crash

Friday January 10, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 10, 2020

As Iran and US take step back from the brink, Canada grieves

The worst had passed, it seemed, and the United States and Iran no longer appeared poised at the edge of war.

April 13, 2018

“All is well!” President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday night, days after a U.S. drone strike killed Iran’s most powerful general, and Iran, after a barrage of missiles, had signaled it was stepping back from further escalation.

But 27 seconds before Trump’s tweet, commercial flight trackers had lost contact with a Ukrainian International Airlines jet that had just taken off from Tehran’s main airport. On board were 176 people, including 138 passengers on their way to Canada and at least 63 Canadian citizens and 11 Ukrainians. The plane, which never made a mayday call, slammed moments later into the ground.

Everyone on board died. They were students, newlyweds, doctors and parents. The youngest was a 1-year-old girl, Kurdia Molani, who was flying back home with her parents to the Toronto suburb of Ajax.

January 6, 2016

By late Thursday, Western leaders said that Iran had most likely shot down the jetliner with a surface-to-air missile — probably by accident. The loss of so many lives transformed the U.S.-Iran confrontation, which had seemed to conclude with limited bloodshed.

Instead, what had begun with a drone attack on Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s motorcade at the Baghdad airport had suddenly rippled outward until dozens of Iranian-Canadians, dozens of Iranian students studying in Canada, were dead.

“The community is overwhelmed with mourning and sadness,” said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada, counting through the names of the friends he had lost. There was Pedram Mousavi and his wife Mojgan Daneshmand, both of them engineering professors, and their two daughters, Daria and Dorina Mousavi. There was Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and her two daughters, Saba and Sara Saadat. It seemed impossible.

January 8, 2020

Some in Canada quickly blamed Trump for the disaster.

“This is insane. Sickening. Imagine having a family member on that plane,” said Rob Kent, a 42-year-old Toronto resident. “One man, and only one, is responsible for those deaths. And he will never face consequences for them.”

But Parseyan wasn’t so sure.

“It takes two to tango,” he said. “It’s not hard to see the downing as a result of the escalation between the two countries. However, Iran is responsible for its own military defense equipment. While it has the right to defend itself, as it should to protect its own people, it should also have the responsibility with that right to make sure their defensive systems aren’t targeting civilian aircraft.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has at times had a rocky relationship with Trump, was careful not to say the U.S. strike was responsible for what happened. (Associated Press) 

 

Wednesday May 29, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 29, 2019

Doug Ford’s ‘government that listens’ is hearing the polls

Premier Doug Ford wants you to believe that his decision to postpone municipal budget cuts had absolutely nothing to do with successive polls showing a sharp drop in voter support for his party.

October 23, 2008

Ford insists he made his about-face because he heard loudly and clearly from mayors across the province

“They need more time,” he told a news conference Monday. “We’re a government that listens.”

There’s no doubt the mayors’ argument resonated at Queen’s Park, simply because it was rather reasonable: that it was completely unfair for the province to cut municipal funding for 2019 when cities were already part-way through their budgets for the year.

The sustained public-relations offensive from Toronto Mayor John Tory can’t help but have contributed to Ford’s polling numbers. The man who beat Ford in the 2014 mayoral race was also beating Ford in the realm of public opinion over budget 2019.

Tory’s tactics to keep the story alive included distributing leaflets to voters in PC-held ridings, gathering signatures on a petition and holding a news conference at a city-run daycare.

