Canoe-borne bandits strike an underwater town. A new generation of wealthy lobstermen is minted. An island disappears. And hellfire engulfs a highway jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. Just another normal day amidst Canada’s climate catastrophe. 

Featured in this episode: Catherine Griwkowsky (Alberta Today), Brendan Kennedy (Toronto Star), Keith Stewart (Greenpeace), Markus Harvey.

To learn more:

“There will be floods” by Brendan Kennedy in the Toronto Star

“Big Oil braced for global warming while it fought regulations” by Amy Lieberman and Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times

“When climate change hits home” by Nick Purdon in CBC News

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Teck Resources just got approval to build the largest tar sands operation ever. The Frontier mine would have serious and permanent consequences for the local environment, Indigenous peoples and the global climate. So why haven’t you ever heard about it?

Featured in this episode: Nikki Way (Pembina Institute), Kecia Kerr (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), Cleo Reece (Keepers of the Athabasca), Violet Cheecham Clark.

To learn more:

“10 things you need to know about the massive new oilsands mine that just got a green light” by Sharon J. Riley in The Narwhal

“Teck's Frontier oilsands project heads to McKenna for review” by Alastair Sharp in National Observer

“UN says Canada isn’t doing enough to save Wood Buffalo National Park” by Judith Lavoie in The Narwhal

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Ever get the feeling someone is watching you? If you’ve been to an environmental protest recently, you might be right. Private intelligence firms, the RCMP and even Canada’s spies have all been caught collecting information on everyday Canadians speaking out against the oil industry.

Featured in this episode: Ron Tremblay (Wolostoq Grand Council), Mike De Souza (National Observer), Meghan McDermott (BC Civil Liberties Association)

To learn more:

“Spies in our midst: RCMP and CSIS snoop on green activists” by Bruce Livesey in National Observer

“The Private Intelligence Firm Keeping Tabs on Environmentalists” by Adam Federman in Mother Jones

“Kinder Morgan privately eyes Trans Mountain opponents” by Alastair Sharp & Dylan Waisman in National Observer

“The feds paid private eye to hunt for a journalist's sources” by Mike De Souza in National Observer

Additional music:

“A List of Ways to Die” by Lee Rosevere, adapted.

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In the past few weeks, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was loudly booed at the Raptors' victory parade, demoted a bunch of star members of his Cabinet amid sagging poll numbers and lost his Chief of Staff, who got caught up in a nepotism scandal. 

Are we witnessing the downfall of a government, or is this just another month in Ontario? 

 

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Has Canada been a casualty of a nefarious campaign by foreign-funded radicals to landlock our country’s energy resources? Is Big Oil the victim of a vast international conspiracy? Naaaah. But there is, as always, another conspiracy afoot. 

Featured in this episode: Markham Hislop (Energi Media)

Here's what Vivian Krause has said in response to Markham Hislop's piece.

To learn more:

“Debunked: Vivian Krause’s Tar Sands Campaign conspiracy narrative” by Markham Hislop in Energi Media.

“Alberta Premier Singled Out Environmentalist. Death Threats Followed” by Samantha Beattie  in HuffPost

“Conservative politicians, oil executives map out strategy for ousting federal Liberals in growing collaboration” by Jeff Lewis & Shawn McCarthy in The Globe and Mail

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An unspeakable tragedy occurs off the coast of Newfoundland. But this isn’t just a story about a nautical disaster. It’s about what happens when a poor province finds immense riches just within reach. And how the promise of oil wealth can twist history around itself.

Featured in this episode: Susan Dodd, Danny O’Brien, Sean Cadigan

ADDITIONAL MUSIC CREDITS: "Seeker" and "Scenery" by Kai Engel, adapted

To learn more:

The Ocean Ranger: Remaking the Promise of Oil by Susan Dodd

Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster by Mike Heffernan

“The Ranger Disaster” by CBC’s The Fifth Estate

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The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster was a calamity like we’ve never seen before. The families of the victims never got justice. But the conditions that made it possible have barely changed. And the next time could be far worse.

Featured in this episode: Bruce Campbell, Dylan Robertson (Winnipeg Free Press)

To learn more:

The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied by Bruce Campbell.

“Alberta Crisis, Winnipeg Danger” by Dylan Robertson in the Winnipeg Free Press

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What happens when the oil wells run dry? Environmental damage, government bailouts and a scheme that some are comparing to the subprime mortgage crisis. And all of this is just the beginning.

Featured in this episode: Sharon J. Riley (The Narwhal), Jeff Lewis (Globe and Mail), Alana Bartol (Orphan Well Adoption Agency), Herman, Shirley and Mark Dorin.

To learn more:

Hustle in the oil patch: Inside a looming financial and environmental crisis by Jeff Lewis, Jeffrey Jones, Chen Wang, Renata D’Aliesio in the Globe and Mail.

The story of Alberta’s $100-billion well liability problem. How did we get here? By Sharon J. Riley in The Narwhal

‘Forgotten and ignored’ An Alberta couple fights a leaky oil well by  Alannah Page in National Observer.

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The Alberta oil sands. It’s a cold patch of land (which we once almost nuked into oblivion) that’s become Canada’s economic engine. Governments have fought over it for decades. And now it’s one of the most controversial places on the planet. Will it finally tear our politics apart?

Featured in this episode: Mary Janigan, Chris Turner

To learn more:

Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark by Mary Janigan

The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands by Chris Turner

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A family poisoned in their homes. Bombs going off in the night. Shots fired and inside jobs. The story of Wiebo Ludwig is There Will Be Blood come to life. So was he a man of faith facing down the full might of Big Oil? Or a terrorist with blood on his hands?

Featured in this episode: David York (Wiebo’s War), Levi Ludwig

To learn more:

Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig’s War Against Big Oil by Andrew Nikiforuk

Wiebo’s War by David York

“Adventures in Wieboland” by Brian Bergman in Maclean’s.

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