February 2 , 2006

Press Release

CARAS Honours Music Legend Bruce Cockburn with First-Ever Humanitarian Award

TORONTO, February 2, 2006 – The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) today announced that legendary singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn is the recipient of this year’s inaugural Humanitarian Award that recognizes the positive social, environmental and humanitarian contributions made by Canadian artists.

Cockburn will be honoured with the Humanitarian Award in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Friday, March 31, 2006 at the Juno Awards Welcome Reception. He will also be recognized during The 2006 JUNO Awards broadcast on Sunday, April 2 on CTV.

“We are honoured to celebrate Mr. Cockburn and his contribution to the improvement of the human condition,” said Melanie Berry, President of CARAS. “His dedication and devotion to creating awareness of the political issues that affect us all is truly inspiring.”

“I am deeply touched that CARAS is honouring me as their first recipient of the Humanitarian Award,” said Cockburn. “I hope that the introduction of this award will inspire as many artists as possible to participate fully in the global community.“

As one of this country’s most celebrated and respected artists, Cockburn is known for his political lyrics and calls for social justice. His career spans more than 35 years. Throughout this time, he has worked tirelessly alongside such groups as the USC (Unitarian Service Committee), OXFAM and Friends of the Earth to raise awareness of the need for humanitarian and environmental relief. He is also a supporter of Amnesty International and numerous other advocate groups.

His devotion to social and environmental issues crystallized in 1983 with an eye-opening trip to refugee camps in Central America on behalf of OXFAM. Since then, Cockburn has traveled extensively on many fact-finding trips including: Cambodia, Vietnam, Chile during the Pinochet Dictatorship, Honduras, El Salvador, Kosovo, Nepal, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Somalia and most recently war-torn Baghdad.

Since the mid-nineties, Cockburn has been among the leaders that have lobbied for the movement to ban landmines. He has also been at the forefront of efforts to obtain justice for North America’s Aboriginal peoples. During the ‘80s, he was involved with the Haida Nation’s quest to stop the logging in the Queen Charlotte Islands, helping to raise funds for the legal expenses needed to defend the Haida’s land claim. Other involvements include the campaign for a treaty with the Lubicon Cree in Northern Alberta and the Innu people’s struggle to stop NATO over-flights in Labrador.

His political activism has not only influenced government but also continues to resonate with his fans. Cockburn has written countless songs on a variety of political issues ranging from landmines to famine. Many of his best-known songs are of a political nature including “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”, “A Dream Like Mine”, “Call It Democracy” and “If A Tree Falls”.

The Ottawa native has been a spokesperson for the USC since the seventies, and is also a past Honorary Chair of Friends of the Earth Canada.

In 1983 Cockburn was honoured with The Order of Canada, and was further promoted within the Order in 2003. In 1998, he was recognized with The Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

Cockburn's other accolades include an honourary doctorate from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and an honourary degree from both York University in Toronto and St. Thomas University in Nova Scotia. In addition, he has also received a diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music.

In 2001, Cockburn was inducted to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 2003 he was inducted to the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. His international awards include Italy’s Tenco Award for Lifetime Achievement and Holland’s Edison Award.

In April 2005, 1.34 million viewers watched The 2005 JUNO Awards from Winnipeg on CTV. In all, more than 5.7 million Canadians tuned in to watch some part of the show – an increase of almost half a million viewers compared to the 2004 broadcast - making it once again the most-watched Canadian awards telecast. CTV began broadcasting The JUNO Awards in 2002 when it telecast the Awards from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, before taking it to Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004) and Winnipeg (2005). The 2007 JUNO Awards will be broadcast from Saskatoon on CTV.

Sponsors for The 2006 JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s “Canada Music Fund”, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Province of Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality, Events Halifax and Radio Starmaker Fund. Broadcast sponsors for the event are General Motors, Pantene Pro-V, Doritos and Nice ’n Easy.

About CARAS:
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L'academie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l'enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through television vehicles such as the JUNO Awards. For more information on the 35th anniversary JUNO Awards, visit the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ (CARAS) website at www.junoawards.ca. The 2006 JUNO Awards will air on CTV, on Sunday, April 2nd, 2006.

About CTV:
CTV, Canada’s largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It boasts the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 14 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by Bell Globemedia, Canada’s premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

Web Links:
JUNO Awards: www.junoawards.ca
CTV: www.ctv.ca
Bruce Cockburn: www.brucecockburn.com