Support us at www.commonspodcast.comTwenty-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 SandbornTo learn more:Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light by Vernon Theriault and Marjorie Coady“Hell's History” by Tom Sandborn in The TyeeThe Last Shift by CBC's The Fifth EstateAdditional music from Audio NetworkThis episode is brought to you by Rotman's Executive Leadership Online, PolicyMe, and Manscaped. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support us at commonspodcast.comA tiny Canadian mining company discovers the largest gold deposit in human history. But when the company's chief geologist falls out of a helicopter over the Indonesian jungle, it was all revealed to be a mirage.Bre-X was a national obsession that made many overnight millionaires. It also happened to be the biggest fraud in the history of mining. But questions still remain. Why did no one go to jail? And did that geologist actually die falling from a helicopter? Or is he off somewhere enjoying his ill-gotten gains?Featured in this episode: Warren Irwin, Andrew Willis (The Globe and Mail), Stephen Ewart (Calgary Herald) To learn more:Fever: The Dark Mystery of the Bre-X Gold Rush by Jennifer Wells  The Bre-X Fraud by Andrew Willis and Douglas Goold“Bre-X – Of Course I Know Where Michael de Guzman Is” in CEO.com by Warren Irwin Additional music from Audio NetworkSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support us here: http://commonspodcast.com/For a century, Canada was one of the world's leading exporters of asbestos, most of it mined from the small town of Asbestos, Quebec. But during that time, governments and corporations in Canada did everything they could to hide the fact that asbestos is deadly.They went to extraordinary lengths — secret organ smuggling, corporate-supervised police torture — to keep the ugly truth from the world.Today, there's no longer a town called Asbestos, QC. But more people than ever are dying from what was mined out of the ground there.  Featured in this episode: Heidi von Palleske, Jessica van Horssen, Tavia Grant (The Globe and Mail) To learn more:A Town Called Asbestos: Environmental Contamination, Health, and Resilience in a Resource Community by Jessica van Horssen“No Safe Use: The Canadian Asbestos Epidemic” by Tavia Grant in The Globe and Mail“Asbestos: Canada's Dirty Secret” by CBC's Fifth Estate Additional music from Audio NetworkSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When gold was discovered in the Yukon, 100,000 people desperately tried to make it to a small patch of land in one of the most remote environments on the continent. Few made it all the way. The Klondike Gold Rush was many things: a media conspiracy, a ponzi scheme, a land grab. But above all, it was a humanitarian disaster that stretched over much of the Pacific Northwest. Featured in this episode: Brian Castner, Deb Vanasse To learn more:Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike by Brian CastnerWealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold by Deb VanassseKlondike: The Last Great Gold Rush by Pierre Berton Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Rotman's Executive Leadership Online, Douglas and Dispatch Coffee. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stories about the dirty business of Canadian mining.First episode drops October 13, 2021.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The destruction of Borneo's rainforests has been called the greatest environmental crime of our time. But journalists and NGOs have long alleged that one man, Abdul Taib Mahmud, has benefitted from that destruction to the tune of billions of dollars. If that's true, it's one of the worst acts of corruption in the modern era.And for over a decade, those same campaigners have argued that Taib's empire isn't limited to Malaysia. They claim that its tendrils extend deep into Canada.  Featured in this episode: Mutang Urud, Clare Rewcastle Brown (The Sarawak Report) To learn more:Money Logging: On the Trail of the Malaysian Timber Mafia by Lukas Straumann A Time to Swim by Ashley Duong“Political interference may have helped scuttle investigation of Canadian corporation” by Timothy Wilson in Ricochet“How Canada's Wealthy Couple Splash Sarawak's Cash” by The Sarawak ReportThe Facts Matter Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Sandy and NoraSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eddy Haymour has been called a lot of things in his life. Immigrant success story. Kidnapper. Terrorist. Folk Hero.But the long saga of Eddy Haymour is at its heart a story of obsession. About a man who became consumed by his dreams for a piece of land. And about a government equally determined to stop him at any cost.Featured in this episode: Omar Mouallem, Greg Crompton To learn more:Eddy's Kingdom by Greg Crompton“The Kingdom of Haymour” by Omar Mouallem in EDify Magazine“Eddy Haymour and Rattlesnake Island” by CBC's Fifth Estate Additional music from Audio NetworkThis episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Sandy and NoraSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Toronto Community Housing Corporation is the biggest landlord in Canada, and the second biggest in all of North America. But government after government has allowed social housing in Toronto to fall apart. It's not just the buildings that they've let rot. It's also our moral obligation to the most vulnerable in our society. Featured in this episode: Joe Fiorito, John Sewell, Susan Gapka To learn more:“Al Gosling is now homeless at 82” by Joe Fiorito in The Toronto Star“Ousting Sewell” by Jamie Bradburn in The Torontoist“Tragic tale of local artist has happy coda” by Joe Fiorito in The Toronto Star Additional music from Audio Network This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Blue Jays Happy HourSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Oka Crisis was the biggest military confrontation on Canadian soil in more than a century. On its face, it was about a golf course expansion. But for the Mohawks who took up arms, it was the culmination of a centuries-long fight for recognition of their sovereignty and their land. Featured in this episode: Thaioronióhte Dan David, Loreen Pindera, Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail) To learn more:People of the Pines: The Warriors and Legacy of Oka by Loreen Pindera and Geoffrey YorkKanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance by Alanis ObomsawinRocks at Whiskey Trench by Alanis Obomsawin“The Oka Crisis — looking forward after 30 years” by Thaioronióhte Dan David in CBC News Additional music from Audio NetworkThis episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee, Value(s) by Mark Carney and BankSwitch.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Real estate mania is at an all time high in this country. And in no place is this more true than in Vancouver. But nobody can even agree on what went wrong. Have snooty property owners, overreaching bureaucrats, and gutless politicians allowed the housing supply to dwindle to nothing? Or has a network of transnational criminals turned Vancouver into a narco-capital built on dirty money? Featured in this episode: Frances Bula, Sam Cooper, Lindsey Murphy, Jesse Donaldson To learn more:“Vancouver's affordable housing announcements remain unfulfilled years later” by Frances Bula in The Globe and MailWilful Blindness: How a Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West by Sam Cooper“Inside Vancouver City Hall's Housing Wars” by Doug Ward in The Tyee Additional music from Audio NetworkThis episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee and Value(s) by Mark CarneySupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.