WIFT+ Toronto names 2023 Crystal Awards honourees

Marilyn Denis, Catherine Tait and Margot Daley are among this year's Crystal Awards recipients.

Former daytime host Marilyn Denis, CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait, and producer-director Margot Daley are among the 2023 honourees for the Crystal Awards Gala from the Women+ in Film and Television (WIFT+) Toronto.

WIFT+ Toronto announced the six recipients of the 36th Annual Crystal Awards Gala on Tuesday (Oct. 10), with the awards ceremony set to take place on Nov. 22 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

Radio and podcast host Marilyn Denis, whose daytime series The Marilyn Denis Show ended in June after 13 seasons on CTV, will be given the Creative Excellence honour. She started her television career by reporting on sports, weather, and entertainment at CFCN-TV (CTV Calgary) and was host of the daily show Cityline for nearly 20 years. Denis now hosts Marilyn Denis and Jamar on Toronto radio station CHUM 104.5.

CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Tait will be given the Jury Award of Distinction. Tait began the role in 2018, and in 2023 her mandate was renewed until January 2025. She is also the chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance which was launched in 2019.

Tait has co-founded and led several companies, including New York-based Duopoly, and Toronto-based iThentic and Hollywood Suite, and served as the Government of Canada’s director and cultural attaché with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and manager of policy and planning at Telefilm Canada.

Producer, director and senior story editor Margot Daley, who has more than 30 years of industry experience in Toronto and Vancouver, will receive the Mentorship award. In her role as production executive at Corus Entertainment, Daley helped develop and launch several series such as Come to Dine with Me Canada, Million Dollar Critic, Game of Homes, and Million Dollar Neighbourhood for W Network and OWN Network Canada.

Victoria Harding, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada Ontario, will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Business award. She acts as Ontario’s lead negotiator for the DGC/CMPA Standard Agreement  and serves on various committees and advisory panels, including as a board member of both FilmOntario and the City of Toronto’s Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board. Harding has also worked in location and production manager roles for more than 30 years.

Actor Missy Peregrym, who made her feature film debut as a star gymnast in Stick It, will receive the International Achievement award. Peregrym currently stars in CBS drama series FBI, and her past work includes starring roles in the Global series Rookie Blue as well as the Syfy drama Van Helsing. Other credits include the feature Backcountry and the digital film Cybergeddon. In 2010, she was named as one of Playback‘s Top Ten to Watch.

Neishaw Ali, founding partner, president and executive producer of Toronto- and Atlanta-based Spin VFX, will be honoured with the Innovation Trailblazer award. Ali has been working in the film and TV industry for more than 30 years, and her credits include more than 150 feature films, including Spotlight and Escape Room 2: Tournament of Champions, and roughly 32 television series, such as Game of Thrones and The Umbrella Academy.

This year’s honourees were nominated by WIFT+ Toronto members and then selected by a jury, which comprised of Susan Alexander, Gloria Ui Young Kim, and Jane Tattersall.

“This industry has seen much change over the last 36 years, and WIFT+ Toronto has had a front row seat to see it all — that is what makes our annual gala a leading touchstone event — it allows us a chance to take a well-deserved moment to applaud the trendsetters and champions of change that push our industry forward,” said Karen Bruce, executive director, WIFT+ Toronto, in a statement.

Photo courtesy of WIFT+ Toronto; (L-R) Victoria Harding, Catherine Tait, Margot Daley (top); Missy Peregrym, Neishaw Ali, Marilyn Denis (bottom)