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COMMONS
WORK 4 - Reaping the Whirlwind
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
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Preview #1. Series launch on May 5th
01:01|Desmond Cole & Andray Domise talk about their ambitions for their new weekly political podcast Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.1 - Who's in charge?
24:30|Is it the Prime Minister? The Governor General? The Queen? Canada's Head of State may be symbolic, but symbolic of what? Desmond Cole and Andray Domise start with the basics. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.2 - What happened in Alberta?
29:01|Desmond and Andray try to understand the NDP's shocking victory. Guests: professor Melanee Thomas and writer Drew Brown. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.3 - Elizabeth May
28:02|Desmond Cole taks to Green Party leader Elizabeth May about her plans to get arrested, and more. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.4 - The PMO, what it is?
27:38|What is the Prime Minister's Office? How many people work there, who are they, and what do they all do? Just how powerful is the PMO, and is the Prime Minister responsible for what it does?Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.5 - Sex work in Canada
25:30|Kerry Porth, Akio Maroon, Elene Lam join for a panel discussion on Bill C-36 and more.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.6 - Residential Schools
30:34|We haven't even begun to talk about what happened. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.7 - Crossing the floor
29:07|Andray and Desmond speak with former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith about crossing the floor from the official opposition to the governing party. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Ep.8 - Barbaric cultural practices
29:12|Andray Domise, guest-host Supriya Dwivedi and Ishmael Daro talk about the Zero Tolerance For Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, the new Quebec secular legislation, and the massacre in Charleston.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.