Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. On paper, this should have been a great five days for the Trudeau government, but it ended as maybe the worst week so far for the governing Liberals since they took power. They constantly tried to deal with controversies surrounding moving expenses for staff members and a possible extradition treaty with a country that has a dismal human rights record. Maclean’s Ottawa bureau chief John Geddes joins us to break it all down.

The federal government is poised for a showdown this fall with the provinces. The issue is climate change and the problem is a carbon tax. We speak with one of the country’s leading experts on environmental management, who believes the grits may be heading down the wrong path.

We also take a look at the government’s responsibilities when it comes to appointing judges to the Supreme Court.The Liberals face growing criticism from Atlantic provinces as a new selection process starts to play out.

And finally, we’ve crunched the numbers of every word spoken by MPs in the House of Commons since the last election—and we break down the key words and topics that are dominating discussions in Parliament.

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The full episode

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Part 1. Liberals caught up in Ottawa scandals

On paper, this should have been a great five days for the Trudeau government, but it ended as maybe the worst week so far for the governing Liberals since they took power. They constantly tried to deal with controversies surrounding moving expenses for staff members and a possible extradition treaty with a country that has a dismal human rights record. Maclean’s Ottawa bureau chief John Geddes joins us to break it all down.

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Part 2. Ottawa gears up for a carbon fight

The federal government is poised for a showdown this fall with the provinces. The issue is climate change and the problem is a carbon tax. We speak with one of the country’s leading experts on environmental management, who believes the grits may be heading down the wrong path.

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Part 3. Is Atlantic Canada entitled to a Supreme Court judge?

We also take a look at the government’s responsibilities when it comes to appointing judges to the Supreme Court.The Liberals face growing criticism from Atlantic provinces as a new selection process starts to play out.

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Part 4. How Parliament debated key issues in 2016

We’ve crunched the numbers of every word spoken by MPs in the House of Commons since the last election—and we break down the key words and topics that are dominating discussions in Parliament.

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