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The House

Avi Lewis on selling socialism to Canadians

4/18/202650 min

After weeks of war in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is now open — and ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran continue to hold strong. So is an end to the war in sight? Host Catherine Cullen asks Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand if she believes the ceasefires will last and if Canada is considering helping efforts to open the Strait. 

Plus, now that the Liberals command the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians will get "real substance" and "less showboating" from parliamentarians. Hill watchers Tonda MacCharles and Christopher Nardi discuss whether the Liberals will behave any differently in this era — and if House committees are really as bad as Carney claims.

And, Catherine Cullen gives the new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, a tour of Parliament — a place he hadn’t been to in more than 15 years — and hears what he hopes to do in the House of Commons, and why he believes Canada has lost “a sense of elevated purpose” in politics.

This episode features the voices of:

  • Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
  • Christopher Nardi, parliamentary reporter for the National Post
  • Avi Lewis, leader of the New Democratic Party

Clips

His father’s final word
Paying for public groceries
Inside the public grocer plan
No to floor-crossers
Why federal power matters
Democracy’s tone and structure
A sharp critique of profits

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Steve Patterson0:00

    Hi, Steve Patterson here, host of The Debaters, the show where the best comedians in Canada go head-to-head over the world's least best questions. Questions like, is table service superior to a buffet? We promise you won't be smorgas-bored. Find this week's episode of The Debaters anywhere you get your podcasts.

  2. Speaker 10:18

    [upbeat music] This is a CBC podcast.

  3. Catherine Cullen· Host0:21

    So, uh, we're gonna go on a little bit of a tour.

  4. Speaker 30:26

    I'm, I feel like I'm a tourist. Let's do it.

  5. Catherine Cullen· Host0:29

    Before, like this week, when was the last time you were in there?

  6. Speaker 30:31

    I think the last time I was in was to interview a politician. I think it might have been my, my last story for Al Jazeera in 2010.

  7. Catherine Cullen· Host0:41

    Okay.

  8. Speaker 30:41

    It's been a while.

  9. Catherine Cullen· Host0:42

    Yeah, and you don't have access [laughs] yet to, to- You know, you don't have to make that point- [laughs] ...

  10. Speaker 30:48

    right off the top. Obviously, I'm the new kid at school. I'm not even enrolled.

  11. Catherine Cullen· Host0:52

    In this case, school is the House of Commons. The new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, is here, but he's not an MP yet. He doesn't even have a security pass. I'm Catherine Cullen, and this week on The House, I'm gonna be doing some double duty as a tour guide, showing Avi Lewis around Parliament Hill, and asking if he thinks Canadians are really ready to go big on socialism. We also have a remarkable conversation about the last words his father, Stephen Lewis, said before his death just two weeks ago. Also on the program, we'll talk majority government with our Hill watchers. What will Mark Carney and the Liberals do with

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