G7

Wednesday May 24, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 24, 2017

Justin Trudeau heads to Europe for NATO and G7 summits, where Trump’s ‘fireworks’ remain an expectation

May 25, 2016

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Europe this week for the NATO and G7 summits, where global leaders are trying to figure out exactly how the world works now that U.S. President Donald Trump is at the table.

The future of military alliances, the fight against climate change and even free trade all hang in the balance as the new man in the White House sits down and lets them all know his plans — or maybe not.

“Predicting what this president does would be virtually impossible,” said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, delivering a common answer to the question of what to expect this week.

March 25, 2014

“Fireworks would be the baseline expectation of some sort.”

On Thursday, Trump, in the midst of his first foreign trip as U.S. president, will sit down with Trudeau and other leaders at the NATO summit at the group’s new headquarters in Brussels.

On Friday and Saturday, Trudeau and Trump will be in Taormina, a resort town in Sicily, for the G7 Summit.

John Kirton, director of the G8 Research Group at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, said this smaller forum with lots of opportunities for face-to-face talks is made for someone like Trump, who professes his passion for making deals.

July 27, 2006

Kirton said he expects the talks to focus on trying to convince Trump not to go through with his pledge to back out of the UN Paris Agreement on climate change, the role of China in the world and international trade.

But Kirton said the tenor of these talks might depend on how things go in Brussels. If things don’t go well at the NATO summit, the G7 meeting will have to be rapidly reconfigured into a repair job, he said. (Source: Toronto Star)

Regina Leader-Post, May 25, 2017

Wednesday May 25, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday May 25, 2016 Trudeau to take day off during Japan trip to celebrate weddingÊanniversary Justin Trudeau's trip to Japan for bilateral talks and the Group of Seven summit will be about more than just business. The prime minister isn't planning to hold any meetings or events Wednesday, so he can celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with his wife Sophie GrŽgoire Trudeau. The couple will spend the night at a traditional Japanese inn Ñ or ryokan Ñ before Trudeau heads to the G7 summit on Thursday in the country's Ise-Shima region. "The fact of the matter is we've been working extremely hard today and will be at the G7 meetings on Thursday and Friday, and in the middle of all this, I'm taking a moment to celebrate Ñ on personal funds Ñ my wedding anniversary with myÊwife," Trudeau said of the down time when asked during a news conference whether it would cost taxpayers anything, including the potential financial burden of idle staffers. "This is the kind of work-life balance that I've often talked about as being essential in order to be able to be in service of the country with all one's very best and that's certainly something I'm going to continue to make sure we do." GrŽgoire Trudeau accompanied the prime minister Tuesday in Tokyo during visits to the Meiji Shrine and with the Japanese emperor and empress at the Imperial Palace. She also joined him Tuesday evening for dinner with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trudeau held working meetings earlier in the day with Abe andÊexecutives from the Japanese auto sector. (Source: CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-japan-sophie-gregoire-wedding-anniversary-1.3597363 Canada, summit, G7, Justin Trudeau, Japan, David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Honeymoon

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 25, 2016

Trudeau to take day off during Japan trip to celebrate wedding anniversary

Justin Trudeau’s trip to Japan for bilateral talks and the Group of Seven summit will be about more than just business.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday December 3, 2015 Trudeau children's nannies being paid for by taxpayers Canadian taxpayers are paying the wages of two nannies hired to care for the children of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie GrŽgoire-Trudeau, according to cabinet orders posted online. The hirings were approved late last week, with cabinet authorizing the appointment of the two women under the Official Residences Act as "special assistants at the prime minister's residence." They will be paid between $15 and $20 an hour during the day and $11 to $13 an hour for night shifts effective Nov. 4 Ñ the day Trudeau and his cabinet were sworn in. The disclosure comes after an election campaign where Trudeau repeatedly attacked the Conservatives' enhanced universal child care benefit, or UCCB, and income splitting for families, arguing rich families like his and former prime minister Stephen Harper's didn't need taxpayers' help. "In these times, Mr. Harper's top priority is to give wealthy families like his and mine $2,000," Trudeau said in reference to the Conservatives' income-splitting tax credit. "Let me tell you something: We don't need it. And Canada can't afford it." Trudeau is also entitled to collect annual UCCB payments of about $3,400 for his three children. He promised to give the money to charity. One of the women hired was with the Trudeaus this past week on the prime minister's foreign trip that wrapped up Monday at the UN climate change conference in Paris. She posted photos online of the couple's two children who came on the trip. There were also shots of her with the Trudeaus' youngest child on Facebook visiting museums and at the hotel where they stayed in Paris. The prime minister's director of communications, Kate Purchase, said in an email that the two women who have been hired are doing more than childcare. "Like all families of prime ministers, a small number of staff provide assi

December 3, 2015

The prime minister isn’t planning to hold any meetings or events Wednesday, so he can celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

The couple will spend the night at a traditional Japanese inn — or ryokan — before Trudeau heads to the G7 summit on Thursday in the country’s Ise-Shima region.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve been working extremely hard today and will be at the G7 meetings on Thursday and Friday, and in the middle of all this, I’m taking a moment to celebrate — on personal funds — my wedding anniversary with my wife,” Trudeau said of the down time when asked during a news conference whether it would cost taxpayers anything, including the potential financial burden of idle staffers.

