The West Block

On The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson takes a deep dive into Canada’s plan to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Dominic LeBlanc, says Canada is “certainly in the top five” when it comes to getting the vaccine. Saskatchewan Premier, Scott Moe, tells Mercedes the feds should be ramping up their procurement efforts. The new Vice President Logistics and Operations at PHAC, Major-General Dany Fortin, outlines how he and the military will play a role in distributing the vaccine to Canadians once it’s approved by Health Canada.

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Mercedes Stephenson sits down with the head of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, General Rick Hillier. In this full, unedited interview, General Hillier says Ontario Premier Doug Ford assured him he will have the resources needed to make this mission successful and the first day the vaccine arrives, ‘we’ll be ready.’

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On The West Block this week, Mercedes Stephenson probes into Canada’s response to COVID-19. Former Health Minister, Dr. Jane Philpott, weighs in on lockdowns, testing and COVID-19 data. Dr. Philpott says Canada needs to contain the spread before it reaches ‘worst case scenarios.’ Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq says they are looking into how so many cases surged across the territory and urges Canadians, ‘if you don’t have to travel, please don’t travel to another community.’ Going South of the border, Delaware Senator Chris Coons offers insight to what a Joe Biden presidency will mean for Canada.

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Check out Mercedes Stephenson's full interview with Conservative Leader, Erin O’Toole this week on The West Block podcast. O’Toole tells Mercedes his party will put forward an opposition day motion calling on the Liberal government to be tougher on China; he says Canada’s Prime Minister has been “too close and naïve from day one.” 

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On The West Block podcast this week Mercedes Stephenson recounts the record numbers of COVID-19 cases that continue to sweep across the country. She asks Conservative Party Leader, Erin O’Toole, about his take on Canada’s response to the pandemic. Internationally, O’Toole says it’s time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get serious on China from a security, human rights and trade perspective. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister, Marco Mendicino, says Canada continues to take a “strong and principled” stand on China. And for a look inside the municipal response to COVID-19, Mercedes talks to Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who says COVID-19 restrictions need to be smart and targeted to slow the spread of the virus. 

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On this week’s US election edition of The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson talks with former chair of the Democratic National Committee about why the election was so close?  She also talks with Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister about what a Biden presidency will mean for Canada.  Whitehouse reporter for Bloomberg News Josh Wingrove lays out what Trump’s next moves will likely be. And former Canadian Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer talks about what will happen to the Keystone pipeline now that Joe Biden is president.

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In this week’s edition of The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson speaks with former foreign affairs Minister John Baird about the U.S. election, Canada’s top doctor Theresa Tam about the second wave of the pandemic and an interview with Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan about the path forward for the Keystone pipeline project if Joe Biden wins the presidency.

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The West Block's full interview with Canada's top doctor, Dr. Theresa Tam. “We’re only at a few percentage points in terms of the immunity in our population. That leaves over 90 per cent of the population, or 95 per cent of the population still vulnerable,” says Dr. Tam. 

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Mercedes Stephenson talks to strategists about which political party would gain by forcing a federal election during the pandemic – this week’s West Block panel includes conservative strategist Melissa Lantsman, NDP strategist Robin MacLachlan and Liberal strategist Richard Mahoney. Former White House national security advisor John Bolton opens up about how he expects President Trump to respond to the election outcome. And seniors minister Deb Schulte shares her own story of losing a loved one in a long-term care home amid the pandemic.

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The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson speaks with Minister of Small Business Mary Ng about the second wave of  forced business closures and what the federal government is doing to help.  National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde talks about what needs to be done to resolve a worsening dispute between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers on the east coast. And a panel of parliamentarians discuss why the WE affair is being resurrected on Parliament Hill.

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