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Beluga

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

Saturday July 19, 2014

July 18, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Saturday July 19, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday July 19, 2014

RCMP lay 31 criminal charges against Senator Mike Duffy

Mike Duffy’s fall from grace took another stunning tumble Thursday as Mounties charged the suspended senator with 31 counts of fraud, breach of trust and bribery in connection with the alleged misuse of taxpayers’ funds.

The charges set the stage for a dramatic trial involving a high-profile witness list that could include Nigel Wright, the former top aide to Stephen Harper, Conservative senators and perhaps even the prime minister.

[slideshow_deploy id=’1787’]

At the very least, the long list of criminal charges laid against the former Conservative senator will be an ongoing political headache for Harper in the run-up to the 2015 election. Duffy is due in court on Sept. 16, a day after Parliament is due to resume sitting following the summer break.

Months of investigation ended with the news that the former television journalist was facing a raft of criminal allegations of bribery, kickbacks and defrauding Canadian taxpayers — all related to his time as a senator.

“Investigators followed numerous leads and today’s charges are the result of a careful examination of the facts,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud told reporters at an Ottawa news conference.

In an unexpected development, the RCMP not only charged Duffy with fraud and breach of trust but added a charge of bribery in connection with the $90,000 cheque that Wright, Harper’s former chief of staff, wrote for Duffy to pay the senator’s questionable expense claims.

Questions about the $90,000 cheque have swirled around Wright and Harper, who has said he knew nothing about Wright’s decision to pay Duffy. Wright, who quit the PMO after it became known that he had written the cheque, had also been investigated by the RCMP. But police recently concluded there were no grounds to charge Wright.

Yet Duffy lawyer Donald Bayne questioned how Harper’s top aide could escape charges while the senator is now facing criminal accusations.

“I am sure that I am not the only Canadian who will now wonder openly, how what was not a crime or bribe when Nigel Wright paid it on his own initiative, became however mysteriously, a crime or bribe when received by Sen. Duffy,” Bayne said in a statement released late Wednesday.

“The evidence will show, that Sen. Duffy did not want to participate in Nigel Wright’s and the PMO’s repayment scenario, which they concocted for purely political purposes,” Bayne said. (Source: Toronto Star)


OTHER MEDIA

Illustrates a column in the Regina Leader-Post, July 22 2014 by Murray Mandryk “Duffy fallout may extend to Saskatchewan”.

Published in the Montreal Gazette, July 22 2014.

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Beluga, Canada, Editorial Cartoon, Mike Duffy, Senate Expenses Scandal, Senator, Stephen Harper, Whale

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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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