Congratulations to 2022 Press Freedom Award Co-Winners Fatima Syed and Tai Huynh

Fatima Syed is a Mississauga-based journalist who joined The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau in the latter part of 2021. She is also host of Canadaland’s The Backbench podcast.

As a local journalist with a keen eye on her city, Fatima saw the appalling toll that Covid was taking on Peel residents due to high infection rates and low vaccination rollout. As a freelancer for The Local, she produced three groundbreaking articles that gave voice to an often-marginalized population of immigrants and front-line workers.

Fatima is National Magazine Award nominee, a Digital Publishing Award winner, and has contributed chapters to two anthologies published by Coach House Books—Subdivided: City-Building in an Age of Hyper-Diversity and House Divided. She is also the vice-president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, and completed her Masters in journalism from X University, formerly called Ryerson.

Tai Huynh is editor in chief and founder of The Local, an online magazine that covers Toronto and has recently expanded to Peel. The Local specializes in data-driven but peoplefocused approach on pressing issues facing the cities.

The Local initiated Fatima Syed’s Peel series after noting data showing huge infection rates in the region and poor vaccination efforts. With a heavy immigrant and radicalized population, Peel is often overlooked by mainstream media. The Local was able to secure a grant from the Vohra Miller Foundation which allowed it to uncover a great disparity in Ontario’s vaccination strategy.

Tai has a BSc from the University of Toronto, an MBA from the Schulich School at York University, and a Master of Design from OCAD University. Prior to starting The Local, he had a successful career in the healthcare sector.

Certificate of Merit, Press Freedom Prize: Kathleen Martens

Kathleen Martens is a Winnipeg-based senior digital news reporter for Aboriginal Peoples Television News’ APTNnews.ca. She specializes in stories about property, women’s rights and community.

Kathleen has spent several years pursuing stories of sexual harassment and assault in the Indigenous communities in Canada. She has persevered despite fierce opposition and insults from defenders of the accused men.

Her 2021 articles on allegations of sexual assault against traditional healer in Saskatchewan recently resulted in a guilty plea and conviction.

Kathleen is a veteran of Brandon Sun, Sun Media, CBC and APTN Investigates. She twice won awards for investigative journalism from the Canadian Association of Journalists. Kathleen has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg.

Spencer Moore Award for Lifetime Achievement: Stephanie Nolen

Stephanie Nolen served as bureau chief for The Globe and Mail in South Asia, Africa and Latin America before joining the New York Times as a global health reporter in 2021.

Stephanie has demonstrated a stellar mix of courage and compassion along with a knack for innovative storytelling in her career as a foreign correspondent. She has inspired a generation of young journalists, especially women. She has covered war and civil unpheaval; AIDS and Zika epidemics, and mass murder and political cover-ups.

Stephanie is an eight-time winner of Canada’s National Newspaper Award and a seven-time winner of the Amnesty International Media Award for her coverage. She is the author of 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, which won the PEN Courage Prize, and of Shakespeare’s Face and Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race.