migrants

Thursday November 12, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday November 12, 2015 Refugees as a long-term investment in the country Immigration Minister John McCallum and the new Liberal government have drawn global attention and praise with a frantic Beat the Clock pledge to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year. The deadline is probably unnecessarily tight and, to do it right, Canadians would probably give the new Trudeau government the breathing room needed to push the Jan. 1 deadline. But the government has the support of the UN Refugee Agency, provinces, cities, the military, airlines, labour organizations, churches and Canadians. It evokes memories of the last time this country opened its arms in such a compassionate embrace and one Toronto man knows better than any the work involved in pulling off such a herculean task. Scott Mullin was 22 and barely out of Carleton University when the Star headlined a March 5, 1979, piece about him Ñ ÒViet refugees view Canadian as a god.ÕÕ A few months later, the CBC called him ÒThe One-Man Board of Immigration,ÕÕ in a July 1979 piece from reporter Peter Mansbridge. Mullin, now the vice-president of community relations for the TD Bank, determined which of the so-called Vietnamese Òboat peopleÓ came to Canada and which were denied passage, relying largely on gut impressions which resulted in far more ÒyaysÓ than Ònays.Ó ÒWe have to look upon this for ourselves as an investment in the future,ÕÕ the young Mullin told Mansbridge 36 years ago. ÒThe first six months we might have a lot of problems, but whatÕs this guyÕs son going to be like and howÕs he going to do? I think thatÕs the important thing you have to look at.ÕÕ (Source: Toronto Star) http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/11/refugees-as-a-long-term-investment-in-the-country-tim-harper.html Canada, Syria, Syrian, migrants, Hercules, emperor, Justin Trudeau, John McCallum, immigration, refugees, war

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 12, 2015

Refugees as a long-term investment in the country

Immigration Minister John McCallum and the new Liberal government have drawn global attention and praise with a frantic Beat the Clock pledge to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year.

The deadline is probably unnecessarily tight and, to do it right, Canadians would probably give the new Trudeau government the breathing room needed to push the Jan. 1 deadline. But the government has the support of the UN Refugee Agency, provinces, cities, the military, airlines, labour organizations, churches and Canadians.

It evokes memories of the last time this country opened its arms in such a compassionate embrace and one Toronto man knows better than any the work involved in pulling off such a herculean task.

Scott Mullin was 22 and barely out of Carleton University when the Star headlined a March 5, 1979, piece about him — “Viet refugees view Canadian as a god.’’

A few months later, the CBC called him “The One-Man Board of Immigration,’’ in a July 1979 piece from reporter Peter Mansbridge.

Mullin, now the vice-president of community relations for the TD Bank, determined which of the so-called Vietnamese “boat people” came to Canada and which were denied passage, relying largely on gut impressions which resulted in far more “yays” than “nays.”

“We have to look upon this for ourselves as an investment in the future,’’ the young Mullin told Mansbridge 36 years ago. “The first six months we might have a lot of problems, but what’s this guy’s son going to be like and how’s he going to do? I think that’s the important thing you have to look at.’’ (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Wednesday September 23, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday September 23, 2015 This is the refugee debate we ought to be having Dieter Zetsche surprised attendees of the Frankfurt auto show recently when he interrupted a presentation to opine on the 800,000 Syrian refugees that are expected to flood into Germany this year. The mustachioed chairman of Daimler AG, which makes Mercedes luxury cars, suggested the influx of asylum seekers could Òhelp foster another economic miracleÓ by offsetting the challenges posed by the countryÕs rapidly aging population. Zetsche went on to say the carmaker would help pay for housing for migrants in Stuttgart, while rival Volkswagen, not to be outdone, said it would find them trainee jobs. In Canada, by contrast, politicians have failed to draw a similar link between accepting large numbers of Syrian refugees and the potential for future economic growth, despite being in the midst of a federal election where economic matters are said to be top of mind among voters. Instead, the debate is focused narrowly on the need to balance humanitarian assistance with national security concernsÑnot that the number being talked about would have much of an economic impact anyway. The Harper governmentÕs promise to take another look at its policy, following significant public outcry, only resulted in a commitment to speed up by 15 months the resettlement of 10,000 Syrians, not accept more of them. Meanwhile, Tom MulcairÕs NDP has proposed bringing 10,000 refugees into the country by the end of this year, while Justin TrudeauÕs Liberals have promised to bring in 25,000 by January. It all raises an obvious question: Are we not only missing out on the chance to help those in desperate need, but a historic economic opportunity, too? (Continued: MacLeans) http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/this-is-the-refugee-debate-we-ought-to-be-having/ Germany, migrants, refugees, Syria, Europe, Volkswagen, automobile, emissions, stan

