Over his lengthy journalism profession, Michael Harris has obtained many awards. Now the Tyee contributing editor has been appointed to the Order of Canada, one of many nation’s highest honours.
Wednesday’s announcement that Harris is amongst 85 new appointments to the order included this assertion by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon:
“The Order of Canada celebrates the lives, endeavours and successes of people from coast to coast to coast and from all walks of life. Those being appointed today come from a variety of sectors, have achieved national and international success, and have shown ingenuity, innovation and generosity. What’s more, they have made a difference in their communities and for Canada with their outstanding dedication and commitment. Congratulations to the new Order of Canada appointees, as well as those celebrating a promotion within the Order.”
The announcement gives some background on the Order of Canada, noting the popularity “was created in 1967, by Queen Elizabeth II, to honour people whose service shapes our society, whose innovations ignite our imaginations, and whose compassion unites our communities.”
“To date,” it continues, “more than 7,600 people from all sectors of society across our country have been invested into the Order of Canada.”
Harris’s profession highlights embody his 1986 e-book Justice Denied about Donald Marshall, Jr., a Mi’kmaw man who spent 11 years in jail for a homicide he didn’t commit. His 1991 e-book Unholy Orders: Tragedy at Mount Cashel, about abuse on the orphanage, triggered a fee of inquiry — certainly one of 4 his investigations have prompted. His exposé of the Harper authorities, Party of One, was a bestseller. All this and extra is distilled into the straightforward assertion from Rideau Hall that Harris deserves the Order of Canada: “For his contributions to investigative journalism and for his work as an author.”
We reached out to our Tyee colleague, who lives in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, and began by asking…
The Tyee: So Michael, congrats! How does it really feel to obtain such recognition?
Michael Harris: I’m extra stunned than I used to be to make Putin’s first sanctions listing. The actually good half? It exhibits that phrases matter. I’ve spent a lifetime sporting myself out with phrases within the search for justice for lots of people who’ve been shut down. Apparently it wasn’t all yodelling down the effectively.
The quotation says it’s for your work as an investigative journalist and writer. Can you inform us while you first determined that this was the trail you wished to absorb life? And share some highs and lows?
I’ve been wordstruck since childhood. First, all the good writers I learn, like Faulkner and Joyce, enthralled me. Then my very own phrases in locations just like the Globe and Mail, as a result of I quickly realized journalists are typically the patron saints of final resort. Donald Marshall taught me the sign lesson of my journalistic profession: by no means low cost a supply, and by no means assume that every one that may go flawed gained’t go flawed for folks within the justice system. I put that to good use within the Mount Cashel story.
From a narrative perspective, my largest disappointment was the failure to resolve the homicide of 14-year-old Dana Bradley in Newfoundland. After watching a documentary I ready on this unsolved case, a person got here ahead and admitted to the homicide. He later took it again and went to jail for public mischief. The case stays unsolved.
We’re actually gratified that you’ve been writing for The Tyee for a few years, and submitting your columns as a contributing editor since 2019. Can you share your perspective on the function of journalism in Canada’s prospects and your outlook on the place it’s headed?
The unhappy reality is that if weren’t for platforms like The Tyee, and some others, folks like me could be silenced as watchdogs of the democracy. The unimaginable shrinking mainstream media is just too busy spit-collecting to spend money on extra unique work. Hundreds of journalists have misplaced their jobs, and several other main newspaper retailers have been politicized. With a couple of exceptions, tv journalism is a wasteland of tail-chasing, agenda journalism. Yet by no means earlier than has journalism been extra essential to protect democracy, as occasions south of the border present. But for a couple of nice information businesses, and some nice magazines, the nation could be within the palms of a tyrant.
Your byline has been a bit scarce in our pages the previous few months since you are engaged on a venture. Is there something you wish to say about that?
Readers haven’t seen a lot of me these days in The Tyee as a result of I used to be engaged on a brand new e-book. The working title is Farley and Claire, A Love Story. What is uncommon about this venture is that the data within the e-book has by no means earlier than been printed. It is probably the most intimate portrait I’ve ever written about anybody, and I’ve accomplished greater than few deep dives. Readers shall be by the facet of this well-known couple from the time they meet in St. Pierre in 1960, to Farley Mowat’s deathbed in 2014, listening to the final phrases of the person who gave the world 42 books. It is now full and within the palms of the writer, Greystone.
You have written critically about Canada’s colonial roots and its governments’ relations with Indigenous folks in these pages, and also you’ve been tart in your observations in regards to the Royal Family. Does that make your emotions about receiving the Order of Canada advanced?
I view the Order of Canada as an honour provided by Canadians and to Canadians, not a boon from Britain’s monarchy. As for the crucial writing I’ve accomplished as regards to the remedy of Indigenous Peoples by governments, I’ll pursue it with alacrity till the day we are able to all say, “We are reconciled.” I wish to be there when the politician large enough to make that occur adjustments the colonial equation endlessly. The solely folks extra sick to demise of gesturing by governments than me are the Indigenous Peoples who’ve waited so patiently for some chief to do the suitable factor.
What’s subsequent for you, Michael?
We are all on 24-hour name with God. But if there’s time and life sufficient, I wish to proceed the dialogue I’ve had with Canadians since 1977, hopefully in The Tyee. ![[Tyee]](https://thetyee.ca/design-article.thetyee.ca/ui/img/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
Canada’s High Honour for Michael Harris & More Latest News Update
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