Judy Trinh
INVESTIGATIVE AND POLITICAL JOURNALIST
The world is full of untold stories of wrongs that need righting, and unsung heroes that demand our appreciation. I make it my mission to find the tales that will surprise, move and perhaps even anger you. Words are powerful and images bear witness. I promise to use them responsibly with passion and conviction.
Political Reporting
SEEKING ACCOUNTABILITY FROM PARLIAMENT AND BEYOND
Finding Answers
FEBRUARY 2022
When Freedom Convoy protestors occupied Ottawa for one month this winter, I reported from the frontline of the demonstrations to understand why police appeared paralyzed. $37 million dollars later, the streets are cleared, but police and politicians have yet to answer many questions of accountability.
My Investigations
JOURNALISM THAT MATTERS
When Police Don't Knock
Police in Canada execute hundreds of no-knock raids each year. Deaths and injuries have happened and families have been traumatized, yet the practice remains mostly under the radar. In this documentary for the Fifth Estate we investigate why there is so little scrutiny of this potentially deadly tactic.
Ottawa Police Exposed
From casual sexism such as being called "fresh meat" to criminal allegations of sexual assault, CBC's The Fifth Estate has found an entrenched culture of sexism within the Ottawa Police Service. The victims are OPS patrol officers, civilian staff and women who dated officers. For years they suffered in silence - now they speak out in search of accountability.
In The Headlines
How "Canadian Dave" Helped Rescue 100 Afghan Allies after the Taliban Takeover
SEPTEMBER 2021
When Kabul fell, Canada pulled its embassy staff out of Afghanistan, abandoning local interpreters who had worked for years with Canadian soldiers. Unable to rely on government help, soldiers turned to "Canadian Dave" to help rescue allies and their families.
A Fatal Fall and a Mother's Grief
Anthony Aust, a young Ottawa man lost his life in a no-knock police entry. A Fifth Estate investigation revealed police misconduct and lack of legal safeguards to protect against abuse of the dangerous tactic in Canada. In fact, there is more scrutiny of no-knocks in the United States than there is in this country.
Confronting Racism
Following the death of Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi during a violent police arrest in 2016, already tenuous relationships between the force and Ottawa's diverse communities eroded further. Abdi's death galvanized a new generation of activists in the city who are leading the charge not only for police reform, but applying pressure to divert funds to social services.
Captive
HE SAID, SHE SAID
In 2012, Caitlan Coleman and her husband Joshua Boyle were kidnapped in Afghanistan. After five years in captivity the American-Canadian couple were rescued by Pakistani forces. They tried to resume life in Ottawa, Canada. Coleman ran from that life on a bitterly cold December night triggering a domestic violence investigation.
This story documents her escape from her captors and the man she feared more than the Taliban.
On a Personal Note
I'M A MOTHER, A MENTOR AND A FORMER REFUGEE
I used to run from acknowledging that I was once a "boat person" or a refugee. I feared being stigmatized and being pitied. But in 2015, the vitriol of pre-election immigration debates, compounded by the painful photo of a drowned Syrian boy, compelled me to write about my family's struggle to escape the Vietnam War. That article for CBC inspired a Heritage Minute that marked Canada's 150th birthday.Â
It commemorates the best of Canada and acknowledges the strength and resilience of refugees. We are better when our hearts and arms are open.
