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.

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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.

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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.

Our new season is about the people on the extremes. The activists, the terrorists, and the revolutionaries who took things right to the edge for what they believe in... for good or for ill.

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

A new investigative series about the cocaine smuggling ring inside Vice Media.

To hear episode 2 right now, subscribe to Cool Mules. Or get all six episodes ad-free for $5/month by clicking here.

Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

The Harts are Canada’s first family of professional wrestling and one of the most famous dynasties the country has ever produced. And sure, wrestling is scripted.  But what happens when reality begins to invade that fiction? The story of the Harts is one of triumph and tragedy that transcends the world of pro wrestling. 

Featured in this episode: Damian Abraham, Omar Mouallem

To learn more:

Wrestling With Shadows by Paul Jay

The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker

“The Rise and Fall of Wrestling’s Weed-Dealing, Cat-Breeding Phenom” in Rolling Stone by Omar Mouallem

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:

“Unanswered Questions” by Kevin Macleod and “Cylinder Five” by Chris Zabriskie, adapted.

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

“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.