COMMONS

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 This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.  Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 TurnerSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don’t understand oil, you can’t understand Canada. We take you to a place unlike anywhere else in the world, where the booms and busts all began. And find out why just a short distance away, children grow up afraid of the very air they breathe. Featured in this episode: Pat McGee and Charlie Fairbank (Fairbank Oil Properties), Vanessa Gray.   To learn more:   “Time stands still in oil industry's birthplace” in the Toronto Star by Murray White.   “Canada’s Toxic Secret: A troubling trend of leaks and spills in the Sarnia area” in Global News   “The Chemical Valley” In VICE by Patrick McGuire   CLARIFICATION: In the episode, we credit the Price of Oil series to the the Toronto Star, National Observer and Global News. The collaborative investigation also involved Concordia University, Ryerson University School of Journalism, the University of Regina, UBC, The Corporate Mapping Project and the Michener Awards Foundation.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last season Commons covered corruption in Canada. This time around we're talking about Canada's relationship with the oil industry. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian companies have committed all kinds of wrongdoing abroad. But this is on a different level. One Vancouver-based company has been accused by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch of using slaves to build a mine with one of the world’s most oppressive governments. Featured in this episode: Geoffrey York (The Globe and Mail) & Aaron Berhane (Mefti) To learn more: “Canadian miner Nevsun Resources has a tangled relationship with one of the world’s most repressive regimes” in The Globe and Mail by Geoffrey York “We were forced to work at Western-run mine, say migrants who fled Eritrea” in Reuters by Allison Martell and Edmund Blair “What did Canadian mining executives know about possible human rights violations in Eritrea?” in The Fifth Estate (CBC) by Scott Anderson “The Slaves of Eritrea” in Canadian Business by Matthew McClearnSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tens of thousands of dollars in suits, luggage, magazines and mustard. An epic booze heist from the legislature. An undercover legislator exposing corruption. And a wood-splitter that’s transfixed a province. Just another day in the wild world of B.C. politics.   Featured in this episode: Andrew MacLeod (The Tyee)   To learn more:   “Speaker Report Alleges ‘Flagrant’ Misspending by Two Senior Legislative Officials,” in The Tyee by Andrew MacLeod “Whistleblower alleges legislature expense issues beyond clerk and sergeant-at-arms,” in Global News by Richard Zussman.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.