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The 1999 Michener Award Winner - CBC National
Radio News
Ottawa, April 10, 2000. CBC National Radio News, Winnipeg,
was the recipient of the 1999 Michener Award for reporting on a
vote-splitting scheme in the 1995 Manitoba General Election.
Governor General Adrienne Clarkson presented the Michener trophy to
Curt Petrovich, representing the CBC, at a ceremony held at Rideau
Hall.
The 6 finalists in the running for the Michener
Award were selected from among 46 entries. The Globe and Mail
received honourable mention and four other news organizations were
awarded citations of merit (see below).
During the award ceremony, the Governor
General said that despite the fact Canadians are well educated and
enjoy a high standard of living..."injustices occur here as do abuses
of our systems and structures. So we need the press in all its forms
to alert us to our situation, to awaken our indignation, and to keep
us uncomfortable." (The full text)
Catherine Cano |
The Governor General also presented the
2000 Michener-Deacon Fellowship to
Catherine Cano, an executive producer with Radio-Canada in
Montreal. She won the $20,000 study-leave fellowship for her
proposal to examine the role of public television news in a time of
increasing competition and globalization. She will prepare a report
for the Michener Awards Foundation as well as articles for
newspapers and magazines, and a documentary focusing on the future
of public television news in Canada and Britain.
CBC Winnipeg radio reporter Curt Petrovich began his
dogged investigation of the illegal vote-splitting scheme in the
fall of 1997. The first elements of the story aired in June of 1998.
For three years after the 1995 Manitoba provincial election, senior
Manitoba Progressive Conservative party members, including some of
the Premier's top advisors hid
a dirty secret. They had conspired to use thousands of dollars, some
of it from the PC party bank account, to bribe three people to run
in the election as 'independents' in ridings where the NDP held sway. The candidates were all native people, in ridings
with high native populations.
It would take four years for a
public inquiry to dissect the scheme. The
Inquiry commissioner, Alfred Monnin, would eventually describe it as
"unethical, morally reprehensible, and a violation of the
democratic system". He also said the plan was perpetrated by a group of arrogant
liars. But because the two year limit for prosecution had expired no one
faced criminal charges.
As a result commissioner Monnin recommended changing Manitoba's
election laws to close the loop holes through which those involved
with the scheme were able to slide.
Among the significant changes
enacted by the legislature, as a result of the Inquiry - broader
powers of search and seizure of election records for the chief
electoral officer, and an extension of the limitation period to
allow for timely prosecutions when an offence has been committed. (Background
on the Vote-Splitting Scheme story)
Honourable Mention:
The Globe and Mail won honourable mention for a five-part series
on insider stock trading based on an investigation into more than
100 mergers and acquisitions. The series helped to change public
policy towards illegal insider trading.
Citations of merit were awarded to:
The Province, Vancouver, for a series, 'Drugging Our
Children', about the rising practice of over
prescribing stimulants for children in 40 British Columbia
communities. The series received widespread medical interest across
North America and led to a national survey to determine whether
attention deficit disorder (ADD) is properly diagnosed;
The Toronto Star for a series, 'Hard Times', revealing the
surprising number of children who depend on welfare in Toronto and
describing their daily lives. The series raised awareness of the
problem among Members of Parliament and the federal government;
The Record, Kitchener-Waterloo, for 42 news stories which cut
through a wall of silence, showing mishandling of a public health
issue and establishing that 17 flu deaths occurred in a single
Kitchener nursing home. The paper successfully called for a
coroner’s inquest whose 25 recommendations included making flu shots
mandatory for all staff and residents of long-term care facilities;
The Windsor Star for a series 'The Enemy Above', on the
severity of air pollution in south-western
Ontario and the failure of three orders of government to address the
problem. The series spurred action by all three levels of government.
Judges for the 1999 Michener Award:
David Humphreys (chair) former managing editor, The Ottawa Journal and
European Correspondent for FP Publications; Arch MacKenzie, former
Ottawa Bureau Chief, The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star; René Roseberry, former
news editor, Le Nouvelliste, Trois Rivieres and President of the
Grands Pix des Hebdos du Quebec; Duncan McMonagle, former
editor-in-chief, Winnipeg Free Press; Senator Joan Fraser, former
editor, The Gazette, Montreal.
The Michener Award, founded in 1970, is given to a news organization
rather than an individual. Print and broadcast media of any size are
eligible. Special consideration is given to the news resources
available to the entry. The award attracted 46 entries for 1999.
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