COMMONS

This week, the city of Thunder Bay, ON, agreed to implement the recommendations of an inquest that looked into the deaths of seven Indigenous students. This, despite the fact that no one from city council appeared to have attended said inquest. The case of a Halifax-area cab driver accused of sexually assaulting a heavily intoxicated female passenger was dismissed by a provincial court judge after he claimed that, "clearly, a drunk can consent." Finally, the Globe & Mail dug deep into a brewing cash-for-access scandal in British Columbia that could have significant ramifications in that province's upcoming election.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to CANADALAND Commons! New hosts Hadiya Roderique, Ryan McMahon, and Ashley Csanady spend their first episode looking into the mostly manufactured controversy behind M103 - a motion to denounce Islamophobia and racism and a push for the Canadian government to set up a committee to look into the rise of discrimination in the country. Also, refugees from countries on U.S. President Donald Trump's list of banned countries are taking the extraordinary step of trying to cross the border into Manitoba. On foot. In February. What happens to them when they get here and are they just going to shipped back to the States? Finally, the Sixties Scoop was likely something you didn't learn about in your high school history class. But the courts last week awarded the now-grown Indigenous children taken from their families a $1.3-billion settlement. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the new hosts of CANADALAND COMMONS: Hadiya Roderique, Ashley Csanady, and Ryan McMahon. New episode available Tuesday February 21 and every two weeks thereafter. Follow the show on Twitter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're looking for new hosts. Please send demos (less than 4 minutes long) to: [email protected] COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Supriya, Vicky and publisher Jesse Brown deliver a message about the future of COMMONS. Follow @cndlndcmns for developments.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we go behind the scenes in Canadian politics. How do the backroom dealings in Ottawa stack up to the kind of power games we see on shows like House of Cards or the West Wing? Warren Kinsella brought the American war room model to Jean Chrétien's campaign, making it his mission to drive rival politicians crazy and throw them off their game. Lisa Kinsella has also worked in Liberal war rooms, and is now a "dirty rotten lobbyist." They both currently work for Daisy Group.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trudeau government made a lot of commitments in the last election, including improving relations with Indigenous people, fighting climate change and investing in infrastructure. Those commitments are starting to come to a head. This past week, they approved a massive liquified natural gas (LNG) project on Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert, BC. We check in with Indigenous communities, where support is split on the project. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, says the project will be destructive to the environment and local economies. Karen Ogen-Toews of the First Nations LNG Alliance points to the benefits the project can bring to surrounding communities and pleas for better understanding from all sides. George Hoberg, a professor at UBC's Liu Institute of Global Affairs, gives context to the scope of the project.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch really wants to talk about her proposal to screen out immigrants over anti-Canadian values, but takes issue with "specific questions" on the matter. But first, Bloomberg reporter Josh Wingrove drops in for a lookahead to the upcoming year in Parliament. What's gonna happen, who will start the first brawl and what would it take to end Trudeau's popularity?Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's week two of our Conservative leader-a-thon. Today we bring you our conversations with leadership contenders Tony Clement and Maxime Bernier. Both men were longtime members of Stephen Harper's cabinet. Tony Clement says the Conservatives need to communicate better with young people and is now pushing tough-on-terror policies. Maxime Bernier is often called the Libertarian candidate. In addition to his support for personal freedoms, he wants to de-regulate or privatize a handful of industries.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bunch of people want to succeed Harper as leader of the Conservative Party. Whoever gets the vote won't just be gunning to be the next Prime Minister; they'll be leading the Opposition, with an aim towards keeping the government in check. Over the summer, we took some time to figure out who all these people are. We'll share those interviews over the next two weeks. Today, we hear from Michael Chong and Brad Trost. Michael Chong once resigned as a cabinet Minister over a disagreement with the Harper government. He believes the party needs to take a stronger stance on climate change and to do a better job appealing to immigrants and urban Canadians. Brad Trost is a social Conservative, so on top of being a champion of the free market, he's vocally pro-life and opposed to gay marriage.