(L-R) Gazette publisher Alan Allnutt, Gazette civic affairs reporter Linda Gyulai; Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada; His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond. Photo was taken during the presentation of the 2009 Michener Award ceremony held at Government House, Ottawa, May 27, 2010.
The Montreal daily newspaper was honoured for a series of articles documenting problems with a $355.8-million water-management project, the largest contract in the history of the City of Montreal.
The judging for the Michener Award goes beyond journalistic merit to consider what the project has accomplished, the absence of self-serving journalistic interest, and the resources available to entrants so that larger and smaller competitors are on a more equal basis.