France

Tuesday April 17, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 17, 2018

Macron, Trudeau deepen ‘bromance’ in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed their common vision and the strength of their personal friendship as they met in Paris on Monday.

 May 9, 2017

The two young leaders, both progressives in their 40s, exchanged a hug on the steps of the Elysee Palace and spoke warmly of their ties afterwards at a press conference that ended with them leaving the room with their arms across each other’s backs.

Macron and Trudeau see each other as natural allies in a world increasingly shaped by right-wing nationalism which has gathered strength in Europe and the United States, as well as in Russia, Turkey and China.

“We have an extremely close convergence of views,” Macron said during the press conference, which came after a working lunch and talks with Trudeau.

Trudeau, speaking mostly in French, ended his remarks lauding the “friendship” between the two leaders — a contrast with the often difficult relationship he has with his North American neighbour, US President Donald Trump.

“Canada, France and Europe are extremely aligned,” he said.

Talks included trade, the war in Syria and an upcoming summit of G7 countries which will be hosted by Canada in June.

Trudeau and Macron’s first meeting as leaders came in May last year when they were photographed together at a meeting of G7 countries in the dreamy setting of Taormina, a hillside town in Sicily.

It led to widespread commentary about the “bromance” between the two married liberals – as well as jokes online that they looked like they had gone to Sicily for their wedding photographs. (Source: New Straits Times) 

 

 

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Saturday October 21, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 21, 2017

Bill Morneau bristles at questions about personal finances

Finance Minister Bill Morneau dodged questions about his use of numbered companies to hold investments Friday, suggesting he does not have to defend his personal financial choices to journalists.

September 22, 2017

After a week of questions about his own fortune, Morneau showed signs of exasperation during an event in Waterloo, Ont., where he was pitching the government’s “step back” on proposed changes  to the small business tax regime.

Morneau batted away a question about why he held some of his investments in an Alberta company rather than one domiciled in Ontario, where he lives.

“So, is the question why are they numbered companies and they don’t have names?” he said with a shrug.

“Seriously, what I’ve done is expose all my assets to the ethics commissioner. The process we have in our country isn’t that I report to journalists on my personal situation. It’s that I report to the ethics commissioner and I make sure she fully understands my situation so we can get to the recommendations.”

Owning investments in a personal holding company can provide various tax and non-tax benefits. Income in an operating company can face a lower tax rate by using small business deductions, for example.

Morneau said he has now agreed to do more than what the commissioner, Mary Dawson, recommended he do when he took office.

Morneau did not place his considerable holdings in a family company — the publicly traded human resources firm Morneau Shepell — in a blind trust because Dawson had only recommended the creation of an “ethical screen” to ensure he wasn’t making policy decisions to his own financial benefit. The screen was to be administered by Morneau’s chief of staff. (Source: CBC News) 

 

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Tuesday May 9, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 9, 2017

Twitter explodes with hilarious debate over whether Emmanuel Macron or Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau is the ‘sexiest G7 leader’

April 16, 2015

As Emmanuel Macron was elected as the youngest President of France, many were more concerned with debating if he is ‘hotter’ than Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

Twitter was filled with Macron-Trudeau fantasists, many saying their dreams would come true when the liberal-left pair meet in person.

One fan wrote: ‘Liberals really do have the hottest politicians’, while another joked: ‘ Justin Trudeau has called Emmanuel Macron to concede in the race for Sexiest G7 Leader.’

May 11, 2016

The other G7 leaders are Shinzō Abe of Japan, Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, Donald Trump, Theresa May and Angela Merkel.

Another fan joked: ‘Already two Macron vs Trudeau hotness smackdown threads on my timeline. When will the sexual objectification of male politicians end?’

The pro-EU politician Emmanuel Macron, 39, was tonight elected as France’s youngest ever president with a projected landslide of 65.5 per cent.

Macron, 39, beat far-right National Front (FN) candidate Marine

October 23, 2015

Le Pen, 48, in an election that will have widespread repercussions for the future of Europe.

An official preliminary result released at 8pm local time showed Macron received 65.5 per cent of the vote and had earned a clear 31-point victory over Le Pen.

Just 15 minutes after the exit polls were announced, Le Pen conceded and revealed she phoned Macron to ‘congratulate’ him on his election victory.

