2019-05

Tuesday February 12, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 12, 2019

Why Canada needs to make the Arctic a national priority

July 26, 2007

You may not know this, but Canada’s Arctic makes up nearly 40 per cent of our country’s land. Based on that alone, you would think that our federal government would prioritize the protection, careful development and stewardship of the far north.

But you’d be wrong. If northern development and affairs are priorities with the Trudeau government, it’s not obvious from the outside. In fact, a growing number of international experts are voicing concern that Canada is falling behind in terms of coherent policy and ambition of our northern territory.

Scandinavian countries aren’t making the same mistake. Neither are Russia and China, both of whom have robust and ambitious goals and are taking actions that should concern Canadians.

Russia, for example, is remilitarizing its far north in order to improve its access to Arctic territories. There is new military hardware, improved communication infrastructure. Industry, surface and marine transport and offshore resource development have seen massive investment. Russia is also expanding its icebreaker fleet to improve shipping lane access.

April 1, 1999

China last year released a white paper about the Arctic. Its stated policy goals are to “understand, protect, develop and participate in the governance of the Arctic, so as to safeguard the common interests of all countries and the international community in the Arctic, and promote sustainable development of the Arctic.”

This issue isn’t new. But it’s getting more urgent for a couple of reasons. One is climate change. With ice receding shipping channels are getting bigger and more accessible and commercial interests are getting more pressing. The other is Russia’s ambitious push to restore its place in the world order — to levels it hasn’t enjoyed since the days of the USSR — and the place Arctic development and ownership play in that.

Then there is Finland, and other Nordic countries, where northern development has always been more of a priority than in Canada. At the University of Oulu, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Finns are testing a 5G network to study and develop communication technology and innovation. And in 2016, the Finnish government launched the Aurora project, referred to as an “Arctic intelligent transport test ecosystem” to facilitate testing of autonomous vehicle technology in harsh conditions on northern roads. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Saturday February 9, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 9, 2019

Trudeau is lending credibility to SNC-Lavalin pressure allegations

It’s been a burning question for weeks in politics — what did Jody Wilson-Raybould do to get bounced out of her job as justice minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet?

October 13, 2016

Well, now we know one theory about her firing offence: an alleged refusal to do a legal favour for SNC-Lavalin, the Quebec firm with long and lucrative ties to the federal Liberals.

And so, the once-burning question in the capital’s chattering corridors of power is now a flaming bag of trouble sitting on the very doorstep of the Prime Minister’s Office. In the process, the biggest victim of Trudeau’s relatively minor cabinet shuffle last month is now perceived as its loudest whistleblower, whether she embraces that new role or not.

Pez Prime Minister

Not that Wilson-Raybould, now veterans affairs minister, was particularly loud on Thursday. In fact, she didn’t have a thing to say in the wake of the Globe and Mail’s explosive story of how the former justice minister reportedly stood in the way of a deal to let SNC-Lavalin detour around prosecutions that could have blocked it from receiving government contracts for years to come.

Wilson-Raybould’s silence, however, was far louder than the prime minister’s carefully chosen words of denial, about how his office had not “directed” the former minister to give the go-ahead to what’s known as a “deferred prosecution” of SNC-Lavalin.

December 14, 2016

Her nondenial denial, first reported in The Globe and not withdrawn on Thursday, fairly yelled in support of spirited opposition cries in support of her alleged refusal to play ball with the PMO and its cosy corporate friend in Quebec. Wilson-Raybould is now being cast as a hero who “spoke truth to power” — even if, technically speaking, it was more like a whisper to a newspaper.

Pro tip: “No comment” only works as a clever misdirection in fictionalized political journalism. In real life, it is often regarded as confirmation. That’s certainly how Wilson-Raybould’s failure to comment was being interpreted in government and opposition circles on Thursday.

