Day 6

Lawrence Hill on "The Illegal" and Canada's refugee response

Recent headlines about Canada's response to the refugee crisis, and the national conversations they've sparked, resonate with themes in the latest novel by Lawrence Hill, "The Illegal."
Lawrence Hill with his new timely, expansive novel released in September 2015: The Illegal, about a young man fleeing a repressive regime. (CBC Books)

This week, the federal Conservatives came under fire after a Globe and Mail report alleged that the Prime Minister's Office asked immigration officials to stop processing Syrian refugees for several weeks this past spring.

As the refugee crisis continues, Lawrence Hill talks to Brent about his new book "The Illegal". The story centres around a young marathon runner from a repressive, fictional country in Africa who struggles to avoid being deported from his new home. Lawrence also talks about the federal election, and what Canada's response to the refugee crisis says about our values as a nation.