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 23, 2015

This is the refugee debate we ought to be having

Dieter Zetsche surprised attendees of the Frankfurt auto show recently when he interrupted a presentation to opine on the 800,000 Syrian refugees that are expected to flood into Germany this year. The mustachioed chairman of Daimler AG, which makes Mercedes luxury cars, suggested the influx of asylum seekers could “help foster another economic miracle” by offsetting the challenges posed by the country’s rapidly aging population. Zetsche went on to say the carmaker would help pay for housing for migrants in Stuttgart, while rival Volkswagen, not to be outdone, said it would find them trainee jobs.

In Canada, by contrast, politicians have failed to draw a similar link between accepting large numbers of Syrian refugees and the potential for future economic growth, despite being in the midst of a federal election where economic matters are said to be top of mind among voters.

Instead, the debate is focused narrowly on the need to balance humanitarian assistance with national security concerns—not that the number being talked about would have much of an economic impact anyway. The Harper government’s promise to take another look at its policy, following significant public outcry, only resulted in a commitment to speed up by 15 months the resettlement of 10,000 Syrians, not accept more of them. Meanwhile, Tom Mulcair’s NDP has proposed bringing 10,000 refugees into the country by the end of this year, while Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have promised to bring in 25,000 by January.

It all raises an obvious question: Are we not only missing out on the chance to help those in desperate need, but a historic economic opportunity, too? (Continued: MacLeans)

Saturday, September 12, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday, September 12, 2015 Stephen Harper is going Down Under to come up on top. With polls suggesting the Conservatives are struggling in third place, the party has reached out to Lynton Crosby, a top Australian political campaign strategist who has been credited with securing victories for British Prime Minister David Cameron and other right-leaning leaders. Crosby, known as the "Wizard of Oz" for his string of political successes, is working with the Tories as their campaign tries to regain momentum after a series of negative headlines. But the exact role he will play is unclear. Conservative campaign spokesman Kory Teneycke would only say that "Crosby is somebody that pretty much everyone in our organization has known for a long time, we've had a lot of cross-pollination over the years with our friends in Australia and also the U.K." Teneycke wouldn't get into details, but denied Crosby was running the campaign, adding, however, "he's been around for a very long time and continues to be around." Crosby is widely acknowledged for playing a key role in the surprising majority victory of Cameron's Conservative Party in Britain this year. He was also the national campaign director for the successful campaigns of former Australia prime minister John Howard in 1998 and 2001 and was behind the winning London mayoral campaigns of Boris Johnson in 2008 and 2012. He has been described as the Australian Karl Rove, after the key adviser to former U.S president George W. Bush. According to a Guardian profile of him, Crosby employs the strategy of wedge politics Ñ finding an issue that can be exploited to split off an opponent's traditional supporters. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-election-2015-lynton-crosby-conservatives-1.3223315 Canada, election, #elxn2015, Lynton Crosby, migrants, refugees, Stephen Harper, crisis, polls, compassion

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, September 12, 2015

Lynton Crosby, Australian strategist, hired by Tories to boost political fortunes

