government

Thursday April 5, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday April 5, 2012

NDP isn’t drawing a line in the budgetary sand

For a fleeting moment earlier this week, it appeared Andrea Horwath had finally set a make-or-break condition for supporting Dwight Duncan’s budget.

With Tuesday’s call to apply an extra tax to anyone making more than $500,000 per year, the Ontario NDP Leader served up the kind of attention-grabber from which it’s difficult to back away – and that, if rejected by Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals, could make for an NDP-friendly wedge issue during a provincial election.

And yet, no sooner had Ms. Horwath gone public with her demand than she was once again reminding journalists that she has no intention of drawing “lines in the sand.” The implication was that she’ll be satisfied if the Liberals instead grant a few other, less showy concessions from the list of requests she’s slowly rolling out.

It was the latest signal that, against the advice of some of the more hawkish members of her party, Ms. Horwath is determined to play the long game.

If she were primarily concerned with the here and now, Ms. Horwath would be leaning toward helping Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives bring down Mr. McGuinty’s minority government.

Doing so would carry less risk for the NDP than for the Tories, who are still going through a behind-the-scenes shakeup that has them a long way from election readiness, and have struggled to convincingly explain why they’d force an election over a right-leaning budget. By contrast, the New Democrats could rely on the same campaign team they did a few months ago, and make a coherent case against austerity measures – from social-assistance freezes to the shutdown of northern transit services – that run contrary to their policies and principles. (Source: Globe & Mail) 

Saturday January 14, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday January 14, 2012

Federal Liberals endorse marijuana legalization

Last May’s federal election marked the first in history in which the Liberals failed to become Canada’s government or its official opposition. The hodge-podge of dubious policy resolutions up for debate at next weekend’s national Liberal convention suggests that, eight months later, Liberals still aren’t sure how to rehabilitate a party that, some say, has no real reason to continue existing as an independent entity.

Rather than moving on to new challenges, the Liberals seem intent on refighting old wars. One resolution urges the party to support the Canadian Wheat Board and to reinstate the board’s monopoly over Prairie wheat and barley sales, when and if the Liberals return to power. But that is a genie that cannot be returned to its lamp. Whatever one thinks of the Tories’ recent decision to remove the board’s control over Western grain farming, once tens of thousands of farmers begin marketing their crops independently, it would require years of police action and scores of high-profile criminal trials to force anti-monopoly farmers back under the purview of the board.

Another policy motion asks the party to reaffirm its commitment to a national daycare program. That’s a notion that has been circulating at Liberal conventions since the 1970s. Not even the majority governments under Jean Chrétien in the economically robust 1990s and 2000s were able to pull it off. The provinces – which have jurisdiction over daycare – resisted the federal intrusion. Most parents were indifferent to the idea. And taxpayers balked at the price tag, which is conservatively estimated at more than $5-billion a year. What makes the current generation of Liberals believe Canadians and the provinces have changed their minds?  (Source: National Post)

 

Friday January 28, 2011

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 28, 2011

How the Jasmine Revolution is Being Viewed In Iran

“The Islamic world is ripe with major new developments and Khomeini’s Islam is the engine of these events,” Iran’s hard-line daily “Kayhan” wrote in a January 27 commentary devoted to the recent wave of protests in the Arab world.

August 24, 2011

The daily, which often reflects the views of the Iranian establishment — or more specifically, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — added that the third millennium is witnessing “the powerful [presence] of Islam under Iran’s leadership.”

Iranian state media has been portraying the recent upheaval in Arab countries as a struggle against Western puppets in the region, while claiming that citizens who have taken to the streets in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere are taking inspiration from Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

November 23, 2011

“Kayhan” suggested that participants in Tunisia’s uprising, as well in as protests in Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, and Egypt are taking inspiration from Iran’s 1979 revolution, which led to the fall of the shah’s U.S.-backed regime and the creation of an Islamic republic.

” ‘Death to the U.S. Death to Israel. Islam is my religion. We don’t want American rulers. We’re not afraid of martyrdom.’ Are these slogans familiar to the ears and eyes of the world? Aren’t these slogans the same that Iranian people [chanted] in the run-up to the Islamic Revolution?” wrote “Kayhan.”

The commentary made no mention of the calls for economic reforms and political freedom being voiced in the protests. There was also no mention of comparisons that have been made between Tunisia’s uprising and the mass antigovernment demonstrations that shook the Iranian establishment in 2009. (Radio Free Europe) 

 

Sunday April 23, 2006

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Sunday April 23, 2006

Minister hopeful about ending Caledonia dispute

Talks to end a native land dispute near Hamilton recessed Sunday after almost 24 hours of negotiations over two days and Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said he is “very optimistic” about reaching an agreement.

Native leaders and provincial and federal officials met for about five hours Saturday night following a 19-hour marathon Friday in a bid to end the seven-week standoff.

“We’re having very constructive dialogue, the atmosphere is very positive, and I think there’s good will on all sides,” Ramsay he said, but added there’s still much more work to be done.

“It’s step by step. I would characterize it as `we’re on our way’ but I wouldn’t say (a deal is) close at the moment.”

Native spokeswoman Hazel Hill said no talks were held Sunday because the aboriginals’ confederacy council was holding its own meetings.

She characterized the negotiations as productive but agreed the two sides are far apart.

But Henco Industries — which is developing a subdivision known as Douglas Creek Estates on the contested 40-hectares — said it is on the verge of bankruptcy and needs a resolution soon. (Ottawa Citizen)