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distraction

Thursday April 22, 2021

April 29, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 22, 2021

Government Tall on ideas, short on attention span

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s expansive budget mentions a “pipeline for vaccines,” a “talent pipeline,” an “innovation pipeline,” and a “pipeline of personal protective equipment.” But there is not a single mention of a pipeline that delivers oil or gas.

June 13, 2019

Along with a lack of concern for workers in the oil-and-gas industry, the budget undersells defence priorities. And the Liberal pledge to move toward a national pharmacare program is, to put it charitably, unconvincing.

The budget, in other words, tells us what Liberals do care about, but also what they don’t.

The Liberals’ 2019 election manifesto promised “to take the crucial next steps to implement national universal pharmacare,” while last September’s Throne Speech declared “the government remains committed to a national, universal pharmacare program and will accelerate steps to achieve this system.”

March 6, 2018

But the budget, while repeating its commitment to a national pharmacare program, offers no new funding for it. There is simply the previously announced $500-million to assist provinces in support of those forced to pay extremely high prices for drugs needed to combat rare diseases.

The Liberals could respond that their ambitious new child-care program makes it impossible to move on pharmacare right now. And it would be a fair defence. A national $10-a-day child care program would be a major new commitment and a major federal expense, at $8-billion a year.

December 21, 2016

Before committing to it, however, provincial governments might wish to remember previous programs, especially in health care and housing, in which Ottawa seduced the provinces into joining on an equal shared-cost basis, only to later withdraw funding when some shiny new public policy bauble came along, leaving the provinces holding the fiscal bag.

This budget offers billions to accelerate progress toward a strategy to reach net zero carbon emissions and to help green-tech businesses scale up. There are major tax breaks for companies that invest in green technologies.

But while future tax breaks are promised for industries that deploy carbon-capture technology, the commitment is vague and based on future consultations and legislation. The budget appears determined to ignore the reality that natural resources, and in particular the oil and gas sector, are crucial both to this country’s economic future and to fighting climate change.

November 17, 2015

National defence is another area singled out for neglect. When Mr. Biden met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in February, both leaders committed to modernizing the North American Aerospace Defence Command. But the budget allocates a paltry $50-million a year or so for five years as Canada’s commitment to a modernizing program, a tiny fraction of the many billions of dollars that defence experts estimate it would cost to install the satellites, radar and other technologies needed to detect hypersonic missiles and other new weapons that the Russians and the Chinese possess or are developing.

Whatever happens on the child care front, the budget’s virtual silence on pharmacare suggests that program, like NORAD and oil and gas, is something this government doesn’t plan on spending real time and money on any time soon. (Globe & Mail) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2021-14, Canada, Child care, daycare, distraction, equity, Justin Trudeau, model, pharmacare

Tuesday March 7, 2017

March 6, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 7, 2017

Trump turns to Congress on wiretap claim, Obama camp denies it, FBI disputes it

President Donald Trump turned to Congress on Sunday for help finding evidence to support his unsubstantiated claim that former president Barack Obama had Trump’s telephones tapped during the election. Obama’s intelligence chief said no such action was ever carried out, and a U.S. official said the FBI has asked the Justice Department to dispute the allegation.

Republican leaders of Congress appeared willing to honour the president’s request, but the move has potential risks for the president, particularly if the House and Senate intelligence committees unearth damaging information about Trump, his aides or his associates.

Trump claimed in a series of tweets without evidence Saturday that his predecessor had tried to undermine him by tapping the telephones at Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper where Trump based his campaign and transition operations, and maintains a home.

Obama’s director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said nothing matching Trump’s claims had taken place.

