Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. This week, the Liberal government unveiled long-awaited assisted dying legislation—and critics have come out in full force. The government took a cautious approach by proposing more restrictions than some were expecting, and that’s leading to speculation about future legal challenges. We speak with the CEO of Dying with Dignity, as well as author Sandra Martin.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was turfed by his own party in a leadership review vote, but he’ll stay on as leader until his replacement is chosen. The Maclean’s panel discusses Mulcair’s collapse, the state of the NDP and the party’s upcoming search for a new leader.

With states of emergency being declared in First Nations communities, should the government help Indigenous people in Canada move away from these areas if they want to? Former prime minister Jean Chrétien is taking a lot of criticism for that very suggestion, but Maclean’s columnist Scott Gilmore has been pushing for a similar approach for some time. It’s a controversial topic, and Gilmore joins us to make his case.

Finally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised the recent election would be the last one using our current electoral system, and politics watchers should soon find out how the government plans to study changes to the way Canada votes. We speak with a pollster and a professor about the options.

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The full episode

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Part 1. Ottawa reacts to an assisted-dying bill.

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Part 2. The NDP moves on from Tom Mulcair.

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Part 3. How should Canada help residents of Attawapiskat?

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Part 4. When will Canada see Trudeau’s pitch for electoral reform?

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OUR BUREAU’S TOP READS

• 
  ON ATTAWAPISKAT
  What of Chrétien’s idea?

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  ON DYING
  How to legislate a complex issue

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  ON QUANTUM LEAPS
  Trudeau gets academic

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  ON LEFT TURNS
  The NDP considers a Leap