mackaycartoons

Graeme MacKay's Editorial Cartoon Archive

  • Archives
  • Kings & Queens
  • Prime Ministers
  • Sharing
  • Special Features
  • The Boutique
  • Who?
  • Young Doug Ford
  • Presidents

confidence

Thursday October 22, 2020

October 29, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 22, 2020

Canadians don’t need election melodrama

If not for Jagmeet Singh and the NDP and the three members of the Green caucus, Canada would be heading into a federal election today. We are not, and we should be thankful for that.

November 12, 2018

An election campaign, with the federal Parliament adjourned for campaigning, is the last thing the country wants, or needs. The second wave of this pandemic is sweeping across the nation. We need all hands on deck to manage the crisis, and no one needs to be distracted by an election campaign and everything that goes along with that.

But how did we get here? How did we end up on the brink of an election no one wants? 

There’s blame to be apportioned across the board, but the majority of it falls on the governing Liberals and Opposition Conservatives. They joined in a high stakes game of chicken that was not driven by anything other than partisan advantage. 

First, the Conservatives. They launched a motion on Opposition Day that called for establishing a new super-committee to investigate corruption, specifically the WE scandal. It would have had unprecedented power to call not only members of the government and civil service, but people such as friends and relatives. It could have compelled the release of private citizens’ financial records over a 12-year period. That is probably not even legal.

October 23, 2019

It was a massive overreach, especially considering Parliament already has multiple committees that can do that work. And given that this is a minority government, those committees are often dominated by opposition MPs, so the government doesn’t always get its way. 

Further, there is a central hypocrisy in what the Conservatives are saying. They want a committee specifically focused on government corruption, and they publicly declare they do not have confidence in the government. But they also say they don’t want an election. You cannot square that circle.

But the Liberals delivered a surprise — they chose a nuclear response to the Conservatives overreach, saying the motion amounted to a loss of confidence in the government, and therefore would trigger an election. They drew a line in the sand, and they dared opposition parties to cross.

October 28, 2016

There’s no doubt, from a political strategy perspective, that the government outplayed its opponents. But beyond that strategic victory, this brinksmanship isn’t a good look for anyone involved. The government is acting like it has a majority when it doesn’t. The Conservatives wanted to weaponize the committee process for partisan gain. Both were willing to force Canadians to endure an election campaign in a very dangerous time. For that, they should be ashamed.

Thankfully, Singh’s NDP sought middle ground. They proposed a committee that would oversee and investigate all spending and management during the pandemic, including in the WE affair. That is a reasonable mandate for a new committee. We don’t know what the Liberals agreed to in exchange for the NDP’s support against the Conservatives, but don’t be surprised if the end result of this drama fest is something like what the NDP proposed. 

So for now, this melodrama is over. Don’t be surprised when the next game of chicken breaks out, as happened frequently when Stephen Harper’s minority government was challenged repeatedly and dared opposition parties to trigger an election. 

That said, there was ample cynical political gamesmanship on display here. It’s wasn’t pretty. The Liberals and Conservatives should take a long look in the mirror and try to remember what Canadians are dealing with. That’s what matters, not an unnecessary election campaign. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Canada, USA Tagged: 2020-35, Canada, circus, confidence, donkey, drama, election, Elephant, Erin O’Toole, Jagmeet Singh, Justin Trudeau, politics, Punch and Judy, puppet show, USA

Wednesday February 13, 2019

February 20, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 13, 2019

Resignation of ‘very principled’ Jody Wilson-Raybould not a surprise, say former Manitoba grand chiefs

Two former Manitoba grand chiefs are defending Jody Wilson-Raybould as a strong leader following her resignation from cabinet Tuesday morning.

February 9, 2019

“She follows her convictions to the greatest degree. She’s very principled,” said Sheila North, former grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents Manitoba’s northern First Nations.

North worked with Wilson-Raybould on Indigenous files over the years, including missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and said Tuesday she was not surprised by her resignation.

“Her resolve to do the right thing is always on the top of her mind,” said North.

Wilson-Raybould’s resignation as minister of Veterans Affairs and associate minister of National Defence comes in the wake of a Globe and Mail story that alleged pressure was placed on her from the Prime Minister’s Office when she was the federal Justice minister.

Animated version!

The Globe reported she was pressured by the PMO to direct federal prosecutors to make a “deferred prosecution agreement” to avoid taking the Quebec-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin to trial on bribery and fraud charges in connection with contracts in Libya.

At a news conference later in the day Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “surprised and disappointed” with her decision to leave cabinet.

Trudeau denies he or his staff directed Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case. (Source: CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2019-06, cabinet, Canada, confidence, GIF, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Justin Trudeau, press, resignation, rocket

Friday January 18, 2019

January 25, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 18, 2019

Theresa May survives vote, but Britain remains in Brexit deadlock

Theresa May has survived as prime minister after weathering a dramatic no-confidence vote in her government, but was left scrambling to strike a Brexit compromise that could secure the backing of parliament.

In a statement in Downing Street on Wednesday night, the prime minister exhorted politicians from all parties to “put aside self-interest”, and promised to consult with MPs with “the widest possible range of views” in the coming days.

