culture

Saturday October 8, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 8, 2022

Even with rising food costs, many Canadians find Thanksgiving meal traditions tough to break

Young Doug Ford: The Series

A recent online Angus Reid survey of 1,244 Canadians that found of those who celebrate Thanksgiving, more than two-thirds will be eating the same food they usually do, even with inflation pushing up the cost of everything from turkey to potatoes. 

Statistics Canada reported on Sept. 20 that inflation is up nearly 11 per cent across all retail food items. One of the main drivers is still supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, complicated by labour shortages. Another factor is Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has driven up commodity prices.

But some traditions are hard to break.

“The majority of Canadians are sticking to traditions. If they plan to host, they probably will have a turkey,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, which had partnered with Angus Reid for the survey. It was conducted in September with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Pandemic Thanksgiving

Still, about about one-quarter of Canadians will make some meal adjustments, the survey found. Sylvain noted that lower-income households, which earn less than $50,000 a year, are almost certainly making changes due to higher food prices.

Charlebois said the per-kilogram price of turkey has increased about 16 per cent from this time last year. Potatoes are 22 per cent more expensive. Bacon, ham and chicken cost about 10 per cent more.

“People may decide to opt for a smaller bird. They may decide to perhaps go for a cheaper protein source like chicken or ham,” he said. “Perhaps people will just go for another side instead of potatoes.”

“They’ll plan ahead and they’ll try to stretch their dollar,” Charlebois said.

At a Winnipeg Food Fair, customer Jerry Brown says he’s still after the traditional bird.

September 29, 2022

“It’s only once a year or twice if you count Christmas. Nice to have a turkey,” he said.

Others are cutting back, like Ciara Maffiola, who said, “I’m not buying a whole turkey. I’m just buying a small turkey breast.”

Food Fair owner Munther Zeid said he’s noticed most people are not spending less, but they are spending differently. For instance, instead of serving a large turkey plus a ham or roast, some are opting for smaller versions of each.

“I’ve never seen increases like this in all my life. I’ve been in this business working with my dad since I was a kid. I basically started part-time in 1983 and I’ve never seen what we’re seeing right now,” he said. (CBC) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

 

Friday October 7, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 7, 2022

Hockey Canada cannot dodge accountability

When it comes to wilful blindness and delusional self-importance, it’s no small accomplishment to leave a committee of politicians — themselves masters in the craft — slack-jawed and speechless.

But Andrea Skinner pulled it off.

The interim chair of Hockey Canada, testifying before a Commons committee on Tuesday, put on a master class of denial, deflection, whataboutism and arrogance.

Skinner suggested the problem of sexual assault was societal, rather than particularly prevalent in hockey.

“Toxic behaviour exists throughout society,” she told MPs via video link, and to crack down on hockey would be “counterproductive.”

She went on to say that the hockey world in this country could not possibly cope with a wholesale housecleaning at Hockey Canada.

February 18, 2022

“I think that will be very impactful in a negative way to our boys and girls who are playing hockey. Will the lights stay on in the rink? I don’t know. We can’t predict that. And to me, that’s not a risk worth taking.”

The defiant performance amounted to chutzpah on stilts, so out of touch with the reality of proceedings that MPs wanted to know if Skinner was perhaps being coached by someone off screen working from a script.

The last year at Hockey Canada has produced enough appalling news that most entities under similar duress would have cleaned house and agreed to whatever terms citizens, stakeholders and government demanded by way of renewal.

First came media reports of an alleged sexual assault following a 2018 gala in London, Ont., involving eight unidentified players — including members of that year’s world junior championship team.

A police investigation resulted in no charges, but a woman — 18 and intoxicated at the time of the alleged assault — later sued Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and unnamed players for more than $3.5 million and reached an out-of-court settlement. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Then came news that Hockey Canada maintained a so-called National Equity Fund to pay for uninsured liabilities, including sexual-abuse claims.

Then, further allegations of sexual assault against players on Canada’s national junior team from 2003 in Halifax.

The federal government has frozen funding and corporate sponsors put a hold on their support, turning this summer’s World Junior Hockey championship in Alberta into the sporting equivalent of a tree falling in a forest with no one there to hear it.

This week, just days before the scheduled committee appearance, more news broke that Hockey Canada actually had a second fund to handle sexual assault claims.

While police continue to investigate the sexual assault allegations, federal Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge quite properly commissioned a full audit of Hockey Canada dating to 2016.

This week, the minister said on CBC News: “We’re witnessing an organization that seems to be more interested in protecting themselves and their jobs than protecting the public, the women and the players in their own organization.”

It goes without saying there must be accountability and consequences for any perpetrators of sexual assault.

There must also be accountability for the governance group that — whether Skinner recognizes it or not — contributed to the toxic culture of entitlement by helping make complaints disappear while allowing transgressors to skate merrily on with their charmed lives.

On Wednesday, Hockey Quebec declared that it had lost confidence in Hockey Canada and will not transfer funds to the national organization. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke for many, saying, “I think it boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels … Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada. Certainly, politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada.”

Skinner need have no fear that the lights will stay on in rinks across Canada. Just as the spotlight on Hockey Canada will keep shining until accountability is delivered. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

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)