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

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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

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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 Oka by Loreen Pindera and Geoffrey York

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance by Alanis Obomsawin

Rocks at Whiskey Trench by 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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Stories about Canada's real estate obsession. 

The first episode drops on April 28, 2021.

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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.

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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

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