Robbie Benoit
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet and writer. A longtime resident of Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, he is best known for his Tall Yukon Tales.
Benoit was born in northwestern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. After moving to the Yukon as a young man, he worked for many years in the mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
industry. After a fall down a mineshaft at Ketza River, he quit mining and left the Yukon. Shortly after this he took up dog breeding and showing
Conformation show
Conformation shows, also referred to as breed shows, are a kind of dog show in which a judge familiar with a specific dog breed evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.A...
, and won Best of Breed
Best of Breed
Best of Breed is the title given to the dog who has been judged the best representative specimen of its breed at a conformation show.Dogs compete in a hierarchical fashion at each show, where winners at lower levels are gradually combined to narrow the winners until the final round, where Best in...
at the Westminster
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a two-day, all-breed benched conformation show that takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City every year. The first Westminster show was held in 1877....
in 2001 with his Komondor
Komondor
The Komondor is a large, white-colored Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat....
named Oscar.
He first released his CD Tall Yukon Tales, a collection of original verse about life in the Yukon, on November 18, 2004.
In 2005, he was diagnosed with cancer of the gall bladder, which then spread to his brain. Later that year, his cancer had gone into remission, and on December 16, 2005, he recorded a program called "To Hell with Cancer" alongside several other Whitehorse entertainers which was later broadcast on CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's Sounds Like Canada
Sounds Like Canada
Sounds Like Canada was a Canadian radio program, which aired weekday mornings on CBC Radio One from 2002 to 2008. Until the end of May 2008, the program was hosted by the award-winning broadcaster Shelagh Rogers, and in the summers by a rotating series of guest hosts...
. (He had initially wanted to call the show "Cancer Can Kiss My Ass" but changed it after host Shelagh Rogers
Shelagh Rogers
Shelagh Rogers, OC is a Canadian radio broadcaster. She is currently the host of CBC Radio One's The Next Chapter.Rogers grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. She was the "Head Girl" at her high school, Lisgar Collegiate Institute. She played in the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and was a spare on the Reach for...
indicated this title would probably be unsuitable for broadcast on the radio.)
In 2007, his cancer returned and spread to his liver, and was diagnosed as terminal. On March 30, 2007, he recorded a program "To Hell With Cancer Part Deux" in Whitehorse, also appearing on Sounds Like Canada, as a fundraiser to record another album before his death. On this program, Shelagh Rogers inducted him as the first member of the "Order of Sounds Like Canada" (a semi-humorous reference to the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
).
Robbie Benoit died on August 24, 2007 At 8:15 am.