THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS • L’Association Canadienne des Journalistes MEDIA2014 AWARDS EDITION • VOL.16, NO. 3

Suspended SENATOR MIKE DUFFY A Top Newsmaker for all the Wrong Reasons 2014 AWARDS EDITION • VOLUME 16, NUMBER THREE MEDIA Table of contents 8 CAJ: COMMUNITY BROADCAST AWARD Abigail Bimman explains how she persevered to tell stories about inmates in one of Canada’s most notorious prison for women.

10 CAJ / CNW GROUP STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Allison Drinnan and Anna Brooks used their multi-media website to give sex-trade workers a voice they’ve seldom used.

12 CAJ / MARKETWIRED DATA JOURNALISM AWARD QMI Investigations editor, Andrew McIntosh, put his certified examiner skills to good use in teaming up with Kinia Adamczyk to expose the scam artists bilking Quebec’s welfare system – even from behind bars.

14 CAJ - ONLINE MEDIA AWARD CBC News mapped the pipeline spills the Transportation Safety Board investigates. Amber Hildebrandt explains her team’s painstaking work that involved, negotiating, cleaning, checking -- and then checking again.

MEDIA 16 CAJ - OPEN BROADCAST FEATURE AWARD A PUBLICATION OF CBC Radio’s Ideas explored the discrimination that subjects albinos to discrimination that can have deadly consequences. Garth Mullins takes us on a harrowing journey from his unique perspective. THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS L’Association Canadienne des JournalisteS 18 CAJ - OPEN MEDIA AWARD After news broke about a senator claiming dodgy living expenses, the Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor received a tip that led right to Mike Duffy, his old acquaintance from the Press Gallery’s “Hot Room”. EDITOR LEGAL ADVISOR ART DIRECTION and DESIGN David McKie Peter Jacobsen, Bersenas David McKie 20 CAJ – OPEN MEDIA AWARD 1-613-290-7380 Jacobsen Chouest Thomson Blackburn LL P Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide sparked a conversation about cyberbullying among educators, lawmakers, parents and teens. The Chronicle-Herald’s Selena Ross and Frances Willick probed for answers to troubling questions. Printed by Mormark Print Productions Inc. Tel: 1-800-350-6991 www.mormarkonline.com 22 CAJ -- PHOTO-JOURNALISM AWARD THE CONTRIBUTORS The Canadian Press’s Jonathan Hayward captured everything from the lost souls on the streets of Vancouver’s Abigail Bimman, Allison Drinnan, Anna Brooks, Andrew McIntosh, Amber Hildebrandt, Garth Mullins, Glen McGregor, Downtown Eastside to newlyweds celebrating their nuptials on water-skis. Jonathan Hayward, Kathy Tomlinson, Selena Ross, Frances Willick, Tarannum Kamlani, Amber Bracken, Amy Dempsey, Grant Robertson, Jennifer Ditchburn, Karen Kleiss, Leah Hennel, Linda Bernard, Kevin Donovan 24 HR / CAJ AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING After news of the building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh faded from the PHOTO AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE: REMEMBERING REHTAEH: Several hundred people attend a community vigil to remember Rehtaeh headlines, Tarannum Kamlani and her team at the fifth estate began its quest for the deeper story. Parsons at Victoria Park in Halifax on Thursday, April 11, 2013. The Chronicle Herald explored what had happened the night of the alleged rape and how the teenagers involved perceived it. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan 26 CWA CANADA / CAJ AWARD FOR LABOUR REPORTING An employee complained to the CBC’s Go Public about the RBC’s plans use temporary foreign workers. Kathy Tomlinson explains how that concern went viral and pushed the federal government to act. COVER PHOTO: THE DUFFSTER BACK IN THE NEWS: Mike Duffy was claiming expenses while travelling the country campaigning for the Conservatives. The now-suspended senator was the subject of award-winning CAJ and NNA stories that dug into expense and court records. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld 28 NNA - SPORTS PHOTO AWARD The Edmonton Sun’s Amber Bracken takes us behind the scenes of the bloody contest for the WBC featherweight world title. 2 MEDIA MEDIA 3 2014 AWARDS EDITION • VOLUME 16, NUMBER THREE The First Word Celebrating some of the best 2014 journalism award winners

By David McKie

ike Duffy and former Toronto The lack of answers to those questions ingly drug-addled and soul-destroying area Mmayor, Rob Ford, were the led to award-winning stories that helped to of the country that inexplicably continues newsmakers who featured prominently in spark change. to confound federal, provincial and mu- the CAJ, National Newspaper and the Mi- Perhaps, it’s being too presumptuous to nicipal policy makers. chener Awards that were awarded in 2014. suggest this, but one of the key reasons we But among the despair, were light- This marks the third, consecutive year -- journalists and educators -- get into this hearted moments, as in the case of the that Media has combined the three awards business is to make a difference. So after Alberta flood and attempts of a young into one edition, which provides a greater an event makes news, keep digging for couple to celebrate their wedding anni- breadth of some of the year’s best stories answers and push editors and producers to versary despite the chaos swirling around that captivated us and prodded decision- give you the time for the pursuit. The same them. Though light-hearted, the moment makers to make change. advice applies to journalism students. of a wife jumping across the water into the 30 NNA – EXPLANATORY WORK AWARD In a nod to the finalists in each category, Workplace issues also figured promi- waiting arms of her husband demonstrated What does the law say about someone who commits a heinous crime, but doesn’t have to take responsibility? we have also listed them, and linked to nently in the stories that earned the CAJ, the resilience of the human spirit, perhaps their stories in the PDF version of this NNA and Michener awards. a key reason why the picture went became For the Toronto Star’s Amy Dempsey, the answer was an eye-opener. publication that will be eventually up- The federal government is still attempt- a word-wide sensation. loaded to the CAJ site. ing to deal with the political fallout after And speaking of the human spirit, there 32 NNA - SHORT FEATURE AWARD The award-winners describe how they stories exposed weaknesses in the tempo- were the blood-splattered images in the The accident that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, was horrific. What The Globe and Mail’s Grant got their stories, the obstacles they faced, rary foreign worker program, an initiative WBC featherweight championship bout Robertson and his colleagues discovered about Canada’s rail safety system was too shocking to ignore. the impact their tales had, and perhaps designed to help employers find workers fought in Edmonton. The bloodier of the most importantly, tips for journalists at- when local recruitment fails. two combatants overcame significant tempting to pursue similar investigations. Workplaces halfway around the world obstacles to win the fight, a story captured 34 NNA – POLITICS AWARD There is much more in addition to the become death traps due to lax safety in remarkable, still images. The Canadian Press’ Jennifer Ditchburn took a harder look at court records in the Mike Duffy case that raised Mike Duffy and Rob Ford sagas: ac- laws. This was the case in collapse of the This coming year is also shaping up to new questions about that infamous $90,000 cheque. counts of the efforts that went into digging garment factory in Bangladesh that killed be one that produces equally impressive beneath the headlines in the wake of the more than 1,000 workers. The tragedy stories. The Senate scandal will heat up heart-breaking stories of the 47 people in forced us to think about the evils of sweat- when senator Duffy makes his scheduled 36 NNA – INVESTIGATIONS AWARD Lac-Megantic whose deaths prompted au- shops where women and children toil for court appearance in the spring. Karen Kleiss explains what motivated her team at the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald to investigate thorities to tighten up the rail safety laws; pennies under hazardous conditions to Rob Ford, though no longer Toronto’s child deaths in the province’s foster care system. the suicide of 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons churn out inexpensive, brand-name cloth- mayor, will also undoubtedly continue to that still has politicians, teens, educators ing for Western shoppers. make news. No doubt, his brother, Doug, 38 NNA -- FEATURE PHOTO AWARD and police wrestling with strategies to And then there were stories that took won’t be too far behind. prevent cyberbullying and other online a hard look at Canada’s legal system. Sadly, there will be more tragedies and It happened in a split second, but Calgary Herald photographer, Leah Hennel, captured a light-hearted moment misdemeanours. There’s the difficulty of dealing with objectionable behaviour to dig into. Fortu- during the flooding that ravaged the Alberta city. The lesson in these two behind-the- people deemed to be not criminally re- nately, we will be up to the task. scenes accounts is don’t be afraid to dig sponsible for heinous crimes that can lead To borrow a catch-phrase that nicely 40 NNA – ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AWARD for the story beneath the headlines, espe- to hastily-amended laws. summed up the sentiment of the CAJ Toronto Star entertainment critic Linda Bernard chronicled the making of Empire of Dirt, a film about three cially if it involves a quest for account- There are laws that make it difficult to awards banquet in Vancouver, “journalism ability. delve into the deaths of children handed matters”. After reading this edition, you, generations of First Nations women. How is it possible for a train carrying over to the state for safe care, as was the too, will reach the same conclusion. explosive oil to be allowed to be minimal- case in Alberta’s foster-care system. Related links 42 The 2013 MICHENER AWARD WINNER ly secured just outside a small town? Among the best were also photographs, Media’s 2012 awards edition DIGGING INTO THE ROB FORD STORY: Like most good stories, it started with tips… Ford was a drunk. How are teens allowed to circulate vio- arguably, a forgotten part of storytelling in Media’s 2011 awards edition Ford was doing drugs. Toronto Star investigative editor, Kevin Donovan, takes us behind the scenes. lent and pornographic images online with the wake of digital devices that turn every- For more stories, pictures and accounts little fear of consequences? one into a potential eye-witness. of the 2013 awards on Twitter, check out And why didn’t police do more when Photographs captured the heartbreak of the #CAJ awards and #CAJAwardsgala PHOTO AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE: The travails of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford dominated headlines, making him one the top newsmakers Parsons’ parents asked for help? Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a shock- for 2014. PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Russell/Toronto Star 4 2014 AWARDS EDITION MEDIA 5 #CAJ 2015 The 2014 Conference will be held June 5-7, 2015, at the Atlantica Hotel in CAJ Awards downtown Halifax. The CAJ’s annual conference is one of the best chances for journalists across the country to come together and share ideas and techniques. Applications will be accepted starting in January for the 2014 CAJ Awards and the CAJ / CNW Group Student Award of Excellence in Journalism

MOST AWARDS CARRY $500 PRIZE

Entries for the CAJ awards must be submitted no later than: FEBRUARY 9, 2015 Investigative awards – General awards – Call for Applications • Open media • Photojournalism The Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the Honderich Family and the Toronto • Community media • Scoop Star have launched their annual search for an experienced Canadian journalist • Open broadcast feature • Daily excellence • Open broadcast news • Text feature who is ready to pursue a one-year, in-depth examination of an emerging or • Community broadcast • JHR / CAJ Award for Human challenging public policy issue. • CAJ / Marketwired data journalism Rights Reporting  • Online media • CWA Canada / CAJ Award for Labour Reporting 7KH$WNLQVRQ)HOORZVKLSLQ3XEOLF3ROLF\SURYLGHVDRQH\HDUUHVHDUFK VWLSHQGRIDQGXSWRIRUH[SHQVHVEHJLQQLQJ6HSWHPEHU  Entries for the CAJ / CNW Group Student Award of Excellence must be submitted no later than: ,WFXOPLQDWHVLQDVHULHVRISXEOLVKHGDUWLFOHVLQWKH7RURQWR6WDULQWKHIDOO February 28, 2015 RI7KHGHDGOLQHIRUDSSOLFDWLRQVLV)HEUXDU\QRODWHUWKDQ SP (67   For more information about the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy and the Recipients of the 2014 CAJ Awards will be announced at the CAJ’s National Conference in Halifax, June 5-6, 2015 selection process, please visit: www.atkinsonfoundation.ca/grants/atkinson-fellowship-in-public-policy/ For more information: e-mail [email protected]

or visit our website Atkinson2015_12024_8401 www.caj.ca/awards

6 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 7 SHOCKING INQUEST: Dr. John Carlisle, CAJ: COMMUNITY BROADCAST AWARD the coroner who presided over the Ashley Smith inquest, arrives at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., on Abigail Bimman Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. The inquest was an impetus behind the CTV series “Behind CTV News – Kitchener Prison Walls”. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel “Behind Prison Walls”

