The Sask Dispatch is a Saskatchewan-focused publication produced by Briarpatch, launched in October 2018. Printed every two months and posted online, the Sask Dispatch covers under-reported issues in the province, centring issues that are important to poor folks and the working class, Indigenous communities, and other marginalized groups. If you have a story Saskatchewan needs to hear, get in touch at pitch@briarpatchmagazine.com.
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CLC throws support behind locked-out Refinery Co-op workers
After Unifor National president Jerry Dias was arrested on the Refinery Co-op picket line, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress flew in to support locked-out Unifor 594 members. It comes almost exactly two years after a bitter split, when Unifor disaffiliated from the CLC.
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Sask DispatchThree times P3s screwed over Saskatchewan
As Saskatchewan shows, when you allow private companies to make bank on the backs of the public, it’s the people who pay.
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Sask DispatchOn the Prairies, the drug crisis is not opioids, but meth
Almost everything about stimulants like meth is different from opioids. And Saskatchewan is woefully unprepared to care for the rising number of people seeking treatment for meth addiction.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsFreshCo contracts “a complete downgrade” for workers
As four Sask. Safeway stores convert to FreshCos, workers are looking at lower wages, fewer entitlements, and fewer benefits
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Sask DispatchRegina’s 92-million-dollar problem
A crisis of underfunded social programs leads to an increased crime rate, which is used to justify ballooning police budgets. Activists are making the case for defunding the police.
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Sask DispatchDoes Saskatchewan need a citizen watchdog for the police?
A fatal police-involved shooting has prompted calls for Saskatchewan to create an independent citizen oversight body. But what if most civilian committees aren’t made up solely of civilians at all?
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Sask DispatchNorthern forests on the chopping block
Logging has nearly quadrupled in the last 10 years, and northern residents are raising red flags about the pace of clear-cutting
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Sask DispatchThe sorry state of abortion access in Saskatchewan
From lack of access in rural and northern areas to an astonishing number of homegrown anti-abortion politicians, Saskatchewan is ground zero for attacks on reproductive rights.
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Sask DispatchSaskatoon welcomes premiers with climate justice protest
While Canada’s premiers visit Saskatoon, Treaty 6 territory, activists are camping out for four days in Kiwanis Memorial Park to urge action on climate change.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsSask Wildfire operations funding remains “inadequate”
Despite minor funding hikes for wildfire operations over the past four years, the budget this year is only three-quarters of what it was in 2007-08. As wildfires become more frequent and serious, what is our government going to do about it?
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Sask Dispatch BriefsChecking in two years after the end of NORTEP and NORPAC
In 2017 the Sask Party cut funding and eliminated the Northern Teacher Education Program and the Northern Professional Access College. What’s been the impact on Indigenous language learning and access to education?
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Sask DispatchWhat happened to the Co-op?
The Co-op was founded on principles of equality and solidarity. But now workers and members say management is trying to run it “like a corporation.” How did we get here?
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Sask DispatchWill the labour movement lead the charge for a just transition in Sask?
It’s past time for serious planning in Saskatchewan toward a just transition. The question remains: will unions take the lead before it’s too late – and which union will lead the charge?
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Sask Dispatch BriefsHow do we close the renewable energy gap for low-income people?
Low-income people spend more money on energy costs. Regina’s Wascana Solar Co-op is thinking about how to make renewable energy accessible for low-income people.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsA letter to the editor (albeit in rhyme)
One hundred and thirty-one days is a very long time – the members are for you every step of the way. We believe in the Co-op, and what you say: with equal work comes equal pay.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsStudent strike!
On March 15, Regina students gathered in front of the Saskatchewan legislature building as part of a global youth action to push for concrete measures to be taken to address climate change.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsLabour tensions flare on Sask University campuses
Support workers at the University of Saskatchewan continue to bargain to keep their pensions and increase pay. Meanwhile, a collective agreement was reached in April between the University of Regina and the University of Regina Faculty Association (URFA).
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Sask Dispatch Briefs
Group hopes courts will force U of S to release documents on ties to Monsanto
Faculty members and others at the University of Saskatchewan have launched a legal challenge to force the University to release information on its ties to agribusiness giant Monsanto, recently acquired by Bayer.
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Sask Dispatch Briefs
University of Regina refuses to name funders of fossil fuel research
Professor Emily Eaton is taking the University of Regina to court to force the University to release details of funding for research related to oil, gas, coal, petroleum, carbon capture, climate change, and alternative energy.
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Sask Dispatch BriefsGeothermal power plant to be built with $25.6 million from feds
A major geothermal power generation facility is set to be built in Estevan, SK, Treaty 4 territory.