Monday November 17, 2014“This is the kind of work-life balance that I’ve often talked about as being essential in order to be able to be in service of the country with all one’s very best and that’s certainly something I’m going to continue to make sure we do.”

Grégoire Trudeau accompanied the prime minister Tuesday in Tokyo during visits to the Meiji Shrine and with the Japanese emperor and empress at the Imperial Palace.

She also joined him Tuesday evening for dinner with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trudeau held working meetings earlier in the day with Abe and executives from the Japanese auto sector. (Source: CBC News)

 

Wednesday June 10, 2015

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday June 10, 2015 Prime Minister Stephen Harper agrees to G7 'decarbonization' by 2100 Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to a G7 commitment to deep cuts in carbon emissions by 2050 Ñ with an eventual stop in the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century. The call for a low-carbon footprint will "require a transformation in our energy sectors," Harper said Monday at a news conference in Germany, following the two-day G7 summit. "Nobody's going to start to shut down their industries or turn off the lights," he said. "We've simply got to find a way to create lower-carbon emitting sources of energy Ñ and that work is ongoing." Canada and Japan blocked attempts at a stronger statement on binding greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to The Canadian Press sources who saw a working draft of the G7 communiquŽ, which was released today as the summit wrapped up. "We emphasize that deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonization of the global economy over the course of this century," the G7 leaders said in their final communiquŽ. "We commit to doing our part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term including developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050 and invite all countries to join us in this endeavour." German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been pushing the G7 to endorse a pledge to reach zero carbon emissions. "Canada and Japan are the most concerned about this one," said one source who was privy to discussions but would only speak on the condition of anonymity. "The two of those countries have been the most difficult on every issue on climate." During question period on Monday, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the government's role in "toning down" the communiquŽ leaves "Canada with an environmental black eye on the world stage." (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/poli

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 10, 2015

Prime Minister Stephen Harper agrees to G7 ‘decarbonization’ by 2100

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to a G7 commitment to deep cuts in carbon emissions by 2050 — with an eventual stop in the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century.

The call for a low-carbon footprint will “require a transformation in our energy sectors,” Harper said Monday at a news conference in Germany, following the two-day G7 summit.

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday May 16, 2015 CanadaÕs new emissions target far from ambitious, critics say Canada has set a new greenhouse gas emission reduction target as it prepares for international talks later this year, but critics say the goal is the weakest among G7 countries. Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Friday that Canada proposes to cut emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 Ñ a target she called Òfair and ambitious.Ó Speaking in Winnipeg, Aglukkaq promised to introduce new regulations on methane emissions produced by the oil and gas industry. There will also be new rules for natural gas-fired power generation and for the chemical and nitrogen fertilizer industries. ÒThis target is . . . an ambitious commitment based on our national circumstances, which include a growing population, a diversified, growing economy and CanadaÕs position as a world leader in clean electricity generation.Ó The target is slightly weaker than that of the United States, which has pledged to cut its greenhouse emissions by up to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2025. Canada, the U.S. and other countries are taking their targets to a United Nations conference later this year in Paris, where a new international emissions regime is to be negotiated. Environmental groups said CanadaÕs target is anything but ambitious. ÒThe European Union, already with per-capita emissions well below CanadaÕs, has a 40 per cent reduction target for 2030 Ñ more than five times greater than CanadaÕs,Ó the group Environmental Defence said in a statement. ÒTo keep our people, communities and economy safe requires that Canada join the global community in making deep cuts to carbon pollution by shifting away from burning coal, oil and gas,Ó read a statement from the Climate Action Network. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/15/canada-sets-new-target-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html Canada, Climate

“Nobody’s going to start to shut down their industries or turn off the lights,” he said. “We’ve simply got to find a way to create lower-carbon emitting sources of energy — and that work is ongoing.”

Canada and Japan blocked attempts at a stronger statement on binding greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to The Canadian Press sources who saw a working draft of the G7 communiqué, which was released today as the summit wrapped up.

“We emphasize that deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonization of the global economy over the course of this century,” the G7 leaders said in their final communiqué.

“We commit to doing our part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term including developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050 and invite all countries to join us in this endeavour.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been pushing the G7 to endorse a pledge to reach zero carbon emissions.

“Canada and Japan are the most concerned about this one,” said one source who was privy to discussions but would only speak on the condition of anonymity. “The two of those countries have been the most difficult on every issue on climate.”

During question period on Monday, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the government’s role in “toning down” the communiqué leaves “Canada with an environmental black eye on the world stage.” (Source: CBC News)