By Abigail Bimman

n the winter of 2013, Ashley Smith’s me at every turn. I followed the detailed about basic operation (What are working story was a tragedy known to many media request requirements to shoot hours in the on-site factory?) weren’t an- I A MOTHER’S GRIEF: Coralee Smith, Canadians. The inquest into the 19-year- inside GVI, as well as requesting inter- swered, while other simple inquiries (Can Ashley’s mother, fielded questions about her old’s choking death at the Grand Valley views with a staff person and a number you confirm the current warden’s name?) daughter’s death at the Grand Valley Institu- Institution (GVI) for Women was under- of inmates. CSC media relations says it took days. tion, Canada’s largest women’s prison. way and disturbing images of the final provides “timely, accurate and meaning- I tried to appeal the decision to the Min- PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN moments of her life were broadcast across ful information” and responds to requests ister of Public Safety, but the office sent PRESS/Tom Hanson the country. “in the shortest delays.” Not only was I me right back to the warden who denied It all happened inside the biggest completely stonewalled, it took months to it in the first place. I asked CSC media women’s prison in Canada. The prison, learn every video and interview request relations to whom I could appeal. After also known as GVI, sits in the heart of was turned down, and with no explana- waiting for weeks, I was told there was no Kitchener, Ontario. It’s a tiny community tion. While incarcerated women have few one. The bottom line? Canadian taxpay- inside a much larger one. Yet the majority rights, speaking to the media is one of ers fund GVI to the tune of $30 million a of the broader southwestern Ontario com- them. I requested prisoners of varying se- year – but aren’t allowed to see how those munity CTV Kitchener serves had no idea curity clearances, to improve my odds that dollars are spent. Worse, no explanation what happens past the barbed wire fence. one of them would be cleared to speak. was given as to why. When I began to research, the in-depth Not only were all requests denied, I later “Behind Prison Walls” became a five- series “Behind Prison Walls” was sup- learned, according to inmates, that CSC part series based on interviews with for- posed to be just that – a glimpse behind did not appear to follow its own policy in mer inmates, family members of current the gates and inside the “cottages” (the dealing with the requests on the inside. inmates and a number of others who have term for housing units in the general com- Outside of interviews, some questions worked or volunteered inside. Finding pound). The aim was to show the com- sources was challenging. Many former also updated a funding issue about layoffs looming in the already-tiny chaplaincy munity what its tax dollars fund and give a Finalists inmates don’t want to speak publicly, broader understanding of what life is like worried it could impact the next chapter program. inside. GVI was built under the direction in their lives. There are, however, enough “Behind Prison Walls” garnered sig- Charles Rusnell, Jennie Russell of a Brian Mulroney government task people deeply concerned about what’s nificant viewer response and a wide range Imported Politics force document called “Creating Choic- happening behind bars that they chose to will get out and rejoin their communities. its original slot. I was also supported in of opinions. It also saw a considerable CBC News – Edmonton es,” with a focus on rehabilitation over take a stand, or, in some cases, connected And those communities are all of our com- traveling to Kingston to shoot a key inter- amount of anger over CSC stonewalling. punishment. I wanted to show the com- me to others who could. munities. view with a former inmate, which had a Most importantly, it started conversations Geoff Leo, David Horth munity how equipped the women were In the end, I exposed concerns about One of the most helpful tools I had in significant impact on the series overall. and shed light on an often-ignored micro- Carbon Conflict to face the outside world when they were overcrowding, treatment of inmates, telling this story was supportive bosses. I was able to do a number of follow-ups cosm in our community and some of the CBC News – Saskatchewan released. There was also a curiosity factor self-harm, drug use and lack of access to At CTV Kitchener we often cover issues such as a half-hour special on the prison, problems inside. as the Ashley Smith inquest progressed, help. “Behind Prison Walls” showed that in-depth, but an investigative series of this with updates to the original series. I fol- Abigail Bimman is a videographer Zach Dubinsky, John Lancaster, and some began questioning whether her rehabilitation over punishment, the idea on magnitude is rare. As CSC kept delaying, lowed up with an inmate whose interview and the weekend anchor at CTV Kitch- Heather Evans, Harvey Cashore experience was an isolated incident. which the prison was built, is not happen- my news director kept allowing me more request was denied. She had been released ener. She can be reached at Abigail. Municipal Muckraking That goal became a challenge as Correc- ing in many cases. It’s a critical problem time to work on the project. I believe the on parole and I spoke to her as she transi- [email protected], or on Twitter: @ CBC News – Toronto tional Service of Canada (CSC) blocked because the majority of women in GVI air date was at least two months later than tioned back to life with her young family. I AbigailCTV. 8 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 9 CAJ / CNW GROUP STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Allison Drinnan, Anna Brooks Calgary Journal / Mount Royal University

Into the Shadows: An Inside Look at Alberta’s Sex Trade Industry

By Allison Drinnan, Anna Brooks

opinions of the sex workers themselves. members of the community in Alberta. Each of us did an internship in parts of We began on the periphery and worked the world where the sex trade is a major our way in. We met with police officers, issue (Anna in Thailand, and Allison in RCMP, agencies who dealt directly with Vancouver), and we were inspired by how sex workers and health care workers. Once ur piece is a non-linear multimedia many people were trying to make a differ- we began to show that we were profes- Owebsite that investigates the sex ence in these communities for the rights of sional and trustworthy – many doors trade in Alberta. It contains video inter- sex workers. This was clearly a topic that began to open for us. views, short documentaries, audio clips, needed to be investigated. We were able to access former sex photos and text-based stories all dealing We knew it would be difficult to directly workers through a local agency, which with the main issues facing sex-trade talk to sex workers at the very beginning gave us insight into the sex trade in Cal- workers in Alberta. of our investigation. This was something gary. We also met with undercover officers The main topics regarding the sex trade that would require building trust with who deal with the front line of the sex that we chose to deal with in the piece trade. Our biggest break was being able include the following: to do an all-night ride along with RCMP’s ∙ The current legal situation: the Finalists Project Kare. This opportunity gave us un- selves to soaking up all of the possible revamping Canada’s prostitution laws. gave up and always told ourselves we benefits and repercussions of decriminal- restricted access to the women on Edmon- information we could and deciphering Our greatest accolade so far, is that the could get it done. If one door closes, keep izing prostitution ton’s streets who told their own stories in what was the most important to share with 2013 Canadian Association of Journalists searching and you will find another one their own words. Dispelling stigmas: society’s Hannah Kost, Danielle Semrau our audience. recognized our efforts. that will open. ∙ In order to uncover a large majority of view of the sex trade industry versus sex The Faith of Pam Rocker The biggest challenge for us was on a We have both just started out in our Take advantage of your instructors’ our information, we had to agree to keep workers’ views of the trade Calgary Journal / more personal level. Whether it was stay- journalism careers, both graduating last knowledge. Anytime we needed anything the identities of certain interview subjects Mount Royal University ing up for 24-hours, following the RCMP, spring, so as of right now there are no im- from our main instructor on this project, Safety and health issues sur- ∙ secret. This was a processes that involved travelling all over the province to more mediate plans for a follow-up. or other instructors at Mount Royal, they rounding sex workers: sexual health, a lot of the faculty we worked with at Alexandra Posadzki dangerous sections of Edmonton and Cal- Once we have both settled in to starting were there to offer advice and support. safety, abuse, etc. Mount Royal University and review- Chill Pills: The Dangers of Benzodiaz- gary, or hearing some of the most trauma- our journalism careers, we have agreed If you are doing your work with a part- ing our ethics processes as a journalism ∙ Case studies of criminal investi- epines tizing stories of what those involved in the we would like to continue to investigate ner or in a group, it is essential that you school. gations, stories from the women who work The Canadian Press / sex trade had experienced – this project social issues in Alberta – this includes the work well together. There is so much stigma associated the street and law enforcement officials Ryerson University was emotionally exhausting. sex trade. We spent long hours and countless who deal with this industry with the sex trade, that many of people We dealt with trying to remain objec- As recent J-School grads ourselves, we “all-nighters” together in high-stress and involved in the industry were not thrilled Laura Hubbard, Kate McKenna, Natascia tive, while going through so many emo- understand how crazy post-secondary life sometimes dangerous situations. You have ∙ A comparison of the industries in at the idea of appearing on a multimedia Lypny, Emily Kitagawa, Tari Wilson, tional ups and downs during this project. can be. With multiple classes, part-time to work with someone you completely the two major cities in Alberta – Calgary website. And, initially, agencies assisting Rana Encol, Luke Orrell Once our project was completed and jobs and other commitments – taking on a trust. and Edmonton sex workers, as well as police officers, As two born-and-raised Calgarians, we Warehoused shared, we felt really encouraged by the project of this magnitude can be daunting Allison Drinnan and Anna Brooks were also hesitant to offer information. responses of those not only in our Mount to say the least. are two former journalism students at have always been fascinated with social is- Another challenge was trying to Huffington Post Canada / University of Royal community, but from the responses One of the main tips we would give is to Mount Royal University in Calgary. sues in our province. One issue we felt has understand every aspect of an extremely King’s College we received from people all over Alberta. aim high and don’t let anyone tell you that Together they comprise the multimedia not been given the coverage it deserves, complex topic (legal, social, cultural and Sam Pinto We were contacted and interviewed by because you’re a student, you can’t make team called “A-Squared productions”. is the sex-trade industry in Alberta. It health-related) in a short length of time. Quebec Charter Faces Opposition in academic researchers for further insight it happen. Anna works as a reporter/photographer was something that to us, felt like it went This is the oldest profession in the world. McGill Community into the topic, as well as sought out by Certain people told us that we would for the Lacombe Globe and Allison is a without a voice or a face. Any coverage There are so many layers to the way it that we did find really didn’t include the The McGill Tribune / McGill University various media organizations during the never be able to tackle this subject matter reporter/photographer at the Cochrane operates in Alberta. We dedicated our- Supreme Court’s decision regarding because we were still students. We never Eagle. 10 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 11 patient and supportive. We also used confidential sources inside CAJ / MARKETWIRED DATA JOURNALISM AWARD and outside the welfare system to help us understand the data and the things we found. We did an audit on our own data Andrew McIntosh, Kinia Adamczyk to ensure its accuracy.

Agence QMI / Journal de Montréal – Bureau d’enquête THE DATA JOURNALISM Four months were spent gathering and analyzing data we extracted from little- known Quebec government civil lawsuits and judgements against welfare fraudsters. De L’Aide Sociale, Même En Prison We created our own database to analyze fraud, sorting by gender, type of fraud, address of the fraudster, the dollar amount of each case. Our sources said this was an exercise the government had never done. The quality of court records varied. Documents about some cases were so By Andrew McIntosh old -- one went back to 1977 -- original records were sometimes hardly legible. e launched a comprehensive look amounts looted and crimes committed. Others were written by hand. We identi- Wat welfare fraud in Quebec last DUBIOUS ‘’HONOUR’’ SYSTEM In a two-page spread that accompanied fied several lawsuits where the govern- year, using raw data that we painstakingly Our data helped pinpoint this major our Day 1 report, we also featured details ment sued to recover money stolen and gathered ourselves from 1,381 court files problem. Additional reporting led us to about the most egregious welfare fraud looted by a welfare fraudster only after the in Montreal, together with government uncover the failings of a dubious honour cases our data identified: perp had died! welfare fraud data that officialdom had system that required criminals to disclose - A man faked the death of his child gathered between 2004 and 2012. they were going to jail to their social to collect a $82,000 death benefit. He was THE IMPACT OF THE SERIES: What we found, thanks in part to my workers so their welfare payments would later charged and convicted of fraud, but OUTRAGE & NEW HIRES Certified Fraud Examiner skills, was be cut off. brazenly continued to deny wrongdoing; Reaction to the Agence QMI –Journal worse than what even we suspected we Not a surprise, then, that hardened - A man collected $160,000 in welfare de Montréal series was swift and our might find. criminals didn’t disclose convictions! We for years while buying and selling cars on series caused an immediate sensation in In a three-part series published simul- featured a dozen examples, with names, the Web; Montreal and across the province. taneously in Le Journal de Montreal and - A woman who pocketed $160,000 for Quebec’s Social Solidarity Department Journal de Québec newspapers on April 10 years pretending to be single and on the told how federal and provincial public where they lived now. was mocked and derided on the airwaves 22, 23 and 24, 2013, we highlighted how Finalists dole while she lived with and was sup- servants engaged in welfare fraud because Part 3: ‘’For Americans, Welfare Fraud after we exposed their inefficient and inef- the Quebec government had blithely ig- ported by an employed man. there were so few deterrents. is Not a Laughing Matter,’’ examined fective collection and recovery practices – Anita Elash, Amber Hildebrandt, Michael nored rampant, systemic fraud and looting - A man stole a friend’s identity to Using the address data, we produced how one major U.S. state government revealing that they had barely made a dent Pereira, Kimberly Ivany, Romilla Kar- of its welfare system for years, even as it commit welfare fraud and owed $50,000. online, searchable maps to show where -- Pennsylvania -- tackled and better in uncollected fraud debts in a decade. nick, Sina Zapfe cut welfare support payments to the most - A couple received $139,000 in welfare fraudsters lived on the Island of controlled welfare fraud. The story hold The Parti Québecois government Rate My Hospital: A Fifth Estate Inves- needy individuals in 2013. welfare while owning and operating a Montreal -- we omitted names. These de- how Pennsylvania’s Office of the Inspec- launched a review of anti-welfare fraud tigation We discovered major mismanagement successful car rental business. They now fied public perceptions about low-income tor General identified cheaters at the front efforts. CBC News Online / The Fifth Estate and poor financial controls that left less owned a luxury condominium, yet the neighborhoods that were home to welfare end of the welfare application process – More than a year later, the newly elected money and resources for the people who government had failed to act to seize cheats. before money is handed out – to prevent Liberals announced 10 new investigators Leslie Young, Anna Mehler Paperny, Kate truly needed them. any equity in the property to recover the Part 2: ‘’Thanks for Your Hospitality”, fraud and losses. Prosecutions for criminal were hired to bolster anti-welfare fraud Grzegorczyk Part 1, ‘’Welfare in Prison – Loopholes amounts they had stolen. revealed that 15 per cent of the welfare fraud and press releases issued about cases efforts, even as it cut other departments’ Crude Awakening in the system allow inmates to collect We reported that these cases were fraudsters sued by the Quebec government served as an important public deterrent. In budgets. Global News money earmarked for Quebec’s most merely part of a staggering fraud problem had left the province and country without sharp contrast, Quebec had few criminal Andrew McIntosh is an award- needy ,’’ revealed how convicted crimi- in Quebec’s welfare system. Our data ever repaying welfare fraud debts. Using prosecutions along with an ineffective winning journalist, investigations editor Jeff Outhit nals in Montreal were pocketing welfare uncovered 136,000 fraud cases since 2004 our data, we tracked cases involving 222 civil lawsuit recovery process. for the QMI News Agency, and certified ‘A Question of Life and Death’ cheques – after being charged, convicted with unrecovered losses exceeding $500 former residents of Quebec who moved to fraud examiner. Waterloo Region Record and locked behind bars. MILLION sitting on the government’s Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, but CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES Kinia Adamcyzk is a journalist and The story did not dwell on our data, but books. also cases where fraudsters left Canada The data reporting, analysis and inves- researcher whose past investigative Claire Brownell rather on the more than two dozen cases of We revealed that in many cases, these and moved to Morocco, Germany, Algeria, tigative effort that went into this project work included stints with Groupe TVA Land Grab: How a Bridge Baron Ruined a repeat criminal offenders who kept pock- fraudsters used legal-aid lawyers to defend the United States and France. We identi- was daunting and a first time, major data Inc. and QMI news agency’s investiga- Neighbourhood eting welfare cheques in jail after multiple them, further delaying the Quebec govern- fied cases from the 1990s where fraudsters project for us. It took longer than either of tive unit. She is also the founder of Cos- Windsor Star convictions, though Quebec law forbids ment’s efforts to recover stolen or fraudu- had not repaid. We shared thumbnail cas- us expected at the outset. Journal manag- mopolitan Review, a quarterly covering them from doing just that. lently-obtained money. A companion story es of the departed welfare fraudsters and ing editor George Kalogerakis was both Polish and international affairs. 12 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 13 A MESSY PROBLEM: Crews clean up a CAJ - ONLINE MEDIA AWARD pipeline break northeast of Peace River, Alta. on May 4, 2011. The Alberta govern- ment charged Plains Midstream Canada for the massive oil spill that fouled land Amber Hildebrandt, Michael Pereira, Ian Johnson, Eric Foss, in the northwestern part of the province. Public interest in pipelines is at an all-time Joanne Levasseur high in Canada, but detailed information about the lines that traverse our country is CBC News – Online hard to come by. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ian Jackson Pipeline Safety

