COMMONS

Mike Danton was playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the St. Louis Blues. And at the same time, he was trying to hire a hitman to kill his agent, David Frost. Danton’s arrest and conviction would become one of the biggest hockey scandals of all time. But this is not just some salacious true crime story.  It’s an extreme example of everything that’s wrong with hockey culture; hazing and abu...

Justin Davis was never a superstar. He was a journeyman player, one of tens of thousands, chasing the dream. And at almost every step, when hockey gave him something, it would also take something away. Hockey exacts a heavy toll on many boys and young men — on their minds and their bodies. And then they’re told not to talk about any of it outside the locker room. It’s enough to make you ask the qu...

The NHL likes to call Willie O’Ree the Jackie Robinson of hockey. And no one can deny how significant it was when he became the first Black player on the ice in an NHL game in 1958.  But what the league doesn’t like to talk about is what happened next.  Because after O’Ree, the NHL didn’t admit another black player for sixteen years. So did the NHL resegregate? And why don’t we talk abou...

Of the estimated 7000 people who have played in the NHL only around 100 of them have been Black. That’s an absurdly low number compared to any other major North American sports league. But what makes that statistic especially shocking is the fact that the modern game has its roots with Black players on Black teams. The Coloured Hockey League wasn’t just a sideshow to the main event of white hockey...

Hockey is a hell of a lot of fun. But right now, the sport is going through a reckoning. Allegations of racism, corruption, sexual misconduct and so much more are rocking the game to its core. But the truth is that in Canada, hockey is more than just a sport. It’s a civic religion, with a billion dollar business attached to it. Over the next seven episodes, COMMONS will be digging into the cult of...

Love it or hate it, hockey is inescapable in Canada. But the sport has a dark side. From violence and racism on the ice, to corruption, cover-ups and abuse off of it. In the latest season of COMMONS, host Arshy Mann and producers Jordan Cornish and Noor Azrieh will be bringing you stories from inside the cult of hockey. Our new season launches on May 24th. If you’re a Canadaland supporter, you can...

In the last season we sat down with Cory Doctorow, co-author of Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back, to find out how the music industry has become dominated by monopoly power. In this bonus episode, we’re bringing you Arshy’s full interview with Cory, complete with all the nitty gritty details around how and why musicians...

In this bonus episode, COMMONS producer Jordan Cornish sits down with host Arshy Mann to talk about the grocery CEOs testifying at Parliament, their thoughts about the Monopoly season coming to an end, and what listeners can do to make change. Sponsors: USW , Free Lunch , Gardisil  If you value this podcast, Support us ! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early rele...

A Loblaws, or any other, modern-day supermarket, is many things.  It’s a temple of abundance. A place where a consumer has more choice than the greatest kings, emperors and pharaohs had in their lifetimes.  It’s a tech platform, tracking our every taste, transaction and even ailment. And it’s an ideological arena. Where everyday Canadians and grocery CEOs are battling over what’s to blam...

The Big Tech companies have ushered in a new era of global monopoly. And the most influential, the most powerful of all of them, is Amazon. In this episode, we focus in on two of the fundamental pillars of Amazon’s dominance: its online marketplace and its cloud computing arm. And a former Amazon VP speaks out. Featured in this episode: Matt Stoller, Brad Stone ( Bloomberg ), Dana Mattioli ( Wall...

“I love the smell of monopoly in the morning” “Forget it, Jake, it’s Cineplex” “The competition commissioner once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti” “Life is like a box of anti-competitive cinema chains that allegedly use their 75% market share to bully their competition, limit consumer choice and charge obscene junk fees. You never know what you’re going to...

Google, one of the world’s great tech monopolies, wanted to make a “smart city,” full of sensors and robots and self-driving cars. Toronto, one of the world’s most insecure cities, wanted a big tech firm to put it on the innovation map. What resulted was not exactly a match made in heaven. Featured in this episode: Josh O’Kane ( Globe and Mail ), Kurtis McBride To learn more: Sideways: The City Go...

