After weeks of war in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is now open — and ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran continue to hold strong. So is an end to the war in sight? Host Catherine Cullen asks Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand if she believes the ceasefires will last and if Canada is considering helping efforts to open the Strait.

Plus, now that the Liberals command the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians will get "real substance" and "less showboating" from parliamentarians. Hill watchers Tonda MacCharles and Christopher Nardi discuss whether the Liberals will behave any differently in this era — and if House committees are really as bad as Carney claims.

And, Catherine Cullen gives the new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, a tour of Parliament — a place he hadn’t been to in more than 15 years — and hears what he hopes to do in the House of Commons, and why he believes Canada has lost “a sense of elevated purpose” in politics.

This episode features the voices of:

• Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
• Christopher Nardi, parliamentary reporter for the National Post
• Avi Lewis, leader of the New Democratic Party

He's done it again: Prime Minister Mark Carney has convinced yet another Conservative to join his Liberal government. This time, it's Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu, who previously said she was "personally pro-life" and opposed a Liberal bill to ban conversion therapy. She's now recanting those positions as Carney insists Liberal values are unchanged.

How does it work when the Liberals try to cajole a Tory to join them? Catherine Cullen sits down with the first Conservative MP who made the leap to the Liberals, Chris d’Entremont, and Kody Blois, one of the Liberals who wooed him to cross the floor, to find out how it happens.

Then, poll analyst Philippe Fournier lays the ground for Monday’s byelections, when Carney is expected to cement his majority in Parliament. And as the Liberals hold their policy convention in Montreal, Hill watchers Joël-Denis Bellavance and Nick Taylor-Vaisey discuss the dramatic week in Canadian politics and what Gladu’s departure means for her former leader, Pierre Poilievre.

Plus, this week US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada-US trade negotiations could stretch past the July 1st deadline, and that there were “unresolved issues” with Canada. One of those irritants is the new Online Streaming Act, designed to make big streamers like Netflix and Disney pay to fund Canadian content the way that broadcasters do. CBC’s Jennifer Chevalier explores whether the Online Streaming Act is worth fighting for – in the face of yet more tariff threats.

This episode features the voices of:

• Chris d’Entremont, Liberal MP for Acadie—Annapolis
• Kody Blois, Liberal MP for Kings—Hants
• Philippe Fournier, editor-in-chief at 338 Canada
• Joël-Denis Bellavance, Ottawa bureau chief for La Presse
• Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Ottawa bureau chief for Politico
• Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association
• Carla de Jong, Head of Co-Production and International Partnerships at Sinking Ship Entertainment
• Andrew Cash, CEO of the Canadian Independent Music Association and former NDP MP
• Sandra Aubé, Liberal strategist
• Vass Bednar, Managing Director of the Canadian Shield Institute
• Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-Commerce Law at the University in Ottawa

150 years ago this month, the Indian Act became law — a sweeping piece of legislation that governed almost every aspect of First Nations’ lives — and has long been criticized as unfair, racist and “unquestionably sexist."

On this special edition of The House, Catherine Cullen explores the history of the discriminatory legislation with Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You Might Not Know about the Indian Act and Janice Makokis, an Indigenous Legal Rights Scholar and associate professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.

The program also looks at current attempts to reform the Indian Act through Bill S-2, an amendment that would allow status to pass on indefinitely to future generations — eliminating the "second-generation cut-off." Dawn Lavell-Harvard, former national president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, explains how it would impact her own family, and Kitigan Zibi’s Nick Ottawa explains why First Nations are concerned about an influx of new members without a recent connection to the community. Then columnist and professor Niigaan Sinclair weighs in on whether he thinks the bill will pass.

Plus, host Catherine Cullen speaks to Chief Councillor John Jack about how the Maa-nulth Treaty on Vancouver Island allowed Huu-ay-aht First Nation to literally burn a copy of the Indian Act fifteen years ago, and why he believes their modern treaty is a model for the future. Then, AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak adds a final thought on whether the Indian Act can be amended — or scrapped.

This episode features the voices of:

• Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You Might Not Know about the Indian Act
• Janice Makokis, Indigenous Legal Rights Scholar and associate professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law
• Dawn Lavell-Harvard, former national president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada
• Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
• Nick Ottawa, Lands, Estates and Membership Administrator at Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
• Niigaan Sinclair, professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba and columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press
• Chief Councillor John Jack, Huu-ay-aht First Nations
• Chief Councillor Wilfred Cootes, Uchucklesaht Tribe
• Music from Eddie Jones Hawlith and Tipinksip Uchucklesaht Hawlith