Friends, family, and Prince Albert residents gathered outside the Saskatchewan Provincial courthouse Wednesday morning to support Trevor Laplante, the 52-year-old Prince Albert man who was found deceased on the 500 block of 18th Street East on July 22.
The rally was timed to coincide with the most recent court appearance of 33-year-old Michael Bird, the man accused of killing Laplante. The case has been adjourned to Aug. 28. Bird is facing charges of second-degree murder and indignity to a body.
Jeff Perehudoff, the head organizer for the rally, says he was thrilled with the number of people who took time out of their day for the cause.
“I’m actually quite pleased with the turnout and the support, everybody that’s here is important and I’m very proud of everybody for coming. We need to band together as a community and we want the proper justice for Trevor.”
One participant of the rally was Laplante’s sister Maureen Palagian. In an interview with the Daily Herald after the conclusion of the hearing, Palagian says the time since Trevor’s death has been difficult for his family.
“The support has been tremendous and in caring ways whether it’s a hug or coming to show up for the court appearance or this court date. It’s been really really hard on our family and we know we hear everybody’s prayers and their thoughts.
“We know it’s not going to bring Trevor back but we feel and hear them anyway. The support is overwhelming. It’s very nice as we come together as a community to help all of us understand that folks can’t get away with stuff like this and that person took my brother’s life. We all want justice for Trevor, I want justice for Trevor.”
Laplante was well known in the community for supporting various events, including being a regular at every home game for the Prince Albert Raiders. One sign at the rally read “Justice for Trevor. Whooooo” which is a reference to Laplante’s signature cheer, inspired by wrestler Ric Flair.
Palagian says she will always remember how positive Laplante was throughout his life.
“My brother had a heart of gold. He enjoyed the community events in Prince Albert. He attended all the Raider games. We sat in Kinsmen Park together every year on Canada Day (and) just listen to music. He had a positive spirit. He liked to joke around with us and those sorts of things, but that’s his family. Whether he did it to others, I’m sure he did, but with family he did that.”
After the conclusion of the hearing, the rally marched to the steps outside of Prince Albert City Hall to demonstrate and advocate for change to prevent more deaths like Laplante’s.
Palagian says she is hoping Prince Albert can be a place where residents feel safe.
“Everybody has seen the change in the community of Prince Albert, the crime rate is high. It’s awful, people don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe here. I want to feel safe in our community. I want the city to realize, this is our community. We have taxpayers here that want to feel safe in our community. I don’t know what the end result of this is going to be within having the change of city of Prince Albert. At least this will be a start. Unfortunately, maybe it had to take my brother’s death to do that.”
The rally was peaceful in nature. In the days leading up to the rally, Perehudoff says the communication between himself and law enforcement was excellent, leading to the event going off without any issue.
“Communication between the courts and myself and everybody has been really good. They’ve been very supportive, helpful, leading us in the right way. Like I said, we’re here to respect, they’re here to respect us and do their jobs. I feel like their communication with us has been really good so far.”
Perehudoff indicated that he plans to host a similar event at the next court hearing for Bird on Aug. 28.
