CBC Radio's The House: Committing to continental defence
Here is what's on this week's episode of The House
The government defends its defence commitments
Defence Minister Anita Anand held two big meetings with allies this week to discuss Canada's role in the war in Ukraine and its commitments to continental defence in North America.
Continental defence has been a point of tension on both sides of the border. Billions of dollars committed to defence in the recent federal budget — promised for "priorities" like equipment, NATO obligations and NORAD modernization — have not been specifically earmarked.
Anand joins The House to talk about her discussions with close allies and how that money will be spent.
Shedding light on the government's use of the Emergencies Act
As a new group of demonstrators descends on the nation's capital this weekend, parliamentarians are still trying to understand why the government invoked the Emergencies Act to deal with the convoy protests that snarled trade routes and downtown Ottawa streets in February. This week, a joint parliamentary committee started to put questions to the government, and a separate public inquiry led by Ontario Justice Paul Rouleau got underway.
But will either of these reviews establish why the Emergencies Act was used? Two experts join The House to offer their thoughts: Nomi Claire Lazar, politics professor at the University of Ottawa and author of States of Emergency in Liberal Democracies; and Dominique Clement, a professor at the University of Alberta's department of sociology and author of Human Rights in Canada: A History.
Kenney hold on?
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is facing a real and present danger to his leadership as party members vote in a review that will conclude when results are announced on May 18.
As the CBC's Alex Zabjek explains in a special report, conservatives in the province are split over how to respond to Kenney's caucus management, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of the Alberta economy. She speaks with UCP members about how they feel about the party and how they plan to vote.
Putin's thirst for war could leave the world hungry
The war in Ukraine has sparked an intense humanitarian crisis, characterized most tragically by the flight of millions of refugees from their home country — with millions more internally displaced or caught in the fighting. But the conflict is also creating a more long-term and wide-ranging threat: food insecurity.
Ukraine and Russia are both major food exporters and crucial sources for food relief to the rest of the world. If the war there continues, how many could go hungry? Mark Lowcock, who served for four years as the UN "relief chief" coordinating humanitarian aid, joins The House to discuss how humanitarian agencies and the world can step up to solve the immediate crisis, and how future humanitarian disasters can be avoided.
End of the blood ban
Canadian Blood Services says it will end its policy that bars men who have sex with men from donating blood if they have been sexually active within a three-month period. It's the end of a three-decade fight — one that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said should have ended years ago.
NDP MP Randall Garrison, who in 2014 put forward a motion that called on Canadian Blood Services to make similar changes, joins The House to talk about how he feels about the shift in policy.
