Canada

Friday December 24, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 24, 2021

The ghosts of a pandemic Christmas

A lot of Canadians will empathize with Ebenezer Scrooge on this second COVID-19 Christmas Eve.

December 24, 2016

It’s not that they share the opinion of Charles Dickens’ infamous miser that the holiday is nothing but “humbug.” It’s simply that as they take stock of life at the end of 2021 they will, like the hero of “A Christmas Carol,” be haunted by three phantoms: the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

The Ghost of Christmas Past: The first spirit will be the most amiable, but unfortunately in ways that make the other pair seem even more worrisome. Somehow those childhood Yuletides are always gold-plated.

We might remember nervously sitting on the knee of a shopping-mall Santa, listing our heart’s desires for Christmas Day. Or we’ll recall laying a stocking by our bedside on Christmas Eve, secure in the knowledge it will magically be filled to the brim next morning. Helped by the Ghost of Christmas Past, we’ll hear the songs of carolers and, perhaps, of a church choir singing “Silent Night.” And we’ll laugh, perhaps even blush, at the antics of bygone Christmas office parties

Was it only two Christmases ago that people still came together in large gatherings, where a card table would be set up in the dining room and lawn chairs hauled in from the garage to handle the mob of relatives and friends cramming our homes to the rafters? People still shook hands and hugged in those days. Imagine that.

November 28, 2020

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: The smiles inspired by the Ghost of Christmas Past might turn upside down when this grim reaper drops by. What will Christmas 2022, 2023 or 2024 be like? We might shudder to think, as Scrooge did when his phantom of the future finally led him to a graveyard.

What variant might we face in a Christmas or two? What pandemic wave might engulf us then? Will the antivirals coming our way cure us if we catch COVID? Will the vaccines we have now still work? Christmas or not, there’s no denying that two years into COVID the situation is still disastrous and there are no guarantees it won’t be this bad next year. Which brings us to the ghost that matters most.

The Ghost of Christmas Present: Whatever rose-coloured glasses we put on to view the past, it is gone and unrecoverable. As for the future, despite our valid trepidation, it nonetheless remains within our power — as it did with Scrooge — to determine what it will be. We should reach out and grasp that power.

If we’re responsible and respect the new provincial guidelines set down just days ago, many of our gatherings with families and friends will be smaller this year — or even cancelled. Loved ones who’ve tested positive — a growing trend with the emergence of the Omicron variant — will be absent. The latest advisories against nonessential travel will keep others somewhere else, far away. So yes, a lot of people won’t be home for this Christmas.

March 26, 2020

But there is still this stubborn, resilient holiday waiting for us. Though we may not be able to mark it as we once did, we need it more than ever as 2021 staggers to a close. We need its peace, its joy and its unquenchable spirit of giving — especially to the sick, the homeless and all those living in great want. Even wearing a protective mask, we can celebrate the hope found not only in all the wondrous Christmas stories but in what we have done together to survive nearly two years of pandemic. We should never forget that those game-changing, life-saving vaccines developed in record time are themselves veritable miracles worthy of continual thanks.

And finally, whether we celebrate the special day in a church, around the tree in our living room, or even if this holiday is not part of our own tradition, we should all be able to perceive the inestimable value of human love wrapped up in the gift it leaves for us. In the darkest time of year, the days are finally lengthening again. So, when the Ghost of Christmas Present comes knocking at your door, let him in. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)  

 

Thursday December 23, 2021

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) 

 

Wednesday December 22, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 22, 2021

One senator just blew up Joe Biden’s presidential plans

A single U.S. senator has detonated a political bombshell whose wide-ranging blast radius has touched his political party, his country and his planet.

December 14, 2021

Let us sift through political wreckage over the horizon and count the effects unleashed by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

He has, until further notice, killed President Joe Biden’s hope of signing major legislation. Resurrecting the Build Back Better mega-bill could happen but it won’t be easy and it’s dead in its current form.

Because he holds the 50th vote in a 100-seat Senate, Manchin’s statement was a game-changer on multiple fronts.

It’s rocked Biden’s presidency, enraged the Democratic Party, imperilled about two dozen major initiatives affecting millions of Americans, undone economic forecasts, torched the U.S. climate plan, tossed into doubt a global tax plan, and, perhaps to Canadians’ benefit, paused a major Canada-U.S. irritant, a potential violation of trade agreements.

His move unleashed recriminations within the Democratic Party as some of Manchin’s colleagues castigated him; questioned his integrity; said he couldn’t be trusted; and some even raised money in fundraising letters trashing his decision.

