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 [email protected].
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Sask DispatchFinding asylum in Swift Current
In the small city of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, three refugee sponsorship groups are preparing to welcome five migrants who endured detention on Papua New Guinea’s infamous Manus Island centre.
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Sask DispatchMapping the connections between anti-queer, anti-trans speakers at Regina’s conversion therapy ban council meeting
On April 28, Regina city council reviewed a city administration report proposing a ban on conversion therapy – and inadvertently gave a platform to an international network of organized anti-queer, anti-trans activists.
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Sask DispatchOpen letter to Mayor Masters and the Regina Community Wellness Committee
A meeting to discuss a conversion therapy ban in Regina devolved into anti-trans rhetoric on April 14, with delegates misgendering trans youth and associating gender-affirming treatments with self-harm. Cat Haines, a transgender woman, educator, and academic writes an open letter in response
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The Sask Dispatch is looking for solutions journalism stories
We’re looking for stories about the practical solutions Saskatchewan people are building in response to social and environmental issues. Pitches are due May 9, 2021.
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Sask DispatchHow progressives won the Sask municipal elections
Of the 20 city council candidates endorsed by the labour movement, 15 won their elections in 2020. We spoke to the organizers behind their campaigns to find out how they did it, and what’s next.
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Sask DispatchProtecting the peatlands
A new proposal would mine peat from northern Saskatchewan muskegs for 80 years. Locals say it would be both devastating to the environment and a violation of Treaty Rights.
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Sask DispatchWe can’t back down from Renewable Regina
After interference from the premier and an uproar from residents, several Regina city councilors have signaled that they will back down from a proposed amendment barring fossil fuel companies from advertising in the city. Saba Dar explains why there will always be resistance to transition, and why we can’t let that stop us.
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Decolonizing Relations on Treaty 4 territory
Indigenous people, immigrants, and settlers in Regina’s Decolonizing Relations group discuss land, labour, and solidarity.
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A letter from the organizer of the Sask. prisoners’ hunger strike
The COVID-19 outbreak inside Saskatchewan’s provincial prisons, where three-quarters of inmates are Indigenous, is the newest development in Canada’s 154-year-long campaign of Indigenous genocide.
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Sask DispatchCrowns do it better
The privatization, perils, and promise of Saskatchewan’s Crown corporations.
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Sask DispatchA fair day in – and out of – court
In Saskatchewan, what resources exist to help defendants navigate – and avoid getting trapped in – our complex and high-stakes court system?
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Defund the police
In preparation for Regina’s 2020 municipal election, the Sask Dispatch asked progressive community members, activists, and experts to pick one pressing issue facing the city, and write about how to address it. Michelle Stewart and Richelle Dubois, two long-time community activists, share their thoughts on defunding the police and making the city safer for Indigenous people, poor people, queer people, newcomers and other racialized and marginalized folks.
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Sustainable transit
In 2018, Regina city council committed to a 100 per cent renewable city by 2050. Free transit, electric buses, and bike lanes will be a huge component of a renewable city – so why is council so hesitant to implement them?
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Ending homelessness
Without any city, provincial, or federal funding, Fougere’s plan to end homelessness has been an utter failure. What concrete steps can the city take to end homelessness?
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Public transit
People who live in Regina know it’s nearly impossible to get around town using only public transit. It’s a huge barrier to access for disabled people, youth, seniors, newcomers, and low-income earners. What should we consider when beefing up public transit?
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Environment & Sustainability
The city walked back its 2018 motion to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050; but environmental sustainability has never been a more pressing local issue. Here’s how local activists are envisioning a truly renewable Regina.
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Sask DispatchRegina Municipal Election 2020: Wascana Park
For the past few years, the construction of the new Conexus and Brandt/CNIB buildings have been fiercely opposed by Regina residents who want no business in the park. How much power does the city have over the future of Wascana Centre?
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Sask DispatchWhy you should (and shouldn’t) be invested in Regina’s municipal election
From police brutality to accessibility to climate change – change starts at the local level. That’s why the Sask Dispatch put together a package of articles weighing in on the municipal election. So what’s at stake on November 9?
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The space to tell stories
Since the Sask Party cut a key film tax credit in 2012, a lot of ink has been spilled about the film industry’s decline. But after the tax credit was cut, there’s been a groundswell of cinema by Indigenous women in Saskatchewan. How did this happen, and what can we learn about building a strong and just film industry?
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Sask DispatchHelp Sask Dispatch create more and better independent journalism
Sask Dispatch wants to launch a weekly email newsletter and a full on website. In order to do that, we need 100 Founding Members.
