Uncategorized – Gordon Sinclair Foundation

From Lawyer, to Refugee, to Reporter: 2025 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter documents how Canadian Syrians are helping to rebuild their homeland

When Reham Al Azem fled Syria a decade ago, she could not have imagined she’d one day be working as a Canadian journalist documenting her homeland’s path to recovery.

Reham Al Azem is the Gordon Sinclair Foundation’s 2025 Roving Reporter. The bursary exists to keep Canadian journalists exploring the world – to go where cameras and headlines rarely reach. This year’s recipient is turning her lens toward Syrian communities rebuilding after more than a dozen years of conflict.

Al Azem is a Syrian Canadian journalist who has reported for CBC, CityNews, and OMNI News, and her work has been published in Canadian newspapers. She is a former lawyer, Syrian refugee, and survivor of the Syrian war.

Al Azem is producing a video series that examines the human stories emerging from Syrian communities navigating life after war. She will shed light on how Syrian Canadians are shaping global narratives around rebuilding and returning to Syria.

Al Azem says her project is exploring themes of recovery, identity, and transnational connections. “Since the fall of the Assad regime, parts of Syria are slowly opening to reconstruction and civil society. Syrian Canadians are returning to contribute skills acquired in Canada, from humanitarian work to governance reform.”

Al Azem is the latest in a long line of young journalists who have been awarded funding by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation to undertake reporting expeditions around the world. Previous bursary recipients have produced stories for multiple outlets, including the CBC, Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and most recently, for Global News.

Al Azem holds a law degree from Damascus University and a graduate diploma in visual journalism from Concordia University in Montreal. She has expertise in journalism, law, and human rights, focusing on communities in Canada and the Middle East and North Africa region.

As Syria rebuilds after years of conflict, Al Azem is focusing on the human stories that reveal what recovery truly means. In August, she spent a few weeks travelling from her home in Edmonton to Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. She interviewed more than a dozen Syrian Canadian leaders and activists. She plans to publish her reporting in early December around the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Assad government.

Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Reham Al Azem interviews Maher Arar in Ottawa, August 18, 2025.

“Syrian refugee resettlement in Canada is often celebrated as a success,” Al Azem says. “But less attention is paid to how many resettled Syrians are now leveraging their Canadian experiences—such as democracy-building, Indigenous reconciliation frameworks, and trauma-informed care—to help rebuild their homeland.”

Al Azem’s career embodies the spirit of resilience and inquiry that defines the Gordon Sinclair Foundation’s Roving Reporter. The bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name reporting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary was established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator, and television personality who was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities until his death in 1984. Sinclair earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio, and as a panelist on CBC’s long-running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early-career Canadian journalist who has, within the past five years, graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a minimum of six weeks away on a reporting assignment.

2024-2025 Roving Reporter Megan King reports on the impact of climate change in Fiji

Toronto-based digital broadcast journalist Megan King published a three-part video series and companion digital story for Global News exploring the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels on Oceania — more specifically on Fiji — and Canada’s involvement.

King spent weeks exploring the many islands of Fiji and travelling by ferry and bus to dozens of villages to hear local accounts of storm impacts on the livelihoods and safety of Fijians. Rising sea levels is not new to the islands, so many initiatives are in the works towards climate preparedness — something Canada can learn from.

“Having spent the last two years living on Canada’s East Coast, I’ve seen the impact that storms can have on people’s homes and safety here,” says King. “Natural disasters are becoming more extreme and taking form more often, so we can learn a lot from those who’ve faced these changes for longer.”

King happened upon grassroots initiatives in Fiji that were being funded by the Canadian government, showing the ties that already exist between the two countries.

Members of the Vunaniu Village come together for a day of learning about climate change and to plant seedlings as part of a community-led sustainable solution -- funded by the Canadian government. — Members of the Vunaniu Village come together for a day of learning about climate change and to plant seedlings as part of a community-led sustainable solution — funded by the Canadian government.

“We can learn a lot from Fiji, but we can also help a lot,” says King. “This is a country that is among the most affected by climate change, yet least able to afford the consequences that the Western world is largely at fault for.”

Connecting with local journalists, Megan King (right) received advice and a tour of Fiji TV by Suva-based Eparama Warua (left) and Mereoni Mili (middle).

