The program was influential in the banning of
urea formaldehyde foam insulation and
lawn darts in Canada, the legislation of warnings on exploding pop bottles, successful prosecution of
retailers for false
advertising, new standards for
bottled water and
drinking fountains, new regulations to make children's sleepwear less flammable, and the implementation of safer designs for
infant beds. The program's reporting has exposed the
illegal dumping and burning of Canadian
plastic recycling in Malaysia, the sale of
fake university degrees to Canadian professors and
social workers, and its hidden camera investigations documented hygiene issues in hospitals,
misleading sales practices, and violence and neglect in
long-term care homes. Investigations have led to corporate and government changes:
Google Maps launched a review of the country's
locksmith listings after the identification of dozens of fake listings and reviews. Ontario's real estate board launched an investigation and review of its agents after the program documented agents breaking rules around "double-ending". When the program's original lab testing found dangerous levels of
cadmium in jewelry sold by
Ardene and
Aldo, journalists travelled to China to expose how these chemicals end up in products found on Canadian store shelves. The episode prompted an investigation by
Health Canada and changes in the companies' suppliers. One of its most popular programs involved an international investigation tracking the people behind the
Canada Revenue Agency scams and
technical support scams. The reporting triggered "Project Octavia", a criminal investigation by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In February 2020, journalists were granted exclusive access to document the arrest of Canadian "super money mules" alleged to have been working with criminals in India to defraud Canadian victims.
Marketplace was originally hosted by Joan Watson and George Finstad. Watson eventually married one of the first producers of the show, Murray Creed. Other hosts have included Bill Paul,
Harry Brown, Norma Kent,
Jacquie Perrin, Christine Johnson,
Erica Johnson, Jim Nunn,
Tom Harrington and
Wendy Mesley. The program's current hosts are
David Common, Charlsie Agro and
Asha Tomlinson. Early seasons of the program had a theme song, "The Consumer", which was written and performed by
Stompin' Tom Connors. For several years, every episode would begin with Connors singing the song, which became a hit. Every Thursday,
The National airs a weekly segment that is based on the week's episode with
Adrienne Arsenault introducing the segment. In 2023, an audio
podcast version of the show was produced and with the episodes scheduled for release on July 4, 2023. In addition, the podcast was broadcast as a summer replacement series on
CBC Radio One. Erica Johnson has stated that the network does not interfere in the development of episodes, even when it negatively reports about the network's advertisers. ==References==