Inside Politics is Radio Ulster’s longest running programme, dating back to April 1977 when my distinguished predecessor WD Flackes profiled the then South Down MP Enoch Powell.
However, in the light of the coronavirus crisis, BBC Northern Ireland had to take some difficult decisions.
In order to consolidate the shifts our production teams must work, Richard Morgan’s Inside Business programme has now shifted into Inside Politics’ previous Friday evening slot.
But, when I signed off on our last edition before Easter, I promised our listeners that, like General MacArthur, we would return.
Now, preparations are well advanced for what we hope will be a valuable addition to our stable of political programmes.
From Monday we are setting off on a virtual tour of our 18 Assembly and Westminster constituencies, with the intention of including backbench MLAs and other local representatives in the dialogue about how we are responding to the current crisis.
Hopefully, long before we finish this tour we shall already be surveying the changed landscape after the first Covid-19 wave.
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On Inside Politics Q&A, we shall quiz the politicians about the community response they have witnessed in their own backyards.
But we would like their constituents and our listeners to join in as well, by forwarding any questions they want to raise, whether they concern the immediate very painful circumstances which confront so many of us, or the range of social and economic challenges posed by an exit strategy or recovery phase.
Given the restrictions on movement, we obviously aren’t travelling to each constituency.
Instead we shall (hopefully) be using Zoom to contact your representatives, which should mean you will be able to watch us put your questions to the politicians on our podcast.
The first stop on our Zoom tour around Northern Ireland will be Upper Bann, which has seen debates about whether some workplaces are essential, and when parks and other council facilities should re-open.
The constituency is also home to Craigavon Area Hospital, whose brave health care workers have been very much on the front line in recent weeks.
If you have a question, either about the local situation in Upper Bann or about the wider political outlook, forward it to us on Twitter using the hashtag #bbcip or e-mail it to Inside.Politics@bbc.co.uk.
After leaving Upper Bann we shall embark on a magical mystery tour of the 17 remaining constituencies, guided only by a random number generator (okay, it’s a bingo ball machine).
Hosting from home, chatting to politicians over Zoom, using Twitter to suggest lines of questioning – it’s half a world away from that first Inside Politics back in 1977.
What would the great WD Flackes have made of it? And what could possibly go wrong?
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
