Presentation of the Michener Awards

During his speech, the Governor General said: "Those of you here, those of you who pursued the truth and brought to light injustices in our society, are examples to which professionals in your field should aspire. You were dogged, relentless and focussed. You told the stories of ordinary Canadians. You fought for ordinary Canadians—sometimes against all odds—enabling real and lasting change."

The Windsor Star was also a finalist. The shocking beating of a local doctor by a Windsor detective was the starting point for a determined effort by The Windsor Star to shed light on a web of brutality and deceit within the police service. Through the enterprising use of court documents, The Star unearthed more incidents that validated a disturbing pattern of violence against innocent civilians, unethical behavior and over-ups within the police service over a number of years. Equally troubling was the wilful flaunting of the department’s obligation to report serious police incidents to the Special Investigations Unit of the Ontario Police Commission.

The Toronto Star was another finalist. It took readers into the heart of an unaccountable and arrogant non-profit agency known as ORNGE that was receiving $150 million a year from Ontario taxpayers to run the province’s air ambulance service. Stories revealed a stunning lack of government oversight of a critical public service, in which senior managers benefitted over those people the service was supposed to be helping. The Star highlighted how millions of dollars were used to create everything from private companies to a charity, and to purchase new helicopters that were improperly outfitted.

La Presse was also a finalist. Hundreds of thousands of Quebeckers cross the Champlain Bridge between Montréal and the south shore of the St. Lawrence River every day. It was only when investigative reporters at La Presse revealed the findings of two secret engineering reports that readers discovered that the most heavily travelled span in Canada was showing serious signs of premature aging and was in such a bad state that the consultants could not rule out the possibility of its collapse. La Presse shed light on an urgent public safety problem that had not been previously revealed to the public.

the Globe and Mail was among the finalists. Jill Anzarut found herself in a twilight world of medical coverage when the Ontario government refused to pay for an expensive drug to fight her illness because her tumor was deemed too small. The Globe and Mail went on to uncover stories of other cancer patients who were denied Herceptin, and exposed significant weaknesses within existing policies. The paper’s tenacious reporting generated a lively, informed public debate on a flawed and confusing system.

CBC Vancouver was one of the finalists. The issue of sexual harassment in the RCMP took centre stage nationally following an exclusive CBC Vancouver interview with a former high-profile RCMP spokesperson who recounted years of on-the-job sexual misconduct from fellow officers. The explosive revelations triggered a flood of similar stories from other female officers, all pointing to a toxic and long-standing environment of systemic sexual harassment at the national police force. The CBC also found several lawsuits underway, alleging constant sexual harassment, cover-ups and minimal punishment for offenders.

The Governor General presented the Michener Awards for meritorious public service in journalism, as well as the Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism, and the first Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Journalism Education.

Mr. Russel Mills, President of the Michener Awards Foindation also delivered remarks. The Michener Award, sponsored by the Michener Awards Foundation, was launched in 1970, under the auspices of the late Right Honourable Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada from 1967 to 1974. The award is for outstanding and unbiased public service in journalism and is presented to news organizations rather than to individuals: newspapers, broadcasting stations and networks,news agencies, periodicals, magazines and online journalism sources.

Les membres du jury de la bourse d’études en journalisme d’enquête Michener-Deacon de 2012 ont approuvé avec enthousiasme la proposition de Laura Eggertson d’enquêter sur le suicide chez les jeunes Autochtones, une importante crise dans le domaine de la santé publique au Canada. Mme Eggertson, qui a déjà remporté une bourse Nieman, prévoit effectuer les recherches et réaliser une série de reportages pour les médias écrits et en ligne, ainsi qu’un documentaire radiophonique, à propos des communautés autochtones aux prises avec le suicide des jeunes.

Melanie Coulson, Senior Editor, Online, at The Ottawa Citizen, is the first recipient of the Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Journalism Education. Ms. Coulson will spend four months of the winter 2013 term at Carleton University’s School of Journalism, teaching an undergraduate course in basic reporting and conducting research into the growing involvement of audiences and citizens in the journalism enterprise. She will share her research findings and experience with students in journalism and other fields of study at Carleton.

The 2011 Michener Award went to The Times Colonist (Victoria) who used its resources and expertise to expose a stealth policy by the B.C. government that targeted support for people with developmental disabilities. The newspaper’s sustained coverage— featuring many personal stories—revealed examples of people punted from their long-term residences to cheaper accommodation,losing needed assistance once they turned 19, or being left in jail or a hospital because there was no where to go, all to save the government money and to address a client backlog at its underfunded agency, Community Living B.C.