The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s (CJF) Lifetime Achievement Award this year goes to Haroon Siddiqui in recognition of his decades-long groundbreaking career in Canadian journalism and his commitment to diversity, journalistic integrity and social justice.
Siddiqui will be honoured at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 13 at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto. For tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities, see contact information below or visit the CJF Awards page.
Throughout his 50-year career in Manitoba and Ontario, Siddiqui has reported or supervised coverage of Canadian news, as well as reporting from 50 countries. He has covered events of global importance including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iranian revolution and the post-9/11 War on Terrorism. His career has been shaped by a commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity in newsrooms and in society at large, to championing free speech balanced with freedom from hate and to confronting racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
“I am delighted that our Lifetime award jury unanimously selected Haroon for this honour,” says CJF board chair Kathy English. “Decades before the long-overdue, current racial reckoning in journalism, Haroon pioneered equal dignity in media portrayals of all groups and championed the imperative for diverse, inclusive newsrooms.
“His unwavering commitment within journalism and beyond to this most basic principle of fairness remains an inspiration to a generation of Canadian journalists and their readers.”
Siddiqui received the Order of Canada in 2001 and the Order of Ontario in 2000. In addition to these accolades, Siddiqui holds an honorary doctorate from York University and has received multiple awards including the National Press Club’s UNESCO Award and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association award for “explaining and re-explaining diversity and equality, for denouncing racism and stupidity, for challenging Islamophobia, for doing so wittingly and irreverently, and with un-shattered confidence and hope in democracy.”