For almost a century, the Irving family has run New Brunswick like a personal fiefdom. They own the newspapers, the industry, and, according to some, even the government. So how does a single family come to so thoroughly dominate an entire province? And what happens when that family starts to fracture and split apart at the seams? Featured in this episode: Bruce Livesey ( Thieves of Bay Street )....

Not only do the Big Five banks get away with charging exorbitant fees for basic services. Not only do they block any competitors by controlling Canada’s payment infrastructure. Not only are they totally entwined with the federal government.  But the Big Five banks are about to get even bigger. Featured in this episode: Colin Deacon, Keldon Bester, Alex Vronces To learn more “How blocked merge...

It’s been a hard few years for Canadian air passengers. And while no one blames the airline oligopoly for COVID or winter storms, air travellers have had to put up with a lot. But Canada has consumer protections to make sure that when something goes wrong, there’s a fair process in place to make sure everyday Canadians don’t get screwed over, right? Right??! Featured in this episode: Gábor Lukács,...

♩♪ 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...

This episode was originally published on December 21, 2021.  Attawapiskat has become famous across Canada and around the world. Not for the natural beauty that surrounds it, or for the Cree culture of the people who live there. Instead, it’s become a byword for the toxic legacy of Canadian colonialism. But while Attawapiskat faced crisis after crisis, the community was sitting on a literal di...

When you look at your pet, you probably see an adorable furball that you’d do anything for. A private equity firm sees dollar signs. Ever so quietly, faceless, big money firms have been consolidating Canada’s veterinary clinics. And vets are just the beginning. Featured in this episode: Michael Mossop, Denise Hearn To learn more “Inside the corporate dash to buy up dentists’ offices, veterinary cl...

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

This episode was originally published on November 1st, 2021.  Who are the Rogers family? How did they get so powerful? Why have they turned against one another? And what does it matter?  We've spent a week immersed in Rogers history to bring you this unofficial narrative of Canada's telecom overlords. Further reading: Kelly Pullen’s 2014 story in Toronto Life on the “ruthless” power stru...

Support us at www.commonspodcast.com Matthew Boswell is the Competition Commissioner. And he's the last man trying to stand in the way of the mega-merger between Rogers and Shaw.  But even he acknowledges that Canada's antitrust laws aren't just inadequate — they're weighted in favour of the monopolists. A frank discussion with Canada's top competition cop. Featured in this episode: Matthew B...

Rogers and Shaw are getting ready to tie the knot. But before they can consummate their less-than-holy union, they have to get the approval of Canada’s competition tribunal and the federal government. And even though most Canadians would find this union highly objectionable, it’s likely to be approved. Because for 150 years, Canadian politicians have been talking out of both sides of their mouths....

WIND Mobile, now known as Freedom, was a small company that tried to break through Canada’s telecom oligopoly. It did not have an easy ride.  WIND faced numerous hurdles from regulators, it was subjected to dirty tricks from the telecom oligopoly, and was eventually sold to Shaw. But it also helped lower cell phone rates and brought in unlimited data and U.S. roaming, changing the wireless ma...

They’re the most hated companies in the country. And yet, they’re unavoidable.  The telecom oligopoly seems to rule Canada’s economy with an iron fist. Canadians are paying more and more for our cell phones, cable and internet.  So how was it that we ended up in this situation? And was it inevitable that things would get so bad? Featured in this episode: Ben Klass, Dwayne Winseck, Keldon...

Today, it’s a department store where you might go to buy perfume or cookware. But the Hudson’s Bay Company was Canada’s first, and its most powerful, monopoly.  It grew from a largely insignificant enterprise into one of the most dominant forces in North America. The story of the HBC reveals just how deeply embedded monopoly is in Canada’s very fabric.  Featured in this episode: Stephen...