Ken Filkow Prize

Shree Paradkar is an award-winning journalist and equity advocate.

Paradkar is a race and social justice columnist at The Toronto Star, where she also served as the first internal ombud in a newsroom in Canada, a position created to develop an anti-racist newsroom. Over the last 8 years, her Star column has tackled divisive, challenging topics, including police violence, anti-Black racism, the persistence of Islamophobia, the threat to LGBTQ+ rights, residential schools, anti-Indigenous racism, and the chill on Palestine advocacy.

Jury Citation

Nominated for this award by her fellow journalists at the Star and elsewhere, Paradkar is regarded as a leader who shines a light on the marginalized and under-represented; her active and committed support of young journalists of colour is fundamental to expanding free expression for those who are often excluded from the means to articulate marginalized experiences of an unequal society. She regularly writes about politically divisive issues, and faces constant criticism and harassment for her fearless advocacy. Her columns have tens of thousands of readers. Paradkar is committed to free expression and she inspires others.

In 2024, the jury also shortlisted two finalists: Saba Eitizaz and Indiginews.

Saba Eitizaz is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and the co-host and producer of the flagship Toronto Star podcast, This Matters. Indiginews is an Indigenous-led online publication that practices trauma-informed, culturally relevant and respectful journalism on and by Indigenous people.