The Honourable and The Hack

Who actually runs a government department — the elected minister, or the person you never voted for and rarely hear from? In this episode of The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Cory Grandy — a career civil servant who spent more than two decades inside the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, retiring as Deputy Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure...

What happens when a chartered accountant unexpectedly finds herself building a career in television, community news and social media? Lori-Lydia Loveless joins Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill to discuss her unconventional journey from accounting to the Newfoundland Herald, OZFM, NTV and Rogers TV’s Out of the Fog. Lori-Lydia talks about learning to work in front of the camera, covering politics witho...

NTV News co-anchor Michael Connors joins Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill for a conversation about journalism, political history and the challenge of assembling the ultimate Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet. Connors reflects on growing up in a media-saturated household and traces his career from The Muse and The Telegram to the press gallery and the NTV Evening News Hour. He also discusses Admit Stra...

What is it really like to lead Newfoundland and Labrador’s Supreme Court—and what challenges are facing the justice system today? Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Chief Justice Raymond P. Whalen, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, as he approaches mandatory retirement after nearly two decades on the bench and more than a decade as Chief Justice. Chief Justic...

What happens behind the scenes of a political party—between elections, during a campaign and on election night? Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Shane Skinner, president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, for a candid conversation about his path into politics, rebuilding the party after three consecutive election losses and the campaign that brought the P...

Is the new Churchill Falls agreement actually a better deal for Newfoundland and Labrador? Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill take an in-depth look at the new agreement involving Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and the federal government. They examine what changed from the 2024 MOU, what the headline numbers really mean and what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians may be missing in the public discussion....

What happens when a politician sits down with the professor who publicly accused him of corruption? This week on The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill welcome Dr. Kelly Blidook—Professor of Political Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland for the past 20 years, Chair of MUN’s Interdisciplinary Research Ethics Board, and author of Constituency Influence in Parliament a...

Weathermen don't usually leave a top TV job to go it alone — Eddie Sheer did, and a year later he's not looking back. This week The Honourable & The Hack sits down with Eddie Sheer — meteorologist, founder of Sheer Weather, and one of the most recognized media personalities in Newfoundland and Labrador — to talk about what it actually takes to walk away from the institution and build something...

What really happens inside Canada's courtrooms — and what does one of Newfoundland's top criminal defense lawyers think about the system? In Episode 34 of The Honourable and the Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Rosellen Sullivan, KC — a 28-year veteran of the courtroom, former Department of Justice lawyer, and counsel in the Lamer Inquiry — to talk criminal defense, wrongfu...

Former Premier Roger Grimes holds nothing back in one of our most candid and fiery conversations yet. From a sharp dissection of the issues facing Newfoundland and Labrador to some pointed observations about past political players, this is Roger Grimes speaking plainly—and occasionally taking a few shots along the way! This is easily one of our best episodes of The Honourable & The Hack yet....

What does it really take to win a modern election? In this episode of The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with David Tarrant, a veteran political strategist and the head of Enterprise Canada’s Atlantic Canada office, for an inside look at the strategy, messaging, polling, media, and decision-making behind the 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador provincial election. Davi...

What does it really take to be the gatekeeper of a province's finances — to sit across from your own cabinet colleagues and tell them "no"? Former NL Finance Minister and Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady joins Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill for one of the most wide-ranging conversations in H&H history — from her surprising roots in the fishery and the science of genomics, t...

You asked. We answered — and we didn't hold back. In Episode 26, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill open the H&H mailbag for the first time — fielding questions submitted by listeners over the past several months. No prep calls. No talking points. Just two insiders trading honest opinions on the province's biggest political questions. In this episode, we cover: ✅ The Mount Rushmore of Newfoundland...

He spent 21 years in Ontario politics. He knows what winning looks like — and what losing teaches you. In Episode 29, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Tim Hudak — former Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader, cabinet minister, and now Partner at Counsel Public Affairs — for a wide-ranging conversation that cuts across political experience, housing policy, the art of surviving in opposi...

He ran three of the toughest portfolios in federal politics. Now he's stepping into a role no sitting MP has ever taken — Canada's Ambassador to the European Union. In Episode 28, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Jonathan Wilkinson — former Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, and Fisheries and Oceans — for a candid exit interview on his decade in electe...

Every session of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly produces winners, losers, and a few who make you wonder why they showed up at all. So we brought in someone who watches it all — and we handed out the hardware. James Reid is a journalist covering politics across Newfoundland and Labrador. He joins Andrew and Alex at the desk to hand out the H&H HOA Session Awards: the best parli...

Years after legalization, Canada's legal cannabis industry is still fighting an uphill battle. Excise taxes and product labelling designed for Big Tobacco are squeezing licensed producers. The illicit market continues to thrive. And Ottawa's response? Slow — at best. Paul McCarthy is the President & CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, the national voice of Canada's licensed cann...

He gave up his seat for Clyde Wells. He survived allegations that forced him out of caucus. And he served as an MHA for 25 years — three of them as an independent. Eddie Joyce has seen the Newfoundland House of Assembly at its best and its worst, and he's not afraid to tell you the real story. In this episode of The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons sits down with one of Newfoundland a...

For the first time on The Honourable & The Hack, the left gets a seat at the table. Kyle Rees — lawyer, union advocate, and former President of the Newfoundland and Labrador NDP — walks us through what the political left actually believes about power in Canada. Not the version from a press release. The real version. Kyle Rees is a partner at O'Dea Earle in St. John's, NL, where he spec...

Senator David Wells joins The Honourable & The Hack for a wide-ranging conversation about politics, public service, Newfoundland and Labrador, and one very unexpected passion: mountain climbing. In this episode, Senator Wells talks about what senators actually do, how the Senate appointment process worked in his case, and what it was like being in Ottawa during the Mike Duffy scandal. He also...

Every generation has one politician who was born for exactly the moment the country needed them. Brian Tobin — "Captain Canada" himself — is one of those politicians. And in Episode 22 of The Honourable and The Hack, he's not holding back. Former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Former federal cabinet minister. Federal leadership candidate. A man who has been in the rooms where...

Every spring, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador tables a budget. The public sees the highlights. What they don't see is everything that happens behind the lock-up door — and what the numbers actually mean once you know how to read them. Andrew Parsons has been on the inside — as a cabinet minister who helped build budgets. Alex Bill has been on the outside — as a journalist locked in...

He went from a gas station in rural Newfoundland to 300+ restaurants, a Blue Jays concession at Rogers Centre, and a 289-page report on one of the most consequential financial deals in NL history. Greg Roberts — the man behind Mary Brown's and Fat Bastard Burrito — joins Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill for a conversation you won't find anywhere else. Greg Roberts is arguably one of the most s...

What does it take to help build one of the biggest comedy success stories Canada has ever produced? In this episode of The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill sit down with Andrew Barnsley — Emmy and Golden Globe-winning producer, CEO of Project 10 Productions, and one of the producers behind Schitt’s Creek and Son of a Critch. Barnsley takes us inside the real business of tele...

Social media was supposed to make politics more accessible. In many ways, it did. But it also opened the door to something much uglier. In this episode of The Honourable & The Hack, Andrew Parsons and Alex Bill pull back the curtain on the darkest side of political life online — the trolls, the pile-ons, the private messages turned public, and the kind of personal attacks that go far beyond di...