Stephen Harper is going Down Under to come up on top.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday September 9, 2015 Canada Election Shifts Gears After Trying Summer for Harper After a month of campaigning, the three-way race for CanadaÕs Oct. 19 election has narrowed as warning signs emerge for Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his bid for a fourth consecutive term. The incumbent Conservative has endured an explosive court case, talk of a recession and a refugee crisis that have eroded his traditional core platform planks: accountability and economic stewardship. Tom Mulcair of the leftist New Democratic Party and Justin Trudeau of the centrist Liberals, meanwhile, are each working to position themselves as the best alternative to Harper. Polls have shown the three parties essentially tied -- though one, published Monday night by Nanos Research, suggests Harper has sunk to third place. The deadlock may break as Canada emerges from an end-of-summer long weekend, with students returning to classrooms and workers settling back into routine. ÒThe campaign to date has been largely a phone campaign producing little attention,Ó said Frank Graves of Ekos Research. ÒAll of this will change post-Labour Day as the real war for votes begins in earnest.Ó An Ekos poll published Friday showed MulcairÕs New Democrats in the lead with 30.2 percent support, HarperÕs Conservatives at 29.5 percent and TrudeauÕs Liberals close behind at 27.7 percent. MondayÕs Nanos survey, conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail, found the NDP ahead with 32.7 percent, followed by the Liberals at 30.8 percent and Harper at 26.2 percent. The electionÕs first month included two weeks of testimony in the criminal trial of former Conservative senator Mike Duffy that exposed the inner workings of HarperÕs office and a plan to cover up disputed expenses. While explosive, that testimony has largely been forgotten now, Graves said. (Source: Bloomberg) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-08/canada-s-election-shifts-ge

With polls suggesting the Conservatives are struggling in third place, the party has reached out to Lynton Crosby, a top Australian political campaign strategist who has been credited with securing victories for British Prime Minister David Cameron and other right-leaning leaders.

Crosby, known as the “Wizard of Oz” for his string of political successes, is working with the Tories as their campaign tries to regain momentum after a series of negative headlines.

But the exact role he will play is unclear. Conservative campaign spokesman Kory Teneycke would only say that “Crosby is somebody that pretty much everyone in our organization has known for a long time, we’ve had a lot of cross-pollination over the years with our friends in Australia and also the U.K.”

Teneycke wouldn’t get into details, but denied Crosby was running the campaign, adding, however, “he’s been around for a very long time and continues to be around.”

2011-2015

2011-2015

Crosby is widely acknowledged for playing a key role in the surprising majority victory of Cameron’s Conservative Party in Britain this year. He was also the national campaign director for the successful campaigns of former Australia prime minister John Howard in 1998 and 2001 and was behind the winning London mayoral campaigns of Boris Johnson in 2008 and 2012.

He has been described as the Australian Karl Rove, after the key adviser to former U.S president George W. Bush. According to a Guardian profile of him, Crosby employs the strategy of wedge politics — finding an issue that can be exploited to split off an opponent’s traditional supporters. (Source: CBC News)

(St. John's) Telegram, September 15, 2015

(St. John’s) Telegram, September 15, 2015

Thursday September 3, 2015

 

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday September 4, 2015 How Canada could be doing more to stop the migrant crisis They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum. The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 Ð the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories Ð are forced to leave their homes. The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global. They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum. The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 Ð the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories Ð are forced to leave their homes. The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global. The number of European migrants increased 51 per cent in 2014: through Turkey, the worldÕs top refugee-hosting country; across the Mediterranean; and within Ukraine. The number of Asian migrants is up 31 per cent, with Iran and Pakistan now in the top four refugee-receiving nations. Displacement in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is up 18 per cent. Ethiopia has replaced Kenya as the top African host nation. The numbers from the Americas are up 12 per cent because of the six million still displaced within Colombia. Refugee claims are up 44 per cent in the United States as a result of the increased flow from Central America. The displaced are labelled variously as aliens, illegals, migrants or refugees. Few countries particip

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 3, 2015

How Canada could be doing more to stop the migrant crisis

They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum.

