Helene Bigras-Dutrisac was recognized by North America’s biggest financial journalist organization for writing for CoStar News the best industry-focused story last year in Canadian journalism.
Bigras-Dutrisac, who is based in Montreal, received a gold medal from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing for a story showing how the changes wrought by the pandemic accelerated a decline in the use of Quebec's traditional sugar shacks, a commercial and cultural practice dating back centuries.
In “Quebec’s Treasured Sugar Shacks Face a Sticky Future,” Bigras-Dutrisac puts maple syrup production in Quebec into national context and breaks down the economics involved, from the changing price of a 45-gallon barrel of syrup to the reserves the industry holds to regulate supply and demand. She also looks at the effect on grocery chains, restaurants and hotels, explaining the widespread economic effect from a shrinking Quebec tradition.
Bigras-Dutrisac, who has since left CoStar News, won in the trade category of the SABEW Canada contest. The finalists, which included two stories from Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper, were announced earlier this year.
CoStar News is an international news organization that specializes in the coverage of commercial real estate. CoStar News is published by CoStar Group, the largest provider of commercial real estate information.