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Thursday March 21, 2019

March 28, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday March 21, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 21, 2019

Morneau’s budget speech drowned out by shouts of ‘let her speak’

After a delay in the House of Commons, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau was finally able deliver his budget speech this evening — even though nobody could hear it at first.

Morneau tabled his government’s 2019 budget just before 4 p.m., getting around a threat by the Opposition Conservatives to stir up a disruption because Liberal MPs on the justice committee had shut down an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair.

But his budget speech was delayed by procedural votes. When he did stand to speak, he was drowned out by Opposition MPs banging on their desks and chanting “let her speak” — a reference to Jody Wilson-Raybould, whose resignation from cabinet last month over the SNC-Lavalin controversy has left the government on the defensive for weeks.

Per tradition, Morneau was set to deliver his budget speech just after the markets closed, but it was delayed by a vote on a motion to allow MPs studying fisheries to travel.

The Conservatives had threatened all day to disrupt the vote in hopes of delaying Morneau’s speech to make a point about the justice committee.

However, Morneau shocked many observers when he rose in the House and tabled the budget document anyway. That meant the lockups — where reporters and stakeholders were anxiously waiting for clearance to file their work — were released on time and the contents of the budget were made public.

The Tories went ahead with their delaying tactics, which included having a number of Tory MPs voting both for and against the motion. MPs also rose on points of privilege and points of order, further delaying Morneau’s speech.

When the finance minister began speaking around 5 p.m. ET, he was drowned out by thunderous noise.

Speaker Geoff Regan tried to intervene multiple times with calls for order, but those requests were disobeyed.

Conservative MPs eventually walked out of the Commons, with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer calling the justice committee’s decision “an assault on democracy.”

The justice committee was looking into allegations the Prime Minister’s Office and other officials inappropriately pressured Jody Wilson-Raybould, justice minister and attorney general at the time, to allow Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin to avoid criminal prosecution on bribery charges providing it met certain conditions in a remediation agreement.

After about two hours, members of the Conservative Party and the NDP emerged and said the Liberals — who hold the majority on the committee — voted in favour of a motion to “consider the meetings on this topic to be concluded.” (Source: CBC)

Friday October 5, 2018

October 4, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 5, 2018

Teenagers who use e-cigarettes more likely to start smoking, study finds

Teens who use electronic cigarettes are more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes – and they are likely to use both products more often over time, a new study found.

February 18, 2012

The Rand Corporation study looked at more than 2,000 youths in California, starting when they were teenagers and continuing until they were young adults.

The researchers found that youth who reported vaping were more likely to also report smoking cigarettes.

When they were surveyed around age 17, more of the teens said they used e-cigarettes in the last month – 8% – than regular cigarettes, at 6%. By around age 19, 9% of the young adults surveyed were using e-cigarettes, but cigarette smoking had jumped to 12%.

“Not only are adolescents who start vaping more likely to start smoking in the future, but they’re also likely to go on and use e-cigarettes and cigarettes more frequently,” said Michael Dunbar, the study’s lead author and a behavioral scientist at Rand.

“Our work provides more evidence that young people who use e-cigarettes progress to smoking cigarettes in the future,” he said. “This study also suggests that teens don’t substitute vaping products for cigarettes. Instead, they go on to use both products more frequently as they get older.”

It’s the latest research to suggest a link for young people between electronic cigarettes and smoking the more dangerous, traditional tobacco-based variety.

For adults who already smoke, e-cigarettes have been promoted as a safer to help them quit. (Continued: The Guardian)

Saturday February 25, 2018

February 23, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 25, 2018

President Trump at CPAC Insists Arming Teachers, Not Gun Control, Will Keep Schools Safe

President Donald Trump reiterated his support for arming teachers during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning, saying that keeping guns out of schools makes them targets for mass shooters.

