The investigative news series Risky Restaurants has been awarded the Gold CAJ Award in the category of Data Journalism at the Canadian Association of Journalists' annual ceremony, held in Ottawa over the June 13-14, 2026, weekend.
Last fall, the Edmonton Journal and a group of students at MacEwan University teamed up to investigate the province's restaurant inspection system. The work identified major issues with inspections and the province's public-facing web portal.
Collaborative Effort
Risky Restaurants was the culmination of months of data analysis, spearheaded by MacEwan associate professor of journalism Steve Lillebuen, who led a team of 15 students working alongside Journal reporter Matthew Black and columnist Keith Gerein.
The team pored through tens of thousands of records and conducted more than 200 interviews, culminating in a multi-day series that laid bare issues with the inspection reports portal, restaurant food safety training, and a lack of transparency for customers.
Team Recognition
“This project was a true team effort — students, faculty, reporters, editors, and data journalists all brought different pieces to complete a complex puzzle showing us, for the first time, the full picture of food safety at our city restaurants,” Lillebuen said. “This couldn’t have happened without everyone contributing.”
He added: “This national recognition shows what’s possible when universities and newsrooms work together. We now have proof that these partnerships strengthen journalism, create meaningful opportunities for students, and better serve communities. And this is only the beginning.”
Series Impact
The series included seven stories, a column by Gerein, a podcast, and ultimately saw the provincial government announce it is cracking down on food safety issues as a result. The project was bolstered by visuals from Journal photographers, data scraping assistance from Nathan Griffiths at the Vancouver Sun, and support from senior editors in the Journal newsroom.
“Investigative reporting can be slow and frustrating but also can produce stories like these that bolster public transparency and accountability,” Black said. “This series was a true team effort that showed the importance of detailed reporting, collaboration, and student journalism.”
Dave Breakenridge, the Journal’s editor in chief, credited Lillebuen for bringing forward a dynamic concept and praised the work of Black, Gerein, and others in the newsroom for fostering it toward publication. “As a graduate of the MacEwan program, I was thrilled to take part in this collaboration, and I’m very proud that the work has been acknowledged by the CAJ,” Breakenridge said.
