Parliament rises for the summer: Maclean’s on the Hill

Also on this week’s podcast: Why Canadian troops are in Latvia, and what’s wrong with a new building for Indigenous people

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Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. This week, the spring sitting of Parliament is complete after five months of debating bills, arguing among MPs, the Official Opposition picking a new leader, and some clashing between the Senate and the House of Commons. We kick off our show with a special Maclean’s panel that recalls the highlights and lowlights of the spring.

Canada’s mission in Latvia is now underway, with NATO troops amassing in Eastern Europe to send a message to Russia. Maclean’s senior writer Paul Wells has arrived back from a trip to Canada’s base in the Baltics. We’ll hear from him as well as some clips from his interviews with Canada’s chief of defence staff, and the secretary-general of NATO.

About a year before marijuana becomes legal in Canada, a group of Canadian medical associations have released new guidelines for users and doctors to lower the risk of cannabis use. The lead author of the guidelines, Dr. Benedikt Fischer, tells us which consumption methods people should avoid—and how long users should wait before getting behind the wheel of a car.

The Trudeau government marked National Aboriginal Day this year by dedicating a new building to our Indigenous peoples. But not everyone is pleased. We speak with an Indigenous architect who says the old U.S. Embassy building is a bad choice.

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The full episode


Part 1. Parliament rises for the summer

The Peace Tower is seen on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on November 5, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Peace Tower is seen on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on November 5, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The spring sitting of Parliament is complete after five months of debating bills, arguing among MPs, the Official Opposition picking a new leader, and some clashing between the Senate and the House of Commons. We kick off our show with a special Maclean’s panel that recalls the highlights and lowlights of the spring.


Part 2. What’s Canada doing in Latvia?

German Army soldiers dismantle a bridge over the Neris river during the 2017 Iron Wolf exercise in Stasenai, Lithuania, June 20, 2017. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)
German Army soldiers dismantle a bridge over the Neris river during the 2017 Iron Wolf exercise in Stasenai, Lithuania, June 20, 2017. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

Canada’s mission in Latvia is now underway, with NATO troops amassing in Eastern Europe to send a message to Russia. Maclean’s senior writer Paul Wells has arrived back from a trip to Canada’s base in the Baltics. We’ll hear from him as well as some clips from his interviews with Canada’s chief of defence staff, and the secretary-general of NATO.


Part 3. Doctors set new pot guidelines

Tweed employee Ryan Harris works inside the Flowering Room with medicinal marijuana at Tweed INC. in Smith Falls, Ontario, on December 5, 2016. (Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images)
Tweed employee Ryan Harris works inside the Flowering Room with medicinal marijuana at Tweed INC. in Smith Falls, Ontario, on December 5, 2016. (Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images)

About a year before marijuana becomes legal in Canada, a group of Canadian medical associations have released new guidelines for users and doctors to lower the risk of cannabis use. The lead author of the guidelines, Dr. Benedikt Fischer, tells us which consumption methods people should avoid—and how long users should wait before getting behind the wheel of a car.


Part 4. The problem with a new building for Indigenous people

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Trudeau government marked National Aboriginal Day this year by dedicating a new building to our Indigenous peoples. But not everyone is pleased. We speak with an Indigenous architect who says the old U.S. Embassy building is a bad choice.

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