COMMONS

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Over the last two months, Nova Scotians have endured tragedy upon tragedy. The worst mass murder in modern Canadian history. A helicopter crash and the death of a Snowbirds’ pilot. And all the while, COVID-19 ravaged the biggest long-term care home in Atlantic Canada.

COMMONS: Pandemic is currently focusing on how COVID-19 is affecting long-term care in Canada.

Featured in this episode: Jennifer Henderson (Halifax Examiner), Janice Keefe

To learn more:

“Nova Scotia's lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic” by Taryn Grant, Cassidy Chisholm, Elizabeth Chiu and Alex Cooke in CBC Nova Scotia

“The Northwood board has been expressing “grave concern” about double occupancy rooms for years” by Jennifer Henderson in the Halifax Examiner

“Strang, union clash over COVID-19 concerns at Northwood” by John McPhee in The Chronicle Herald

This episode is sponsored by Wealthbar 

Additional music from Audio Network

“I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor” by Chris Zabriskie, adapted.

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's where you can support us: commonspodcast.com

Tracy Rowley lost her surrogate mother to COVID-19 in a long-term care facility. But she’s determined that Shirley Egerdeen doesn’t become just another statistic. Tracy’s suing the company that runs the home. But one of the strangest things in this story is exactly who owns them.

COMMONS: Pandemic is currently focusing on how COVID-19 is affecting long-term care in Canada.

Featured in this episode: Tracy Rowley, Sherina Harris (HuffPost Canada), Emma Paling (HuffPost Canada), Zaid Noorsumar  To learn more:

“COVID-19 Has Killed 164 At Revera's Care Homes. Their Families Want Answers” by Emma Paling and Sherina Harris in HuffPost Canada “Is it Time to Care Yet?” by Zaid Noorsumar in Rank and File

“It is time to forget the profits and fix long-term care” by Geoffrey Stevens in The Waterloo Region Record

This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks and The Jerry Cans

Additional music from Audio Network

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over 1700 Ontarians have already been killed by COVID-19. And the vast majority of them died in long-term care. But if you live in a private, for-profit home, you’re much more likely to die from this virus. The for-profit long-term care industry is politically powerful and deeply entrenched. Is this their moment of reckoning?

COMMONS: Pandemic is currently focusing on how COVID-19 is affecting long-term care in Canada.

Featured in this episode: Sharleen Stewart (SEIU Healthcare), Natalie Mehra (Ontario Health Coalition)

To learn more:

“Party of Profits: Ontario Tories and the profit motive in long-term care” by Zaid Noorsumar in Rank and File

“For-profit nursing homes have four times as many COVID-19 deaths as city-run homes, Star analysis finds” by Marco Chown Oved, Brendan Kennedy, Kenyon Wallace, Ed Tubb and Andrew Bailey in The Toronto Star

“40 Ontario nursing homes with the highest rates of reported abuse” by Valérie Ouellet, Dexter Brown in CBC Marketplace

This episode is sponsored by WealthBar

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

Additional music:

I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

“Clean Soul” by Kevin Macleod, adapted. 

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre has experienced the deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in Alberta. But some people say that their loved ones were killed by neglect at McKenzie Towne long before the pandemic even began.

COMMONS: Pandemic is currently focusing on how COVID-19 is affecting long-term care in Canada.

Featured in this episode: Breanne Sinclair, Shauna Parks

To learn more:

“'I'm numb': families beg for help as care home outbreak spreads” by Timm Bruch in CTV News Calgary

“Grieving granddaughter exposes history of McKenzie Towne continuing care home by Jill Croteau in Global News

“Nurses allege lack of cleaning and isolation contributed to deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Calgary care home” by Jennifer Lee in CBC News

This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

Additional music:

“Unanswered Questions” and “Clean Soul” by Kevin Macleod and “I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor” by Chris Zabriskie, adapted. 

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did Commons drop everything and focus in on long-term care? Because the vast majority of deaths are happening in those homes. Because we should have known that was going to be the case, but we let it happen anyways. And because the level of suffering, isolation and trauma happening in long-term care today is almost too much for us to face up to.

Featured in this episode: Nathan Stall, Jane Meadus

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

Additional music:

“November”, “modum”, “Sunset”, and “Seeker” by Kai Engel, adapted. 

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They were found abandoned in the facility. The conditions were described as “akin to a concentration camp.” Within two weeks, over thirty of them would be dead. The story of the Résidence Herron in Dorval, Quebec is a national shame — and a preview of the carnage still to come.

COMMONS: Pandemic is currently focusing on how COVID-19 is affecting long-term care in Canada.

Featured in this episode: Aaron Derfel (Montreal Gazette)

To learn more:

Public health, police find bodies, feces at Dorval seniors’ residence: sources in the Montreal Gazette by Aaron Derfel

Records reveal chaos in the days before staff abandoned the Herron in the Montreal Gazette by Aaron Derfel

Alleged neglect of seniors at residence in Dorval in CityNews Montreal by Alyssia Rubertucci

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

This episode is sponsored by Wealthbar

Additional music:

“Clean Soul” by Kevin Macleod and “Seeker” by Kai Engel, adapted.

“SUNBIRDS” by BOCrew (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: THEDEEPR / THECORNER / feat : FORENSIC /

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

COVID-19 has upended everything, and forced us to change plans. From here on out, COMMONS will be bringing you stories about the people and institutions most impacted by the pandemic. And first up is long-term care. If you or someone you know have any stories about Canada’s long-term care system, get in touch with us at [email protected].

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It began as a mysterious disease from a far off place. It turned into the deadliest plague humanity has faced since the Black Death. AIDS has ravaged and reshaped us in so many ways. But in Canada, the battle against AIDS wasn’t just a fight against a virus. It was a fight against a system that didn’t care if some people lived or died.

Featured in this episode: Gary Kinsman, Darien Taylor, John Kozachenko

To learn more:

Queer Progress: From Homophobia to Homonationalism by Tim McCaskell

AIDS Activist: Michael Lynch and the Politics of Community by Ann Silversides

Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada by Tom Warner

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

This episode is sponsored by Wealthbar, Freshbooks & Images Festival

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There have been books and songs and plays written about Anna Mae Aquash. But she was no folk hero — she was flesh and blood. A young Mi'kmaq woman who took up arms against the United States government, Anna Mae was a revolutionary. But when she was found murdered in the South Dakotan countryside, it tore her movement apart. It took thirty years to find out who pulled the trigger. But that’s not the same thing as knowing who’s responsible for her murder. 

Featured in this episode: Kevin McKiernan, Steve Hendricks

To learn more:

From Wounded Knee to Standing Rock: A Reporter's Journey by Kevin McKiernan

The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country by Steve Hendricks

The Spirit of Annie Mae by Catherine Anne Martin

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

This episode is sponsored by Wealthbar, Freshbooks & Images Festival

Additional music:

“Unanswered Questions” and “Clean Soul” by Kevin Macleod, “I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honor” by Chris Zabriskie, and “The Wrong Way” by Jahzzar adapted.

“I dunno” by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s one of the most audacious plots in North American history. Turn a Caribbean island nation into a criminal state — then use the money to fund Neo-Nazis and Klansmen across Canada, the US and Europe. The scariest part? They almost pulled it off. 

Featured in this episode: Stewart Bell (Global News)

To learn more:

Bayou of Pigs: The True Story of an Audacious Plot to Turn a Tropical Island into a Criminal Paradise by Stewart Bell

Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters, and Started a Business by George Malvaney

This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. 

This episode is sponsored by Wealthbar and Audible. 

Additional music:

“Spheres” (Hip Hop Instrumental) by Robbero (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.