Friday May 20, 2016 • mackaycartoons

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Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday May 20, 2016 Justin Trudeau apologizes for 'failing to live up to a higher standard' A repentant Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Thursday morning for the third time in two days for a physical encounter with two opposition MPs that resulted in a melee on the floor of the House of Commons the day before. "I apologize to my colleagues, to the House as a whole and to you, Mr. Speaker, for failing to live up to a higher standard of behaviour. Members, rightfully, expect better behaviour from anyone in this House. I expect better behaviour of myself," the prime minister said in the Commons after he apologized directly to two opposition Mps. Trudeau's apology came as members of Parliament debated a privilege motion by Conservative MP Peter Van Loan on "the physical molestation" of a female MP in the House of Commons. MPs agreed as debate resumed after question period to send the matter to a committee Ñ a decision supported by Trudeau hours earlier. On Wednesday, Trudeau walked across the aisle and into a clutch of NDP MPs where he took Conservative Party whip Gord Brown by the arm, elbowingÊNDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the process. The prime minister "unreservedly" apologized for the physical contact which he said was "unacceptable.Ó The incident took place just as some MPs were trying to stall a contentious vote to limit debate on Bill C-14, the government's assistance in dying bill. "No amount of escalation or mood in this House justifies my behaviour last night. I made a mistake, I regret it. I am looking to make amends," Trudeau said on Thursday. "I fully hear the desire... of a number of members across the House including the leader of the Official Opposition that we take concrete measures to improve the way the tone functions in this House and the way this government engages with opposition parties as well.Ó "I am apologizing and asking members to understand how contrite and regre

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 20, 2016

Justin Trudeau apologizes for ‘failing to live up to a higher standard’

A repentant Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Thursday morning for the third time in two days for a physical encounter with two opposition MPs that resulted in a melee on the floor of the House of Commons the day before.

June 20, 2015 – Magna Harper

“I apologize to my colleagues, to the House as a whole and to you, Mr. Speaker, for failing to live up to a higher standard of behaviour. Members, rightfully, expect better behaviour from anyone in this House. I expect better behaviour of myself,” the prime minister said in the Commons after he apologized directly to two opposition Mps.

Trudeau’s apology came as members of Parliament debated a privilege motion by Conservative MP Peter Van Loan on “the physical molestation” of a female MP in the House of Commons.

MPs agreed as debate resumed after question period to send the matter to a committee — a decision supported by Trudeau hours earlier.

Wednesday November 25, 2015Wednesday November 25, 2015

November 25, 2015 – Hereditary monarchs

On Wednesday, Trudeau walked across the aisle and into a clutch of NDP MPs where he took Conservative Party whip Gord Brown by the arm, elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the process. The prime minister “unreservedly” apologized for the physical contact which he said was “unacceptable.”

The incident took place just as some MPs were trying to stall a contentious vote to limit debate on Bill C-14, the government’s assistance in dying bill.

“No amount of escalation or mood in this House justifies my behaviour last night. I made a mistake, I regret it. I am looking to make amends,” Trudeau said on Thursday.

“I fully hear the desire… of a number of members across the House including the leader of the Official Opposition that we take concrete measures to improve the way the tone functions in this House and the way this government engages with opposition parties as well.”

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday August 25, 2015 The Growing Power of the PMO In 2006, Stephen Harper rode into Ottawa with a mandate to clean up the ethical wreckage of the Liberal sponsorship scandal. The Conservative Party leader moved quickly as the prime minister of a minority government. He banned corporate and union donations, and lowered the individual donation limit to $1,000. He toughened federal lobbying rules, created the Parliamentary Budget Office and gave additional powers to the Ethics Commissioner. His goal, he said over and over, was to return accountability to Ottawa. And he did that, to a degree. His reforms have helped bring the federal government up to date on important issues of political financing and budget oversight. Not surprisingly, though, Mr. Harper failed to target the real source of OttawaÕs accountability crisis. As the trial of Mike Duffy has reminded us, the greatest threat to responsible government in Canada is none other than the Prime MinisterÕs Office. Over the past 40 years, the PMO has morphed into a parasite on the body of Parliament that prospers by sucking the democracy out of its host. The court-documented efforts by Nigel Wright, the former chief of staff to Mr. Harper, to control the Senate from inside the PMO are outrageous only because they have been exposed by Mr. DuffyÕs lawyer. The real scandal lies below the surface, where the PMO uses its toxic tentacles to neutralize every part of government that might compete with it for power, so that today we are ruled by an imperial prime minister, unaccountable to anyone or anything. Do not blame Mr. Harper alone for this. The expansion of the PMO began under Pierre Trudeau, and every prime minister since then has been responsible for increasing its malignant grip on Parliament. Brian Mulroney was the first to name a Òchief of staffÓ and elevate that person above the principal secretary who was, up till then, the highest unelect

August 25, 2015 – Otto Von Harper

“I am apologizing and asking members to understand how contrite and regretful I am over my behaviour,” Trudeau said again later.

“I wield full responsibility for my poor choices last night, and I ask for Canadians’ understanding and forgiveness.”

The prime minister spoke Thursday after Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose said in a scathing statement in the Commons that Trudeau’s behaviour was “out of line” and “unbecoming of a leader.”

“He had no business on this side of the House, he had no business anywhere but on his own seat. Everything he did from the moment he rose from his seat was unnecessary and unsettling,” Ambrose said on Thursday. (Source: CBC News)