North

CBC North releases new podcast: Giant - Murder Underground

Host Rachel Zelniker revisits the 1992 labour dispute at the Giant gold mine in Yellowknife that pitted its union against the mine’s new president, dividing a city and descending into violence and murder.

Seven-part series revisits the deadly Giant Mine labour dispute of 1992

(Cody Fennell and Lianne Sabourin/CBC)

Enter one of the most bitter labour disputes in Canadian history.

On Sept. 18, 1992, nine workers crossed the picket line at the Giant gold mine in Yellowknife. Minutes later, all were killed in a horrific explosion. The fallout was a city divided, and one of the most labour-intensive murder investigations the RCMP has ever seen.

Thirty years later, Giant – Murder Underground tells this complex story through the voices of those who lived it, from top police investigators and critical union members to anguished victims, and murder suspects — many of whom have never spoken publicly before.

Through rich archival tape and gripping new interviews, Giant – Murder Underground explores how a labour dispute spiraled into murder, and lays bare the lingering impact and hard lessons of this tragedy.

The dispute that shook the North

2 years ago
Duration 0:37
Host Rachel Zelniker revisits the 1992 Labour Dispute at the ‘Giant’ Gold Mine in Yellowknife that pitted its union against the mine’s new president, dividing a city and descending into violence and murder.

MEET THE TEAM

Host Rachel Zelniker is a CBC radio producer in Yellowknife. She's the lead producer for The Trailbreaker, the territory's flagship morning show. Her previous CBC podcast Boushie won a National RTDNA Award in 2019. 

Producer Peter Sheldon is a CBC radio and podcast producer in Yellowknife. Peter's previous audio productions have been featured on CBC's The Current and Now or Never. Peter produced CBC North's first podcast Inuit Unikkangit with host and archivist Mary Powder.

CREDITS

  • Managing editor: Garrett Hinchey

  • Communications and promotion: Jane Tran, Taron Cochrane and Justin Deeley

  • Graphic design: Cody Fennell and Lianne Sabourin

  • CBC North Archives: Trevor Squires and Andrew Pacey

  • Additional editorial support: David Downey and Iris Yudai

CONTACT

giant@cbc.ca