CBC Radio’s The House: Big moves on guns, drugs – CBC.ca

On this week’s show: An NDP MP discusses his defeated proposal to decriminalize drug possession across the country. A mother whose son was killed in a shooting, a border community leader, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and his Conservative critic Raquel Dancho all weigh in on the problem of gun violence and firearms smuggling in Canada. Plus — two journalists talk about the Ontario election and its implications for the federal Conservative leadership race.

Will drug decriminalization stop at the Rockies?

Last year alone, more than 2,200 people in B.C. died of suspected toxic drug overdoses. In a bid to tackle this epidemic, the federal government this week agreed to British Columbia’s long-standing request to decriminalize possession of small amounts of some illicit drugs in the province. 

But just a day after that historic move, a majority of Liberals voted against a bill that would have decriminalized illegal drug possession across the entire country. Host Chris Hall speaks to Gord Johns, the B.C. New Democrat MP who proposed the legislation, about his bill and why he’s determined to keep pushing for a solution to the overdose crisis.

NDP MP Gord Johns talks about his proposed legislation to decriminalize drug possession across Canada, which was defeated a day after the federal government announced limited decriminalization in B.C.

Canada’s gun smuggling problem

Evelyn Fox’s son was killed by a stray bullet outside a Toronto club in 2016. But the grieving mother isn’t happy with the government’s new gun control legislation — she feels the freeze on handguns will accomplish little while firearms are still smuggled across the border. She joins The House to discuss what she’d like to see the government do to make city streets safer.

Abram Benedict, grand chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, sits down to discuss what police in his territory are doing to stop gun smugglers. Then, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino defends Bill C-21 and Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho offers her party’s take.

A mother whose son was killed by a stray bullet, a leader of a cross-border Mohawk community, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Conservative critic Raquel Dancho each discuss how Canada should regulate firearms and stop gun smuggling.

Is the Ford Nation model a national winner?

A provincial election with national implications, a former minister dissing the federal government and Conservative leadership hopefuls jostling for the limelight as a new phase of their contest begins — it was a hectic week in Canadian politics. 

Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s and Joel-Denis Bellavance of La Presse sit down with host Chris Hall to review the week that was.

Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s and Joel-Denis Bellavance of La Presse discuss the Ontario election and its implications for the federal Conservative leadership, as well as former finance minister Bill Morneau’s critique of his erstwhile colleagues.