OTTAWA, September 22, 2009 – Peter McKnight of the Vancouver Sun and a team from Global News Calgary are the winners of the tenth annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
Special certificates of merit were also awarded by the independent panel of judges to Brian Myles of Le Devoir and Karen Pauls, Marisa Dragani and Jason Ho of CBC National News.
The Justicia Awards are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice Canada. The Awards recognize outstanding journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system and the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system.
A team from Global TV Calgary, including reporter Mia Sosiak, photographers George Glen and Bruce Aalhus, and editor Joe McDaid, is the winner in the broadcast category for a November 2008 series “Court of Hope” on Calgary’s Drug Treatment Court. Reporter Mia Sosiak fought for five months for permission to bring her cameras into the court, which shows how the justice system is creatively adapting to the reality out on the streets. The Justicia jury praised the “gritty and insightful” broadcast which gave the public “an inside look into this innovative and alternative form of justice. It depicts the life of addicts living on the streets and the police who struggle with the problem in a realistic and sympathetic way. It involved the judiciary, the police, addicts, the Crown, families, people on the street and even an NHL star.”
A certificate of merit was awarded to CBC Radio national news reporter Karen Pauls, CBC TV national reporter Marisa Dragani and national TV producer Jason Ho for their reports “Not Criminally Responsible.” The stories ran on CBC Radio and CBC TV’s The National in conjunction with the trial of Vince Li, the man accused of killing and beheading a man on a Greyhound bus. The reports explained why the verdict of Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) exists as a necessary tool in the justice system to deal with mental illness and criminal acts. The jury said the reports were a “powerful, balanced and insightful” look at an issue which is difficult for the public to grasp. The reports explained the law “while giving a human aspect to the issue through a heart-wrenching victim’s story and a thought-provoking interview with a murderer found NCR.”
Peter McKnight of the Vancouver Sun is the winner in the print category for three columns on crime and punishment published in February and March 2009. The articles looked at issues such as the responsibility of the media in reporting on crime, the NCR verdict and the trend towards “governing through crime.” The Justicia jury praised McKnight’s “interesting take” on the issues and said he backs up his opinions with studies and statistics and “writes in a way that is appealing and easy to follow.”
McKnight also won the Justicia Award in 2006.
The judges also awarded a certificate of merit to Brian Myles of Le Devoir for his December 2008 series of articles “Dix ans de médiation au Québec” on the tenth anniversary of civil mediation in Quebec. Through interviews with judges, this series of articles gave a detailed explanation of how mediation, as an evolving alternative method of dispute resolution, saves time and money while giving citizens better access to justice and allowing more satisfactory outcomes for the parties involved. The Justicia judges said the “well-written, easy-to-read and illuminating” articles were appealing to the public because they explained a relatively new way of dealing with court cases by giving concrete and pertinent examples.
The winners will be honoured at a ceremony in the Sovereign Room, King Edward Hotel in Toronto, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 27.
The entries were judged by Judge Sean Dunnigan of the Provincial Court of Alberta, Ottawa lawyer and legal translator Stephanie-Claude Bouchard and Lisa Taylor, a Toronto lawyer and journalism instructor.
Last year’s winners were Don Butler of the Ottawa Citizen for his stories which examined the persistence of public support for tough-on-crime policies advocated by elected officials; and reporter Madeleine Roy and producer Mireille Ledoux for their report “Justice pour Anas” on Radio-Canada’s Emission Enquête, which examined the circumstances surrounding the 2005 shooting death of a 25-year-old Montrealer at the hands of a police officer.
The criteria for judging entries are accuracy, effectiveness in explaining legal issues to the public, informational value, insight and originality. This year's submissions were published or broadcast between May 16, 2008 and May 15, 2009.
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Ref.:
Hannah Bernstein
Canadian Bar Association
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