By Amber Hildebrandt and Michael Pereira

MAPPING OIL SPILLS: ublic interest in pipelines is at an but posed a dilemma for CBC analysing it. tem (GIS), spreadsheet exports from the We hope the resulting Pall-time high in Canada, but detailed We solved part of the problem with a database, and statistical software, we website is something use- information about the lines that traverse combination of commercial optical char- explored a decade’s worth of incidents to ful for the Canadian public our country is hard to come by. acter recognition (OCR) software, which find patterns and trends. It quickly became — and we plan to improve CBC News decided to obtain raw in- converts images of text into editable apparent that our data cleanup work was it in the future. Stay tuned. formation about the pipeline incidents — documents. Custom scripts were also used not done. spills, leaks, fires, deaths and more — that to convert the image back into text and Record-keeping protocols and the detail were happening on the biggest lines in the reassemble the records. The converted text recorded by pipeline employees changed country: those that cross borders. was then imported into a local MySQL considerably over the years. A surprising But as usual with government data, it database as a data set that we could query. number of cells within our sample were proved much harder than simply getting a We then geocoded the longitude and empty. Until 2005, for example, the col- database. It took weeks of work once we latitude for the nearest population centre umn for “Event Type” was only filled out obtained the access-to-information docu- noted for each of the incidents in the NEB in a handful of cases. ments before we could even determine the logs. That allowed us to create a prototype Countless incidents that involved a spill resulting stories. of the map that we published internally for or leak also had blanks in the “Volume One thing we knew from the beginning, our journalists across the country to sift Released” column, even when an amount though, was that we wanted to give Ca- through. was specified in the summary. Sometimes We asked a lot of questions of the NEB kilograms, litres, tonnes and other units — the explosive rupture occurred. nadians an easy-to-understand map of the Using geographic information sys- summaries contained multiple updates about their internal standards and also had into one measurement: litres. NEB helped CBC also published an interactive map incidents, providing both a cross-country about a spill. the board verify a sampling of the rows convert the weights into volumes. that gave Canadians an incredible wealth view and the ability to zoom in on areas of Even the field intended to capture the where we’d filled in blanks. In the spirit of transparency, CBC also of information on each one of the 1,047 interest, like their own neighbourhood. amount of a spill or leak that had been re- One of the biggest troubles with the da- made the full dataset, including original incidents. Our journey into the data began with Finalists covered was often left blank. Other times, tabase is the lack of information about the and updated columns, available as a CSV For the first time ever, Canadians can the access-to-information request. We there was not even enough information to end result. Was the company reprimanded? file that anyone can still download and dig into whatever information they want asked for 12 years’ worth of data from the determine whether it met the criteria for an Was the death, a spill or an injury investi- explore. about a pipeline incident, including the National Energy Board, the federal regula- Christopher Johnson event that companies must report. gated? What was the finding? The final product was a series of stories type, substance, company involved, pipe- tor that oversees the 71,000 kilometres of The End of the World To add clarity to the messy and incom- CBC News tracked down investigation that examined not only the increasing rate line, community and year. cross-border lines. Globalite Magazine plete database, so that it would be useful reports of individual incidents where pos- of pipeline incidents across the country, We hope the resulting website is About five months later, a CD of PDFs to the general public, CBC devoted time to sible and posted the links in the website. but also the overall lack of transparency something useful for the Canadian public arrived at CBC News. The 405 pages Patrick Cain sifting through each of the 1,047 incidents, This involved several dozen large-scale around pipeline locations and incidents — and we plan to improve it in the future. detailed every pipeline safety incident that Remembrance Day – Mapping the Dead and filling in the blanks wherever detailed cases, mostly incidents probed by the at a time when Canadians are demanding Stay tuned. companies are required to report, includ- of Canada’s Wars information was provided elsewhere, in Transportation Safety Board (TSB), an more. Amber Hildebrandt is an award-win- ing company, substance, nearest commu- Global News the row. independent agency that investigates pipe- We also discovered a massive pipeline ning CBC News online producer who nity, plus a notes field that gave valuable This stage of data cleanup required the line accidents. rupture involving a TransCanada pipeline tackles projects and stories with creativ- descriptions of the event. Sunny Freeman creation of a content management system To be able to visualize the size of spills, that happened five years ago. The NEB ity and initiative. Her specialties include Unfortunately, NEB redacted some of Staking Claim: First Nations and Re- and a week’s worth of careful editorial we also standardized the amount of oil investigated the rupture, but never made investigative reporting, multimedia the exported data using a program that source Development in the Ring of Fire scrutiny to standardize the records, and or gas spilled — which was recorded by public its findings, even to the First Na- projects, co-ordination among multiple rendered pages into grainy bitmapped text. Huffington Post Canada ensure that we could properly and fairly NEB largely in cubic metres but also in tions community on whose hunting land platforms, and feature writing. That made it readable to the human eye, examine the incidents as a whole. 14 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 15 For most of my life I have been involved in social justice struggles. But I never looked at albinism and disability... I met Jayne Waithera (to the right), who is fighting for positive repre- CAJ - OPEN BROADCAST FEATURE AWARD sentations of albinism in Kenya.

PHOTO CREDIT: LISA HALE Garth Mullins, Lisa Hale, Yvonne Gall Ideas, CBC Radio One The condition is so rare, that I had never really met and talked to others with albinism. So Lisa (Hale) (to the left) and I went to a conference where there were hundreds of people with The Imaginary Albino albinism from all over the world.

PHOTO CREDIT: DON SAWATZKY

I later spoke to Peter Ash, founder of who is blind just from looking at them. spent a long afternoon behind the glass in By Garth Mullins the NGO Under the Same Sun, who is also Also, be aware when lighting video. the studio, while I stammered through the working to end violence against people Too much light will force photosensitive script with false starts and lots of swear- with albinism. subjects to squint, tear up, look away or ing, learning how to narrate off the page. ur CBC Ideas documentary ex- Ghost”, “Billy Idol”, Spike from “Buffy this made me start to reflect on albinism, He told me the gruesome statistics of at- wear sunglasses – all of which can change Eventually I got the knack. But if you Oplores how the idea of “the albino” the Vampire Slayer” – even Johnny Win- which until then, I had not really done. tacks and murders. He works with a group the story. listen closely, you can hear pages touch has seized the popular imagination every- ter, a blues guitar player who actually does For most of my life I have been in- of people with albinism in Canada and I’ve been interviewed for TV many the mic once in a while. where from the evil albino stereotypes of have albinism. The comments, usually volved in social justice struggles. But I Tanzania who are trying to change things. times. It was a constant battle to be in People with disabilities have developed modern cinema, to the circus sideshows of offered loudly and publically, range from never looked at albinism and disability, The documentary process also helped a studio or with a remote unit that used skills to get around obstacles like this. the 19th and 20th centuries, to a gruesome “get a tan” to “freak” and often contain a at how they affected me, and those who me to reflect on my own experiences with bright lights. Producers should utilize these skills. East African black market in albino body modicum of homophobia. There have also share the condition. albinism. I now realize that it’s simple to light Working with Lisa, Yvonne and CBC parts. been assaults. I started to think about the huge number The discrimination and violence I had someone who is photosensitive using has helped me learn to narrate from a We look at popular culture representa- But in parts of East Africa, prejudices of representations in pop culture: the faced throughout my life, the alienation lower light levels, indirect lighting or script, but has also given me the freedom tions of “the albino” - outsider; magical about albinism can be deadly. In the late albino assassin in the “Da Vinci Code”; of never looking like peers, co-workers, lights positioned off to the side with a dark be conversational on the tape. being; human embodiment of evil. In 2000s, I started hearing that Tanzanians the evil albino twins in “The Matrix”, and friends and family, of having crude carica- area that the subject can look toward. some cultures, albinism is associated with albinism were being attacked and hundreds of powdered and wigged bad tures constantly portrayed in the media. I was rarely able to convince those Radio Changes Everything with mystical or prophetic power or even murdered, their body parts harvested to guys throughout celluloid history. The tape was running while I went shooting video or taking photos to make As the airdate drew closer, it was a little ghosts. The albino body has long been an make bogus medications. My horror at through all of this. this accommodation, so I look squinty, an- nerve-wracking. I had never told my own object of ridicule and fascination; of fear Pale Majority gry, evasive, or like a sunglasses-wearing story before. and fetishism. The condition is so rare, that I had Bright Ideas rock star in many interviews. But the response was great. The piece When my co-author and field producer Finalists never really met and talked to others with Interviewing subjects with disabilities, One of our interviewees was Rick has won a Webster, the CAJ Open Broad- Lisa Hale and I pitched CBC on this proj- albinism. So Lisa and I went to a confer- like blindness and extreme light sensitiv- Guidotti, a former high fashion photog- cast award and a New York Festivals ect, we weren’t sure anybody would care. Timothy Sawa, Marie-Maude Denis, ence where there were hundreds of people ity, takes some awareness on the part of rapher who now takes photographs for Radio Award. After all, people with albinism represent Annie Burns-Pieper, Nicole Reinert with albinism from all over the world. I the interviewer. Positive Exposure, an arts organization It has also been used in support of a only .00005 per cent of the Canadian Offshore Exposed had never seen people who looked like me Initially, people may not know you are promoting diversity and tolerance through motion at the UN to end the attacks and population. Not a big radio market. CBC News – Investigative Unit before. addressing them unless you say their name the lens. murders of people with albinism in Africa. But I’m one of those people with albi- For the first time in my life, I blended – and yours, as they may not be able to He agreed to an interview in exchange Making the documentary has introduced nism and the story matters to me. It turned Adrienne Arsenault, Stephanie Jenzer in. I was lost in a crowd. The world’s recognize you simply by voice. for a photo. Rick knows how to shoot a me to a whole community of people with out that it resonated far beyond this small Travels in Terror smallest minority was, for two days, a pale Also, limited or absent eye-contact is light sensitive subject: no flash. albinism and changed my relationship community. CBC News – The National majority – at least in a St. Louis hotel. not a sign of evasiveness; it can be part of with my own disability. I found it overwhelming. I was unsure having limited eyesight. Blind Read Garth Mullins is a writer, activist, Vampires, Villains & Recessive Genes Sandie Rinaldo, Marleen Trotter, Mary I could really participate, never mind get People using white canes and service I’ve never read from notes when doing broadcaster and musician living in East Albinism is a rare genetic condition Dartis, Brett Mitchell, Anton Koschany out the mic and interview people. I felt dogs may have some eyesight. Those radio or public speaking before. My vision Vancouver. Follow him on Twitter @ characterized by little or no pigment in the Cheatin’ Hearts like just staying in my hotel room. But without these mobility aids may still have is so low that I have to be very close to a garthmullins skin, hair and eyes, low vision and photo- CTV News – W5 tape had to be gathered. very limited vision. page, even with 20-point type. Lisa Hale is a freelance journalist sensitivity. In North America, only about I met Jayne Waithera, who is fighting One cannot necessarily determine how So close, in fact, that it’s impossible to whose work has been on the CBC, Retro one person in 20,000 has the condition. Sonia Desmarais, Sylvie Fournier for positive representations of albinism in well someone can see simply by observ- fit a mic in between the page and my face. Reports, National Native News and in I know all the stereotypes firsthand. My Force Policière Kenya. I also met a man who survived two ing their behaviour. Blind people like me So, I never learned the trick of reading the New York Times. You can find her whole life I’ve been compared to the evil Radio-Canada – Enquête attacks. He heard one of his assailants say, use tricks to hack a world designed for the aloud. on Twitter, @lisa_hale cyborg from “Blade Runner”, “Casper the “this is the meat we’re looking for.” fully-sighted. You may not be able to tell Lisa and our producer Yvonne Gall 16 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 17 DUBIOUS CLAIMS: Senate records CAJ - OPEN MEDIA AWARD -- CO-WINNER posted online showed that Duffy had claimed $33,000 in expenses for inconvenience of living in the National Capital Region, while claiming to be primarily resident in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, the province from which he was elevated to the Upper Glen McGregor House. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN Ottawa Citizen PRESS/Andrew Collins