Wednesday April 22, 2015The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 – the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories – are forced to leave their homes.

The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global.

They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum.

The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 – the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories – are forced to leave their homes.

The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global.

Wednesday February 18, 2015The number of European migrants increased 51 per cent in 2014: through Turkey, the world’s top refugee-hosting country; across the Mediterranean; and within Ukraine. The number of Asian migrants is up 31 per cent, with Iran and Pakistan now in the top four refugee-receiving nations. Displacement in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is up 18 per cent. Ethiopia has replaced Kenya as the top African host nation. The numbers from the Americas are up 12 per cent because of the six million still displaced within Colombia. Refugee claims are up 44 per cent in the United States as a result of the increased flow from Central America.

The displaced are labelled variously as aliens, illegals, migrants or refugees.

Few countries participate in the UNHCR program that resettles about 100,000 refugees each year. The United States takes the most. Canada has agreed to resettle 14,500 refugees as part of an intake of 285,000 immigrants this year.

During the current election campaign, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pledged to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq over the next four years, but critics note that it took almost two years to meet our 2013 commitment to settle 1,500 Syrian refugees. Our processing capacity will have to be improved if we are to meet the pledge of 10,000 over the next three years.

Canada could do more.

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Available at the Redbubble Boutique

The next government should launch an energetic appeal matching private and government giving. Couple it with a similar plan for private and government sponsorship to increase refugee resettlement. Make bureaucracy facilitate, not hinder.

While the federal government must lead, provincial and municipal governments have a role. In the aftermath of the Indochinese boat people crisis, then-mayor of Ottawa Marion Dewar launched Project 4000 in June, 1979, to help resettle 4,000 of the 8,000 refugees Canada had agreed to take. Her initiative galvanized the country. Then prime minister Joe Clark’s minority government raised Canada’s intake to 50,000. Canada would eventually settle more than 60,000 refugees.

The moral case for saving desperate people fleeing for their lives is clear. So is the realpolitik recognition that inaction only compounds a human tragedy that eventually may wind up on our own shores. (Source: Globe & Mail)

(Saskatoon) Star Phoenix, September 4, 2015

(Saskatoon) Star Phoenix, September 4, 2015

Wednesday April 22, 2015

Wednesday April 22, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 22, 2015

Pull comes to push as the EU wrestles with the migrant crisis

Last week, 400 or more, many of them women and children sheltering below deck, perished in a capsize off Libya. On Sunday, as many as 900 more lost in a single shipwreck. And on Monday, as the contingent agonized over what to do now, came heartbreaking shoreline-view footage of a sinking off the coast of Greek island of Rhodes. Mercifully, most made it ashore. Some did not, reportedly including a four-year-old boy.

Europe’s bad bet now is expected to be reversed quickly by the EU, which will meet Thursday in crisis mode, when it is expected to redouble formal search-and-rescue operations. Its efforts will be joined by a raft of aid groups attempting to bring global resources to bear.

“The world needs to react with the conviction with which it eliminated piracy off the coast of Somalia a few years ago,” said William Lacy Swing, director-general of the International Organization for Migrants (IOM).

“All of us, especially the EU and the world’s powers can no longer sit on the sidelines watching while this tragedy unfolds in slow motion and well over 1,500 have drowned since the beginning of January.”

But as the crisis deepened, agencies involved in the broader effort reminded us Europe is far from alone in this. Canada, let us not forget, was more than a little involved in Libya and now, more than a little involved in the madness that is Syria. (Source: Toronto Star)

Letter to the Editor

A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Spectator cartoonist Graeme MacKay has a powerful message. Canadian foreign aid should be used to help refugees, not bomb them! I hope someone sends a copy of Wednesday’s Spectator to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office.
Hughena Matheson, Burlington