CBC Radio | Posted: June 26, 2021 8:00 AM | Last Updated: June 26, 2021
Here is what's on this week's episode of The House
Image | Old Growth Logging 20210530
Caption: Protesters hold a banner as they stand in front of stacks of lumber during a demonstration against old-growth logging at Teal-Jones Group sawmill in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday, May 30, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
Media Audio | CBC News: The House : Fight at Fairy Creek
Caption: On this week’s show: Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, discusses his lack of confidence in Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett. Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole looks ahead to a looming potential election. Plus — an in-depth look at the fight over old-growth logging at the Fairy Creek watershed in B.C., featuring interviews with musician Bryan Adams and provincial forestry minister Katrine Conroy.
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs continues to call for Bennett's resignation
Justin Trudeau stood by his Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations when answering reporters' questions on Friday, indicating he was "deeply disappointed" by her actions and "we both understand there is now even more work for her to do."
Carolyn Bennett apologized earlier this week after sending a text that suggested Indigenous MP Jody Wilson-Raybould — a former cabinet colleague — was urging the prime minister not to hold an election out of concern for her own pension, rather than over the recent horrific report of more unmarked graves discovered at a residential school site.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs described it as a "racist, demeaning message" and called for the minister's resignation — a call the union's president, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, repeated to The House as he offered his reaction to the prime minister's latest comments.
Media Audio | CBC News: The House : Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs continues to call for Minister Bennett's resignation
Caption: Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, discusses his lack of confidence in Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett after her apology this week for a message she sent to Indigenous MP and former minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.
Opposition Leader Erin O'Toole looks ahead to the next election
In the House of Commons' final week of sitting before the summer break, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared he's seen "obstructionism and toxicity" in the chamber, while the Conservatives hauled a civil servant before Parliament for an official rebuke and accused the government of corruption.
Was the acrimony of this last week a sign of a bitter election to come? The House asks Opposition Leader Erin O'Toole if Canadians should expect to head to the polls later this year and how he's positioning his party ahead of the widely anticipated campaign.
Media Audio | CBC News: The House : Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole looks ahead to the next election
Caption: Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole discusses the final week of sittings in the House of Commons before Parliament’s summer break and how he’s positioning his party ahead of an anticipated fall election.
For months, hundreds of activists have been disrupting forestry activities on Vancouver Island to protest old-growth logging, while high-profile Canadians have written an open letter to B.C. premier John Horgan, calling on him to "protect the irreplaceable."
In a special report, The House visits the Fairy Creek watershed to meet the activists now living in trees in an attempt to protect ancient forests. Chris Hall speaks to musician Bryan Adams about why he's joined the cause, and to B.C. Forestry Minister Katrine Conroy about the steps her government has taken to respond to the protesters' demands.
Media Audio | CBC News: The House : The fight at Fairy Creek
Caption: CBC’s Kieran Oudshoorn reports from the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island, where activists have been calling for an end to old-growth logging; musician Bryan Adams details his support for the protests, along with the Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt; and B.C. forestry minister Katrine Conroy discusses the steps her government has taken to respond to protesters.