By Glen McGregor Senate Expenses Scandal

Did you see Fife’s story?” my source Ottawa since the 1970s, when he first ar- was a bashful high school student in Ot- “asked. rived to begin covering federal politics as tawa, I volunteered to work at the Progres- I had. a broadcast journalist. sive Conservative leadership convention The week before, Robert Fife at CTV Though he came from PEI and owned a that elected a young Brian Mulroney as News had run a story raising questions cottage there, land registry records showed leader. I was assigned to work the bar in about the residency expenses of Senator that Duffy and his wife had co-owned the media centre, even though I had never Patrick Brazeau. The young Conservative a home in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata even popped open a beer before. “What’s wrong with you”, he asked me rules required for such claims. sudden about-face, resigned his position in appointee, Fife reported, was claiming to since 2003 -- five years before his appoint- Duffy was among my first custom- by way of response. “I have done nothing With allegations about residency the Upper House. live in Maniwaki, Quebec, about an hour ment to the Senate. ers. He watched in horror as I inverted wrong, and am, frankly, tired of your b.s..” expense-fiddling against three Senators He has since been charged by the RCMP from Ottawa, while claiming residency The residency allowance was intended a stubby bottle over the plastic cup and, When the Citizen published our first -- Harb, Duffy and Brazeau -- the Senate for fraud and breach of trust and now costs for a “secondary residence” in Gatin- to defray the costs senators incurred while with trembling hands, let the contents spill story on Duffy’s expenses, he responded launched an investigation. All three were awaits trial. eau, across the river from Parliament Hill. away from home in Ottawa. Why, I won- out in a great foamy mess. Duffy gently by phoning into Ottawa talk radio host asked to produce documentation proving The Senate expenses story, already the Fife had travelled to Maniwaki to the dered, did Senator Duffy need the public instructed me to tilt the cup and drain the Mark Sutcliffe’s show on CFRA. Duffy that they lived where they said they did -- dominant Hill story of the year, mush- tiny walk-up apartment that Brazeau had to subsidize his time in Ottawa when he bottle slowly to avoid suds. suggested that my story was retaliation for drivers licences, tax records, health cards. roomed into an existential political scandal putatively called home -- his “primary already lived here since the 1970s? Mike Duffy, I can credibly say, taught his lawsuit against my former employer, Another source passed on a tantaliz- that continues to threaten the future of Ste- residence” -- and found it occupied by the My personal history with Mike Duffy me to pour a beer. Frank Magazine. ing tip -- to satisfy auditors, Duffy was phen Harper’s Conservative government. senator’s father. No one Fife spoke to had went back many years. In 1983, when I Years later, when I took my first job He repeated the allegation in an email scrambling to get a Prince Edward Island In July 2014, the RCMP announced seen Brazeau staying in the apartment. in journalism with the Ottawa edition of that was circulated, claiming that he had health card to prove, post facto, that he long-anticipated charges against Duffy, My source told me that Brazeau wasn’t Frank Magazine, Duffy became a regular won the libel suit against Frank and that lived on the Island. I was able to confirm with a total 31 charges for fraud, breach of the only one making the same kind of target of the satirical magazine. But when my story, more than a decade later, was an that he had asked the province’s health trust, fraud on a government and bribery. Finalists questionable residency claim. Check out I moved to the Citizen in 1998 and joined attempt to extract payback. The 14 years department to fast track his application for Among the allegations are that Duffy’s Duffy, the source said. the press gallery, I made Duffy my first we worked alongside each other in the hot the card. It was denied. residency expenses were fraudulent -- the Kevin Donovan, Jayme Poisson, Robyn That would be Mike Duffy, then the call to smooth things over. room was not mentioned. Although we didn’t know it at the time, same story he told me, 18 months earlier, Doolittle, Jesse McLean, Jennifer Paglia- most high-profile Conservative appoint- For more than a decade, Duffy and I Duffy was not the only one claiming Duffy, meanwhile, was involved in nego- was just my “b.s.” ro, Dale Brazao, Kenyon Wallace, David ment to the Senate and still an active both worked in the hot room, the space questionable residency expenses. The day tiations with the prime minister’s chief of Duffy continues to maintain his inno- Bruser, Emily Mathieu, Mary Ormsby and enthusiastic pitchman for the Harper set aside for journalists in Centre Block after the Duffy story ran, we published a staff, Nigel Wright, to repay his expenses, cence and says he is looking forward to Mayor Rob Ford Investigation government. on Parliament Hill. Our relationship was piece on Liberal senator Mac Harb’s claim which then topped some $90,000. testifying when the case goes to trial. Toronto Star Senate records posted online showed always cordial, never tense, and quite for residency costs while living in Ottawa. Fife scored another coup, revealing in Glen McGregor is a national affairs that Duffy had claimed $33,000 in expens- often useful to me as a journalist. Duffy Using voter lists and property records in May 2013 that Wright had cut a personal reporter with the Ottawa Citizen, cover- Kim Bolan es for the inconvenience of living in the knew everyone and had a stunningly deep Ontario and Florida, where he also owned cheque to Duffy for the full amount -- a ing government and politics on Parlia- Inside the Angels National Capital Region, while claiming to institutional memory. He never hesitated property, we learned that Harb didn’t seem story for which he received the CAJ’s top ment Hill. He also specializes in data Vancouver Sun be primarily resident in Cavendish, Prince to offer help or advice on a story. to live where he claimed. Harb maintained investigative award. journalism and social-media evange- Edward Island, the province from which That collegiality vanished, however, an apartment in the city while owning a After the audit, the Senate ordered Harb lism. Follow him on Twitter at@glen_ Craig Pearson, Trevor Wilhelm he was elevated to the Upper House. when I had to ask Duffy for comment on home in the Pembroke area, just outside to pay the money back. He launched a mcgregor, or make contact by email at The Way of the Gun But, as everyone in the Parliamentary the legitimacy of the residency expenses the 100 kilometre buffer zone that Senate lawsuit against the Senate but then, in a gmcgregor @ottawacitizen.com. Press Gallery knew, Duffy had lived in Windsor Star he had billed to taxpayers.

18 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 19 CAJ - OPEN MEDIA AWARD -- CO-WINNER

Selena Ross, Frances Willick The Chronicle-Herald, Halifax Rehtaeh Parsons By Selena Ross

ast April, I walked into the news- openly about her allegations. screenshots of important details before Lroom for my night shift. An editor Frances Willick, the paper’s education they were taken down. We cultivated and asked me to look into a Facebook post reporter, wrote about how Parsons had interviewed sources within Anonymous, making the rounds in Halifax. It was a been stripped against her will by a male were provided tips around the case, and tribute written by a mother to her 17-year- staff member in the mental health ward of learned about the tools Anonymous used old daughter, a girl who had died the the children’s hospital, how she couldn’t to look for evidence online. previous night. After the Herald wrote get a counseling appointment the week The international attention threw this about Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide, her name before her suicide attempt, and how her story into difficult territory for our news- was quickly splashed across international parents believed she was worse off after room. Police tightened internal access to media, along with her family’s accusations her treatment. Parsons’s file, which tied the hands of po- about what she had experienced. Together, we explored what had hap- lice sources. Crown prosecutors wouldn’t They said Parsons had been gang-raped pened the night of the alleged rape and speak about the case. I spent months in November 2011, and that a photo how the teenagers involved perceived it. searching for police sources who had REMEMBERING REHTAEH: Several hundred people attend a community vigil to remember Rehtaeh Parsons at Victoria Park in taken that night circulated among local Asking Parsons’s peers to open up about seen Parsons’s file before it was internally Halifax on Thursday, April 11, 2013. We explored what had happened the night of the alleged rape, and how the teenagers involved high schools. Rehtaeh was shunned. She their experiences with sex and drinking, locked and who would consider talking perceived it. changed schools. Her parents said the lo- we showed that sex-ed is unevenly taught about it. PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan cal health system let her down when she in Nova Scotia, and that many teens have Legal considerations took a toll on needed counseling. misconceptions about what constitutes storytelling as well, especially since police After months of talking to police, rape. reopened the case after Parsons’s death, ultimately pledged more than $1 million A final independent review into how Parsons’s parents also believed the justice I examined how Parsons’s case was pur- and ultimately charged two boys with for sexual assault services, bringing them public prosecutors and police handled the system had let down their daughter, and sued while she was alive, revealing serious child pornography offences. Information to rural areas where there had been none. case will probably be finished in 2015. they detailed all the aspects of the case missteps. Police had never interviewed of public interest was often withheld to Another $6 million has been committed Related links There will be follow-up coverage on that that they believed police and prosecutors any of the boys involved or seized their avoid interfering with the court process. over the next three years to help prevent Canada to get new cyberbullying legisla- review and, of course, on the case against had flubbed. phones or computers — standard proce- Ethical debates were another constant sexual violence and to improve support for tion in fall two young men still before the courts. A year-long investigation resulted in no dure — and they were unwilling to use concern. At a time when standards are victims. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ Reporting these stories involved seem- charges for sexual assault or child pornog- online evidence, though it is often admis- changing around suicide reporting, the Nova Scotia passed an anti-cyberbul- canada-to-get-new-cyberbullying-legisla- ingly endless door-knocking and source- raphy in the case. The family had many sible in court. Herald had to decide how to cover this lying law in the wake of Parsons’s death, tion-in-fall-1.1869752 seeking. Don’t be afraid to have doors questions about whether Parsons’s com- Parsons’s phone was combed for evi- high-profile suicide. We also had to think and Ottawa introduced federal legislation, Bill C-13 slammed in your face. Exhaust all leads. plaint had been taken seriously. Within a dence, with some texts used to discredit about how to report on the sexual assault making it a crime to distribute “intimate Don’t be daunted by covering a controver- day, the online collective, Anonymous, her, though messages supporting her story allegations. Our goal was to investigate images” without the subject’s permission. Nova Scotia’s Cyber-safety Act sial and highly emotional issue – just be became involved, quickly saying it had appeared to have been overlooked. Crown the case fully and fairly while leaving Nova Scotia also created a special five- http://novascotia.ca/just/global_docs/Cy- prepared to think carefully about how you found a confession from one of the ac- prosecutors were unusually quick to turn space to look critically at whether the legal person unit to investigate cyberbullying berbullying_EN.pdf do it, and be open to feedback. cused rapists. Anonymous pressured Nova down the case. system had done the same. Along the way, complaints. http://www.canlii.org/en/ns/laws/stat/ Selena Ross and Frances Willick Scotia politicians to act. All the stories were reported with old- we faced many judgment calls about how While we don’t claim sole responsi- sns-2013-c-2/latest/part-1/sns-2013-c-2- are staff reporters for The Chronicle fashioned door-knocking, with one twist. to maintain our focus on what was legally bility or credit for all of these changes, part-1.pdf Herald. They can be reached at sross@ While the story broke at whirlwind pace, We spent much time visiting Parsons’s important in the case. we believe our coverage helped propel herald.ca and [email protected] or by we took several months to investigate community, developing contacts and Within a month of The Chronicle Her- them. Several independent reviews were N.S. cyberbullying legislation allows phone at (902) 426-2811. Parsons’s family’s allegations against the building trust with young people involved ald’s first coverage of this story, requests launched after Parsons’s story was pub- victims to sue Link to the stories: Selena Ross- school system, the children’s hospital with the case on “both sides” — Parsons’s for counseling had doubled at Halifax’s lished, including a review of the Halifax http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova- Frances Willick_Rehtaeh Par- and the justice system. I showed that a and the boys she accused. sexual assault resource centre. In another regional school board’s actions involving scotia/n-s-cyberbullying-legislation- sons: http://thechronicleherald.ca/ stabbing a month before Parsons died had However, we also spent much time concrete change coming out of the story, the case and a review of youth mental allows-victims-to-sue-1.1307338 metro/1135866-rehtaehs-death-has- been linked to her case, raising questions tracking key online conversations con- the province announced emergency fund- health and addictions services. opened-eyes-to-the-risky-world-of-teens- about whether her peers felt safe talking nected to the case, constantly making ing to cover the spike in demand, and it 20 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 21 CAJ -- PHOTO-JOURNALISM AWARD Finalist Finalist Jonathan Hayward The Canadian Press Portfolio entry

Darryl Dyck Portfolio entry Steve Russell By Jonathan Hayward Freelance / The Canadian Press Portfolio entry Toronto Star For the 2013 CAJ’s, I entered a portfolio that I was very proud of. Pictures and topics ranged from pro sports, politics, wildlife pho- tography and an in-depth portrait session that I did early in the year in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, DTES. Newlyweds Cam Auge and Caylee Wasilenko share a kiss as they water ski in Bedwell Bay in North Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, August, 28, 2013. The couple ex- Ash Tray and his dog Melvin are pho- changed vows on the dock at the Vancouver Waterski tographed on East Hastings Street in Club then hit the water to seal the deal with a water- Vancouver, B.C’s Downtown Eastside, ski and a kiss.

Wednesday, January, 30, 2013.

