Stay ConnectedCOMMONS 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.
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Copyright: © 2022 CANADALAND
♩♪ A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How the music used to pay my bills
I knew that if I got my break
That I could be as big as Drake
And then I could stop shopping at No Frills ♩♪
♩♪ But Spotify, it’s nearly killed us
Ticketmaster’s ground us to dust
The companies got too large
Now monopolies are in charge ♩♪
♩♪ And the record labels I fear the most
Have all just merged and so now we’re toast
Don’t you think it’s just so gross?
The way, the music, died ♩♪
Featured in this episode: Simon Outhit, Cory Doctorow
To learn more
Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Backby Rebecca Giblin & Cory Doctorow
“'A public relations nightmare': Ticketmaster recruits pros for secret scalper program” in CBC News by Dave Seglins, Rachel Houlihan & Laura Clementson
“We went undercover as ticket scalpers — and Ticketmaster offered to help us do business” in Toronto Star by Robert Cribb & Marco Chown Oved
“Is Live Music Broken? It’s Not Just Ticketmaster, It’s Everything” in The Ringer by Nate Rogers
A Statement From Live Nation Entertainment
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator)
Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas,
For a limited time, get 6 months of exclusive supporter benefits for just $2/month. Go to canadaland.com/join to become a supporter today.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Prison labour is largely invisible in Canada. Most prisoners who work do institutional upkeep, the kind of cleaning, cooking and maintenance that’s required to keep a prison running.
But then there are prison industries. Not only do Canadian prisoners work for for-profit businesses, but they’re sometimes doing dangerous and nauseating work around.
Featured in this episode: Calvin Neufeld
To learn more:
Bloody Bad Business: Report on the Joyceville Institution Abattoir
“Prison farm supporter worries new Kingston farms may exploit prison labour” by Jonna Semple in Global News
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)
Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas, Pod Save The World
For a limited time, get 6 months of exclusive supporter benefits for just $2/month. Go to canadaland.com/join to become a supporter today.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
All labour exists on a spectrum, ranging from enslavement at one pole, to fully, freely given on the other.
And, in Canada, at the most extreme end of that spectrum are prison labourers. Incarcerated people have few rights and fewer options when it comes to their working lives.
If we want to truly understand our criminal justice system and Canadian labour, we need to examine how prisoners work.
Featured in this episode: Jordan House, Asaf Rashid
To learn more:
Solidarity Beyond Bars: Unionizing Prison Labour by Jordan House & Asaf Rashid
“Prison breaking-point: Canada’s jail system is in crisis, and that affects all of us” by Justin Ling in The Globe and Mail
“The case for a prisoners’ union” in Briarpatch by Jordan House & Asaf Rashid
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)
Additional music from Audio Network
Sponsors: Douglas
For a limited time, get 6 months of exclusive supporter benefits for just $2/month. Go to canadaland.com/join to become a supporter today.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today we’re sharing with you a preview of the first episode of Canadaland’s newest show Pretendians.
What do some of the most prominent and successful Indigenous artists, leaders and thinkers have in common? They aren’t Indigenous.
From major universities, to the halls of power, to Hollywood, there are people claiming to be Indigenous in the interest of power, money, and status. There are dozens of outrageous cases of Indigenous identity fraud that we know about, and likely thousands that we do not.
So why do these so-called “Pretendians” do it? How do they pull it off? And what happens when they are exposed?
To hear more follow Pretendians in your podcast app or click here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is more than just an industry or a job. It truly is a way of life. It’s at the core of what has made this place what it is.
Today, as fishers leave the industry in droves, all of that is at risk of dying.
But is it even worth it to try to keep all of that alive? After all, there’s plenty of ways to make a living. And what kind of future is in store for the people who refuse to let go?
Featured in this episode: Kimberly Orren, Leo Hearn, Jenn Thornhill Verma, Ryan Cleary
To learn more:
“Could smaller, more sustainable cod fishing make a comeback? Newfoundlanders look cautiously for ways to rebuild” by Jenn Thornhill Verma in The Globe and Mail
“Fishing school takes students out of the classroom and out on the water” by Amanda Gear in CBC News
“The Fishing Revolution and the Origins of Capitalism” by Ian Angus in Monthly Review
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
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.
The cod collapse is a harbinger of the many environmental disasters we’re about to face. But what happens to workers in the aftermath of that kind of catastrophe? In Newfoundland and Labrador, monopolistic corporations took advantage.
The history of the Atlantic fishery can be understood as a power struggle between fishermen and merchants.
And the merchants are winning.
Featured in this episode: Glen Winslow, Ryan Cleary, Jenn Thornhill-Verma
To learn more:
“Who Controls Fish Processing in Newfoundland & Labrador?” by Jenn Thornhill-Verma & Jack Daly in The Independent
“Why are fish harvesters protesting in Newfoundland?” in CTV News
“Danish company Royal Greenland buying 4 more N.L. fish plants” 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
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.
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 Cowboysby 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
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.
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 Lightby Vernon Theriault and Marjorie Coady
“Hell’s History” by Tom Sandborn in The Tyee
The Last Shift by CBC’s The Fifth Estate
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Damilola Onime (Producer), Kieran Oudshoorn (Managing Editor)
Additional music from Audio Network
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.
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 Canadaby 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
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.
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.
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