When gold was discovered in the Yukon, 100,000 people desperately tried to make it to a small patch of land in one of the most remote environments on the continent. Few made it all the way.  The Klondike Gold Rush was many things: a media conspiracy, a ponzi scheme, a land grab. But above all, it was a humanitarian disaster that stretched over much of the Pacific Northwest.   Featured in this episode: Brian Castner, Deb Vanasse   To learn more: Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike by Brian Castner Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold by Deb Vanassse Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rushby Pierre Berton   Additional music from Audio Network   This episode is sponsored by Rotman’s Executive Leadership Online, Douglas and Dispatch Coffee.  Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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MINING 1 - The Myth of the Klondike

Stories about the dirty business of Canadian mining. First episode drops October 13, 2021. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing our new season… Mining

Over 25 years, WE built a golden brand by inspiring children to rally around their charismatic leader. But behind the scenes, employees experienced a cult-like culture and a troubling blur of charitable and commercial activities. In the aftermath of a national scandal, thousands of donors and volunteers (and dozens of ‘celebrity ambassadors’) are left wondering where the money went, and whether the savior industry creates a constant need for victims. From CANADALAND, the news company that exposed it all, this is the exclusive story of a charity that did well when it was supposed to be doing good. Subscribe to The White Saviors now! Series launch: August 23 This trailer contains source materials used under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act. Sources: It Takes a Child Craig Kielburger's Story - A Journey into Child Labour Directed by Judy Jackson Produced by Judy Films Youtube The Story of Craig Kielburger produced, and narrated by Sherine Mansour CPAC Youtube In Search Of Character LiveWire Media Elkind+Sweet Communications, Inc https://www.livewiremedia.com/product/in-search-of-character/ The Price WE Paid The Fifth Estate/CBC Interview with Craig Kielburger CSPAN Craig Kielburger NSB Speakers promotional video Youtube Marc Kielburger NSB Speakers promotional video Youtube WE Movement Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6agaIkn5aBJlLLds7P1HQ MeToWe Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6agaIkn5aBJlLLds7P1HQ CTV News - Kielburger brothers interview with Lisa Laflamme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_p5PRLy2os MTV Cribs: Craig Kielburger Episode Haddon Strategy https://vimeo.com/49975157 Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing The White Saviors

The destruction of Borneo’s rainforests has been called the greatest environmental crime of our time. But journalists and NGOs have long alleged that one man, Abdul Taib Mahmud, has benefitted from that destruction to the tune of billions of dollars. If that’s true, it’s one of the worst acts of corruption in the modern era. And for over a decade, those same campaigners have argued that Taib’s empire isn’t limited to Malaysia. They claim that its tendrils extend deep into Canada.    Featured in this episode: Mutang Urud, Clare Rewcastle Brown (The Sarawak Report)   To learn more: Money Logging: On the Trail of the Malaysian Timber Mafia by Lukas Straumann  A Time to Swimby Ashley Duong “Political interference may have helped scuttle investigation of Canadian corporation” by Timothy Wilson in Ricochet “How Canada's Wealthy Couple Splash Sarawak's Cash” by The Sarawak Report The Facts Matter   Additional music from Audio Network   This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Sandy and Nora Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 8 - The Last White Rajah

Eddy Haymour has been called a lot of things in his life. Immigrant success story. Kidnapper. Terrorist. Folk Hero. But the long saga of Eddy Haymour is at its heart a story of obsession. About a man who became consumed by his dreams for a piece of land. And about a government equally determined to stop him at any cost. Featured in this episode: Omar Mouallem, Greg Crompton   To learn more: Eddy’s Kingdom by Greg Crompton “The Kingdom of Haymour” by Omar Mouallem in EDify Magazine “Eddy Haymour and Rattlesnake Island” by CBC’s Fifth Estate   Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Sandy and Nora Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 7 - The Ballad of Eddy Haymour

The Toronto Community Housing Corporation is the biggest landlord in Canada, and the second biggest in all of North America.  But government after government has allowed social housing in Toronto to fall apart. It’s not just the buildings that they’ve let rot. It’s also our moral obligation to the most vulnerable in our society.   Featured in this episode: Joe Fiorito, John Sewell, Susan Gapka   To learn more: “Al Gosling is now homeless at 82” by Joe Fiorito in The Toronto Star “Ousting Sewell” by Jamie Bradburn in The Torontoist “Tragic tale of local artist has happy coda” by Joe Fiorito in The Toronto Star   Additional music from Audio Network   This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Blue Jays Happy Hour Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 6 - Canada’s Biggest Slumlord

The Oka Crisis was the biggest military confrontation on Canadian soil in more than a century. On its face, it was about a golf course expansion. But for the Mohawks who took up arms, it was the culmination of a centuries-long fight for recognition of their sovereignty and their land.   Featured in this episode: Thaioronióhte Dan David, Loreen Pindera, Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail)   To learn more: People of the Pines: The Warriors and Legacy of Okaby Loreen Pindera and Geoffrey York Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistanceby Alanis Obomsawin Rocks at Whiskey Trenchby Alanis Obomsawin “The Oka Crisis — looking forward after 30 years” by Thaioronióhte Dan David in CBC News   Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Value(s) by Mark Carney and BankSwitch. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 5 - Oka

