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Mzwandile Poncana’s fellowship at the University of Toronto’s Investigative Journalism Bureau (IBJ), which Unifor has supported with funding, paved the way for a bright summer internship at the award-winning digital magazine, The Local.
“Unifor is proud to invest in the next generation of journalists by investing in the IBJ,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “As we know, journalism is the backbone of democracy and investments in local news to provide quality, fact-based journalism can only benefit Canadian society.”
Poncana worked on a long-term project about the infrastructure gap experienced by Indigenous communities in Canada during his IBJ fellowship, where he interviewed Indigenous community members in a trauma-informed manner and collected important data on spending on Indigenous communities. The in-depth and investigative story eventually surfaced as a story in the Toronto Star.
“The attention to detail that the investigative journalists at the IJB dedicate to their work, as well as their creative approaches to developing investigations, are both elements that I will take with me into my career and have grown me as a reporter,” he recently told Canadian Journalism Foundation.
“I was trained in filing Freedom of Information requests and had the opportunity to file some for the infrastructure gap story I was working on—this training is something I will take into journalistic projects I do in the future.”
Poncana also delved into work on the IJB’s podcast, Heliograph, and researched and produced interview questions.
He added that the fellowship allowed him to build various important professional contacts and sources in the medical field. The Investigative Journalism Bureau staff spent some days working at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and other days working at the Toronto Star.
Poncana’s internship at the Local will allow him to work on an investigative, long-form feature he’s passionate about —utilizing the skills that he gained from the IJB.
“Following that, the sky’s the limit. I believe many opportunities have opened up for me following this fellowship,” he said.
Unifor is also honoured to announce that the IJB/Toronto Star was a nominee finalist for its groundbreaking Patient Files investigation in three of Canada’s most prestigious journalism awards, including the Canadian Association of Journalists Awards, the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Jackman Excellence Awards, and Digital Publishing Awards.
Ontario hospitals asked patients about the care they received. Results were kept secret — and pleas for change went ignored is the harrowing investigative series by Declan Keogh, Max Binks-Collier, Naama Weingarten and Robert Cribb.
Through a freedom-of-information battle, The Star and IJB obtained up to six years’ worth of survey data from more than 50 hospitals and health networks. They pored over first-hand testimonies from patients and their families, alleging injuries, and even deaths, due to premature discharges, misdiagnoses, delays in care, and neglect, among other issues.
At least 21 hospitals had in-patient units or emergency departments that consistently scored poorly on the surveys. Ontario hospitals’ score cards were publicly discontinued in 2008 because of government funding cuts.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to receive this kind of recognition from some of the country’s leading journalists,” IJB founder and executive director Robert Cribb told the Canadian Journalism Foundation.
“Being able to publish journalism that breaks new ground, reveals fresh insights, and pushes for positive change and accountability is the real reward. But this kind of acknowledgement means a great deal to a young team of reporters punching well beyond their weight. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
