The West Block

This week on ‘The West Block’ podcast Mercedes Stephenson speaks with Mohammed Hashim, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, about the rise of online hate and intolerance in Canada. She also speaks with U.S. congressman and co-chair of the Northern Border Caucus Brian Higgins about when the Canada-U.S. border will be open for travel once again. And Green Party Leader Annami...

The time is now for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to finally act on his vow to create “transformative” policy and legal change for Indigenous people, says former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, the Independent MP for Vancouver-Granville  says while Trudeau has taken action during his time in government to support Indigenous communit...

The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson talks with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc about what benchmarks his government will use to determine when to open the border to international travel.  Winnipeg’s mayor Brian Bowman talks about the “dire” situation facing his city and province. And what’s next for the defence committee’s investigation into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Ar...

This week The West Block guest host Abigail Bimman interviews Alan Bernstein -- a member of Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task force and chair of the lesser known federal Variants of Concern Scientific Advisory Council -- about NACI’s pronouncements on “preferred” vaccines; Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc talks about Katie Telford’s testimony before the Defence Committee; Mayor Nahe...

For months, Global News has brought you stories from survivors of sexual violence in Canada’s military. This week on the ‘The West Block,’ defence minister Harjit Sajjan defends his government’s move to launch yet another external review of the problem, promising swift action to stamp out sexual misconduct from the Canadian Forces once and for all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

On this week’s edition of ‘The West Block’ podcast, Mercedes Stephenson speaks with former prime minister Jean Chrétien about his memories of Prince Philip. She also interviews employment minister Carla Qualtrough about whether the new COVID-19 lockdowns will lead to further layoffs for the Canadian job market. And she speaks with a mayor who is at the front lines of the COVID-19 “inferno” – Missi...

The woman at the heart of a sexual misconduct investigation into Adm. Art McDonald says she is speaking out after details of her case leaked without her consent last month. In an exclusive interview on ‘The West Block' podcast, navy Lt. Heather Macdonald tells Mercedes Stephenson she hopes her story will help bring justice to other Canadian Forces members who have experienced misconduct in the mil...

On this week’s edition of The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson interviews Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc about the Canadian government’s strategy to bring home the two Canadians who are being arbitrarily detained in China and are now facing a trial.  She also speaks with Kevin Garratt, who was detained in China for 775 days back in 2014,  about what will happen to the tw...

In an exclusive interview with ‘The West Block’ podcast host Mercedes Stephenson, DND employee and former combat arms officer Alex Auclair shares her disturbing account of an alleged sexual assault she says she experienced at the hands of senior department executive – and the lack of support she felt when she first sought help. And Erin O’Toole on the ongoing controversy and whether the former Con...

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reacts to explosive testimony from the Defence Committee about allegations of sexual misconduct in the military, and an MP panel discusses who knew what and when in the Trudeau government — and why the allegations of sexual misconduct against former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance were not thoroughly investigated when they first surfaced in 2018. And Uyghur righ...

On this week’s edition of ‘The West Block’ podcast, Mercedes Stephenson has a follow-up interview with the woman who “open the locked door of secrets” about allegations of sexual misconduct in Canada’s military to talk about what should happen now. Stephenson also asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what specific actions his government is going to take to stamp out the problems plaguing the Canadia...

On 'The West Block' podcast Maj. Kellie Brennan describes herself as a warrior scarred by her service in the Canadian Forces. She is now breaking her silence on allegations of inappropriate behaviour against General Jonathan Vance, the former chief of the defence staff. In an exclusive interview with Mercedes Stephenson, Brennan says the time has come to tell her story, sounding the alarm about th...

‘The West Block’ podcast host Mercedes Stephenson speaks to Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister who says the federal government has blocked the provinces ability to procure COVID-19 vaccines from suppliers Ottawa has agreements with. But, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, says Ottawa has not signed deals disallowing provinces from buying vaccines. Mercedes Stephenson also presse...

On ‘The West Block’ podcast this week Mercedes Stephenson speaks to Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Unifor National President Jerry Dias, Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson and Canadian Medical Association President Dr. Ann Collins.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mercedes Stephenson is joined on 'The West Block' podcast by Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Ottawa Katherine Brucker. Minister LeBlanc says Julie Payette’s resignation as Canada’s governor general “allows the employees of Rideau Hall to have an appropriate workplace and it allows a renewal of the leadership at this...

On 'The West Block' podcast this week Mercedes Stephenson speaks to former Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance just before his final day as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces. They talk Operation Honour, global instability and he reflects on his time as the longest serving chief of the defence staff in this full extended interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

This week on ‘The West Block’ podcast Mercedes Stephenson looks ahead to 2021 and reflects on the global pandemic that changed everything. Dr. Isaac Bogoch, the doctor all over the news delivering the latest information on COVID-19, tells Mercedes he really does believe things will slowly start to get back to normal this year. Green Party Leader Annamie Paul reflects on the social gaps highlighted...

In a sit down interview with ‘The West Block’ host Mercedes Stephenson, Prime Minister Trudeau reflects on the government’s pandemic response and what he would do differently.  He also opens about what he thinks his father would have said if he was alive to see his son leading the country through this pandemic. Mercedes also presses the Prime Minister about why the country wasn’t properly prepared...

Mercedes Stephenson sits down with Foreign Affairs Minister, François-Philippe Champagne for a year-end interview on ‘The West Block' podcast. In the full interview, Minister Champagne recounts his experience coordinating the repatriation of Canadians across the globe, details Canada’s policy approach to a “changing” China and looks ahead to the new year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

On 'The West Block' this week, Mercedes Stephenson gets the latest on Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine procurement and manufacturing efforts following Health Canada’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. She speaks to Pfizer Canada President Cole Pinnow. He says Pfizer wants to partner with the Canadian government to find ways to change policies that “jeopardize” the opportunity for Canadians to have...

This week on ‘The West Block’ podcast Mercedes Stephenson gets answers on the uptick in COVID-19 cases across the country, particularly in Alberta, and the economic consequences of the virus. Mercedes probes Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on the economic update and fiscal guardrails. Opposition health critic Michelle Rempel Garner weighs in on vaccine distribution and...

On The West Block podcast, Mercedes Stephenson takes a deep dive into Canada’s plan to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Dominic LeBlanc, says Canada is “certainly in the top five” when it comes to getting the vaccine. Saskatchewan Premier, Scott Moe, tells Mercedes the feds should be ramping up their procurement efforts. The new Vice President Logistics and Oper...

Mercedes Stephenson sits down with the head of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, General Rick Hillier. In this full, unedited interview, General Hillier says Ontario Premier Doug Ford assured him he will have the resources needed to make this mission successful and the first day the vaccine arrives, ‘we’ll be ready.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The West Block this week, Mercedes Stephenson probes into Canada’s response to COVID-19. Former Health Minister, Dr. Jane Philpott, weighs in on lockdowns, testing and COVID-19 data. Dr. Philpott says Canada needs to contain the spread before it reaches ‘worst case scenarios.’ Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq says they are looking into how so many cases surged across the territory and urges Canad...

Check out Mercedes Stephenson's full interview with Conservative Leader, Erin O’Toole this week on The West Block podcast. O’Toole tells Mercedes his party will put forward an opposition day motion calling on the Liberal government to be tougher on China; he says Canada’s Prime Minister has been “too close and naïve from day one.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices