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For the team at The Narwhal, this week has been a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much more is possible.

First came the news that we’ve been nominated for two Canadian Association of Journalists awards. Next, we published a deep-dive investigation into a battle brewing in Ontario’s rust belt. And finally, we introduced our stellar new Senior Editor Raina Delisle to our community (that’s her rocking The Narwhal toque!).

Let’s start at the top: the award nominations include a nod for our Alberta reporter, Sharon J. Riley, for her investigation into a plan by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s government to automate licences for new oil and gas drilling. 

The details in the story — which revealed drilling companies would get their applications rubber-stamped in as little as 15 minutes — were buried in Alberta Energy Regulator documents. When Riley was quoted a fee of $643.95 to access that information, The Narwhal’s readers stepped up to cover the costs.

Let that sink in: a deeply important story on industry oversight came to fruition because of our members. Now it is up for an award in the same category as media giants like CBC News and BuzzFeed News.

A day after that announcement, we published an entirely new investigation by freelancer Hilary Beaumont on the residents who are fighting a proposed industrial facility in a region beset by high cancer rates. It’s a story that spans the Canada-U.S. border, and to pull it off we collaborated with a like-minded non-profit publication in the U.S., Environmental Health News.

Last, but certainly not least, we had the pleasure of offering readers a little insight into Senior Editor Raina Delisle. It’s her second week on the job, and she’s already making her mark with her sharp eye for detail — and getting our style guide in check. Raina even spilled the tea on how she managed to procure supplies during the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020.

These three things — publishing major investigations, getting widespread recognition for our work and growing our staff — have all developed at a pace beyond the wildest dreams of our founders when they launched The Narwhal less than two years ago. It’s a testament to what’s possible when you connect valuable work with an audience that recognizes and rewards that value every single day. And we’re only getting started.

Thanks for all you do. We hope you’re staying healthy and safe.

Arik Ligeti
Audience Engagement Editor

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