2026 Awards Judges
Introducing this year's judges.
Emma Paling
English Writing Categories
Emma Paling is a journalist in Toronto whose work has appeared in The Maple, CBC News, The New York Times, The Toronto Star, and more.
She previously worked as a senior editor at The Breach and Queen’s Park reporter for The Huffington Post Canada.
Jonny Sopotiuk
Design Categories
Jonny Sopotiuk is a labour union and community organizer based in British Columbia. He is Co-Director of the Union Cooperative Initiative, a precarious worker organizing project building union co-ops that are good for people and the planet and a member the Movements Leadership Team with Chuffed.org, the crowdfunding platform powering some of the leading justice movements from Worker Rights, to Palestinian and Indigenous Solidarity around the world.
Bill Gillespie
Broadcast Categories
Bill Gillespie, is a Canadian journalist and author. He was security correspondent for CBC News and a former bureau chief of CBC Radio’s Moscow bureau. As a foreign correspondent, Gillespie reported extensively from Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya and the Russian Caucuses, relaying information on the fall of the Taliban, the dismantling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad’s central square, and the deadly siege of Beslan School Number One. He is also the author of A Class Act, which chronicles the history of the Newfoundland labour movement.
Samanta Krishnapillai
Online Categories
Samanta Krishnapillai is the founder and CEO of Group Project Initiatives — home to the award-winning edu-media platform On Canada Project and Creators4Humanity. A first-generation Tamil-Canadian systems thinker and narrative strategist, she has spent the last six years building grassroots media infrastructure that makes systemic change accessible, culturally resonant, and actionable for everyday people. On Canada Project, which she launched during the pandemic while completing her Master’s in Health Information Science, has grown into one of Canada’s most influential independent media voices — reaching millions through bold, emotionally honest storytelling that cuts through political noise without dumbing it down.
Samanta’s work sits at the intersection of knowledge translation, human rights, community building and civic engagement. Through Creators4Humanity — a creator-facing initiative funded with support from the Canadian Association of Labour Media — she builds coordinated infrastructure for digital creators aligned with human rights, worker dignity, and collective power. Her approach blends trauma-informed design, behavioural science, and decolonial pedagogy to move audiences from overwhelm to action. She brings to judging the same thing she brings to everything: sharp political instincts, deep respect for the craft, and an unwavering belief that good media should change how people see themselves in the fight.