The House

Wildfire evacuations can spike with a moment’s notice, but is this country equipped to handle it? Federal Minister of Emergency Management Eleanor Olszewski responds to accusations that Ontario and Ottawa failed some communities hit by fires this week, and attacks from U.S. lawmakers who say Canada isn’t doing enough to stop wildfire smoke.

Plus, the prime minister has struck a deal with the Trump administration to open up the Gordie Howe Bridge — at the cost of a toll-sharing arrangement that remain murky. Is this another example of the Carney government dropping its elbows? Hill watchers Shannon Proudfoot and Paul Wells weigh in on that, plus the infighting splitting the Conservative party.

And, Canada relies heavily on fruits and veggies from warmer countries to feed itself, but big leaps in tech are promising year-round ways to grow it at home instead. Can Canada afford the price — or the electricity? House producer Derek Vanderwyk heads to a farm sealed inside a metal box and hears about technology that could let plants tell humans when they need light and water. Then, entrepreneur Jon Lomow makes his pitch for Canada to grow nearly all of what we eat.

This episode features the voices of:
Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
Paul Wells, author and podcaster
Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer for The Globe and Mail
Alida Burke, co-founder and CFO of Growcer
Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer
Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley
Richard Lee, executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
Lesley Campbell, professor of plant biology at Toronto Metropolitan University
Jon Lomow, co-founder of Fieldless Farms

The House’s summer season focus on food security continues with a deep dive into the pressures on farmland — and the people who grow our food.

Guest host Janyce McGregor speaks to the Stevens family, who turned down millions from developers to protect their farm for a thousand years. Tyler McCann of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute details where and how this land is being lost, while Ontario’s agriculture minister Trevor Jones explains the Ford government’s move to join other provinces’ ban on foreign ownership of farmland.

Then, former farmer-turned-Saskatchewan-trade-minister Warren Kaeding reflects on the difficult decisions farmers make when it's time to pass on the family farm, and Farm Credit Canada’s Justine Hendricks outlines how the crown corporation is responding to the spike in land prices with more creative financing.

And, Janyce McGregor speaks to three people who’ve experienced mental health challenges due to the extreme stress of managing precarious finances, unpredictable weather patterns and rural isolation. Stewart Skinner, Lesley Kelley and Gerry Friesen lay out what’s needed to help farmers manage the weight of the responsibility to feed the nation in turbulent times.

This episode features the voices of:
Charles Stevens, owner Wilmot Orchards
Courtney Stevens, cafe and social media manager for Wilmot Orchards
Ian Parker, general manager of Wilmot Orchards
Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute
Trevor Jones, Ontario Minister of Agriculture
Warren Kaeding, Saskatchewan Minister of Trade and Export Development
Justine Hendricks, CEO of Farm Credit Canada
Stewart Skinner, Ontario farmer
Gerry Friesen, author of The Recovering Farmer
Lesley Kelley, co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation

Alberta has formally proposed a pipeline to the southwest coast of British Columbia, in partnership with the federal government and a private company. The Globe and Mail’s Stephanie Levitz and CBC’s Anis Heydari join guest host Kate McKenna to discuss pipeline politics, the CUSMA deadline that came and went, and (of course!) Canada joining the Eurovision Song Contest.

Plus, as the political barbecue season gets underway, The House’s Jennifer Chevalier kicks off The House’s summer series on food security with a documentary exploring the high cost of beef. A rancher explains why despite good cattle prices now it’s hard to have confidence in the future, a chef wonders why interprovincial trade barriers make it so hard to buy local meat, and a meat packer shows us around his abattoir and explains why he’s tapping into a government program that would help him ship meat to Canada’s north.

This episode features the voices of:
Stephanie Levitz, senior reporter with The Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau
Anis Heydari, CBC News business reporter
Kevin Grier, beef & cattle market analyst
Brenda Rosadiuk, cattle rancher at Rosadiuk Ranches
Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association
Calvin Vaags, CEO of True North Foods
Lewis Robinson, owner of La Petite Primerose restaurant
Sarah Berger Richardson, food law professor at the University of Ottawa
Michael Coteau, Liberal MP & chair of the House of Commons agriculture committee
Eric Patenaude, owner of Henderson’s Meats and Abattoir

It's a week that embodied Carney's "build, baby, build" mantra. We started with the federal government announcing it will push to have three northern projects fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act, and ended with a new plan to refurbish 24 Sussex Drive — the prime minister's official residence.

But could this derelict building be too politically radioactive to fix? Hill watchers Tonda MacCharles and Stuart Thomson break down whether Carney's plans for 24 Sussex will trigger a thorny political fight, and Canada is today on major projects.

Plus, former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman tells The House what signals she will be looking for as the CUSMA negotiations continue and what she’s hearing from her contacts in the United States.

And, the "unparliamentary" stories you've never heard about the House of Commons. From fist fights to sneaking a salmon into Question Period, author Charlie Feldman joins Catherine Cullen on Parliament Hill to explain the crazy, spicy history he details in his new book — and why he believes it's important to include in the story of Canada's democracy.

This episode features the voices of:
Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
Stuart Thomson, parliamentary bureau chief for the National Post
Kirsten Hillman, Canada's former ambassador to the United States
Charlie Feldman, author of Unparliamentary

Opioid overdose deaths are dropping in Canada, but there is still a long way to go. Canada’s Fentanyl Czar Kevin Brosseau is fresh back from meeting officials in Washington, he tells The House what worries him most about this public health crisis and why the increasingly small quantity of opioids crossing the border is still an irritant for the Americans.

Plus, a special parliamentary committee says Ottawa should 'indefinitely exclude' people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness from applying for medical assistance in dying — an idea that three Canadian senators vigorously oppose. Kristopher Wells, a member of the Progressive Senate Group, explains why he disagrees with the recommendation. Then we hear from BC Conservative MP Tamara Jansen on why MAID expansion should be stopped.

And, if at first you don't succeed with your privacy bill: try, try again. The Liberals' third attempt at updating its privacy laws was tabled earlier this week, which includes a 'right to request deletion' and rules on personal data collection. House producer Derek Vanderwyk explains what's inside this key piece of legislation, then BlackBerry co-founder Jim Balsillie discusses whether it strikes the right balance on upholding Canadians' privacy without stymieing innovation.

This episode features the voices of:
Kevin Brosseau, Canada's fentanyl czar
Kristopher Wells, Canadian senator
Tamara Jensen, Conservative MP
Dr. Francois Marquis, deepfake victim
Dr. Marla Shapiro, deepfake victim
Tamir Israel, Director of the Privacy, Surveillance & Technology Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Teresa Scassa, Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy at the University of Ottawa
Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications at McGill University
Jim Balsillie, co-founder of BlackBerry