Helen Branswell, 69, on Oct. 13 of cancer. Branswell, who originally hailed from Sherbrooke, Que., started freelancing for a small newspaper after graduating from St. Thomas University, which eventually led to a 30-year career with The Canadian Press (CP). Starting in 1986, Branswell first worked as a reporter-editor at CP’s Halifax bureau, then as a correspondent for CP in Calgary, covering local news, business, and sports, before going on to serve as a reporter and later editor with the Ottawa bureau from 1989 to 1995. She went on to do a five-year stint as a foreign correspondent, before returning to Toronto in 2000 and becoming focused on medical reporting during the SARS outbreak. She left CP in 2015 to join Boston-based STAT News, establishing herself as an expert with early insights into the COVID-19 pandemic. Branswell was frequently heard as an expert on CBC Radio, among other outlets. Among the accolades she received were the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting and the George Polk Award for Public Service for her COVID reportage. She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and the recipient of an honorary degree from Carleton University.
Jean-Luc Mongrain, 75, on Oct. 11 of cancer. Mongrain started his 50-year journalism career in 1974 as a news reader at CJRS Sherbrooke. He soon began hosting and made his television debut in the 1980s, before moving to Montreal and the Télé-Métropole network, where he hosted the “Mongrain de sel” show for a decade. He went on to join TQS from 1999 to 2008, anchoring “Le Grand Journal,” before joining LCN, where he hosted a 90-minute mid-afternoon talk show until 2012. Mongrain made a return to radio in 2020, hosting the daily “Mongrain” on 98.5 FM. More recently, he hosted the podcast “Mongrain en balado,” interviewing prominent Quebec figures on social issues. Over the course of his career, he earned 18 Artis Awards, repeatedly honoured in the Personality of the Year and Best Presenter in News and Public Affairs categories.
Gord Hume, 76, on Oct. 6. Hume started his broadcasting career in 1967 as a city hall reporter at CKOM Saskatoon. He went on to work at CKPC Brantford; CKGL/CHYM-FM Kitchener; CJJD Hamilton, where he rose to the position of General Manager; and CKSL/CIQM-FM London, where he served as President and GM. Hume was elected to London City Council four times between 1997 and 2010, chairing the London Police Services Board, the London Public Library Board, London’s Creative City Task Force, and the Small Business Task Force, among other committees. He authored seven non-fiction books on local government, designing and building great cities, and improving the quality of life in communities. His career also included stints as a professor at Western University and instructor at Conestoga College. He was a frequent guest lecturer and columnist under the banner of his own consultancy, Hume Communications.
