I am thrilled to share that the Thunder Bay docuseries won Best Writing Factual and Best Series Factual at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards during yesterday's Documentary, Factual, and Lifestyle and Reality Awards Gala. This recognition from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television means a lot to our team, and to those who were brave enough to share their stories with us, and of course, it means the world to me.

I want to take the time to recognize Jesse Brown and Canadaland for giving me a shot way back in 2017 to bring the story in Thunder Bay to millions of people through our podcast. Brown picked up the phone when no one else wanted to give me a shot with this story — we wouldn’t be here without Jesse and the team at Canadaland, their listeners, and all those partners who stood behind the podcast work.

Jon Thompson. I invited you onto my boat for an afternoon so we could float on Rainy Lake and so that I could pitch you this project. You vehemently said no to the television docuseries. It made me go back to the drawing board and rethink things. Then I pitched again, you said yes. Thanks for coming on this journey and helping steer the ship. Most importantly, thanks for holding the line for Thunder Bay, something you’ve always done and will always do.

A big thanks to Allison Brough and Toby Dormer, both are former unscripted executives at eOne who now run the Unscripted Department at Blink 49. They fought for this show every day when things got really hard. Thank you for trusting us in the writer’s room and out in the field. Documentary is hard to make, having an executive team that allows you to fail and to find the story as it shows itself is essential and it’s the reason we succeeded with this series.

A special thanks to the team at Bell Media and Crave. Thank you to the executives who led this project with us and are no longer with the company (such is the Canadian film, tv, and media industry). Crave allowed us to tell the story we wanted with very few notes and all the trust in the world. I hope your investment in us charted a path for Indigenous stories to follow inside of your company. I can’t wait to do it all again.

Leslie Lucas and crew. Lucas, you are a fierce leader with a sharp eye for story. Your strong heart led us through fires we didn’t know if we’d get through. You fought hard fights for us to finish this show properly. Leslie, I’d do this with you again and again.

Crew. You gave everything, truly. Your good hearts and minds shaped this work. Your thoughtfulness and care made all the difference given the work we set out to do in Thunder Bay. There are many many many of you and I will forget someone, so I won’t list you all. But know that I’m genuinely thinking of you and I’ll be reaching out to each of you personally to say thank you.

To my family — the work I do takes me away from you sometimes and it’s unfair that you pay the price for the career I have. I hope I’ve made you proud, that’s the only goal I have outside of putting food on the table and a roof over our heads.

Levon and Hawk. Thanks for your friendship and your sharp and curious brains. You’re smart young guys with lots to give this world, keep questioning the shit that doesn’t make sense for you and if you’re mom and I can help lighten the load, we’re here for you.

To our boys, Sam and Thomas. You’re too young to understand this work right now, but I hope all of this work makes your world safer. I want you boys to grow up to be proud, strong, kind, and gentle men. This is my dream for you. If this work does anything good for you, I hope it helps you see a path toward whatever it is you dream of in this world.

Ella and Jane. I love you. You paid the steepest price of all for my career. During the making of this series, I was gone most of two years, home for short stints then away again. I will spend my life making up for the time we’ve lost throughout my career. I am so proud of who you’ve both become. Your kind and fierce hearts give my life direction and a love deeper than anything I’ve ever known. Thank you for being my daughters, my friends, and my inspiration.

Madeline. Everything is possible with you. I love you. Thank you for walking with me.