Maclean’s on the Hill: Assisted dying, opioid crisis, LGBT apology

11/18/16 • -1 min

Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. This week, an opioid crisis. Lawmakers and healthcare professionals gathered in Ottawa to find a strategy to deal with a disturbing rise in overdose deaths in Canada. Health Minister Jane Philpott joins the show to speak about what government can do—and whether or not she will declare a national public health emergency.

It appears Canada’s new assisted-dying law is confusing both doctors and patients, to the point where some are still leaving the country to seek medical help in dying. We hear from a family that was stuck in that position, as Maclean’s associate editor Shannon Proudfoot explains the problems with a vague section of the law.

This week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault as a special adviser on LGBTQ2 issues. Boissonnault joins us to discuss one of his first priorities: working towards a formal apology to the community for decades of institutional and social discrimination.

Finally, Maclean’s honoured some of the best of the best in the House of Commons with our annual Parliamentarians of the Year Awards. We’ll speak with some of the MPs who took home the hardware, and chat with the winner of the ceremony’s lifetime achievement award.

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The full episode

Part 1. Ottawa confronts Canada’s opioid crisis

Fentanyl pills are shown in a handout photo. Police say organized crime groups have been sending a potentially deadly drug through British Columbia to Alberta and Saskatchewan using hidden compartments in vehicles. (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams/CP)

Lawmakers and healthcare professionals gathered in Ottawa this week to find a strategy to deal with a disturbing rise in overdose deaths in Canada. Health Minister Jane Philpott joins the show to speak about what government can do—and whether or not she will declare a national public health emergency.

Part 2. Canada’s assisted dying law sows confusion

Julia Lamb, who has a degenerative muscle disease, pauses following a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, June, 27, 2016. Lamb is challenging Canada’s physician-assisted dying law just days after it came into force. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)

Part 3. Liberals consider LGBTQ2 apology

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in Montreal’s Pride Parade on August 14, 2016. (Cristian Mijea/CP)

Part 4. Maclean’s honours the Parliamentarians of the Year!

Ed Broadbent, photographed at his Ottawa home November 2016. (Photograph by Blair Gable)

Maclean’s honoured some of the best of the best in the House of Commons with our annual Parliamen...

Subscribe on iTunes today or play below.

The full episode

Part 1. Ottawa confronts Canada’s opioid crisis

Part 2. Canada’s assisted dying law sows confusion

Part 3. Liberals consider LGBTQ2 apology

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in Montreal’s Pride Parade on August 14, 2016. (Cristian Mijea/CP)

Part 4. Maclean’s honours the Parliamentarians of the Year!

Ed Broadbent, photographed at his Ottawa home November 2016. (Photograph by Blair Gable)

Maclean’s honoured some of the best of the best in the House of Commons with our annual Parliamen...

Next Episode

Maclean’s on the Hill: Fighter jets, electoral reform, fundraising

Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. This week, fighter jets took the spotlight as the Trudeau government announced plans to buy 18 Super Hornet jets on an interim basis. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan joins the podcast to discuss his strategy—and reveals the government may be buying more jets than we originally thought.

Next, we hear from the author of a new book, which argues military procurement in Canada is a mess which needs to be cleaned up. Kim Richard Nossal is a professor of political studies at Queen’s University, and the author of a new and timely book. It’s called Charlie Foxtrot: Fixing Defence Procurement in Canada.

Just days before a committee is set to release a key report on the Trudeau government’s promise to change Canada’s federal voting system, Democratic institutions Minister Maryam Monsef appears to leave a sliver of hope for those pushing for a referendum. Monsef is on the podcast to talk about what’s on the table.

And finally, Maclean’s Ottawa bureau chief John Geddes joins Cormac to break down the cash-for-access fundraising fiasco that has flooded the Prime Minister and his inner circle with criticism.

Subscribe on iTunes today or play below.

The full episode

Part 1. Harjit Sajjan defends his fighter jet plan

A Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornet breaks away from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, after competing refueling, March 4, 2015, over Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston/RELEASED)

This week, fighter jets took the spotlight as the Trudeau government announced plans to buy 18 Super Hornet jets on an interim basis. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan joins the podcast to discuss his strategy—and reveals the government may be buying more jets than we originally thought.

Part 2. Military procurement is a long-term mess

Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. (Matthew Otero/AP)

We hear from the author of a new book, which argues military procurement in Canada is a mess which needs to be cleaned up. Kim Richard Nossal is a professor of political studies at Queen’s University, and the author of a new and timely book. It’s called Charlie Foxtrot: Fixing Defence Procurement in Canada.

Part 3. Will Canadians vote on a new voting system?

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef answers a question in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 14, 2016. (Adrian Wyld/AP)

Part 4. Fundraising in Ottawa is the wild west

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves the stage following a discussion on women’s leadership in Monrovia, Liberia. (Adrian Wyld/CP)

Maclean’s Ottawa bureau chief John Geddes joins Cormac to break down the cash-for-access fundraising fiasco that has flooded the Prime Minister and his inner circle with criticism.