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Friday April 17, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 17, 2020

Canada to keep border restrictions with U.S. for long time: Trudeau

Coronavirus cartoons

Canada’s border restrictions with the United States will remain in place “for a significant time” as the two nations fight the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

Washington and Ottawa agreed last month to clamp down on non-essential travel while allowing massive trade flows to continue across their long shared frontier.

“There’s a recognition that as we move forward there will be special thought given to this relationship. But at the same time we know that there is a significant amount of time, still, before we can talk about loosening such restrictions,” Trudeau told a daily briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters the two nations were “doing well” and said, “It will be one of the early borders to be released.”

The two nations’ economies are highly integrated, and allowing trade to continue avoided major problems for the auto sector as well as the transportation of food and medicines.

 



Part of a Politico package featuring Canadian cartoonists

 

Although Trudeau’s government has enjoyed good relations with the Trump administration over the last 18 months, tensions still remain. Last month, Ottawa slammed a U.S. proposal to deploy troops along the border to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, prompting Washington to drop the plan.

A total of 1,048 people in Canada had died from the coronavirus by 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), slightly less than 10% higher than the death toll a day ago, official data posted by the public health agency showed.

The total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus had climbed to 28,899. The respective figures at the same time on Wednesday were 954 deaths and 27,540 positive diagnoses.

Medical officials now expect the death toll to be between 1,200 and 1,620 by April 21, Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer, told a briefing.

She repeated comments she made on Wednesday about being cautiously optimistic the outbreak could be slowing down. (The Province) 


 

“Dear Leader’s latest initiative is to sign an executive order banning all immigration, and we can let the courts sort the legality of that out, but, in the meantime, those outside the US may be looking at it the way Canadian Graeme MacKay views living in a nation with intelligent leadership versus the one that is right across the border.”

Here’s an unauthorized version of the April 17, 2020 cartoon which found its way circulating through social media several months after originally posted. Obviously, it isn’t printable in mainstream media, and essentially puts words into the creator’s mouth which is never appreciated.  Whomever the mystery person is behind the re-adaptation gets a Social Media Jackass designation. Folks, remember, artistic work should never be manipulated, unless permission is granted by the artist.  

Wednesday May 23, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday May 23, 2012

Harper pledges Afghan funds after troops exit in 2014

Canada is pledging $110 million annually to help fund the embattled Afghan National Army after the withdrawal of Canadian soldiers in March 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.

The funding commitment is for three years, starting in 2015 and expiring in 2017, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Harper made the announcement on Monday afternoon at a summit of NATO leaders in Chicago, where U.S. President Barack Obama has been trying to drum up international support for the alliance’s post-combat involvement in Afghanistan.

NATO leaders used the summit to affirm their commitment to ending the deeply unpopular war in 2014 and voiced confidence in the ability of Afghan forces to take the lead for securing their country even sooner.

The alliance leaders formally agreed to a strategy that calls for a gradual exit of foreign combat troops as they held a second and final day of NATO meetings in Chicago, Obama’s hometown.

They declared in a communiqué that while NATO will maintain a significant presence in Afghanistan after 2014, “this will not be a combat mission.”

Harper described Canada’s contribution as generous, saying it was designed to set an example for other nations to follow.

It is estimated that it will cost $4.1 billion a year for Afghanistan to run its security forces once the NATO-led coalition pulls out in 2014. (Source: CBC News)

 

Thursday March 29, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday March 29, 2012

NDP’s Andrea Horwath left as king maker

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has played his hand, tabling a budget he says will steer the province out of deficit. Tim Hudak, the Leader of the Opposition Conservatives, has played his hand, too, insisting his party will vote against it.

That leaves New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath, whose party finished third in the last election, to determine whether the province has another one.

Ms. Horwath was careful not to signal her intentions on Tuesday, saying she was keeping her options open and would seek public input before deciding on how to respond to the budget. But it is with her that Mr. McGuinty’s budget will live or die, and with her that the decision on whether to head back to the polls rests.

The next few days will see a flurry of behind-the-scenes talks between the Liberals and New Democrats as Ms. Horwath attempts to wring concessions that will play to her supporters.

The New Democrats got their way on corporate taxes, with the government agreeing to freeze them until the deficit is eliminated. But they are not at all happy that Mr. McGuinty is taking aim at one of their key constituencies –organized labour – by threatening to impose wage freezes on doctors, teachers and other public-sector workers.

The wage front is where the New Democrats will likely attempt to wrest compromises from the Liberals. Ms. Horwath has pushed for hard caps on compensation for public-sector executives – it was one of her recommendations in her pre-budget letter. (Source: Globe & Mail)