Globe and Mail, CBC and Radio-Canada to share 2016 Canadian Hillman Prize in Journalism for investigations into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Desmond Cole, Toronto Star, and Edward Tubb earn honourable mentions

TORONTO, March 21, 2016 /CNW/ - The Sidney Hillman Foundation announced today it has awarded the 6^thannual Canadian Hillman Prize to three investigative teams for their work on missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), which brought national attention and urgency to the issue.

Kathryn Blaze Baum who led the reporting team for The Globe and Mail, Josée Dupuis and Emmanuel Marchand reporting for Radio-Canada, and Connie Walker and Duncan McCue with the CBC have together been awarded the Hillman Prize this year for their investigations that collectively led to government action, including the commitment to hold an Inquiry.

Judges Armine Yalnizyan, Bonnie Brown and Tony Burman, prominent Canadians with decades of experience in journalism and public policy, selected the three winners for dogged pursuit of the story, giving voice and face to the missing and murdered women, their research and data crunching, and pressure on government to act.

"Courageous and groundbreaking journalism made sure that the story behind the missing and murdered indigenous women remained a priority concern of the new government," said Burman. "The CBC databases underscored the depth and breadth of the crisis, Radio-Canada gave us an emotional understanding and personal face to the issue and the Globe and Mail's perseverance and research shed new light on the shocking over-representation of indigenous women among Canada's female serial-killer victims. Collectively they contributed to real change."

The Hillman judges also recognized Desmond Cole's "The Skin I'm In" published in Toronto Life and a Toronto Star team for its ongoing investigation into police carding. The Star series, "Known to Police," acknowledged the role Cole played in its own long-time investigation into police carding. Since Cole's story and the Star series were published, the Ontario government has taken action toward introducing new rules that would restrict, if not eliminate, police carding. The impact of this series rippled across the country, with other Canadian cities looking into their own policies related to police carding.

The Hillman judges also recognized Ed Tubb's "Minding the Monster," published in The Walrus. "Minding the Monster" tackles a wrenching question - what to do when a convicted pedophile gets out of prison? Tubb tracks the increasing number of pedophiles being released without supervision, and the causes behind their disturbingly high recidivism risk.  And he sheds light on a little-known network of social workers and volunteers who have quietly and successfully been shepherding these men into support groups aimed at helping them manage their dangerous predilections and addictions, only to see their funding cut by the Harper government.

"Canadians should be very proud of the quality of investigative reporting going on across Canada, by both individuals and large organizations," said Alex Dagg, Canadian Board Member of the Hillman Foundation and Director of Operations of the National Hockey League Players' Association, "It is fair to say that we had an extraordinary number of entries this year, all of the highest quality, truly testing the judges. In the end, it is Canadians who are the winners because we all are the better for the work of our dedicated journalists."

The recipients of the 2016 Canadian Hillman Prize and honourable mentions will be honoured at a ceremony in Toronto on March 31, 2016.

The Sidney Hillman Foundation honours excellence in journalism in service of the common good. The U.S Hillman Prizes have been awarded annually since 1950 and the Canadian Hillman Prize since 2011.

SOURCE Sidney Hillman Foundation

For more information including event information, please contact:Courtney Radic: 416-427-5041 or [email protected]