The journalists | Fatima Syed and Emma McIntosh
When Premier Doug Ford first announced the province’s plan to open up parts of the Greenbelt — and those parcels of land just happened to be owned by developer friends of his — Ontarians were suspicious. But if it wasn’t for the intrepid reporters at independent media outlet The Narwhal, we might have never known for sure that the provincial government had substantial control over choosing which parcels of land to open for development and were directly influenced by the developers who benefited from them — and Ford might have never finally reversed the decision to open the Greenbelt! The Narwhal reporter Emma McIntosh was one of the journalists who broke the first story, and her colleague Fatima Syed hasn’t let up on Ford either, exposing the provincial government as it attempts to quietly remove environmental protections, change land boundaries and gut conservation authorities. Armed with a whole lot of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, McIntosh and Syed are examples of the power of local journalism in a time when the media industry is continually underfunded and layoffs abound.
By Charlie Pinkerton – Colleague, Deputy editor, The Trillium
Emma McIntosh and Fatima Syed were covering Doug Ford’s developer connections before it was cool.
You can thank Emma’s reporting if you’ve heard about the controversies around Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass or that whole Greenbelt thing. A dogged document digger and detector of BS, Emma could spot a prothonotary warbler in a pack of blue-winged ones. Has the term “urban boundaries” caught your attention as of late? Fatima’s work preceded the Ford government’s Greenbelt-esque U-turn. She’s also mastered putting impacts on people at the centre of her reporting. I’d say she’s “for the people,” just perhaps not in the way you’re used to the term being used in Ontario politics.
Fatima and Emma have quickly ingrained independent publication the Narwhal’s eastward expansion as a force to be reckoned with at Queen’s Park. Their team’s investigative work has prevented the environment from being an afterthought of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government. Each, as well, is a staunch believer in the importance of their craft — both through their daily hustle and outspoken advocacy for their fellow journalists. Having earned a collectors’ count of award nominations and wins between them in their careers already, Fatima and Emma should be stars in the industry for decades to come. As a colleague and competitor, it’s a pleasure — and challenge — to strive each day for the bar they’re regularly raising for journalists.
For more of Toronto’s most inspiring women of 2023, click here.
