Deconstructing Supper

Chef John Bishop explores the politics, economics and ethics of eating in the billion-dollar battle to control global food production.

Drinking from my Mother's Well (Woolastook) • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 3)

Maliseet storyteller Jeff Bear returns to his traditional territory at Negootkoog, which is situated at the confluence of the Woolastook and Tobique Rivers. The "Woolastook" is the mighty St. John River (from the Maliseet word "wolastoq" meaning "beautiful river).

Edible Seaweeds: What the fucus? • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

In 2002 Dr. Dolly Garza, a professor at the University of Alaska, took early retirement to come and live on Haida Gwaii full-time. She is originally Haida from Alaska but married a future hereditary chief of the Haida nation. Dolly has been harvesting seaweed for most of her life and shares her knowledge as an advocate for the many benefits of incorporating seaweed into a healthful diet.

Every Year the Salmon Come Back • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 3)

Salmon were one of the most prolific species of fish in the ocean, common in all waters surrounding North America and as far south as New Zealand. Stocks have declined on the west coast and in Atlantic Canada, wild salmon are no longer available in the market place, having been replaced by the omni-present farmed fish.

Greening the Cube: 100-Mile Housing

Bringing the sustainability question home–with shelter in mind, what sort of future will you build?

Gulf Shrimp: 4 Years and Counting • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The beauty of a documentary series is that you can assess the impact of occurrences over a period of time. The effects of natural disasters in oceanic waters can be deadly for natural habitat and such was the case in the infamous oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The marine species of that region were devastated. 

Herring Roe: Dead or Alive, Part 1 • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The First Nations people of the west coast of British Columbia have been fishing pacific herring for centuries. Is this fishery dying out like other forms of fishery?

Herring Roe: Dead or Alive, Part 2 • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The First Nations people of the west coast of British Columbia have been fishing pacific herring for centuries. Is this fishery dying out like other forms of fishery?

In the Same Boat?

Will the family farm suffer the same fate as the Atlantic fishery?

Kitigan Zibi Waters • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 3)

Kitigan Zibi, formerly known as Maniwaki, Quebec is at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers. Surrounded by rivers and lakes, it's the traditional territory of the Anishinabeg and Algonquin people. And it's here that residents face challenges from the presence of uranium and radium in their water. Health Canada's response to the testing was to issue a "No Water Consumption" order and institute a delivery program of water in heavy plastic carboys, a solution not entirely practical for everyone's needs.

The Last Harvest

This rich and evocative epic of a Japanese-Canadian experience following World War II is filled with the vibrant intensity of one family's struggle to rebuild their lives and to be accepted as Canadians.

Over Land

This farm story, from the inside out, paints an intimate portrait of a Canadian family facing a crisis in agriculture.

The Pristine Coast [110min version]

The marine ecosystem off the coast of British Columbia is in trouble. Alexandra Morton, a biologist who lives in the Broughton Archepelago, began to document the decline of pink and chum salmon in the late 1990's following a massive expansion of open-net pen fish farming on the west coast of Canada. The Pristine Coast explores the policy decisons taken and not taken that have led to this crisis for the Pacific Coast ecosystem. 

The Pristine Coast [52min version]

The marine ecosystem off the coast of British Columbia is in trouble. Alexandra Morton, a biologist who lives in the Broughton Archepelago, began to document the decline of pink and chum salmon in the late 1990's following a massive expansion of open-net pen fish farming on the west coast of Canada. The Pristine Coast explores the policy decisons taken and not taken that have led to this crisis for the Pacific Coast ecosystem. 

The Sharing Farm

What began as a project to collect surplus fruit going to waste in Richmond, BC and distribute it to the poor has grown to an inspiring community movement that helps the poor and aids food security.

Sur la piste des OGM

Ce documentaire nous ouvre les yeux sur la lutte du contrôle de la production alimentaire mondiale.

The Sustainable Harvest • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

Salmon, halibut, lingcod, rockfishes, clams, abalone, urchins, prawn, crabs, shrimps, scallops, octopus, mussel, barnacles, seaweed and sea asparagus: These are some of the fish, shellfish microalgae and marine plants that form aspects of a sustainable harvest in the Pacific northwest. 

The Thinking Garden

xiTsonga with English subtitles

Three generations of South African women are sowing the seeds of change through the creation of a community garden to build a better future.

Trial of an Iconic Species

The mighty Fraser River sockeye run is in trouble. Beginning in the early 1990's, the sockeye salmon populations began to decline. Millions of fish were disappearing and fisheries scientists and managers were stumped.

The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton

The crash of 19 stocks of Fraser River sockeye over a 15-year period finally forced the Canadian Government to close all fishing from 2007 to 2009. It looked like Fraser river sockeye populations were going extinct.