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Thursday December 23, 2021

December 23, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 23, 2021

Not everyone still loves Marineland

Tourism in Ontario’s Niagara region, like all regions, is constantly evolving.

Where once it was centred on Niagara Falls, now it stretches all along the lakefronts, down the canal, into the wineries and across the greenspaces and bicycle and hiking trails from one end of the region to the other.

It’s modern, and for all the money it takes in, a lot gets reinvested in order to stay up to date.

August 17, 2012

And then there is Marineland.

It’s an anachronism, like some spectre from long ago that looms over the rest of Niagara reminding us of what used to pass for entertainment back in the bad old days.

Specifically, we’re talking about its continued reliance on animals to fill the role that thrill rides and other adventures do at more modernized amusement parks.

Now, Marineland has been charged under the Criminal Code with one count of using a captive cetacean for performance for entertainment purposes without authorization.

Marineland has denied the allegation, blaming “ideologically driven activists” and saying its exhibit educates park visitors to provide “a foundation in understanding of these important marine species.”

The courts will decide which side is right; no evidence has been presented yet and there is no trial date.

And anyone who has been to Marineland sometime in the past 25 years can make up their own minds based on their experience. It hasn’t changed much.

March 27, 2014

But change is long overdue at the park with possibly the most recognizable jingle in Canada: “Everyone loves Marineland!”

And at one time, most people who went there did love it.

Year after year, millions of people trooped through its gates to ride the rides, feed the bears and watch the water shows.

It was the jewel of Niagara’s tourism industry, back in the day, and a lot of locals earned their living because Marineland brought the tourists here.

But times have changed and so have people’s opinions on what’s entertainment.

Beluga whales and penguins aren’t native to Ontario, obviously, nor are tanks and confined areas any sort of natural habitat for them.

Bison and deer kept in pens? A group of bears living in a man-made “natural” setting with park guests looking down at them from above, like the audience at some wrestling show?

One person’s “education” is another’s “exploitation.”

The world has changed, and Ontario’s tourism sector has changed as well, but Marineland has barely budged over the decades.

July 25, 2013

And what about Kiska, the park’s lone killer whale described on the Marineland website as “our friendly ocean giant.”

Others, who don’t agree with Marineland’s vision, call Kiska something else: “The world’s loneliest orca.”

By sticking to its outdated program while the world moved ahead, Marineland boxed itself — and Kiska — into a quandary.

Laws changed, and now it is illegal in Ontario to buy or sell orcas. And releasing Kiska into the wild, now, would likely be traumatic for her.

So whether it is educational or heartbreaking to watch Kiska swim alone — take your pick — that’s how she will stay.

Marineland is correct in wanting to educate people on animal conservation.

These days, though, there are many ways to learn about sea creatures and land animals without having to watch them go about their days living in unnaturally confined spaces.

Marineland’s hands may be bound when it comes to poor Kiska the killer whale, but there is nothing tying the park to its old, outdated ways.

Through current ownership, or if a long-rumoured sale actually finally happens, the park needs to drastically rethink its vision.

Times change, but Marineland hasn’t. And time will pass it by. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Canada, Ontario Tagged: 2021-42, amusement park, animal, Beluga, Canada, captivity, dolphin, killer whale, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Whale

Wednesday September 16, 2020

September 23, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 16, 2020

Wildfires and weather extremes: It’s not coincidence, it’s climate change

Right on the heels of arguably the West Coast’s most intense heat wave in modern history comes the most ferocious flare-up of catastrophic wildfires in recent memory. Meanwhile, just a few hundred miles east, a 60-degree temperature drop over just 18 hours in Wyoming and Colorado was accompanied by an extremely rare late-summer dumping of up to 2 feet of snow.

July 14, 2020

It’s not coincidence, it’s climate change. 

These kinds of dystopian weather events, happening often at the same time, are exactly what scientists have been warning about for decades. While extreme weather is a part of the natural cycle, the recent uptick in the ferocity and frequency of these extremes, scientists say, is evidence of an acceleration of climate impacts, some of which were underestimated by climate computer models.

“This is yet another example of where uncertainty is not our friend,” says Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State. “As we learn more, we are finding that many climate change impacts, including these sorts of extreme weather events, are playing out faster and with greater magnitude than our models predicted.”

July 21, 2020

On Wednesday NOAA released its latest State of the Climate Report, which finds that just during the month of August the U.S. was hit by four different billion-dollar disasters: two hurricanes, huge wildfires and an extraordinary Midwest derecho.

Just one such extreme event can strain emergency resources — a situation West Coast firefighters find themselves in now. However, in two dramatic cases this summer, the nation was hit simultaneously with concurrent catastrophes, some of which had no precedent in modern history. It’s a concept scientists call compound events, and it is necessary to factor these confluences into future projections to properly estimate risk, response and resources.

In mid-August the West suffered through an extended heat wave which saw Death Valley surge to 130 degrees, the hottest temperature ever reliably measured on Earth. The tinderbox conditions caused by the heat, along with a rare lightning outbreak, sparked the first round of major wildfires in California this season, escalating into three of the four largest fires in state history. At about the same time a powerful derecho caused billions of dollars in damage in Iowa and Illinois, and Hurricane Laura plowed into the Gulf Coast of Louisiana as a Category 4 with 150 mph winds and 16 feet of storm surge. (Continued: CBS News) 

 

Posted in: International, USA Tagged: 2020-30, animal, climate change, extinction, fire, Polar Bear, USA, western wildfires

Wednesday July 31, 2019

August 7, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 31, 2019

U.S. demand is threatening Canada’s drug supply, groups warn feds

Concern over U.S. legislation that allows Americans to import cheaper medicines from Canada has prompted more than a dozen organizations to urge the federal government to safeguard the Canadian drug supply.

