PrimeTime Politics with Michael Serapio

MPs Bryan May (Liberal), James Bezan (Conservative) and Daniel Blaikie (NDP) join Michael Serapio with their views on Canada’s defence preparedness, following the U.S. shootdown of an unidentified object over Yukon. We also hear from retired general and former chief of the defence staff Tom Lawson. Toronto city councillor Paula Fletcher joins Michael Serapio to discuss Mayor John Tory’s decision t...

MPs Greg Fergus (Liberal) and Frank Caputo (Conservative) debate bail reform and a Conservative private member's bill. Journalists Joël-Denis Bellavance (La Presse), Bob Fife (The Globe and Mail), and Tonda MacCharles (Toronto Star) analyze the week's top stories on Parliament Hill.

Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association, talks about health-care funding and this week's meeting of Canada's premiers. We also hear from political observers Ashton Arsenault, Stevie O'Brien, and Mélanie Richer.

Political leaders react to the death of two children after a bus crashed into a Laval, Que. daycare. MPs debate health care and the federal funding offer to provinces and territories: Adam van Koeverden (Liberal), Stephen Ellis (Conservative), and Don Davies (NDP). And we have reaction from Dr. Michael Gardam, the chair of HealthCareCAN's board of directors. Economists Pedro Antunes (Conference Bo...

Michael Serapio has full coverage of today's First Ministers' Meeting on health care. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs discuss the federal offer of $46.2 billion in new spending over 10 years. And we hear from journalists Mia Rabson (The Canadian Press) and Marieke Walsh (The Globe and Mail).

Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association, joins Michael Serapio to discuss tomorrow’s meeting between the prime minister and premiers on health care. Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada's former ambassador to China, analyzes the U.S. downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. And political strategists Susan Smith (Liberal), Kate Harrison (Conservative) and Kim Wright (ND...

Journalists Robert Fife (The Globe and Mail) and Catherine Lévesque (National Post) weigh in on the federal government's decision to abandon its controversial amendments to its firearms legislation. Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan discusses her appearance before a House committee reviewing the federal government’s COVID-19 support programs. Alberta’s Finance Minister Travis Toews has more on...

Justice Minister David Lametti joins Michael Serapio to discuss the plan for a one-year delay to the expansion of medical assistance in dying. And political observers Susan Smith, Sean Murphy, and Peggy Nash debate the latest headlines.

Journalists Bill Curry (The Globe and Mail) and Nojoud Al Mallees (The Canadian Press) join Michael Serapio to analyze Dominic Barton's committee testimony on McKinsey federal contracts and his relationship with the Trudeau government. B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon outlines the province’s priorities ahead of Tuesday’s face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and the provincial and terri...

Journalists Bill Curry (The Globe and Mail) and Nojoud Al Mallees (The Canadian Press) join Michael Serapio to analyze the political debate over federal consulting contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company and other private firms. Caitlin Shane of the Pivot Legal Society discusses the start of B.C.'s three-year decriminalization project for personal drug possession. Dr. Jane Philpott, a onetime heal...

Michael Serapio looks at the return of Parliament with Government House Leader Mark Holland, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer, and NDP House Leader Peter Julian. Journalists Joël-Denis Bellavance (La Presse) and Tonda MacCharles (Toronto Star) analyze the top political headlines as the winter sitting gets underway.

Michael Serapio reviews Alberta's response to federal gun control measures -- and other top stories -- with journalists Tyler Dawson (National Post), Susan Delacourt (Toronto Star), and Robert Fife (The Globe and Mail). Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor faces questions on Bill C-13. And Sabine Sparwasser, Germany's ambassador to Canada, discusses her country's winter fuel supply...

Michael Serapio questions Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on China, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and other pressing issues. And political commentators Kate Harrison, Susan Smith, and Kim Wright debate the latest headlines.