One of my favorite pictures of the year, happened while I was on vacation and just happened to see a small wedding party loading into a boat to go to the local waterski club, where I’m a Your Right To Know member. I was told that they were going over to the club for a quick civil marriage, and then the bride and groom were sealing By Jim Bronskill the deal with a waterski in the bay with their wedding clothes on. This sounded amazing. So I asked if they would mind me joining and David McKie them to take some pictures. Lucky for me, my truck with all of my cameras was close enough for me to grab and to join them before they left the dock. I went to the club, watched the wedding Finalist of two people I had never met before, and then photographed - Learn how to use the law to get government secrets. them waterskiing. This picture ended up getting play all around - Get what information the government hides and hold the world, with the newlywed couple conducting interviews with institutions accountable. One entry was of a black-and-white portrait during a session at the DTES. Late in 2012, I was dozens of news outlets. taking a picture to go with a story on the changes happening in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. -Includes a downloadable kit with access-to-information (CAN) and freedom-of-information (U.S.) forms for ap- While there, I ended up meeting two fellas who asked to have their picture taken in hopes that After receiving a degree in photography from Ryerson in plying in each country. their family elsewhere in Canada could see that they were alive and doing fine. Over the next Toronto, Jonathan Hayward started as a staff photographer few weeks I thought about what these guys had said and realized how powerful it was. So in for the St. John’s Telegram in St. John’s, Newfoundland. After -order at http://www.amazon.ca/ or Indigo Books, or early 2013, I returned to East Hastings, and set up a full studio right on the sidewalk. The idea four years there, he moved to Ottawa to be a stringer for The http://www.self-counsel.com/your-right-to-know.html was to see who would ask to be photographed. At one point I had a full lineup of people want- Canadian Press and learn from the late Tom Hanson and Fred Shaughn Butts ing for a high-end portrait. After I would photograph them, I would take a small video of each Chartrand, covering mostly federal politics and hockey. In 2007 Portfolio entry person asking why he or she had stopped to get their picture taken. The result was a powerful Hayward became a staff photographer for The Canadian Press Edmonton Journal Self-Counsel Press and rare multimedia package on the Downtown Eastside. in Vancouver, giving him an open canvas to cover news, sports $18.95 Paperback + Download Kit and features. 22 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 23 A LIFE OF SADNESS AND LOSS: 15-year-old Aruti Das lost her leg and her mother in the CAJ - JHR / CAJ AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS collapse. Her story of being trapped for days before being rescued, and adjusting to a life replete with loss, left a permanent impression on us, and later our viewers. REPORTING AWARD PHOTO CREDIT: John Badcock/CBC NEWS Mark Kelley, Lysanne Louter, Tarannum Kamlani, Aileen McBride

Using this information, we were able to Rana Plaza collapse. get a fairly good idea of which Bangladesh Looking through news footage and hos- Communicating Responsibly Made in Bangladesh factories were regularly used by various pital records obtained via our fixer -- we Once the crew returned to Canada, we brands. found her. Fifteen-year-old Aruti Das lost faced the task of not only telling a compel- It wasn’t a perfect tool -- it only painted her leg and her mother in the collapse. Her ling story, but making sure that story was part of the picture. story of being trapped for days before be- air-tight. Shipments that came directly to Canada ing rescued, and adjusting to a life replete We went to unprecedented lengths to ac- were not included. with loss left a permanent impression on commodate the Joe Fresh side of the story But, using Import Genius helped us us, and later our viewers. -- giving them 11th-hour opportunities to By Tarannum Kamlani not only find the factory that likely made participate in the documentary, sharing Sennik’s shirt -- it also helped us find Joe Planning for Key Moments and Being details of the allegations we were making Fresh clothing made in Rana Plaza that Prepared When They Happen Unex- -- giving them the opportunity to refute hen the eight-storey Rana Plaza could be tied to the collapse – it begged We made dozens of cold calls to those was still being sold in Canadian stores. pectedly them. collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the question: how could it be they didn’t people, fired off emails -- pleading for at W Introducing ex-Walmart designer Sennik For the most part, they chose not to on April 24, 2013, killing more than a know how and where their clothes were least an off-the-record conversation. The Ledger to the garment workers who made a shirt respond to most of our questions. thousand people, the world watched in made? We were met with either stony silence Thanks to Sennik, a few other deep- he designed was a key moment in the horror, as it tends to do when images of Their denials and unsatisfactory expla- or a curt refusal to comment, hardly sur- background sources and Import Genius, story. Impact and Follow Up a deadly accident far away are beamed nations helped fuel our investigation and prising given how small the industry is in we were starting to form a picture of how It involved careful research and out- Based on what many of our viewers told around the globe in real time. formed the genesis of the fifth estate’s Canada. things worked on the Canadian side of the reach to activists who connected us with us and continue to tell us, the documentary But it didn’t take long for this tragedy Made In Bangladesh documentary. But we lucked out -- the one insider who story. the workers once we promised them changed the way they view cheap fashion. to feel different, as photographs from the had begun speaking out via newspaper But how things worked in Bangladesh anonymity. Many people ask how they can help sur- rubble of that shoddily-built garment fac- The Fashion Industry Insider essays was a former designer for a leading remained unclear. They were able to confirm stories we vivors of Rana Plaza, especially the young tory complex began to emerge. As we began our research, we knew company with a controversial track record While searching for fixers and sources had heard about perilous working condi- woman named Aruti. Tags and labels from clothing brands we had to find someone who knew the in Bangladesh: Walmart. on the ground in Dhaka, we had the good tions and ill-treatment. As for the fashion industry, it has seem- immediately familiar to people in coun- inner workings of so-called fast fashion: His name is Sujeet Sennik, a designer fortune of finding a kindred spirit in the It was a life-changing moment for Sen- ingly evolved since Rana Plaza. Loblaw tries around the world were scattered an insider who could give viewers an who had worked on every end of the fash- form of Sarah Ferguson, a correspondent nik. has signed on to an accord that promises around the bodies of workers who died understanding of what happens between a ion spectrum. with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. His ability to share that with our cam- to hold brands legally accountable for the making them. designer’s vision and the finished product While at Walmart, he became convinced who was on the ground with her crew eras came after weeks and weeks of trust- working conditions of the factories they Here in Canada, one label stood out hanging on the rack in Canadian stores. he wasn’t being told the truth about where filming her Rana Plaza documentary. building, both in Canada and on the road use. And Loblaw and Joe Fresh have com- from the others -- a made-in-Canada We combed LinkedIn, looking for the clothes he designed were actually be- She shared some valuable on-the-ground in Bangladesh mitted publicly to being a leader in ensur- success story poised to go international: anyone with experience in design and ing made. experience and contacts with us. She also Perhaps the most unexpected revela- ing that victims of the collapse receive Loblaw’s Joe Fresh. sourcing for brands like Joe Fresh or any After Rana Plaza collapsed, he was de- sent us a ledger she found in the rubble of tion came during an interview with Atiqul compensation. Near the one-year anniver- The images of Joe Fresh clothing amidst company with a history of making clothes termined to find out. And he agreed to help Rana Plaza that provided clues about Joe Islam, the powerful head of the organiza- sary, we did a follow-up story about our the rubble put a beloved Canadian name in Bangladesh. us tell the story. Fresh’s relationship with its Rana Plaza tion that regulates most of Bangladesh’s protagonists. in the middle of what Loblaw chairman We found a shirt he designed on a sale factory. garment factories. Aruti’s prospects remain bleak. Galen Weston would call “an unspeakable rack at a Walmart Superstore. It also helped us answer the question of It turned out he was also the owner of Sujeet Sennik is searching for a mean- tragedy”, and by extension, put Canadians Now all we had to do was trace it back Finalists how Joe Fresh clothes wound up inside the factory that was contracted to make ingful way to reach out to and educate there, too. to Bangladesh. that doomed building: by giving us the Sennik’s shirt. This looked like a case of Canadians consumers about the choices Watching the news coverage and Brennan Leffler, Kirk Neff, Jonathan name of the agency that acted as a middle- unauthorized subcontracting, something they make. And Joe Fresh? Business is reading horrifying stories of those who Wong, Laurie Few, Nisha Pahuja The Genius of Import Genius man for companies like Joe Fresh, helping Walmart has publicly renounced. booming. survived, we asked -- what led to Cana- Bus Rape Outrage While Sennik’s quest was crucial to our them find suppliers in Bangladesh. On camera, Islam denied the shirt had Tarannum Kamlani is an associate dian clothes being made in conditions that Global – 16X9 story -- so was the story of how Joe Fresh been made anywhere other than at his fac- producer with the fifth estate. Some of contributed to the collapse? clothing wound up inside Rana Plaza. A Girl Named Aruti tory. After the interview, while our cam- her past stories include the hunt for What role did we play as consumers, Carol Sanders And the tool that helped us tell both To make this story resonate with Cana- eras were still rolling -- he took the shirt accused killer Luka Magnotta, and the with our insatiable demand for affordable When Hope Runs Out tales was a database called Import Genius. dians six months after the fact, we needed and appeared to deface the tag to block CBC’s multi-media Rate My Hospital fashion? Winnipeg Free Press It’s a U.S.-based site that compiles someone to embody both the struggle of anything that could connect his factory to project that was nominated for a CAJ And when Loblaw and Joe Fresh execu- detailed shipping records from every U.S. the workers and the consequences of the the shirt. data-journalism award. tives expressed shock that their brand port -- including bills of lading. 24 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 25 CWA CANADA / CAJ AWARD FOR LABOUR REPORTING AWARD -- CO-WINNER Kathy Tomlinson, Raj Ahluwalia CBC News – The National

BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON RBC: RBC employee Dave Moreau wrote in, saying that RBC Foreign Workers he and some 50-odd employees were los- ing their jobs to foreign workers. The public reaction was far beyond anything I had ever experienced in my 26 years as a journalist. It certainly gave Dave Moreau his 15 minutes of fame. By Kathy Tomlinson PHOTO CREDIT: CBC NEWS

RBC Foreign Workers the interview “in the can”, as we say. ment under wraps - in order to get it – and It started with a two-line email from We were worried he would tell some- I have never shown it to a single person. RBC employee Dave Moreau. He wrote one he was speaking out, they would say That promise was key. I didn’t need to saying that he and some 50-odd employ- “Dave – are you crazy?” and poof – our use it – I just needed to have it in my back way? Either way, did anyone tell the gov- At first, RBC tried to spin it – by say- meticulous, but don’t back down. ees were losing their jobs – being replaced whistleblower would get cold feet. pocket. ernment jobs would be lost as a result? ing they only had one temporary foreign My best advice is read all the corre- by foreign workers – and they had to train He came through. I reached another I searched the internet for hours and An immigration lawyer who knew the worker on the project. Technically, that spondence you receive – in full – even if their replacements. employee in the same boat, who said she found enough on RBC and I-Gate to ropes educated me on the various visa was true, because all the others came in they look complicated or crazy. You never He asked one question, “Is this legal?” was so afraid of having her name used she establish they’d been working together for programs that could be involved – so I under that lesser known visa program, the know when a gem of a story will be buried What a firestorm that triggered – when was shaking. I never revealed her identity, years. This went far beyond Dave and his knew what to ask. That was also crucial to intra company transfer. in a long, rambling email from someone. we broadcast and published the resulting but she was also a great help. colleagues. getting the story right. The bank was splitting hairs, and read- If there seems to be even a glimmer of story. The public reaction was far beyond Then, someone sent us the internal RBC But, I still needed government to tell It was I-Gate that confirmed they ers and viewers were smart enough to see a story there – do a Google search right anything I had ever experienced in my document that verified the story. Full of me if any of this was against the foreign used both the temporary foreign worker through that. away. It’s the quickest, easiest way to see 26 years as a journalist. It certainly gave corporate speak, but enough to satisfy us worker rules. Instead of asking flaks po- program and a little-known avenue called Other media outlets picked up the story if something could be for real and what Dave Moreau his 15 minutes of fame. that, indeed, 45 IT professionals were be- litely (and getting nowhere) I pulled aside the “intra company transfer.” In my email and we kept on it, too. We heard from IT other elements there may be on the topic. We discovered it was against govern- ing laid off – their department taken over then-Immigration Minister Jason Kenney questions, I came across like I already professionals from other banks and major Also, Google the person who wrote in ment rules for RBC to be doing this. As- by foreign contractors from an Indian- while he was in the CBC to do another knew and I just needed verification. It corporations who had lost jobs or con- to see who you will be dealing with if you tonishingly, even RBC CEO Gord Nixon based company called I-Gate. interview. worked. tracts to temporary foreign workers and pick up the story. apparently wasn’t fully aware of what was I promised to keep that internal docu- I launched into direct questions with a The first hint I had that this was big “outsourcing”. We told their stories and on Do all of this before you email or call going on, until we brought it to light. camera rolling – without any prep for me came from a government PR person, who it went. the tipster, because you will be better Because of the overwhelming public or him. That’s the way we used to inter- called me to chat “on background”. Several unions threatened to pull bil- informed, and it will save your time and CO-WINNER backlash, Dave and his co-workers got view politicians years ago – before the She said Ottawa was getting ready to lions of dollars of pension funds out of theirs. to keep their jobs after all. RBC backed spin masters took control. respond – but promised it would wait until RBC. Four days after the story aired, You also might decide not to respond at Krystle Alarcon down from its whole “outsourcing” project The minister stepped up and gave me our story was slated to roll out Monday. RBC’s CEO Gord Nixon ran a full-page all, depending on what you find out from Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers soon after the story aired. real answers. She broke that promise - over the ad in national newspapers, apologizing to your search. Most importantly, though, Controversy: Years in the Making But back to how it came about. That turned out to be invaluable, be- weekend – with very little notice. Lucky the employees and promising change. don’t be too quick to dismiss tipsters. The Tyee I do stories for CBC’s popular investiga- cause trying to nail down whether RBC for us, our stories were ready to go, so we The RBC story was one of the first of They hold a wealth of information. tive segment Go Public. We get thousands was doing anything wrong through any published on the web just as the govern- many about the temporary foreign worker Kathy Tomlinson hosts CBC Van- FINALISTS of emails. Most don’t turn into stories. other channels proved fruitless. Kenney ment put out its media release, saying it program, which eventually led the govern- couver’s news segment, Go Public. The Every one we do, though, comes from told me it was not allowed – and why – was investigating RBC’s use of temporary ment to announce a complete overhaul this investigative stories run on CBC TV, Richard Littlemore people like Dave. and in the end that was all we needed. foreign workers. year. radio and the web. Go Public stories Union 2.0 I emailed him back, asking if he was What we couldn’t get from RBC or The story went viral. Emails poured When you know you are right – you come exclusively from people who write Globe and Mail willing to do an on camera interview. To from the government was confirmation of in by the hundreds. A Facebook page to have credible sources and documenta- in story ideas. my surprise, he said yes. what type of visa these foreign IT people “boycott RBC’ popped up within hours. tion – don’t let PR spin, fuzzy informa- The segment seeks to shed light on Gordon Hoekstra My colleague Mike Clarke set it up for had. One guy even wrote a song about the tion or brick walls get in your way. When untold stories that are of public interest Asbestos Safety Often Ignored the next day – even though we hadn’t veri- Did they come in under the temporary story. People were outraged. the stakes are really high, be careful and and hold those responsible accountable. Vancouver Sun fied Dave’s story. We just wanted to get foreign worker program or some other 26 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 27 NNA - SPORTS PHOTO AWARD Amber Bracken Edmonton Sun

Jelena Mrdjenovich (left) battles Melissa Hernandez Capturing the urgency of competition in the main event on KO Boxing’s Double Jeopardy card at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alta. on Friday, May 31, 2013. Mrdjenovich won the WBC World featherweight title despite the fight being stopped for her cut. By Amber Bracken

