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public opinion

Tuesday February 13, 2018

February 12, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 13, 2018

Conservatives accuse Trudeau of ‘political interference’ for comments on Stanley acquittal

The federal Conservatives are accusing Justin Trudeau of “political interference” after the prime minister responded to the acquittal of a white farmer in the death of a young Indigenous man by saying the criminal justice system has to “do better.”

Trudeau made the comments after a jury in Battleford, Sask., Friday found Gerald Stanley not guilty  of second-degree murder in the 2016 death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, a resident of the Red Pheasant First Nation.

“I’m not going to comment on the process that led to this point today, but I am going to say we have come to this point as a country far too many times,” Trudeau said in California, where he was wrapping up a four-day trip to the U.S. “I know Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians alike know that we have to do better.”

Trudeau’s comments appeared to reflect concerns expressed by hundreds of Indigenous people who took to different sites across Canada on Saturday to protest what they described as injustice and a lack of fairness within the court system.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, meanwhile, took to Twitter to express their support for Boushie’s family and assert the need for improvements.

“My thoughts are with the family of Colten Boushie tonight,” Wilson-Raybould wrote Friday. “I truly feel your pain and I hear all of your voices. As a country we can and must do better — I am committed to working every day to ensure justice for all Canadians.”

Many concerns have been raised about discrimination toward Indigenous People in the criminal justice system; retired Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci, for example, raised flags about a lack of Indigenous representation on juries in Ontario in 2013.

Iacobucci’s probe was launched after an inquest into the 2007 drowning death of a high school student in Thunder Bay, Ont., was stopped because of a lack of Indigenous people on the jury. (Source: Toronto Star)

Posted in: Canada Tagged: justice, Lady Justice, law, pandering, popularity, public opinion, scales, social media, statue, tweet, twitter

Saturday November 1, 2014

October 31, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Saturday November 1, 2014Saturday November 1, 2014

PR firm dumps Jian Ghomeshi over ‘lies,’ sources say

Jian Ghomeshi was dumped by Navigator, the high-profile crisis management firm retained to protect his public image, because the company believed Ghomeshi lied to them, sources have told Toronto Star.

“He lied to the firm,” said a source with knowledge of the situation.

According to the sources, until late Sunday night, Navigator was “buying (Ghomeshi’s) story” that it was a jilted ex-girlfriend who had manufactured lies that Ghomeshi was abusive. One source said the former CBC radio star had convinced the firm that there were no other allegations and there was nothing to be “concerned” about.

Then, as a Star investigation showed at least eight women were making serious allegations of assault or sexual harassment against Ghomeshi, the firm decided at a series of meetings that it could not represent someone who, in their opinion, had lied.

The Star was not able to determine if publicity firm Rock-it Promotions dropped Ghomeshi for the same reason. A source with knowledge of the Rock-it situation said that firm, which had been with Ghomeshi for two years (Navigator was a recent hire) was disappointed as more and more allegations surfaced.

Both companies issued releases Thursday afternoon announcing they had cut ties with Ghomeshi, but neither said why. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Canada, CBC, consent, Jian Ghomeshi, public opinion, radio, sex

Thursday July 16, 1998

July 16, 1998 by Graeme MacKay

The controversial appointment of Brian Mulroney as a Companion of the Order of Canada, citing public disapproval and raising concerns about the criteria for recognizing retired prime ministers in the nation's highest civilian award

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 16, 1998

Mulroney deserves some sort of medal from Ottawa

This is an opinionated column about Brian Mulroney being named a Companion of the Order of Canada. The rank of Companion is the highest in the Order. It is the highest civilian award a Canadian can receive; normally, most of those so honoured first became a Member of the Order, or an Officer, before – if ever – they become a Companion. (An exception is the Governor-General who becomes a Companion on his or her appointment to Rideau Hall since, of course, the Governor-General is always the ranking member of the Order.)

Appointments to the Order are made on being designated by a committee whose members include the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Clerk of the Privy Council, other ranking civil servants and other distinguished Canadians. None of the committee is an elected or serving politician.

Anyone who is a Canadian citizen may be nominated for the Order of Canada by anyone, including politicians, friends, or even one’s mother. But the decision as to whom is admitted to the Order is entirely that of the committee. It is easier to become a Lord in the British House of Lords – peerages are often sold and are always created almost exclusively by elected politicians – than it is to be appointed to the Order of Canada.

