Jack Layton

Wednesday February 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 27, 2019

Has Jagmeet Singh As NDP Leader Been A Total Flop?

January 7, 2019

When Jagmeet Singh won the federal party’s leadership back in 2017, there was a wave of optimism when people thought of the possibility that Canada could elect its first non-white, Sikh-Canadian prime minister.

The then-Brampton MPP defeated more established, experienced NDP veterans to win the leadership decisively with 54 per cent of the vote. For awhile it seemed the hope and optimism espoused by the late Jack Layton was alive again. To be honest, when I went to cover Singh’s leadership launch, I felt that kind of feeling as well.

But it seems the reality of politics settles in and Singh, like others before him, is not looking as impressive as he once was.

Part of this has to do with his lack of real presence in Ottawa. Singh was an Ontario MPP and once he left that position, he had no seat in the House of Commons which made it harder for him to get noticed at all…by anyone.

All of Brampton’s ridings are currently held by Liberals, and even the embattled MP from Brampton East, Raj Grewal, decided to stay put after his scandalous situation, thus not allowing Singh a pathway to get elected in more familiar political terrain.

Animated!

This prompted Singh to move all the way to British Columbia to contest a by-election in the riding of Burnaby South, left vacant after the previous NDP MPwas elected Vancouver’s new mayor. Singh may yet win in a riding that only went NDP by about 500 votes in the 2015 election, as the Liberals had to suddenly switch candidates after the first one made what many called racially insensitive comments about the NDP leader.

Coupled with the Liberals own handling of pipelines (a hot button issue in BC) and the current scandal surrounding former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and SNC Lavalin, there may be enough disenchantment with the Liberal brand to allow Singh to win and get himself into the House of Commons so Canadians can actually see him face off against Justin Trudeau.

March 31, 2018

Singh’s leadership pretty much hinges on this by-election win. The leader’s absence from Ottawa on a regular basis has led to some questionable decisions on his part. One example was removing a veteran NDP MP from a committee for voting with the Conservatives on a motion protesting Liberal changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program regarding abortion protests.

Although the MP, David Christopherson from Hamilton, was pro-choice, he voted for the motion over concerns churches and other religious groups would have to disavow their beliefs to qualify for funding. Since the NDP is a pro-choice party and this MP effectively voted for a motion that reflected a pro-life position, Singh simply went and ‘disciplined’ the man amidst protest from his own MPs.

Christopherson was subsequently reinstated to the committee, although later he announced he would not be running for reelection in 2019. (Continued: In Brampton Editorial)  

 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Tuesday, April 15, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Flaherty’s state funeral to be held at Toronto’s St. James cathedral

Jim Flaherty’s state funeral is being held at Toronto’s St. James Cathedral on Wednesday.

Canadian Heritage is inviting Canadians to pay their respects to the former finance minister who died suddenly in his Ottawa condo last week.

Visitation will take place at the Abilities Centre at 55 Gordon Street in Whitby, Ont., on Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Flaherty’s funeral will be held at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at St. James cathedral at 65 Church Street in downtown Toronto.

Canadian Heritage says Flaherty’s family appreciates all the expressions of support and condolences and asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Abilities Centre.

Flaherty died of a heart attack late last week, less than a month following his retirement after serving as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s finance minister since 2006.

He’ll become the latest in a tradition of Canadian state funerals that began in 1868 with Thomas D’Arcy McGee, an Irish-born nationalist who became an MP and was assassinated on the streets of Ottawa after a late-night House of Commons debate.

Jack Layton, the late NDP leader who was opposition leader when he died in August 2011, was also given a state funeral.

Friday, April 11, 2014It is an honour normally reserved for current and former governors general, prime ministers and sitting members of cabinet — although a state funeral may be offered to any eminent Canadian at the discretion of the prime minister.

