The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) or L'Association Canadienne des Journalistes in French is one of several Canadian organizations of journalists. It was created to promote excellence in journalism and encourage investigative journalism. The CAJ is one of several national voices for Canadian journalists-- the only one with a coast-to-coast presence and run by journalists practising across all media.
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The CAJ was founded in 1978 as the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ). A few senior Canadian journalists founded the CIJ to counteract the isolation of the one or two reporters in the average newsroom who did investigative work. One of CIJ's initiatives was the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom group that later became Canadian Journalists for Free Expression(CJFE). In 1990, the organization changed its name to its current form to reflect a broader emphasis on all journalism and attract additional members. Promoting investigate journalism remains one of the CAJ's main goals.
The CAJ holds an annual conference during which it presents various awards including a Computer-Assisted Reporting award. In addition to awards for professional excellence, the CAJ presents a Code of Silence Award to celebrate "Canada's rich bureaucratic culture of secrecy."
At the 'Muck Rake 2004' conference in Vancouver in May, 2004, the federal government Health Canada department won its third Code of Silence award. Winners since then include the federal department of foreign affairs in 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office in 2009 and the Toronto Police Service in 2010.
The CAJ is governed by a board of directors, elected by chapters or through regional or national elections held prior to the annual meeting. Members of the board must be practising journalists as defined by the CAJ bylaws. The 2010-11 CAJ board of directors: President Mary Agnes Welch, Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba region representative) Vice-president Hugo Rodrigues, Sentinel-Review, Woodstock, Ont. (National director) Chair Dale Bass, Kamloops Daily News, Kamloops B.C. (B.C. region representative) Past-president Paul Schneidereit, Chronicle-Herald, Halifax, N.S. National director Elizabeth Thompson, ipolitics.ca, Ottawa, Ont. National director David Wiwchar, Independent, B.C. National Capital Region chapter director Simon Doyle, the Wire Report, Ottawa, Ont. Montreal Chapter President Roger-Luc Chayer, Le Groupe National, Montreal, Qc Montreal Chapter Vice-president, Anja Karadeglija