Jason Kenney

Tuesday January 26, 2021

 

January 26, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 26, 2021

Keystone pipeline decision was Joe Biden’s to make

No question, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a gut punch to Alberta, and to a lesser extent Saskatchewan, when he used his executive authority to kill the previous president’s executive order allowing construction of the Keystone pipeline, which would have shipped oil from Alberta’s tarsands to refineries south of the border.

In the immediate aftermath, 1,000 construction workers were laid off, and the Calgary-based energy company that had unfronted much of the cost will now have to eat that expenditure. 

It’s about the last thing Alberta’s staggered economy and workforce needs, and regardless of what we think about fossil fuels and the tarsands, we should feel some empathy for average Albertans if not their hyperbolic government. 

January 8, 2014

But let’s talk about what the decision is not. First and foremost, it is not a surprise. Keystone has a tortured history. When he was president, Barack Obama was firmly against the controversial project, which was also opposed by climate change activists, environmentalists and Indigenous groups.

Then along came Donald Trump, who promptly reversed that decision and allowed construction to begin. And then along came Biden, who has promised all along to stop the pipeline. He was opposed as Obama’s VP, he was opposed as a Democratic leadership contender, and he ran in the presidential election with his opposition front and centre.

Reacting to Biden’s order, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney blew several gaskets. In a blustery response he lashed out at Biden, the U.S. and at Ottawa, demanding Ottawa impose sanctions in retaliation.

April 20, 2019

It was an embarrassing display, but under the circumstances not surprising. Kenney has been having a rough ride, having dropped the ball on Alberta’s pandemic response. He had a minister and several MLAs take off for sunny vacations while his government was urging Albertans to stay at home. He wants to reopen coal mining in an environmentally sensitive part of the province and is facing massive opposition. Oh, and he invested $1.5 billion into the pipeline, along with $6 billion more in loan guarantees.

He did that, knowing that Biden was leading in polling and predicted to defeat Trump. In effect, Kenney and his government were betting on a second term for Trump. Not smart.

Not surprisingly, Kenney’s approval ratings have taken a beating, and deservedly so. His bellicose demands for trade sanctions and threats of legal action are empty. Anyone who thinks this action alone will prompt the federal government to start off the new president’s term with sour relations probably also bet on Trump.

May 14, 2016

The financial impact of the decision is real, and no one should be surprised if some sort of legal action ensues to try and recover some of money lost. But no one can credibly argue Biden acted in bad faith. He didn’t. If Americans voted for Biden knowing his stance on the pipeline and green economics, that means they support the decisions that go along with that change. It’s not up to Canada to tell Americans what they should or should not do with energy projects on sovereign U.S. territory. We couldn’t do that with Trump, and we certainly can’t do it with a new president who has a strong mandate. Can you imagine how Canada would react if the U.S. tried to strong-arm energy policy over our sovereign interests? We wouldn’t stand for it.

Here is the bottom line Kenney doesn’t want to talk about. Even before the pandemic, the world was turning its back on fossil fuel consumption and production. The pandemic just accelerated that reality, and the trend is not likely to change regardless of Kenney’s ranting and raving. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Thursday October 29, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 29, 2020

Hey politicians, if you’re not going to walk the walk, just shut up

Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, Health Minister Patty Hajdu and assistant to Ontario’s education minister Sam Oosterhoff have at least one thing in common. And it is not their politics.

All three have been observed doing things in clear contravention of pandemic public safety guidelines. Scheer flew his family across the country so his kids could attend the preferred school when such travel was prohibited for regular citizens. Hajdu was photographed at Pearson International by an Alberta government supporter as she laughed and gestured — sans mask. And Niagara MPP Oosterhoff posed maskless and in close confines with dozens of relatives attending a celebration at a banquet facility.

May 15, 2019

Of thee three, Oosterhoff’s sin seems most brazen, because having posed with his family members for the photo, he or someone else at the gathering then posted it on social media. Doing so caused a firestorm and the post was deleted, but the damage was done by then. 

It turns out the family was asked by the facility’s management to adhere to masking and distancing rules, but they did not comply. Since there’s no way that many people could be from the same social bubble, it’s a particularly egregious and arrogant sin.

By contrast, the photo of Hajdu showed her sitting alone smiling and unmasked. She later said she was eating and therefore allowed to be maskless, but even if that is true, she should have known better. Ministers, in particular the federal minister of health, should hold themselves to a higher standard.