When I began my career as a photographer in 2008, sports photography was not my priority. I’d never been a sports fan, and I didn’t expect it to interest me. But, being eager and interested in all aspects of photography — and because I wanted to do my job well — I dove in. I soon discovered I liked shooting sports. The hook for me is the drama and the immediacy of the stories, the key, fleeting mo- ments I want to capture. I want to tell the entire story of the competition, the intensity of the athletes’ dedication, the kindness and the cruelty that exists before and after the game or match. I’m interested in the element of human struggle that makes it relatable to us all. In photographing boxing, I enjoy the challenge of anticipating the athletes’ lightning-fast strokes to get the picture, but I’m mostly looking for a photo that shows the heart of what the athletes have worked for. While I’m used to some drama in a boxing ring, I wasn’t expecting the scene at KO Boxing’s Double Jeopardy card. Jelena Mrdjenovich (pictured on page 28) is a hometown favourite. I knew I would need a great shot of her fighting for theWBC featherweight world title, regardless of how the fight turned out. For the first two rounds I did my thing, anticipating the punches and trying to frame an image as they moved around the ring. At the very end of Round 2, the fighters’ heads collided and Mrdjenovich was left with a nasty two-inch cut gushing blood. At that point, I thought the fight was over and I was worried because there hadn’t been Jelena Mrdjenovich takes a moment to collect herself any great photos yet. after her bout with Melissa Hernandez was stopped Amazingly, the referees let the fight go on for four more rounds. Mrdjenovich was gritty and determined, and her opponent Me- for her cut on KO Boxing’s Double Jeopardy card at lissa Hernandez wasn’t giving up easily either. As they fought, the deep cut was spewing blood all over the fighters’ faces, bodies and the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alta. on clothes. All over the mat, the ropes, the media and support people at ringside. All over my cameras, my laptop, my body and clothes. Friday, May 31, 2013. Mrdjenovich won the WBC In the end, I chose this picture, rather than a more typical fist to face connection, because of the stubbornness and fatigue in their World featherweight title. faces, framed in the flying, bloody mess they had fought through. I am still not a sports fan, but I will always cheer for anyone who works that hard. The fight was stopped in the sixth round, after Mrdjenovich had fought her way to the win. Amber Bracken is an award-winning freelance documentary photojournalist and commercial photographer based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has been recognized by the News Photographer’s Association of Canada in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Finalists

Darren Stone Victoria Times Colonist Spokane Chiefs Adam Smith appears to lose his head after a scrap with Victoria Royals Tim Traber in WHL action in Victoria, B.C. March 1, 2013. Photo by Darren Stone/Victoria Times-Colonist Darren Stone_Victoria Times Colonist

Jonathan Hayward The Canadian Press Northern Ontario third Ryan Fry peers through the arms of his teammates while making a shot during Jelena Mrdjenovich, right, wins the WBC World the afternoon draw against Alberta at the Tim Hortons Brier in Edmonton, Alta. Monday, March 4, 2013. featherweight title as Melissa Hernandez looks on af- Photo by Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press ter the main event on KO Boxing’s Double Jeopardy Jonathan Hayward_The Canadian Press card at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alta. on Friday, May 31, 2013.

28 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 29 NNA – EXPLANATORY WORK AWARD Amy Dempsey Toronto Star

Not guilty. Not innocent. Not understood. Rich- ard Kachkar killed a police officer, but he’s not a criminal. This is the story of how he was found not criminally responsible.

Why a cop killer is not in prison” misinformed public reaction to a few high- in Toronto. Kachkar had killed a Toronto GRIEVING HER LOSS: Richard Kachkar killed Chris- SENSELESS LOSS: Kachkar killed Ryan Russell with a began with a coffee-fueled brain- profile cases – the Vincent Li greyhound police sergeant with a stolen snowplow “ tine Russell’s husband, Ryan (to the right). He had pleaded stolen snowplow on a winter morning in 2011 PHOTO storming session with Rita Daly, a friend bus beheading, for example. It struck me on a winter morning in 2011 and was not criminally responsible. PHOTO CREDIT: MARK CREDIT: Handout photo / THE CANADIAN PRESS and mentor who was a team editor in the that if the public was indeed misinformed facing a first-degree murder charge. He BLINCH / REUTERS Toronto Star’s city department at the time. and the proposed law was motivated by had pleaded not criminally responsible. (She has since retired.) our collective lack of knowledge, then it Initially, I didn’t want to focus on Rich- a challenge to learn the ins and outs of a Our chat focused on an issue that was my basic duty as a reporter to figure it ard Kachkar because I thought it better to complicated system and write confidently struck us both as interesting and lacking out and explain it for readers in an engag- follow an NCR story from beginning to about it in under a month. Most interviews in context: the not criminally responsible ing way. the end. But as the trial wore on, I realized were on-the-record, but a few background Related Links (NCR) verdict. For months we had been The bill gave me a news hook at a time it was perhaps the most important case to discussions gave me a valuable insider’s sending each other links to stories about when I had developed a strong understand- use an example. The timing of the NCR perspective. I also visited a forensic psy- NCR cases from across Canada. The ones ing of the NCR system. I began looking bill combined with the fact that Kachkar’s chiatric ward at the Centre for Addiction The Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act (The Canadian Bar Association) that made the news tended to be deeply for a case study to highlight in a story I victim had been a police officer meant and Mental Health, a facility much like http://www.nationalmagazine.ca/Articles/March-2014-WEB/The-Not-Criminally-Responsi- disturbing, and the public reaction was hoped would explain what it takes, and there was a lot of public attention on the the one Kachkar would end up in, to learn ble-Act.aspx always the same: visceral. what it means to be found neither guilty case. And it was clear – from talk radio, more about the life he would live after an I wanted to do a story, but I didn’t know nor innocent in the eyes of the law. newspaper columns, letters to the editor, NCR verdict. Richard Kachkar: how a cop killer was found not criminally responsible yet what it would be. So I started making I was pursuing another case when the online comments – that there was a lot of Kachkar remains in a psychiatric facil- http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/04/29/richard_kachkar_how_a_cop_killer_was_ calls in my spare time, having informal Richard Kachkar trial began heating up misunderstanding about it. ity at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental found_not_criminally_responsible.html conversations with psychiatrists, psychol- Many news stories that came out of the FINALISTS Health Sciences in Whitby, Ont. I have ogists, researchers, lawyers, politicians, Kachkar trial lacked the context neces- tried repeatedly for an interview, but the ‘Not criminally responsible’ law misses point: Critics victim advocates and patient advocates in sary for the public to understand why a Wendy Gillis hospital says he is not well and nothing http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/04/19/not_criminally_responsible_law_misses_ an effort to better understand the issues. I jury would eventually find Kachkar NCR. Toronto Star good could come of it. point_critics.html asked experts and researchers what they Some daily stories gave readers the im- Cleaning up the millions of litres of crude I have continued to write about the thought was important, underreported or pression that psychiatrists on the witness swamping Lac-Mégantic a mind-bog- forensic mental health system. In April What Michael did ignored, and they all said the same thing: stand were torn about Kachkar’s mental glingly complex task 2014, the Star published “What Michael http://projects.thestar.com/what-michael-stewart-did/ the people who are reacting so strongly state, when that was not the case. All did,” the story of a man who developed to these verdicts do not understand how three psychiatrists tasked with assessing John Allemang schizophrenia and killed the person who Bill C-14, Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act – Re-introduced November 25, 2013 the NCR system works, and they do not his mental state at the time of the offence The Globe and Mail loved him most. (Alberta Law Libraries) understand mental illness. concluded that he met the not-criminally- The answer is ‘crossword.’ On the Bill C-14 passed with negligible amend- http://www.lawlibrary.ab.ca/staycurrent/2013/11/bill-c-14-criminally-responsible-reform-act- Then in early 2013, the Harper gov- responsible criteria – even the one hired puzzle’s 100th birthday, John Allemang ments and become law in July 2014. re-introduced-november-25-2013/ ernment introduced the Not Criminally by the Crown. looks at the pleasures, and the pleasurable Amy Dempsey is a feature writer for Responsible Reform Act, a bill that would City editor Irene Gentle gave me a few pain, it gives to millions every day the Toronto Star, where she has worked Bill C-14 impose tougher restrictions on mentally ill weeks to work on the story in March- since graduating from Carleton Univer- http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/412/Government/C-14/C-14_3/C-14_3.PDF offenders. As the government touted the April 2013. I attended closing arguments Claire Brownell sity’s master of journalism program in bill in the name of public safety, research- in court, watched the judge deliver his Windsor Star 2010. She won a 2013 National News- ers and legal experts were showing me instructions to the jury, reviewed hun- Land Grab: How a bridge baron ruined a paper Award for explanatory journalism evidence that the proposed changes were dreds of pages of court documents and neighbourhood and shared a 2010 breaking news NNA not grounded in science, but motivated by interviewed more than 50 people. It was with a team of Star reporters. 30 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 31 NNA - SHORT FEATURE AWARD

EXPLOSIVE OIL: The World Fuels/Dakota Plains fuel The Globe and Mail loading terminal in New Town, N.D., is shown in September, 2013. With the practice of moving crude oil by rail now under Grant Robertson scrutiny, North Dakota and its lucrative Bakken oil deposits have a lot at stake. North Dakota’s explosive Bakken oil: The story behind a PHOTO CREDIT: JERRY W. KRAM FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL troubling crude

By Grant Robertson It was stories like that one that helped Since the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, there industry and government claimed. No one set the tone for this feature. Of the many have been three more massive oil train knew how dangerous the oil really was. hen a runaway train carrying hints of any concerns about the oil. This Town, which is not unlike Fort McMurray, interviews we conducted, piecing together explosions involving Bakken oil, in Ala- Grant Robertson is an investiga- W72 tankers of oil derailed and proved to be an unexpected gold mine Alta. It is a semi-remote prairie outpost the science of what makes Bakken crude bama, Virginia, and North Dakota. Though tive reporter for The Globe and Mail’s exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Que., kill- when a document emerged from Enbridge where the economy is built entirely around different and more explosive than other there were no casualties from those subse- Report on Business. He joined The Globe ing 47 people and gutting the town, there Inc., which was experiencing serious prob- a booming oil industry. Not surprisingly, forms of oil – which the U.S. government quent crashes, the explosions proved that in 2005, and before that covered the oil was a troubling question that hung over lems with the oil at one of its facilities in outsiders with questions aren’t exactly later confirmed through its own tests – it the Lac-Mégantic derailment was not the industry and the railway sector for the the tragedy. Even though the reasons for North Dakota. The crude’s vapours were welcome. was that conversation over the jar of oil I once-in-a-lifetime, freak accident that the Calgary Herald. the accident were clear – the railway had extremely explosive and poisonous, the It wasn’t clear what the journey to remember most. It explained the problem failed to set the brakes properly, allowing company told the U.S. government in a North Dakota would yield, since access better to readers than anything else could: the parked train to roll down a hill into regulatory submission. Though the docu- to oil-loading locations and the well sites This oil is like gasoline. town – those details failed to explain why ment was not publicized, it was filed with was being flatly denied. But the trip to Surprisingly, the story about the jar of The story behind a key Enbridge document the accident was so deadly. energy regulators, which made it publicly New Town was an important reminder that oil never made it into a series of longer One comment kept coming up over and available if you could find it. being on the ground is always better than investigative articles we wrote – mainly After dozens of interviews, we came across Enbridge’s “tariff filing” with the over during interviews: why did the oil With this information in hand, we had a reporting from afar. After a few frustrat- because it was a first-person tale that felt U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A source eventually said, “Maybe tankers explode so violently? “Oil isn’t trail to follow. The next step was to see the ing interviews that produced little in terms out of place with the tone of the harder- you should look at the (Enbridge filing)”. Of course, I asked “What Enbridge fil- supposed to blow up like that,” said one oil first-hand. I headed 2,400-kilometres of new information, I found myself one hitting pieces we were trying to craft. ing”? The source was of no help. So I had to start sifting through reams of regula- person after another. It was a question that West of Toronto, to North Dakota’s boom- afternoon sitting among oil workers who Rather than leave it on the cutting room tory filings in thecommission database and on the System for Electronic Docu- seemed particularly worrisome, since the ing Bakken oil fields, where the doomed were taking their break inside a makeshift floor, though, it became the basis for a ment Analysis and Retrieval database where companies in Canada file most of idea of moving crude by train, as opposed crude shipment began. The short-feature lunchroom. We talked casually about why short feature. But this created another their regulatory documents. Eventually, we came across the Enbridge documents to pipelines, was a relatively new phenom- titled “The story behind a troubling crude” I was in New Town, and how I had heard challenge. because someone had given us the name Robert Steede as a lead. That was pretty enon in North America, and was growing was the result of this investigation. The that North Dakota oil was different than Typically, the best short features are much all I had to go on. Then after gathering these documents, interviewing Steede rapidly. headline references the well-known Bev- the crude I had encountered years ago as character-driven pieces, with rich colour and others, it allowed me to basically go back to everybody else in the oil patch in In the aftermath of the Lac-Mégantic erley Hillbillies theme song – “up through an oil reporter in Alberta. That oil ranged and quotes. A good example is a short North Dakota and ask, “If you’re saying the oil is safe, and there is nothing differ- tragedy, the federal government, the the ground came a bubblin’ crude” – and from black-brown muck to something feature The Globe’s foreign correspondent ent about it than oil from Alberta and Texas, then why are we seeing this happen- railway industry and the oil sector were all as I was about to learn, the oil being more golden brown, like maple syrup, Mark Mackinnon wrote in 2003, titled ing.”? It began the conversations that begat the stories. quick to portray the incident as a once-in- pulled from the ground in North Dakota when it came out of the ground. “Lepers and lovers in a dangerous time.” a-lifetime occurrence, a freak accident that was not like the licorice-black sludge The men in the room nodded and It is a tale of two members of a leper 1. Basically the filingis an application by Enbridge to U.S. regulators to refuse to would never happen again. But the size of we’re so used to seeing on TV. laughed. This oil is indeed a marvel, they colony in Iraq who cling to their love as ship oil it feels is unsafe. Enbridge operates a pipeline and a rail facility to ship oil the explosions in Lac-Mégantic suggested The train that exploded in Quebec was said. Refiners love it because it takes little U.S. forces roll through town on their way in the Bakken region. Under antitrust laws, railways and pipelines can’t refuse an there was something wrong with the oil. loaded with crude from a place called New effort to turn it to gasoline, since it is so to attack Baghdad. It is one of my all-time oil company shipment. So Enbridge, fearing that some of the oil was far too unsafe, It was at that point that we decided to “light.” It looks like “Miller Lite,” one favourite short features, with beauti- formally went to the government and requested special permission to refuse oil shift our investigative work on the Lac- worker said. That is, it looks a lot more fully drawn characters and heartbreaking because we think it’s potentially dangerous and this hydrogen sulfide gas could kill FINALISTS Mégantic disaster to the oil itself. Typi- like gasoline than mucky crude. He then interviews. My biggest challenge with the our workers if they inhale it (H2S is extremely deadly and sometimes undetectable cally, crude oil will burn or smolder, but retrieved a mason jar of Bakken crude oil story, though, is that I didn’t have a by the nose). So this is them asking permission to do that. Foyer pour handicapés à Laval: un «para- it doesn’t explode. Unfortunately, as is from an adjacent room and handed it to me main character to build the piece around, dis» menacé 2. The documents also told us that this oil is unusual. It’s not typical for high so often the case, no one was talking. We to see for myself. Sure enough, it looked nor did I have great quotes -- since few Gabrielle Duchaine amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas to be found in oil. So clearly companies had needed to track down the oil, and talk to nothing like any oil I’d seen before. I people were willing to talk on-record. The La Presse concerns. And even we knew H2S was one of many light ends that make oil more people who knew about its composition. opened the lid and inhaled. The vapours solution was to build the story around the explosive. So even though Enbridge was primarily concerned about inhalation We knew the oil came from North hit me. It was indeed like gasoline. In fact, crude, to make the oil the main character A gift for generosity and love risk, the fact it was concerned showed there was also ample explosion risk, given Dakota, so we started compiling data on this oil was so light and needed such little by telling its backstory, which helped Gordon Sinclair. Jr. that the oil was clearly lighter than typical crude. This regulatory filing gave us the crude from the region, which was avail- refining that some people in New Town explain the Lac-Mégantic disaster in a Winnipeg Free Press thesis, which was eventually proven in the reporting. able in company engineering reports. We poured it directly into their pickup trucks broader economic, political and social then started scouring regulatory filings for as fuel, the men said. context. 32 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 33 NNA – POLITICS AWARD

