CBC Radio's The House: Bills, bills, bills
Here is what's on this week's episode of The House
Will new measures to protect health care workers do the job?
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan joins host Chris Hall to discuss new legislation introduced during Parliament's first week back to provide paid sick leave to federally regulated workers and introduce changes to the Criminal Code to protect health care workers from harassment and intimidation.
Edmonton-based criminal defence lawyer Ian Runkle joins the program to offer his take. He argues that laws already exist to protect health care workers — and enforcement is the real issue.
What's causing Canada's inflation woes?
Canada's inflation rate is at an 18-year high and people are starting to feel the pinch. The Conservatives argue that Liberal spending during the pandemic has flooded the economy with too much cash, resulting in inflationary pressures.
The House hears from consumers and business owners about how they're coping with rising costs, and host Chris Hall sits down with economists Armine Yalnizyan and Trevor Tombe to fact-check the Conservatives' claims and find out whether, and when, prices might stabilize.
Barbados is breaking up with the monarchy. Could we be next?
Next week, Barbados will officially bid adieu to the Queen, welcome a president and become a republic. And while it will remain a member of the Commonwealth, the fact that it's the first country to cut ties with the monarchy in nearly 30 years raises questions about whether more countries — such as Canada — could follow suit.
CBC's Emma Godmere speaks with the University of the West Indies' Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Queen's University Dean of Law Mark Walters, Tom Freda of Citizens for a Canadian Republic and members of the Barbadian-Canadian organization Bridge T.O. to get a sense of this major political transition and whether it could ever happen here.
Parliament returns
It's Christmas come early for politics watchers — although with Christmas only a month away, it doesn't give the government much time to get things done. The House assembles political journalists Janyce McGregor of CBC News and Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean's magazine to pore over the week's parliamentary news.
