CBC Vancouver's Angela Sterritt named best local reporter at Canadian Screen Awards

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television is handing out hardware this week to the country's top talent in the film, television and digital industries and CBC Vancouver News at 6journalist Angela Sterritthas been namedamong them.

At the Canadian Screen Awards on Monday, Sterrittwon the best local reporter awardfor her original story about anIndigenous man and his granddaughter who were wrongfully handcuffed while trying to open an account at aBank of Montreal branch in Vancouver.

Maxwell Johnson and his 12-year-old granddaughter Tori-Anne, both members of the HeiltsukNation in Bella Bellaon B.C.'s Central Coast, were handcuffed in December 2019afterbank staff lookedat the pair's identification documents and called 911 to report an alleged fraud in progress.

Johnsonand Tori-Annewere using government-issued Indian Status cards, his birth certificate and her medical card.

The duo had been trying to open an account for Tori-Anne that Johnson could put funds in while she was away on basketball trips.

Sterritt followed the story from the initial incident and brought readerscontinued coverage from January to the spring of 2020.

Her reporting included an exclusive interview with Johnson and Tori-Anne, accountability interviews with police and bank personnel, and an inside look at a subsequenthealing ceremony in Bella Bella attended by 15 bank executives.

LISTEN |Johnson and Tori-Anne recount being handcuffed:

12-year-old recounts handcuffing at BMO

5 years ago

Duration 2:32

Twelve-year-old girl Tori-Anne and her grandfather were handcuffed by police after trying to open an account at a BMO branch. She describes what happened.

"This is a win for the entire newsroom as several journalists worked hard to get accountability from numerous institutions", said Sterritt Tuesday.

"Mostly, it is for Maxwell Johnson and his then 12-year-old granddaughter, who despitebeing traumatized by the incident, and the retelling of it, took the time to recount the details," she added.

Within hours of the CBC publishing Sterritt's initialstory in January, it went viral, openingup conversations across the country about the everyday racism Indigenous people experience while shopping,trying to do businessor banking.

The bank apologized and the Vancouver Police Departmentcalled the incident "regretful."

"This win represents the shift in our [news]industryto recognize and uphold the significance of investigative stories that uncover systemic racism experienced by Indigenous people every day," said Sterritt.

It is the second time Sterritt has been nominated for the award and herfirst win.

The award-winning Gitxsan journaliststarted with the CBC as an on-air researcher in Prince George in 2003 and is now based in Vancouver where her stories can be heard on CBC's The Early Edition, watched onCBC Vancouver News at 6 and read online.

The Canadian Screen Awards are being presented virtually for a second year in a row,due to the pandemic,onthe academy's website and social media pages.

The first day of awards was Monday and events continue until May 20.

The Nationalwon two awards: best live news special,for its May 31, 2020 edition, and best national reporterfor health reporter Christine Birak.