Paul Martin Jr. • mackaycartoons

October 31, 2007

October 31, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

Arguably, editorial cartoonists exploit Halloween more than any other holiday period of the year. (With a close second place going to Christmas — whose ho ho ho themes will be showing up in cartoons as soon as the flames of Jack ‘O Lanterns burn out.

The problem is the limitations imposed on cartoons with holiday themes like Halloween. Daryl Cagle’s cartoon site has a refreshing gallery of Halloween themed cartoon which does not have even one example the overplayed. line of costume kids lined up with the oddball at the end.

From me this year, I just recycled an old one I did from 3 years ago:

February 1, 2007

February 1, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

HAMILTON EAST

Everytime I draw a cartoon I like to think of it as becoming part of a chronology of particular stories. On my website you’ll find related cartoons beneath each daily illustration of certain current events. Today’s cartoon is the first in over a year that I’ve drawn on the intriguing political situation in Hamilton East, the federal riding of John Munro, Sheila Copps, and Toni Valeri. Here you’ll find links to cartoons on the Hamilton East political story.

In 2002 things could not have better for Liberals in the riding of Hamilton East. The federal and provincial Parliamentarians were firmly in place and a new influencial councillor was on the rise.

Then Jean Chretien announced he was stepping down. The Liberal Party foundation in Hamilton East would begin to crumble. Indeed, throughout the city, fortunes for Liberals would completely change over the next 4 years.

Sheila Copps wanted to become Liberal leader of Canada.

After going down to defeat by Paul Martin at the 2003 Liberal leadership convention, Sheila Copps turned down the offer of a patronage appointment from Martin and announced that she intended to remain in the House of Commons. Many suspect that Martin wanted to appoint Copps as Canada’s ambassador to France or UNESCO. Tony Valeri and Stan Keyes, both Hamilton area MP’s were elevated to cabinet, while Copps was demoted to the backbenches.

Riding redistribution placed Hamilton East MP Copps in a serious nomination battle with another Liberal MP, Tony Valeri from Stoney Creek Glanbrook.

In a December interview Copps complained that Prime Minister Paul Martin was trying to drive her, other women and other Martin opponents out of the Liberal caucus. On January 14, 2004, she suggested that she could campaign for the New Democratic Party in the upcoming election if Valeri won the Liberal nomination. Copps later retracted this threat.

The once rock solid Liberal foundation in the Hamilton area ridings was showing great wear and tear by this point. John Bryden, the MP from the western part of the city had crossed the floor to join the Conservative Party. Beth Phinney, from Hamilton Mountain, was offering her seat to Sheila Copps. Dominic Agostino, the popular Liberal MPP from Hamilton East would throw his support to Valeri. Area city councillors, such as Sam Merulla, would not know who to support.

March 6, 2004 was the date of the Hamilton East–Stoney Creek Liberal party nomination meeting, and Valeri defeated Copps by 2,802 votes to 2,491. Copps alleged improprieties in the nomination process and the conduct of the vote, and called on various authorities to investigate. No evidence was found to substantiate Copps’ allegations.

On the Provincial scene in Hamilton East the popular Liberal MPP, Dominic Agostino suddenly died on March 24, 2004, of liver cancer, to the surprise of many. Some city councillors tried seize upon the opportunity to consider a successor. But in a by-election to fill his legislative seat held on May 13, 2004, Dominic’s brother Ralph Agostino, a Catholic separate school board trustee, failed to retain the Hamilton East seat for the Liberal Party, falling far behind city councillor and NDP candidate Andrea Horwath. During the campaign, Councillor Sam Merulla, was showing signs of abandoning the Liberals for the NDP.

Following a near loss in the June 2004 federal election Valeri was appointed to the sensitive position of Government House Leader in Paul Martin’s minority government. He changed his hair style during this time.

Meanwhile, Stan Keyes who ran as Liberal candidate for the redistributed riding of Hamilton Centre, was defeated by the NDP candidate David Christopherson, a former provincial cabinet minister. The former amateur sports minister would have to watch the summer Athen’s Olympics from his livingroom. (Keyes was later given a patronage appointment by Martin as consul general to Boston. Then, after being demoted by Stephen Harper, went on to become President of The Canadian Payday Loan Association.)

Not much would happen in Hamilton Liberal party politics during the minority government of Paul Martin. Sheila Copps would release her second autobiography, Worth Fighting For, in October 2004, baselessly alleging that Martin had put a pledge in his 1995 budget to rescind the “outdated” Canada Health Act. Beth Phinney would resign her seat.

In the Christmas election of 2006, the Hamilton Spectator reported that Toni Valeri had purchased a property for $225,000 only to later sell it to a Liberal supporter for $500,000 a few months later. While Valeri insisted that the Ethics Commissioner had cleared the transaction, lingering doubts about the sale remained. Valeri was narrowly defeated by a margin of less than 500 votes by the New Democratic Party candidate Wayne Marston. Beth Phinney’s old seat would go to the NDP’s Chris Charlton, Dundas-Ancaster-Etc would become Tory under David Sweet, and Stan Keyes old riding would continue to be represented by David Christopherson of the NDP. No Liberals would be left standing in Hamilton after the 2006 federal election.

By February 2007, with another federal election set to be announced at anytime, Liberals in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek remain in disarray.

More: The Sheila Copps Gallery

November 30, 2006

November 30, 2006 by Graeme MacKay

They were full of praise for Paul Martin Jr. tonight, those Liberals gathering in Montreal to pick his successor were. Eleven months of staying out of sight following his government’s defeat to the Conservatives Paul Martin reappeared to say good-bye. With grace and eloquence he thanked Liberals, and paid tribute to his still bitter predecessor Jean Chretien, who was undoubtedly deliberately avoiding the love-in. What a grouch. It only proves that Paul Martin is a far better man.