McGee, Layton, and now Flaherty, are the only three Canadians accorded a state funeral since Confederation beyond the prescribed list, according to a list provided by Canadian Heritage. Lincoln Alexander, former lieutenant-governor of Ontario and Canada’s first black MP, received a rare provincial state funeral in 2012. (Source: CBC News)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Posted as the cartoon of the day on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, and Yahoo News Canada.Jim Flaherty

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thursday, November 28, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, November 28, 2013

Chow and Mulcair fume after Trudeau uses Layton’s dying words to denounce NDP in victory speech

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is under fire for echoing the dying words of Jack Layton to denounce the NDP following Monday night’s byelection victories, which left Layton’s widow, NDP MP Olivia Chow, “surprised and disappointed.”

Despite no change in seats (Liberals and Conservatives both kept two) Trudeau was resoundingly declared the winner of Monday’s four byelection races because of the large uptick in overall support for the Grits. The young Liberal leader claimed a positive approach to politics was behind his party’s resurgence, which he said was being countered by a negative campaign by the NDP in the contested ridings of Toronto Centre and Bourassa.

“Make no mistake, the NDP is no longer the hopeful, optimistic party of Jack Layton. It is the negative, divisive party of Thomas Mulcair. It is the Liberal party tonight that proved hope is stronger than fear, that positive politics can and should win out over the negative,” Trudeau said Monday night.

[slideshow_deploy id=’1982’]

 

In a letter to Canadians days before his death in August 2011, Layton famously penned: “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.”

Chow insisted Tuesday that the NDP is “the party of love, hope and optimism,” but also said her party should remain focused on the ruling Conservatives.

“If we are to have a better country, and certainly Canadians deserve a lot better, we need to focus on Stephen Harper. Yes, we are the party of love, hope and optimism and let’s be hopeful. Let’s not be fearful of each other, but let’s train our eyes on the real problem, which is Stephen Harper’s government,” the Toronto MP (and expected 2014 mayoral candidate) told reporters.

The comment would seemingly put her at odds with NDP Leader Tom Muclair, who has increasingly taken shots at Trudeau, whose popularity in Quebec could wipe out the NDP’s historic gains in the 2011 election. (Source: National Post)

July 27, 2011

I arrived at work to an anonymous phone message left on my voice mail from an angry senior telling me I’m going to hell for drawing the cartoon above. Another hoped I would one day become stricken with cancer. Soon after a colleague picked up a call from a church minister almost saying the same thing. My colleague offered to transfer the call to me but didn’t want to talk to me.

Then, the Spectator’s comment board displayed these tidbits:

Jul 27, 2011 9:58am – by dajguy – The spec should be embarassed this is terrible and in bad taste. And I’m not an NDP supporter.

Jul 27, 2011 10:34am – by YelloLine – I’m trying to think of a time when Mackay published a cartoon that was in good taste, or indeed was in some way meaningful. Or even funny. I’m drawing a blank. This editorial cartoon from Mackay, as with all the others before it, offers valuable insight into the Hamilton Spectator’s editorial relevance.

Jul 27, 2011 11:29am – by Zoetta – Disgusting The Spec editorial team could do fine without Mackay. Making fun of a man with a probably terminal illness and his connection to duly elected new parliamentarians is despicable, but what I have come to expect from this master of bad taste. Mr. Layton and his party deserve an apology.

Jul 27, 2011 11:36am – by Allan Taylor – Although I abhor the NDP and see the problems the cartoon alludes to as real this cartoon is disgusting and everyone involved in the decision to print it should be fired.

Jul 27, 2011 1:25pm – by CallMeAxe – @Allan Taylor. Agree completely. The unemployment line should be a few people longer, occupied by those who made the decision to print this.

Jul 27, 2011 1:28pm – by CallMeAxe – MacKay should be 1. FIRED (click agree) 2. Suspended indefinitely without pay (click Disagree) or 3. Encouraged to do more tasteless cartoons (click Offensive).

Really – fired? I thought after the whole Danish cartoon controversy a few years back the world got a good series of lessons on freedom of expression and how far we editorial cartoonists could go. How soon some of the anonymous around us forget and are prepared to issue Canadian fatwas against cartoonists which dare to illustrate a revered leader in something not resembling a get well soon Hallmark card.

