Canada

Friday January 21, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 21, 2022

Trudeau must keep this vaccine pledge

October 13, 2021

It’s time to jog Justin Trudeau’s memory about a major election promise he seems to have stuffed into a desk drawer and forgotten. Last Sept. 1, at the height of the federal election campaign and while the pandemic was high on every voter’s mind, the prime minister vowed to pass a law that would protect employers from being sued if they fired unvaccinated employees. That commitment, which figured prominently in the Liberal platform Trudeau unveiled the same day, signalled to voters that unlike the Conservatives, the Liberals meant business when it comes to getting as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as possible.

Whether or not it helped the Liberals at the ballot box, they did win the election. But nearly five months after Trudeau made that promise, he has still not kept it. The government can identify no concrete action it has taken to make good on the pledge. In fact, Trudeau’s mandate letters to his new cabinet last fall made no mention of any such new legislation.

Thursday January 13, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 13, 2022

Quebec to impose a tax on people who are unvaccinated from COVID-19

June 17, 2021

Quebec is announcing it will impose a health tax on Quebecers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Quebec Premier François Legault made the announcement in Montreal on Tuesday afternoon, as the number of pandemic-related hospitalizations continues to climb.

“A health contribution will be charged to all adults that don’t want to get vaccinated. We are there now,” he said.

Legault said he felt the ire of the vaccinated towards the unvaccinated, whom he blamed for clogging up the province’s hospitals.

Only 10 per cent of the population is unvaccinated but they make up 50 per cent of patients in intensive care beds, according to the premier.

On Tuesday the province reported an increase of 188 patients with COVID-19 for a total of 2,742. Of those, 255 are in intensive care.

Wednesday January 12, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 12, 2022

Canada offers to support U.S. measures to deter Russia in confrontation with Ukraine

June 13, 2017

Canada has told the U.S. that it’s willing to help with possible deterrence measures against Russia — which could include sanctions — to head off a crisis in Ukraine, CBC News has learned.

Canada made the offer during a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 31, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The source said the message was received well by Blinken. 

Bilateral talks between Russia and the U.S. over the nearly eight-year-long war in Ukraine took place in Geneva Monday. Nearly 100,000 Russian troops are stationed near Ukraine’s eastern border, prompting concerns from other countries that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin intends to invade Ukraine.

2021 In Review

Letter to the editor, The Hamilton Spectator, Dec. 31, 2021

At the Hamilton Spectator, I’m quite spoiled by having several pages that have run for four days this week highlighting the past events of 2021. It’s a huge honour, and a wonderful testament that there are still some print media outlets, like the Spec, which embrace satire, as well as local reporting and staff photography as a necessary part of print and digital journalism. It’s a tradition in newspapers around the globe to use the final week of the year to showcase editorial cartoons which best boil down the past 12 months viewed through the lens of satire. Thankfully, there’s still a contingent of talented cartoonists sustaining the craft. Although, as many of you are aware, editorial cartooning positions have been in steady decline as newspapers respond to shrinking circulation & advertising revenues by chopping or retiring off their artists and replacing their local insights with banal syndicated Hallmark style gags masquerading as satire, or worse, bland wire photos. Support your local newspapers but remind editors that satire is fundamental to a healthy democracy. Thank you for your likes and shares, and encouraging comments. Here’s to a better year ahead in 2022, my 25th year as editorial cartoonist at the Hamilton Spectator. Happy New Year!

Ontario 2021 | Canada 2021 | World 2021 | Covid 2021

Thursday December 30, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 30, 2021

Ottawa’s New Pastime: Leadership Speculation

No wonder there is a sense of déjà vu on Parliament Hill. The minority Parliament elected in September met for just two-and-a-half weeks before taking its holiday break.

September 1, 2021

Perhaps that business-as-usual post-election vibe in the House is why one of the favourite political discussions among insiders is speculation as to who will lead the two main political parties into the next election. Some may think this a waste of time. With a second consecutive minority government no one knows when the next election might be. And neither of the major party leaders, Justin Trudeau or Erin O’Toole, plans to step down. Quite the contrary. Both have said they are determined to lead their parties when voters next go to the polls.