She had hoped that the surprise election of Donald Trump in America, and the Brexit result in the UK, would favour her hardline opposition to the EU, globalisation and immigration.

But instead it was Macron who was preparing for a victory celebration in front of crowds of supporters outside the Louvre in central Paris. (Source: Daily Mail)

 

Saturday August 27, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday August 27, 2016 The burkini is an option, not oppression, say those opposed to ban Recent attempts in France to ban the burkini have prompted protests and court challenges. Some of those who've defended the body-concealing swimsuit say that while they wouldn't wear one themselves and don't necessarily agree with the religious associations it carries, they will defend women's right to wear what they want. On Friday, the top court in France overturned one town's banÊon the burkini, a ruling that is likely to set a precedent across the country. The decision comes after several Muslim women were ordered to remove the body-covering swimwear on French beaches. Some burkini wearers were also issued fines. Sonu Kilam is the co-founder and designer at East Essence, an online store that sells modern and traditional Islamic clothes. East Essence started to sell burkinis about six years ago, she said, after receiving requests from customers Ñ specifically, Mormon customers Ñ who were looking for modest active wear. "[We] came across the burkini and thought, 'Perfect, it will work for all our customers,'" Kilam told CBC News from Newark, Calif. The company's various burkini options represent about 15 per cent of its sales, she said, and it's not only Muslim women ordering them. Kilam recently got an email from a Canadian woman who wrote, "It's hard for women like me who are 40 or older and don't feel comfortable showing skin to find swimwear in Canada.Ó Other burkini customers include women with skin conditions, Kilam said, and the company recently made a custom burkini for a plus-size woman who wanted something to wear for water aerobics. There have been reports that burkini sales have increased since the controversy started, but Kilam said she hasn't noticed any significant changes. (Source: CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/world/burkini-ban-follow-1.3736922 France, Burkini, Liberty, Equality, be

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday August 27, 2016

The burkini is an option, not oppression, say those opposed to ban

Recent attempts in France to ban the burkini have prompted protests and court challenges.

Some of those who’ve defended the body-concealing swimsuit say that while they wouldn’t wear one themselves and don’t necessarily agree with the religious associations it carries, they will defend women’s right to wear what they want.

On Friday, the top court in France overturned one town’s ban on the burkini, a ruling that is likely to set a precedent across the country.

The decision comes after several Muslim women were ordered to remove the body-covering swimwear on French beaches. Some burkini wearers were also issued fines.

Sonu Kilam is the co-founder and designer at East Essence, an online store that sells modern and traditional Islamic clothes. East Essence started to sell burkinis about six years ago, she said, after receiving requests from customers — specifically, Mormon customers — who were looking for modest active wear.

“[We] came across the burkini and thought, ‘Perfect, it will work for all our customers,'” Kilam told CBC News from Newark, Calif.

The company’s various burkini options represent about 15 per cent of its sales, she said, and it’s not only Muslim women ordering them.

Kilam recently got an email from a Canadian woman who wrote, “It’s hard for women like me who are 40 or older and don’t feel comfortable showing skin to find swimwear in Canada.”

Other burkini customers include women with skin conditions, Kilam said, and the company recently made a custom burkini for a plus-size woman who wanted something to wear for water aerobics.

There have been reports that burkini sales have increased since the controversy started, but Kilam said she hasn’t noticed any significant changes. (Source: CBC News)

 

Thursday November 19, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday November 19, 2015 Fact Check: Will the return of the long-form census save money? The voluntary process actually cost an additional $22 million. Making it mandatory will actually make it less expensive, (and) it will be on budget and on time." -- Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains The Trudeau Liberals, in one of their first acts in government, brought back the long-form census. Bains proclaimed the decision wouldn't cost taxpayers anything more than what is already budgeted for the 2016 census. Indeed, the minister, who oversees Statistics Canada, said taxpayers are likely to save some cash with the return of the mandatory, long-form census. Will Statistics Canada save money with the return of the mandatory questionnaire? Spoiler alert: The Canadian Press Baloney Meter is a dispassionate examination of political statements culminating in a ranking of accuracy on a scale of "no baloney" to "full of baloney" (complete methodology through this link). http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/fact-check-will-the-return-of-the-long-form-census-save-money-1.2654881 This one receives a finding of "a little baloney" -- it is largely accurate about the mandatory census costing less than the voluntary survey, but there are details missing that would help determine the actual savings figure. The government will save money because the mandatory survey is less costly to administer than the voluntary version, experts say. "There are at least a couple of significant reasons why there would be savings" Fellegi said. "I mean, not gobs of money, but savings." The savings start with the number of people hired to help with the census. For the 2016 census, Statistics Canada is hiring 1,400 people for the data centre that processes responses. Statistics Canada needs all those bodies to handle answers and followup with Canadians who don't fill in the form either because they didn't want to, forgot to, or mi

