gold

Friday February 18, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 18, 2022

Canada beats rival U.S. to reclaim Olympic women’s hockey supremacy

Canada waited four long years for Olympic women’s hockey redemption.

February 20, 2010

In 2019, it failed to even reach the final of the world championship. That’s when the countdown began — literally.

General manager Gina Kingsbury gave each team member a clock displaying the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the 2022 Olympics.

Now, after the clocks hit zero, there’s Olympic gold medals around Canadian necks once more after beating the U.S. 3-2 on Thursday in Beijing to claim their first title since 2014.

Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice — including her third career Olympic game-winning goal — while Sarah Nurse’s goal and assist pushed her past Canadian great Hayley Wickenheiser for most points in a single tournament with 18.

It was quite the journey even since the clocks were distributed. Canada won its first worlds since 2010 in August. Last October, it centralized with a group of 29 players in Calgary to prepare for six months for the Beijing Olympics. In January, that centralization became a bubble following a COVID-19 breakout.

Saturday March 10, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 10, 2018

Trump announcement on talks with North Korea gets mixed reactions

World leaders welcomed prospects for a possible thaw in the long standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to hold an unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

January 16, 2018

Trump and Kim prompted jitters around the world last year as they exchanged bellicose insults over the North’s attempts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States, which it has pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

But tension eased around last month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, laying the groundwork for what would be the first meeting between leaders from North Korea and the U.S., and the biggest foreign policy gamble for Trump since he took office in January last year.

“A meeting is being planned,” Trump said on Twitter after accepting an invitation to meet from Kim. There was no date or venue yet for the meeting although it could take place in May.

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s said in a statement that Canada has “always believed that a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis is essential and possible.”

August 12, 2017

Canada and the U.S. recently co-hosted a summit in Vancouver to discuss efforts to find a peaceful path to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapon programs.

Japan, however, remained cautious.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump, in a call on Thursday, vowed to continue to enforce sanctions until Pyongyang took “tangible steps … toward denuclearization,” the White House said in a statement late Thursday.

“Japan and the United States will not waver in their firm stance that they will continue to put maximum pressure until North Korea takes concrete action toward the complete, verifiable and irreversible end to nuclear missile development,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Wednesday November 16, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday November 16, 2016 Conservative contender Kellie Leitch: 'I am not a racistÕ Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch says her enthusiasm for Donald Trump does not make her a racist. During an exchange on CTVÕs Question Period, rival candidate Michael Chong suggested Leitch was importing the divisive style practised by the U.S. president-elect. Leitch proposes screening newcomers for Canadian values, and says she shares some ideas with Trump on immigration. ÒI am not a racist,Ó Leitch said during the CTV segment aired Sunday. ÒI am not a person whoÕs out groping other individuals. I do not do those things and I donÕt think that the Canadians who support the ideas IÕm talking about do those types of things.Ó The exchange comes as candidates for party chief prepare to debate today at a conference centre just south of Ottawa. They sparred earlier this week in Saskatoon over immigration, carbon pricing and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Twelve people are running to be the next Conservative leader, who will be chosen in May. Leitch has attracted headlines Ñ and some barbs from other leadership contenders Ñ for her immigration screening proposal, which she has yet to flesh out. She denies endorsing the controversial Trump. (Source: Toronto Star) https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/11/13/conservative-contender-kellie-leitch-i-am-not-a-racist.html Canada, USA, Donald Trump, election, conservative, autocrat, monarch, king, gold, republican

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 16, 2016

Conservative contender Kellie Leitch: ‘I am not a racist’

Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch says her enthusiasm for Donald Trump does not make her a racist.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday September 7, 2016 Kellie Leitch defends 'anti-Canadian values' survey question Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch is defending a contentious survey question from her campaign team that asked supporters what they think about vetting would-be immigrants and refugees for "anti-Canadian values.Ó The survey made headlines on Thursday, with at least one Conservative strategist calling for her to withdraw from the race. "Canadians can expect to hear more, not less from me, on this topic in the coming months," Leitch wrote in an emailed statement. "Screening potential immigrants for anti-Canadian values that include intolerance towards other religions, cultures and sexual orientations, violent and/or misogynist behaviour and/or a lack of acceptance of our Canadian tradition of personal and economic freedoms is a policy proposal that I feel very strongly about.Ó The rest of the survey, which was sent to those who signed up for news from the Leitch campaign, gauges support on a variety of issues, including electoral reform, corporate tax cuts and the legalization and regulation of marijuana for recreational use. One question refers to denying citizenship to someone who recants the pledge to the Queen after taking it; another asks about incarcerating terrorists instead of providing "therapy and counselling.Ó "Oftentimes, debating and discussing these complex policies requires tough conversations Ñ conversations that go well beyond media sound bites and simplified labels," wrote Leitch. "I am committed to having these conversations, to debating theses issues, and I invite Canadians to give their feedback.Ó (Source CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/leitch-responds-survey-question-1.3746470 Canada, Kellie Keitch, Conservative, Party, leadership, dog whistle, immigration, Donald Trump, wall

September 7, 2016

During an exchange on CTV’s Question Period, rival candidate Michael Chong suggested Leitch was importing the divisive style practised by the U.S. president-elect.

