The Trading Post

An iconic northern store is shutting down after 56 years.

Alex and Phyllis Robertson moved to a small community in northern Saskatchewan with little more than dust in their pockets, big dreams and dedication.

They started up a tiny general store and fur trading post, not knowing that Robertson Trading would still be running strong 56 years later in La Ronge, Sask., or that it would come to be regarded as a gem of the north.

Their son Scott Robertson has worked at the store since he was a child and has been managing the iconic shop for decades. He’s tormented by his decision to shut the store down.

“It’s misery. This stuff keeps me up at night. I do not feel good about this in any way, shape or form,” said Scott Roberston.

“My head says do it. My heart says don’t.”

Despite his inner-turmoil, he will close the iconic shop and retire at the end of December.

The store, known locally as the Trading Post, is technically a general store, but it’s also an Indigenous art gallery, a genuine Canadian antiques show, a bucket-list destination for tourists, and an outfitter for camps and people heading into the bush.

The unofficial museum operates on the town’s main street across from Lac La Ronge, which is on the edge of the Canadian Shield.

“If you want a taste of what Northern Saskatchewan was and has been, you would come to Robertsons and have a look around,” said Scott Robertson.

“To have a trading post last almost six decades, [that’s] pretty much unheard of.”

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​Sask. photographer who sees magic of the night sky says it needs protection

Jeanine Holowatuik keeps her camera gear stashed by the door, ready to go at a moment's notice.

The astrophotographer spends her time chasing the northern lights, waiting for waves of green and purple to start dancing across the sky.

"I could be in the middle of nowhere all by myself, just screaming, all excited at the sky, because it's just so unbelievable. It could be raining down light in every direction," said Holowatuik, who lives near Hudson Bay, Sask.

"There's just something magical about the night sky. It has this way to calm you and excite you and bring out the curiosity."

Holowatuik wants others to experience that magic. She teaches photography, leads aurora tours and speaks at conferences.

But she also wants people to know that the dark skies, as people have known them, are under threat as space and light pollution increases.

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The grief isn't gone 5 years after the Humboldt Broncos crash, but for some it's softer

Bernadine and Toby Boulet say they are still coming to terms with their son's death, even though he's been gone for years.

They've noticed the boys their son Logan knew growing tall and moving into adulthood. 

"I looked at pictures to compare and it really hit me that Logan's pictures aren't going to change. Everybody else gets to change. I thought about that lots before, but it's really starting to hit," Toby said. "After five years, there's a difference."

Logan Boulet played defence for the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team. He was one of the 16 people who died after team's bus collided with a semi that had blown through a stop sign in rural Saskatchewan on April 6, 2018. The thirteen others travelling on the bus were injured.

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Woman 'empowered' as former Christian school coach faces charges 10 years after alleged sexual exploitation

Jennifer Beaudry will never forget her first kiss, but it's burned in her memory for all the wrong reasons. 

She was a teen student at a private Christian school in Saskatoon when it happened. 

Beaudry says the kiss was initiated by Aaron Benneweis, a popular coach and the athletic director of the Christian Centre Academy (CCA) at the time. 

According to Beaudry, Benneweis was inappropriate with her while she was a teen student and he was in a position of authority. She alleges he began making eyes at her in 2008, when she was 13 years old, and that the behaviour escalated over years to secret meet-ups and sexual touching.

"There's a few reasons why I want to share my story," Beaudry said. "To bring closure and to bring some healing to myself and to actually have confidence that the situation is being dealt with properly." 

Beaudry and her mom claim that when the church's pastor was told about the allegations, he encouraged them to file a police report. However, they say the pastor told them to tell police that it began when Jennifer was 16, not 13, to make it "easier on Aaron" — and they obliged. 

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'Picking up these pieces': Daughter of Sask. stabbing victims says healing journey will be long, complicated

Deborah Burns presses a wet, crumpled tissue up to her eyes, taking a moment to breathe.

She wishes her mom Joyce was beside her to share their family's story. Joyce isn't ready to speak publicly yet, but she has made progress in her recovery after a terrifying tragedy that devastated the Burns family and their community. 

Joyce and her husband Earl were brutally assaulted in their family home on James Smith Cree Nation, Sask., during the September long weekend.

Earl didn't survive.

"It's just so shocking when I think about it. It's really, really, really unbelievable," Deborah said. 

The man wielding the knife was Myles Sanderson, who stabbed 10 people to death on James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) that morning, including his own brother Damien. He also killed one man in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., and injured several others during the merciless rampage.

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How 2SLGBT people are reclaiming their faith and redefining their relationship with spirituality

The week Mitchell Anderson publicly came out as gay, he also attended a Sunday service in his hometown for the first time. 

Anderson was nervous heading to church, since personal news (and gossip) travels fast in small towns like Meadow Lake, Sask. But when he arrived at the United Church, a community member literally embraced him with open arms. 

"You know, Mitchell, it's so nice to see you here today," he remembers her saying, "I just want you to know you're welcome here." 

 Anderson still holds onto that experience nearly 15 years later, now as lead minister at St. Paul's United Church in Saskatoon.