Government House Leader Mark Holland joins Michael Serapio to review the fall sitting of Parliament. Dr. Rod Lim, head of the children's emergency department at London Health Sciences Centre, provides a frontline perspective on Canada's health care crisis. And Stephanie Thorassie, executive director of the Seal River Watershed Alliance, discusses the potential for an Indigenous protected area in n...

Defence Minister Anita Anand has pledged to implement all recommendations from an independent review on sexual misconduct and military culture. Michael Serapio has reaction from MPs Bryan May (Liberal), Shelby Kramp-Neuman (Conservative), and Lindsay Mathyssen (NDP). Charles Sousa discusses his byelection win for the Liberals in Mississauga--Lakeshore, Ont. And François Boileau, the federal ombuds...

MPs Terry Duguid (Liberal), James Bezan (Conservative), and Richard Cannings (NDP) join Michael Serapio to mark the life of former cabinet minister Jim Carr, who passed away today at age 71. Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, discusses his diplomatic mission to Haiti to determine Canada's potential role in ending the country's political unrest. Eric Grenier (The Writ) previews the...

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs joins Michael Serapio for questions on the continuing provincial demand for more federal health transfers. Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald discusses this week's Special Chiefs Assembly. And journalists Catherine Lévesque (National Post) and Marsha McLeod (The Globe and Mail) review the week's top political developments.

Michael Serapio questions Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne on his proposed changes to foreign investment review and the Investment Canada Act. Political commentators Kate Harrison, Susan Smith, and Kim Wright debate today's top headlines. And part two of our interview with Sport Minister Pascale Ste-Onge looks at the Hockey Canada scandal and ending the toxic culture that remains in m...

Economists Kevin Page and Armine Yalnizyan join Michael Serapio to analyze the Bank of Canada's latest interest rate hike that puts the key benchmark rate at 4.25%. Dallas Smith, president of the Nanwakolas Council, discusses today's $800-million federal pledge for Indigenous-led conservation projects in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Ontario. And Sport Minister Pascale...

Auditor General Karen Hogan joins Michael Serapio to discuss her latest reports on COVID-19 benefits and wasted vaccine doses. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault talks about the UN biodiversity conference now underway in Montreal -- and the effort to produce a global agreement on species at risk and ecosystem protection. Ukrainian parliamentarian Mariya Ionova and former deputy prime minister...

MPs join Michael Serapio to debate Bill C-21 and which firearms should and should not be banned: Rachel Bendayan (Liberal), Raqual Dancho (Conservative), and Peter Julian (NDP). Dr. ALika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association, reacts to the unprecedented pressure on children's hospitals this autumn from COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory illnesses. Halifax Mayor Mike Sa...

Michael Serapio reviews the week's top political developments -- including the Alberta sovereignty bill -- with journalists Tyler Dawson (National Post), Bob Fife (The Globe and Mail), and Stephanie Levitz (Toronto Star). André Laliberté, a University of Ottawa professor of political studies, talks about the controversy over this week's on-campus speech by Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu. And Conser...

Calls are growing for the federal government to delay expanding access to medical assistance in dying. Martin Stringer speaks with Dr. Valerie Taylor, chair of psychiatry at the University of Calgary. Former Quebec premier Jean Charest reflects on Canada's new Indo-Pacific Strategy and his own business experience with China. And political commentators Muhammad Ali, Tim Powers, and Kim Wright debat...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is moving ahead with her provincial sovereignty act that could allow the cabinet to overturn and ignore legislation. Michael Serapio discusses what comes next with MPs Arif Virani (Liberal) and Blake Desjarlais (NDP), along with political commentator Jen Gerson (The Line). Pedro Antunes, chief economist for the Conference Board of Canada, analyzes the Bank of Canada'...

Daniel Bilak, a Ukrainian-Canadian living in Ukraine and fighting with its Territorial Defence Forces against Russia's invasion, provides a first-hand look at frontlines of the conflict. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu discusses new federal funding to help James Smith Cree Nation recover from last September's stabbing attack, which killed 11 people and injured 18 in Saskatchewan. Politica...