Over a decade ago journalist Laura Robinson broke this story of alleged abuse against Indigenous children at a school in Burns Lake, B.C.. The man at the centre of the allegations is someone who had risen to international prominence in the sports world.

It's been a tale of twists and turns with the RCMP investigating the abuse allegations and declining to press charges. Robinson and the accused took turns to sue each other for defamation. Finally, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal took up the case and just handed down a decision.

And despite the fact that over the last decade nearly every major broadcaster in the country has printed and broadcast the name of the alleged abuser, we no longer can. There's now a publication ban in effect.

Is this the final chapter in the story?

Laura Robinson joins us today.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

More information:

Sponsors:

Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit https://douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.

Fizz: Visit https://fizz.ca and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 40$ off and 10GB of free data.

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Long Fight for a Little Justice in Burns Lake