could be a conflict of interest. Mansbridge was the second CBC employee discovered to be accepting money from outside agencies for speaking fees. Rex Murphy of CBC's Cross Country Check-up was the first. CBC president Hubert Lacroix defended the practice stating that the CBC was aware of the speaking engagements and payments, having pre-vetted them for any potential conflict of interest. Nevertheless, the CBC reviewed its policies following the controversy. In 2016, anonymous insider sources from the CBC told CANADALAND that the CBC compensated Mansbridge for losing earnings from speaking fees; Mansbridge denies this claim. Retirement In 2016, Mansbridge announced his retirement from hosting The National, and step down as Chief Correspondent of CBC News after anchoring CBC's Canada Day coverage on the country's 150th anniversary. He made his final broadcast from The National on June 30, 2017; and made his final live coverage during Canada Day on July 1, 2017, paving the way for his retirement. From October to December 2017, Mansbridge undertook a 17-stop cross-Canada storytelling tour. However, all 17 of the events were later cancelled. Since his retirement, he made appearances in CBC including as guest co-host on CBC's coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018, and as a guest contributor for the 2019 federal election. Personal life Mansbridge has been married three times. His previous marriage to CBC colleague Wendy Mesley (January 6, 1989 – 1992) became regular tabloid fodder in Frank magazine as their marriage ended. He has been married to Canadian actress Cynthia Dale since November 14, 1998, and they have a son, William, born in 1999. Mansbridge has two daughters from a first marriage to Parm Dhillon, which ended in 1975. He lives in Stratford, Ontario with his family, and also has a summer cottage in the Gatineau Hills. Among his hobbies, Mansbridge collects small mementos from his travels around the world, including rocks, soil and other “sentimental” items from various prominent historical places. He kept pebbles from a visit to the Battle of Dieppe site in France, dirt from Vimy Ridge, and sand from the beaches at Normandy, as well as pieces of the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China. A silver bracelet was bought on his trip to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's funeral, which is engraved only with the numerals “46664” — Mandela's prisoner number on Robben Island. Mansbridge is also an