The House

This week on The House: politicians, reporters, historians and Canadians share their thoughts on the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, and weigh in on other concerns across the country.

This week on The House, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde looks ahead to the mid-March First Ministers' Meeting with the country's premiers and Indigenous leaders; we dive into where the Conservative leadership race is heading; and Dr. Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization discusses Canada's response to COVID-19. Plus, an update on Centre Block's major renovations, and one expert's take on the lack of women in politics.

This week on The House, Chris Hall speaks to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on a peaceful end to the rail blockades and gets reaction from a disappointed member of the Wet'suwet'en Nationon. Also on the show, two Liberal MPs about the fate of the Teck Frontier oilsands project. Plus, we hear from a woman who reflects on her time on the frontlines of the Oka crisis 30 years ago, and learn about a new effort to diversify policymakers in Canada.

Canada’s transport minister Marc Garneau says blocked rail lines and other protests across Canada in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are just a bump in the road in the process of reconciling the historic grievances of First Nations.

As the people Canada flew out of Wuhan, China settle into their second day of a two-week quarantine at a Canadian military base, the debate over whether they pose a real risk of spreading the novel coronavirus here is heating up.

This week on The House, Justice Minister David Lametti says he thinks Canadians want expanded access to medical assistance in dying following an online questionnaire that garnered the largest number of responses the department has ever received during a public consultation. Plus interviews with: two MPs on Black Canadians being underrepresented in Parliament; the U.K. High Commissioner to Canada on Brexit; and Health Minister Patty Hajdu on the latest government efforts regarding the novel coronavirus.

This week on The House, we look at the U.K. proposing that Huawei equipment could be used in the country’s 5G networks — in a limited capacity. The move positions Canada as the only undecided nation in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network. Plus, interviews with: the B.C. Provincial Health Officer on the spread of the coronavirus; Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister; and a look at a proposed site for a LGBT monument in the nation's capital.

This week on The House, guest host Evan Dyer looks at what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government must do to get answers following the downing of UIA Flight PS752. Plus, we have interviews with: a former foreign affairs director who was involved in the closure of Canada's embassy in Iran; a legal scholar on the latest developments in the dispute between the Wet’suwet’en people and Coastal GasLink; Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on a year of unrest in her country; and a royal debate between a monarchist and a republican.

This week on The House, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne joins Chris Hall to offer his reaction to an intense week in Canadian foreign relations and provide a sense of what comes next. Then, a panel of MPs reflect on how the crash of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 is reverberating across the country. Plus, Iran is an emerging player in the global disinformation game. In the wake of military tension between the U.S. and Iran this past week, false narratives have taken over the internet and infiltrated legitimate sources of news. BuzzFeed news reporter Jane Lytvynenko joins Chris Hall to unpack this troubling issue. And as Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs and supporters rally in British Columbia to support the Gidimt’en and Unist’ot’en front-lines following the eviction of Coastal Gaslink workers from Wet’suwet’en territory, Chris Hall catches up with Chantelle Bellrichard, a B.C.-based CBC Reporter with the Indigenous Unit.

As one decade ends and another begins, atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe and sustainable energy economist Mark Jaccard join Chris Hall to highlight the urgent and specific actions needed from everyday citizens and governments alike because the evidence is clear: doing nothing isn’t an option. Plus, feature interviews with Donald Savoie, the granddaddy of Canada’s public administration, on his magnum opus, Democracy in Canada: The Disintegration of Our Institutions, and Baroness Diana Barran, the U.K.’s minister of loneliness, on the challenge of tackling social isolation.