8 episodes

A battle is brewing in Edmonton's inner city. Neighbours are terrified. Fights, overdoses and crime spill out from problem houses, many owned by a small group of people connected by one notorious landlord. CBC’s Elizabeth Hames investigates.

Slumtown CBC

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 57 Ratings

A battle is brewing in Edmonton's inner city. Neighbours are terrified. Fights, overdoses and crime spill out from problem houses, many owned by a small group of people connected by one notorious landlord. CBC’s Elizabeth Hames investigates.

    EPISODE 7 - What’s next for Edmonton's Inner City Neighbourhoods?

    EPISODE 7 - What’s next for Edmonton's Inner City Neighbourhoods?

    With the murder of controversial landlord Abdullah Shah, Edmonton’s inner city residents are left wondering what’s next for their community. Will governments step up to deal with problem properties and the people who benefit off of them? Or will more problem landlords step in to fill the gap left by Shah (aka Carmen Pervez)?

    • 29 min
    EPISODE 6 - The Murder

    EPISODE 6 - The Murder

    3 years after the first five episodes of Slumtown, notorious landlord Abdullah Shah is shot to death on his own driveway. Host Elizabeth Hames looks at who wanted him dead and why.

    • 26 min
    EPISODE 1 - The Neighbours

    EPISODE 1 - The Neighbours

    People living in Edmonton’s inner-city communities are clashing with problem properties — needles on their lawns, people overdosing in their yards, fights in the alleys. Residents fear for their safety and calls to authorities seem to fall on deaf ears.

    • 29 min
    EPISODE 2 - The Landlords

    EPISODE 2 - The Landlords

    Host Elizabeth Hames investigates who owns the city’s problem properties … and finds there are dozens of them linked to one person. Meet the man who’s so powerful, neighbours are afraid to say his name out loud

    This episode has been updated to better reflect the reports of raw sewage in one of the properties discussed. Tenants and a health inspector reported raw sewage in the house. However, a plumber hired by the landlords found no evidence of raw sewage. Alberta Health Services accepted the plumber's report and didn't question his findings.

    • 37 min
    EPISODE 3 - The Tenants

    EPISODE 3 - The Tenants

    Why would anyone live in a house condemned by health authorities, plagued by vermin and mould and where crime and drug use is prolific? For some, it’s their only option. Go inside the houses and meet the people who live — and sometimes die — in places like these.

    This episode has been updated to more accurately reflect court decisions surrounding Alberta Health Services and some inner-city properties in Edmonton. Clarifying, that days after "Donna" moved out of the house, health authorities ordered owners not to allow anyone to live there until repairs were made.

    • 27 min
    EPISODE 4 - The Fighters

    EPISODE 4 - The Fighters

    Frustrated by a lack of action from authorities, residents take the fight against problem properties into their own hands — buying lots with their retirement savings to push bad landlords out and bring families in.

    This episode has been updated to more accurately reflect court decisions surrounding Alberta Health Services and some inner-city properties in Edmonton. Clarifying the home "Donna" lived in was ordered to undergo repairs by health authorities.

    • 30 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
57 Ratings

57 Ratings

NordicSol ,

everytown everywhere as well-unwell

So human in the ways these individuals tell our collective story. You never once got in the way of anybody. Dignity on Display!
Your spoon full of raw unrefined sugar helps the bitter medicine of truth go down. Appreciate each and ever person in the podcast.

Jack_McCoy ,

Brilliant

First-class journalism here. A very, very detailed investigative podcast that goes inside shell companies, tenants, neighbors, and slum lords in inner city Canada. There’s a nice balance between having sympathy for the people getting screwed by the system, while also calling out the gang and drug related criminals who are often terrorizing communities. It’s a complex problem to solve; all facets are examined here. Awesome work!

Marimartrece ,

Good (NIMBY) storytelling

Top quality journalism and production as I would expect from any CBC podcast. I’m sure the story is more nuanced and that this person is a slum lord but there isn’t really any effort to address the fact that poor people need a place to live… even if it’s an ugly house in a middle class neighborhood. I couldn’t make it past the second episode…

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

Inconceivable Truth
Wavland
This American Life
This American Life
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
Soul Boom
Rainn Wilson
Fallen Angels: A Story of California Corruption
iHeartPodcasts
We Can Do Hard Things
Glennon Doyle and Audacy

You Might Also Like

The Pit
CBC
Run, Hide, Repeat
CBC
Crime Story
CBC
Witnessed: 19 Days
Campside Media / Sony Music Entertainment
What Happened to Libby Caswell
iHeartPodcasts
Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad
Sony Music Entertainment