John Baird

Friday, July 24, 2015

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday, July 24, 2015 Feds canÕt avoid $1-billion deficit, budget officer says The federal Conservatives will fail to accomplish their key promise of balancing OttawaÕs books this year, instead running a $1-billion budget deficit in 2015, the parliamentary budget officer says. Budget watchdog Jean-Denis FrŽchette said Wednesday that the economic picture had changed since the ConservativesÕ budget in April, which predicted surpluses in 2015-16 and over the next several years. ÒEconomic data has since indicated declines in real GDP (gross domestic product) that were not reflected in the governmentÕs assumptions,Ó FrŽchette said. He noted that the Bank of Canada, in its quarterly forecast last week, had chopped its prediction for economic growth this year from 2 per cent to about 1 per cent. The worse than expected economic conditions will reduce federal tax revenues, trimming $3.9 billion from OttawaÕs fiscal accounts in 2015, the budget watchdog said. But taking into account the $1 billion set aside as a rainy-day fund by Finance Minister Joe Oliver and factoring in other impacts, FrŽchette said the Conservatives will run a $1-billion deficit this year. With an eye on the Oct. 19 election, opposition parties seized on the report to slam the ConservativesÕ handling of the economy. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised for years that 2015 would be the year his government puts an end to a seven-year string of budget deficits. ÒThat was supposed to be the ConservativesÕ hallmark branding, wasnÕt it, balanced budget?Ó NDP leader Thomas Mulcair asked during a campaign-style swing through southern Ontario. ÒWe now know thatÕs not going to be the case.Ó Mulcair said Harper put the economy at risk by relying too much on the oil and gas industry as an engine of growth. ÒThe Conservatives put all of our economic eggs in the resource extraction basket, and now that that sector is having considerable diffi

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, July 24, 2015

Feds can’t avoid $1-billion deficit, budget officer says

The federal Conservatives will fail to accomplish their key promise of balancing Ottawa’s books this year, instead running a $1-billion budget deficit in 2015, the parliamentary budget officer says.

Tuesday July 14, 2015Budget watchdog Jean-Denis Fréchette said Wednesday that the economic picture had changed since the Conservatives’ budget in April, which predicted surpluses in 2015-16 and over the next several years.

“Economic data has since indicated declines in real GDP (gross domestic product) that were not reflected in the government’s assumptions,” Fréchette said.

Thursday November 13, 2014He noted that the Bank of Canada, in its quarterly forecast last week, had chopped its prediction for economic growth this year from 2 per cent to about 1 per cent.

The worse than expected economic conditions will reduce federal tax revenues, trimming $3.9 billion from Ottawa’s fiscal accounts in 2015, the budget watchdog said. But taking into account the $1 billion set aside as a rainy-day fund by Finance Minister Joe Oliver and factoring in other impacts, Fréchette said the Conservatives will run a $1-billion deficit this year.

With an eye on the Oct. 19 election, opposition parties seized on the report to slam the Conservatives’ handling of the economy. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised for years that 2015 would be the year his government puts an end to a seven-year string of budget deficits.

Wednesday January 21, 2015“That was supposed to be the Conservatives’ hallmark branding, wasn’t it, balanced budget?” NDP leader Thomas Mulcair asked during a campaign-style swing through southern Ontario. “We now know that’s not going to be the case.”

Mulcair said Harper put the economy at risk by relying too much on the oil and gas industry as an engine of growth. “The Conservatives put all of our economic eggs in the resource extraction basket, and now that that sector is having considerable difficulty, it’s affecting everything else in the Canadian economy.” (Source: Toronto Star)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Posted by Project Democracy on Friday, July 24, 2015

Wednesday February 4, 2015

Wednesday February 4, 2015By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 4, 2015

John Baird resigns in emotional House of Commons speech

Tuesday February 3, 2015John Baird, a veteran of Queen’s Park politics and one of the shining lights of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government, has confirmed he is leaving public life.

Baird, 45, whose resignation caught Parliament Hill almost totally off guard, delivered the surprise announcement in the Commons on Tuesday morning. He is stepping down as foreign affairs minister and leaving politics, the Ottawa member of Parliament said.

“The time has come to start a new chapter in my life,” Baird said in an emotional speech to fellow MPs. He did not explain what he will be doing next, though it is expected he will take a job in the private sector.

Tearing up, Baird said, “I will miss this place very much.”

He praised the economic and diplomatic efforts of the Harper government, saying “the world continues to see the best that Canada has to offer.”

