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The Week with Mark Sutcliffe
May 13, 2012
This Sunday, Mark welcomes two veteran political journalists to discuss the week in national politics. Viewers are also welcome to contribute their thoughts about the big stories of the week. On the program: Louise Elliott, Parliamentary Reporter for CBC Radio Peter O’Neil, Ottawa Correspondent for The Vancouver Sun, the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal Tune in, call in, and tweet in, this Sunday, to talk about: BUDGET BILL MANOEUVRES: The Official Opposition launches a series of legislative obstacles this week, in the passage of the omnibus budget implementation bill. This comes after the Conservative government rejected requests to split Bill C-38 into portions that could be more closely analyzed. Is the bill, which includes revisions of environmental protection legislation, getting a fair hearing? And does the bill need to be passed as quickly as the government says it does, to help the economy? EAST VERSUS WEST? Western critics say NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is trying to divide the country. But Mulcair says not so, he’s calling for sustainable development in Alberta's oil sands as well as in natural resource sectors across Canada. Is Mulcair's vision realistic? And are we really experiencing the "Dutch disease," as Mulcair claims, where a rise in currency, due to a robust energy sector, hollows out the manufacturing sector? PRISONERS TO PAY MORE: Opposition MPs say our streets will become more dangerous because of the Conservative government’s plans for prisoners. The Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, says, starting next year, inmates will pay more for room and board and some prisoners will lose incentive pay. Meanwhile a major newspaper reports Canada’s prison system, now facing the closure of two facilities, is already so stretched to capacity that more prisoners must share cells that were built for one. Is the tough-on-crime agenda working? Or will these measures, or any others, have negative consequences? And is it right for prisoners to pay more of the cost of their confinement? ANYTHING ELSE: What are the national political stories that matter most to you this week?