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Tuesday June 26, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 26, 2018

Trudeau to visit three cities on Canada Day, skip Parliament Hill festivities

Justin Trudeau will skip Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill this year.

March 28, 2017

Instead, the prime minister will be on the road, celebrating Canada’s 151st birthday in three cities in three different regions.

Trudeau is scheduled to visit Leamington, Ont., Regina and Dawson City, Yukon — all on July 1.

He will still put in an appearance on Parliament Hill but it will be via video from Leamington.

Spokesman Cameron Ahmad says Trudeau wants to spend Canada day with “Canadians and their families” in parts of the country he doesn’t often get a chance to visit.

June 1, 2018

But in at least two of the three cities, the tour seems designed to reflect the looming trade war between Canada and the United States.

Trudeau will meet steelworkers in Regina, who’ve been hard-hit by President Donald Trump’s imposition of crippling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

And in Leamington, he’ll be meeting workers at the French’s ketchup factory.

Ketchup is one of many U. S. goods upon which the Trudeau government intends to slap $16.6 billions worth of retaliatory tariffs, starting on July 1. The Leamington visit appears aimed at reminding Canadians they can still get made-in-Canada ketchup, on which no tariff will apply. (Source: CTV) 

 

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Wednesday January 24, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 24, 2018

How the TPP deal injects a new dynamic at NAFTA talks

Canada’s decision to sign onto a major multinational trade agreement without the United States added a dramatic new wrinkle to the NAFTA process Tuesday just as negotiators gathered for a crucial bargaining round.

January 12, 2018

The new Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement brings Canada into a new, sprawling trading bloc with standards not always obviously compatible with the goals of its superpower next-door neighbour.

It allows more content into automobiles from non-free-trade partners like China — at the very moment that the United States is trying to achieve the exact opposite in NAFTA, with tougher rules to keep out Chinese and other Asian parts.

Both supporters and detractors of the TPP pact predicted that this major liberalization of trade in auto parts with Asia will wind up at the NAFTA table somehow.

A Canadian auto-parts lobby group delivered a scathing reaction.

November 14, 2017

Flavio Volpe of Canada’s Auto Parts Manufacturers’ Association said the TPP agreement paves the way for more Chinese content in Canadian cars, at the moment Canada’s most important customer, the U.S., has made clear its goal of reducing Chinese imports.

He said it’s especially problematic in the midst of sensitive NAFTA negotiations.

“This could not be a dumber move at a more important time,” Volpe said in an interview. (Source: CTV) 

 

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Tuesday April 25, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 25, 2017

Trump struggled to keep promises in his first 100 days — and it may not get easier

President Donald Trump declared last week that “no administration has accomplished more” in its first 90 days than his.

But Trump has a lot more work to do in just a few days if he wants to meet the goals he set out for his first 100 days in office. Day 100 is Saturday.

Trump stormed into office promising a quick overhaul of the American government: repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming the tax system, refreshing U.S. infrastructure, cracking down on illegal immigration and ridding Washington of corruption. He promised to eradicate bad trade deals, roll back regulations and hit back at China for its lopsided trade policies.

Trump on Friday tweeted that the 100-days standard “ridiculous,” he has accomplished “a lot” during his short time as president. But the president himself set goals for that exact timeline before he took office.

Trump set out a “contract with the American voter” that included a “100-day action plan.”

Voters who wish to hold Trump to the contract would do well to read the fine print. Rather than achieving his promises, the contract calls for his administration “to immediately pursue” three, multipoint action items intended to “clean up corruption,” protect American workers and “restore security.”

The White House has proven effective in selling Trump’s executive orders — which are often largely symbolic or only direct agencies to review policies — as policy victories, said John Hudak, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. But he believes Trump will ultimately get judged on the “big-ticket” pledges that require congressional action — namely tax reform, health-care changes and infrastructure funding. The president promised those policies would help to boost economic growth and improve Americans’ well-being.

“What people are focused on are jobs — beyond the executive orders — health care, the broader economy, taxes,” Hudak said. “He can sell as many orders as he wants, but it’s still going to come back to these big, flashy policy failures. It’s hard to hang a presidential legacy on executive orders.” (Source: CNBC) 

 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, February 28, 2014

McHattie bypasses Bratina in appeal to premier for LRT support

Councillor and mayoral candidate Brian McHattie has written directly to the provincial premier – bypassing the mayor – to emphasize the city’s support for light-rail transit.

Friday, October 25, 2013McHattie, one of council’s strongest supporters for the proposed $1-billion LRT plan, urges Premier Kathleen Wynne to ignore “the level of noise and mixed messages” about the city’s support for LRT.

He also asks the province to “honour the funding commitments” made in the past for LRT and requests an update from the premier on “where Hamilton stands.”

Several councillors have recently told The Spectator their support for LRT will end unless the province fully funds the east-west line. Council has largely rejected most of the proposed “revenue tools” the province is considering to fund future rapid-transit transit projects.

Mayor Bob Bratina has been criticized by LRT supporters for not championing the project. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

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