Ep. 27 - Canning Salmon

On the Line: Stories of BC Workers

This is the first of a two-part series on the role of women in BC ‘s once thriving fishing industry. This episode hears from women who worked in the fish canneries that once lined the west coast of BC. They bring to life a time when BC fish helped feed the nation and many parts of the world. Included are recordings of an indigenous woman who worked in canneries along the Skeena River from the age of 10. We also meet Josephine Charlie of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), interviewed in 1979. She and her husband travelled to Knights Inlet to fish and work in the canneries. We are also joined by Jackie Campbell, a long-time UFAWU activist who describes the fight to end two-tier gendered wages.

Music:
Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992.
Episode song: "Canning Salmon" by Linda Chobotuck, 1985. Performed by Fraser Union, 2009.
Sources:
Backhouse, Frances. "The last BC Cannery Standing - and Why it Matters", The Tyee. 22 August 2018. https://thetyee.ca/Solutions/2018/08/22/Last-BC-Cannery-Standing/

B.C. Labour Heritage Centre (2014). "Canning Salmon." https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/canning/
"Early B.C. Coast Salmon Cannery Workers." Audio recording, undated. Vancouver Co-op Radio. Allen Seager Fonds, B.C. Labour Heritage Centre.
Josephine Charlie interview, Simon Fraser University Archives. Women's Labour History collection, F-67-2-0-0-0-8, Sara Diamond interviewer, 1979. https://atom.archives.sfu.ca/f-67-2-0-0-0-8
Jackie Campbell. Interview by Patricia Wejr. 13 June 2024.

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