Avi Lewis on selling socialism to Canadians

After weeks of war in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is now open — and ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran continue to hold strong. So is an end to the war in sight? Host Catherine Cullen asks Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand if she believes the ceasefires will last and if Canada is considering helping efforts to open the Strait. 

Plus, now that the Liberals command the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians will get "real substance" and "less showboating" from parliamentarians. Hill watchers Tonda MacCharles and Christopher Nardi discuss whether the Liberals will behave any differently in this era — and if House committees are really as bad as Carney claims.

And, Catherine Cullen gives the new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, a tour of Parliament — a place he hadn’t been to in more than 15 years — and hears what he hopes to do in the House of Commons, and why he believes Canada has lost “a sense of elevated purpose” in politics.

This episode features the voices of:

• Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
• Christopher Nardi, parliamentary reporter for the National Post
• Avi Lewis, leader of the New Democratic Party