Welcome to Need to Know, The Hub’s twice-weekly roundup of expert insights into the biggest economic stories, political news, and policy developments Hub readers need to be keeping their eyes on.
Poilievre’s by-election campaign is shining a spotlight on rural Canada
By Lianne Bell, a political commentator and veteran federal and provincial conservative campaigner
My favourite restaurant, without qualification, is called High Seas. It’s a cute place on Central Avenue in Linden, Alberta, serving food I’ll drive through a blizzard for. It’s possible you’ve never heard of High Seas. That’s because Linden is tucked a good ways off the main corridor of Alberta’s Highway 2, with a population of 902. It’s not exactly the kind of location that attracts publishers of glossy magazines or food bloggers. However, some of my favourite people in the world can be found at High Seas, like Horace.
Horace is a farmer, often too busy checking his rain gauge or the fences to engage with the political process. Harvest waits for no man, and calving pays no mind to anyone’s schedule. Places like Linden are rarely chosen to host glitzy fundraisers where locals can rub elbows with decision-makers. National debates or tours, much like the publishers and bloggers, pass by Linden, never having heard of it before. Because of this, rural voices like Horace’s often go unheard. A critical section of our communities, who have feedback and ideas we all could benefit from, is passed over.
But because of a by-election in rural Alberta, there is new exposure to the struggles and perspectives of rural Canadians. Pierre Poilievre is running in Linden, or the riding Linden is in, Battle River–Crowfoot. He’s going door to door, farm to farm, listening to our communities.
And Poilievre is not just any party leader. He is one who has, time and again, sought out voices beyond the laptop class. He has taken up the cause of common folk and come up with tangible solutions. And, importantly, he is enthusiastically bringing a spotlight to the charms and contributions of flyover country—a perspective sorely missing from not only our national political conversations, but our cultural ones as well. I know Poilievre will cross paths with Horace, and our country will be better off for it.
Allowing MAiD for mental illness as the sole underlying condition is a road we don’t want to go down
By Rebecca Vachon, program director for health at Cardus
An off-ramp is now available to the federal government as it hurtles toward ever-expanded euthanasia. Bill C-218, a private member’s bill, which garnered attention last week following Conservative MP Andrew Lawton’s impassioned and personal advocacy for it, would halt the expanded eligibility of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) for those with a mental disorder as a sole underlying condition. This bill offers the government a chance to change course—and it should take it.
