Gemini-nominated series for CBC; and a Gemini-award winning documentary for The National. She joined CBC News at Six in Toronto in 2007.

She loves living in the world's most multi-cultural city and getting people to share their stories. At the end of the day, Stephanie says she simply feels lucky to be a storyteller and have an amazing outlet for that irrepressible impulse.

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Marivel Taruc | Contact

Marivel Taruc, a new addition to CBC News Toronto at 5, 5:30 and 6, is the key news reporter on the "Breaking News" desk, keeping viewers up-to-date on stories unfolding in the GTA and around the world.

Taruc is a familiar face to CBC viewers. Most recently, she was the business anchor for CBC News: Morning. In her years as a financial and economics reporter, Taruc covered such stories as the economic aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, the unprecedented collapse and bailout of GM and Chrysler and the 2008 global economic meltdown. She has interviewed top newsmakers of the day, including business leaders and federal cabinet ministers.

Taruc began her career as a news reporter in her hometown of Winnipeg. While working at CBC Manitoba, she covered major events, including 1997's "Flood of the Century" and various federal, provincial and municipal elections.

Taruc graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. She lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

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Mike Wise | Contact

Mike has been with CBC since he was 17 years old. He started as a high-school co-op student and never left (he even worked part-time at CBC while he finished his education!).

Now, having spent half his life covering Toronto, he brings his interest in politics and media to News at Six as the Queen's Park correspondent, focusing on provincial affairs.

He has covered dozens of big stories, including the 2003 blackout, the SARS crisis and World Youth Day, as well as numerous leadership campaigns and provincial and federal elections.

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