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The House

Looming questions for the Senate and an MP's hostage story

This week on The House, Conservative Senator Denise Batters says the Senate isn't getting the answers it needs from the government's Senate representative Peter Harder. Then, NDP MP Nathan Cullen shares his kidnapping experience.
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The Mike Duffy trial is over, but there are still lots of questions for the Senate to tackle in upcoming weeks. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
The House48:29Looming questions for the Senate, and an MPs hostage story

The Senate is getting its own house in order, but this is no easy spring clean.

With Mike Duffy's upcoming return, a looming deadline on doctor-assisted dying, and questions about whether independents in the Senate can make things less partisan, Conservative Senator Denise Batters joins us to look ahead to what could be a very eventful week in the Red Chamber.

​Then, after Canadian John Ridsdel's death at the hands of Abu Sayyaf kidnappers earlier this week highlighted in all too stark reality, there are no easy decisions for governments when it comes to the question of ransoms for hostages. NDP MP Nathan Cullen shares his own harrowing kidnapping experience while working for an NGO in Ecuador in the 1990s. 

Republican candidate front runner Donald Trump is promising to make NATO partners like Canada pay up. Out of 28 member nations in NATO, only five are meeting the two per cent defence spending target set out in NATO guidelines. 

So is Canada pulling its weight militarily? As defence minister Harjit Sajjan launches the first defence review in over 20 years, retired four-star Admiral James Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, joins us from Washington.

Plus, does Bombardier still need Ottawa's help? Despite getting some good news this week, aerospace giant Bombardier will likely still need a helping hand from the federal government, airline industry analyst Karl Moore says.

Then, our In House panelists Susan Delacourt, columnist for iPolitics and the Toronto Star, and Joel-Denis Bellavance, parliamentary bureau chief for La Presse, wrap up a very busy political week.

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