February 23, 2021

That acrimonious climate is hardly propitious to getting Democrats back to the negotiating table to try saving bits of the 2,468-page Build Back Better bill.

There’s a silver lining in all this for Canada.

The Canadian government was deeply worried about the green rebates and preparing for an economic war over them. 

That’s because Build Back Better offered tax credits for the purchase of U.S.-assembled electric cars, which Canada and others called a violation of trade agreements that would kill jobs abroad.

It’s no accident a Canadian auto-parts representative happened to be meeting with Manchin’s staff on Friday, lobbying against the measure.

Flavio Volpe said it’s too soon to assume this irritant is gone. Ottawa appears to agree. Nobody in the Canadian government has been willing to comment on Sunday’s developments, suggesting they’re not final.

“I don’t feel like we’re out of the woods yet,” Volpe said. “We’re [still] on DEFCON 1 for Canadian prosperity.” (CBC) 

 

Saturday December 18, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 18, 2021

Toronto city council votes to help fight Quebec’s Bill 21 in court after Brampton calls for support

September 17, 2019

Toronto city council unanimously voted in support of helping to fund a legal fight against Quebec’s law restricting religious symbols Thursday, after Brampton called on other Canadian cities to join in the initiative.

John Tory, the mayor of Canada’s largest city, said in a tweet he would put the request to council Thursday, repeating that both he and city council have repeatedly voiced opposition to Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.

On Thursday, city council unanimously voted in favour of the motion to reaffirm the city’s opposition to the bill. City council will also contribute $100,000 to support the joint legal challenge to the bill being brought by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“Today, city council made it very clear that Toronto stands with municipalities from across Canada in opposition to Bill 21 and in support of the legal challenge against this bill,” Tory said in a news release Thursday. 

October 3, 2019

“We cannot simply stand by as Torontonians and Canadians and see a law like this diminish the protection and respect accorded religious and other basic freedoms by our Canadian Charter of Rights of Freedoms.”

He also  encouraged other cities to join the fight to “uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Tory was adding his voice to an initiative from Brampton city council, which also voted Wednesday to contribute $100,000 to challenging the Quebec law and encouraged other cities to donate.

Adopted in June 2019, Bill 21 prohibits the wearing of religious symbols such as hijabs, kippas and turbans by teachers and other government employees deemed to be in positions of authority. Debate over the law was revived this month with news that a teacher in Chelsea, Que., had been reassigned because of her hijab.

Patrick Brown Retrospective

Brampton calls itself one of the most diverse communities in Canada and says it wants to show its support for what diversity brings to local communities and Canada as a whole.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown calls Bill 21 discriminatory and says freedom of religion is a fundamental principle that must be upheld.

Since Brown called on other cities to get involved, several communities across the country have indicated their support for his initiative and will put requests for funding to their respective councils.

By late Wednesday afternoon, the motion had already won the support of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday December 14, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 14, 2021

Canada threatens U.S. with tariffs, partial suspension of CUSMA over electric vehicle tax credit

November 18, 2021

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has written to top U.S. senators threatening to suspend parts of the CUSMA trade agreement and impose tariffs on American goods unless U.S. officials back away from a proposed tax credit for American-built electric vehicles.

“We are deeply concerned that certain provisions of the electric vehicle tax credits as proposed in the Build Back Better Act violate the United States’ obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” Freeland and International Trade Minister Mary Ng say in the letter.

“The proposal is equivalent to a 34 per cent tariff on Canadian-assembled electric vehicles,” the letter says. “The proposal is a significant threat to the Canadian automotive industry and is a de facto abrogation of the USMCA.”

November 19, 2019

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States.

Congress is proposing sizeable tax credits worth up to $12,500 US to buyers of new electric vehicles — as long as those cars are manufactured by union workers in the U.S.

Experts agree the tax measure would deal a major blow to the Canadian automotive sector, which is trying to attract new investment as the industry transitions away from internal combustion engines.

Freeland and Ng also say in the letter that they will “consider the possible suspension of USMCA concessions of importance to the U.S.” They specifically mention the possible suspension of “USMCA dairy tariff-rate quotas” and the possibility of delaying implementation of CUSMA copyright changes.

December 11, 2019

“To be clear, we do not wish to go down a path of confrontation,” the letter says. “That has not been the history of the relationship between our two countries – nor should it be the future.

“There is an opportunity to work together to resolve this issue by ensuring Canadian-assembled vehicles and batteries are eligible for the same credit as U.S.-assembled vehicles and batteries.”

Ng said the letter is Canada’s way of indicating that it’s prepared to play hardball on the trade file, although she would prefer to come to a compromise that avoids trade actions. (CBC)