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
    • 4.1 • 195 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

4.1 out of 5
195 Ratings

195 Ratings

AK-47-87 ,

More to the story

Great report about Edmonton’s most notorious slum landlord. But, I feel that there is so, so much more to this story. He was the owner of Dwayne’s Home, which was funded in part by the city to “solve” homelessness, in turn he sold drugs after NA meetings, charged individuals on AISH their entire cheque with the promise of providing 3 squares, shelter, clothing and education, but instead were lucky if they received one cold meal a day and a room shared with 3 others. Women weren’t allowed, but as someone who walked by daily, he was turning women out of Dwayne’s Home… He also owned slum buildings that were next to the new arena (or so I’ve heard), some super sketchy deal went went down between Shah, Katz and the city of Edmonton or at least it’s rumoured… I’d like to hear more about this story!

SVelty1 ,

Didn’t know the Slum Lords were this bad!!

Very interesting, especially when you live in North Edmonton! But… please, change the music and shorten it up a bit!! I absolutely can’t not fast forward through it!!😝

Gaelen3102502600 ,

Well done CBC

Listening to this in May 2022 when we are seeing the issues escalated and a new city council trying to deal with the issues, it is madder to see the previous elected officials and city managers etc did nothing at all to deal with the issues. This is an issue that seems to be spreading to other areas in the city and unfortunately it is a multi tiered problem with many underlying issues that is going to take years and many levels of government and community to resolve.

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