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do if you think a city councillor is exploiting his public platform to make money on the side? Listener Matt Alexander emailed us with this quandary. He points out that Greater Sudbury Councillor Robert Kirwan takes money from local businesses to write promotional posts for a Facebook group he runs. This raises a lot of questions for Matt, but he doesn't know what to do about it. We look into Matt's complaint and how potential conflicts like this one are dealt with. Go to our website for our full correspondence with Robert Kirwan.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this summer, we spoke to Monia Mazigh about CSIS agents making unannounced visits to Muslims. Now, one of those men joins us. After studying and teaching English in Egypt, Juned Moid* was visited by CSIS agents, denied entry into the US and had his passport renewal delayed. He doesn't know why. We also speak to Ken Stone, an activist and political commentator, who launched a complaint against CSIS after two agents showed up at his door, asking him about an op-ed he wrote in the Hamilton Spectator. He tells her about the three-year process of trying to resolve the complaint through the Security Intelligence Review Committee. *A pseudonym to avoid career problemsSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We check in with Maggie Cywink about the upcoming inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. Maggie’s sister Sonya Cywink was murdered over 20 years ago and the case remains unsolved. Maggie says the announcement felt like a photo op for the Liberals. She first spoke to us back in December when the inquiry was announced: http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/families-mmiw-what-can-we-do-tomorrow/ Plus, a TweetBeat in which a Liberal MP tells a vegan to eat a steak. To see screenshots of the full exchange between MP Wayne Easter and animal/environmental advocate Richelle Benoit, go to our website: canadalandshow.com/commonsSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali man in Ottawa, is dead after witnesses say he was beaten by cops. There’s been a lot of attention on police violence against Black people in the U.S. lately. But Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, says Canada’s policing style has a lot of the same problems as the American system when it comes to dealing with racialized and Indigenous populations. Read Akwasi's piece in the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/a-hard-truth-canadas-policing-style-is-very-similar-to-the-us/article30942053/ Karmen James Omeasoo, a rapper who performs under the name Hellnback, talks about some of the troubles Indigenous men face with the Winnipeg police and the RCMP. Christien Levien, a criminal lawyer at Wiley and Levien, talks about how his own bad experience with police as a teenager led him to creating the app LegalSwipe to help other racialized kids stand up to cops. The song sampled in the show is Hellnback’s “Caught Up,” produced by Stomp. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Muslim men have been telling Monia Mazigh about getting unannounced visits from CSIS agents at home or the workplace. The intelligence agency says the conversations are voluntary, but some people are accusing them of intimidation. Monia is the national coordinator for the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. She tells Supriya and Vicky about these visits and discusses Bill C-22, the legislation that the government tabled to create parliamentary oversight of national security agencies, including CSIS. Read Monia's Huffington Post piece about this tactic here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/monia-mazigh/canadian-security-intelligence-service_b_10812800.htmlSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Supriya and Vicky want to know what the Brexit means for us. Does a vote for the United Kingdom to leave the EU change our lives across the ocean? Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, talks about why shifting global markets matter for everyone. Freelance journalist Steven Zhou gives some social context to the vote.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government’s declared that ISIS is committing a genocide against the Yazidi people. So what are we doing about it? Yazidi-Canadian Dalal Abdi talks about her journey to Canada and her family's life back in Iraq and Turkey. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith talks about voting against the majority of his party to declare a genocide earlier in the week. Stephanie Carvin, assistant professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, tells us how using the word "genocide" affects Canada’s obligations abroad.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toronto MPP Cheri DiNovo thinks the NDP needs to return to its roots: unabashedly socialist and anti-capitalist, with an eye towards social justice and the environment. So now she's launched an unofficial leadership campaign, choosing not to pay the $30,000 fee required to enter the race. DiNovo was the first person within the NDP to speak out against the Party after their collapse during the 2015 election. She talks to Vicky and Supriya about money in politics, the missteps of the NDP and why Veuve Clicquot and high fashion aren't at odds with socialism.