by-election

Saturday November 5, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday November 5, 2016 Anti-sex-ed activists form Ontario political party Anti-sex-ed activists in Ontario have formed a new political party and are running candidates in the province's two ongoing byelections. Queenie Yu, who ran as an independent candidate in the recent Scarborough-Rouge River byelection on a platform opposing the Liberal government's updated sex-ed curriculum, is behind the newÊparty. She is running as the Stop the New Sex Ed Agenda candidate in Niagara West-Glanbrook, while Elizabeth de Viel Castel is running as the party's candidate in Ottawa-Vanier. Those votes are set forÊNov. 17. The goal is not necessarily to win a seat, which is highly unlikely, but to send a message that opposition to the Liberal sex-ed curriculum is still alive, Yu said. "Even though I'm not able to offer supporters a party that can form government, the point is that democracy isn't just about winning seats in the legislature, it's about being a voice for the public," sheÊsaid. "When you look at the Green party, they've never won a seat but people vote for them because of what they stand for." The new curriculum included updates such as warnings about online bullying and sexting, but protesters have taken issue with discussions of same-sex marriage, masturbation and gender identity. The issue dominated the Scarborough-Rouge River campaign after Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown's office released a letter promising that he would scrap the curriculum, thenÊbacktracked on it days later. Brown angered social conservatives by eventually saying he supported the curriculum and the public split has left them looking for a new political home. But Yu believes her new party could also garnerÊsupport from some who traditionally vote Liberal, such as people in the Chinese community. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)Êhttp://www.thespec.com/news-story/6945802-anti-sex-ed-activists-form-ontario-political-pa

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 5, 2016

Anti-sex-ed activists form Ontario political party

Anti-sex-ed activists in Ontario have formed a new political party and are running candidates in the province’s two ongoing byelections.

Queenie Yu, who ran as an independent candidate in the recent Scarborough-Rouge River byelection on a platform opposing the Liberal government’s updated sex-ed curriculum, is behind the new party.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 10, 2015 Half of one Toronto schoolÕs students kept home to protest new sex-ed Parents in one Toronto community have made good on their threat to keep their children at home on the first day of school to protest the provinceÕs new sex-ed curriculum, which they say is not age appropriate. At Thorncliffe Park, where nearly all of its Grade 1 to 5 students were pulled from class during a protest staged by parents in the spring, almost half of the schoolÕs population was absent Tuesday, said a spokesman for the Toronto District School Board. Julie Lalonde was stalked by an ex-boyfriend for years. One note he left read: ÒI will always love you, you have no choice.Ó Complaints from parents have ranged from a lack of consultation with them to not wanting their kids to be taught about same-sex relationships and different gender identities. Education Minister Liz Sandals urged parents who are opposed to the curriculum to first talk to teachers and principals because there is Òa lot of misinformationÓ being circulated, but each school board does have a policy on withdrawing students from particular classes. However, she said, the majority of the feedback she has received has been positive. ÒI have never in my life been just stopped on the street by strangers so often (who) said, ÔThank you for doing this. Hang in there. We want this program.ÒÕ Premier Kathleen Wynne said in addition to thousands of school council chairs, 70 health organizations and parent groups were consulted in crafting the new curriculum, which had not been updated since 1998. ÒThis is the most widely consulted upon curriculum in the history of the province,Ó she said Tuesday. ÒWhen we write curriculum...on geography or social studies or mathematics, that kind of consultation does not happen because thatÕs not how curriculum has been historically written in the province. We felt there was a need to have a broader

September 10, 2015

She is running as the Stop the New Sex Ed Agenda candidate in Niagara West-Glanbrook, while Elizabeth de Viel Castel is running as the party’s candidate in Ottawa-Vanier. Those votes are set for Nov. 17.

The goal is not necessarily to win a seat, which is highly unlikely, but to send a message that opposition to the Liberal sex-ed curriculum is still alive, Yu said.

“Even though I’m not able to offer supporters a party that can form government, the point is that democracy isn’t just about winning seats in the legislature, it’s about being a voice for the public,” she said.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

February 26, 2015

“When you look at the Green party, they’ve never won a seat but people vote for them because of what they stand for.”

The new curriculum included updates such as warnings about online bullying and sexting, but protesters have taken issue with discussions of same-sex marriage, masturbation and gender identity.

The issue dominated the Scarborough-Rouge River campaign after Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown’s office released a letter promising that he would scrap the curriculum, then backtracked on it days later.

Brown angered social conservatives by eventually saying he supported the curriculum and the public split has left them looking for a new political home. But Yu believes her new party could also garner support from some who traditionally vote Liberal, such as people in the Chinese community. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Tuesday November 18, 2014

By Graeme MacKay – Tuesday November 18, 2014

Liberals win in Whitby-Oshawa (second place)

Tuesday November 18, 2014Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives survived a tough fight with the Liberals on Monday night to hold on to a seat with symbolic and sentimental significance — the Whitby-Oshawa riding held for a decade by the late finance minister, Jim Flaherty.

Conservatives kept the riding and preserved Flaherty’s legacy, but the margin of victory was nowhere near as wide as what the former finance minister enjoyed after first being elected in 2006.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberals strongly chipped away at the Conservative stronghold, with Celina Caesar-Chavannes in a neck-and-neck race all night with the Tory candidate, former Whitby mayor Pat Perkins.

With nearly all the results in late Monday night, the Conservatives and Liberals were separated by less than eight percentage points.

