AJA GOLD – Best Community Newspaper Story

The LJI reporter will be based out of the offices of the Battlefords News-Optimist. The reporter will cover provincial court cases in Saskatoon and Prince Albert regularly and systematically. The reporter will do a regular court docket for the communities of La Loche, La Ronge, Tisdale, Melfort, Hudson Bay, Estevan, Humboldt, Kamsack, Kipling, Preeceville, Unity/Wilkie, Weyburn, and Yorkton. S/he would also be in a position to embark on an in-depth editorial series about First Nations issues in the justice system as it pertains to residents of these communities. The News-Optimist website would be configured to have special sections for each of the communities in the reporter’s coverage area for readers to easily find stories about their home town.

The LJI reporter will cover the urban Indigenous community in the City of Toronto and cover issues of concern to urban Indigenous peoples. Issues will include housing and homelessness, education, the criminal justice system, the environment, education, employment, systemic inequities and anti-racism initiatives.

The LJI reporter will be assigned to the rising criminal activity in Peel region. Some issues that will be investigated include police accountability, the court systems, and social justice. The reporter will also investigate overcrowding of jails, quality of forensics work and youth incarceration.

The LJI reporter will be assigned to the affordable housing situation in the Greater Toronto Area and in the city of Toronto. The reporter will attend public meetings related to this issue and conduct original analysis and in-depth investigations on public housing providers and their practice and examine how this issue impacts marginalized communities (indigenous peoples, people of colour, LGBTQ2S, newcomers, people with disabilities etc.). The reporter will also look at the general social and economic impact of the housing situation on the city and region as a whole.