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Black activists across the Prairies are calling for defunding of police. Is anyone in power listening?

Calls for police reform and abolition howled through the Prairies like a fierce wind in 2020.

As the rallies quieted, Black advocates began to draft recommendations for how police and community leaders could meaningfully address systemic racism and police violence in their own communities.

The biggest call to action: defund the police.

Advocates are not asking police to do more with less money. Many are asking them to do less and let other, better-equipped mental health and social services agencies step in to handle the rest. They want money to be diverted from swelling police budgets to community-based organizations trying to stomp out the root causes of crime like poverty, housing insecurity and addictions.

Others are calling for the entire police institution to be dismantled.

Police services and politicians in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta have said they were listening, but advocates from Winnipeg to Calgary say change has been minimal at best.

It's not for lack of conversation…

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'I was in darkness': How a Saskatoon safe house helped a woman find healing through art

Alice sketched out three versions of a rose with pencil and charcoal to show the metamorphosis of a wilted flower into a flourishing one.

The piece is symbolic of her own evolution, which unfolded during her time living at a Saskatoon safe house for women during the last year.

"When I first got there, I was this dead wilted rose, but as the time went on I started growing."

The woman is transitioning out of the Hope Restored program. The Saskatoon organization offers women who have been sexually exploited — or are at risk of that — a safe place to go. It aims to help women escape dangerous situations and stabilize their lives.

At the safe house, women are offered counselling services, mentorship and even art classes. The art classes have given Alice the space to show what she doesn't feel comfortable saying.

CBC is referring to the woman as Alice, having agreed not to name the woman to protect her identity as she transitions from the safe house.

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Greg Fertuck lies but that doesn't make him a killer: defence lawyer

Defence lawyer Morris Bodnar says he doesn't trust Greg Fertuck.

But Bodnar still plans to defend Fertuck in a first-degree murder trial.

"When he drinks, he's not a nice person. Just because he's a person that's not a nice person — that may be obnoxious, may be violent at times, etcetera — doesn't mean he killed anyone," Bodnar said.

Greg is accused of killing his estranged wife, Sheree Fertuck, in 2015. He told undercover police that he killed Sheree. The five-week trial was supposed to begin Monday, but on Friday afternoon it was adjourned at the last minute until September because of COVID-19 concerns.

"The health and safety risks are just too great," wrote Justice Richard Danyliuk.

The 11th-hour adjournment was prompted by a spike in coronavirus variant cases in the Regina area and the public health recommendation to avoid travel.

Police suspected Greg of murder not long after her disappearance, but he wasn't arrested until 2019.

He called Bodnar, 72, from jail.

"I was pretty well retired and I remember getting a phone call at home from Greg in custody. They had arrested him for the murder."

The call wasn't unexpected. Bodnar said he had warned Fertuck earlier that this could happen.

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The Pit

I’ve teamed with a CBC podcast crew to help see an investigation into a missing woman through to the end of a high-profile murder trial. I’ve been leading the reporting, co-producing and sound mixing the latest episodes of The Pit.

Podcast synopsis: When Sheree Fertuck’s truck is found abandoned, suspicions grow around what happened to her. This CBC investigation uncovers a story of guns, violence, and loss -- and of the gravel pit that could still hold clues about her disappearance.

Catch the latest episodes:

Episode 8 | The Trial

With the trial about to begin, Greg’s lawyer explains why he’s representing Greg even though he doesn’t trust or believe him. We explore which factors could decide the verdict. With Sheree still missing, her sisters ponder what they want from the trial.

Episode 9 | Six More Months

A last minute decision puts the trial on hold for another six months. Sheree's family is shocked, and Greg is still in jail. Why would Greg's lawyers want their client in jail longer, and why couldn't this case go ahead when others have? Meanwhile someone close to Sheree finally speaks up.

(Or start at the beginning.)

The opioid crisis: How one man is fighting to prevent overdose deaths in Saskatchewan

Photo by Kendall Latimer (6 of 7).jpg

Jason Mercredi keeps a manila envelope full of funeral cards close. He said the cards could paper his office walls twice over. 

"You need those reminders of the people that have passed so that you keep fighting for the people that are living," he said… 

READ MORE HERE.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE

Prairie Harm Reduction is a non-profit organization in Saskatoon, a sort of community centre offering services to vulnerable people. By the time Jason Mercredi became executive director in 2016, he had seen 120 clients die. There have been more deaths since then, and Jason predicts more to come, now that the opioid overdose crisis has settled into Saskatchewan. That's why Jason and his team worked so hard to open the province's first supervised consumption site last fall — and fought like hell when their funding fell though.

Photo by Kendall Latimer (1 of 7).jpg

Exposing the troubling underbelly of Raising Hope: a non-profit serving Indigenous women

I brought to light the concerns of several former employees and residents of Raising Hope (a government funded, non-profit program designed to help vulnerable Indigenous women dealing with addictions, homelessness, or child apprehensive) at the end of 2020. Since then, several other people have come forward and other media outlets are now following the story. The Saskatchewan government has also launched its own review of the organization.

