The House

The opposition parties look back on 2018

The Conservatives' Lisa Raitt and the NDP's Nathan Cullen chat with Chris Hall about the year that was in Canadian politics.
Members of the House of Commons pose for a photo in the chamber before Question Period in the House of Commons Wednesday December 12, 2018 in Ottawa. Centre block is slated to close for renovations following the fall session. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Insults and tension between the political parties in the House of Commons have defined much of 2018.

For the Conservatives, one of the defining issues was convicted murderer Terri-Lynne McClintic's transfer to an Indigenous healing lodge.

Lisa Raitt, the party's deputy leader, told The House it was a prime example of the Official Opposition responding to the anger of ordinary Canadians.

"It truly came from people calling in who were very upset with it," she said.

House of Commons erupts in heated exchange

6 years ago
Duration 1:01
A heated exchange erupted in the HOC Wednesday over how a convicted child killer ended up in a healing lodge.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen said policy challenges like the negotiation of a new NAFTA and the closure of the GM car plant in Oshawa made his party look closer at whether Canadians could see their lives improving.

Immigration was a big issue for both parties, although their stances differ.

Raitt said that municipalities are being hit hard by illegal border crossings and people seeking asylum in Canada. She added that some people have a "valid concern" about how the system processes immigrants.

Cullen said there's also an undercurrent in the immigration debate of "straight up racism," which worries him. He blamed part of that rhetoric on current Liberal immigration policies which he said leave Canadians with the wrong message about the the asylum and immigration processes.