The Globe and Mail was announced as the winner of the 2019 Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism. False Promises, an investigation led by reporter Kathy Tomlinson, delved into the systematic exploitation of temporary workers and foreign students by corrupt immigration consultants and employers.
“This year’s winner is an excellent example of all that the Michener Awards stand for, significant commitment and dedication to an in-depth investigation that will have lasting and wide-ranging impacts on our society,” said Michener Foundation President Pierre-Paul Noreau. “The Globe and Mail’s complex and timely investigation spanned the country and resulted in real change, with the federal government introducing new open work visas to allow foreign nationals facing abuse to switch employers, as well as the passing of a new law allowing more stringent regulation of immigration consultants.”
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Michener Award was founded in 1970 by the late Roland Michener, then governor general, to honour excellence in public service journalism. The Michener Awards submissions are judged by an expert panel of journalists who have worked in media outlets and in academia across the country.
This year’s ceremony also recognized John Anderson Fraser, currently executive chair of the National NewsMedia Council as the winner of the prestigious Michener-Baxter Special Award for long-term achievement in public service journalism. Earlier this year, the Michener Awards Foundation also announced the recipients of the new Michener-L. Richard O’Hagan Educational Fellowship and two Michener-Deacon Investigative Fellowships.
To read more about the finalists, please click here.
