Saturday July 11, 2020

July 18, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday July 11, 2020

PM’s mother Margaret and brother Alexandre were both paid to speak at WE Charity events

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mother Margaret and his brother Alexandre have both been paid tens of thousands of dollars to appear at WE Charity events.

In a response to an inquiry from CBC News, WE Charity has provided details of the speaking fees paid to both individuals for their participation at events between 2016 and 2020.

Both Margaret and Alexandre are registered with the Speakers’ Spotlight Bureau, which arranges appearances for clients in exchange for negotiated fees.

Margaret spoke at approximately 28 events and received honoraria amounting to $250,000. Alexandre spoke at eight events and received approximately $32,000.

May 20, 2016

Prime Minister Trudeau and his government have been under fire since announcing on June 25 they were awarding a $19.5 million sole-source contract to WE Charity to administer the Canada Student Service Grant, a $912 million program offering grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 to post-secondary students in return for supervised volunteer hours.

WE Charity said last week it was pulling out of administering CSSG, citing the ongoing controversy surrounding it and the government’s decision to give the sole-source contract to WE. Prime Minister Trudeau said the federal government would take over the program.

September 22, 2017

News of the payments to two members of Trudeau’s family seems to contradict WE Charity’s earlier claim that it had “never paid an honorarium” to Margaret Trudeau.

The federal ethics commissioner is investigating the WE contract to administer the volunteer grant, after Conservative and NDP MPs contacted the office raising concerns about the relationship between the charity and the prime minister’s family.

This evening, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that — as CTV News first reported — the prime minister’s spouse, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, “received $1,500” for participating in a WE event in 2012, before Trudeau became leader of the Liberal Party.

August 20, 2019

“The prime minister has never received payment for any events with WE,” the PMO said.

Trudeau admitted to reporters earlier this week that he did not recuse himself from cabinet discussions that led to the decision to award the contract to WE Charity.

December 3, 2015

CBC News contacted WE Charity to clarify the terms under which the prime minister and members of his family had appeared at past WE Day events.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Madame Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Madame Margaret Trudeau have participated in WE Charity events and programs over the years,” a WE spokesperson told CBC News late in the evening on June 25.

“The charity has never paid an honorarium to these individuals for their involvement in these programs and events.”

The charity said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s involvement as an “ambassador and ally” has been “entirely on a volunteer basis and travel expenses related to this involvement were paid for by WE Charity.”

On Thursday, WE Charity emailed CBC News, saying the organization wanted to reach out “proactively” to “provide you with some updated information.”

Less than an hour after the WE statement went out Thursday, Canadaland reported on its website that it had records showing Speakers’ Spotlight had invoiced Free the Children (the not-for-profit arm of WE, now called WE Charity) directly for some of Margaret Trudeau’s speaker’s fees — and had asked WE about the discrepancy. (CBC)

Saturday May 19, 2018

May 18, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 19, 2018

Why Prince Harry is giving the British press the cold shoulder

In many ways, Prince Harry’s raucous relationship with the media has been leading up to this.

August 23, 2012

His upcoming wedding to Meghan Markle signals the culmination of a lifelong tug of war over access to him and his family. And by allowing nearly no journalists into St. George’s Chapel on May 19, Harry may be indicating he finally has the upper hand.

“The Prince Harry that I know doesn’t like the press,” said Duncan Larcombe, a former tabloid reporter who wrote the book Prince Harry: The Inside Story.

British Monarchy Merch

While 28 reporters and 17 still photographers were allowed into Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, only one reporter and two photographers will be welcome this time — a reflection, perhaps, of Harry’s antagonism.

“William allowed the press in,” Larcombe said. “Harry is basically shutting the door.”

Larcombe concedes the chapel in Windsor can only hold a fraction of the 1,900 guests invited to Westminster Abbey for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials.

But, he said, “hiding behind the excuse that this is a private wedding is pretty nonsensical.”