The optics in Oosterhoff’s case are equally bad. The legislative assistant to Education Minister Steven Lecce had to have known ignoring his own government’s public health rules was foolish and high risk. And while Hajdu was exposed by a conservative operative, Oosterhoff basically blew the whistle on himself.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t his first folly. This is the same MPP who, speaking at a rally, said “We pledge to make abortion unthinkable.” And in the spring of last year, his office staff called the police to report seniors who were holding a “read in” to protest library cuts. How many strikes does Oosterhoff get?

Apparently, according to Premier Doug Ford, lots. For the third day in a row, Ford has defended the MPP, promising “Sam will do better.”

April 28, 2020

The perceived double standard is riling Ontarians of all political stripes. When regular folk convene backyard parties or gather in parks or on beaches, they are called “yahoos” by the premier. He has urged law enforcement authorities to come down hard on the “knuckleheads,” but when it comes to his own MPP blatantly disregarding public safety, Ford is all warm and cuddly. 

The hypocrisy rankles, especially at a time when Ontarians are feeling at the end of their rope about the pandemic and resulting restrictions on their personal freedoms. It’s hard enough to do the right thing for the right reasons, but when authority figures break the very same rules, even the most altruistic citizen can be forgiven for chafing at the bit. 

Politicians at all levels should cut this out, and post it to their office bulletin boards, or the socially distant electronic equivalent. We are in the second wave, and it is worse at this point than the first wave. We don’t know where we will be next month or even next year. We are being told to make those sacrifices in the name of keeping ourselves and others healthy. And the vast majority of us are doing that. 

But do not, under any circumstances, tell us to undergo these hardships and make these sacrifices and avoid them yourselves.

You can talk the talk, but if you’re not going to walk and walk, just shut up. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Tuesday April 28, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 28, 2020

Conservatives are struggling to make their mark in the midst of a crisis

It’s been a rough six or seven weeks for most Canadians. Politically, it’s been especially tough time for the Conservative Party and its outgoing leader, Andrew Scheer.

Andrew Scheer Gallery

While the House of Commons has been shuttered for weeks due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been holding daily press conferences, as have some of his most important cabinet ministers. While the House has resumed reduced operations — a once-weekly in-person sitting and two virtual sittings — the stage is not nearly as large as it was before.

That hasn’t kept Scheer from taking to the airwaves. Unlike most provincial opposition leaders across the country (Alberta’s Rachel Notley being one notable exception), the Conservative leader has been holding regular press conferences of his own.

While Scheer has tried to use that platform to lay out his criticisms of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has at times been knocked off-message — for example, by questions about comments made by Derek Sloan, a Conservative MP and candidate for the leadership of the party, regarding the loyalty of Dr. Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health officer.

Most provincial opposition leaders have kept relatively low profiles, with adjourned legislatures limiting them to press releases, email and social media to get their messages out.

Those efforts are unlikely to boost their popularity — particularly in the face of polling that suggests provincial governments have widespread support for their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.

But it doesn’t seem that Scheer’s more active approach is doing him or his party any favours, either. (CBC) 

March 27, 2020

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called anti-lockdown protesters at Queen’s Park on Saturday “a bunch of yahoos” and said they were being “selfish” and “irresponsible” for demonstrating against provincial emergency orders in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Scores of people gathered on the Ontario legislative grounds on Saturday afternoon to call for an end to the shutdown of many services, businesses, activities and public spaces across the province amid the pandemic. At its peak, the protest drew about 200 people.

Ontario has been under a state of emergency for 40 days and much is closed as the number of COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases continues to rise. 

Ford, when asked by a reporter at a news conference about the protesters, blasted their actions. 

“These people that are absolutely irresponsible, it’s reckless to do what they’re doing. Personally, I think it’s selfish,” Ford said. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre took aim at the Liberals’ coronavirus stimulus programs on Sunday, saying that while his party supports compensating Canadians amid the pandemic, the measures are not working as intended.

“These massive programs will be like a gigantic experiment in freakonomics because in many cases they are having the opposite of their intended effect,” he told reporters. (Global) https://globalnews.ca/news/6870332/coronavirus-freakonomics-conservative/

April 23, 2020

Meanwhile, President Trump’s public statements about using disinfectants to potentially treat the coronavirus have put him in the company of pseudoscientists and purveyors of phony elixirs who promote and sell industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for autism, malaria and a long list of medical conditions.

