Haroon Siddiqui, is an

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of ...

newspaper

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 journalis ...

, columnist and a former editor.

Early life and career

Siddiqui continued as a columnist at the Star until 2015. His farewell column of 1 April 2015 marked his retirement from journalism.

Awards and distinctions

He shared a 1983

National Newspaper Award The National Newspaper Awards (french: link=no, Concours canadien de journalisme) are prizes awarded annually for the best work in Canadian newspapers. Synopsis The awards were first given in 1949 by the Toronto Press Club, which ran the awards un ...

for spot news reporting. In 1992 and column writing in 1998. Siddiqui received a Professional Man of the Year award from Indo Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and a media award from the

Canadian Islamic Congress The Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) was a Canadian Muslim non-profit organization. It was formally dissolved in late 2014 with its official Web site no longer active. The group was founded by Mohamed Elmasry of the University of Waterloo, a world ...

. In 2000, and 2001 he became a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

, for crafting "a broader definition of the Canadian identity," inclusive of our First Nations, French Canadians and newer Canadians. In 2001, Siddiqui was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. In 2002, he was awarded the World Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club in Ottawa for his James Minifie Memorial Lecture at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university, public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the Unive ...

, warning against "creeping censorship" in Canada under media concentration.

Criticisms

Writing in ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

'' in June 2001, Robert Fulford maintained that "Siddiqui makes the most strenuous effort to bathe Third World countries in a soft light. No matter how outrageous its actions, a non-Western government can usually count on him for a little understanding." In a June 2013 column, Siddiqui demanded that Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

"should resign or be fired." In an article the following month, Siddiqui accused Kenney, of "turn ngimmigration into a tool of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry," and of "barring refugee claimants from ‘safe third countries.’" Chris Selley, writing in the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', pointed out that immigration levels of individuals speaking Arabic as a first language have actually increased during Kenney's tenure. Regarding Siddiqui's second claim, Shelley argued that refugees from "safe third countries" are not automatically refused refugee status by Canada but rather are "directed them into an expedited system with a somewhat weaker appeals process." Selley also argued that Siddiqui's accusation against Kenney in this regard was "a massive factual error that you’d think an expert on this matter wouldn’t make."Full Pundit: Everyone hates the Economic Action Plan ads
by Chris Selley, ''

'', 25 July 2013.

References

External links

Haroon and the Sea of Opinions
(''

Ryerson Review of Journalism The ''Review of Journalism'' (formerly the ''Ryerson Review of Journalism'') is a Canadian magazine, published annually by final-year journalism students at Toronto Metropolitan University. The magazine profiles personalities, issues and controv ...

'', Spring 2002)
On Journalism being subject to "hate laws"
2000

recipients' page
Haroon Siddiqui
2001

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

citation {{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Haroon Living people Canadian columnists Canadian social commentators Indian emigrants to Canada Indian male journalists Writers from Hyderabad, India Members of the Order of Ontario Members of the Order of Canada Canadian Sunni Muslims Indian Muslims Canadian people of Indian descent Toronto Star people Canadian political journalists Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and career

Awards and distinctions

Criticisms

See also

References

External links