The Narwhal wins Canadian Association of Journalists award for B.C. carbon tax reporting

The Narwhal’s explainer on the tumultuous and surprising downfall of British Columbia’s carbon tax has been recognized with an award from the Canadian Association of Journalists.

B.C. politics and environment reporter Shannon Waters’ story, What on earth just happened with B.C.’s carbon tax?, received the award for daily excellence at a ceremony on Saturday in Calgary. The awards gala concluded the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists.

Waters’ winning story chronicled the rise and fall of the controversial consumer price on carbon in B.C., when Premier David Eby — a formerly staunch supporter of the so-called carbon tax — suddenly announced at a news conference last September that he would eliminate it. His flip-flop became the biggest political story of the moment, at a time when “axe the tax” was the slogan dominating both provincial and federal discussions of carbon pricing. The piece was edited by Sarah Cox.

“We are lucky at The Narwhal to regularly get to work on award-quality journalism. This is only possible because of the support of our readers and members,” Lindsay Sample, who leads the B.C. bureau says. “I’m proud of Shannon and everyone who was recognized.” 

At the ceremony, Waters shared her delight at being included among the category’s finalists, which included CBC’s The National, the Halifax Examiner, the Hamilton Spectator and Radio-Canada Info. 

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“I think a lot of people were very surprised, maybe particularly in B.C., with what happened with the carbon tax,” said Waters, who had expected “a completely different story” to come out of the news conference she attended in September, when Eby made his sudden announcement.

To her fellow political reporters in the room at the gala, Waters expressed her appreciation and said, “I think what we do is very important — even if sometimes, the people who are the subjects of our stories would much rather we didn’t do it at all.” 

The Narwhal was recognized as a finalist in three other categories. Former Ontario reporter Emma McIntosh was nominated in the freedom of information category for her investigation into how an oil spill in northwest Toronto made its way to Lake Ontario. 

In the photojournalism category, Narwhal contributor Gavin John was recognized for a portfolio of his work. His assignments for The Narwhal included documenting the work of the Blackfeet guardians to revitalize buffalo on their territory, and an assignment in Kneehill County, Alta., to document the local resistance to renewable energy projects.

A collaboration between The Narwhal and The Local was also a finalist in the community news category. Reporter Wency Leung examined the green reputation of an Ontario-based waste management company, which masked a troubled history of environmental impacts and regulatory issues.