Jennifer Ditchburn The Canadian Press

Conservative Senator Duffy claimed expenses while campaigning in the 2011 election

By Jennifer Ditchburn y submission in the NNA politics the first go-around. In this case, it was detailed internal probe of his expenses, Mcategory consisted of three stories a calendar of expenses published in the which later confirmed what our story had that touched on the Senate spending audit on the first page of Schedule 1 that I first revealed. Eventually, the entire file scandal. The common thread among them had just glossed over in my first readings. was forwarded to the RCMP. The mat- was that I tried to look at a document or an It included specific dates during the spring ter that the Conservatives so desperately issue from a different angle or lens. of 2011 when expenses were incurred. wanted to have closed was suddenly flung The main piece, Conservative senator A lightbulb went off: that was when the wide open again. Duffy claimed expenses while campaign- federal election took place. I recalled that In a similar way, a related story about ing in 2011 election, which revealed Sen. Duffy had appeared during the campaign the changing language used by the Con- Mike Duffy was claiming expenses while with various candidates. I used Twitter, servatives on the Senate scandal also took travelling the country campaigning for the Facebook, websites and news articles to information that was already in the public Conservatives, came together after I was pinpoint where Duffy had been on particu- domain but looked at it from a different leafing through an independent audit. lar dates. The tweets and Facebook posts perspective. One weekend, after listen- (Editor’s note: the second piece was of Conservative candidates were particu- ing to days and days of weak government THE DUFFSTER BACK IN THE NEWS: Mike Duffy was claiming expenses while travelling the country campaigning for the Conservatives. The entitled “Mystery binder: Documents held larly useful. I cross-referenced the material answers in the Commons about the Senate story came together after leafing through an independent audit that the Senate ordered. by PM’s former aide raise new Duffy with the dates noted in the audit. Elections scandal, I decided I needed something that questions”; the third story was called, Canada financial returns indicated that would spell out for me what we actually PHOTO CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld “Things left unsaid: government’s answers some candidates had reimbursed Duffy for knew and what we didn’t. I compiled a on Senate scandal still a moving target”.) expenses during the campaign rudimentary database of comments that (ITO), which establishes the rationale for ists, it’s not to assume that a story has been The audit, by Deloitte, had been com- Within hours of the story hitting the had been made about the $90,000 clandes- requesting a search warrant, detailed the exhausted once it has its first big splash. missioned by the Senate. When it came wire, Duffy had been pushed out of the tine payment by Prime Minister Stephen avenues of investigation the police were A lot of details go under the radar, some out, the Conservative leadership immedi- Conservative caucus. This was the straw Harper’s chief of staff Nigel Wright to pursuing in the Wright-Duffy affair. of them important – even pivotal. Know- For exclusive content, ately announced that the matter of Duffy’s that broke the camel’s back. The Senate Duffy. Just putting together those quotes Initial stories that came out of the police ing an issue inside and out, and making expenses was closed and that he would leadership eventually asked for a more from Hansard and outside interviews, and documents focused on Senate contracts yourself an expert on all the tiny little stories, interviews about simply be repaying the contested amount. looking at them together, helped me to tell that had been given to a friend of Duffy’s. details, can also help you see potential No breakdown of his expenses was pro- a simple story about how the Conservative I had another go at the police filing, and stories in the weeds that others might miss. Finalists journalism turn to Media. vided, despite our requests, and despite messaging was subtly changing as time what stuck out for me was the reference Jennifer Ditchburn is a senior par- the fact Deloitte had complained it didn’t went on and what information they were (ITO reference: October 8, 2013, page liamentary correspondent with The Gary Mason Visit get complete information from Duffy. The carefully leaving out. 14, paragraph 7) to a binder of documents Canadian Press in Ottawa. She joined The Globe and Mail lack of transparency was frustrating, to say More than anything, it emphasized how that Duffy had sent to Wright. The binder the news agency in Montreal in 1995, Anatomy of a comeback: how Christy http://www.caj.ca/media- the least. As far as I’m concerned, when the government was less than forthcoming apparently included details of his Sen- and went on to Toronto and Edmonton Clark beat the odds information is deliberately not released, on many of the central issues – particu- ate calendar and other useful nuggets of before landing in the nation’s capital in magazine-archives/ something is being hidden. larly who was in the loop inside the Prime information that the Deloitte auditors had 1997. Between 2001 and 2006, she was a Steven Chase, Boyd Erman, Daniel Sometimes in the heat of a story, it’s Minister’s Office? As we know now, been unable to get their hands on. national reporter with CBC Television Leblanc, Issues date back to the easy to go through a document quickly, there were others who were aware of the How tantalizing – the idea of a cache on Parliament Hill. The Globe and Mail pull out the juicy bits for the initial cover- payment and of the negotiations that were of correspondence and evidence that Ditchburn is also a 2010 National Wright resigns despite Harper’s pleas: spring of 1998 age, and then move on to the next thing. going back and forth between Duffy and Prime Minister’s chief of staff had agreed exchanged hands behind the scenes! The Newspaper Award winner. She is a But it’s also valuable to take the time to Wright. to stay, but reflections over a birthday story was picked up widely. frequent contributor to television and read through the document more carefully Finally, a third story in the package was weekend spurred decision to quit over If I have any advice for young journal- radio public affairs programs. later, and see if there’s something else about RCMP documents that had been Duffy gift that wasn’t immediately apparent during filed in court.The Information to Obtain 34 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 35 NNA – INVESTIGATIONS AWARD

Karen Kleiss, Darcy Henton, Stephanie Coombs, Darren Francey, Paula Simons Calgary Herald/Journal affiliation STILL GRIEVING: (Two women by grave) Jamie Sullivan and her mother, Marilyn Koren, sit beside the grave of Ja- Tragedies cloaked in secrecy mie’s daughter, Delonna, who was four months old when she was found dead after just four days in foster care. PHOTO CREDIT: Supplied

By Karen Kleiss protected by privacy laws and a publica- tion ban, so I was working with initials or nothing at all. Still, our database remains the only comprehensive list of children he six-part Fatal Care series investigative methods and techniques, judges after public inquiries; Tips who have died in provincial care. revealed 145 children had died which I’ll highlight here. -Lawsuits filed by families who lost T At this point the Edmonton Journal in Alberta’s foster care system between First, I pulled all of the publicly avail- children in care. 1. The law is a powerful tool, so let’s use it to set precedent and permanently joined forces with the Calgary Herald, 1999 and 2013, nearly triple the number able records related to the deaths of chil- This was all done long before I picked open up records that will always be worth a story. Too many reporters spend all and veteran journalist Darcy Henton publicly reported by government. We dren inside Alberta’s foster care system, up the phone, talked to a source, or inter- their time and energy making requests for information tied to current events, and if joined the Fatal Care team. This was when showed that most of those who died were including: viewed an official. The last three points on the government delays long enough – which it always tries to do – the records will we started all the heavy-lifting, shoe-leath- babies, teens and aboriginals – an analysis -Annual reports from Alberta’s Ministry this list especially merit some discussion. no longer be newsworthy when they’re released. Persuade your editors to focus at er reporting. The database told us interest- the government had never done. We also of Children’s Services; First, the legislative review was crucial. least in part on long-term fights for evergreen records that, once opened, will shine ing things about the system, but nobody revealed the child death investigation sys- -Internal and external reports commis- Alberta’s child death investigation system light in dark corners for years to come. We fought for four years because we knew wants to read numbers; the key to making tem was an unmitigated disaster, and that sioned by the Alberta government; was governed by two ministries and three that no matter what was in those death records, we could find a story – and because the story work was finding the people the government had no system in place -Reviews and reports on the subject laws, and implemented by six different opening up government remains one of the most important jobs that journalists do. whose lives illustrated what we had found. for following up on recommendations to from other Canadian provinces, American bodies. I was only able to figure out how In our day-one package, Darcy told improve the system. states and advocacy groups; convoluted the system was by building 2. While it’s tempting to pick up the phone and start making calls, always start the story of a 15-year-old aboriginal girl The idea for the series came in 2009, -News stories about deaths in Alberta’s an old-school system map on my office an investigative project with a thorough study of the system you are writing about. who was found frozen in a ditch. She was when I was writing a routine story about a foster care system dating back a decade; wall using paper, scissors and pushpins. Read everything you can get your hands on. If you understand the system, you will murdered, but nobody was ever charged; child who died in foster care. I wanted to -Multiple pieces of Alberta legislation, My thorough understanding of the system design smarter stories, ask more intelligent questions, provide a more thorough there was no fatality inquiry, and never a add some context and to tell readers how regulation and Orders in Council that won me their respect and trust of those analysis for you readers – and you’re far less likely to get spun. news report. I told the story of an infant many foster kids had died in the past year, governed the investigation and review inside it. As a result, they were remarkably who died in a collapsed bassinet, another and in the past 10 years. Nobody knew. processes; candid and gave me quotes that lent real 3. Be patient. It was not easy to wait four years for these documents. It was not story that had never been told. In all, we In addition, Alberta had a publication -Fatality Inquiry Reports written by credibility to our day-three story, in which fun to fight for six months to access public fatality inquiry reports. Building the interviewed more than 75 ministers, of- ban that made it illegal to publish the we exposed the child death investigation database was journalistic drudge work that went on for weeks and weeks. In these ficials, experts and families. name and photo of a child who died in system for the mess it was. dark moments, remember that powerful systems and people would very much like The series dominated the political foster care. Second, I got fatality inquiry reports to see you give up and move on to something else. Finalists agenda for a week, and the government So these kids lived terrible lives, and the old-fashioned way: by asking nicely overturned the publication ban. They then died inside the very system that was over and over again. The province started Don’t give them the satisfaction. Vincent Larouche et David Santerre passed laws that forced the ministry to supposed to save them, and they died publishing fatality inquiry reports online Des criminels parmi les réfugiés release the real number of kids who die nameless, and faceless, and nobody was in 2004, but I had to engage in a six- Des voleurs prolifiques et audacieux in care. They reformed the child-death even counting them. That made me angry, month battle with the Justice department them released immediately. ity and the will to give it to me. La Presse investigation system, in part. so I decided to count them myself. to access the reports dating back to 1999 Third, I got the lawsuits by using skills With all of this information in hand, I Karen Kleiss is a political reporter I filed an access-to-information request – even though they were public records. I and leveraging relationships I built at started to build a database using Excel. I Mark MacKinnon and Marina Strauss with the Edmonton Journal who focuses for all records related to the deaths of chil- decided not to make an access-to-informa- the courthouse over my three-year stint cross-referenced all of the material I had The true cost of a T-shirt on writing about social issues. She was dren who had died in provincial care since tion request because I had a good relation- as a court reporter. I had a good work- on each individual child: news reports, Underage labour finds new frontier in part of a team of reporters, photogra- Jan. 1, 1999. ship with the flack in the department, and ing knowledge of how Alberta records fatality inquiry reports, annual reports Cambodia phers, designers and editors from the The Edmonton Journal fought a four- I thought he would come through for me. lawsuits, and a strong understanding of and lawsuits. When the province finally The Globe and Mail Edmonton Journal and the Calgary year legal battle to obtain those records, In the end, though, I only obtained the our province’s access-to-information laws. released the internal death records for the Herald that produced the multiple, and they contributed crucial information records after sending an email to then-Jus- So I knew what was available, and I knew children, I added this information to the award-winning Fatal Care series. She to our reporting. We also used many other tice Minister Alison Redford, who ordered what I was entitled to, and – perhaps most database. This was a painstaking process, can be reached at: kkleiss@edmonton- importantly – I knew who had the author- mainly because the children’s names were journal.com 36 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 37 NNA -- FEATURE PHOTO AWARD

