This week on The House, Evan Solomon gets National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo's first reaction to the appointment of a new Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister, Bernard Valcourt. What are the challenges ahead? And when will Atleo next meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper? Then, the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard, explains why federal funding cuts could force the closure of several First Nations police services.

Senator Mike Duffy wants to put the questions about where he lives to rest. Will his decision to repay thousands of dollars in living expenses allow him to turn the page? We hear from Mike Duffy, the NDP's ethics critic Charlie Angus, and CBC senior political correspondent Terry Milewski.

The CBC's Kady O'Malley brings us up to speed on ethical questions that surfaced this week on Parliament Hill.

Will more pipelines be good or bad for the Canadian economy? Canadian Auto Workers Union economist Jim Stanford and the Director and Palmer Chair in Public Policy for the University of Calgary Jack Mintz bring us two very different points of view.

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This week on The House, Evan Solomon asks Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall about his concerns over U.S. President Barack Obama's state of the union address. Why is the Premier asking U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson to clarify his comments about the potential impact of a U.S. policy shift on Canada?

Then, former Auditor General Sheila Fraser weighs in on the ongoing controversy over Senate expenses. She explains why Senators, as well as MPs, should open their books. The CBC's national affairs specialist Greg Weston explains how big of an issue the Senate is becoming for the Prime Minister.

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae responds to John Duncan's resignation as Aboriginal Affairs Minister. Is there a double standard within cabinet?

Also, should Canada's foreign agency, CIDA, fund religious charities? Lois Brown, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation, and NDP Foreign Affairs Critic, Paul Dewar, join us to tackle that question.

And the CBC's Kady O'Malley updates us on the status of a controversial private member's bill that would make it possible to strip dual nationals of their Canadian citizenship.

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This week on The House, scandals in the Senate. Following Senator Patrick Brazeau's  arrest for assault and his expulsion from the Conservative caucus, and with ongoing questions surrounding where Conservative Senator Mike Duffy actually lives, we talk to retired Progressive Conservative Senator Lowell Murray about what might happen to both men. Then, we ask CBC senior political correspondent Terry Milewski and CBC political blogger Kady O'Malley what this all means for the future of the Red Chamber.

Is the next Ottawa-Quebec battle going to be over foreign aid? This week, the Quebec government announced that it will create its own aid agency, in part because of concerns over the direction the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, has been taking. We ask Quebec's Minister of International Relations Jean-Francois Lisée about the rationale behind the decision.

Then, the Canada-EU trade agreement has been in the works for years and it's bound to become our country's biggest bilateral initiative since NAFTA. Trade expert Laura Dawson and former Ambassador the United States Derek Burney, who played a critical role in negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, join us to assess what the deal could mean for Canada.
 
Finally we speak to the Minister of Citizenship Jason Kenney about why he's proposing to strip dual nationals of their Canadian citizenship if they commit acts of terror.

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This week, The House was at the Ontario Liberal leadership convention where delegates had gathered to vote for a new leader. What are the challenges ahead for Dalton McGuinty's successor? We hear from former Liberal Premier David Peterson, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, as well as opposition leaders Tim Hudak and Andea Horwath.

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This week on The House, Evan Solomon sits down with retired Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie who shares his thoughts about where the Department of National Defence is spending money, where it's cutting, and the negative impact he thinks all those decisions are having on the military's level of readiness. We also get a response from the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Bruce Donaldson.


Then, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and his P.E.I. counterpart Robert Ghiz talk about saving 100 million dollars on the purchase of generic drugs. The co-chairs of the provinces' Health Care Innovation Working Group discuss this week's groundbreaking agreement. We also ask Brad Wall about why he decided to write a letter to the U.S. President about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project.

Speaking of the U.S. President, Barack Obama's second inauguration will take place on Monday. We look forward to the challenges he will face during his second term with Canada's ambassador to the United States, Gary Doer.

Finally, CBC political blogger and House contributor Kady O'Malley is back! This week, she looks at the case of two different federal cabinet ministers who are both in trouble over letters they wrote.

Web exclusive:

Is the federal government about to fundamentally change the way it funds social programs? That's the question many people started asking late last year when the government announced it wanted to team up with partners from the private sector to venture into the world of what's called "social finance". That's a concept where an investment goes towards tackling a social issue and, like any other investment, is also expected to be profitable. But does the solution to social issues, such homelessness, lie in the business world? The CBC's Neil Sandell has a special report. That's followed by a conversation with the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Diane Finley.

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This week on The House, Evan Solomon looks forward to next week's meeting between First Nations leaders and the federal government. First, the Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council, Stan Louttit, discusses his expectations for Friday's gathering, whether the meeting will put an end to Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike, and what he thinks of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan.


Then, Greg Rickford, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, explains the government's approach to the meeting and what he hopes will be accomplished.

Finally, Julian Fantino, the Minister of International Cooperation, explains what some critics have described as a major philosophical shift in how Canada's foreign aid dollars are distributed.

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It's that time of year again! Time to test how much you remember about what happened this year in political news.

Grab a pen and paper and take the quiz at home while the CBC's National Affairs Editor Chris Hall, the CBC's political blogger and House contributor Kady O'Malley, and PostMedia columnist and long-time member of the CBC's popular At Issue panel on The National Andrew Coyne face off for the first time against one another! Who will ring in 2013 with bragging rights to boot?

You can follow along with our three contestants by taking the quiz below but no cheating or web searches allowed!

Good luck!

Read More »

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This week on The House, host Evan Solomon recaps the top political moments of 2012 with Toronto Star parliamentary reporter Tonda McCharles and National Post political columnist John Ivison.

It's been an eventful year in the world of Canadian politics. Be it the housing crisis in the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat, to the controversial purchase of the F-35 fighter jets, or the Northern Gateway pipeline project. Pierre Poutine and "robocalls" made political headlines for weeks. Both Omnibus budget implementation bills angered the opposition and even lead to a voting marathon in the House of Commons. The Official Opposition in Ottawa got a new leader last spring, and the federal Liberals have started the process of choosing a new one. Quebec got a new premier, and Ontario will soon get a new one. And how does the federal government and First Nations move forward in 2013?

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