Speaking of no comment, Trudeau hasn’t really explained why he plucked Wilson-Raybould out of her post as Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister and put her in charge of a department where many political careers go to die. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) 

Update, Sept. 11, 2021…

The Prime Minister seemed to be listening intently. “I never directed,” he said, referring to interfering in my role as the attorney-general in relation to the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. His public lines started coming, which were designed to deny responsibility and culpability. There are differences between pressure and direction, he emphasized. We talked about our soon to be infamous meeting with the clerk of the Privy Council on September 17, 2018, where I had asked him directly, when SNC-Lavalin was raised, “Are you politically interfering with my role, my decision as the attorney-general? I would strongly advise against it.” He repeated in that airport room that I was not shuffled from being minister of justice and attorney-general because of SNC-Lavalin. To which I thought to myself, Oh yes, I remember Scott Brison resigned from Treasury, so, of course, you then had to move the attorney-general and two other ministers and elevate two MPs to fill one spot. Good grief. (Excerpt printed in the Globe & Mail, from ‘Indian’ in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power by Jody Wilson-Raybould)

Friday February 8, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 8, 2019

Ford government autism program overhaul met with outrage by some parents who fear kids will lose out

The Ford government’s plan to overhaul Ontario’s autism program has sparked anger among parents — including a PC political staffer and father of two autistic teens who quit in disgust over the changes Wednesday.

January 25, 2019

Under the revamp, aimed at clearing a therapy wait list of 23,000 kids, parents will be given funding and the power to choose the services they want. But families will face a lifetime limit of $140,000 per child and high-earners will no longer be eligible.

Parents, who say funding should be based on need and not on age or arbitrary cut-offs, were devastated by the move.

“In light of today’s announcement, I told my minister I did not feel I could continue in my role as legislative assistant,” said Bruce McIntosh, who joined Progressive Conservative MPP Amy Fee’s political staff when the Ford government was elected last spring.

McIntosh is the former president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, a parent advocacy group that has pushed for more government support but has been critical of age-based funding.

November 17, 2018

Fee (Kitchener South—Hespeler) is parliamentary assistant for Lisa MacLeod, minister of children, community and social services, who announced the autism overhaul at Toronto’s Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Fee, the mother of two children with autism, spoke about her own family’s experiences during the news conference.

An estimated 40,000 children in Ontario have autism, a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication. About 2,400 of them are waiting for a diagnosis, 23,000 are on a wait list for behavioural therapies and just 8,400 are receiving services.

MacLeod said the government will double funding for diagnostic hubs to $5.5 million a year for the next two years, clear the therapy wait lists and ensure families get their funding within the next 18 months.

The program under the previous Liberal government was inefficient and did not address children’s needs, she said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Letter to the Editor, The Hamilton Spectator, February 19, 2019 – A cartoon worth a thousand words

RE: MacKay cartoon (Feb. 8)

I want to commend Graeme MacKay for his Feb. 8, 2019, cartoon. His depiction of Premier Ford providing a mere drop of assistance to the families of those on the autism spectrum is proof once again that a picture is worth a thousand words. As the accompanying piece explained, cutting the same-sized pie into smaller pieces will not address the needs of the families who have been waiting for the services their children require. I thought Premier Ford’s platform promised that he would not be cutting services for Ontario’s citizens. It seems the Conservative politicians have forgotten this. Higher education support, elementary school class sizes, workers’ rights, services to children with autism, who will be next? Health care recipients?

Theresa Flynn-Purchase, Hamilton

Thursday February 7, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 7, 2019

Health inspections, air ambulance won’t be privatized, minister says

December 3, 2002

Ontario’s health minister was forced to make assurances Monday that long-term care inspections and the province’s air ambulance service will not be privatized, as leaked documents appear to peg those services for “outsourcing.”

Christine Elliott’s comments came after the NDP released a second set of confidential government documents following the release last week of a draft version of the Progressive Conservative government’s upcoming health-care transformation legislation.

“The NDP have intentionally created confusion about the way care is delivered in this province,” Elliott said. “As we bring forward desperately needed and overdue change to health-care in this province, Ontarians will continue to access reliable, public health-care.”

December 21, 2016

The Ontario Provincial Police have been notified about the document leaks and the person responsible is no longer employed by the government, the head of the public service said in a memo.

