race

Thursday August 4, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 4, 2022

Charest, Baber and Aitchison keep it courteous in final Conservative leadership debate

May 18, 2022

Three of the five candidates vying to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada took part in the race’s final debate Wednesday evening in Ottawa in what proved to be a courteous, sparks-free affair — aside from the barbs aimed at those not in attendance. 

The bilingual event, with the first half taking part in English, came just over one month from when the party will select its third permanent leader in five years on Sept. 10. 

Jean Charest, the former Quebec premier and one of only three candidates who took part in the debate, chided the presumed frontrunner, MP Pierre Poilievre, and another candidate, MP Leslyn Lewis, for not participating.

Charest likened the decision to “a fish that says it doesn’t want to swim in the ocean” and thanked Conservative MP Scott Aitchison and former Ontario MPP Roman Baber for showing up on Wednesday.

Saturday May 31, 1997

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 31, 1997

Our hopes for the future

Our election ballot Monday must prepare our country for the challenges ahead. We must position our leaders, such as Jean Charest, where they will preserve Canada.The prospect of Preston Manning’s Reform Party forming the official Opposition after Monday’s federal election is deeply disturbing. Yes, Manning’s stance on separation better reflects the views of average Canadians, compared to the tired rhetoric of appeasement flowing from the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties. But beyond that single issue, Reform offers no viable vision for a strong, unified country.

Yet, largely due to an inept, cynical Liberal election call and campaign, Reform as the official Opposition is a very likely outcome of the vote. That Manning’s party of western discontent is a better alternative than the destructive Bloc Quebecois is cold comfort.

A Progressive Conservative Opposition would be infinitely better for Canada, and for Ontario.

It’s true that the Progressive Conservative and Reform policy platforms are very similar. Both call for tax cuts, which are unproven as a job creation device. Both do little to address environmental concerns. Both propose accelerating government spending cu ts, but the truth is Canadians are happy for the most part with the progress made by Finance Minister Paul Martin in reducing the deficit and getting federal spending under control. Given that Tory and Reform policies are similar in so many ways, why install Jean Charest as Opposition leader?
Leadership.

Jean Charest has demonstrated he has more to offer personally than any of the other party leaders. His youthful energy and intellectual sincerity appeal to Canadians, but he offers more than a good sound-bite and an engaging television presence. Charest is passionate about a united Canada, and that devotion is going to be called upon in the near future. Another divisive, manipulative campaign will be launched by the separatists, probably right after the Supreme Court spells out the rules around secession. Charest has already pledged he will set aside partisan concerns and fight for a united Canada, just as he did last time we went through this frightening, tiresome exercise. He can be most effective in the unity battle if the Conservatives wear the Opposition mantle.

Charest’s Conservatives have a national philosophy, a rich history and a vision of the future that starts with the country being united. Even where Reform and Conservative policies overlap, Reform would go further, faster, with little regard for maintaining a strong federal voice. In the end, Reform is about protest.

Indignant Reformers will insist theirs is a national party. Reformers are anti-separatist, not anti-Quebec, they proclaim. But if Manning’s party is serious about inclusion, why are only 11 Reform candidates running in Quebec’s 75 ridings?
And what of the Liberals? Jean Chretien called an election at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. His party will pay the price. Far from being the last national party, the Liberals could end up being Ontario’s party in a fractured Parliament. But it’s clear they will be returned to power for another term.

If that’s the case, one thing is abundantly clear.

The Liberals must begin to plan for Jean Chretien’s departure. He was the right politician for the time, when Canadians were dealing with the Mulroney government and its legacy of broken promises. Chretien has an uncanny ability to forge a connection and engender empathy if not trust.

But the Chretien era must end. He is not the man to lead us in celebrating the new millennium. He is certainly not the leader to guide this country through another ugly debate over Quebec’s future.

While there is no arguing Chretien’s contribution in the past, the sad fact is he is no longer appealing in Quebec, and so is among the best weapons the separatists have in their meagre arsenal. Chretien must gracefully step aside. Paul Martin, who has engineered the Liberals single biggest legitimate accomplishment by effectively managing the economy and reducing the deficit, is the logical replacement. Martin is respected for his fiscal conservatism, and may even be an asset in Quebec.

