By Julia Alevato and Anna Beatriz De Santanna
Journalism students and staff from Humber College are one of five final nominees for the CJF Jackman Awards for Excellence in Journalism held by The Canadian Journalism Foundation.
The nationwide collaborative investigation project “Clean Water, Broken Promises” was led by the Institute for Investigative Journalism in partnership with Humber College and Canada’s National Observer.
A team of journalists and journalism students from Humber travelled to northern Ontario to examine how water issues were impacting Indigenous communities.
“There was so much we didn’t know about something so big, that is such a widespread problem,” said Humber College journalism program coordinator and professor Lara King.
King, who was team Humber’s instructor, said this nominee is an opportunity to raise awareness in the media and get attention from people who haven’t heard the story.
“It was such a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, to get to know what it takes to tell stories for communities that are either not represented, under-represented, or are represented in a way that contributes to old stereotypes and racist narratives,” she told Humber News.
Humber’s contribution to the work also included journalism professor Terra Ciolfe, and former journalism students Tricia Chan, Druv Sareen, Patrick Simpson, Anukul Thakur, and Anushka Yadav.
“I was shooting an interview that we were doing, and I remember having goosebumps and crying while shooting the video,” said Yadav.
Yadav and Chan were the only two students who travelled to northern Ontario and visited the Indigenous communities alongside King and investigative journalist and Indigenous community member Martha Troian.
“There’s one part of the community that has given up hope, which is sad, but there is a part of the community that wants to continue working and make sure that the communities get what they deserve,” said Yadav.
The students got in contact with the Indigenous community to discuss their water treatment plans since many First Nations still don’t have access to reliable drinking water.
“It was so fulfilling to be able to actually go and interview people in person, and see where they’re living and their water treatment plans,” said Chan. “And hear stories of how these older indigenous people grew up, and their connection to the land and the water, so it was a really great experience. But it was also tragic, at the same time, because of what we were there to report on.”
The project came out with multiple stories being shared by student groups from different post-secondary institutions at the same time.
The publishing coordination made the topic really “difficult for people to ignore,” according to Chan.
“I think most of the credit goes to Lara King and Martha Troian, who really powered through the pandemic,” said Chan. “We literally came back from our trip, a week before everything went into lockdown, so it was really difficult for us all to co-ordinate our schedules.”
The CJF Jackman Awards for Excellence in Journalism honours news organizations that showcase exemplary journalism and have a deep positive affect the communities they serve.
The five finalists in the large media category are:
- “Clean Water, Broken Promises”
- Global News’ sexual misconduct by senior ranks of the Canadian military investigation
- Le Devoir’s deaths of citizens during police interventions over a 20-year period in Quebec investigation
- The Globe and Mail’s “Escape from Afghanistan”
- Winnipeg Free Press’ “Life and Death Behind Bars”
The winner will be announced at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 7 at the Art Gallery of Ontario.