mountie – mackaycartoons

Friday July 17, 2018

July 26, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 17, 2018

Mexico and Canada insist on NAFTA as a 3-way deal

June 29, 2016

Canadian and Mexican officials insisted on Wednesday that the North American Free Trade Agreement remain a trilateral pact and reiterated their opposition to U.S. calls for a so-called “sunset clause” that could end the deal after five years.

After a meeting in Mexico City, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said they remained optimistic about negotiations to revamp the 24-year-old trade pact.

Talks began last August but stalled in the run-up to the Mexican presidential election. That was due, at least in part, to U.S. demands for sweeping changes in the auto sector and for a sunset clause, which would put the deal forming one of the world’s largest trading blocs up for renewal every five years.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the pact if he cannot renegotiate it to better serve his country’s interests.

Freeland and Guajardo struck an upbeat tone, with Guajardo saying about two-thirds of the agreement has been ironed out.

January 24, 2018

In Washington on Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue raised the prospect that NAFTA could be negotiated separately with Canada and Mexico, in order to reach an agreement first with Mexico by September.

Although Mexican officials are heading to Washington this week to meet with their U.S. counterparts, Guajardo stressed that a deal between all three countries remained the goal.

“The fact that we are going to Washington to participate in bilateral talks is to reinforce the concept of the trilateralism of this agreement,” he said. “The essence of this agreement is trilateral, and it will continue being trilateral. (Source: CBC)

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Tuesday June 27, 2017

June 26, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 27, 2017

Canada’s Self-Loathing150

Partypooper150

July 1 is Canada’s 150th anniversary, but nobody seems particularly eager to join the party. The muted attempts at celebration have so far produced either awkwardness or embarrassment. A giant rubber duck, six stories tall, is supposed to arrive in Toronto Harbor on Canada Day, but its imminent appearance has been greeted by outrage over costs and suspicions of plagiarism. In March, the CBC, Canada’s national broadcaster, began televising a documentary series called “The Story of Us” to the almost instantaneous howling of Quebec and Nova Scotia politicians at what they regarded as significant omissions in our supposedly collective narrative. Resistance 150, an indigenous political movement, is planning to disrupt the anniversary itself.

June 22, 2017

The principal excitement of our sesquicentennial so far has been the fury of national self-critique it has inspired.

The irony is that Canada, at the moment, has a lot to celebrate. Our prime minister is glamorous and internationally recognized as a celebrity of progressive politics. We are among the last societies in the West not totally consumed by loathing of others. Canada leads the Group of 7 countries in economic growth. Our cultural power is real: Drake recently had 24 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time — for one shining moment he was nearly a quarter of popular music. Frankly, it’s not going to get much better than this for little old Canada.

So why is Canada so bad at celebrating itself? The nationalism that defined the country during the last major anniversary, the centenary in 1967, has evaporated. The election of Justin Trudeau has brought a new generation to power, a generation raised on a vision of history more critical than laudatory. We dream of reconciliation with the victims of our ancestors’ crimes rather than memorialization of their triumphs. (Continued: New York Times)

Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, July 3, 2017

Cartoon didn’t do justice to Canada 150

RE: Celebrating Canada then and now, (editorial cartoon June 27)

During this year of celebrating Canada, it was very disappointing to see such a negative and incorrect editorial cartoon about how Canadians feel during this, our 150th birthday celebratory year.

I am not saying that there are some Canadians who have negative or frustrated feelings with various situations in our country, but those feeling were also present in 1967.

But if you are supposed to represent the majority of Canadians, then you are so far off the mark. Canadians are thrilled to be celebrating our country from sea to sea whether on the Via Rail 150 pass or the Parks Canada 150 pass.

Small communities are having street parties and large communities are having festivals. Big or small, loud or quiet, we are all proud to be Canadian. So fly that flag right side up and with dignity. True North Strong and Free!

Sheila Drury, Mount Hope

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