2022-26

Thursday August 18, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 18, 2022

Canada pledged to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees, yet only 17,000 have made it

As anniversaries go, it’s not a happy one.

July 15, 2021

One year ago this week, the Canadian government announced it had suspended operations at its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. And one year ago this week, President Joe Biden confirmed the U.S. would complete its withdrawal from the country.

Two weeks later, the last American soldier left Afghanistan, and the Taliban takeover was complete. Despite assurances from the Taliban that the rights of all Afghans, including women and children, would be protected, citizens have experienced a dramatic decline in their rights, freedoms and quality of life.

According to a report from the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, human rights violations have escalated rapidly under the Taliban. Journalists, protesters and civil society activists have been arrested, and the report documents 160 extrajudicial killings, 56 cases of torture and 217 instances of cruel and inhumane punishments.

Perhaps the most visible curtailment of human rights involves those who are now, once again, invisible: Women and girls. Under Taliban rule, women and girls “have progressively had their rights to fully participate in education, the workplace and other aspects of public and daily life restricted and in many cases completely taken away.”

Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, recently said on CTV National News: “Women have had all of their rights stripped away from them, and girls as well.”

Wednesday August 17, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 17, 2022

Is a strong mayor system coming to a community near you?

July 27, 2022

It could be. When Premier Doug Ford announced recently that his government would implement strong mayors in Toronto and Ottawa, it sounded like those two cities would serve as pilot projects for the rest of the province, which makes sense.

But already Ford is promising to move to strong mayors in other Ontario cities. During a speech to the Association of Municipalities Ontario annual conference in Ottawa, Ford said: “Building more homes is at the top of the list … In the coming months, we’ll have more information on how these tools will be expanded to other municipalities so more municipal leaders like yourselves can help build Ontario.”

Friday August 12, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 12, 2022

Cooler market helps housing consumers

You may have noticed the house around the corner with the For Sale sign planted on its lawn.

You may have noticed that the house didn’t sell in its first week on the market. Or week two. Three weeks have now passed, and there it still sits. Is it just because it’s summer? Or is it something else? It’s something else.

January 27, 2022

The correction in the housing market has arrived, as the latest numbers released by various housing groups show. The slowdown is more rapid and dramatic than most predicted. Days on the market are growing; active listings are up.

The most recent housing market forecast from the Royal Bank is predicting a national slump in resales outpacing previous peak-to-trough declines, as the bank phrases it, comparing its predictions of what lies ahead to, say, 1981-’82, or 2008-’09.

As the slowdown in the national housing market gained momentum last month, the average selling price of a home touched $665,850 — a decline of almost 20 per cent since February. Average selling prices have declined each month since February 2022, and are down by 1.8 per cent compared to what they were a year ago.

Thursday August 11, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 11, 2022

Delivering new services ‘complicated,’ Freeland says of planned dental care program

April 8, 2022

The government is working hard to meet its end-of-year deadline to deliver dental-care coverage to kids, the deputy prime minister said Tuesday, but added providing new services is “complicated.”

The Liberals agreed to offer dental coverage to low- and middle-income children by the end of the year as part of their confidence and supply deal with the New Democrats to keep the minority government from toppling before 2025.

Several groups have raised concerns about the very tight deadline, and four sources close to the program say the government is working on a temporary solution to give money directly to qualifying families while it comes up with a permanent program.

Freeland did not confirm or deny the government’s immediate plans but said the Liberals are committed to the dental-care program, and it’s a commitment she’s “happy to make.”

Wednesday August 10, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 10, 2022

FBI raid on Trump’s residence takes US into uncharted territory

The news that sent tremors across America broke at 6.36pm on Monday when the publisher of an obscure Florida politics website tweeted that the FBI had raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, adding with a pinch of self-deprecation: “TBH, I’m not a strong enough reporter to hunt this down, but it’s real.”

March 26, 2019

Eighteen minutes later another Florida resident responded to the news with more bombast. “These are dark times for our nation, as my beautiful home … is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” the former president said in an enraged statement.

More than 30 FBI agents, armed with a search warrant issued by a federal magistrate from West Palm Beach, are reported to have entered Trump’s private residence and offices at his Mar-a-Lago club. According to NBC News, they stayed on site most of the day.