India

Saturday September 7, 2019

Saturday September 7, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 7, 2019

Trudeau snubs Munk, Maclean’s/Citytv debates but will attend commission debates

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is committing to taking part in two federal election debates and is willing to do a third — but will be a no-show for both the Munk and Maclean’s/Citytv debates, despite efforts to convince the Liberal leader to take part.

August 8, 2015

The two debates that Trudeau has committed to attending are being organized by the Leaders’ Debates Commission, which was established after the last election and is led by former governor general David Johnston.

“The commission was established after the last election where the governing party tried to game the system and make sure the fewest number of Canadians engaged in the debates. We think that’s wrong,” Daniel Lauzon, the Liberals’ director of communications and policy for the campaign, said in a statement.

“The commission debates will be widely distributed on television, radio, digital and social streaming platforms and reach the largest possible audience.”

The decision means that Trudeau will not be taking part in the Munk Debates on foreign policy, set for Oct. 1 — a debate Trudeau did take part in during the 2015 election.

It also means the prime minister will not participate in the Maclean’s/Citytv leaders debate scheduled to take place September 12.

September 19, 2015

So far, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May have all agreed to participate in the Munk and Maclean’s/Citytv debates.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said the debates are about Canadians, not the leaders, and Scheer would be attending all election debates.

“We know Justin Trudeau is a formidable debater, as he proved in the last election. The only reason he would have for not wanting to attend all the debates is that he’s afraid to defend his record,” Brock Harrison said in a statement.

During the 2015 election, then-prime minister Stephen Harper refused to participate in the English language debate being run by the consortium of broadcasters, the predecessor to the commission.

October 1, 2008

Harper instead agreed to participate in the Maclean’s/Citytv debate and the Globe and Mail debate, on top of the French language consortium debate, TVAs’ debate and the bilingual Munk debate on foreign policy.

The opposition at the time criticized Harper’s decision to snub the English language consortium debate in favour of smaller debates, some of which were only streamed online, as a move that prevented the largest possible audience from viewing the exchanges between party leaders.

Trudeau was keen to participate in multiple debates in 2015 — an election that saw the longest campaign period in modern Canadian history. But Trudeau’s critics now argue that he is cherry-picking debates for political reasons.

In the last election he was the third-party leader and had much to gain from engaging with other leaders at every opportunity. But as prime minister, Trudeau exposes himself to greater political risk by agreeing to additional debates. (CBC) 

 

Thursday February 22, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 22, 2018

How Justin Trudeau NEVER misses an opportunity to don traditional attire

Dressed head to toe in robes of gold, then red, then white – Justin Trudeau has certainly cut a distinctive figure during his first three days in India.

Bollywood Justin

Indeed, the Canadian Prime Minister seems to have made a point of dressing like a local during his debut visit to the country as leader.

But he also has a history of donning traditional robes at home, especially to honor special dates in the Indian calendar.

As far back as 2012, Trudeau attended the premiere of Midnight’s Children – based on the book about Indian independence written by Salman Rushdie – dressed in a white sherwani robe.

Screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, Trudeau was only a member of parliament when he attended along with wife Sophie Gregoire, who opted for a navy blue halter gown.

Twice last year he also marked important dates in the Indian calendar while dressed for the occasion.

After the junket- February 26, 2018

In August he stepped out wearing a kurta – which literally translates from its Persian origins as ‘a collarless shirt’ – in order to celebrate Indian Independence Day.

Then again in October he donned a dark black sherwani – a heavy, more formal robe usually worn over the top of a kurta – to mark Diwali.

Although on that occasion he drew the ire of many Hindus by tweeting the image along with the caption ‘Dewali Mubarak!’

Mubarak as an Arabic word which means ‘blessed’ and is not used as a greeting by the majority of the Hindu religion.

In January this year, Trudeau was again dressed up to celebrate Thai Pongal, the harvest festival of the Tamil people, in Scarborough.

Trudeau has also routinely celebrates vaisakhi, a Sikh harvest festival, and often does so in traditional robes.

In 2013 he took to the streets of Vancouver in an emerald green jacket with a white cap covering his head, in a nod to the traditional Sikh turban. (Continued: Daily Mail) 

 

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January 16, 2007

Again I find myself the only cartoonist who felt it necessary to draw on something that has been completely ignored by everyone else: the Premier’s trade mission to India. The 17 day trip began last week and includes a 100-member Ontario government delegation with hopes of cashing in on the country’s lucrative film industry and becoming a self-styled “Bollywood North,” as Dalton McGuinty himself described it. To me it smells an awful lot like the old Chretien days, when the old Prime Minister would gladhand his way through countries like China and India with high hopes of bringing foreign investment to Canada. It’s debateable how effective these junkets are. For now let Dalton be the star of his own cheesy show.

Here’s some photos from the trip thus far. I’d love to see some cartoonist out there draw something on this rather comical journey by Ontario’s Premier.

By the Numbers

I was curious to find out how frequently Dalton McGuinty appears in cartoons so I did a little tabulation of cartoons I’ve drawn of him over the past 12 months. Through a simple defined search of my syndicate I discovered I drew 16 cartoons of him in 2006. Sue Dewar of the Ottawa Sun actually beat me by drawing 20. This led me to wonder which politician was drawn the most last year among all the artists represented through Artizans. Here’s the ranking:

  1. Stephen Harper — 422
  2. Ralph Klein — 89
  3. Paul Martin — 87
  4. Dalton McGuinty — 48
  5. Jack Layton — 45
  6. Michael Ignatieff — 42
  7. Rodney MacDonald — 35
  8. Peter MacKay — 34
  9. Stephane Dion — 34
  10. David Emerson — 32
  11. Belinda Stronach –28
  12. Rona Ambrose — 27
  13. Bob Rae — 23
  14. Gordon Campbell — 23
  15. Gilles Duceppe — 20
  16. Jim Flaherty — 17
  17. Jean Chretien — 15
  18. Scott Brison — 14
  19. Bill Graham — 9
  20. Frank McKenna — 9
  21. Joe Volpe — 9
  22. Ken Dryden — 7
  23. Ed Stelmach
  24. Hedy Fry — 6
  25. Gerard Kennedy — 4
  26. Jean Charest — 4
  27. Vic Toews — 4
  28. John Baird — 2
  29. Gary Doer — 1
  30. Lorne Calvert, Martha Hall Findlay, Danny Williams — 0

November 17, 2009

The following cartoon will never get printed on Hamilton Spectator newsprint. I’m curious if it’ll get picked up somewhere else. Have I offended people by portraying the Prime Minister, who’s currently on a tour of India, as a religious symbol, or do people think I’ve offended people with this cartoon?

Tuesday December 4, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 4, 2007

Aus eager to ratify Kyoto protocol

About 180 nations are in Bali seeking a breakthrough for a new global pact to fight climate change by 2009 and they’re facing all the same old problems.

An ovation for Australia at the UN conference on Climate Change after the country’s new government agreed to immediately ratify the Kyoto Protocol ending Australia’s long-held opposition to the global climate agreement.

Now, the United States is isolated as the only developed nation, which has not agreed to the pact.

However, some say even Australia been too late in agreeing and whatever it will do now will be too little.

Under the Kyoto treaty developing nations have no fixed targets, but the US has been asking India and China to cut their emissions down to binding targets.

Something the two countries, along with other emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa say is unfair and unrealistic.

So, as the two week conference progresses in Bali much of what happens behind closed doors will revolve around nuances, with debates over words like ”commitment” and ”mandatory.” (Source: Toronto Sun)