Longtime royal photographer Arthur Edwards describes Harry as genuine and warm in private. But he acknowledges the prince’s relationship with the press has “been a little bit difficult recently.” (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday September 27, 2016

September 26, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 27, 2016

No five: Prince George refuses greeting from Canada’s Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau’s charm has finally met its match in the form of good old-fashioned British reserve.

The Canadian prime minister was shut down while trying to greet Britain’s Prince George on the runway when the royal family arrived for their tour of British Columbia.

Prince William and Kate’s children begin ‘lifetime of friendship’ with Canada

December 4, 2012

Landing in Canada on Saturday on a week-long official visit with parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the prince simply shook his head when Trudeau squatted down to the toddler’s level to offer a high-five variation, the low-five.

Trudeau then switched his palm for a high-five and subsequently offerTuesday September 27, 2016ed a handshake, both of which were seemingly rebuffed, creating an awkward moment at the airport in the western province.

Canadians felt the princely snub acutely, accustomed as they are to seeing their young premier win over millions of fans around the world and attain social media star status.

February 24, 2007

The prince has a history of unconventional meetings with heads of state. While he shook hands with Barack Obama on his visit to England in April, the prince received the US president in his pajamas. Obama later joked that the prince’s attire was “a slap in the face” and a clear breach of protocol.

The prince and his year-old sister, Princess Charlotte, are in Canada for the first time but it is the second trip for their parents, who visited in 2011.

On Sunday, the duke and duchess were to visit the Immigration Services Society of British Columbia to meet staff and volunteers who help recent migrants to the area. The couple also is scheduled to meet young leaders of various industries in Canada and some of Vancouver’s first responders.

November 25, 2015

Before leaving Canada on 1 October, the couple is expected to have more than more than 30 engagements, including with aboriginal Canadian communities.

William is second in line to succeed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, who has been Canada’s head of state since she ascended to Britain’s throne in 1952. (Source: The Guardian)

Letters to the Editor (Hamilton Spectator) October 1, 2016

Trudeau/prince cartoon one of the best

Coffee spewed out both my nostrils this morning after seeing Graeme MacKay’s morning cartoon. That has to be one of the best I’ve seen this year. The whole encounter with our PM at the airport shows that a three year old has more sense than the Canadian voting public. We all know that children can sense when something is not to be trusted.

Tony Fidanza, Hamilton

Royals would never be so insulting

I found MacKay’s cartoon, about Prince George’s hesitation to high five Justin Trudeau, to be inappropriate. Let’s look at it from the child’s perspective. After a 10-hour flight, it was midnight, British time, when the family arrived in B.C. Prince George was likely woken up, dressed and taken out onto the tarmac. The situation was overwhelming to a small child and the prime minister was a stranger. High five gestures are not used often in Britain. George acted like a three year old, because he IS a three year old.

The editorial cartoon has George saying to Justin, “Grow up and bow to your future king, you bloody selfie-aggrandizing peasant? And get a haircut, you’re a walking disaster.” Even an adult member of the Royal Family would never use rude or critical words, or suggest that Trudeau was beneath them. To suggest that they, or their three year old son would show such disrespect toward commoners, is offensive.

Molly Shannon, Hamilton

Cartoon was Inappropriate

Shame on the cartoonist and The Record for publishing the so-called political cartoon in the Sept. 28 edition. He put nasty words into the mouth of Prince George, an innocent little boy. Obviously, they forget the joy that a child brings to the world. All in an effort to belittle a politician. If the cartoonist can’t find anything else, I guess he grasps at the smallest things to try to make his opinion known.

Sylvia Lusted., Waterloo

Don’t back off satirizing our celebrities

I have been following some of the social media outcry over this cartoon that pokes fun both at the Royals and Justin Trudeau. I am forced to conclude too many of your readers are humourless souls who don’t have a clue about irony and satire. Please don’t let them bully you into making the characters in our cult of celebrity into sacred cows. If anything, more fun needs to be poked more often.