Leitch proposes screening newcomers for Canadian values, and says she shares some ideas with Trump on immigration.

“I am not a racist,” Leitch said during the CTV segment aired Sunday. “I am not a person who’s out groping other individuals. I do not do those things and I don’t think that the Canadians who support the ideas I’m talking about do those types of things.”

The exchange comes as candidates for party chief prepare to debate today at a conference centre just south of Ottawa.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday October 25, 2016 Steven Blaney kicks off Conservative leadership campaign with proposed niqab ban Quebec MP Steven Blaney is running for leadership of the Conservative Party, and his first major policy position is a ban on the niqab and a promise to invoke the notwithstanding clause if courts strike down his new measures. The former minister in the cabinet of Stephen Harper said he will introduce legislation that would forbid the Islamic face-covering while voting and taking the oath of citizenship. He also said that the prohibition would extend to people working in the federal public service. "We are a country that is built on immigration, but we have to be sure that those new Canadians we welcome are understanding of how we live. We don't want our country to become like the country they left," Blaney told reporters Monday. "We fully welcome you, but we want you to respect who we are.Ó The measures are necessary, Blaney said, to "ensure the sustainability of our integration model" and to protect women's rights. The proposal revives a controversial debate from the last campaign, when Harper himself suggested the niqab should be banned from the public service. His party enacted policies to prevent women from wearing a niqab while taking the citizenship oath, and promised to create a "barbaric cultural practices" tip line. Those two proposals led some to accuse the party of engaging in identity politics and fuelling anti-Muslim sentiment. Zunera Ishaq, a Muslim woman, went to court to challenge the government's ban, and, in the middle of the campaign, the Federal Court of Appeal cleared the wayÊfor her to wear the head covering. (Source: CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/steven-blaney-conservative-leadership-niqab-ban-1.3818673 Canada, Conservative, party, niqab, assisted suicide, end of life, conservative, leadership, Kellie Leitch, Steven Blaney, culture, race, religion, stephen ha

October 25, 2016

They sparred earlier this week in Saskatoon over immigration, carbon pricing and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Twelve people are running to be the next Conservative leader, who will be chosen in May.

Leitch has attracted headlines — and some barbs from other leadership contenders — for her immigration screening proposal, which she has yet to flesh out. She denies endorsing the controversial Trump. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Sunday August 16, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, MacLean's Magazine Ð Sunday August 16, 2004 Olympic Grief ATHENS Ñ When Nicolas Gill carries the Canadian flag into Olympic Stadium for today's opening ceremony, he will be leading Canada's smallest Summer Games team in 32 years. It is a team reduced in numbers Ñ down to 267 from 311 four years ago Ñ and some might say in expectations. Canada captured 14 medals, including three gold, in Sydney four years ago, a showing that caused much hand-wringing and set off a national debate on the kind of support we provide our amateur athletes. Nothing substantive has changed since 2000, raising the question of what the next two weeks will bring. How much sporting mettle will be turned into medals? Estimates from athletes and others in Athens run the gamut from unbridled optimism to grim pessimism. Most reckon an improvement on Sydney is possible, with the most starry-eyed figuring Canada can win more than 20 medals. For world champion kayaker David Ford, however, it's possible to have too much of a good thing. Ford has been to four Olympics and has a gut feeling Canada is in for something special this time, but it's not a feeling with which he's entirely comfortable. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Canada, Olympic, grief, 5 stages, Canadian, expectations, medals, gold, arm chair, critics, sports

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, MacLean’s Magazine – Sunday August 16, 2004

Olympic Grief

ATHENS — When Nicolas Gill carries the Canadian flag into Olympic Stadium for today’s opening ceremony, he will be leading Canada’s smallest Summer Games team in 32 years. It is a team reduced in numbers — down to 267 from 311 four years ago — and some might say in expectations.

Canada captured 14 medals, including three gold, in Sydney four years ago, a showing that caused much hand-wringing and set off a national debate on the kind of support we provide our amateur athletes.

Nothing substantive has changed since 2000, raising the question of what the next two weeks will bring. How much sporting mettle will be turned into medals?

Estimates from athletes and others in Athens run the gamut from unbridled optimism to grim pessimism. Most reckon an improvement on Sydney is possible, with the most starry-eyed figuring Canada can win more than 20 medals.

For world champion kayaker David Ford, however, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Ford has been to four Olympics and has a gut feeling Canada is in for something special this time, but it’s not a feeling with which he’s entirely comfortable. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)