Leah Rae Hennel Calgary Herald

Capturing a light-hearted moment

By Leah Hennel

owntown was a mess. It was the knowing how severe the flooding was. We of went crazy on social media. And when Dday after the flooding started in stayed at The Germain which was running I had time to take closer look, it reminded southern Alberta. Disaster was every- off their power generator which gave us no me of a photo by one of my favourite pho- where you looked. I had never witnessed power for our room except one socket, no tographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson. More anything like this, as a photojournalist or hot water and no capability to cook us din- than 50 years ago, he, too, took a photo of otherwise. ner at Charcut, where we had plans to eat. a woman leaping over a puddle towards a Near the end of a long day, I was walk- They ordered us in pizza for dinner by man offering his assistance. ing around taking photos of the devastated candlelight and ended up going for a walk Technically, my photo is not perfect. inner-city. I was thinking to myself how downtown afterward, as there was nothing The lighting could have been better. The surreal it was – no traffic, no people, else to do. That’s where you ran into us. composition could have been better. But it where, normally, there is congestion. We ended up walking ourselves into a captures a moment – a pure, unstaged mo- I ran into another photographer as I flooded area with no way out other than to ment. After all the grief and destruction of made my way on foot through the flooded jump that massive river.” the morning of the big flood, it was kind of streets. Near City Hall, we turned a corner Meaning Desiree was next. nice to shoot a light-hearted moment. and just missed seeing a guy jumping And that’s when I was lucky enough Leah Hennel is an award-winning across a flooded road. Safely landed, he to be in the right place at the right time, photographer, who has been working as a started beckoning for his wife to join him shooting a couple of frames as she grace- staff photojournalist at the Calgary Her- on the dry sidewalk. fully leapt towards the arms of her smiling ald since 2000. She graduated from SAIT It turns out, the Edmonton couple, Blake husband. in 1998. You can see some of her work A JUMP TO COMFORT: Blake Wartenbe catches his wife Desiree as she jumps over flowing water in a flooded downtown Calgary, Alberta, on June and Desiree Wartenbe was here celebrat- Her trip was a (dry-footed) success. here:http://leahhennelphotography.com 21, 2013. Photo by Leah Rae Hennel/Calgary Herald ing their 13th wedding anniversary. They After I looked at the back of my camera http://vimeo.com/user1299393 were staying at a downtown hotel when and noticed that I had at least one frame in http://instagram.com/leahhennel- the water came. focus, I filed the photo toThe Herald. I re- photo Recalled Blake: “We drove in not really ally didn’t think anything of it until it kind Finalists

A fan is grabbed by security as he tries to climb over the outfield wall after running onto the field and sliding into second base during a game between theToronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox in Toronto, April 7, 2013. Photo by Tyler Anderson/National Post

A man and a woman talk between the barrier that divides the women’s and men’s praying ar- eas before Friday prayers inside the mosque at the Mississauga Muslim Community Centre in Mississauga, January 18, 2013. Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters Canada

38 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 39 WORKING ON THE SET: Jennifer NNA – ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AWARD Podemski and Peter Stebbings on the set. They upped the credibility on the film. PHOTO CREDIT: KEITH BEATY/ Linda Barnard TORONTO STAR Toronto Star

An Empire built on love and sweat: The Star fol- lowed Empire of Dirt for 10 roller-coaster months

By Linda Barnard

submitted three pieces for the NNA The story, about three generations of what I had with entertainment editor Janet I judges to consider: A review of Native women, intrigued me and Mario Hurley. Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, a long fea- said one of the stars, part-Cree theatre ac- I thought this could make a jumping-off ture on the process of making of Canadian, tress Cara Gee, who was making her film point for an ongoing story, a feature fol- ultra-low-budget movie Empire of Dirt, debut here, was impressive in early scenes. lowed by regular updates to give readers a and a news story about Unclaimed, by an On the set, Stebbings said he was behind-the-scenes look at how movies are Edmonton filmmaker’s controversial docu- confident the movie would premiere at made in this country; the struggles to get mentary, about a missing Vietnam veteran. TIFF, which was then 11 months away. funding and distribution and the stories of I’ve been working in newspapers since He’d said as much to TIFF artistic director cast and crew. MOTHER AND DAUGHTER: Cara Gee, left and comforts 1982 and writing about film forThe Star Cameron Bailey at a party a couple of Hurley suggested another route. If I was Shay Eye who plays her daughter in the movie. since 2005, so while I am a movie writer, weeks before, when the 2012 festival was so confident Empire of Dirt would be at PHOTO CREDIT: Mongrel Media it’s still very basic reporting that started still on. It was a bold statement for some- TIFF (I was, wasn’t I?) why not follow the the process on the two stories: following one as low-key as I knew Stebbings to be. process and write one major feature to run leads and tips, working contacts and slog- Star photographer Keith Beaty took pic- just before the festival bowed in Septem- ging away on the copy to make it work. tures and did a video of the shoot, along ber 2013? Let me tell you about one of them. with on-camera interviews with Stebbings, If the film didn’t get invited to TIFF, we The Empire of Dirt story came about Podemski and Gee for a digital accompa- could still run the story, but it wouldn’t thanks to an email from Mario Tassone, niment for the story. Beaty’s work looked be nearly as impactful. Nobody at TIFF a freelance unit publicist on the film who terrific; Gee was certainly photogenic. would talk, on- or off-the-record, about was being paid in “diapers and formula” I headed back to Toronto (after pulling the movie’s chances, and the outcome for doing press for Empire. Would I over to do a phone interview with Meat wouldn’t be known until Podemski got (or consider a set visit in Keswick, Ont., for a Loaf for a Canadian horror movie he didn’t get) a formal invitation to partici- small indie movie he thought might have was shooting called Stage Fright, which pate, probably sometime in July. some traction? subsequently tanked) and talked about We decided to hold off. I spent the next These calls come all the time. The mov- 10 months following the film as it went ie business, like most industries, is cutting through each stage, from editing, to test Finalists personal. TIFF’s rising stars. Tickets to the TIFF opened and Hurley was a tough editor. For back and often looks to media to act as de screenings, to finalizing the picture and By early winter, things weren’t looking screenings for Empire of Dirt eventually several late nights, I was pretty much the facto extensions of their dwindling mar- sending it out into the world. Ian Brown great for the movie, which was having sold out. lone occupant of the newsroom as she kept keting departments. I often bristle at that, Hurley also gave me an important ad- An interview is a dance. With Barysh- growing pains. It wasn’t invited to film Hurley’s advice about keeping on top sending the story back for another rewrite. although I don’t mind taking part when it vice: transcribe interviews, keep a log and nikov, I only hoped not to get kicked in fests at Sundance in January. or Berlin in of the story was valuable, but the timing I have Hurley to thank for pushing me works to my advantage. organize the story as you go, or risk being the February. Changes had to be made, and was terrible to be writing a big feature. to do better. It paid off. She had trust in me Mario had pitched stories before and overwhelmed at the finish. Teeth there was a point where I wondered if the TIFF, with its lineup of 300-plus films, is a to deliver the best version of the story. I I trusted his instincts. And I knew the Podemski, who had devoted the past The Globe and Mail small film was going to survive. marathon. It’s our busiest time of the year, just had to find it. director, Peter Stebbings, from seeing his eight years to nurturing Empire of Dirt, When Podemski got the call in late where 12-hour days start six weeks ahead Linda Bernard is a Toronto Star writ- previous movies and interviewing him a was my guide. James Adams July that the movie was indeed on TIFF’s of opening night and days off evaporate. er and film critic. She is also a member couple of times at TIFF. The same applied I told her I needed transparency in all One of these is a Hopper , The other is a schedule, it was a pivotal moment. Within The Empire of Dirt story was skedded of Toronto Film Critics, and Alliance of to producer and co-star Jennifer Podemski, areas and she accommodated me. So mystery a few weeks, Gee was named one of for Aug. 30, the Saturday before TIFF Women Film Journalists. who I saw as a consistent creative force. did Stebbings. They never said “no” to The Globe and Mail They upped the credibility on the film. a request or a question, no matter how 40 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 41 The 2013 MICHENER AWARD WINNER

Toronto Star

Stories about Rob Ford

By Kevin Donovan

he investigation of Mayor Rob sion of information that would help. Lists city councilor to confirm that Ford was TFord and his friends was the result were constantly made among reporters. asked to leave and we went with the story. of a team journalism effort – reporters, For example, the allegation that he was That tale, which was mocked and defiled photographers and editors – that drew on kicked out of the Garrison Ball, a military by the Brothers Ford, turned out to be a many resources at the Toronto Star. It was charity event in 2013. Looking at the guest journalist’s “search warrant.” It caused a great example of shoe-leather reporting list, I spotted a half dozen people I knew several people to contact us, including coupled with informed sources who placed and had pretty much grown up with as a three people talking about Ford’s drug use DIGGING INTO THE ROB FORD STORY: Like most good stories, it started with tips… Ford was a drunk. Ford was doing drugs. their trust in our promise to never blow reporter for 30 years. and Sandro Lisi (his sometime driver and PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Russell/Toronto Star their cover. Lessons for us at The Star I have coined the phrase “relationship a man who later figured prominently in the include: Never giving up as long as the reporting” to describe this. Those six story), and one person talking about the story has legs; being creative in approach; people trusted me enough to detail Ford’s now-infamous crack video. Two of my sources say they fear for their a neat story suggesting Ford was helping causing trouble for other paying patients and developing ways of encouraging unusual behaviour that night, including All the Ford stories have been like that. personal safety if word that they cooper- pay the bills. And earlier, in a stunning who were trying to get the most out of the sources to go out and gather information. how he appeared high on something other Publish one, more information comes ated with The Star leaked to Ford Nation, mix of creativity and shoe leather, report- experience. We determined it was in the Like most good stories, it started with than alcohol, how he stumbled and fell forward. The art is to separate the wheat the term used to describe supporters of the ers Jesse McLean and Tim Almanciak public interest to publish. Many disagreed. tips. These tips were quite basic and raised down stairs, and how he was speaking from the chaff – the majority of tips have perennially embattled mayor. Reporters at drove many kilometers along Etobicoke What to do when you have a story with the first of many ethical dilemmas. Was gibberish. not been that helpful, but some have been The Star, myself included, have been the streets until they found the house in the so many ethical issues? I have always this a story? The tips: Ford was a drunk. My colleague Robyn Doolittle (now gold. Call everyone back is the mantra. target of threats during the reporting of photo. found that reporters need to have good Ford was doing drugs. Ford was out of with The Globe and Mail) convinced a Check out every lead. My colleague Jayme this story. There have been, and continue to be, sounding boards in the newsroom to make control at public events and into the wee Poisson is particularly skilled at this. Creativity is another hallmark of the many twists and turns on the Ford story. sure that what you are doing is right. We hours. The ORNGE stories, which I broke Information we developed was so strong Ford investigation. We spend a lot of Thousands of pages of police and city believe what we did and continue to do in 2011, began with more obvious public that we were able to publish stories detail- time brainstorming different approaches. documents to pour over (when it finally on the story is right, but it is of course all interest tips: Public dollars were being 2013 Michener Awards ing Ford’s time spent with alleged gun and Thinking outside the box. did become a document story!), obtained open to debate. wasted at the province of Ontario’s $150 drug dealers and the story alleging Ford When The Star’s legal challenge, joined by court action and freedom-of-informa- The Star stories have caused a great deal million-a-year air ambulance system and Finalists friend Sandro Lisi tried to get the crack by other media, was successful in get- tion requests. Tailing of people involved. to happen. The police began an investiga- lives were at risk. Though Ford was a video back. We published that months ting the search warrant documents made Late night interviews in coffee shops. tion into Ford and his cronies, and the city different type of story, we determined The Canadian Press before the police did anything about that public, most media treated it as a one-day Throughout this story, with sometimes too council stripped the mayor of most of his an exploration of his activities was in (they charged Lisi with extortion). story. Our team did that one-day story, and many legs, we checked in constantly with powers, for starters. It has also polarized the public interest because he was a top CTV News then dug in to the documents, looking for our editors and legal team. Were we going the community. People either love the man elected official, and the activities he was A note about sources clues and doing more reporting based on too far? Should we do this? Should we do or hate him. alleged to be involved with were unethical Edmonton Journal and We have some excellent ones on the those clues. that? Kevin Donovan is an investigative and possibly criminal. Ford story and though they come from One example was a notation in a Ford Journalism classes have debated the reporter and editor at The Star. He has Going into this investigation, we had Calgary Herald very different walks of life, they share the staffer’s notebook, suggesting that the payment issue. Why didn’t we buy the won three National Newspaper Awards, a sense his staff and other people around same motivation: A desire to get to the mayor was, for some reason, inquiring crack video? Why did we buy the “murder two Michener Awards and three him knew about his behaviour. Yet nobody The Globe and Mail bottom of the story. Ford’s early protesta- about the utility bills at the (now) notori- rant” video? Did The Star have the right Canadian Association of Journalists wanted to talk on-the-record. This was not tions that he was not involved in the drug ous crack house at 15 Windsor Drive in to publish information about Ford’s time Awards. He is the author of The Dead going to be a document story, that was for Toronto Star culture spurred them on. These sources north Etobicoke. in rehab in Muskoka? Our story revealed Times, a mystery novel, co-author with sure. have been relentless in digging into the That’s where Ford was photographed that, contrary to his public statements, Nick Pron of Crime Story and author One of the things we did at the start The Windsor Star story, sometimes at personal risk, to learn with alleged gang members the night the he did not have a great experience and of ORNGE: The Star Investigation That was figure out who would be in posses- new bits of information on our behalf. crack video was filmed. That turned into was verbally and physically aggressive, Broke the Story. 42 MEDIA 2014 AWARDS EDITION 43 Visit online for details about how to apply and enter. michenerawards.ca

44 2014 AWARDS EDITION