Canada is a country ruled by dynasties — political, commercial and criminal. In the first episode of our new series, we bring you the story of an eccentric, billionaire patriarch; his famous, charismatic daughter; a fire-breathing monument the size of the Statue of Liberty; and the battle over one of Canada’s great business empires.  Featured in this episode: Robert Fife (Globe and Mail). To learn more:  “The $500 Million Family Feud” by Leah McLaren in Toronto Life  “A Stronach Family Feud: How things fell apart between the patriarch and his heir apparent” by Barbara Shecter and Geoff Zochodne in the Financial Post  “‘They stole the company’: Frank Stronach accuses daughter Belinda of betrayal” by Robert Fife in The Globe and Mail This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.  This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks and Audible.  Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DYNASTIES 1 - The Stronachs

COMMONS is a documentary podcast that proves Canada is anything but boring. Each season, host Arshy Mann guides you through the country’s dark underbelly, bringing you stories about crime, corruption and all manner of misdeeds.
This season will unmask the ever-present war on workers. And the many, many ways that workers have banded together to fight back against it. 
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The closure of the cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador was the most devastating mass layoff in Canadian history. And its impacts are still being felt to this day.
The collapse of Newfoundland cod is a story of man-made environmental calamity that turned into economic devastation. It’s a story of a government ignoring the knowledge of working people, in favour of the so-called expertise of industry, to disastrous effect.
But this isn’t just history. It’s prophecy. It’s a vision of what may come if we continue to ignore the ecological limits of this planet in the pursuit of profit.
Featured in this episode: Bernard Martin, Jenn Thornhill-Verma, Ryan Cleary, Glen Winslow
To learn more:
Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys by Jenn Thornhill-Verma
Lament for an Ocean: The Collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery by Michael Harris
Managed Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse by Dean Bavington
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)   Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Rotman, Douglas 
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WORK 6 - Emptying an Ocean

This episode was originally published on November 24, 2021. 
Twenty-six men were working underground when an explosion tore through the Westray Mine in Nova Scotia. Their friends and colleagues went into the wreckage to try to save them.
The story of Westray is one of managerial malice and the heroism of everyday people. But why is it that governments let this happen over and over again, at the expense of so many lives?
Featured in this episode: Vernon Theriault, Tom Sandborn
To learn more:
Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light by Vernon Theriault and Marjorie Coady
“Hell’s History” by Tom Sandborn in The Tyee
The Last Shift by CBC’s The Fifth Estate
Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas, AG1
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WORK 5 - The Westray Disaster

Migrant farm workers are the backbone of Canada’s agricultural economy. But because they can be fired and deported at will, their voices are rarely ever heard in this country.
But Gabriel Allahdua is one of the few who can now speak up. And the story he has to tell is startling.
It’s a story of racism and labour exploitation that goes back decades, even centuries. And it’s a prophecy of what is to come — that the hardships inflicted on migrant farm workers are only a trial run for the rest of us. 
This is the second episode in a two-part series on farm labour. 
Featured in this episode: Gabriel Allahdua, Chris Ramsaroop
To learn more:
Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada by Gabriel Allahdua with Edward Dunsworth
“‘Overtly racist’: Lawsuit challenges Canada’s migrant farmworker system” by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours in Al-Jazeera
“Former Ontario seasonal farmworker speaks out about exploitation, files class action lawsuit” by Jon Woodward in CTV News
“The Canadian state and the racialization of Caribbean migrant farm labour 1947–1966” by Vic Satzewich in Ethnic and Racial Studies
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)   Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Rotman, AG1
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WORK 4 - Reaping the Whirlwind

The creation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union, as it would come to be called, was the first step in a struggle that continues to this day.
Because even now, farmworkers have far fewer rights than almost any other class of worker. And even today, the men and women who grow our food are subject to horrific working conditions and racial discrimination.
But to understand why the situation remains so bad, we need to go back in time to a moment when there was progress and hope. A moment when it looked like things might truly change for the better.
This is the first episode in a two-part series on farm labour. 
Featured in this episode: Raj Chouhan
To learn more:
A Time To Rise by Anand Patwardhan & Jim Munro
Union Zindabad!: South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia by Donna Sacuta, Bailey Garden & Anushay Malik
“Charan Gill: An ‘Epic’ Life of Advocacy” by David P. Ball in The Tyee
“1983: The Year BC Citizens and Workers Fought Back” by Rod Mickleburgh in The Tyee
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)   Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens 
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

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

WORK 3 - Bitter Harvest

Across Canada, emergency rooms have been shutting down, leaving desperate people in the lurch. And at the heart of this health care crisis, is a labour crisis.
Nurses are leaving their jobs in droves, leaving hospitals understaffed and sometimes unable to carry out their most basic obligations.
In this episode, we'll tell you how nursing went from a profession hailed as heroic to one in an utter state of crisis, all through the eyes of a woman who lived through it all.
Featured in this episode: Nadira Ross
To learn more:
“How Canadian hospitals became dependent on expensive, out-of-town nurses” by Tu Thanh Ha, Kelly Grant and Stephanie Chambers in The Globe and Mail
“How nursing staffing agencies are costing Ontario hospitals untold millions” by Mike Crawley in CBC News 
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)   Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas, AG1
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DYNASTIES 1 - The Stronachs

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