The Gordon Sinclair Foundation awarded the Roving Reporter Bursary to King with the intent of her going to Kiribati. Amid political tension and a presidential election, King was forced to redirect her project to Fiji, which faces similar climate challenges.

King is an on-air reporter and anchor at Global News in Toronto.

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Sinclair Foundation board marks the passing of Connie Sinclair

The passing of CBC broadcaster Connie Sinclair was marked by the members of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation at their annual board meeting, a gathering that she attended many times over the years.

Connie Sinclair passed away on Feb. 2 after an ongoing battle with cancer. She was a former newsreader at CBC Radio, in Toronto, but also a third-generation broadcaster. She was the daughter of former CJAD Montreal news director Gord Sinclair Jr. Her grandfather Gordon Sinclair, the legendary journalist, CFRB host and “Front Page Challenge” mainstay, is the namesake of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation.

Connie was invited many years ago to join the board of directors of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, which was established in 1986 after friends of her grandfather created a university scholarship for recent journalism graduates to honour his memory. The stated purpose of the original award was to encourage a recent journalism graduate to embark on another year of study that would enrich them as journalists. The award was presented 22 times in the years that followed.

In 2011, the foundation decided to review its mandate and examine the contribution the annual award was making to journalism. A decision was made to revamp the annual competition to make it more relevant to young journalists – a decision strongly supported at the time by Connie Sinclair. The Foundation decided to use the endowment to create the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary, to support a research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has recently graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs.

Each year, the winner of the bursary was introduced at the annual meeting of the board and Connie was always glad to meet the next journalist who was about to head off on an exciting adventure thanks to the foundation named for her grandfather, the legendary broadcaster.

“I remember how great it was to have her there on the board, when she would regale us with stories of Gordon Sinclair,” said Allan Thompson, president of the foundation. “It is very sad not to have Connie around the table with us. She was a great person, a terrific journalist and provided a connection to the Sinclair family.”

Sinclair began her career in radio, as an anchor at NewTalk 1010 and later as the afternoon newsreader for CBC Radio in Toronto. She is survived by her husband, two children, three grandchildren and two sisters.

Sinclair Foundation mourns the death of CFRB veteran Don Johnston, 91

It is with sadness that we share the news of the passing of Don Johnston – the long-time news director of CFRB radio in Toronto and founding member of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation. Don died on Monday, in his 92^nd year.

As a longstanding colleague and close friend of the controversial Gordon Sinclair, Johnston was a driving force in the movement to raise funds and set up a charitable foundation in Gordon Sinclair’s honour after the broadcaster’s death in 1984.

But Don was a major figure in Canadian broadcasting in his own right. In 1972 he left CHML Hamilton to accept the position of News Director of CFRB. Don enjoyed a long and successful career as a news executive with CFRB in its glory days when the station had an outsized influence on public affairs and the national conversation through its programming, in some ways a precursor to talk radio.

Over the years, Don was a stalwart member of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, which initially offered a scholarship to young journalism graduates and since 2011 has awarded the annual $15,000 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to support a research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has recently graduated from one of Canada’s journalism programs.

In June of 2020, the Sinclair Foundation marked Don’s 90^th birthday with a special tribute.

As the news director at CFRB for many years, Don had the challenge of managing the outspoken Sinclair.

“There was nobody like him—the crackling energy, the curiosity, the little barbs and observations on life,” Don recalled at the time of Sinclair’s death.

Don’s niece, Mary Pickett, got in touch with the Foundation at the time to say that she wanted to recognize her uncle’s milestone birthday by making a donation to the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, to help support young journalists.

She recalled fond memories of many visits with her Uncle Don and Aunt Helen – at their home, at their condo in Cancun, at their cottage up north, at the Shaw Festival, at family reunions in Ontario and in the States. She remembered Don as a great cook and also noted the deep affection and care he showed for his wife of more than 60 years, who was herself in declining health. Don’s knowledge of current events, history, sports, music, travel, and so many other subjects has meant hours of interesting conversation and made him a brilliant Trivial Pursuit player.

A kind and gentle soul, Don also loved to play the piano, a hobby he kept up right through to his last days, playing the piano almost every day, despite ill health and advancing dementia.

Don Johnston is survived by his wife Helen and was predeceased by their son David.

A celebration of life for Don Johnston will be held at Smith’s Funeral Home, 1167 Guelph Line, Burlington Ontario L7P 2S7, on March 12 at 1 p.m. Visitation with the family will begin at noon.