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Are these… 18th century working conditions?” Gabriel Allahdua asks. Gabriel came from St. Lucia to work on a farm as part of the Temporary Foreign Worker program. He describes the long hours, difficult working conditions and his disappointment over speaking to a Parliamentary committee that’s reviewing the TFW program. Justicia for Migrant Workers put us in touch with Gabriel. Are Canadian politicians bending gender norms? Jerald Sabin, a research associate at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, talks about a study on masculinity in the last election, co-authored by Kyle Kirkup. And a new segment where Supriya gets mad at Twitter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We sent the Syrup Trap's Winnie Code to the Conservative Convention in Vancouver. She explains how the convention was a bit like an informercial and gets the official party line on whether or not Justin Trudeau is handsome. Plus, a discussion about whether the Conservative Party can build credibility when it comes to environmental policy. Featuring Mark Cameron of Canadians for Clean Prosperity and Jason Thistlethwaite, assistant professor at University of Waterloo's environment faculty.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Bufton is a proud Libertarian who does not want to be lumped in with Conservatives. With the Conservative leadership race picking up steam, Matt, executive director of the Institute for Liberal Studies, tells us why the Conservatives don’t represent his values… and why he has to look to the past for political role models. Tannara Yelland tells the story of 21-year old Breanna Kannick, who died in remand in Saskatchewan last September. A bill proposes parties face penalties unless they put (nearly) an equal number of men and women on the ballot. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People lost their minds when the long form census came back, after being replaced by the voluntary National Household Survey. But why does it matter? David Hulchanski, a professor at University of Toronto, tells us how the NHS made Canada look more equal than it was. Dillon Black from the group Queering613 talks about issues for trans and gender non-binary people in the census. Plus, why is the government considering giving a billion dollars to a company owned mostly by a single family? We hear from Mike Moffatt, assistant professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University and Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservatives may finally decide toembrace gay marriage at a policy convention later this month. Ormaybe not. More than a decade after same-sex marriage was legalisedin Canada, the party still defines it as a union between one manand one woman. BC’s Premier is under attack forconflict-of-interest, relating to over $300,000 in salary top-upsand a bunch of expensive fundraisers. The Tyee’s legislative bureauchief Andrew MacLeod fills us in on the time she told him the moneywas for a car allowance. Newfoundland and Labrador’s budgetsituation has gotten so bad that the province is shutting down morethan half of their libraries. Memorial University economist AlisonCoffin (who ran for the provincial NDP in the last election) talksabout what got the province to where it is today.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Conservative MP’s op-ed aboutthe sexism in Parliament got a lot of praise. But Sarah Beuhler sawit as hypocritical and an attempt to gain favour for a possibleleadership bid. She debates with Supriya and guest co-host JaneLytvenenko whether a Conservative MP can be a feminist.Mike Duffy’s cleared of all chargesin the Senate expense scandal.We hear from protestors who wereliving inside the offices of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canadafor over a week. The Winnipeg office is still occupied.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest co-host Vicky Mochama went out to the Hill to interview women about what it’s like to work in a space built for 19th century gentlemen. In the wake of the NDP convention, the big question is whether Canada can stomach a party that’s a centimetre off centre. A powerful listener calls in with opinions on the Senate. Subscribe to Vicky’s newsletter, NOT SORRY.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fractures in the Conservative Party are showing as people jump into the leadership race. Desmond wants to know why the Liberals flip flopped on an issue of torture. Supriya wants to get in on that sweet tax free status we've been hearing about in the Panama Papers. University of Victoria economics professor Lindsay Tedds tells us why, despite the projected $30 billion deficit, "the budget might in fact balance itself." Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Lytvynenko, CANADALAND’s news editor, guest co-hosts with Supriya Dwivedi. As the NDP approaches a leadership review, Jane and Supriya try to figure out who Tom Mulcair even is. Maclean’s Quebec Bureau Chief Martin Patriquin laughs off the idea that the Quebec government will clean itself up after recent arrests in the provincial corruption scandal. Jane and Supriya offer free advice on how the Trudeau government can make itself more transparent without having to do the whole public consultation thing.