The latest episode of Inside Politics, hosted by Kevin Klein, featured a wide-ranging discussion on international conflict, Canadian security and political leadership, while also introducing a new voice to the panel.

Joining Klein were Winnipeg Sun columnists Royce Koop and Lawrence Pinsky, KC, along with the program’s newest panellist, Robert-Falcon Ouellette. Ouellette, a former Liberal Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre and recent Winnipeg mayoral candidate, is also a professor at the University of Ottawa and serves as a chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces’ Fort Garry Horse.

The discussion began with Ouellette outlining the theme of his first column for the Winnipeg Sun, which explores the religious dimensions surrounding the conflict involving Iran. Ouellette noted that rhetoric surrounding the war has, in some cases, invoked religious language, including references to biblical prophecy and “end times.”

He contrasted those perspectives with Indigenous traditions, explaining that while Indigenous cultures historically practiced ceremonies and prayers before conflict, wars were rarely framed as efforts to convert others to a belief system.

“When conflicts are framed as battles between good and evil, particularly in religious terms, it becomes very difficult to find a path to peace,” Ouellette said.

Koop agreed religion often plays a role in global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, though he noted that geopolitical interests frequently intersect with religious motivations.

Pinsky offered a different perspective, arguing the conflict with Iran is rooted more in political and human-rights concerns than religion. He described Iran’s ruling regime as oppressive and highlighted its treatment of women, LGBTQ citizens and political opponents.

The panel also examined Canada’s response to the conflict and debated whether Prime Minister Mark Carney’s shifting public position could weaken perceptions of leadership.

Ouellette suggested leaders should consult caucus members before announcing positions on major global issues to ensure consistency and unity within government.

“If your values appear to change day by day, it raises questions about leadership and stability,” he said.

Another major topic was security within Canada. The panel discussed reports that members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be living in the country and whether Canada should more aggressively investigate and deport individuals linked to hostile regimes.

Koop argued that immigration oversight weakened during the pandemic years and called for stronger screening and enforcement.

The discussion concluded with questions about Canada’s military readiness. Ouellette noted that Canada currently lacks much of the equipment required to make a meaningful military contribution overseas, pointing to aging naval vessels, limited fighter aircraft and equipment shortages.

Despite those limitations, panellists agreed Canada should play a stronger diplomatic and strategic role internationally.

Klein closed the program by encouraging viewers to read the panellists’ columns at WinnipegSun.com and follow Inside Politics online and through podcast platforms.

Read their columns at winnipegsun.com

A fiery new episode of Inside Politics delivers exactly what political junkies want: blunt takes, insider experience and a widening debate over whether Canada’s political system is being gamed in plain sight.

Host Kevin Klein opens the show with a question that quickly turns explosive: should MPs who cross the floor be forced into a byelection? What follows is not a polite exchange. It is a sharp, revealing clash over power, loyalty and whether politicians still owe voters anything once they get elected.

Joining Klein are Winnipeg Sun columnists Royce Koop and Lawrence Pinsky, along with new panellist Robert-Falcon Ouellette — former Liberal MP, professor at the University of Ottawa and chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces. Ouellette’s arrival adds a new layer to the discussion, especially as the panel dissects the controversial decision of Nunavut MP Lori Idlout to leave the NDP and join the Liberals.

Klein argues the move proves what he has warned about for months: floor crossings are becoming a backroom strategy to hand Prime Minister Mark Carney the majority government voters never gave him. Ouellette offers a more nuanced view, saying politicians sometimes cross because they believe they can better deliver for their communities from inside government. But even he stops short of giving the practice a free pass, saying a byelection could strengthen an MP’s legitimacy and silence the critics.

That point ignites the panel. Koop says he has come around to the idea of forcing floor crossers to face voters again, warning that turning a minority into a majority through political poaching is “massively problematic” for democracy. Pinsky is even harsher, arguing voters and donors are being betrayed when elected representatives abandon the party label they ran under.

But the episode does not stop at Ottawa. The conversation veers into Manitoba politics, where Tory turmoil is becoming impossible to ignore. Klein raises alarm bells over MLA Bob Lagassé leaving the Progressive Conservatives, saying it is more proof that the party is unravelling. The panel openly questions whether Premier Wab Kinew could exploit the chaos by calling an early provincial election while the opposition is still weakened.

By the end, the show becomes bigger than one floor crossing. It becomes a hard look at ambition, party control and the creeping sense that elections are becoming tools for politicians instead of the public.

It is tense, candid and packed with moments that will leave viewers arguing long after the credits roll.

On this episode of Inside Politics, host Kevin Klein and Winnipeg Sun columnists Lawrence Pinsky and Royce Koop took on a story that has sparked outrage in Winnipeg: a Dollarama shoplifting incident that ended in shocking violence, a criminal charge against a security guard, and a city once again forced to confront its growing crime crisis.

The discussion began with the disturbing video that has now circulated widely, showing a suspected shoplifter being violently subdued by a security guard. Koop drew a hard line, arguing that while shoplifting is not a victimless crime and must be taken seriously, what was seen on the video went far beyond detention and crossed into brutality. He said Canadians should not be forced to accept either rampant theft or excessive violence as normal parts of daily life.

Pinsky pushed back, cautioning that the full context remains unknown and that a short clip cannot tell the entire story. He noted that downtown businesses have been repeatedly hit by theft, disorder and intimidation, leaving store owners, staff and security guards on edge. He argued the deeper issue is not just one confrontation, but a broader breakdown of public safety that governments have failed to address.

Klein took the conversation to the bigger picture, arguing that the most alarming part of the story is that stores now need security guards just to operate, and even those guards are effectively powerless until something explodes. He said politicians keep making announcements about safety while residents and business owners see the opposite on the ground: rising theft, rising disorder and fewer consequences for repeat offenders.

The panel agreed that the roots of the problem go far beyond one Dollarama incident. They pointed to weak bail policies, repeat offenders cycling through the system, under-resourced policing and a refusal by governments to confront organized crime and drug trafficking with real force. Klein argued that too many leaders are afraid to say the obvious — crime is crime — and that excuses such as “survival crime” only deepen division rather than solve the problem.

Yet the conversation also turned to a deeper moral challenge: homelessness, addiction and untreated mental illness. Pinsky and Koop both argued that governments should stop tolerating people living in misery on streets, in parks and under bridges, and start treating that reality as a public failure. Klein agreed, calling housing, treatment and intervention not an expense, but an investment in Canada’s future.

The result was one of the show’s bluntest discussions yet: crime must be stopped, but so must the social collapse feeding it.