The Backbench – Details, episodes & analysis

He was the immigration minister when we rehauled the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. He’s now the housing minister, tackling Canada’s massive housing crisis. He’s got a huge job.

This week, host Mattea Roach asks the hard-hitting questions about mistakes the Liberals have made, and how they plan to fix it.

Host:  Mattea Roach

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Production Manager), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guests: Minister Sean Fraser

Background reading:

• Liberal Housing Plan
• UN report on Canada's temporary foreign workers details the many ways they've been abused - CBC News
• Housing minister denies he ignored warning about immigration levels and housing supply - National Post
• Feds identify 56 government properties for conversion to affordable housing - CP24

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Harassment of MPs has risen around 800% in the past five years. One-off threats can so easily turn to real violence. Many leaders are calling it quits — saying it’s just too much.

What does that feel like for those in office? And for the team responsible for keeping these politicians safe? 

We get into it with MP Marco Mendicino, MP Pam Damoff and Senator Bernadette Clement. We also speak with Assistant Commissioner Michele Paradis. 

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Host:  Mattea Roach

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Production Manager (Max Collins), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guests: MP Mendicino, MP Damoff, Senator Clement, Assistant Commissioner Michele Paradis

Background reading:

• Harassment of MPs spiked almost 800% in 5 years, says House sergeant-at-arms - CBC News
• Former safety minister wants 'protective zones' for MPs' offices as threats increase - CBC News
• Why Canadian Politics Is Still Unsafe For Female Politicians - Chatelaine

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If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

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Temporary foreign workers are relied upon to fill the gaps in the Canadian labour market. But the system is convoluted and ripe with exploitation – all at a time when immigrants are being blamed by politicians and the public for the housing crisis.

The system needs an overhaul to protect our economy and the workers that make it tick. Are immigrants really to blame for the housing crisis? What types of immigrants are the feds targeting?

To find out, Mattea Roach asked lawyer Jonathon Braun, author and professor Catherine Connelly and economist Mikal Skuterud.

Host:  Mattea Roach

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guests: Jonathan Braun, Catherine Connelly, Mikal Skuterud

Background reading:

• WORK #3 - Bitter Harvest - Commons, Canadaland
• WORK #4 - Reaping the Whirlwind - Commons, Canadaland
• #369 Stranded Servants: Nannies And Cleaners During Lockdown - Canadaland
• Linking immigration to the housing shortage may be missing the problem, experts say - CBC News
• Canada is scaling back temporary foreign workers. Critics say the program needs an overhaul - CBC
• Temporary Foreign Worker program sees 68% jump in approvals - The Globe and Mail
• Immigration is making Canada's housing more expensive. The government was warned 2 years ago - CBC

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If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

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The spectre of a fall federal election looms large with a flurry of activity in the House, Trudeau calling Parliament toxic, and a high-profile Minister announcing she won’t run again. And further fallout after more unmarked graves were found at a residential school.

This week's contributors: Drew Brown, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Jason Markusoff

This episode is supported by Freshbooks.

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Federal politics scrambles to respond to the country finding more and more Indigenous children's remains near residential schools. And Prime Minister Trudeau is the "dean" of the G7 now, allegedly.

This week's panelists: Leena Minifie, Jaskaran Sandhu feat. Romeo Saganash
Further reading:

• More on how the federal government still took Indigenous children to court on the day we recorded (Monday)
• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls To Action. (CBC published on it here too)
• Romeo Saganash wrote more about Bill C-15 here (Follow the Bill's passage here)
• More on the ICC being called to investigate Kamloops here
• More on the NDP's failure to push to declare residential schools a genocide here

This episode is brought to you by Dispatch Coffee

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A new CRTC decision - that critics say guarantees higher wireless prices - suggests that telecom giants are in control. What does Quebec trying to change the Constitution via Bill 96 mean? And host Fatima Syed breaks protocol with her own point of order.

This week's panelists: Murad Hemmadi, Emilie Nicolas, & Stuart Thomson, 

This episode is supported by Dispatch and Freshbooks.

Support the show: https://backbench.supercast.tech/

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The conflict of interest and ethics commissioner weighs in on the meaning of friendship; is Prime Minister Trudeau home free from WE? And the government steps into a legal battle over the Line 5 pipeline.

This week's panelists: Stuart Thomson, Leena Minifie, and Jaskaran Sandhu
Further reading:

• Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's reports on Trudeau and Morneau
• The Government of Canada's amicus brief re: Line 5

This episode is supported by Freshbooks and Dispatch.

Support the show: https://backbench.supercast.tech/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The third wave has shattered any remaining notion that we're all in this pandemic together. And the government commissions a new review into sexual misconduct in the military, just six years after the last one. What will it take for actual change?

This week's panelists: Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Emilie Nicolas, and Drew Brown

This episode is brought to you by Freshbooks and Cullen's Foods.

Support the show: https://backbench.supercast.tech/

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Dig into Canadian politics from the best seats in the House.

Host Fatima Syed welcomes our rotating roster of panelists from across the country: Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Jason Markusoff, Drew Brown, Emilie Nicolas, Jaskaran Sandhu, Murad Hemmadi, Leena Minifie, and Stuart Thomson. Stay on top of things through sharp commentary and incisive analysis.

Drops every other Tuesday, starting May 4th.

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Meng Wenzhou was arrested two years ago today in Vancouver and now unlikely MPs are calling for her release. Meanwhile, anti-CCP camps are at odds with each other in Surrey. South China Morning Post's Vancouver correspondent Ian Young unpacks how international politics play out on Canadian soil.

Further reading: 

• Government petition calling for Meng Wanzhou's release, sponsored by Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton
• Ashton's one public comment on the Winnipeg Free Press

This episode is brought to you by Beer Canada and Paradigm.

Support the show: https://backbench.supercast.tech/

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