Press Releases

Winnipeg, Manitoba – Oct. 5 marks the beginning of Season 10 of APTN Investigates.

The first and only Indigenous investigative news program in Canada, APTN Investigates now has more than 150 episodes to date. Founded in 2008 by veteran journalist Paul Barnsley, the half-hour show offers viewers hard-hitting investigative reports and stories that change lives. APTN Investigates has garnered more than 20 national awards, by seeking the truth for Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

The program has broken through in recent years in head-to-head competition against CBC and CTV programming, picking up six Canadian Association of Journalists awards for 2017 as well as a Canadian Screen Award, among other honours.

Many former members of the APTN Investigates’ team have moved on to high profile positions at APTN National News: Cheryl McKenzie moved first to the anchor chair and then into senior news management. Francine Compton is the eastern executive producer for APTN National News. Todd Lamirande now hosts the network’s national political show, Nation to Nation, out of the Ottawa bureau. The program also produced former news anchor Michael Hutchinson.

Other alumni include the multiple-award-winning Kathleen Martens, now a major asset for APTN National News’ web team.

Most recently, another multiple-award-winner, Melissa Ridgen, joined Dennis Ward as co-anchor of the APTN National News.

This year’s team features Rob Smith in Vancouver, Cullen Crozier in Yellowknife, John Murray in Edmonton and Trina Roache in Halifax.

The Winnipeg-based crew includes producer Holly Moore, shooter-editor Josh Grummett, investigative reporter/data journalist Martha Troian and the newest member of the team, reporter Christopher Read.

Hired to help APTN keep a promise to the CRTC to create an investigative news program, Barnsley has been described by the Ryerson Review of Journalism as “one of Canada’s best Aboriginal affairs investigative reporters.” He was presented with the Journalists for Human Rights Lifetime Achievement award in 2016. Before joining APTN, Paul served as national news editor/senior writer for Windspeaker, an Edmonton-based Indigenous news publication distributed nationally. His stint with Windspeaker began in 1997, after nearly five years with the Six Nations weekly newspaper Tekawennake.

Barnsley will also curate a series of retrospective episodes “from the vault” that will launch on Sunday, October 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET. From residential school survivors to the drinking water debacle of Bruce Carson, he will provide updates and insights into how the stories came together and the great work of the team.

Join us October, 5th as the APTN Investigates team brings the best visual story-telling in Canada to the APTN audience.

APTN Investigates, the first Indigenous investigative news program in Canada. The show offers viewers hard-hitting investigative reports and stories that change lives. Produced by award-winning journalists, APTN Investigates is committed to seeking the truth for our Peoples.

APTN National News, launched in 2000, is the first Indigenous television journalism team in Canada and the world. Today, providing award-winning news coverage of Indigenous Peoples for all Canadians. APTN National News has reporters in all regions of the country and tells stories that have been ignored, under-reported or misunderstood by mainstream news media; these are the stories others don’t and won’t tell.

For further information about APTN Investigates, contact:
Paul Barnsley
Executive Producer, APTN Investigates
(204) 947-9331, ext. 327