freedom

Friday June 26, 2015

Friday June 26, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 26, 2015

The Kathleen Wynne documentary that no one is allowed to see

The Toronto Star is lifting the veil on the political drama that no one is allowed to see.

It is a one-hour documentary ‎entitled, Premier: The Unscripted Kathleen Wynne‎, that was supposed to air on TVOntario earlier this month — before it was yanked.

The fly-on-the-wall account depicts Wynne under siege during February’s Sudbury byelection scandal, lashing out at the press for being “out to get” her, and discussing the toll of being Canada’s second most powerful leader.

Wynne complains the media “just seem obsessed” with the story.

“That’s what makes me so mad,” she fumes.

[slideshow_deploy id=’4298’]

She also dispenses campaign advice to a wide-eyed federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and, with help from spouse Jane Rounthwaite, artfully smacks down a Progressive Conservative MPP for homophobic comments.

Indeed, some of the film’s most illuminating moments are of Wynne and Rounthwaite in their Toronto home.

Their marriage is one of loving, equal partners who share a puckish sense of humour, a passion for politics, and a quaint affinity for the 1950s sit-com I Love Lucy.

But the behind-the-scenes portrait — filmed as the Liberals crafted the budget while coping with a police investigation into allegations a former candidate was bribed not to run in the Sudbury byelection — may never be broadcast.

That’s because the premier and her officials won’t sign release forms, the director and editor quit the project in protest in May, and TVO is demanding a refund on its $114,075 investment from the executive producer.

The Star viewed a copy of the film complete with titles and moody background music. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)


The Art of the Possible by Peter Raymont, National Film Board of Canada

 

Friday March 13, 2015

Friday March 13, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 13, 2015

Niqab debate important for Canadians, religious freedoms, ambassador says

Canada’s ambassador for religious freedoms says he thinks it’s important that Canadians are having a debate about the place of the niqab in society.

Andrew Bennett says his office doesn’t get involved in domestic political issues; its mandate is to advocate for religious freedoms abroad.

But Bennett says he’s aware how fraught the issue of the niqab can be and that it’s important for Canadians to have a say.

The Conservative government’s decision to appeal a Federal Court ruling allowing a woman to have her face covered by a niqab while reciting the oath of citizenship has sparked a heated debate about religious rights in Canada.

The government argues Canadian values are at stake while the opposition says to ban the niqab goes against those very same values.

Bennett says he thinks the fact that Parliament is having what he calls a robust debate on the subject is wonderful and proof Canadian institutions are functioning.

Wednesday March 11, 2015Bennett spoke to The Canadian Press on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference on religious freedoms in Ottawa. That same day, federal Conservatives were scrambling to clarify that their aversion to Muslim women wearing the niqab applies strictly to citizenship ceremonies.

But they struggled to explain why wearing the face-covering veil is no big deal in other spheres of life, including the federal public service, if — as Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintains — it’s contrary to Canadian values and “rooted in a culture that is anti-women.”

“That is what the prime minister said and that is a point of view that one can hold,” said Treasury Board President Tony Clement, who is responsible for federal civil service. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Social Media

Posted (with much negative reaction) at Yahoo News Canada.

 

 

 

Friday January 9 2015

Friday January 9 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, the Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 9 2015

Bill Cosby urges fans “to remain calm” if Ontario shows disrupted

Embattled comedian Bill Cosby is worried about protesters disrupting the three shows he has scheduled in Ontario this week as his international tour rolls on despite growing allegations of sexual assault.

Cosby issued a statement Tuesday urging people who attend his performances to remain calm if a show is interrupted and to “not confront the person making the disruption.”

The 77-year-old comedian is set to perform in Kitchener on Wednesday night, London on Thursday and Hamilton on Friday.

In Hamilton, protests are planned Friday at Hamilton Place. The Women’s Abuse Working Group says they will organize a “peaceful gathering”outside the theatre.

Claus Wagner, acting media relations officer for Hamilton Police, said officers will be keeping an eye on the protest to ensure everything goes smoothly. He couldn’t say yet how many officers may be needed.

He said charges will be laid if necessary but more likely protesters will be moved away to calm down if things get a little heated.

“We always allow people to protest peacefully,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Premier Kathleen Wynne said she would not attend any of Cosby’s shows in Ontario because of the “very serious” allegations of sexual assault the comedian is facing.

Wynne says she would not go to any of his performances until the allegations against Cosby have been sorted out.

Since November, at least 15 women have come forward with claims Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago — with some saying he drugged them before he assaulted them.

Cosby, who starred as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992, has never been criminally charged in connection with any of the allegations, and through his lawyer he has denied them.

At least 10 shows on Cosby’s current tour were cancelled or postponed because of the scandal, but his appearances in the three Ontario cities will proceed, despite local opposition. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Friday, August 2, 2013

Friday, August 2, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, August 2, 2013

Russia grants Snowden temporary asylum, angering Washington

Brushing aside pleas and warnings from President Barack Obama and other senior American officials, Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum and allowed him to walk free out of a Moscow airport transit zone on Thursday, ending his legal limbo there after more than five weeks.

Mr. Snowden thanked Russia in a statement issued by WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that has been assisting him. He accused the United States of disregarding the law in its global manhunt to arrest him and said that “in the end, the law is winning.”

Russia’s decision, which infuriated U.S. officials, significantly alters the legal status of Mr. Snowden, the former intelligence analyst wanted by the United States for leaking details of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. Mr. Snowden now has legal permission to live – and conceivably even work – anywhere in Russia for as long as a year, safely out of the reach of U.S. prosecutors.

Mr. Snowden, 30, departed Sheremetyevo Airport unexpectedly at 3:30 p.m. after his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, delivered to him a passport-like document issued by the Federal Migration Service, valid until July 31, 2014.

Mr. Snowden left the airport’s transit zone alone, an airport official said, but WikiLeaks later announced that he had left accompanied by one of the organization’s representatives, Sarah Harrison, who apparently had remained with him since his flight began in Hong Kong in June.

“We are extremely disappointed that the Russian Federation would take this step,” the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said in Washington. “Obviously, this is not a positive development.” (Source: The Globe & Mail)

Thursday April 12, 2012

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday April 12, 2012

Mac should set the standard on openness

Universities play an important role in the fabric of democratic societies.

They are guardians of academic freedom, and carry the responsibility of instilling into their students important ideas and enduring values of our society.

A couple of those ideas are the openness and accountability of public institutions in a democracy and the right of the public to know how its money is being spent.

In that context, McMaster University’s determined struggle to keep secret the details of the financial affairs of former president Peter George is particularly disappointing. The approach to accountability, transparency and disclosure displayed over a course of years leaves the university with a black eye of its own making.

This isn’t just about McMaster. In an era of increasing public demand for open data, the lack of openness displayed is far too common among leading public institutions spending public money and acting on our behalf. We have seen it with the province’s Ornge scandal, with the city’s debate about open police budgets, with executive salaries at Ontario Hydro, and more.

As detailed in Wednesday’s Spectator, this newspaper engaged in a six-year struggle with the university over the release of documents. Every step of the way, the university has fought the release, sought to prevent the former president’s contract and his expenses from being disclosed.

Universities were made subject to freedom of information laws in June of 2006. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)