Nunatsiaq News nominated for 10 QCNA awards

Nunatsiaq News has been nominated for 10 awards by the Quebec Community Newspaper Association this year.

The nominees include Dayna Bruce, who took part in a journalism workshop for Nunavut Sivuniksavut students in 2019 run by Nunatsiaq News staff members Sarah Rogers and Kahlan Miron.

Bruce’s story about the struggles of some out-of-territory students to make ends meet on Nunavut’s student funding has been nominated for an award in the best education story category.

Nunatsiaq News has two nominees for best feature story category.

One is Elaine Anselmi’s story about what the future of Arctic shipping could look like, given the visit to northern Baffin Island last year by cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen, which is propelled by a hybrid engine, and the call to ban the use of heavy fuel oil.

The other is a story by freelance writer and former Nunatsiaq News staff member Lisa Gregoire about how the managed alcohol program at The Oaks in Ottawa is providing help and comfort to Inuit residents.

Two Nunatsiaq News staff were nominated for awards in the best investigative reporting category.

Emma Tranter broke the story about how some Kivalliq beneficiaries, including Premier Joe Savikataaq, were finding to their surprise that they were ineligible to vote in the Kivalliq Inuit Association elections last year.

Sarah Rogers delved into how the Government of Nunavut manages the reporting on health inspections at facilities that prepare or sell food to the public. She found some progress in that the Department of Health was moving to an electronic system for filing those reports, but she noted that Nunavut is the only jurisdiction in Canada that does not make its health inspection reports public.

Rogers received two further nominations that again reflect her commitment to reporting on social issues in the North. She was nominated for an award in the best municipal/civic affairs story category for her story about Nunavik’s one legal aid lawyer no longer being based within the region.

Rogers was also nominated for an award in the best community health story category for her story about the nursing shortage in Nunavut that left the Baker Lake health centre offering minimal services in early 2019.

The paper’s editorial writer, Jim Bell, is up for an award in the best editorial (general) category for his insightful analysis of the results of last year’s federal election in Nunavut.

Nunatsiaq News received a nomination for best front page for the July 19, 2019, print edition, which featured Claude Constantineau’s photo of hunters hauling in a walrus they had harvested near Kinngait.

The paper is also on the shortlist for a best overall newspaper award.

The QCNA had planned to announce this year’s winners at a dinner on June 6, but there will likely be a virtual announcement of the winners this year.