The president’s comments, at a White House briefing last week, have already prompted widespread incredulity, warnings from health experts and a spike in calls to poison control centers around the country. The makers of Clorox and Lysol urged Americans not to inject or ingest their products. (New York Times) 

 

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 10, 2019

SNL spoofs Justin Trudeau’s candid comments about Donald Trump

December 4, 2019

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent candid comments about U.S. President Donald Trump received the Saturday Night Live treatment, with some big-name comedians dropping in to portray Trudeau and other world leaders as cool kids teasing a clueless Trump.

Jimmy Fallon as Trudeau, Paul Rudd as French President Emmanuel Macron, and James Corden as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t let Trump sit at their table in the skit and put a sign on his back saying, “Impeach me!!!”

Nearly one week ago, Trudeau was seen standing in a huddle with Macron, Johnson, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth, at a Buckingham Palace reception for leaders at the NATO summit, joking about Trump’s long, impromptu press conferences.

“Some dismissed it as petty high school gossip,” the SNL intro begins, “but you should have seen what happened in the NATO cafeteria.”

June 27, 2016

The sketch pokes fun at Johnson’s inclusion in the caught-on-video chat, given the British prime minister’s generally closer relationship with Trump.

Rudd’s Macron tells Baldwin’s Trump that an empty seat had been promised to a friend, to which the Trump character replies that he is Johnson’s friend.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is,” Corden says, looking away. “I’m hanging out with these guys now.”

The sketch has the Trudeau character mocking Trump’s appearance and intelligence, while the Macron character tells the others to wave to Trump at the other table, “so he thinks we like him.”

“Those are my best friends,” the Trump character says. “We run this place.”

The Johnson character also makes a joke about Macron’s wife being older, and the Trump character says, “That’s good. I like when it’s mean, but not about me.”

December 20, 2016

The real Trump has seemed to shrug off the recording, calling Trudeau “two-faced,” but also overall a good guy.

Later in the show, during the Weekend Update segment, the SNL cast took one more dig at Trudeau, playing off of Trump’s “two-faced” comment.

“It’s true, I’ve definitely seen Trudeau with at least one other face,” says host Colin Jost, while displaying a 2001 picture of Trudeau wearing brownface as part of an Aladdin costume in a photo that emerged during the fall election. (CBC) 

 

Thursday November 21, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 21, 2019

Why Chrystia Freeland is the indispensable Trudeau cabinet minister

Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland have been very good for each other. Not for the first time, the future of the Liberal government — and a lot else — seem to be riding on the two of them finding success together.

August 28, 2018

“She is someone with whom I worked very, very closely, and with great success, on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the challenges of the American administration,” Trudeau said Wednesday afternoon, using the most delicate language possible to describe the experience of dealing with Donald Trump’s White House.

“We know that as we move forward on issues that matter across the country, like energy and the environment and other large issues, we will have to engage in a strong and positive way with different orders of government.”

During a phone call with Trudeau in the summer of 2018, at perhaps the most contentious moment of the prolonged struggle over NAFTA, Trump described Freeland as a “nasty woman.” In some circles, that’s a badge of honour in its own right.

But Freeland came away from that prolonged drama with a claim to having played a pivotal role in preserving this country’s most important trading relationship at a moment of unprecedented instability.

May 16, 2019

Her reward is the title of “deputy prime minister” and responsibility for helping to hold together the world’s largest democratic federation at a time of profound change and uncertainty.

It’s the culmination of a political career that began six years ago when Trudeau and his top advisers recruited Freeland to run in a by-election in Toronto Centre. Trudeau had become Liberal leader just six months earlier and Freeland became his first star candidate — the first evidence that Trudeau could attract smart and accomplished people to serve alongside him.

Freeland was something like the platonic ideal of a Liberal candidate: a Harvard-educated Rhodes scholar who had become an internationally recognized journalist and author in New York. And while the Conservatives were scoffing that Trudeau wasn’t ready to lead, Freeland was ready to line up behind him.

From Trudeau’s perspective, not all of his star recruits worked out for the best (Jody Wilson-Raybould, most notably) but Freeland became central and integral to his government.

A year before she joined the Liberals, Freeland published her second book, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. Once in the fold, she was an important voice in shaping a political agenda focused on increasing taxes on the wealthiest and building supports for the middle class.

October 20, 2016

In Trudeau’s first cabinet, she was made international trade minister. There, she dragged a free trade deal with Europe to completion — famously displaying “visible emotion” during the final push. She was not a natural politician but she slowly got better at it. (CBC)