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Wednesday June 11, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 11, 2018

Ontario PC government cancels $100-million school repair fund

Ontario’s new Tory government has cancelled a $100-million fund earmarked for school repairs this year, a cut that comes as a result of Doug Ford’s campaign promise to scrap the province’s cap-and-trade system.

School boards were notified on July 3 that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would be eliminated and that only work contracted on or before that date would be covered.

The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press, advises school boards to stop spending the cash that was allocated in April immediately.

“Please maintain detailed records of the contracts that have been signed as ministry staff will contact boards to collect information on the scope of the work underway,” the memo said.

Toronto District School Board chair Robin Pilkey said the move is disappointing because that board has a $4 billion repair backlog.

The TDSB had budgeted $300 million for upkeep this fiscal year, including the $25 million it was awarded specifically from this fund, and now faces difficult choices, Pilkey said.

“Losing $25 million is a big deal to us,” she said. “Our repair backlog is so large that every piece counts. We’ll have to make decisions in the next few weeks whether we don’t do those projects or we take the money out of … other funds and scrap something else.”

The board had planned to use the funding to repair windows, lighting and complete other mechanical work in its schools, she said.

It’s unlikely much of the money has been spent, however, because the board must hire contractors through the proper procurement process, which takes time, she said.

“It’s not like you get the money on May 1 and can spend it on May 15,” she said. “It takes a while to get the money flowing.”

The province has an approximate $15 billion repair backlog at its 4,900 publicly funded schools.

Stephen Seaborn, spokesman for the education advocacy group Campaign for Public Education, said the cut will hurt schools across Ontario.

“It’s bad,” he said. “It was done just like as if it was nothing. There was no discussion about what would be done about the budgets of the schools.”

Seaborn said the cancellation of cap and trade has clearly had unintended consequences and cutting funds for the renovation program is a prime example. (Source: CTV News) 

 

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Tuesday February 6, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 6, 2018

Drop the politics and fix 24 Sussex Drive

Few things better symbolize the stupid, counterproductive, hyperpartisan atmosphere that pervades Canada’s federal political scene than the on-again, off-again debate over what to do with 24 Sussex Drive.

It’s not new. The tempest in a teapot over investing in the residence intended to house the leader of the country has been blowing hot and cold for years.

Everyone agrees, this mansion is a dump. It has asbestos. Heating and cooling systems are out of date. While no national leader wants to live there, swarms of mice do. It has literally been dubbed unfit for human habitation by architectural and safety experts. Most recent estimates suggest Sussex needs $10 million in renovations and upgrades. They could have been done for much less in years past, but because no one had the guts to make the commitment, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

And even in its current unoccupied state, it’s costing taxpayers money. Between November 2015 and March 2016, it cost $180,000 to keep it heated, lit up and clear of snow. The hydro bills alone for that five-month period weighed in at $38,881. And the National Capital Commission, in charge of the residence, has let something like $133,000 in contracts related to the house since 2016.

Why? Because no political leader wants to be seen as feathering his or her own nest by investing the necessary money to make Sussex safe and respectable. The opposition would have a field day, which they did when Brian Mulroney raised the prospect of improvements. Paul Martin had the same experience. Kim Campbell said she wouldn’t touch the subject with a pole.

Justin Trudeau is much the same. But he’s trying, to his credit, to get an independent overseer to take charge and make non-partisan decisions in the best interest of preserving the monument. Even that effort is politically risky. The NDP has agreed to not go all-partisan on the matter. The PCs did too, and then broke that pledge by insisting they want something from the government in return for approving the plan.

In the scheme of things, the fate of Sussex is a trifle. But think about what our inability to maintain and preserve the official residence says about Canada. Can you picture the Americans devolving into partisan sniping over ensuring The White House is maintained?

Sussex may not be especially historic. It was built as a lumber baron’s home in 1868, and didn’t start serving as the official residence until the early ’50s. But since then, a dozen or so prime ministers have lived there. It is, after all, the official residence for Canada’s top elected leader. It’s a piece of living, if not healthy at the moment, history.

If there is collective national will, and we would argue there is, all three parties should agree to allow the National Capital Commission to make the necessary investment. It’s time to put this small but telling embarrassment to bed once and for all. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

March 30, 2009

I’ve said in past blog entries that often the only feedback I ever get on any of my cartoons is whenever somebody has taken great offense to whatever I’ve drawn and feel the need to convey their anger to me.

My most recent cartoon focusing on the sad saga of Hamilton’s City Hall reno drew the ire of a close relative to the architect of the building, Stanley Roscoe, who phoned to ask what gives me “the nerve to be an architectural critique”.

What gives anyone the right to be an architectual critic? Are only learned experts of the field entitled to pass judgement on architecture in high brow periodicals? Can’t the unwashed masses who can’t tell a cupola from a corbel air their own feelings about the concrete monsters they have to share this planet with?

Anyway, I’ve posted the original sketch I was going to go with and tempered the farting base ass imagery with a giant toilet. My apologies for the loooong gap between blog entries. I’ll keep trying to keep this thing up to date.