June 13, 2019

In a letter this week, the 15 groups representing patients, health professionals, hospitals, and pharmacists warn Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor of the potential for increasing drug shortages.

“The Canadian medicine supply is not sufficient to support both Canadian and U.S. consumers,” the letter states. “The supply simply does not, and will not, exist within Canada to meet such demands.”

Faced with voter anger over the steep and rising costs of drugs in the U.S., several states — including Florida with the blessing of President Donald Trump — have passed laws allowing residents to import drugs from Canada.

In the letter to Petitpas Taylor, the groups say the legislation could exacerbate drug shortages that become an increasingly serious concern in the Canadian health care system in recent years.

“Hospital and community pharmacies in Canada are resourced to serve the Canadian public,” they say. “They are not equipped to support to the needs of a country 10 times its size without creating important access or quality issues.”

Petitpas Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The issue has recently garnered attention on both sides of the border. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, has announced plans to accompany diabetics this weekend to Canada to buy life-saving insulin, which costs roughly one tenth the price here than in the United States. (CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada, USA Tagged: 2019-27, animal, beaver, Bernie Sanders, Canada, diplomacy, drug supply, eagle, prescription drugs, Rx, USA

Wednesday September 13, 2017

September 12, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 13, 2017

Jagmeet Singh praised for ‘calm and positive’ reaction to anti-Muslim heckler

Federal NDP leadership hopeful Jagmeet Singh is garnering praise for the way he reacted to a woman who accused him last week of supporting Islamic extremism, because he chose to come out against “all forms of hate” instead of emphasizing that he is Sikh rather than Muslim.

August 3, 2017

The Ontario MPP was interrupted by an angry heckler at a meet and greet last Wednesday in Brampton, Ont. The woman stood in front of the candidate and shouted as aides tried to usher her aside in an incident that was caught on video and shared widely on social media well beyond Canada’s borders.

The woman accused Singh of wanting to impose Shariah law, an Islamic legal code based on the Qur’an, and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an 89-year-old religious and political group. The exchange was caught on video and lasted more than four minutes.

“Many people have commented that I could have just said I’m not Muslim. In fact, many have clarified that I’m actually Sikh,” Singh explained in a statement.  

“While I’m proud of who I am, I purposely didn’t go down that road because it suggests their hate would be OK if I was Muslim.”

A political science professor told CBC News on Monday that Singh took the right approach.

“It suggests the fact that he is not Muslim is irrelevant,” said Erin Tolley, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

“You can just imagine for example a white politician standing in front of a room and heard something racist being said. The exact wrong reaction is to say, ‘Well, I’m white, I’m not a person of colour, so this isn’t important to me.’”

Singh wanted to defuse the situation, she said, highlighting that hate of all forms is wrong, whether it’s directed at your community or not.

His response also signals that Singh, who wears a turban, has experience dealing with direct threats because of his outwardly religious appearance.  (Source: CBC News) 



This cartoon received an unusual amount of criticism through the mackaycartoons Facebook Page: 



Republished in a number of publications. Below the Edmonton Journal and the Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland:

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Posted in: Canada Tagged: animal, bigotry, bus, campaign, Canada, circus, commentary, heckler, Jasmeet Singh, leadership, NDP, racism, tearsheet, tour

Friday August 17, 2012

August 17, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday August 17, 2012

Everyone Loves Horrific Scenes

A former employee of an aquatic animal park has given a damning account of the horrific conditions animals were forced to endure. 

Phil Demers resigned from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario in May after 12 years as a senior trainer. He said a major reason for his departure was because the poor water conditions at the park had a catastrophic effect on the health of the seals, sea lions, walruses and dolphins.

‘The water had gotten so bad it was green, it was harming the animals, it smelled bad and it made the people who worked in this environment ill as well,’ he told the Toronto Star.

‘The chemicals we were using to try to maintain the water were really harming the animals.’ In revelations that have outraged animal right’s activists he said the he saw the dolphin’s skin was flaking off, and that they could not open their eyes.

Recalling the condition of Seal Lions Baker and Sander, he said that they could not even train them to open their eyes as ‘the damage was so extensive that when we finally saw it, it was just grotesque.’

He told how the trainers would pull the animals out of the water to dry conditions to try and alleviate the damage but said as a consequence not having access to fresh water also proved to be harmful for the animals.

‘Baker was writhing in pain, constantly shaking erratically, clutching his eyes shut,’ he said. 

He explained that Sandy did not move for weeks on end and to try and gain a monetary respite from the agony, Baker would constantly put his head into a bucket of fresh water. (Source: Daily Mail) 

 

Posted in: Canada, Entertainment, Lifestyle Tagged: Amusement, animal, Canada, captivity, cruelty, dolphin, geriatric, killer whale, Marineland, Niagara Falls, Ontario, park, sea world, Seal, walrus

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This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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