Janice Henshaw, Hamilton

Stop harassing Trudeau and Royals

I have been subscribing to Hamilton Spectator for the last 80 years. I am shocked by this cartoon. If you think this is humorous, then I think you are a sick group of people. In the last few months you have been making jokes about Trudeau that are in poor taste. But now you are also including our Royal visitors to Canada. What is going to come next … these cartoons are lowbrow, not clever and definitely not amusing. I hope this harassment of both Prime Minister Trudeau and the Royal Family has come to an end.

William Bell, Burlington

This cartoon was featured during a panel of English speaking cartoonists at Le festival 1001Visages, VAl-David, Quebec on October 9, 2016. L-R: Me, Sue Dewar, Christian Vachon, Tim Leatherbarrow, and Wes Tyrell. A great venue that will host the convention of the Association of Canadian Cartoonists in 2018.

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Thursday November 26, 2015

November 25, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 26

Justin Trudeau meeting Queen, Cameron in London

Trudeau has a bit of history with the Queen, having met the now 89-year-old monarch as a young child in the late 1970s when his father Pierre Trudeau was Canada’s prime minister

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reacquainted himself with Queen Elizabeth, this time as the prime minister of Canada rather than the son of Canada’s parliamentary leader.

Trudeau, making his second whirlwind tour on the international summit circuit in as many weeks, is meeting Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace Wednesday morning.

The Queen also met Sophie and the two youngest Trudeau children.

Canadian Press photographer Doug Ball took this iconic photo of Pierre Trudeau performing a pirouette during a photo session of several leaders at Buckingham Palace on May 7, 1977

Trudeau will then deliver a speech at Canada House in Trafalgar Square, followed by a sit-down with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street where it’s expected climate change, anti-terrorism measures and the Canada-European Union free trade agreement will be on the agenda.

Trudeau has a bit of history with the Queen, having met the now 89-year-old monarch as a young child in the late 1970s when his father Pierre Trudeau was Canada’s prime minister.

“She was very tall, which points out how little I was at the time,” Trudeau recalled in a comment released by his office prior to Wednesday’s audience.

“They were nice moments because I knew how much my dad liked her. You could tell my dad was really proud to be introducing his son to the Queen.”

Trudeau is travelling with his wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and two of their own three youngsters, Ella-Grace and Hadrien, are along for the trip.

Trudeau will leave the United Kingdom on Thursday for Valetta, Malta, where the 54-country Commonwealth grouping is holding its biennial leaders summit.

Early version

Trudeau has said he’ll be working to encourage some of the Commonwealth members to step up their ambition on fighting climate change, while others in the Commonwealth are only too aware of the dangers from rising sea levels posed by global warming.

Malta’s prime minister will hold a special session on climate change Friday afternoon.

Trudeau and many of the other Commonwealth heads will then move on to France, where French President Francois Hollande has invited world leaders to open the 21st United Nations climate conference, or COP21, next Monday. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday July 20, 2012

July 20, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday July 20, 2012

Carmen’s has mega-plan for HECFI

Banquet hall owner Carmen’s has pitched a grand plan for Hamilton’s convention centre that includes eliminating its annual taxpayer subsidy and adding a 44-storey hotel and condo development.

Owner Peter Mercanti vowed to immediately cut the annual taxpayer subsidy by $1 million if the city turned over control of the money-losing convention centre to his group, which also includes local entertainment promoter Loren Liberman.

“You will not find people more passionate about Hamilton than us,” said Mercanti, who has already built a $10 million hotel next to his Stone Church Road banquet facility. “Our family has a track record of delivering what we promise.”

The pitch was one of four councillors heard from groups competing to take over all or part of the Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc.

There were five until Monday, when the world’s largest venue management company and its partner withdrew their bid to run Copps Coliseum.

The Spectator’s Andrew Dreschel reported Wednesday that Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Edmonton-based Katz Group notified the city Monday that they are no longer taking part in the privatization talks.

Taxpayer subsidies to HECFI are pegged at about $6.5 million for 2012, but most years they average $7.5 million to $8 million.

AEG/Katz’s withdrawal leaves four other proposals on the table for running the three city-owned HECFI facilities — Copps, Hamilton Place and Hamilton Convention Centre. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)