Chrystia Freeland’s Balancing Act: The fall economic update and what it signals

11/04/22 • 38 min

This week on "It’s Political," we focus on the inflation crisis and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s fall economic update. First, we’ll look back on what policies, decisions and events contributed to the current inflation numbers that are putting the squeeze on many Canadian households with Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief and economics columnist Heather Scoffield; Kevin Page, the president and CEO of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa; and Rebekah Young, Scotiabank’s vice-president and head of inclusion and resilience economics.

Some of the clips this week were sourced from the CBC, CPAC, CTV, the House of Commons, Policy Speaking, NBC, the BBC, Sky News, BNN Bloomberg, and Omar Alghabra’s Twitter feed.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Sean Pattendon makes our show sound great. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the clips this week were sourced from the CBC, CPAC, CTV, the House of Commons, Policy Speaking, NBC, the BBC, Sky News, BNN Bloomberg, and Omar Alghabra’s Twitter feed.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Sean Pattendon makes our show sound great. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Previous Episode

Programming note: To respond to the news agenda, today's episode will be released early this evening

“It’s Political" will be coming to you a little bit later today because of yesterday’s Fiscal update. We’ll have a round table discussion on Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest numbers, and look back on what’s led to these rising interest rates and the possible recession around the corner.

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Is Canada expanding Medical Assistance in Dying too quickly?

This week on "It’s Political," we tackle some of the issues around the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada.

A word of caution. Today’s program discusses death and suicide. Please take care while listening. If you are having suicidal thoughts, there is help. The Canada Suicide Prevention Service can be reached at 1-833-456-4566 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year or online at www.crisisservicescanada.ca. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.

First, we’ll bring you the story of a Toronto man named Michael Fraser who died using MAID this summer. Toronto Star investigative reporter Rob Cribb and Fraser’s doctor Nav Persaud bring us some of the complicated and intertwined issues Fraser’s choice brings to light. This audio documentary includes footage of Fraser. Next, we’ll check in with two MPs who sit on the joint Senate and House of Commons committee that has been charged with reviewing provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying. Then, we’ll sit down with Justice Minister David Lametti for his thoughts on MAID’s expansion and some of the cracks we’re seeing develop in the system.

Thanks this week to Investigative Journalism Bureau’s Charlie Buckley, Thea Gribilas and Declan Keogh for collecting the footage of Michael Fraser. Some of the footage also comes from ParlVu, CityNews and CTV.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Sean Pattendon masterfully mixes the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.