Fay Blaney, chairwoman of Vancouver's annual memorial march for missing and murdered aboriginal women, stands for a photograph in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday January 14, 2016.Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
The Globe and Mail has won the 2016 Hillman Prize for its reporting on missing and murdered indigenous women, an honour it shares this year with the CBC and Radio-Canada.
The Globe's reporting shed light on three critical areas: Ottawa's lacklustre approach to linking unsolved missing-persons cases with unidentified human remains; the failures of Manitoba's child welfare system; and the overrepresentation of indigenous women among the victims of serial killers.
"The loss of so many indigenous women perplexes and angers.
"Our work to bring resolution to these cases is only beginning," said Globe and Mail editor-in-chief David Walmsley. "We are very honoured to have our work recognized. It is the first time The Globe and Mail has won the prestigious Hillman Prize."
The Globe and Mail team included Kathryn Blaze Baum, investigative reporter Renata D'Aliesio, data journalist Matthew McClearn, multimedia editor Laura Blenkinsop, interactive designer Christopher Manza and reporter Kristy Hoffman.
Connie Walker and Duncan McCue of the CBC and Josée Dupuis and Emmanuel Marchand of Radio-Canada were also named as winners.
The judges said the three organizations brought national attention and urgency to the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, which ultimately contributed to the establishment of a forthcoming national inquiry.
"Courageous and groundbreaking journalism made sure that the story behind the missing and murdered indigenous women remained a priority concern of the new government," Tony Burman, one of the three judges, said in a news release.
The Hillman Prize, handed out by the Sidney Hillman Foundation, is for investigative reporting in service of the common good.
It has been awarded in the United States since 1950 and in Canada since 2011.