Baird said he informed Harper last night of his intention to leave Parliament Hill. Baird received a standing ovation from MPs and after his speech, members lined up and wished him well one by one, with handshakes and hugs on the floor of the Commons.

“It is with great regret and affection that I today accepted the resignation of one of the finest ministers that I have had the privilege of working with, John Baird,” Harper said in a statement .

“John has always been willing to do a lot of heavy lifting in my various cabinets and has assumed daunting new responsibilities with unsurpassed energy, commitment and professionalism, never losing sight of the fact that he was serving the Canadian people,” Harper said.

But the unexpected resignation of one of Harper’s strongest performers was a blow to the Conservatives, who face the prospect of an election later this year. Without Baird, the party will have to refurbish its political operation in the Ottawa area. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Also published at Yahoo News Canada, iPolitics and the Regina Leader Post

Farewell John Baird

John Baird facesTuesday February 3, 2015

Foreign Minister John Baird confirmed Tuesday that he is resigning from his post and will not seek re-election later this year. He’s only 45, but he’s been in politics for what seems like an eternity. In actuality, he’s been in elected office for 20 years, serving in the cabinets of Ontario Premier Mike Harris, and federally with Stephen Harper, as Treasury Board President, Environment Minister, Transport Minister, followed by Foreign Affairs. He was dubbed “Harper’s pitbull”, a label which has stuck to him throughout his time in Ottawa characterizing his aggressive, gruff style, which has been thoroughly enjoyable for editorial cartoonists ever since. Some of my cartoons from the past 13 years: 

November 6, 2002
June 9, 2011
January 7, 2015
July 16, 2013

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Wednesday, December 11, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, December 11, 2013

‘This is not a race’: Baird defends delay in making claim for North Pole

Canada has filed a claim that dramatically expands the country’s boundaries in the Atlantic Ocean, but it will be a few more years before Canadian scientists determine whether that claim can extend all the way to the North Pole.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird — along with Minister for the Arctic Council Leona Aglukkaq — announced Canada’s submission with the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which covers 1.2 million square kilometres of the Atlantic Ocean floor.

During a news conference in Ottawa on Monday, Baird said Canada also filed preliminary information on what it believes to be the outer limits of its claim to the Arctic seafloor.

While the area is not yet fully mapped, Baird says Canada will try to extend its territorial claims to the North Pole.

Tuesday February 3, 2015“We are determined to ensure that all Canadians benefit from the tremendous resources that are to be found in Canada’s Far North,” he said.

The Arctic is believed to contain as much as one-quarter of the world’s undiscovered energy resources.

Aglukkaq said expanding Canada’s continental shelf is central to Canada’s future economic prosperity.

“We are defining Canada’s last frontier,” she said.

Canada, Denmark and Russia all say they believe the mineral- and oil-rich Lomonosov Ridge, which runs beneath the ocean and close to the geographic North Pole, is a natural extension of their continental shelves. The ridge is where scientists must focus their work, Baird said.

The UN submissions will not lead to a binding decision, but instead set up negotiations between countries staking a claim to the region. Talks could drag on for years.

“This is not a race,” Baird said. “This will be something that will benefit the people of Canada for centuries to come and we wanted to take the time to get it right.”

Baird did not explain at his news conference why, after 10 years of research, the mapping work remains incomplete. (Source: CTV News)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tuesday July 16, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 16, 2013

Harper adds 8 new faces in major cabinet shakeup

A mix of young talent, veteran experience and more women at the cabinet table signals a “generational change” as the government prepares for a major policy reset with a fall speech from the throne, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said after unveiling his new inner circle.

The major cabinet makeover elevates eight MPs to the front bench — including four women — and creates new portfolios for multiculturalism and social development.
“I think this is a good mixture of some young and promising talent we have in our caucus and some experienced hands,” Harper said after the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall on Monday morning.

Harper said the government will continue to focus on key priority areas — the economy and job creation, public safety, celebrating Canada’s history and promoting the country’s interests on the world stage. He touted the government’s economic record during a prolonged period of global uncertainty, and said new policy directions are on the way.

“This fall, the government will move ahead with a renewed policy agenda set forward in a speech from the throne,” he said. “And our new agenda will have new faces to bring it forward — the team Canadians elected in 2011 is deep and it is talented.”

Details of the sweeping overhaul were revealed through Harper’s Twitter account before the re-tooled inner circle was officially unveiled with traditional pomp and ceremony. (Source: CBC News)