Left – mackaycartoons

Tuesday February 5, 2019

February 12, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 5, 2019

Jagmeet Singh questions Canada’s recognition of Venezuelan opposition leader

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is questioning Canada’s decision to recognize a Venezuelan opposition leader as the country’s interim president, after prominent members of his party lashed out at the Liberal government’s foreign policy move Thursday.

March 31, 2018 – retraction

In a statement to the Toronto Star, Singh said it should be up to Venezuelans to decide who leads their country, which was roiled by deadly protests this week as the socialist regime led by Nicolas Maduro tries to cling to power amidst economic collapse and a mass exodus of migrants from the South American nation.

Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, announced Wednesday that Ottawa will recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and support his “commitment to lead Venezuela to free and fair presidential elections.” Canada was among the “Lima Group” of countries that called on Maduro to step down earlier this month, declaring that he seized power through “fraudulent and anti-democratic elections” last year.

Freeland’s decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as Venezuelan leader, prompting the Maduro regime to cut diplomatic ties with the United States.

Animated!

The NDP leader, however, is calling for a United Nations-led dialogue to “avert a disaster” in Venezuela, and said Thursday that all countries deserve to choose their leaders without “authoritative pressure or foreign interference.” He also condemned military action against protesters by the Maduro regime.

“Canada should not simply follow the U.S.’s foreign policy, particularly given its history of self-interested interference in the region,” Singh said.

“The question of who is to lead Venezuela should be in the hands of Venezuelans.” (Sourec: Toronto Star)

Tuesday February 14, 2017

February 13, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 14, 2017

Donald Trump tells Justin Trudeau he wants to make America better for women entrepreneurs

Donald Trump has promised to make the US a better working environment for women entrepreneurs, arguing that women play a “tremendous role” in the US. (Photo Gallery.)

Speaking at a roundtable of women executives, organised by his daughter Ivanka Trump, and sitting opposite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mr Trump praised the “phenomenal” role that women executives played in his business.

“Women, as you know, and I can say that from my past life, I had so many women executives, they were phenomenal, phenomenal, and really helped me, and it was really fantastic,” Mr Trump said.

“They play a tremendously important role, women in our economy.”

“We must ensure our economy is a place where women can work and thrive and I think that’s a place where that is happening much more so. In Europe and Canada it’s happening big league,” he added.

Mr Trudeau said the group needed to think about how to create more “paths to success” for women.

“Whenever I sit down with a woman executive, I know that she has had to overcome significant barriers that exist, and therefore is likely to have greater insight into helping up others, but also the formidable contributor to the success of the business and her economy,” he continued.

“So, I think for me, it’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s about understanding that women in leadership positions is a very powerful leverage for success for business, for communities and for our entire economy.” (Source: The Independent)

Saturday November 12, 2016

November 11, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 12, 2016

Justin Trudeau invites Donald Trump to visit Canada in call that marks ‘strong beginning’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invited U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to visit Canada “at his earliest opportunity.”

Trudeau called Trump on Wednesday night to congratulate him on his election victory, and the two discussed “various areas of mutual interest.”

“It was a brief call, but it was a strong beginning to what is going to be a constructive relationship,” Trudeau said during a news conference in Sydney, N.S., this morning.

Asked by reporters how he would explain to children that a “sexist, racist, bully” was taking office, Trudeau stressed the need to promote a strong working relationship with anyone who the American people elect.

It’s important to work constructively with whomever is president because “that’s what Canadians expect,” he said.

“Canadians expect me to stand up for Canadian rights, Canadian opportunities, Canadian jobs and Canadian values,” he said. “And I will do that in a way that continues to do that in a way that continues to benefit our country and its position in the world.”

Trudeau said Trump expressed “warmth” for Canada during the call.

It has become a tradition that the first foreign visit by a U.S. president is to Canada. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Trump also extended an invitation for Trudeau to visit Washington.

