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Thursday February 25, 2010

February 25, 2010 by Graeme MacKay

February 25, 2010

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 25, 2010

Apologypaloosa

More than 40 years after the last home in Africville was bulldozed, the City of Halifax said sorry Wednesday for destroying a north-end community that stands as a symbol of the strained relations between Nova Scotia’s blacks and whites.

As Mayor Peter Kelly delivered a formal apology and promised $3 million to build a replica church and interpretive centre, some blacks in the crowd yelled, “Give it back!” “Compensation!” and “You forgot the people!” (Toronto Star)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologized Wednesday for a government program instituted in the 19th century that sent poor children from London’s slums overseas to do hard labour in British colonies, including Canada.

“To all those former child migrants and their families, to those here with us today and those across the world, to each and every one, I say we are truly sorry,” Brown said in Parliament. (CBC)

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the founder of the world’s largest automaker, and Yoshimi Inaba, the company’s North American president, appeared Wednesday before the House oversight committee to offer an apology and explanation for the defects that have caused their vehicles to sometimes accelerate out of control.

In words and gestures, they were nothing if not contrite. Throughout hours of testimony, Toyoda and Inaba used words such as “shameful” when describing past events, and “modestly” and “humbly” to describe how they will approach their responsibility for safety in the future.

Toyoda reminded the committee that he is in some ways the human embodiment of the car company, and that he, more than anyone, would want to repair the damage. (Washington Post)

Commentary

The occasion of a public apology is, for me anyway, almost always a trigger to cause me to wince. No matter who it comes from, a politician, athlete (Tiger Woods last week), or entertainer saying sorry for cheating on a spouse, or found guilty for drunk driving, or a national leader giving a formal apology to a hushed legislature over a past misdeed which might’ve affected millions, nothing, no matter how passionate the blubbing appears before a camera can move me enough to take seriously.

I can see the merits of saying sorry if one is seeking forgiveness. That’s the way it works on a person to person level. The problem with giving an apology to a camera is that the camera can’t accept your apology. The people watching from behind the camera can’t exactly indicate their acceptance either. One thing is clear, no apology, no matter how much money is included, is going to be received with 100 % acceptance which pretty much makes any public statement of sorrow ring hollow.

When a leader offers an apology on behalf of a state they aren’t exactly speaking on behalf of 100% of the population. The apology for the razing of Africville 40 years ago in Halifax, for example, has been argued by some to this day as a necessary (albeit it, brutal) means to control dangerous living conditions and pestilence.

Apologies can only be done on face-to-face personal terms. When it comes to a politician apologizing on behalf of his government for something a previous government did to people many generations ago I’m one to think that it’s worse than being hollow, it’s simply an insulting trivial move designed more to score points for a political legacy or a reelection campaign.

Wednesday February 6, 2008

February 6, 2008 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 6, 2008

Canucks catch U.S. election fever

Super Tuesday was a sweet distraction for political animals north of the border as Canadians got caught up in a U.S. electoral fever not felt since John F. Kennedy.Canadian politicians and pundits alike had one eye on streaming TV and online coverage as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled for Democratic support while John McCain and Mitt Romney fought to sway Republicans.

Results from Super Tuesday’s 22-state primary election day – the biggest in U.S. history – help set the stage for November’s presidential election. The outcome could ultimately affect Canada-U.S. relations, a partnership that’s been less than cozy since Jean Chretien compared golf swings with Bill Clinton.

“The prime minister is watching the U.S. campaign with interest,” said Carolyn Stewart Olsen, a spokeswoman for Stephen Harper. “He has not indicated any favourite candidate, nor would he. He looks forward to continuing a good working relationship with the U.S. and whoever is the successful candidate.”

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion planned to watch the results roll in Tuesday night at a pizza party with staff at the Opposition Leader’s Office.

“He won’t pick a favourite,” said spokesman Mark Dunn. “He has been watching all the races closely.”

And around Ottawa, the most die-hard political keeners planned Super Tuesday get-togethers after work. (Toronto Star)

Friday January 12, 2007

January 12, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 12, 2007

Is Justin Trudeau set to run as MP?

Justin Trudeau is about to enter federal politics—well, according to everyone but him, that is.

While the 35-year-old school teacher and academic is remaining coy about his intentions, a report published in Montréal’s French-language daily La Presse on Tue, Jan 9, claims that the eldest son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau is planning on running as a Liberal candidate in the next federal election in Outremont, a riding located in the centre of the Island of Montréal that is home to wealthy Francophone families and a sizeable Jewish community.

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Outremont is considered to be an extremely “safe” riding for the party—since its creation in 1933, the Liberals have failed to win the seat only once, in 1988—and the area’s current MP, former Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, has indicated that he does not plan to run in the next election.

Despite his denials and deflections (“I have no comment to make at this time,” Trudeau wrote in an email to the Montréal Gazette), the increasing likelihood of Trudeau’s entrance into the House of Commons has set political pundits and journalists abuzz. A recent article in Maclean’s magazine headlined “His Secret’s Out” claims that Trudeau hinted in an interview that he would make an announcement regarding his future in politics sometime after Christmas, while a close friend of the supposed star candidate reportedly told the magazine “Off the record, I think he’s pretty much there.” (Source: Vue)

Thursday January 8, 2004

January 8, 2004 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 8, 2004

So much for Clementmania

Auto parts magnate Frank Stronach thinks it would be a great idea if his daughter Belinda ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

“I said: ‘Look Belinda, you’re a privileged lady. I think it’s the greatest honour if you could serve your country,’.” Mr. Stronach, who founded the auto parts company that his daughter now heads, said yesterday.

If she throws her hat into the ring, as she is expected to do later this week or perhaps early next week, Belinda Stronach will be following in the political and business footsteps of her father, who was a Liberal candidate in a Toronto-area riding in the 1988 federal election.

But she’s different, Mr. Stronach said in a telephone interview yesterday from Baltimore.

“I maybe was a bit more aggressive. I shot a little more out of the hip. She is very thoughtful.”

Supporters of former Ontario health minister Tony Clement held conference calls to discuss his candidacy for leadership of the party. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Thursday January 23, 2003

January 23, 2003 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 23, 2003

The Great Flood of 2003

Graeme’s Gallery 2003

The old pipe couldn’t take the pressure anymore and blew just before 5 a.m. For 76 years, it had ferried water from the city’s main trunk line up Locke Street to fill the Beaumont Reservoir, which in turn quenches west Hamilton’s thirst. But yesterday, after days of bitter cold, frost worked its way under the 30-inch cast iron pipe, right where one section connects the next under the intersection of Herkimer and Locke streets.

The frost pushed the ground up until the big feeder pipe shattered like a poorly fired clay vase, blowing out a one-metre-square piece of metal.

It released a geyser of water so powerful it blasted straight up through concrete roadbed and asphalt and spewed three metres into the air.

Within minutes, it sped down streets into more than 100 homes and businesses, completely flooding some basements and reducing water pressure across large parts of west Hamilton. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)