Real estate mania is at an all time high in this country. And in no place is this more true than in Vancouver. But nobody can even agree on what went wrong.  Have snooty property owners, overreaching bureaucrats, and gutless politicians allowed the housing supply to dwindle to nothing?  Or has a network of transnational criminals turned Vancouver into a narco-capital built on dirty money?   Featured in this episode: Frances Bula, Sam Cooper, Lindsey Murphy, Jesse Donaldson   To learn more: “Vancouver’s affordable housing announcements remain unfulfilled years later” by Frances Bula in The Globe and Mail Wilful Blindness: How a Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West by Sam Cooper “Inside Vancouver City Hall’s Housing Wars” by Doug Ward in The Tyee   Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee and Value(s) by Mark Carney Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 4 - City of Glass

Vancouver is obsessed with real estate. But what most people don’t realize, is that it’s been this way from the beginning.  Three stories of the swindlers, segregationists and profiteers that made Terminal City what it is.   Featured in this episode: Jesse Donaldson, Jordan Stanger-Ross, Michael Abe, Stephen Learey   To learn more: Land of Destiny: A History of Vancouver Real Estate by Jesse Donaldson Landscapes of Injustice: A New Perspective on the Internment and Dispossession of Japanese Canadians edited by Jordan Stanger-Ross “Expo 86 evictions: remembering the fair's dark side” by Rafferty Baker in CBC News   Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee and Value(s) by Mark Carney   Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 3 - Terminal City

Africville was one of Canada’s oldest Black settlements, a proud community of more than 400 people. And then the City of Halifax decided to utterly obliterate it.  There was one man who simply refused to leave. Eddie Carvery may not have been the best man for the job. But for half a century, he has never stopped fighting for his home.    Featured in this episode: Eddie Carvery, Jon Tattrie   To learn more: The Hermit of Africville: The Life of Eddie Carvery by Jon Tattrie Remember Africville by Shelagh Mackenzie Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Images Festival and Dispatch Coffee Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 2 - The Last Man in Africville

The Bridle Path is one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Canada, home to the ultra-wealthy and the famous. But behind their locked gates, some of Canada’s elite try to scheme their way into even greater wealth on the property market — not always legally.  And their ambitions have a way of becoming problems for the rest of us.  Featured in this episode: Kozeta Izeti, Norma Walton NOTE: The original version of this episode contained an additional story, which we will publish separately. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REAL ESTATE 1 - The Bridle Path

Stories about Canada’s real estate obsession.  The first episode drops on April 28, 2021. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing our new season… Real Estate!

Almost a year after the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history, Nova Scotians are still in the dark about what exactly happened. A gunman, dressed in an RCMP uniform, driving an RCMP cruiser killed 22 people. In the months since, the Mounties have been short on answers. And it’s left people wondering whether they have something to hide.   Featured in this episode: Stephen Maher, Paul Palango, Sandra McCulloch   To learn more: “13 deadly hours” from The Fifth Estate by CBC News “How the Nova Scotia shooting victims' families won a public inquiry into the tragedy,” by Stephen Maher in Maclean’s “The Nova Scotia shooter case has hallmarks of an undercover operation” by Paul Palango, Stephen Maher, Shannon Gormley in Maclean’s   Additional music from Audio Network   This episode is sponsored by Rotman, Cullen’s Foods, and Hello Fresh. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE POLICE 10 - Portapique

For three decades, much of Northern Ontario has been engaged in an unprecedented experiment in policing. It’s called the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service. And the idea is simple: the old, colonial cops shouldn’t be policing Indigenous territory. Instead, Indigenous people should police themselves. Featured in this episode: Kyle Edwards, Christian Leuprecht To learn more: “Inside the impossible work of Canada's biggest Indigenous police force” by Kyle Edwards in Maclean’s “Force 2.0: Fixing the Governance, Leadership, and Structure of the RCMP” by Christian Leuprecht “Memories of a fire” by Mark Blackburn in APTN News Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Rotman, Cullen’s Foods, and Manscaped.   Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE POLICE 9 - Northern Patrol

When John and Susan Pruyn came to Toronto, they were hoping to protest against the G20 and then spend some time with their daughter. Instead, they would be caught up in a whirlwind of police misconduct with few precedents in Canadian history. Featured in this episode: Jesse Rosenfeld, John Pruyn, Susan Pruyn, Sarah Pruyn.   To learn more: “‘’I will not forget what they have done to me’” in The Toronto Star You Should Have Stayed At Home by CBC’s The Fifth Estate “Rejecting G20's consensus of the few” by Jesse Rosenfeld in The Guardian Additional music from Audio Network Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE POLICE 8 - The G20: Fortress Toronto

A politics show for people who hate politics.

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COMMONS

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