Tory’s conservative credentials as a former PC leader meant that Ford could not dismiss his critique as mere ideology. (CBC) 

Friday September 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday September 9, 2016 Kathleen Wynne prorogues legislature for throneÊspeech Monday Premier Kathleen Wynne is giving her Liberals a mid-mandate reboot with a Monday throne speech aimed at ÒeverydayÓÊconcerns like high electricity bills after a steamy summer.Ê Wynne, who prorogued the Legislature on Thursday, will outline the governmentÕs agenda for the 20 months leading up to theÊspring 2018 election in an address to be read by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell. ÒIÕm looking forward to Monday and the throne speech,Ó a beaming Wynne said as she returned to her office with Secretary ofÊCabinet Steve Orsini, the head of the Ontario public service, after meeting with Dowdeswell. The speech will focus on Òmaking the everyday lives of Ontarians better,Ó Government House leader Yasir Naqvi later told a newsÊconference ÒWe know Ontarians have concerns about things like hydro prices, concerns about cost and everyday living,Ó he added, saying allÊgovernment legislation Ñ including the political fundraising reform bill triggered by aÊStarÊseries Ñ will be reintroduced, in someÊcases with amendments. That means the prohibition on MPPs and candidates attending campaign fundraisers, and the ban on union and corporateÊdonations to political parties will almost certainly take effect in January. Wynne signalled pocketbook issues are top of mind after last weekÕsÊbyelection lossÊof former Liberal stronghold Scarborough-Rouge River to the Progressive Conservatives, who scoffed at her sudden attention to them. ÒApparently Premier Wynne only just learned that Ontario families are struggling to afford their hydro bills,Ó PC Leader PatrickÊBrown Ñ who was not available to take questions Ñ said in a statement calling the Liberals Òold, tired and self-interested.Ó (Source: Toronto Star) Êhttps://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/09/08/wynne-to-prorogue-the-legislature-for-throne-speech-monday.html Ontario, K

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 9, 2016

Kathleen Wynne prorogues legislature for throne speech Monday

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday August 17, 2016 Energy minister, Wynne defend decision to put carbon tax in delivery line on bills Premier Kathleen Wynne is defending the decision to bury the cost of Ontario's cap-and-trade plan in the "delivery" line on natural gas bills. The Ontario Energy Board announced last week that costs related to the Liberals' climate change plan would not appear in a separate line item on consumers' bills for natural gas, which is used to heat most homes in the province. Wynne said Thursday that the government doesn't interfere with decisions made by an arms-length agency like the energy board, which she pointed out consulted the industry and public before issuing its directive on carbon pricing. "My understanding is they talked with local distribution companies, they talked to consumer groups across the province, and as you know, they are an independent body," she said. "They made a decision to configure the bills that way and we don't direct the OEB.Ó Quebec and British Columbia include the cost of carbon pricing as a separate line item on bills. But like Wynne, Energy Minister Glen Thibeault insisted it was the energy board's decision to put the cost of cap and trade in the delivery charge instead of its own line on bills. Thibeault insisted nothing was being hidden, and said the government was being transparent about the cost of cap-and-trade just by talking about the new fee. The minister walked away from reporters without answering when asked if the energy board now sets policy for the Liberal government. The Liberals expect their climate change plan will add about $5 a month to home heating bills and about 4.3 cents a litre to the price of gasoline. Ontario will join an existing cap-and-trade market with California and Quebec next January, mandating pollution limits on companies but allowing them to buy emission credits or sell them to others if they are under their quota. (CTV News)

August 17, 2016

Premier Kathleen Wynne is giving her Liberals a mid-mandate reboot with a Monday throne speech aimed at “everyday” concerns like high electricity bills after a steamy summer.

Wynne, who prorogued the Legislature on Thursday, will outline the government’s agenda for the 20 months leading up to the spring 2018 election in an address to be read by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