It’s a bittersweet end to a political career that held so much promise for so many years. Martin cultivated respect and a powerful political machine as he turned the nation’s treasury from a spiralling $38 billion deficit situation in 1993, to surplus in the early days of the new millenium. Years of his rather conservative fiscal measures could very well have empowered the Chretien government and its back to back majorities by appealing to those who thought the Mulroney government had effectively controlled spending and deficits. Boy, were we ever fooled.

When he finally got to become Prime Minister he proved to be a man of good intentions, prepared to reward Canadians for a decade of fiscal prudence. There were accords signed with natives, a national child care policy in place, and admirable efforts underway to help lift the poorest of the poor out of poverty. Unfortunately for Martin, the stink left over from Chretien and the sponsorship scandal fogged everything up, leaving Martin to preside over a governing party which had lost the trust of the electorate.

Paul Martin was fun to caricature and I’ve got a big gallery of editorial cartoons which chronicles his time in politics to show for it. I know he admires satire directed at himself, having sold several originals to him over the years. I never met him, but I got pretty close to him during the election. Once, while I was in Ottawa I paid a visit to his House of Commons office while he was Finance Minister to drop off an original. He wasn’t there but his assistant allowed me and my wife to hang out in his office. So long Paul.

November 18, 2006

November 18, 2006 by Graeme MacKay

Well good for Stephen Harper for bringing up human rights with the President of China. While the brief meeting sounds like it might’ve taken place as the two were standing next to each other in the line-up at the APEC conference buffet table, it seems the Chinese are none too pleased with the new style of diplomacy from the Canadians. After 13 years of sycophantic Liberal Prime Ministers prioritizing trade with China way above demanding action to improve human rights there’s finally a government in Ottawa which is serious about highlighting China’s brutal record with its own people.

Last year I reflected on the ongoing custom of Liberal Prime Ministers going through the old song and dance of making the same old feeble demands for human rights as trade grows exponentially between the two countries:

It’s kind of refreshing to know, much to the dismay of the travelling Canadian media, that no cheesy photo-ops between Harper and Hu ever materialized. Canada and China are officially at odds with each other over a noble cause: human rights.

Still, many are berating Harper for threating to damage valuable trade links, and having the gall to criticize other countries for poor human rights when (yeah, you’ve heard it before) we Canadians have our own embarassing record of mistreating our aboriginal people.

Well I suppose Stephen Harper will get criticized for whatever he does. Knowing China has imprisoned Husyin Celil, a Chinese-Canadian citizen, on terrorism charges, and won’t acknowledge his Canadian citizenship, Harper would be stupid not to bring up human rights with China.

Wednesday October 18, 2006

October 18, 2006 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Recognizing two solitudes of Lending Agencies

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank – the innovative micro-credit program he founded thirty years ago to help some of the world’s poorest people climb out of chronic poverty. The Nobel Peace Prize is the latest of many awards Yunus has won for bringing this powerful idea to fruition. (More: Christian Science Monitor)

August 9, 2005

Meanwhile, Stan Keyes has landed a new job, three months after the former federal cabinet minister and longtime Liberal MP was ousted as Boston Consul General by the Conservative government.

The 53-year-old will head up the Canadian Payday Loan Association, the lobby group for 22 firms that run more than 850 payday lending outlets across Canada.

The industry has had its share of controversy, with some critics saying payday lending victimizes the poor and plays an increasing part in bankruptcy cases. The federal Conservatives just introduced legislation to allow provinces to regulate the industry. Payday lending is worth about $1.7 billion each year, with more than 1,300 independent and chain stores.

Keyes, whose new job will see him lobby governments on regulations they create for the payday lending industry, said he accepted becoming CPLA president because he believes it will allow him to use all the skills he’s developed over the last 30 years in politics and the media. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

COMMENTARY

Why can’t defeated politicians simply accept the fact that once they get turfed out of office then maybe it’s time to learn from the voter thrashing and go away into private life for good? Stan Keyes served an honorable and distinguished career by representing Hamilton West as MP from 1988-2004. More than enough time to make his mark on Ottawa. He climbed up the political ladder and for his loyalty to Paul Martin, was rewarded with a cabinet position for a short period of time before being swept out of office by David Christopherson.

Out of office, I chose to kick the poor guy when he was at his lowest, by reminding readers around the time of the Athens Olympics that, were it not for the federal election called a few months earlier, our man Stan would’ve been there in his capacity as Minister of Amateur Sport.

That should’ve been the last cartoon I ever drew of him, thinking he’d soon pick himself up and go into private life eventually finding a good paying job in the private sector and never be seen again.

But no, Paul Martin had to follow in the footsteps of all past Prime Ministers and throw something to Stan in the form of a Patronage Appointment. It was off to Boston for the Loyal Martinite as the new cocktail party hosting Canadian consul-general. It made for a nice combo cartoon with the Maple Leaf Processing Plant whose fate at the time of Keyes appointment was still up in the air.

A highpoint for him may have been observing the defeat of the Liberal government from his diplomatic perch in Massachusetts, but that wouldn’t last long. Stephen Harper would replace him within a few months giving Stan the chance to leave public life for good.

But then the latest job offer came and he took the hook and bait. While it is a private sector job his post as head of the Canadian Payday Loan Association will have consequences to those poor souls who’ve come to rely on loans with ridiculous interest rates. While he says he looks forward to assisting in the regulation of the lending agencies he’s not exactly there to look out for common folk trapped in the cycle of borrowing. He’s there to lobby the government on the lenders behalf. He not in the commoners house anymore, he’s there to defend lending agencies from gouging people with exhorbitant interest rates. Pretty shameful.