evolution

Friday September 30, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 30, 2022

King Charles: Will the monarchy move reconciliation forward in Canada?

Earlier this year, at a reception in Canada’s national capital, King Charles – at the time the Prince of Wales – was asked for an apology.

September 20, 2022

The request came from Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who told him that the Crown needs to make amends for the “assimilation and genocide” of indigenous schoolchildren at residential schools run by the Anglican Church – of which Charles is now the head – and for its role in colonisation.

The three-day visit was Charles’s nineteenth official tour in the country, and his last as the Prince of Wales.

Charles did not apologise on the trip, though he spoke of the need to “come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects” of history.

But some are hopeful that the new King’s accession will be the beginning of a more positive relationship between the Crown and indigenous peoples in Canada.

Around the world, Commonwealth nations, including Canada, are grappling with what the role of the monarchy following Queen Elizabeth’s death, and what her son, Charles, should do to make amends for colonialism.

In Canada, the King’s accession comes amid a national conversation about reconciliation with indigenous peoples.

June 1, 2021

It is a conversation that has been building for years, but came to the forefront last summer as First Nations came forward with evidence of the discovery of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools – government-funded institutions established in the 1800s that were part of a former policy to assimilate indigenous children.

For Canada, reconciliation is multi-faceted. In addition to a royal apology, many have called on the Crown to return indigenous artefacts that were removed and taken to Britain, and to play a more active role in honouring historic treaty relationships between the monarchy and indigenous people.

These treaties are constitutionally recognised agreements that define the rights and responsibilities between indigenous groups and federal and provincial governments. Treaties with the Crown date back to the 1700s, and negotiating modern treaties is seen as an important part of reconciliation. 

June 3, 2015

Cree writer and former treaty negotiator Darrel J McLeod argued in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this month that Queen Elizabeth failed to use the resources available to her to make amends for things done in the Crown’s name – from issuing formal apology to the repatriation of indigenous artefacts.

He said he hoped the King will “have the insight and determination to accomplish what his mother wasn’t able to and use whatever time that might remain for the Windsor dynasty’s role in Canada to turn things around”.

Canada was a monarchy even before it was a country. Over 500 years ago, both French and British monarchs presided over colonies in Canada.

The connection between the Crown and indigenous peoples dates back even further, to when Europeans first set foot on the continent. (BBC) 

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 February 4, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 4, 2017

The Johnson Amendment, Which Trump Vows to ‘Destroy,’ Explained

When President Trump told an audience of religious leaders on Thursday that he would ‘destroy’ the Johnson Amendment, he declared his intention to sign a bill that would fundamentally alter a major aspect of the church-state divide that has been a constant in American politics for generations.

But what exactly is the Johnson Amendment?

It is one of the brightest lines in the legal separation between religion and politics. Under the provision, which was made in 1954, tax-exempt entities like churches and charitable organizations are unable to directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate. Specifically, ministers are restricted from endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. If they do, they risk losing their tax-exempt status.

Considered uncontroversial at the time, it was passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. Today, however, many Republicans want to repeal it.

Back when Lyndon B. Johnson was a senator from Texas, he introduced the measure as an amendment to the tax code in 1954. Like many things Johnson did, the goal was to bludgeon a political opponent, in this case a rival in a primary who had the backing of nonprofit groups that were campaigning against him by suggesting he was a communist. Though there was no church involved, according to PolitiFact, churches were covered by the bill as well.

Mr. Trump promised he would work to repeal the Johnson Amendment as part of his extensive outreach efforts to religious conservatives, a group that took a long time to warm to his candidacy. Eliminating the measure has been a goal of the right. Conservatives have argued that it violates the protections of free speech and free exercise that the First Amendment extends to houses of worship. Courts have not agreed.

Speaking of the implications of a repeal last year, Jerry Falwell Jr., the prominent evangelical leader and Trump supporter, said it would “create a huge revolution for conservative Christians and for free speech.” (Source: New York Times) 

(Colourized and adapted from an earlier version)

 

Friday February 24, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday February 24, 2012

Tougher rules expected for older drivers

Ontario’s transportation minister expects drivers with dementia will face tough new rules within the year.

The province’s aging population — with an increase is cognitively impaired drivers — will make road safety a “top priority,” said transportation minister Bob Chiarelli.

“I think we need to accelerate our attention to it,” Chiarelli said in an interview.

“I believe we are doing that and I would be surprised if in the next six months to a year we didn’t initiate some enhancements to it.”

In the wake of a Star series on drivers with cognitive impairment, Chiarelli predicted there will be a “tightening across the board” of the system that allows many seniors with dementia to drive unchecked.

The ministry is considering making the following changes: better training for family doctors on reporting cognitively impaired patients who drive; more rigorous on-road testing of senior drivers; and the introduction of graduated licensing for some seniors who, like teenage drivers, would not be allowed to drive at night or on 400-series highways.

Ontario is one of the last jurisdictions in North America that has not embraced “degraduated licences” for seniors. This would put limits on seniors with diminished eyesight in the dark or nerves that can’t handle highway speeds.

In the interview, Chiarelli said he has heard both good and bad things about that approach but is open to exploring it here. (Source: Toronto Star) 

August 13, 2007


A colourized version of the original drawn July 12, 2002

The Globe and Mail writes in a tongue in cheek editorial today on the death of a cartoon cliche thanks to some recent paleontological findings conflicting with long established theories of evolution. It must be the silly summer season when Canada’s national newspaper opines about anthropology, even more so when it’s suggested cartoonists will lose an over used cliche of a fish evolving through different stages of simian characteristics until it ends up resembling a human.

Will Science eventually destroy every cliche device known to cartoonists? Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Here are a couple of my own evolution cliche cartoons


The above one’s from March 5, 1998


This one’s from December 5, 2001.