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Loku was shot and killed by police last July. But the public doesn’t know who did it. When the Special Investigations Unit announced that the officer who killed him would not face charges, it led to a protest organised by Black Lives Matter Toronto that has lasted over a week, day and night, through rain and an ice storm. Protestors have gathered from around the country, demanding for the name of the officer who killed Andrew Loku to be released and for more accountability when police kill or beat black citizens. Desmond speaks to organisers and supporters at the demonstration.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada’s arms deal with Saudi Arabia has raised a lot of controversy, but they’re not the only ones getting our weapons or weapons parts. Supriya wants to know who else Canada is selling arms to, what oversight exists to make sure our weapons aren’t being used unethically and what happens if we do see a reason to break an arms contract. She talks to NDP defence critic Hélène Laverdière, who wants to create a Parliamentary sub-committee to oversee arms sales. She also talks to Anthony Fenton, a PhD candidate at York University who studies political economy of Canada and the Middle-East. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A group of Senators says partisan activity has "seriously eroded the credibility and reputation” of their workplace. So they’ve formed a non-partisan working group to try to fix it. Senator Diane Bellemare talks to Desmond and Supra after quitting the Conservative caucus and joining this new group. Senate scholar Heather Hughson says this is exactly what’s needed to restore faith in the Chamber.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No new episode today. We'll be back next week.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andray and Desmond host a live panel asking how cities are preparing refugees to fend for themselves in a year’s time and how they can get on their feet in our terrible job market. Featuring: Michael Qaqish, an Ottawa city councillor and the city’s refugee liaison; Ula Abu Rashed, a student at the University of Ottawa whose family fled Syria for Germany last fall; Rouba Al-Fattal, a part time professor of Middle East and Arab politics at the University of Ottawa. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Ottawa, leading the #Canadians4Refugees campaign. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada has had a marijuana industry for a long time. It just hasn’t always been legal. People in the business have ended up in prison, barred from crossing the border or denied future job prospects. Now that the Liberals are planning to legalize weed, what will happen to those people? Andray talks to Liberal MP for Beaches-East York Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and criminal defence lawyer John Struthers. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Elliott Clarke has been appointed as Canada’s seventh poet laureate. His wide-ranging conversation with Desmond touches on how working for a trailblazing black MP led him to meeting the Dalai Lama, why politicians should care about poetry and how he thinks Canadians are being ripped off by phone companies. Plus, he nearly sets the studio on fire with a rendition of his poem “Look Homeward, Exile."Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I think it would be a real shame if we got rid of Harper at the federal level and then we brought in somebody who wants to take our province in a similar direction,” Wab Kinew tells Andray and Desmond. Kinew is stepping into politics after years in the public eye as a journalist, author, rapper and First Nations community leader. He talks about what he wants to accomplish in politics that he couldn’t do in his previous roles. He also discusses ways to address the systemic racism in Winnipeg and Canada at large. Wab is seeking the nomination for the provincial NDP for the Fort Rouge riding in Winnipeg. FULL DISCLOSURE: Andray and Wab are both board members of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada's electronic spy agency broke privacy laws by collecting metadata about Canadians, then sharing it with other countries. The issue was exposed in a watchdog report that was released to the public last week. Andray and Supriya speak to Amanda Connolly, national security reporter for iPolitics, about what exactly the Communications Security Establishment did wrong and whether there's any reason to expect it won't happen again. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most workplaces discourage yelling and jeering among co-workers. But the government has their own way of doing things. Desmond and Supriya talk to Calgary - Nose Hill Conservative MP Michelle Rempel about her experiences being heckled. They also get into how social media is changing the political discourse in ways that Rempel herself still hasn't figured out. This follows a recent survey by Samara Canada finding that most MPs think heckling is a problem in the House of Commons, but most of them also do it. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the end of Harper's decade-long rule, Conservatives have to figure out what they stand for. The next leadership race is still a long way away, but people are starting to campaign. Jim Burnett knows conservative leadership races from the inside. He returns to the show to talk about where Conservatives go after Harper. Plus, he answers the burning question: Did you actually like the guy?Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former BC Premier Ujjal Dosanjh recently wrote an editorial called “The Silencing of the White Men of the West." In it, he argues that political correctness stifles powerful white men. Editor-in-chief of The Walrus Jonathan Kay and cultural critic Septembre Anderson give their thoughts on the issue. Ujjal Dosanjh did not respond to a request to appear on COMMONS.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a child, Andray was taught to look up to Anne C. Cools, the first black person to join Canada’s Senate. Born in Barbados, she spent her early life as a social worker and pioneer in the field of domestic violence before spending over three decades in the upper house.Andray’s views change when he hears Desmond’s interview with the senator. Desmond sets out to talk to her about the recent expense probes, the role of the Senate and her activist past. They get to all that, but the conversation takes a far more contentious tone than planned. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the Paris agreement, Andray and Desmond speak to climate change expert Jason Thistlethwaite in a conversation touching on the “give a shit factor”, the inevitable death of the suburbs and Game of Thrones.Plus, they speak to someone who was at the talks and was not happy with what took place. Erica Violet Lee, an Indigenous activist and part of the Canadian Youth Delegation to Paris, felt tokenized and ignored by politicians and the press. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"What can we do tomorrow?” Maggie Cywink wants to know. "I don’t have another six months to wait for the government to meet everybody and figure it out.” Mag’s sister Sonya Cywink was found murdered in southern Ontario in 1994. Bernadette Smith’s sister Claudette Osborne-Tyo went missing in Winnipeg. And Lauren Crazybull’s great-aunt Jacqueline Crazybull was killed in a random attack in Calgary.None of these cases have been solved. Following the Liberal government’s announcement of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, these three women join Desmond and guest host Supriya to talk about what they want the government to do, whether an inquiry is even the right move and how they've felt let down by First Nations leaders on this issue.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. So we look into what it takes to get a family of three refugees from Syria to the small mountain town of Jasper, Alberta. And Farah Malik, a refugee from Pakistan, talks about what it was like abandoning her home country.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Liberal government has promised to get rid of our current voting system, but they haven’t committed to what those changes will look like. By listener request, Andray and Desmond take a look at what could happen.They speak to a former political candidate from New Zealand about the reforms his country made. They also speak to conservative strategist Jim Burnett, who thinks Canada doesn't have the will to change the electoral system. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Beaverton's satire isn't about funny accents or wacky characters. It cuts deep, skewering politicians and other media on issues like the refugee crisis and ISIS. Andray and Desmond speak to The Beaverton's editor-in-chief Luke Gordon Field about using humour as a weapon and what's missing in Canadian political comedy. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the tragedy in Paris, Desmond talks to Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, and Amira Elghawaby, communications director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, about the backlash Muslims face in Canada when attacks are carried out in the name of Islam.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

University of New Brunswick's JP Lewis explains how the Cabinet is like Wu-Tang Clan and Buzzfeed Canada's Scaachi Koul proposes a Minister of No Bullsh*t.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservative Party of Canada has fallen to Opposition status... but what does that mean? Can they actually affect politics or are they just getting ready for their next shot at government? Andray talks about that with Ray Martin, who led Alberta's Official Opposition in the 80s. He also talks to Mark Warner - who was dumped from a Conservative campaign in 2007 - and Tasha Kheiriddin - a conservative Harper skeptic - about what the CPC would have to do to get their full support. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andray and Desmond talk to Liberal MP-elect Ahmed Hussen, soon to be Canada's first MP of Somali descent. They discuss the refugee crisis, diversity in Parliament, Bill C-51 and more.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andray Domise, Desmond Cole and Supriya Dwivedi broadcast LIVE to a packed room at the Monarch Tavern in Toronto.Feat. Jesse Brown in Toronto, Jen Gerson at Harper HQ in Calgary, Drew Brown in Edmonton and Morgan Baskin in Squamish.#CL42Warning: there's some profanity in this one.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.