Random police stops. Provincial border guards. Free-speech restrictions. The last 15 months have arguably represented the most intense throttling of Canadian civil liberties by governments — ever. And it hasn’t stopped yet. This has all been done in the name of public health. But Michael Bryant, executive director and general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Union, explains why that isn’t always the case, how the balance between rights and safety was neglected, and why the courts meant to uphold our rights haven’t been much help. (Recorded May 27, 2021).

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China has been holding Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig captive for two years as it plays “hostage diplomacy.” Ottawa seems paralyzed even as pressure mounts for difficult decisions about allowing Chinese telecom into Canada’s 5G networks and calling out credible charges of a Chinese-perpetrated “genocide” against Uyghur Muslims. Josh Rogin, Washington Post columnist and author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century, joins host Anthony Furey to explain how China benefits from the turmoil. (Recorded May 14, 2021).

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What if everything the government told you about why it’s racking up huge deficits and debts wasn’t actually true? Dr. Ian Lee, a professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, explains how the federal Liberals’ recent budget is about to spend more than $100 billion solving problems that don’t actually exist — while ignoring real ones that threaten a very troubling future for Canadians. (Recorded May 14, 2021).

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Lindsay Shepherd went from being an unknown graduate student at an Ontario university, to becoming a subject of international controversy, all for playing a five-minute clip during a class discussion, recorded from a mainstream Canadian news program. Her professors didn’t like the conservative ideas discussed in the clip, claimed she was spreading hate and bigotry, and tried to discipline her. But she fought back. In this episode of Full Comment, Anthony Furey talks to Lindsay about her story and her new book, Diversity and Exclusion: Confronting the Campus Free Speech Crisis. (Recorded May 5, 2021).

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For over a year, Canadian governments have responded to the COVID pandemic with the same lockdowns and restrictions, but are they really the best approach? Anthony talks to Dr. Jennifer Grant, a microbiologist and infectious diseases physician at UBC, about why we’ve taken the path we have and whether we can do better. Recorded April 15, 2021.

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In the debut episode of Full Comment with Anthony Furey, Anthony interviews Celina Caesar-Chavannes.

Caesar-Chavannes, a former Liberal MP an parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, talks about her disillusionment with Trudeau's commitments to equity and diversity, her new book "Can You Hear Me Now?" detailing her experience, and why she very publicly quit the Trudeau Liberals. Recorded April 15, 2021.

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Host Anthony Furey introduces Full Comment, Postmedia's new podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions.

We'll go where other media outlets won't, ask the tough questions, and feature the colourful opinions you have come to expect from us.

We're not worried about pushing buttons. We'll be bringing you interesting opinions and compelling ideas, even if they are a little bit controversial.

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