There have been quite a few nice Jack Layton fighter cartoons drawn by my friends in field, examples are these drawn by Mike deAdder and Mike Graston. All very observant towards Layton’s fight which lies ahead with some thought to his achievements in the past.

The added element or stinger in the above cartoon may be the sight of his party as peewee hockey players left learning how to skate. While a metaphorical group of babies, children, or teens has often been used, and even overused, in the last couple of months to illustrate the bulk of the newly elected NDP caucus, the concern truly exists of inexperienced MPs leading the opposition charge. I think that’s a hard fact for many NDP supporters to face as they look down the the road without their great saviour at the helm, or without their best player scoring goals.

Or, maybe it is the plain sight of a political leader taken off the ice that stings them the most and prompting calls for my head. I don’t know. What I do know is that there’s a lot of truth to this cartoon, and while it has caused people to react angrily, which is what a cartoon is supposed to do, it’s obvious that the truth hurts, but there’s no need to apologize for drawing it.

July 7, 2011

I arrived at work to an anonymous phone message left on my voice mail from an angry senior telling me I’m going to hell for drawing the cartoon above. Another hoped I would one day become stricken with cancer. Soon after a colleague picked up a call from a church minister almost saying the same thing. My colleague offered to transfer the call to me but didn’t want to talk to me.

Then, the Spectator’s comment board displayed these tidbits:

Jul 27, 2011 9:58am – by dajguy – The spec should be embarassed this is terrible and in bad taste. And I’m not an NDP supporter.

Jul 27, 2011 10:34am – by YelloLine – I’m trying to think of a time when Mackay published a cartoon that was in good taste, or indeed was in some way meaningful. Or even funny. I’m drawing a blank. This editorial cartoon from Mackay, as with all the others before it, offers valuable insight into the Hamilton Spectator’s editorial relevance.

Jul 27, 2011 11:29am – by Zoetta – Disgusting The Spec editorial team could do fine without Mackay. Making fun of a man with a probably terminal illness and his connection to duly elected new parliamentarians is despicable, but what I have come to expect from this master of bad taste. Mr. Layton and his party deserve an apology.

Jul 27, 2011 11:36am – by Allan Taylor – Although I abhor the NDP and see the problems the cartoon alludes to as real this cartoon is disgusting and everyone involved in the decision to print it should be fired.

Jul 27, 2011 1:25pm – by CallMeAxe – @Allan Taylor. Agree completely. The unemployment line should be a few people longer, occupied by those who made the decision to print this.

Jul 27, 2011 1:28pm – by CallMeAxe – MacKay should be 1. FIRED (click agree) 2. Suspended indefinitely without pay (click Disagree) or 3. Encouraged to do more tasteless cartoons (click Offensive).

Really – fired? I thought after the whole Danish cartoon controversy a few years back the world got a good series of lessons on freedom of expression and how far we editorial cartoonists could go. How soon some of the anonymous around us forget and are prepared to issue Canadian fatwas against cartoonists which dare to illustrate a revered leader in something not resembling a get well soon Hallmark card.

There have been quite a few nice Jack Layton fighter cartoons drawn by my friends in field, examples are these drawn by Mike deAdder, Malcolm Mayes, and Mike Graston. All very observant towards Layton’s fight which lies ahead with some thought to his achievements in the past.

The added element or stinger in the above cartoon may be the sight of his party as peewee hockey players left learning how to skate. While a metaphorical group of babies, children, or teens has often been used, and even overused, in the last couple of months to illustrate the bulk of the newly elected NDP caucus, the concern truly exists of inexperienced MPs leading the opposition charge. I think that’s a hard fact for many NDP supporters to face as they look down the the road without their great saviour at the helm, or without their best player scoring goals.

Or, maybe it is the plain sight of a political leader taken off the ice that stings them the most and prompting calls for my head. I don’t know. What I do know is that there’s a lot of truth to this cartoon, and while it has caused people to react angrily, which is what a cartoon is supposed to do, it’s obvious that the truth hurts, but there’s no need to apologize for drawing it.