"Why does someone have to die in order for attention or change ... that's the sad part of this whole story, because it just didn't start with Marilyn's death.”

Racism in the music industry, a need for accountability, fear in Ethiopia

'Pawn it' comment prompts Indigenous artist to call out discrimination in Sask. country music industry

A comment about Indigenous artists pawning trophies prompted a Saskatoon musician to speak out about what he sees as ongoing discrimination in the country music industry.

Jarrid Poitras says he was hurt by a colleague's comment during a meeting last week on the absence of the Indigenous Artist of the Year award at the Saskatchewan Country Music Association's (SCMA's) awards show. 

"Somebody made a comment about 'why should we give them an award when they're just going to pawn it off anyway?'" Poitras said. 

Sask.'s decision to end widely criticized practice of birth alerts doesn't go far enough: experts

Indigenous women traumatized by birth alerts continue to be haunted by them long after the alerts were first entered into the health-care system, says Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond (Aki-Kwe) — and she's not alone in saying simply ending the practice doesn't go far enough. 

"We have to repair the harm. [Government] has to acknowledge it," said Turpel Lafond, who was the first Indigenous woman appointed to the bench in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan man fears for Ethiopian family displaced by violence

Ted Jaleta, an accomplished Regina-based athlete, said he feels powerless to help his brothers who have lost their homes and livelihoods as ethnic violence grips Ethiopia.  

The well-known running coach and community volunteer made the Saskatchewan capital his home after fleeing violence in the African country nearly 40 years ago. Now he fears for his family members and other ethnic minorities who are under threat. 

On the campaign trail

I hit the campaign trail for Saskatchewan’s 29th general election. Of course, I was busy with daily coverage of election promises, announcements of buying-votes — erm, rebates, platform reveals and message tracking. But on top of the day-to-day business, I was also able to dig in to a few deeper issues before the Sask. Party claimed another sweeping majority government.

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Sparking an unprecedented #metoo movement

Saskatchewan was one of the few places left relatively undisturbed by the first waves of #MeToo and its predecessor #BeenRapedNeverReported. The province’s two major cities tend to operate more like small towns. They are the kind of places where everyone knows and everyone whispers— but no one says anything, and alleged abusers are protected. It is often the victims who become the villains in stories such as these. That changed this summer when myself and my wonderfully talented colleague Bonnie Allen revealed several allegations about high-profile community members.

The movement soon snowballed beyond our reporting. An Instagram account, labelled a reckoning, was launched. Women (and some men) posted hundreds of stories about the harassment and abuse they experienced, and some of them named their alleged abusers or the establishments that allowed the behaviour to continue. After more than 1,000 posts were made the account was sent into silence. A man began a lawsuit against Facebook (owner of Instagram) and Jane Doe — the moderator he still doesn’t know the identity of. For now, the community has returned to its whisper networks but there has also mean meaningful change. Workplace reviews have taken place, employees have undergone harassment bystander training and codes of conduct have been implemented.

The first investigative story we published involved a popular mental health advocate who travelled to and fro all across the province touting self-esteem and self-love. He had also spent 16 years working in the restaurant industry…

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Black Lives Matter and police oversight

Black Lives Matter movements swelled up in waves never seen before around the world after the brutal police killing of George Floyd. The movements were so powerful that they managed to filter into Saskatchewan. Rallies of not just dozens but hundreds of people took place in both major cities. In my writing, I tried to navigate painful stories of racism and solutions, as well as police brutality and oversight.

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Covering the Northwestern Saskatchewan COVID-19 outbreak from afar

Saskatchewan’s northwestern communities were hit hard and disproportionately by the novel coronavirus. While I was not able to be there on the ground, I was able to help community members and local leaders raise their voices and tell stories of death, fear, love, health, discrimination and accountability.

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A closer look at Saskatchewan's domestic violence crisis

I was part of a nationwide CBC series “Stopping Domestic Violence” that looked at the crisis of intimate partner violence in Canada and also for solutions. For Saskatchewan, I sought out staggering numbers, government accountability and heartbreaking accounts from those who either got out, or were left to mourn loved ones who couldn’t.

Sister of domestic homicide victim says public awareness crucial in prevention

Brianda Robillard often looks at her son and wonders what nickname her sister Brandy would have given him. Brandy was known for giving names to all of the family nephews. "When I look at my baby, I always imagine how it would be if my sister was alive." Brianda was four months pregnant when Chester Bigeye beat 24-year-old Brandy to death…

Sask. domestic violence survivor says lack of services could make victims 'suffer in silence'

Savannah Hodgson says she thought she was going to die. She and her husband had been married about three years when the relationship took a near-deadly turn. They have a son together and she had two girls from a previous relationship. He came after her — first with a chainsaw and then with a gun…

Sask. shelters turn away people fleeing domestic violence more than 600 times per month

Women and children fleeing domestic abuse were turned away from shelters more than 600 times in one month in Saskatchewan, according to a CBC News investigation…

"I think there's a lot of people that just slip through the cracks because the services can't be there when they need it."

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