“I’m looking forward to Monday and the throne speech,” a beaming Wynne said as she returned to her office with Secretary of Cabinet Steve Orsini, the head of the Ontario public service, after meeting with Dowdeswell.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday August 26, 2016 Ontario Liberals wonÕt ban cash-for-access events OntarioÕs Liberal government has bowed to public and opposition pressure to tighten caps further on political donations, but is still not banning cash-for-access fundraising. Government House Leader Yasir Naqvi on Monday released proposed amendments to Bill 201, the LiberalsÕ campaign-finance reform legislation. TheÊbill is under review by a legislative committee, which has been holding public hearings for the past two months. The changes include a $3,600 limit per donor Ð divided among the central party office, riding associations and individual candidates Ð in a year withÊan election or by-election, or $2,400 in a year without either. Currently, donors can contribute up to $33,250 annually; the original text of the billÊwould have brought that down to $7,750 in a year with an election or by-election. But the Liberals opted not to make cash-for-access illegal, allowing the controversial fundraising practice that started the furor over campaign financeÊto continue. Instead of a legislated ban, Mr. NaqviÕs office said he will consult the opposition parties on a code of conduct for MPPs that would offerÊguidelines for raising money from stakeholders. The government turned down an interview request for Mr. Naqvi. His spokesman, Kyle Richardson, refused to answer questions directly on why theÊLiberals are not prohibiting cash-for-access. ÒGovernment amendments are based on the feedback heard at public hearings held across Ontario. We are committed to working with theÊopposition,Ó Mr. Richardson wrote in an e-mail. Under the cash-for-access system, revealed by The Globe and Mail this spring, corporations, unions and wealthy individuals paid up to $10,000 forÊaccess to Premier Kathleen Wynne and members of her cabinet, typically over cocktails and dinner. At most events, corporate and union leaders in aÊgiven sector Ð including const

August 26, 2016

The speech will focus on “making the everyday lives of Ontarians better,” Government House leader Yasir Naqvi later told a news conference

“We know Ontarians have concerns about things like hydro prices, concerns about cost and everyday living,” he added, saying all government legislation — including the political fundraising reform bill triggered by a Star series — will be reintroduced, in some cases with amendments.

That means the prohibition on MPPs and candidates attending campaign fundraisers, and the ban on union and corporate donations to political parties will almost certainly take effect in January.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday June 23, 2016 Wynne hits new ratings low, poll finds ItÕs tough to find a politician more unpopular than Kathleen Wynne. Donald Trump? Maybe here in Ontario, but not in his own backyard. Hillary Clinton? Like Trump, the Democratic contender for the U.S. presidency is one of the least popular candidates for the job in decades. But sheÕs still a rock star compared to OntarioÕs premier. WynneÕs personal popularity has hit an all-time low, according to a new Forum Research poll obtained exclusively by the Toronto Sun. Her approval rating, once as high as 40%, now sits at 18%. ItÕs the lowest Forum has ever measured for an Ontario Liberal premier since it began polling in 2001. In fact, if a provincial election was held tomorrow, Patrick BrownÕs Progressive Conservative Party would capture a minority government, according to a the survey. ÒThere is no question the Progressive Conservatives would win an election held tomorrow, but it appears they wouldnÕt be able to seal the deal with a majority,Ó Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said. ÒPatrick Brown needs to become more of a familiar face to Ontarians before that happensÓ The Forum survey projects the Tories would take a 51-seat minority, three seats short of the 54 needed for a majority government in OntarioÕs 107-seat legislature. The Liberals would take 36 seats while the NDP would capture 20. And while WynneÕs personal popularity is low, BrownÕs approval doesnÕt sit much higher, at 22%, the poll says. Over half of respondents, 53%, said they didnÕt know enough about Brown to have an opinion of him. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath remains the most popular of the three main party leaders, with a 33% approval rating.(Source: Toronto Sun)Êhttp://www.torontosun.com/2016/06/22/wynne-hits-new-ratings-low-poll-finds Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, poll, support, popularity, Liberal, pollster

June 23, 2016

Wynne signalled pocketbook issues are top of mind after last week’s byelection loss of former Liberal stronghold Scarborough-Rouge River to the Progressive Conservatives, who scoffed at her sudden attention to them.

“Apparently Premier Wynne only just learned that Ontario families are struggling to afford their hydro bills,” PC Leader Patrick Brown — who was not available to take questions — said in a statement calling the Liberals “old, tired and self-interested.” (Source: Toronto Star)