Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Julian Fantino insults veterans so he blames union: Tim Harper
When my cell phone rang last week, the voice on the line was agitated and somewhat incoherent.
It took a couple of minutes, but it became clear that Daniel was a military veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, feeling frustrated and abandoned by a political and court system he has battled over the years.
He figuratively pointed his finger at me and the rest of the media for not helping our veterans.
A veteran’s war story
“Please exercise patience and tolerance with me,’’ he subsequently wrote in an email.
I didn’t snap back at him. I didn’t hang up the phone and I didn’t accuse him of being a pawn of a big union.
That’s the Julian Fantino playbook and Stephen Harper is again watching what happens when the messenger, not the message, becomes the story in the protracted slanging match between the veterans affairs minister and those who served our country.
Ottawa hasn’t seen a communications fiasco of this magnitude since then public safety minister Vic Toews accused his Liberal opponent of standing with the child pornographers by questioning his stillborn electronic surveillance bill.
Fantino appeared bereft of empathy and respect when he belatedly encountered the veterans who were in Ottawa last week to protest the closing of eight Veterans Affairs offices on Friday.
They did close Friday, as some demonstrators shed tears and others vented their anger at their government. (Continued: Toronto Star)
SOCIAL MEDIA
This cartoon appeared on a number of blogs and news sites. Among them, the Royal Canadian Legion and Yahoo Canada News.