The Liberal government just tabled new legislation on climate change accountability with the goal of meeting, and even exceeding, Canada's climate change targets. How will the bill help keep future Canadian governments accountable to these targets? Where are the loopholes? Will the bill actually help accomplish these important goals? Eco Justice lawyer Julia Croome joins The Hot Room to answer these questions and more.  

Two vaccine candidates have given the world a flicker of the light at the end of the COVID-shaped tunnel. With that light in mind, the UN just released a paper titled UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery focused on key questions that need answering if the recovery is to be equitable, sustainable, and resilient. Steven Hoffman, scientific director of the Institute of Population and Public Health at the Canadian Institute for Health Research, was heavily involved in the development of the roadmap and joins The Hot Room to take us through what it argues for in a post-COVID world. 

Statistics Canada released a report in October showing Canadian military colleges rife with sexual harassment and assault. The military has tried to rid itself of sexual misconduct over the years, but has been less than successful. Why does this problem persist and what can be done about it? Michel Drapeau and Joshua Juneau join The Hot Room to offer some answers. 

Hill Times columnist Erica Ifill, who also co-hosts the Bad + Bitchy podcast and co-owns Not in My Colour, joins The Hot Room to talk the still-ongoing U.S. election. Erica touches on transnational populism, racism in Canada, the pandemic-induced economic fallout, and more. 

China's National Security Law, passed in response to massive protests in Hong Kong, tightened the Chinese Communist Party's control over the semi-autonomous region. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, her party's immigration critic, joins The Hot Room to discuss what policy levers the government can pull on to help Hong Kongers. 

Conservative House Leader Gérard Deltell joins The Hot Room to talk about the Conservative motion to strike a special committee to study the WE scandal and the government's pandemic response, and the newest motion to have the Health Committee study the government's pandemic response.

The family reunification immigration lottery system just opened up and Elizabeth Long joins The Hot Room to take us through the changes in the program over the past decade, the pros and cons of a lottery system, and how Canada's traditional economic immigration streams can hurt immigrant families in Canada. 

Chief Science Advisor Dr. Mona Nemer was just reappointed to a two-year term and released her annual report. The University of Ottawa's Paul Dufour joins The Hot Room to talk about the history of the position, how it differs from other models across the world, and what could be coming down the road for Canadian science as the pandemic continues to rage, and more. 

The Liberal government "is now focused on entirely eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada" according to the Speech from the Throne. Billions of dollars of investments were made prior to the pandemic, with billions more dollars coming during COVID to help address homelessness in Canada. Western University professor of nursing Abe Oudshoorn joins The Hot Room to unpack this ambitious promise. 

Governor General Julie Payette delivered the Throne Speech and to Canada's collective relief it didn't mention spaceships. It did, however, promise quite the ambitious agenda. Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and political science professor Daniél Beland joins The Hot Room to parse through the rhetoric and tell us what to expect in Canadian politics going forward. 

Testing centres across the country, and especially in Ottawa, are filling up, with some wait times over six hours. Professor David Juncker, chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department at McGill University, joins The Hot Room to talk rapid saliva tests for COVID-19 and how they could help ahead of a vaccine. 

Christopher Ragan, director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University, joins The Hot Room to take us through Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem's speech on the Bank's role in the economic recovery. 

Rose LeMay is the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group, a twice-monthly Hill Times columnist, and member of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation in northern British Columbia. She joins The Hot Room to discuss protestors toppling a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Montreal, two residential schools being designated as national historic sites, and the Liberal track record on reconciliation. 

Erin O'Toole takes over as leader of the Conservative Party during a worldwide pandemic with a prorogued parliament and a general election lurking in the shadows of West Block. 

How did we get here, and where do we go next? Tim Powers is vice-president of Summa Strategies, managing director of Abacus Data, a Hill Times columnist, joins The Hot Room to discuss all things Conservative leadership. 

Tariffs are back! U.S. President Donald Trump slapped aluminum tariffs on Canada again. Trade lawyer Matthew Kronby joins The Hot Room to talk about the economic impact, Canada's ability to respond, and how the looming U.S. election could affect it all. 

Carleton University Professor Jonathan Malloy joins the Hot Room to talk Bill Morneau's departure, Chrystia Freeland as the new Finance Minister, and internal power dynamics within Cabinet. Sorry to all Dominic LeBlanc fans.

York University professor Steven Hoffman, one of Canada's leading experts on public health, joins The Hot Room to evaluate Canada's COVID response to date - and where we go from here. 

Music by Kevin MacLeod 

"Acid Trumpet" and "Faster Does It"

Former lieutenant general and Liberal MP Andrew Leslie joins to talk about Canadian foreign policy ahead of the U.S. election. Hill Times reporter Neil Moss takes us through a story he wrote on a new parliamentary process for trade deals. 

Music by Kevin MacLeod 

"Acid Trumpet" and "Faster Does it" 

Nik Nanos joins the pod to talk about how the WE scandal could affect Canadians' attitudes toward the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as more details continue to emerge. In the second half, Hill Times deputy editor Laura Ryckewaert talks about a survey she conducted on political staff diversity. 

Music by Kevin MacLeod

"Faster Does It" and "Acid Trumpet"

Senator Gwen Bonfiace, former head of the OPP, talks police reform in Canada, her experience with the Ipperwash Inquiry, and more. 

Host Peter Mazereeuw returns from vacation to talk with reporter Aidan Chamandy about the new contact-tracing app. Chris Sands, head of the Wilson Center's Canada Institute, also joins The Hot Room to talk about Canada-U.S. trade tensions and the USMCA. 

Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, joins The Hot Room to talk about Canada's unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council. Hill Times managing editor Charelle Evelyn also joins to talk about her recent story on Black public servants pushing back against racism in the federal public service.

Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page joins the podcast to talk about the government's unprecedented spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hill Times reporter Mike Lapointe digs into his latest story on a lack of diversity in the Parliament Press Gallery.