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2005 Michener-Deacon Fellowship recipient -
Jenny Manzer
Michener-Deacon Fellowship recipient to write a series of articles
on the crisis in Canada's drug monitoring system.The
2005 Michener-Deacon Fellowship was awarded to Jenny Manzer,
a freelance journalist from Victoria, B.C., for her proposal to
study and produce a series of articles about Canada’s drug
approval and monitoring system. She will also present ideas on how
to make the system better. The Fellowship was presented during the
2004 Michener Award ceremony.
Ms. Manzer says the drug warnings issued by Health Canada in 2004 alone are enough to give Canadians dry mouth and heart
palpitations. A shelf full of drugs fell under scrutiny and were pulled from the market altogether. The problems with the approval
system begin long before drugs reach the pharmacy shelves and unsuspecting customers. She will investigate all stages of the approval
process and provide concrete and realistic proposals that policy-makers can consider to develop a system that puts public safety
first.
Ms. Manzer brings considerable knowledge about the pharmaceutical
industry to this project, which she gained as both a writer and
features editor for the Medical Post, a national newspaper for
physicians.
Her journalism experience includes staff positions at magazines and
newspapers in B.C., as well as freelancing for publications across
Canada. She has been recognized with several awards for her writing,
including the Law Society of B.C. Award for Excellence in Legal
Journalism. (Manzer Fellowship report)
The Fellowship provides $25,000 for four months’ work on an approved
project. It is named after the late Governor General, The Right
Honourable Roland Michener and the late Paul S. Deacon, a former
Michener Awards Foundation president and generous benefactor.
Fellowship Update
Following the completion of her detailed investigation of Health
Canada's drug safety system, Jenny Manzer developed a five-part
series of reports which were published in the Ottawa Citizen between
December 19th and December 23rd, 2006. Here are her findings.
Health Canada and the Canadian drug industry.
by Jenny Manzer
We’ve all read about the failings of the billion-dollar drug
industry. My series of articles sets its sights on Health Canada.
The articles explore how our public regulator’s chronic
under-funding and a cozy relation- ship with pharmaceutical
companies have produced a dangerously flawed system that jeopardizes
the health of Canadians. Each article also offers practical
solutions from critics and health-care experts to show how, with
some political will, Canada could lead the world in drug safety.
Part I - The Painful Truth: Lessons learned from Vioxx
Part II - Trial Under Fire: How drug testing lets us down
Part III - Taking Care of Business: Up close with Health Canada
Part lV - Damage Control: It’s on the market, so now what?
Part V - Message in a Bottle: Protect yourself from harm’s way
Judges for the 2005 Michener-Deacon Fellowship:
Lindsay Crysler (chair of the judging panel), former managing editor
The Gazette, Montreal; former director, journalism department,
Concordia University, Montreal; Clinton Archibald, associate
professor of public policy and management, Faculty of
Administration, University of Ottawa; Claire Heman, former
filmmaker, National Film Board; former public affairs broadcast, CBC
Radio, former lecturer in communications at a Japanese University;
Shirley Sharzer, former senior journalist, The Toronto Telegram and
The Globe and Mail, former lecturer, University of Western Ontario.
The Michener-Deacon Fellowship is open to career journalists who
are interested in studies or projects that benefit the Canadian
community at large and at the same time enhance their competence.
Websites:
www.michenerawards.ca
www.prixmichener.ca
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