LGBT – mackaycartoons

Thursday June 24, 2021

July 1, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 24, 2021

Bill to restrict conversion therapy passes House, heads to Senate

June 10, 2021

The government’s bill to restrict conversion therapy has passed through the House of Commons and is now headed to the Senate.

Bill C-6 passed 263-63 with support from the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. Although many Conservatives MPs voted against it, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole voted in favour.

Conversion therapy is an attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

If successful, the government’s amendment of the Criminal Code would make it illegal to force a minor or non-consenting adult to: undergo conversion therapy; take a minor abroad for conversion therapy; or promote, advertise, or benefit from the provision of conversion therapy, among other things.

August 27, 2019

In March, Conservative MP Tamara Jansen tabled a petition in the House on the definition of conversion therapy in the bill. She, and some of her House colleagues, have argued that the bill would criminalize normal conversations between children and parents about sexuality.

The legislation was first introduced in March 2020, then reintroduced last October after Parliament was prorogued in August.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked the NDP and Bloc to support “pieces of legislation” he said would make a difference to Canadians, including Bill C-6.

May 31, 2016

“There’s also a time to work together … as we move (to pass) some really important pieces of legislation today (by) supporting the LGBTQ community by banning conversion therapy,” Trudeau said. “The Conservatives don’t want us to do that, but we will, with the support of the NDP and the Bloc.”

After Tuesday’s vote, Conservative Justice critic Rob Moore, who voted against the bill, said in a statement that a Conservative government would introduce a bill that better defines conversion therapy.

“At committee, Conservatives introduced an amendment that would better clarify the definition of conversion therapy in the bill to target coercive practices,” the statement reads. “The Liberals ignored reasonable efforts to build a consensus and strengthen the bill.”

C-6 could be introduced at first reading in the Senate before the chamber rises at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. (iPolitics)

Thursday September 20, 2012

September 20, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday September 20, 2012

Nuclear family is no longer the norm in Canada

The mom-pop-and-three-kids-under-one-roof model that typified Canadian households of 50 years ago has morphed into a complex and diverse web of family ties involving living alone, re-marriage, stepchildren, empty-nesters and multiple generations sharing a home.

Statistics Canada has released the third tranche of new data from its 2011 census, this time portraying the changes in Canadian families and living arrangements over five decades.

Married couples are in a long-term decline, single parenting has risen persistently, and families have gradually shrunk. The average family was 3.9 people in 1961, when the baby boom was in full swing. Now, it’s 2.9.

“We do see more complexity and definitely more diversity in families,” said Statistics Canada demographer Anne Milan.

For the first time, Statistics Canada says there are more people living alone in Canada than there are couples with children. One-person households now make up 27.6 per cent of all homes, a three-fold increase since 1961 that is especially notable in Quebec.

Meanwhile, couples with children have continued their decline, down to 26.5 per cent of all households, from 28.5 per cent in 2006.

Just 10 years ago, couples with children under 24 years old made up 43.6 per cent of all families (not including one-person households) — by far the most typical kind of family. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday May 11, 2012

March 11, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday May 11, 2012

Joe Biden apologizes to Obama over gay marriage

After nearly single-handedly pushing gay marriage to the forefront of the U.S. presidential campaign and inadvertently pressuring President Barack Obama to declare his support for same-sex unions, there was only one thing left for Vice-President Joe Biden to do: apologize.

Biden’s apology came Wednesday in the Oval Office, shortly before the president sat for a hastily arranged interview in which he told the American people that he now supported gay marriage.

The vice-president expressed remorse and regret for declaring his support for same-sex unions ahead of Obama, said a person familiar with the exchange, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. Obama accepted the apology, saying he knew Biden had only been speaking from the heart.

Biden’s apology followed days of frustration in the West Wing after the vice-president went off script, something he had done plenty of times. Without White House approval, Biden declared on a Sunday talk show that he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex married couples having the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

Usually Obama can swat away Biden’s free-wheeling ways. But not this time.

Biden’s remarks focused a fresh spotlight on what Obama had vaguely referred to as “evolving” views on gay marriage.

What few people outside of Obama’s inner circle of six or seven close aides knew at the time was that the president had, in fact, finished that evolution months earlier and was waiting for a suitable opportunity to inform the public of his views. (Source: Ottawa Citizen)