No details were provided on when either visit could take place.

Trudeau’s telephone call came after he met with some of his senior advisers and cabinet ministers, who discussed the tone and approach the prime minister should take in the debut meeting with Trump. (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday September 1, 2015

August 31, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 1, 2015

Mulcair can only benefit from claims he’s not a traditional leftwinger

Listen to this old dittie from yesteryear as you read on…
(By Kelly McParland) If I was a conspiracy theorist, I’d suspect there was a conspiracy under way to covertly boost the image of Thomas Mulcair among non-NDP voters.There’s no question Mulcair has made a real effort to separate himself from the party’s loopier policies of the past. You won’t hear the word “socialism” escape his lips. He has promised a balanced budget — not someday later on, when they get around to it, if circumstances allow, as the Liberals have done. But right away, in the first New Democrat budget after taking office. And he’s pledged to do it without raising taxes on income.

Available at the boutique

That’s all well and good. But there’s also been a series of curious leaks that seem intended to undermine Mulcair by arguing he’s too conservative, not a real New Democrat but a late convert who adopted the party because it seemed best suited to serve his personal ambition. It’s possible the accusations might raise doubts among true NDP believers, who like their politics undiluted by practicality, but they could also have the opposite effect, making him more attractive to voters who might otherwise be disinclined to support the country’s traditional left-wing party. In other words, if you believe in conspiracies, you might suspect the leaks are an effort to achieve the opposite of their apparent intention.

As the National Post noted recently, Mulcair has been outed for once saying nice things about Margaret Thatcher, of considering an offer to join the Conservatives after quitting Quebec’s Liberals, of being “the most right wing” member of that Quebec Liberal caucus, of supporting Quebec business owners against Quebec’s language police, and of failing to adopt the left’s rote opposition to free trade in all its forms.

He was also criticized by Ed Broadbent, the NDP’s current patron saint and elder statesman, who questioned Mulcair’s leadership skills, accused him of claiming credit for matters he had nothing to do with, and of seeking to change the NDP into “another Liberal party.” Perhaps worst of all, Mulcair is known to be sympathetic to Israel, challenging the party’s status as a safe harbour to all manner of anti-Israel zealots and promoters of boycotts. (Continued: National Post)

Alberni Valley Times (British Columbia) September 2, 2015

Friday September 12, 2014

September 12, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 12, 2014

NDP may not be able to stop tide turning against it

There is a tide in Ontario political affairs that does not bode well for Thomas Mulcair’s New Democrats in next year’s federal election. And they may be powerless to reverse it to their advantage.

That tide was instrumental in propelling Premier Kathleen Wynne to the safe ground of a majority government last spring. By all indications, it is again at play in Toronto’s municipal campaign.

It should come as no surprise that a Forum Research poll that suggested Mayor Rob Ford (Open Rob Ford’s policard) was still in the running for re-election — with Olivia Chow running third — was followed by a Nanos poll that showed that John Tory had consolidated his lead on his main rivals.

For scores of Toronto voters, ousting Ford from office this fall comes before loyalty to a political brand.

For obvious reasons, the anybody-but-Ford movement is in a class of its own, as is the incumbent mayor who has inspired it. But last spring’s Ontario election demonstrated that it is not necessary for a politician to make it on the international tabloid circuit to induce voters into coalescing behind the strongest available alternative.

In the provincial campaign, the platform put forward by Tory leader Tim Hudak went a long way to convince many progressive voters to stick with the Liberals rather than risk facilitating a Conservative victory by giving their vote to the third-place NDP.

Transpose those dynamics to the federal level and you will find more than a few progressive voters willing to hold their nose next year if that is what it takes to end Stephen Harper’s reign in power.

To many, the first-place Liberals come across as a safer haven than the third-place NDP, regardless of the comparative skills of their leaders or even their respective policies.

This is a problem that may ultimately be beyond Mulcair’s fixing. (Continued: Toronto Star)