mackaycartoons

Graeme MacKay's Editorial Cartoon Archive

  • Archives
  • DOWNLOADS
  • Kings & Queens
  • MacKaycartoons Inc.
  • Prime Ministers
  • Special Features
  • The Boutique
  • Who?
  • Young Doug Ford
  • Presidents

pledge

Thursday August 18, 2022

August 18, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 18, 2022

Canada pledged to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees, yet only 17,000 have made it

As anniversaries go, it’s not a happy one.

July 15, 2021

One year ago this week, the Canadian government announced it had suspended operations at its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. And one year ago this week, President Joe Biden confirmed the U.S. would complete its withdrawal from the country.

Two weeks later, the last American soldier left Afghanistan, and the Taliban takeover was complete. Despite assurances from the Taliban that the rights of all Afghans, including women and children, would be protected, citizens have experienced a dramatic decline in their rights, freedoms and quality of life.

According to a report from the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, human rights violations have escalated rapidly under the Taliban. Journalists, protesters and civil society activists have been arrested, and the report documents 160 extrajudicial killings, 56 cases of torture and 217 instances of cruel and inhumane punishments.

Perhaps the most visible curtailment of human rights involves those who are now, once again, invisible: Women and girls. Under Taliban rule, women and girls “have progressively had their rights to fully participate in education, the workplace and other aspects of public and daily life restricted and in many cases completely taken away.”

Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, recently said on CTV National News: “Women have had all of their rights stripped away from them, and girls as well.”

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2022-26, Afghanistan, Canada, hideaway, interpreter, Justin Trudeau, pledge, promise, refugee, Taliban

Wednesday November 20, 2019

November 27, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 20, 2019

Why affordability is (was) dominating Canada’s election campaign

(Article published 6 weeks before editorial cartoon was printed)

September 19, 2019

Canada’s political party leaders are making affordability the central talking point of their election campaigns, rolling out targeted measures to alleviate the financial strain besetting voters.

Though broad economic data show the nation’s economy is humming along, Canadians are still feeling tight on cash. The worsening global outlook and unprecedented policy uncertainty are adding to the apprehension.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, along with the leaders of smaller parties are seeking to parlay that stress into votes as the clock winds down on the Oct. 21 election, by promising a slew of tax cuts and other measures to make life more affordable.

“Politicians are putting their finger on something, some form of financial anxiety about rising costs, or concerns about future rising costs, or future standard of living,” said Jennifer Robson, associate professor of political management at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Here’s why consumers are feeling pinched.

It’s old news that owning a home in Canada’s biggest cities has become an almost impossible goal for much of the middle class. Skyrocketing prices in recent years pushed potential buyers to the sidelines. New mortgage lending rules, so-called stress tests introduced by federal regulators in 2017, put ownership even further out of reach for many.

September 12, 2019

Toronto and Vancouver are easily Canada’s two main cities where residents are struggling to find an affordable place to live. The average selling price for a single-family home in Vancouver was $1.51 million in September, and $1.1 million in Toronto. Renting in those cities is no easy feat, either, as low vacancy rates have pushed up prices for accommodation.

Elevated real estate prices are the main driver of the country’s record household debt ratios, now the highest in the Group of Seven. Buyers took out larger and larger mortgages as the housing market heated up, even as incomes failed to keep pace. As a result, household savings rates are hovering near the lowest in decades, and the debt service ratio — which measures the share of disposable income paid toward principal and interest — climbed to a record in the second quarter.

While overall price inflation in Canada has been relatively benign, shoppers have experienced sticker shock on many basics. Prices for fruits and vegetables jumped as much as 60 per cent in the past decade, according to Statistics Canada. Child-care and tuition costs rose upwards of 35 per cent, and public transit prices ballooned by 50 per cent.

To top it all off, wages after accounting for inflation have remained relatively flat, even as costs for rent and basic goods increased. A puzzle for many economists and policy-makers is why unemployment is hovering near record lows, yet incomes are struggling to pick up. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: #elxn43, 2019-41, affordability, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Jagmeet Singh, Justin Trudeau, memorial, monument, pledge, priority, promise

Saturday February 25, 2018

February 23, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 25, 2018

President Trump at CPAC Insists Arming Teachers, Not Gun Control, Will Keep Schools Safe

President Donald Trump reiterated his support for arming teachers during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning, saying that keeping guns out of schools makes them targets for mass shooters.

January 17, 2013

“When we declare our schools to be gun free zones, it just puts our students in far more danger,” said Trump. “People that are adept with weaponry and with guns — they teach. I don’t want to have 100 guards with rifles standing all over the school. You do a concealed carry permit.”

Other than one mention of “strengthening” background checks, Trump did not talk about the ideas for tighter gun control that he has floated in the last week – including raising the age of purchasing some weapons and banning bump stocks. The National Rifle Association, which was an early backer of Trump’s and channeled over $30 million towards supporting his campaign, opposes raising the age limit.

July 25, 2015

The speech seemed in line with many of the talking points of NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, who went on the offensive on Thursday on the same CPAC stage, accusing gun control advocates of exploiting last week’s Florida school shooting tragedy.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, killing 17 people. In the days following, Trump pledged to take action to help prevent more school shootings in America, inviting those who have experienced school shootings to the White House. He reiterated his call to action on Friday, telling the audience, “We will act. We will do something.” (Source: TIME) 

 

Posted in: USA Tagged: allegiance, children, culture, Donald Trump, gun, guns, NRA, pledge, schools, teacher, USA, violence, weapons

Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • The Toronto Star
  • The Globe & Mail
  • The National Post
  • Graeme on T̶w̶i̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶(̶X̶)̶
  • Graeme on F̶a̶c̶e̶b̶o̶o̶k̶
  • Graeme on T̶h̶r̶e̶a̶d̶s̶
  • Graeme on Instagram
  • Graeme on Substack
  • Graeme on Bluesky
  • Graeme on Pinterest
  • Graeme on YouTube
New and updated for 2025
  • HOME
  • MacKaycartoons Inc.
  • The Boutique
  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • The Association of Canadian Cartoonists
  • The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
  • You Might be From Hamilton if…
  • Young Doug Ford
  • MacKay’s Most Viral Cartoon
  • Intellectual Property Thief Donkeys
  • Wes Tyrell
  • Martin Rowson
  • Guy Bado’s Blog
  • National Newswatch
...Check it out and please subscribe!

Your one-stop-MacKay-shop…

T-shirts, hoodies, clocks, duvet covers, mugs, stickers, notebooks, smart phone cases and scarfs

2023 Coronation Design

Brand New Designs!

Follow Graeme's board My Own Cartoon Favourites on Pinterest.

MacKay’s Virtual Gallery

Archives

Copyright © 2016 mackaycartoons.net

Powered by Wordpess and Alpha.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
 

Loading Comments...