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The closeness of the race will buoy Liberal hopes for the 2015 election, while potentially sending a chill through the ruling Conservatives’ hopes for retaining power after the next general vote.

The New Democrats trailed far behind in third place, which will also prompt some hard thinking in NDP circles next year. (Source: Toronto Star)

SOCIAL MEDIA


 

Friday, January 24, 2014

Friday, January 24, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, January 24, 2014

Wynne calls byelections in Thornhill, Niagara Falls

Voters in Thornhill and Niagara Falls are heading to the polls for Feb. 13 byelections.

Premier Kathleen Wynne made it official Wednesday by calling the votes to fill vacancies in the two seats left by the retirement of Progressive Conservative Peter Shurman and Liberal Kim Craitor.

Wynne met Wednesday with reporters at the Queens Quay LCBO store where she touted Ontario’s wine industry, which is largely based in Niagara.

On Monday, the Liberals pledged $26.2 million for the Niagara Health System to help build a new hospital and two urgent-care centres.

That followed on last month’s $75-million, five-year wine strategy, which should help Niagara’s many wineries and grape growers.

At the LCBO event the Premier was asked by a reporter if these efforts were enough to secure that Liberal seat in the byelection.

She said both efforts have been in the works for “many many months.’’
Wynne said: “we are the government that has said we would build a hospital, work with that community to build a hospital.”

The Premier criticized the NDP and Conservatives for not being consistent on the hospital issue in Niagara.

Vying to succeed Craitor in Niagara Falls are Liberal Joyce Morocco, a city councillor and Tory Bart Maves, a regional councillor who was MPP from 1995 until 2003.

The NDP candidate is expected to be city councillor Wayne Gates.

In Thornhill, represented by Shurman from 2007 to 2013, the Liberal candidate is Vaughan councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, whose husband, Mario Racco, was the former Grit MPP. (Source: Toronto Star)

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LETTER OF THE MOMENT

Letter to the Editor - Friday, January 17, 2014

Hamilton Spectator Letter to the Editor

How about lampooning Liberals, for a change?

 How typical of the Hamilton Spectator editorial cartoon to lampoon Tim Hudak’s proposed plan to create a million jobs in Ontario. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen, but at least it’s a plan to create private sector jobs.

How typical of the Spectator not to attack Kathleen Wynne and the provincial Liberals, who over the past 10 years have overseen the departure of hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs from this once great province. Not only do the Liberals not have a plan to create jobs, they don’t even have a plan to stop the ongoing bleeding. Let’s not bother to attack the Liberals for their big government, big hydro, tax-and-spend, mismanagement approach to everything. Way to go Spectator, you only seem capable of denouncing anything Conservative.

How about an editorial cartoon about Health Minister Deb Matthews reannouncement of a previously announced hospital spend in Niagara, just before they’re set to announce byelections in that area? No vote-buying or funny business going on there — yeah right!

Cameron Stringer, Hamilton

 

 

Monday September 10, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, 

NDP win byelection, blocking Liberal majority

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath is all smiles today after her party won one of two byelections that blocked the Liberals from a majority government.

Catherine Fife won the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo, which had previously been held by the Progressive Conservatives for 22 years.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak is complaining the unions “bought” the riding for the NDP, but Horwath dismissed it this morning as sour grapes.

Hudak says he takes responsibility for the loss, but says his party was beat by campaign muscle on the ground.

Horwath acknowledges that Fife got the “Cadillac of campaigns” with the party pulling in all their resources to get her elected, including 700 volunteers.

But Horwath says the voters of Kitchener-Waterloo voted for a strong woman who will listen to their concerns.

She suggested today that the win hasn’t emboldened her to try and topple the minority Liberals, who’ll need the help of one of the other parties to pass legislation.

McGuinty engineered the byelection by appointing veteran Tory Elizabeth Witmer to a $188,000-a-year post as head of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, convincing her to give up the seat she’d held for 22 years.

Backed by support from teachers and public sector workers angry with the Liberals for imposing a two-year wage freeze, Fife came from behind to take the riding about 170 kilometres southwest of Toronto for the first time in the party’s history. (Source: Global News)

 

Thursday September 6, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday September 6, 2012

NDP hope to block Liberals from getting majority

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s bid to win the majority government he was denied last October will be decided by the voters of Kitchener-Waterloo in one of two provincial byelections Thursday that could dramatically alter Ontario’s political landscape.

“I don’t know of a parallel situation in Ontario’s history…where one byelection could make the difference between a majority and a minority government,” said Barry Kay, a political-science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

The governing Liberals are expected to easily win the other byelection in Vaughan, retaining the seat vacated by Greg Sorbara, the veteran cabinet minister and strategist who quit to devote more time to his other job as chair of the party’s re-election campaign.

After falling just one seat short of a majority in the Oct. 6 general election, McGuinty engineered the Kitchener-Waterloo byelection by convincing veteran Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer to give up the seat she’d held for 22 years to take on a $188,000-a-year job as chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

“It’s always a little bit easier when you have a majority to act on a mandate, whether you’re trying to introduce a budget or move ahead with a ‘Putting Students First’ act,” McGuinty said this week.

Voters in Kitchener-Waterloo appear to have been turned off by McGuinty’s attempts to get a majority, said Kay.

“I thought that would play better than it has,” he said. “I think they are disinclined to give the party a majority. It’s not just a neutral factor. I think it’s a negative factor.” (Source: CTV News)