Toronto Star picks up six CAJ award nominations
The Toronto Star earned six nominations at the 2023 Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) awards that celebrate investigative reporting excellence.
Star journalists, along with reporters from regional papers in the Torstar family, received nominations in eight different categories.
In March, the Star was also nominated for eight National Newspaper Awards, capping off a year of investigative work that covered human trafficking rings, growing neoNazi communities and the Ontario government’s Greenbelt scandal.
Written news
The Star’s Sheila Wang and Noor Javed were nominated for collaborations with the Narwhal’s Emma McIntosh and Charlie Pinkerton for their sustained coverage of Premier Doug Ford’s Greenbelt scandal, which triggered a reversal from the government, the resignations of two cabinet ministers and a criminal investigation by the RCMP.
Data journalism
Declan Keogh, Max Binks-Collier and Naama Weingarten of the Investigative Journalism Bureau and investigative reporter Robert Cribb were nominated for their “Patient files” investigation that looked into patient survey data from a number of Ontario hospitals.
Scoop
The Star’s Wendy Gillis was nominated for her scoop that broke the news of Toronto police’s dated drug lockers that left the door open to officer theft.
Daily excellence
The Hamilton Spectator’s Fallon Hewitt was nominated for the daily excellence award for her coverage of a Stoney Creek couple killed in what was described as a “landlordtenant dispute.”
Community written feature
Grant LaFleche, another reporter with the Torstar-owned Hamilton Spectator, was nominated for his investigation into Hamilton’s fastgrowing neo-Nazi community under the CAJ’s community written feature award.
JHR/CAJ award for human rights reporting
Investigative reporter Brendan Kennedy was nominated for his “Caged by Canada” investigation that looked into Ontario’s continued practice of housing immigration detainees in jails.
CWA Canada/CAJ award for labour reporting
For the second year in a row, a Star reporter duo has earned a nomination for the CWA Canada/CAJ Award for Labour Reporting. The Star’s Work and Wealth reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh and investigative reporter Rachel Mendleson were nominated for their multipart “Work forced” investigation looking into labour trafficking and exploitation, which was also nominated for a National Newspaper Award.
Environmental and climate change
Climate change reporter Kate Allen earned a nomination in the environmental and climate change reporting category for her deep dive into lettuce, and produce more broadly, and how worsening crop conditions in California could spell “the fall of the romaine empire.”
Winners for the CAJ awards will be announced at a gala scheduled for June 1 at the Toronto Public Library’s Bram & Bluma Appel Salon.
CORRECTION
India is the world’s most populous country with more than 1.4 billion people. An April 16 opinion article about India’s international reputation misstated the figure.