On Tuesday morning, the Liberals will govern. The question is, who will be second? If enough of us vote strategically and look seriously at credible Progressive Conservative candidates, perhaps Jean
Charest will be where he’ll do the most good for Canada. And Preston Manning will get the role he deserves, as a regional voice of discontent. (Hamilton Spectator, 5/31/1997, B4)

 

Friday March 25, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 25, 2022

Ukraine refugee crisis exposes racism and contradictions in the definition of human

May 9, 2019

Not only has the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought to light the awful tragedies that accompany armed conflict, but the subsequent refugee crisis has also uncovered deeply seated racism in the country.

Reporters have documented dehumanizing treatment against international students from Africa, South Asia and the Middle East in Ukraine. This treatment also extended to racialized permanent residents of Ukraine, including a long-time practising Nigerian doctor.

While white women and children were given priority on vehicles departing the country, African women were barred from trains leaving Kyiv even though there were empty seats.

These incidents demonstrate a racist logic that positions some people as vulnerable, and others as beyond the realm of moral obligation to receive protection. Black and racialized people, it seems, are not as deserving of care.

As Black Studies researchers in the field of education, we study how colonialism and anti-Blackness shape what we know. Although some have been shocked by these reports, we are not surprised.

Friday December 3, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 3, 2021

Boosters or global vaccine sharing? Canada can do both amid Omicron: experts

May 11, 2021

The discovery of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant has reignited the issue of global vaccine inequality as richer nations debate whether to accelerate third doses of vaccines.

But as Canadian officials figure out how to protect their populations, they must also not lose focus on vaccinating other parts of the world to stop new variants from emerging, experts say.

“There has been a lack of appreciation and foresight into how important and directly impactful it is to ensure that we vaccinate the entire world,” said Dr. Matthew Miller, associate professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster University.

“We need to be thinking really carefully and deliberately about how we ensure that nations and regions that have not had good vaccine availability get access to those vaccines.”

August 21, 2021

Following the revelation of Omicron last week, which the WHO warns poses a “very high” risk, wealthy nations around the world have taken steps to try and protect their populations.

Among those measures are travel bans. mainly on nations in Africa, where the variant was discovered, but also on accelerating expanding third dose rollouts.

The United Kingdom has decided to open booster shots for all adults, and the head of the European Commission said Wednesday the European Union needs daily reviews of its travel restrictions and rapid deployment of boosters to protect from Omicron. It is unclear right now if the variant is more deadly, or if it can evade current vaccines.

May 20, 2021

The Canadian government has requested the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) to quickly provide the latest directives on booster use in light of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Tuesday.

Canada’s vaccination rate vastly differs from other countries in the world. Right now, 86 per cent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated whereas the world’s population overall is 43.58 per cent fully vaccinated, Johns Hopkins University indicates.

However, Johns Hopkins’ data shows large portions of Africa remain unvaccinated. In Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, only 1.74 per cent of eligible Nigerians are fully vaccinated. In Ethiopia, 1.28 per cent of its eligible population is fully inoculated.

Many African nations have had challenges with their vaccine rollouts, and have wasted doses that have been given with short notices and short shelf lives. Some countries have also run into vaccine hesitancy, which has impacted uptake.

Those challenges show that global vaccine equity is more than just supplying shots, Barrett said, adding wealthy countries like Canada need to help with rollouts even as they boost their populations.

January 28, 2021

“Vaccine rollouts have been so ineffective in some places that they’ve been throwing vaccines out because it expires over the last number of months,” she said.

“How do we start to support other countries in a real way to get their vaccine rollout in a more effective space and place, so they’re not throwing out expired vaccine doses?”

To date, Canada has donated more than 8.3 million surplus vaccine doses through COVAX, and has also shared 762,080 AstraZeneca doses through direct, bilateral arrangements with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The government has also pledged to donate at least 200 million doses to the COVAX by the end of 2022. (Global News)