Both sets of leaked documents show the government is creating a health “super agency” that would be in charge of managing health services, quality improvement, patient relations, digital health and tissue donation and transplants, among other responsibilities.

The draft legislation would allow the government to roll local health integration networks, Cancer Care Ontario, eHealth Ontario, the Trillium Gift of Life Network and other government health agencies into the super agency. The local health networks are responsible for delivering home care, and one document warns of a risk of service disruptions.

Animated!

Elliott said the plan is not final and consultations are ongoing, but the NDP say the documents they revealed Monday include references to cabinet already approving the overall plan and appointing super agency board members.

One document, as part of a Dec. 13 workshop for assistant deputy ministers, references outsourcing laboratories — many of which are already privately run — inspections, licensing, devices and the province’s air ambulance service, Ornge.

Elliott said none of those services will be privatized. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday February 6, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 6, 2019

Knuckling under pressure to the U.S. won’t win battle of steel tariffs

What was Ontario’s economic development and trade minister thinking when he publicly called on Canada to surrender in the trade war with the United States?

March 3, 2018

On Monday Todd Smith said Canada should remove tariffs put in place in response to Donald Trump’s imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum. Canada’s tariffs match those dollar for dollar, and are used in part to support companies and workers in the affected sectors.

Further, Smith said his boss, Doug Ford, wanted the same thing. “I know that the premier has suggested this to the federal government that they should remove their tariffs as a first step in removing tariffs overall.” As far as we know Ford hasn’t spoken on the matter, but if that’s how he feels, he should go public.

June 15, 2018

Why on earth would anyone, Ford or his minister, believe that Donald Trump would respect capitulation? Has Trump shown in past behaviour that he respects weakness? We must have missed that newscast.

Smith’s suggestion is so patently ridiculous it took only hours for steel and aluminum companies to pipe in with their support for Ottawa. A tweet from the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said: “The federal government’s retaliatory action against the U.S.A. is vital in protecting businesses and steelworkers.” The Aluminum Association of Canada said the Trudeau government should “maintain all tariffs on U.S. imports and support Canadian businesses as long as U.S. tariffs are in place.”

June 28, 2018

Analysts and pundits from all quarters were equally mystified and distraught. Why would the Ford government side with Trump against Canada? More than one suggested it might be linked to Ford’s oft-expressed respect and affection for Trump’s leadership. But suggesting Canada should surrender?

It turns out, if you believe the updated position of the province, that wasn’t behind Smith’s play. He really meant to say we should revisit tariffs on things other than steel and aluminum, like Kentucky bourbon and playing cards. That, he says, will demonstrate to Trump that Canada is willing to deal. This new position — if it can be called that — isn’t nearly as damaging, but it’s equally stupid. Do Smith and his boss really think Trump will come to the table based on bourbon and playing cards?

June 6, 2018

He won’t. He thinks his tariffs, broadly, have been a huge success and a sign of his historic greatness. Yes, they’re hurting Americans as they’re hurting Canadians, but Trump isn’t one to worry about his own citizens welfare. In his view, measures like these are signs of strength and dominance.

Tariffs are a real and growing problem for steel and aluminum companies. High steel prices have cushioned steel producers to some extent, but the impact of tariffs is already being felt in Sault St. Marie, and will eventually hit Hamilton as well.

Canada continues to work trade and diplomatic channels to see tariffs lifted. Some have suggested the prime minister shouldn’t give final approval to the new NAFTA agreement without resolution, and that might be worth considering. Trump sees NAFTA as a major accomplishment, and the fact that it might be stymied due to his nonsensical tariffs will trouble him. His own Congress has said it won’t support the new trade pact until tariffs have been lifted, and that might be worth Ottawa’s consideration, too. Much more work remains to be done.

But please, no more suggestions that Canada take a knee to the biggest bully in the free world. That’s embarrassing, and would only make dealing with Trump more difficult. The Trudeau government has walked a fine line to date between working with Trump and not being pushed around. That should continue to be its strategy. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial)