Editorial Cartoons

Wednesday October 12, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday October 12, 2016 Wednesday August 12, 2016 The GOP civil war is finally here. And Trump is winning With the release of the 2005 "Access of Hollywood" tapeÊand Donald Trump's subsequent drop in the polls, many already reluctant Republicans are now running for cover from him and his campaign. House Speaker Paul RyanÊand Senator John McCainÊare the most prominent among them, and Trump has responded by calling them out individually on his Twitter feed. The GOP civil warÊso close to erupting so many times during the course of the Trump campaign is finally here. All because of a new drop in the polls that may or may not last very long. There may be no winners in the end of this intramural battle, but the only one who can win is Trump. And that's why Trump should not just continue to play up this growing rift with the establishment, he should play it up as much as possible. Think about it: If Trump loses the election, Republican leaders hoping to avoid the worst effects of being associated with his controversial persona won't be spared much. The Trump supporters will never forgive them and the news media and the Left will never given them any credit for "doing the right thing" anyway. It's a form of Stockholm syndrome to not only start to like your captors, but look for reasons to blame the captivity on your fellow hostages. This is a no-win scenario if there ever was one for the GOP establishment powers. Democracy can be ugly. And what Republicans like McCain and Ryan have had so much trouble accepting is that the voters in the primaries flocked to Trump. It doesn't matter if Trump deserved it or not. It doesn't matter if he had the best chances to win the general election. If a political party works to undermine what its voters want, it is dead. Trump's campaign is thus still alive while we watch the GOP commit a form of suicide as it fears national polls and the news media more than its own vo

October 12, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 12, 2016

The GOP civil war is finally here. And Trump is winning

With the release of the 2005 “Access of Hollywood” tape and Donald Trump’s subsequent drop in the polls, many already reluctant Republicans are now running for cover from him and his campaign.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain are the most prominent among them, and Trump has responded by calling them out individually on his Twitter feed. The GOP civil war so close to erupting so many times during the course of the Trump campaign is finally here. All because of a new drop in the polls that may or may not last very long.

There may be no winners in the end of this intramural battle, but the only one who can win is Trump. And that’s why Trump should not just continue to play up this growing rift with the establishment, he should play it up as much as possible.

Think about it: If Trump loses the election, Republican leaders hoping to avoid the worst effects of being associated with his controversial persona won’t be spared much. The Trump supporters will never forgive them and the news media and the Left will never given them any credit for “doing the right thing” anyway. It’s a form of Stockholm syndrome to not only start to like your captors, but look for reasons to blame the captivity on your fellow hostages. This is a no-win scenario if there ever was one for the GOP establishment powers.

Democracy can be ugly. And what Republicans like McCain and Ryan have had so much trouble accepting is that the voters in the primaries flocked to Trump. It doesn’t matter if Trump deserved it or not. It doesn’t matter if he had the best chances to win the general election. If a political party works to undermine what its voters want, it is dead. Trump’s campaign is thus still alive while we watch the GOP commit a form of suicide as it fears national polls and the news media more than its own voters. This is what losers do — when the going gets tough and chips are down, they turn on each other. (Continued: CNBC)

 

Thursday September 8, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday September 8, 2016 Children and Youth Services Minister Michael Coteau is urging city council to end Hamilton's bylaw ban on road hockey. "Road hockey bans are commonplace in municipalities across Ontario, but they don't need to be," the minister wrote in a Sept. 6 letter to council that notes Toronto and Kingston have already bucked the municipal trend. "I am hoping that your council will be next. A vote to overturn the prohibition and let kids play will challenge other municipalities to abolish similar road hockey bans in their own communities.Ó Coteau made headlines in July when he publicly urged Toronto's council to end its own street hockey ban. Council did so over the objections of its own legal staff, but proposed conditions limiting game time to daylight hours and on streets with slow traffic speeds. The move prompted Coun. Sam Merulla Ñ who fought unsuccessfully to kill Hamilton's bylaw as far back as 2002 Ñ to ask city legal staff to revisit the local ban. A report is expected later this year. Merulla said he spoke to Coteau about the value of street hockey in the summer and was "heartened" by the minister's enthusiasm. But he added the province could help by adding language to the Highway Traffic Act that would head off municipal concerns about liability. "With a stroke of a pen, they could help all municipalities feel more comfortable overnight," he said. Municipal lawyers in several cities, including Hamilton, have in the past suggested the strict language in the Highway Traffic Act doesn't provide the legal leeway needed for cities to allow sports in the street. In any event, Hamilton would only enforce its street hockey ban in response to a complaint. But municipal lawyers have argued the rule helps protect the city from lawsuits in the event of an injury. Coteau said in a brief interview he hasn't heard from municipal leaders other than Merulla that provincial rules of th

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 8, 2016

Children and Youth Services Minister Michael Coteau is urging city council to end Hamilton’s bylaw ban on road hockey.

“Road hockey bans are commonplace in municipalities across Ontario, but they don’t need to be,” the minister wrote in a Sept. 6 letter to council that notes Toronto and Kingston have already bucked the municipal trend.

“I am hoping that your council will be next. A vote to overturn the prohibition and let kids play will challenge other municipalities to abolish similar road hockey bans in their own communities.”

Coteau made headlines in July when he publicly urged Toronto’s council to end its own street hockey ban. Council did so over the objections of its own legal staff, but proposed conditions limiting game time to daylight hours and on streets with slow traffic speeds.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday, January 5, 2002 Road hockey: A proud Canadian sporting tradition or a dangerous nuisance? A Hamilton court will weigh in Monday on a father's fate after he played hockey with his kids on their street, infuriating a neighbour while breaking a bylaw that divides neighbourhoods nationwide. "The bylaw says we stay off the street," said Nadia Ciuriak, whose garden has been invaded by countless stray hockey balls from Gary Kotar's kids over the years. "If people want street hockey, the proper way of dealing with that is to go to city council and insist that the bylaw gets removed.Ó While Kotar's kids haven't caused any damage to their neighbour's property, it's the principle of breaking the bylaw and trespassing to retrieve errant balls that bothers Ciuriak. "Initially I retrieved the balls from my garden, but then I decided I had other things to do, and I didn't want them going into my garden," said Ciuriak, who has lived with her mother and sister at the house for 40 years. Ciuriak also objects to the behaviour of some of the players on her street. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Canada, Ontario, Hamilton, sport, hockey, play, road, road hockey, youth, exercise

January 5, 2002

The move prompted Coun. Sam Merulla — who fought unsuccessfully to kill Hamilton’s bylaw as far back as 2002 — to ask city legal staff to revisit the local ban. A report is expected later this year.

Merulla said he spoke to Coteau about the value of street hockey in the summer and was “heartened” by the minister’s enthusiasm.

But he added the province could help by adding language to the Highway Traffic Act that would head off municipal concerns about liability.

“With a stroke of a pen, they could help all municipalities feel more comfortable overnight,” he said.

Municipal lawyers in several cities, including Hamilton, have in the past suggested the strict language in the Highway Traffic Act doesn’t provide the legal leeway needed for cities to allow sports in the street.

In any event, Hamilton would only enforce its street hockey ban in response to a complaint. But municipal lawyers have argued the rule helps protect the city from lawsuits in the event of an injury.

Coteau said in a brief interview he hasn’t heard from municipal leaders other than Merulla that provincial rules of the road are an impediment to changing local bylaws.

“If (the act) is a barrier … I’d love to have a conversation about it,” he said.

But the minister added, while he is keen to advocate for a “common sense approach,” he isn’t intending to enforce rule changes on any city. “Local policy-makers … have to make those decisions on behalf of the people they represent.”  (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

 

Tuesday May 3, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday May 3, 2016 Mike Duffy makes quiet return to Parliament Hill Mike Duffy returned to Parliament Hill on Monday, a little more than a week after a court dismissed all of the 31 charges against him related to his Senate expenses. The P.E.I. senator casually strolled past waiting reporters without saying anything, and entered Centre Block through the front doors that lead to the Senate chamber. He was similarly silent when he later came upon reporters outside his third-floor office. The Senate is not sitting Monday, but Duffy could return to the Upper Chamber when business resumes on Tuesday. He has not appeared in the Senate since 2013, when he addressed the controversy around his expenses shortly before senators voted to suspend him without pay. That suspension ended with last year's election call. And with last month's verdict, Duffy was cleared to return to the job to which he was appointed in 2008. Senior Conservative senators have already said that they will fight any effort by Duffy to collect that back pay saying the suspension process was separate from the criminal trial proceedings. "There is no appetite among senators to revisit this. It brings back some very tumultuous times," Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, chair of the internal economy committee, told CBC News last week. Claude Carignan, the leader of the Conservative opposition in the Senate, added Monday that he is staunchly opposed to cutting a cheque to Duffy. "I completely disagree with [back pay for Duffy]. If he asks for that I will disapprove because that was in fact a completely different situation. He was suspended on a disciplinary sanction for negligence in the management of his office. His criminal charges were something completely different," he said. James Cowan, the leader of the Senate Liberals, added that it would be up to Duffy to make his case to fellow senators. "Any senator is entitled to bring anything

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 3, 2016

Mike Duffy makes quiet return to Parliament Hill

Mike Duffy returned to Parliament Hill on Monday, a little more than a week after a court dismissed all of the 31 charges against him related to his Senate expenses.

The P.E.I. senator casually strolled past waiting reporters without saying anything, and entered Centre Block through the front doors that lead to the Senate chamber. He was similarly silent when he later came upon reporters outside his third-floor office.

The Senate is not sitting Monday, but Duffy could return to the Upper Chamber when business resumes on Tuesday. He has not appeared in the Senate since 2013, when he addressed the controversy around his expenses shortly before senators voted to suspend him without pay.

That suspension ended with last year’s election call. And with last month’s verdict, Duffy was cleared to return to the job to which he was appointed in 2008.

Senior Conservative senators have already said that they will fight any effort by Duffy to collect that back pay saying the suspension process was separate from the criminal trial proceedings.

“There is no appetite among senators to revisit this. It brings back some very tumultuous times,” Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, chair of the internal economy committee, told CBC News last week.

Claude Carignan, the leader of the Conservative opposition in the Senate, added Monday that he is staunchly opposed to cutting a cheque to Duffy.

“I completely disagree with [back pay for Duffy]. If he asks for that I will disapprove because that was in fact a completely different situation. He was suspended on a disciplinary sanction for negligence in the management of his office. His criminal charges were something completely different,” he said.

James Cowan, the leader of the Senate Liberals, added that it would be up to Duffy to make his case to fellow senators.

“Any senator is entitled to bring anything before the Senate,” Cowan said outside the chamber. “I think the proper thing is to let Senator Duffy come back and make his own decision about how he should behave and deal with that situation, and then we’ll deal with it. But it’s not up to us, it’s up to him.” (Source: CBC News)

Monday, January 21, 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, January 21, 2013

The demonizing and destabilization of Shawn Atleo

As he rode to a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper last Friday, Shawn Atleo’s Blackberry buzzed.

“Since you have decided to betray me, all I ask of you now is to help carry my cold dead body off this island,’’ the text message said.

It was sent in the name of Chief Theresa Spence, but those who saw the text believe it came from someone else in her circle on Victoria Island.

But they were certain about one thing — the timing, moments before he went into one of the most important meetings of his life, was meant to destabilize the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations and undermine his efforts at a meeting which many in his organization fiercely opposed.

The missive distilled two vicious strains coursing through the internal fighting at the AFN — the threats and intimidation under which its leadership is functioning, and the growing sense from some that the Attawapiskat chief, now entering day 38 of a liquid diet with the temperature dipping to -27C here, is being used as a pawn in an internal political struggle.

To attend last week’s meeting Atleo already had to leave his Ottawa office from a back door to get out of a building with angry chiefs trying to blockade him inside.

He would have to enter the Langevin Block for the meeting through a back door for the same reason.

There have been no shortage of charges, countercharges and denials within the organization over the past weeks and the truth in this saga is often elusive. (Source: Toronto Star)