Philippe Couillard – mackaycartoons

Thursday October 13, 2016

October 12, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 13, 2016

Federal Liberals signal desire for ‘meaningful investment’ in Bombardier

The federal government investing in aerospace giant Bombardier is not a matter of if but how, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Tuesday.

“We want to be a partner,” Bains said after announcing up to $54 million in funds for a Bombardier-led aerospace-research consortium.

“We want to find a solution and we want to continue to make meaningful investments. We want to be a partner, we are at the table, we want to find a solution. It’s not a matter of if but how we want to make the investment.”

His comments are the clearest the Liberals have been to date regarding whether they’ll accept the Montreal-based company’s request for $1 billion in federal funding.

In early September, Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) received the second of two instalments of US$500 million from the Quebec government.

Quebec now owns 49.5 per cent of a new limited partnership of the CSeries aircraft program, including larger versions of the plane beyond the CS100 and CS300 should they be developed.

Bains wouldn’t give details as to exactly how much Ottawa will invest or where the money will be targeted.

He did reiterate the conditions his government will place on any future funding.

Ottawa wants Bombardier to keep its head office and the jobs connected to its research and development activities in the country, he said. (Source: Financial Post)

Published in the Leader-Post (Regina, Sask)

Wednesday August 27, 2014

August 26, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 27, 2014

Canada’s premiers running out of excuses for inaction: Hébert

Every summer the country’s premiers converge on some picturesque spot in Canada for their annual gathering.

Last year it was Niagara-on-the-Lake. This year it’s Prince Edward Island. The backdrop changes as do some of the characters but the script, for the most part, remains the same.

Year in and year out the premiers usually find one or more apples of discord with the federal government of the day to chew on.

Some years they are unanimously aggrieved over some action of their federal partner. Last summer it was Ottawa’s labour training scheme.

On other occasions it is perceived federal inaction — as in the case this year of infrastructure spending — that is in their sights.

Over the past decade Stephen Harper’s lack of interest for convening first ministers’ conferences has been a recurring theme.

This is not to say that some of the concerns raised by the premiers are not real.

Their grievances over the initial federal labour training reform were serious enough. The proposition stood to cause more systemic problems than it would have solved. And a united provincial front did go some way to bring the federal government to the table.

But it also seems that when the premiers spend time in the same room they conveniently forget that they are not, as a group, devoid of the power to do more than tear up their shirts in front of the cameras.

(Brian Simpson/Government of Prince Edward Island)

When repeatedly faced with what they collectively see as a federal leadership vacuum it apparently does not cross their minds to fill it with more than empty words. By all indications, thinking outside the federal-provincial box does not come easily to this generation of premiers.

It is not that they are not equal partners with the federal government in the federation but that they don’t often act like they are.

(Source: Toronto Star)

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

April 9, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Quebec Liberals win majority: ‘Division is over’

Philippe Couillard’s Liberals have won the Quebec election with a majority government, crushing the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois and Premier Pauline Marois.

Liberal candidates won in 70 of the province’s ridings, the Parti Quebecois won 30, the Coalition Avenir Quebec took 22 and Quebec Solidaire picked up three. The PQ got about 25 per cent of the popular vote, its lowest share since 1970.

In a stunning turn of events, Marois lost her own seat in Charlevoix-Cote-de-Beaupre to Liberal Caroline Simard.

Couillard, who was a neurosurgeon before he entered politics, easily won his riding of Roberval, defeating PQ incumbent Denis Trottier.

Taking the stage at Liberal headquarters after most of the ballots had been counted, Couillard vowed to run an inclusive and “stable” government that represents the interests of all Quebecers.

“Our language, our flag belongs to all Quebecers,” he said.

Addressing the province’s anglophones in English, Couillard said: “We are all Quebecers. We should all focus on what brings us together. What unites us makes us stronger.”

He later added in French: “Division is over; reconciliation has arrived.”

In her concession speech, Marois announced she will step down as PQ leader and ensure an “orderly transition.”

“Quebecers have spoken and we must respect this result,” she said. “We had so much to offer, so much to accomplish for Quebecers.”

The defeat of the PQ came after a 33-day election campaign many observers described as one of the nastiest in decades.

The Parti Quebecois had only been in power for 18 months. Its controversial values charter, which aimed to prevent public sector workers from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols, and the push for sovereignty did not sit well with voters.

For many, it was no surprise: opinion polls had been putting the Liberals in the lead for days leading up to election day. (Source: CTV News)