January 17, 2013

“When we declare our schools to be gun free zones, it just puts our students in far more danger,” said Trump. “People that are adept with weaponry and with guns — they teach. I don’t want to have 100 guards with rifles standing all over the school. You do a concealed carry permit.”

Other than one mention of “strengthening” background checks, Trump did not talk about the ideas for tighter gun control that he has floated in the last week – including raising the age of purchasing some weapons and banning bump stocks. The National Rifle Association, which was an early backer of Trump’s and channeled over $30 million towards supporting his campaign, opposes raising the age limit.

July 25, 2015

The speech seemed in line with many of the talking points of NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, who went on the offensive on Thursday on the same CPAC stage, accusing gun control advocates of exploiting last week’s Florida school shooting tragedy.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, killing 17 people. In the days following, Trump pledged to take action to help prevent more school shootings in America, inviting those who have experienced school shootings to the White House. He reiterated his call to action on Friday, telling the audience, “We will act. We will do something.” (Source: TIME)

Saturday August 12, 2017

August 11, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday August 12, 2017

Trump warns North Korea’s Kim he will ‘truly regret’ further threats to US and allies

Donald Trump on Friday went further to turn the crisis over North Korea into a personal battle of wills between him and Kim Jong-un, warning the North Korean leader he would “truly regret” hostile acts against US territory or US allies.

The warning came a few hours after an early-morning tweet from the president that claimed US military options were “locked and loaded” for use if Pyongyang “acted unwisely”.

The tweet triggered worldwide alarm and a rebuke from German chancellor Angela Merkel, who said: “I consider an escalation of rhetoric the wrong answer.”

But Trump stood by his words when asked about them at his golf resort in New Jersey.

“I hope they are going to fully understand the gravity of what I said, and what I said is what I mean,” Trump said. “Those words are very, very easy to understand.”

He then issued an ultimatum to Kim Jong-un himself. “This man will not get away with what he’s doing,” he said. “If he utters one threat in form of overt threat – which, by the way, he’s been uttering for years – or if he does anything in respect to Guam or anyplace else that’s an American territory or an American ally, he will truly regret it.”

The North Korean leadership has warned it will launch four missiles at the waters around US Pacific territory of Guam as a warning to the US if it persisted with its practice sorties by long-range bombers based on the island.

Despite gung-ho language from the US president, there was no change in US deployments in the region or a change in the alert status of US forces. And it was reported on Friday that the Trump administration had reopened a channel of communication between US and North Korean diplomats at the U.N. (Source: The Guardian)

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Saturday October 29, 2016

October 28, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 29, 2016

‘Pretty Good Rich Kids’: Reaching the OHL takes more than talent

What does it take to make it to the Ontario Hockey League?

Skill? Certainly. Speed? Sure. Strength? No question.

November 28, 2007

But it also takes something else — something over and above raw talent and physicality. To make it to the OHL, you also need a winning ticket in the lottery of birth.

A year-long Spectator investigation finds a highly significant number of the league’s Ontario-raised players are from suburban neighbourhoods where most people are well-educated, earn high incomes and live in expensive homes.

The odds of them crossing paths with someone living in poverty are extremely low.

For anyone familiar with the extraordinary cost of playing hockey in Ontario — $15,000-or-so annually for an elite AAA player and getting higher — this won’t come as a shock. If you want to be the next Sidney Crosby, says Wilfrid Laurier University’s William McTeer, “the first question you have to ask is how much money do your parents have and are they prepared to invest in your future as an athlete.”

But cost isn’t the only thing keeping children in Hamilton and across Ontario out of the game.

Several factors, including geography, public policy and the funding mechanisms of non-profits, are making it increasingly difficult for low- and middle-income families to access the sport, particularly at competitive levels.

“I think it’s tragic,” says Philip White, a sport sociologist at McMaster University. “You live in a culture where everybody is supposed to have an opportunity to advance and kids are simply shut out.”

Our analysis is grounded in data. Stick with us while we get the heavy stuff out of the way. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)