Nicholas Keung on getting all the facts right
When reporting on Canada’s immigration system, accuracy and balance are paramount
This story is part of the Star’s trust initiative, where, every week, we take readers behind the scenes of our journalism. This week, we focus on how Nicholas Keung, the Star’s Immigration reporter, exercises due diligence when reporting on refugee, migrant and diversity issues.
During his 14 years as the Star’s immigration reporter, Nicholas Keung has heard all sorts of claims made by individuals seeking to enter Canada as to why they should be admitted or not deported.
Similarly, he has reviewed countless decisions by Canada’s immigration authorities denying or admitting claimants for various reasons.
When reporting stories about the country’s immigration system, the challenge, Keung says, is making sure situations faced by those hoping to make a new life in Canada are accurately portrayed. Keung has developed a number of steps to ensure he gets as full a picture as possible from all sides — steps that go to the heart of reader trust.
“Doing your due diligence is so important in this beat because people make assumptions, sometimes baseless, about immigrants and refugees,” Keung said in an interview.
“You want to go out of your way to make sure you have a solid, accurate and factual story that focuses on the issues and avoids the potential for people to use the subjects’ immigration status to discredit the story.”
First, when Keung works on stories about people seeking asylum in or trying to immigrate to Canada, he asks them to sign a consent form that would allow him access to their files with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
This allows Keung to check out stories he is being told against official documentation, and to see if there are any facts a subject might be leav-
“I believe being objective and having a range of perspectives in our stories that add to the debate can engender confidence in the media as an institution.” NICHOLAS KEUNG TORONTO STAR IMMIGRATION REPORTER
ing out for fear of losing sympathy, such as a serious criminal charge.
The consent also allows immigration officials to comment specifically on cases, rather than responding in general policy terms.
“I have had situations where the person I was interviewing had no issue being photographed or identified in the story, but once I ask them to sign the form, I never heard back,” Keung said. “I think that’s a very good way to vet out the illegitimate stories.”
For example, last year Keung reported on the story of Yvonne Niwahereza Jele, a gay asylum seeker from Uganda who said her life would be in danger if sent home.
In this case, Keung asked Jele to sign a consent form so he could review her file with the CBSA, which she did.
This gave Keung the opportunity to report details from her asylum claim, such as the fact she told immigration officials that she had been in a nineyear closeted relationship with her high school girlfriend and that her father forced her to marry a man when he found out.
Second, if Keung hears about a “systemic” issue in Canada’s immigration system, he tries to find as many people affected as possible to ascertain how widespread the problem is.
In a story published this past summer, for example, Keung reported that delays in security screenings by the CBSA were causing a backlog in the scheduling of asylum hearings at the Immigration and Refugee Board.
After interviewing five refugee claimants, lawyers and spokespeople for the refugee board and the CBSA, Keung was able to confirm that the delays were systemic. The finished story included interviews with two of the refugee claimants.
Third, Keung says he always attempts to include a diversity of voices in his stories to ensure all viewpoints are represented. As part of a series entitled “The Hands that Pick Your Food,” published this month, Keung, along with colleagues Sara Mojtehedzadeh, Jim Rankin and Jennifer Wells, reported on the thousands of migrant workers employed in the agricultural sector in Canada.
In an effort to provide a balanced picture of the industry, Keung reached out to as many stakeholders as he could, including migrant workers, politicians, businesspeople and farm operators.
Keung said many farmers were hesitant to speak to the Star because they didn’t necessarily agree with an idea floated in the series — granting migrant workers permanent status on arrival or open work permits.
For one story in the series, Keung managed to convince a few farmers to speak on the record. The resulting story contained a range of opinions. Keung said many readers, including some farmers, told him the story was balanced and explained a complex issue in a nuanced way.
“That is the best proof that we were there to educate ourselves and our readers,” Keung said.
“I believe being objective and having a range of perspectives in our stories that add to the debate can engender confidence in the media as an institution. These things are crucial.” Email questions to trust@thestar.ca