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Thursday March 26, 2020

March 26, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 26, 2020

Coronavirus: Trump hopes US will shake off pandemic by Easter

The president told a White House news briefing reopening the US early next month would be “a beautiful timeline”.

Coronavirus cartoons

Hours later, the Senate agreed a $2 trillion (£1.7tn) economic rescue plan with the White House.

The deal will be passed later on Wednesday by the Senate.

“At last, we have a deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, citing the massive “wartime level of investment into our nation”.

The package includes tax rebates, loans, money for hospitals and rescue packages for businesses.

The House of Representatives still needs to pass the legislation before it is sent to Mr Trump for his signature.

The US has recorded almost 55,000 cases and nearly 800 deaths from coronavirus.

Globally there have been more than 420,000 cases confirmed and approaching 19,000 deaths.

On Tuesday, he told Fox News he hoped the country could get back to normal by Easter, which is on the weekend of 12 April.

Mr Trump, a Republican, said: “We’re going to be opening relatively soon… I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.”

He added in a subsequent interview: “Easter is a very special day for me… and you’ll have packed churches all over our country.”

Mr Trump also warned that unless the country reopened for business it could suffer “a massive recession or depression”.

The president said: “You’re going to lose people. You’re going to have suicides by the thousands. You’re going to have all sorts of things happen. You’re going to have instability.”

Speaking at a White House briefing later, Mr Trump said he was beginning “to see the light at the end of the tunnel”, though he said “our decision will be based on hard facts and data”.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, told the same press briefing: “No-one is going to want to tone down anything when you see what is going on in a place like New York City.” (BBC) 

 

Thursday November 9, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 9, 2017

High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

February 25, 2017

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

March 1, 2016

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

March 5, 2014

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.” (Source: Toronto Star) 

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Tuesday April 4, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 4, 2017

Bombardier CEO admits ‘bad job’ communicating pay increases

Bombardier did “a bad job” explaining its decision to raise executive compensation, but the company has listened to the public and is now ready to turn the page, CEO Alain Bellemare says.

October 13, 2016

In an interview, Bellemare acknowledged that Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) underestimated the anger that would erupt over the pay hikes, which were to come as it was issuing pink slips to thousands of employees while receiving federal and provincial assistance.

“It’s all on us at Bombardier,” he said. “The message here is we did listen, we paid attention, we care.”

Bellemare announced late Sunday that he has asked Bombardier’s board of directors to delay the payment of more than half of this year’s total planned compensation for six executive officers, including himself, by one year — until 2020. The compensation would be paid as long as certain objectives that haven’t changed are met by that time.

The remuneration is required to attract top talent to turn around the company’s fortunes, which in turn benefits employees and shareholders alike, he said.

Last week, the company issued a proxy circular showing that Bellemare and five others were in line for a nearly 50 per cent increase in compensation, most of which was to be granted in 2019. The disclosure stoked fierce outcry that lasted for days, including a weekend protest at Bombardier’s headquarters in Montreal.

Federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains said Monday that like many Canadians, he was disappointed by the Bombardier executive pay raises, but it seems like the company is trying to address those concerns.

“Clearly there’s a recognition that they need to make changes, that they need to approach this differently,” Bains said, striking a different message from the one offered by the prime minister last week.

Asked how he can justify the $372.5-million federal loan for Bombardier’s CSeries and Global 7000 aircraft programs, Justin Trudeau said his government respects “the free market and the choices that companies will make.” (Source: CTV news) 

 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wednesday, April 3, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wynne says it’s time to make up for ‘long gaps’ in funding

Premier Kathleen Wynne says GTA residents are willing to pay more to relieve gridlock by building more transit as long as they understand things will improve.

After touring an executive jet refurbishing facility, Wynne reacted positively to a Metrolinx gridlock report saying it at least shows the problem is finally about to be tackled with a short list of options for raising $50 billion over 25 years for its “Big Move” plan.
Wynne said people naturally don’t want to pay more on first blush “but if the question is ‘do you want to have the transit that is needed in this region?’ . . . the answer is yes. Everyone wants that.”

“And the next question has to be ‘how are we going to pay for that?’And it is a combination of investments that the government has made . . . but it has to be in combination with the federal government and other revenue streams. There just isn’t any other way to continue to build,” she told reporters at the end of her tour of Flying Colours Corp.

Wynne said she was glad that there are people turning their minds “to how we can have an infrastructure transit building plan going forward” with potential revenue measures such as an employer payroll tax, gas tax, parking space levy, development charges, property and sales tax increases under consideration by Metrolinx.

“I really believe there have been long gaps in our infrastructure building, particularly transit building,” Wynne added. (Source: Toronto Star)