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Council of the Federation

Wednesday August 27, 2014

August 26, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Wednesday August 27, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 27, 2014

Canada’s premiers running out of excuses for inaction: Hébert

Every summer the country’s premiers converge on some picturesque spot in Canada for their annual gathering.

Last year it was Niagara-on-the-Lake. This year it’s Prince Edward Island. The backdrop changes as do some of the characters but the script, for the most part, remains the same.

Year in and year out the premiers usually find one or more apples of discord with the federal government of the day to chew on.

Some years they are unanimously aggrieved over some action of their federal partner. Last summer it was Ottawa’s labour training scheme.

On other occasions it is perceived federal inaction — as in the case this year of infrastructure spending — that is in their sights.

Over the past decade Stephen Harper’s lack of interest for convening first ministers’ conferences has been a recurring theme.

This is not to say that some of the concerns raised by the premiers are not real.

Their grievances over the initial federal labour training reform were serious enough. The proposition stood to cause more systemic problems than it would have solved. And a united provincial front did go some way to bring the federal government to the table.

But it also seems that when the premiers spend time in the same room they conveniently forget that they are not, as a group, devoid of the power to do more than tear up their shirts in front of the cameras.

(Brian Simpson/Government of Prince Edward Island)

(Brian Simpson/Government of Prince Edward Island)

When repeatedly faced with what they collectively see as a federal leadership vacuum it apparently does not cross their minds to fill it with more than empty words. By all indications, thinking outside the federal-provincial box does not come easily to this generation of premiers.

It is not that they are not equal partners with the federal government in the federation but that they don’t often act like they are.

(Source: Toronto Star)

Fathers of Confederation

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Council of the Federation, editoral cartoon, federalism, Ghiz, Harper Government, Kathleen Wynne, Philippe Couillard, Premiers

Thursday, July 25, 2013

July 25, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

Thursday, July 25, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, July 25, 2013

Women run the show and the biggest provinces with 87 per cent of Canadians

The old boys’ club that once was the Council of the Federation is no more — women now run the show because they rule the biggest provinces.

When Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders gather for their annual conference this week in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., they will make some political history.

An all-male cast in 2007

More than 87 per cent of Canadians are governed by female premiers — in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nunavut.

“It makes it historic and I’m aware of that,” Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne told the Star on Tuesday. “I’d like to think we can do a great job because of who’s sitting around the table,” she said, with a laugh.

“But I don’t have a point of comparison, because when there were 13 men around the table, I wasn’t there. So I can’t really judge the quality of the discussion or the approaches.”

Wynne, as chair of the council, is hosting the meeting that gets under way Wednesday when the premiers gather with First Nations leaders to discuss education and other issues.

“I would hope that we’d find that there is an even increased ability to have a collaborative and frank discussion although I understand that these discussions have always been collegial and they are pretty open,” she said. (Source: The Toronto Star)

Posted in: Lifestyle, Ontario Tagged: balance, Canada, Council of the Federation, First Ministers, gender, Kathleen Wynne, men, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Premiers, spouse, spouses, summit, women

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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.

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