The West Block

The time is now for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to finally act on his vow to create “transformative” policy and legal change for Indigenous people, says former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, the Independent MP for Vancouver-Granville  says while Trudeau has taken action during his time in government to support Indigenous communities, he hasn’t yet lived up to his promise to create “transformative” change. The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson also interviews Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller to ask him about the federal government’s ongoing efforts to transform its relationship with Indigenous communities, in the wake of the discovery of the remains of 215 children in unmarked burial sites at the former Kamloops Residential School. 

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The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson talks with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc about what benchmarks his government will use to determine when to open the border to international travel.  Winnipeg’s mayor Brian Bowman talks about the “dire” situation facing his city and province. And what’s next for the defence committee’s investigation into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

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This week The West Block guest host Abigail Bimman interviews Alan Bernstein -- a member of Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task force and chair of the lesser known federal Variants of Concern Scientific Advisory Council -- about NACI’s pronouncements on “preferred” vaccines; Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc talks about Katie Telford’s testimony before the Defence Committee; Mayor Naheed Nenshi addresses the frightening rise in COVID-19 cases in Alberta, and he has some harsh words for the “anti-mask” protesters in his city.

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For months, Global News has brought you stories from survivors of sexual violence in Canada’s military. This week on the ‘The West Block,’ defence minister Harjit Sajjan defends his government’s move to launch yet another external review of the problem, promising swift action to stamp out sexual misconduct from the Canadian Forces once and for all.

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On this week’s edition of ‘The West Block’ podcast, Mercedes Stephenson speaks with former prime minister Jean Chrétien about his memories of Prince Philip. She also interviews employment minister Carla Qualtrough about whether the new COVID-19 lockdowns will lead to further layoffs for the Canadian job market. And she speaks with a mayor who is at the front lines of the COVID-19 “inferno” – Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie – about what needs to be done to get the pandemic under control.

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The woman at the heart of a sexual misconduct investigation into Adm. Art McDonald says she is speaking out after details of her case leaked without her consent last month. In an exclusive interview on ‘The West Block' podcast, navy Lt. Heather Macdonald tells Mercedes Stephenson she hopes her story will help bring justice to other Canadian Forces members who have experienced misconduct in the military.

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On this week’s edition of The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson interviews Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc about the Canadian government’s strategy to bring home the two Canadians who are being arbitrarily detained in China and are now facing a trial.  She also speaks with Kevin Garratt, who was detained in China for 775 days back in 2014,  about what will happen to the two Michaels during the trial phase of their arbitrary detention. And two of Ottawa’s top journalists join Stephenson to discuss the latest developments in the military’s sexual misconduct scandal.

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In an exclusive interview with ‘The West Block’ podcast host Mercedes Stephenson, DND employee and former combat arms officer Alex Auclair shares her disturbing account of an alleged sexual assault she says she experienced at the hands of senior department executive – and the lack of support she felt when she first sought help. And Erin O’Toole on the ongoing controversy and whether the former Conservative government had thoroughly vetted the former chief of the defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, before his appointment.  

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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reacts to explosive testimony from the Defence Committee about allegations of sexual misconduct in the military, and an MP panel discusses who knew what and when in the Trudeau government — and why the allegations of sexual misconduct against former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance were not thoroughly investigated when they first surfaced in 2018. And Uyghur rights activist, Mehmet Tohti, calls on Liberal government to take action.

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On this week’s edition of ‘The West Block’ podcast, Mercedes Stephenson has a follow-up interview with the woman who “open the locked door of secrets” about allegations of sexual misconduct in Canada’s military to talk about what should happen now. Stephenson also asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what specific actions his government is going to take to stamp out the problems plaguing the Canadian Armed Forces. And a conversation with Michael Kovrig’s wife Vina Nadjibulla about her hope that President Biden’s strong words last week, will result in action to release the two Canadians jailed in China. 

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