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 19, 2015

Fact Check: Will the return of the long-form census save money?

The voluntary process actually cost an additional $22 million. Making it mandatory will actually make it less expensive, (and) it will be on budget and on time.” — Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains

Thursday, September 19, 2013The Trudeau Liberals, in one of their first acts in government, brought back the long-form census.

Bains proclaimed the decision wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything more than what is already budgeted for the 2016 census. Indeed, the minister, who oversees Statistics Canada, said taxpayers are likely to save some cash with the return of the mandatory, long-form census.

Will Statistics Canada save money with the return of the mandatory questionnaire?

Spoiler alert: The Canadian Press Baloney Meter is a dispassionate examination of political statements culminating in a ranking of accuracy on a scale of “no baloney” to “full of baloney” (complete methodology through this link).

This one receives a finding of “a little baloney” — it is largely accurate about the mandatory census costing less than the voluntary survey, but there are details missing that would help determine the actual savings figure.

The government will save money because the mandatory survey is less costly to administer than the voluntary version, experts say.

“There are at least a couple of significant reasons why there would be savings” Fellegi said. “I mean, not gobs of money, but savings.”

The savings start with the number of people hired to help with the census. For the 2016 census, Statistics Canada is hiring 1,400 people for the data centre that processes responses.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday November 17, 2015 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will "do its part" in the military fight against ISIS, but remains committed to withdrawing warplanes from the mission. During a news conference at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, Trudeau said Friday's attacks in Paris will not prompt the government to reverse course on a plan to pull out Canada's fighter jets. Instead, Canada will step up training of local troops, he said. "I know that Canada will continue to, and be seen to be continuing to, do its part in the fight against this terrorist scourge," he said. The Liberal platform during the campaign for the recent federal election committed to end the combat mission and "refocus" on training local forces in Iraq. Trudeau said that commitment remains, but he has not set a timetable for when Canada will withdraw from the U.S.-led air combat mission. "We made a clear commitment in the campaign to stop the bombing mission by Canadian jets and replace it with a role for Canada that is still a serious military role, but leaned more towards training of local troops to be able to bring the fight directly to ISIL," he said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). "That's the commitment we made very clearly throughout the campaign and we have a mandate to do that." On Sunday, two of Canada's fighter jets were involved in a strike against an ISIS fighting position in Iraq, according to the Department of National Defence. The G20 leaders released a joint statement at the G20 summit, calling the attacks in Paris "an unacceptable affront to all humanity" and reaffirming solidarity in the fight against terrorism as a major priority. The statement says counterterror actions must be part of a comprehensive approach that includes fighting radicalization and recruitment, hampering terrorist movements and preventing terrorists from exploiting the internet. "The direct or ind

Statistics Canada needs all those bodies to handle answers and followup with Canadians who don’t fill in the form either because they didn’t want to, forgot to, or misplaced it. Doug Norris, who spent nearly 30 years at Statistics Canada, said the agency will need fewer bodies with a mandatory survey going to fewer homes.

“Followup is extremely expensive,” Norris said.

The return of the mandatory long-form census is likely to cause some savings over at Statistics Canada. Just how much is tough to say. For that reason, the statement of savings has “a little baloney” — the statement is mostly accurate, but more information would be helpful to determine how much the agency will save.

There could also be wider economic benefits from the return of the long-form census: Better quality data could reduce costs for municipalities and school boards, for instance, when it comes to planning for future growth, said Kevin Milligan, an economist at the University of British Columbia.

And Charles Beach, a retired economics professor at Queen’s University, said that kind of data is worth it even if the 2016 census ends up costing more than the 2011 version. (Source: CTV News)