David Cameron

Wednesday May 25, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday May 25, 2016 Trudeau to take day off during Japan trip to celebrate weddingÊanniversary Justin Trudeau's trip to Japan for bilateral talks and the Group of Seven summit will be about more than just business. The prime minister isn't planning to hold any meetings or events Wednesday, so he can celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with his wife Sophie GrŽgoire Trudeau. The couple will spend the night at a traditional Japanese inn Ñ or ryokan Ñ before Trudeau heads to the G7 summit on Thursday in the country's Ise-Shima region. "The fact of the matter is we've been working extremely hard today and will be at the G7 meetings on Thursday and Friday, and in the middle of all this, I'm taking a moment to celebrate Ñ on personal funds Ñ my wedding anniversary with myÊwife," Trudeau said of the down time when asked during a news conference whether it would cost taxpayers anything, including the potential financial burden of idle staffers. "This is the kind of work-life balance that I've often talked about as being essential in order to be able to be in service of the country with all one's very best and that's certainly something I'm going to continue to make sure we do." GrŽgoire Trudeau accompanied the prime minister Tuesday in Tokyo during visits to the Meiji Shrine and with the Japanese emperor and empress at the Imperial Palace. She also joined him Tuesday evening for dinner with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trudeau held working meetings earlier in the day with Abe andÊexecutives from the Japanese auto sector. (Source: CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-japan-sophie-gregoire-wedding-anniversary-1.3597363 Canada, summit, G7, Justin Trudeau, Japan, David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Honeymoon

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 25, 2016

Trudeau to take day off during Japan trip to celebrate wedding anniversary

Justin Trudeau’s trip to Japan for bilateral talks and the Group of Seven summit will be about more than just business.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday December 3, 2015 Trudeau children's nannies being paid for by taxpayers Canadian taxpayers are paying the wages of two nannies hired to care for the children of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie GrŽgoire-Trudeau, according to cabinet orders posted online. The hirings were approved late last week, with cabinet authorizing the appointment of the two women under the Official Residences Act as "special assistants at the prime minister's residence." They will be paid between $15 and $20 an hour during the day and $11 to $13 an hour for night shifts effective Nov. 4 Ñ the day Trudeau and his cabinet were sworn in. The disclosure comes after an election campaign where Trudeau repeatedly attacked the Conservatives' enhanced universal child care benefit, or UCCB, and income splitting for families, arguing rich families like his and former prime minister Stephen Harper's didn't need taxpayers' help. "In these times, Mr. Harper's top priority is to give wealthy families like his and mine $2,000," Trudeau said in reference to the Conservatives' income-splitting tax credit. "Let me tell you something: We don't need it. And Canada can't afford it." Trudeau is also entitled to collect annual UCCB payments of about $3,400 for his three children. He promised to give the money to charity. One of the women hired was with the Trudeaus this past week on the prime minister's foreign trip that wrapped up Monday at the UN climate change conference in Paris. She posted photos online of the couple's two children who came on the trip. There were also shots of her with the Trudeaus' youngest child on Facebook visiting museums and at the hotel where they stayed in Paris. The prime minister's director of communications, Kate Purchase, said in an email that the two women who have been hired are doing more than childcare. "Like all families of prime ministers, a small number of staff provide assi

December 3, 2015

The prime minister isn’t planning to hold any meetings or events Wednesday, so he can celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

The couple will spend the night at a traditional Japanese inn — or ryokan — before Trudeau heads to the G7 summit on Thursday in the country’s Ise-Shima region.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve been working extremely hard today and will be at the G7 meetings on Thursday and Friday, and in the middle of all this, I’m taking a moment to celebrate — on personal funds — my wedding anniversary with my wife,” Trudeau said of the down time when asked during a news conference whether it would cost taxpayers anything, including the potential financial burden of idle staffers.

Monday November 17, 2014“This is the kind of work-life balance that I’ve often talked about as being essential in order to be able to be in service of the country with all one’s very best and that’s certainly something I’m going to continue to make sure we do.”

Grégoire Trudeau accompanied the prime minister Tuesday in Tokyo during visits to the Meiji Shrine and with the Japanese emperor and empress at the Imperial Palace.

She also joined him Tuesday evening for dinner with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trudeau held working meetings earlier in the day with Abe and executives from the Japanese auto sector. (Source: CBC News)

 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Monday November 17, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, November 17, 2014

Stephen Harper at G20 tells Vladimir Putin to ‘get out of Ukraine’

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has earned some love from the Australian media for his dustup with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the first day of the Group of 20 summit.

All-news networks and Australia’s Sunday Mail reported on the prime minister’s bold admonishment to Putin to “get out of Ukraine” at a private leaders’ retreat ahead of the official opening of the summit earlier this weekend.

