The Backbench

The Government has launched an inquiry into the use of the Emergency Act during the Freedom Convoy. And the Canadian Armed Forces released a scathing report about racism and discrimination within its ranks. Can the culture of the military be changed?

Panelists: Emilie Nicolas, Stuart Thomson and Paul Wells. 

Links:

• Read the report about racism and prejudice in the Canadian Armed Forces here.

Sponsors: Oxio, 22 Murders, Ground News, The Waves

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Eight people are in the running for leadership of the Conservative Party, but only one will emerge victorious and get a chance to become the next Prime Minister of Canada. We're joined by Politico’s Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Backbench regular Jason Markusoff to introduce our candidates. What's their vision? What have they done? And who’s most likely to flame out publicly?

Links:

• Subscribe to Politico’s Ottawa Playbook newsletter 
• See the picture of teenage Patrick Brown with a Jean Charest poster on his wall
• At the time of recording, Joseph Bourgault was not yet confirmed as a candidate, but he is also in the running. His website is available here

Additional music from Audio Network

Sponsors: 22 Murders, The Peak, Ground News

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We dig into the first two chapters of the government’s new budget: housing and economic growth. 

This week’s contributors: Murad Hemmadi, Caroline Elliott, David Moscrop 

Links:

• Read Budget 2022
• Read Jen Gerson’s piece that Caroline mentions, “No One Is Going to Fix Housing”

Sponsors: Oxio, 22 Murders, Skipper Otto, Ground News

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What does an apology mean? And what happens next? Fatima speaks to two people who were in Rome to hear the Pope’s apology to Indigenous people over the Residential School system: Norman Yak’e ula, a survivor who has been waiting for 58 years to hear these words; and Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, co-chair of the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council, who was part of the delegation that got an audience with the Pope. 

Links:

• Watch the Pope’s full apology here: 
• Read the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: 
• Watch the APTN video we mentioned of Taylor Behn-Tsakoza preparing to go to Rome:

Sponsors: Skipper Otto, Ground News, The Peak, 22 Murders

Additional music by Audio Network

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With deals for affordable childcare now in place across the country, we compare what each province got and discuss what this process might reveal for future programs, like pharmacare. 

And we dive into the good, the bad and the ugly of the government’s Emissions Reductions Plan.

This week’s contributors: Emilie Nicolas, Drew Brown, Stuart Thomson 

Links:

- A comparsion of childcare deals across the country.

- The Emissions Reduction Plan

Sponsors: Oxio, Freshbooks, The Peak Daily

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Jagmeet Singh’s Chief of Staff Jennifer Howard was in the room during negotiations for the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement. She breaks down how politicians can work together, even if looks like they hate each other on TV. 

Further Reading:

“Going Inside the Room: How the Liberal-NDP Confidence Deal Happened”

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/03/24/news/going-inside-room-how-liberal-ndp-confidence-deal-happened

Sponsors: FreshBooks, The Peak Daily, Ground News

If you listen on Apple, subscribe to Canadaland Politics for $2.99/month for ad-free episodes of The Backbench, Wag the Doug and COMMONS:

https://apple.co/3wjxaRW

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As nations around the world cut off business with Russia, can Canada help fill the international demand for oil and gas? More importantly, should we? And the pandemic caused unprecedented government spending, as well as shifting priorities on everything from work to healthcare. How will that all play out in the upcoming budget?

This week’s contributors: Jason Markusoff, Caroline Elliott, Murad Hemmadi

Links:

• Shannon Proudfoot’s Maclean’s profile of Pierre Pollievre: [https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/why-is-pierre-poilievre-so-angry/]
• And the accompanying Q&A [https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/pierre-poilievre-on-his-combative-style-of-politics-and-his-plans-for-canada/]

Sponsors: The Peak Daily, FreshBooks, Ground News, Oxio

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As escalation between Russia and Ukraine continues, what is Canada’s role in this ever-changing world? And how do conversations we have on the international stage impact our decisions here at home - and vice versa? Canada's UN Ambassador Bob Rae weighs in.

Sponsors: Skipper Otto, Rotman, Ground News

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For the next few months, The Backbench is going to bring you weekly episodes!

Expect us to chat with those who are impacted by or impacting what’s happening in Ottawa. We want to put the people back in politics so if you're either of those categories, get in touch at [email protected].

Don't worry - We’ll still be bringing you the panel you’ve come to know and love.

Our first episode drops next Tuesday.

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As the war in Ukraine escalates and Canadian leaders head to Europe, we assess the economic and military responses so far. And despite fully grasping the severity of Russian aggression, we want to know: Why does Canada's response to conflict vary so much depending on the country?

This week's contributors: Drew Brown, Caroline Elliott, Jaskaran Sandhu

Links:

• The Narwhal's piece about Canadian players still dealing in Russian resources
• More context on the Canadian discourse re: Sikhs written by Jaskaran
• More on Ottawa's decision to delay the decision on Newfoundland's Bay du Nord oil project

Sponsors: Oxio, Freshbooks

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