It followed her announcement that she would invite Jeremy Corbyn and other party leaders for immediate talks on how to secure a Brexit deal, something she had declined to do earlier in the day, although Labour later said Corbyn would decline the invitation unless no-deal was taken off the table.

A day after overwhelmingly rejecting her Brexit deal, rebel Conservatives and Democratic Unionist party (DUP) MPs swung behind the prime minister to defeat Labour’s motion of no confidence by 325 votes to 306 – a majority of 19.

In her late-night statement, the prime minister said: “I am disappointed that the leader of the Labour party has not so far chosen to take part – but our door remains open … It will not be an easy task, but MPs know they have a duty to act in the national interest, reach a consensus and get this done.” (Source: The Guardian) 

 

Posted in: International Tagged: 2019-02, Brexit, confidence, Great Britain, referendum, rejection, tea leaves, Theresa May, UK

Friday December 14, 2018

December 21, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 14, 2018

5 Takeaways About Theresa May’s (Sort of) Victory

Prime Minister Theresa May survived a revolt on Wednesday by the hard-line, pro-Brexit parliamentary faction of her Conservative Party.

November 16, 2018

That will give her some time to try to get her plan for leaving the European Union — the same one that spurred the revolt — through Parliament.

But the final tally in the no-confidence vote on Wednesday also showed just how difficult that will be.

To pass legislation, Mrs. May needs the votes of all her party’s lawmakers and more — her government relies on the backing of a small Northern Ireland party. In this ballot, which was restricted to Conservative members of Parliament, 200 lawmakers supported her and 117 voted to eject her from office.

June 22, 2016

More than a third of her own party wanted someone else leading the Brexit process. That was especially sobering because about half of Conservative lawmakers also hold paid government posts of some sort; Mrs. May’s critics were quick to argue that she would have lost handily without the support of this “payroll vote.”

The prime minister bargained away her long-term political future to ensure she would survive the no-confidence vote, promising Conservative lawmakers that she would step down before a general election set for 2022.

A vote against Mrs. May’s leadership was effectively a vote against her agreement on leaving the European Union. (Her government is doing little else at the moment.)

June 24, 2016

European leaders will greet any attempt to rewrite the 585-page, legally binding withdrawal agreement with a resounding no. They refuse to abandon a so-called backstop arrangement that at least temporarily keeps Britain in a customs union with Europe to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which is a member of the European Union.

If Parliament does nothing before March 29, Britain’s relationship with the European Union will rupture overnight. Banking, trade, travel, food, medicines, the fluid border between Ireland and Northern Ireland — all would be thrown into flux. (Source: New York Times) 

 

Posted in: International Tagged: Brexit, confidence, fire, Great Britain, illusion, Theresa May, UK, vote

Tuesday April 30, 2013

April 30, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

Tuesday April 30, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 30, 2013

Tories launching ‘non-confidence’ vote in bid to topple Liberals

Raising pressure on the NDP to help defeat the minority Liberals over the power plant scandal, the Progressive Conservatives charge the government “bought the last election.”

Tory Leader Tim Hudak launched a long-shot bid to topple Premier Kathleen Wynne’s administration on Monday with a non-confidence motion over the cancelled plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

“If this isn’t corruption then tell me what is?” Hudak said, referring to critics’ estimates that the cost to taxpayers could reach $1 billion for axing both plants to save Liberal seats in the 2011 election.

But it’s unlikely the non-confidence motion — first mentioned by the Tories a week ago — will amount to much because it needs approval from all three parties to go to a vote in the legislature.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath branded it a “political game” and Government House leader John Milloy told reporters “the theatrics are getting a little silly.”

Wynne, who will testify Tuesday before a legislative committee investigating the scrapped power plants, said the opposition will have a chance to vote the government down within weeks.

“There is a big confidence opportunity with the budget and we will be bringing the budget down on Thursday. The opposition can express their confidence or not.”

An auditor’s report found the cost to cancel the Mississauga plant was $275 million — 45 per cent more than the $190 million the Liberals claimed. They have put the cost of cancelling Oakville at just $40 million. (Source: Toronto Star)
[slideshow_deploy id=’824′]

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: Andrea Horwath, carnival, confidence, Kathleen Wynne, Minority Government, Ontario, Tim Hudak
1 2 Next »

Click on dates to expand

Please note…

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.

Social Media Connections

Link to our Facebook Page
Link to our Flickr Page
Link to our Pinterest Page
Link to our Twitter Page
Link to our Website Page
  • HOME
  • Sharing
  • The Boutique
  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • Artizans Syndicate
  • Association of Canadian Cartoonists
  • Wes Tyrell
  • Martin Rowson
  • Guy Bado’s Blog
  • You Might be From Hamilton if…
  • MacKay’s Most Viral Cartoon
  • Intellectual Property Thief Donkeys
  • National Newswatch
  • Young Doug Ford

Your one-stop-MacKay-shop…

T-shirts, hoodies, clocks, duvet covers, mugs, stickers, notebooks, smart phone cases and scarfs

Brand New Designs!

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
Follow Graeme's board My Own Cartoon Favourites on Pinterest.

MacKay’s Virtual Gallery

Archives

Copyright © 2016 mackaycartoons.net

Powered by Wordpess and Alpha.

 

Loading Comments...