“Handshake came with a slapdown for Russian leader,” read the headline of the Sunday Mail piece. It featured a photo of a beaver chomping on the Russian flag.

Australia’s Business Insider also reported that Harper showed Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott “how to shirtfront the Russian president.” Shirtfront is an Australian expression for smack down.

Harper’s spokesman, Jason MacDonald, said the prime minister was speaking to a group of G20 leaders at the retreat when Putin approached and extended his hand.

MacDonald said Harper told Putin: “I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine.”

According to MacDonald, Putin did not respond positively. He didn’t provide further details. (Source: CBC News)

SOCIAL MEDIA

This cartoon was posted at iPolitics.


 

 

Saturday September 27, 2014

Saturday September 27, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 27, 2014

Stephen Harper more open with Americans, UN than with Parliament

Stephen Harper made an important announcement Wednesday about Canada’s willingness to do more in the battle to stop Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

You might have missed it, though, because the prime minister let it slip during a question and answer session before a business audience in New York City.

Wednesday September 3, 2014Harper told an interviewer that Canada will consider stepping up its contribution to the US-led effort to stop ISIS, apparently at the direct request of the Obama administration.

“The United States just recently, in the past couple of days, has asked for some additional contribution,” Harper said, before deflecting questions about what kind of support was being sought.

“Since they didn’t release the letter publicly I’m not going to do that,” he went on.  “I’ll just say the government of Canada will make a decision on that very shortly.”

Canadian government sources indicated later that the request is “not for combat” troops. So as information goes, it’s a shred.

Saturday September 13, 2014But it’s more detail than what the Conservatives have shared in the Commons, where opposition parties can barely get the government to divulge anything about the role Canadian Forces personnel already are playing in northern Iraq, or even how long those soldiers might stay.

Harper also didn’t mention the U.S. request at a news conference on Monday, when a reporter asked what concrete action Canada would take in response to new threats from ISIS to target Canadians.

Stephen Harper Crusader King Stephen Harper Crusader KingNow, this isn’t the first time Harper chose to announce significant government policy overseas. Canadians first learned of the plans to make them wait longer to collect Old Age Security from a speech the PM gave in Davos, Switzerland in 2012.

When it comes to an audience, Harper obviously prefers barons of business to members of Parliament. (Continued: CBC News)

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

 

Post by Enough Harper.

Tuesday March 25, 2014

Tuesday March 25, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 25, 2014

G7 leaders agree to abandon Sochi summit, will hold June meeting in Brussels

G7 Leaders agreed Monday to hold their own summit in Brussels, abandoning plans for a scheduled G8 summit with Russia in Sochi amid political turmoil in Ukraine.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014In a joint statement, Western nations and Japan said it will “suspend” its participation in the G8 until Russia “changes course,” and that they will meet in G7 “format” for the summit in Brussels.

The decision comes as G7 leaders held an emergency session in The Hague to discuss what to do about Russia in light of the ongoing crisis in eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his G7 counterparts to expel Russian President Vladimir Putin from the G8 due Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea and its aggression toward Ukraine.

Tuesday June 18, 2013Earlier, Harper said discussions on Russia will have to be made a priority over economic concerns.

Harper and his fellow G7 leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, gathered at the official residence of the Dutch Prime Minister.

A Russia-European summit that was scheduled for June 3 in Sochi was previously cancelled. (Source: CTV News)

CONTEXT – U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, West Germany, June 12, 1987:

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Graeme MacKayBy Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Online porn: David Cameron declares war

The Prime Minister is to outline plans for every UK internet user to be asked whether they want access to pornography.

Every internet user in the country will be asked whether they want to have access to pornography, David Cameron will say, as he warns that hardcore images are “corroding childhood”.

A joint British and American “task force” will be created to tackle obscene websites, while Google and other search engine providers will be required to draw up a “blacklist” of the most depraved and illegal search terms, the Prime Minister will announce.

The initiatives will also include new measures to stop children accidentally stumbling across explicit but legal pornographic images in public places, according to well-placed sources. The six biggest companies providing access to wireless internet in cafés and railway stations have all signed a deal to block legal pornography where children could view it. The roll-out of “family friendly Wi-Fi” is expected to begin from the end of August.

The moves follow concern that hardcore and violent images are damaging children’s lives while access to illegal child pornography has been linked to high profile crimes.

Mark Bridger, who was convicted of murdering five-year-old April Jones, and Stuart Hazell, who murdered Tia Sharp, 12, were both found to have viewed child pornography online. Children’s watchdogs have also found that boys’ attitudes to women and girls were in danger of being shaped by their easy access to pornography online. (Source: The Telegraph)