I am an Officer of the Order and honoured to be so. I have never met anyone who has been appointed who was not pleased about it, or anyone who was selected for the honour but turned it down. I have no idea who nominated me, or why. Finally, there was some added personal satisfaction in my case because the appointment was made during the reign of a Liberal government (thereby confounding legions of Canadian paranoids) and it so disturbed my morning paper (national edition) that it printed the news of the appointment, and the list of appointees, in four-point type in the back of the paper, near the truss ads. (The citation, which accompanies the award, made mention of my career in journalism.)

Not all appointments to the Order meet with public favour. It is not and should not be a popularity contest. An irate letter appearing in my morning paper complained about the honour conferred upon Mulroney, quoting a phone-in poll taken by a Vancouver television station which showed 97 per cent of callers had expressed disapproval.

I suppose one should praise the impartiality of those who made the Mulroney appointment, surely being well aware of the controversy which would come in the wake of their decision. The prestigious members followed their best judgment as to the merits of the nomination. We can’t have it both ways: either the appointments are made by those who will proceed with wet fingers to the political winds – which would disgrace the Order of Canada – or do what they believe is appropriate and fitting. Which sort of committee do we want?

Still, it is disconcerting to have the Order of Canada become a source of such rancour and controversy. Friends of the former Prime Minister who organized and supported his nomination deserve better marks for their loyalty than their judgment. To begin with, it is a precedent, so far as I know, and not obviously a good one.

Is Pierre Trudeau a Companion of the Order? Is Joe Clark? Is the appointment of Jean Chretien to the Order only a matter of time?

Alas & Alack

The question is whether the appointment of retired prime ministers to the highest rank in the nation’s highest civilian system of awards is to become a perfunctory matter. If it is, then Kim Campbell is a shoo-in.

But if it’s not to be perfunctory, how then do we fairly do it? What has Trudeau done, or not done, that Mulroney did or didn’t do? We have not read Mulroney’s citation – perhaps it is in recognition of his nine years of service in the nation’s highest elective office, or his leadership in the free-trade debate. Maybe it’s for charitable work beyond his political career. But what, other than some concoction of some other exceptional national contribution – in which case, how to explain the instant elevation to the highest rank? No, the Companion’s rank flows from Mulroney’s high office as prime minister.

Prime ministers are gorged with honours that are the gift of a pluralistic free society. They collect honorary degrees from prestigious universities. Such occasions reek with conflicts of interest since the university has now become the orphan child of governments. Later on, in recognition of services rendered, our former leaders are named to the boards of the major corporations. Nothing wrong with that, in the natural synthesis of gratitude, utility and homage. But the Order of Canada wasn’t created to honour retired prime ministers or provincial premiers. In fact, the Order was formed largely to recognize Canadian citizens for reasons other than political.

But if there is a medal for distinguished former prime ministers (or premiers) who have taken unjustified public abuse and calculated vilification from a darkly malicious government, then Brian Mulroney should get it. Perhaps he now has, and it’s called the Order of Canada. If so, it is richly deserved. – Dalton Camp (Toronto Star, A15, 7/15/1998)

What’s going on?

Brian Mulroney design

Canada is symbolized as a giant figure lifting a smaller Brian Mulroney using a baseball bat labelled “Public Opinion.” Mulroney, looking dejected, asks Canada to target someone else, gesturing towards Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Further down two the bottom right of the frame, there’s Chrétien, depicted juggling four balls representing significant political challenges: GST, Free Trade, patronage, and cuts. The cartoon captures the political dynamics of the time, illustrating Mulroney’s weariness of public scrutiny and directing attention to the issues faced by Chrétien’s government. Added context referring to the medal dangling from Mulroney’s wrist is about Mulroney being named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian award. The column, written by Dalton Camp, the late long time writer best known for being the thorn in the side of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, criticizes the decision, citing public disapproval revealed in a poll and questioning whether such appointments should be based on public opinion or the committee’s judgment. The author expresses concern about the Order becoming a source of controversy, highlighting the need to distinguish between political winds and appropriate recognition. The mention of Mulroney’s Order of Canada appointment is seen as contentious, raising questions about the criteria for such honours, especially for retired prime ministers. The column ultimately acknowledges the complexities surrounding awards like the Order of Canada and suggests Mulroney might deserve recognition for enduring public criticism during his political career. (Graeme MacKay – March 2024)

Posted in: Canada Tagged: "Silver Reflection", Brian Mulroney, Canada, cuts, free trade, GST, Jean Chretien, juggling, patronage, Prime Ministers, public opinion

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