Kim Rosemary Bolan (born 1959) is a Canadian
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who has been a
reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
at ''
The Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published si ...
'' since her journalism career began in 1984. She has reported on minority, women's, education, and
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
issues; wars in
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
;
Sikh extremism, and the bombing and trials related to
Air India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, it was operated using Boeing 747-237B registered ''VT-EFO''. It disintegrated in mid-air en route from Montreal to Lond ...
.
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
has also featured her work. On May 4, 2017, while covering a murder trial of a former leader of the UN Gang, Bolan learned that she had been the subject of a murder plot, which she reported on in an article published on May 24, 2017, in the ''Vancouver Sun''.
Early career
Bolan grew up in
Courtenay on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. She was a writer in high school, contributing to the ''
Comox District Free Press'' and she sent stories on the bus to
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
to be published in the daily ''
Times Colonist
The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily Co ...
'' newspaper. While attending the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
she worked as sports editor of ''The
Oak Bay
Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordere ...
Star''.
Bolan then graduated with a Master's degree in journalism from the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
in the 1980s.
Awards and honours
Bolan has won or "been shortlisted for" 15 awards.
Bolan won the
Courage in Journalism Award
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...
presented by the
International Women's Media Foundation
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...
in 1999.
In 2000, the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom (the National Press Club of Canada) presented its 1st Press Freedom Award (1999) to Bolan for continuing her investigations after she was "...threatened with violence and placed under police protection during her investigative reporting on the Air India bombing."
David Kilgour
David William Kilgour (February 18, 1941 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian human rights activist, author, lawyer, and politician. He was also a Senior Fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.
Kilgour graduated from the Universi ...
, then Secretary of State, presented the award and concluded by saying "Today, in recognition of her strength of character, professionalism and courage to continue in her role as a leading journalist in the face of threats and other forms of extreme intimidation, the National Press Club of Canada is pleased to award the Press Freedom Award to Kim Bolan of the Vancouver Sun."
In 2001, the
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is an autonomous, non-partisan charitable society that seeks to "promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights." It works towards achieving this purpose through li ...
awarded her with the Reg Robson award for her "fearless commitment to freedom of expression". The award is given to honour people who have demonstrated a substantial and long-lasting contribution to civil liberties issues in British Columbia and Canada.
In 2006
PEN Canada
PEN Canada is one of the 148 centres of PEN International. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their r ...
presented her with the
Paul Kidd Courage Prize
Reporting on her speech at the
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...
in 2007,
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
reported that Bolan still received death threats over her coverage of the 1985 Air India bombing.
"Political storm" of 2007
In February 2007, Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
caused "a political storm" by trying to read part of a Bolan article into the record of the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
. He was suggesting his Liberal opponents were refusing to extend
anti-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
measures in order to protect the father-in-law of a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
.
Books
Kim Bolan's first book, "Loss of Faith: How the Air-India Bombers Got Away With Murder", was published in 2005.
References
External links
The Real Scoop- Kim Bolan's blog at ''The Vancouver Sun''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolan, Kim
1959 births
Canadian women journalists
Air India Flight 182
Journalists from British Columbia
Vancouver Sun people
Writers from Vancouver
Canadian women non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
Living people
People from Courtenay, British Columbia