culture

Friday May 15, 2020

May 15, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 15, 2020

CFL could lose $100 million if season lost

The CFL commissioner says that a repayable loan would be among the possibilities within the league’s request to the federal government for up to $150 million in financial assistance.

November 21, 2012

“The one point that hasn’t come out so far is that we’ve said to the government we’re prepared to be creative, and consider all options to be on the table, ” Randy Ambrosie told The Spectator on Wednesday morning. “Ultimately, we just want to find a way to get through this crisis together and we’re prepared to talk to the government about anything.”

Tuesday night, Ambrosie told Dan Ralph of The Canadian Press that in the request the league’s accountability to taxpayers would include, “community programs, tourism promotion, the Grey Cup, our digital channels.” But a loan was not specificially mentioned.

August 23, 2014

Those are positive things the CFL already does and Ambrosie did not mention then the prospect of any kind of loan. But, on Wednesday, he said a loan would be among the things that the CFL would be willing to discuss with the federal government.

The CFL financial proposal to the government is three-tiered: $30 million to manage the impact the pandemic has already had on CFL business; further assistance if there’s a shortened regular season; and up to another $120 million should the league have to collapse its entire season.

Ambrosie reiterated Wednesday that if the CFL cannot play at all in 2020 it might imperil the league’s future because the cumulative loss “could be $100-plus million. Those are actual P &L (profit and loss statement) losses.” 

There has been understandable negative reaction to the questionable optics of what appeared to be a straight bailout to a league in which six of the nine teams are privately-owned, including Bob Young’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Ambrosie said he understands that sentiment.

Coronavirus cartoons

“We are not tone-deaf to the realities of all this but we also know that this crisis will end and Canadians will need to get back to things which bring joy and passion to life,” Ambrosie said. “Sports is part of that and the CFL is a really big part. It’s not appropriate to just hope that this crisis passes: somebody famously said that hope is not a plan.

It has long been the opinion in this space that while the CFL must always operate as a sustainable business and league, it is, and has been first and foremost a cultural institution. The failure to grasp that — at various times in the past even some franchise owners themselves have done that — is to misunderstand its role in this country, and the unifying place of the 111-year-old Grey Cup game, which is much older than the formal league itself.

The CFL seems to welcome a broader discussion on whether it is indeed a necessary cultural institution, differentiated from the NHL, NBA and MLB, leagues with headquarters and most of their teams in the U.S. Ambrosie feels its history, consistent local-employment factor, and the historic durability and surging financial impact of the Grey Cup festival arguably separate it from other domestic leagues as well.

“We are so different than every other sports league on the planet,” Ambrosie told The Spectator. “And what we do in our communities really matters. The tone we’ve set for generations and generations has been so consistent with Canadian values. We are more than a sports league.” (Steve Milton – Hamilton Spectator) 

Saturday February 25, 2018

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) 

 

Thursday June 22, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 22, 2017

LCBO extends hours in lead up to Canada Day as possible strike looms

The LCBO is extending hours amid fears of a last call due to a possible work stoppage next week.

March 4, 2015

With 8,000 unionized workers set to hit the bricks on Monday, the provincial alcohol monopoly some Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. starting Thursday.

“Extended store hours across Ontario will help accommodate customer shopping leading up to Canada Day and possible labour disruption,” the LCBO said in a statement Wednesday.

“We continue to bargain with the union’s bargaining committee, with the union in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. Monday,” the Crown agency continued.

“To ensure access to the best product selection and to avoid disappointment, customers should shop in advance of Sunday . . . if possible,” it said.

June 23, 2009

“We remain focused on reaching a fair, sustainable and responsible collective agreement. However, in the event of a labour disruption, we have plans to provide some level of service.”

Details on those strike provisions are not yet known.

In the event that workers are not on strike over the Canada Day long weekend July 1, the LCBO is hoping to keep as many as 450 of its 650 stores open with the longer hours that Sunday.

June 26, 2009

However, all outlets will be closed on the Saturday. They will be open Monday even though that is a statutory holiday.

Employees, 84 per cent of whom are part-time, are seeking greater certainty from the LCBO over scheduling and guarantees about eventually gaining full-time jobs.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is reforming labour laws this fall to protect workers in precarious employment circumstances better, has warned that “it’s a good idea for government to set an example in terms of good labour practice.” (Toronto Star) 

 

Tuesday May 16, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 16, 2017

Cultural appropriation: at its base, it’s all about money

The debate over cultural appropriation is complicated. At one level it is about the legitimacy of telling the stories of others. At base, it is about money.

It became front-page recently when the editor of a little-known literary magazine created a firestorm by daring to support the idea.

“Anyone anywhere should be encouraged to imagine other peoples, other cultures, other identities,” Hal Niedzviecki said in Write, the journal of the Writers’ Union of Canada. He went on to suggest, tongue-in-cheek, that an “appropriation prize” be created for writers who managed to accomplish this task.

For that, he was denounced by his employer and a number of authors. He quickly resigned.

Those living happily outside the hothouse of Canadian literature might be surprised that this is even an issue. By definition, fiction writers write fiction. In that sense, everything is borrowed. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Thursday January 19, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 19, 2017

Kevin O’Leary makes late entry into Conservative leadership race

It’s finally official: Kevin O’Leary is running to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

January 15, 2016

After months of flirting with the idea, he picked the morning after the party’s French-language debate and used a video on his Facebook page to declare his candidacy.

“You know why? I listened to you,” he said in the video posted Wednesday, thanking the “40,000” Canadians he said went to his website and encouraged him to run.

“I’m reaching 1.2 million Canadians a week now on social media,” he said in an interview with CBC News Network’s Suhana Meharchand.

‘Kevin O’Leary has a long record of saying whatever ridiculous thing comes to his mind.’- Lisa Raitt, Conservative leadership candidate

October 25, 2016

“I don’t have a money problem. I don’t have a name recognition problem. I want to do what’s right for the party: sell tens of thousands of memberships and then let them decide … who should carry the torch to Ottawa to perform the exorcism we need in this country in 2019 to rid the country of Justin Trudeau,” he said about Canada’s Liberal prime minister.

“What I’m talking about is beyond Trudeau. His entire caucus is incompetent,” he said, adding that even after last week’s cabinet shuffle, “it’s not working.”

Those wishing to vote for the next Conservative leader on May 27 must purchase a party membership before March 28.

O’Leary, 62, joins the contest months after it started. Three of the 13 other candidates made their candidacies official last spring, and will have been organizing for more than a year by the time the vote is held.

O’Leary’s campaign must catch up in the space of a few months. But his various television programs in Canada and the U.S. have already made him a household name. (Source: CBC News)