“Absolutely, I can deny it,” said Clapper, who left government when Trump took office in January. Other representatives for the former president also denied Trump’s allegation. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Posted in: USA Tagged: Barack Obama, bugging, distraction, diversion, Donald Trump, Moscow, Russia, ship, sinking, USA, water skiing, wiretap

Saturday October 10, 2015

October 10, 2015 by Graeme MacKay
By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday October 10, 2015 The niqab is a distraction. Voters should focus on real issues An editorial that appeared in the Globe & Mail 10 days ago is as pertinent today as it was when it was first published on October 1. This test of endurance known as the 2015 election campaign has presented Canadians with plenty of serious issues to consider. The economy, for starters. How does a country that benefited from an oil boom maintain jobs and growth when the price of crude oil plummets for an extended period? There are also big fiscal choices: Does Canada need budgets in surplus, or is it wiser to run small deficits and spend more on infrastructure now, when interest rates are at record lows? How about the environment? Should Ottawa have a national plan to substantially reduce carbon emissions, or should it leave the field largely to the provinces? Or foreign policy: Should Canada be bombing the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or should we be focusing on training local troops and delivering humanitarian aid? And what is the right number of Syrian refugees to accept? For the first seven weeks of the 11-week campaign, voters and candidates mostly focused on these and other pertinent issues. But with the Oct. 19 vote now just weeks away, this election is at risk of being overtaken by a single emotional issue that has no tangible bearing on the lives and well-being of Canadians. WeÕre talking about the niqab. The Conservative Party and its leader Stephen Harper want the niqab banned at citizenship ceremonies. The Bloc QuŽbŽcois, desperate for votes, demand the same. Both parties falsely accuse Muslim women who wear the face coverings of Òhiding their identities.Ó Mr. HarperÕs focus on this issue has begun to open up a little daylight between his party and the Liberals and New Democrats, and heÕs pushing it harder than ever. Many believe that a veiled female face goes against Canadian values. In a fr

Saturday October 10, 2015

The niqab is a distraction. Voters should focus on real issues

An editorial that appeared in the Globe & Mail 10 days ago is as pertinent today as it was when it was first published on October 1.

This test of endurance known as the 2015 election campaign has presented Canadians with plenty of serious issues to consider. The economy, for starters. How does a country that benefited from an oil boom maintain jobs and growth when the price of crude oil plummets for an extended period?

There are also big fiscal choices: Does Canada need budgets in surplus, or is it wiser to run small deficits and spend more on infrastructure now, when interest rates are at record lows?

How about the environment? Should Ottawa have a national plan to substantially reduce carbon emissions, or should it leave the field largely to the provinces?

Or foreign policy: Should Canada be bombing the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or should we be focusing on training local troops and delivering humanitarian aid? And what is the right number of Syrian refugees to accept?

For the first seven weeks of the 11-week campaign, voters and candidates mostly focused on these and other pertinent issues. But with the Oct. 19 vote now just weeks away, this election is at risk of being overtaken by a single emotional issue that has no tangible bearing on the lives and well-being of Canadians. We’re talking about the niqab.

The Conservative Party and its leader Stephen Harper want the niqab banned at citizenship ceremonies. The Bloc Québécois, desperate for votes, demand the same. Both parties falsely accuse Muslim women who wear the face coverings of “hiding their identities.” Mr. Harper’s focus on this issue has begun to open up a little daylight between his party and the Liberals and New Democrats, and he’s pushing it harder than ever.

Many believe that a veiled female face goes against Canadian values. In a free society, they are entitled to that belief. But Canada’s religious freedoms mean a woman can wear a niqab in public. This is a non-issue that has no impact whatsoever on the vast majority of the population, yet it risks turning into a deciding factor in the election.

If you support the ban, ask yourself: Have you ever been to a citizenship ceremony? Do you actively follow who is being sworn in as Canadian citizens every week? Had you ever given this a moment’s thought before the Tories and the BQ made it an issue?

Of course not. The niqab is a distraction – a culture war fabricated to take voters’ minds off the real and complex issues in this election. Don’t fall for it. Wearing a veil is one thing – wearing a blindfold is another altogether. (Source: Globe & Mail)


#cdnpoli #elexn42 #elxn2015 pic.twitter.com/bEqvZBis3T

— Christine Spadafora (@christinespad) October 11, 2015

BOOM https://t.co/bVm2sWXSk4 — Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 12, 2015

 

     

Posted by Project Democracy on Monday, October 12, 2015

Lots of discussion on this Reddit thread.

Posted in: Canada Tagged: #elxn42, campaign, Canada, distraction, election, election2015, iceberg, issues, media, Niqab

Click on dates to expand

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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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