Paradise Canada S1:E2

Lost Women

In Canada, indigenous women are six times more likely to die of violent causes compared to white women. Emy Koopman speaks to relatives of an indigenous girl who disappeared along the 'Highway of Tears' twenty-five years ago, and discovers that these disappearances are still not a thing of the past. Since the 1970s, unofficial estimates suggest that more than 40 (most of them indigenous) women and girls have disappeared along British Columbia's endless highway. This is said to be the result of more than a hundred years of colonial policy, whereby indigenous children were snatched from their families to be placed in boarding schools to destroy 'the Indian in the child'. Practices that took place well into the 90's.

The Price of Black Gold

Emy Koopman explores how the oil industry affects the lives of Canadians and poses the question of how sustainable this industry is in times of climate change. Canada's countryside is stunningly beautiful, but no place has become so representative of unscrupulous gain than Fort McMurray, Alberta. The oil extracted here from 'tar sands' has made Alberta one of the richest provinces in Canada. The oil is deeply anchored in the identities of the residents, and President Trudeau is happily letting Alberta soldier through. Despite the enormous CO2 emissions that this causes and the poisoning of the important Athabasca River, the indigenous population of the province also contributes to the extraction of oil.

Booming Vancouver

Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world, according to several lists, with a thriving film industry, an important port, a mild climate and a relaxed lifestyle. But the city also shows how much the housing market can be derailed by the big money from foreign investors. Especially prosperous Chinese see the relatively nearby metropolis as the ideal place to keep their (illegal) money safe. Vancouver has become one of the cities where house prices and disposable income differ the most. Homeless people occupy the streets of the center with their tents.

A New Fatherland

Multiculturalism has been official Canadian state policy since the 1970s, but in Quebec xenophobia and Muslim hatred are flaring up. Emy Koopman explores the fear of foreigners and speaks with 'the Schindler of Guelph'. Without migrants, the vast country of Canada couldn't prosper. Thanks to a selection system, the newcomers are often more highly educated than the average Canadian. It sounds idyllic, but since Trump's election, thousands of Americans have crossed the border, sparking xenophobia and Muslim hatred in French-speaking Quebec, traditionally concerned about preserving its own cultural identity. In early 2017 it came to a shooting in a mosque. Emy Koopman follows victims of that attack on the way to the trial against the perpetrator.