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Wednesday October 12, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday October 12, 2016 Liberal governmentÕs carbon tax plan provokes anger from provinces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an ultimatum to the provinces on Monday, announcing his governmentÕs plan to set a minimum carbon tax even as environment ministers were meeting in Montreal to discuss options for carbon pricing. Several provinces and territories reacted angrily Ð three environment ministers walked out of the federal-provincial climate talks Ð after Mr. TrudeauÕs unilateral announcement in the House of Commons. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said the decision is a ÒbetrayalÓ of the co-operative approach the Prime Minister had promised and that the tax would devastate his provinceÕs economy. Mr. Trudeau essentially told premiers to adopt a carbon tax or cap-and-trade plan or Ottawa will impose its own levy Ð a minimum of $50 a tonne by 2022 Ð and return the revenue the provinces. It comes as the Liberal government is embroiled in a dispute with the provinces over health-care funding, and signals the Prime MinisterÕs determination to exert federal leadership in areas where the premiers largely had free rein for the past decade under the Conservatives. Saskatchewan Environment Minister Scott Moe left the Montreal environment ministersÕ meeting before it concluded, as did Nova ScotiaÕs Margaret Miller, and Perry Trimper, Minister of Environment and Conservation for Newfoundland and Labrador. ÒToday is not a good day for federal-provincial relations,Ó Mr. Moe said. ÒWeÕre struggling a little bit to understand where the Prime MinisterÕs message came from today, and whatÕs going to happen moving forward,Ó Ms. Miller said. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says his province is leading the country in reduction of greenhouse gases by cutting emissions in the electricity sector, but does not want to impose higher taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels. Mr. Trudeau has long promised that Ottawa would

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 12, 2016

Liberal government’s carbon tax plan provokes anger from provinces

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an ultimatum to the provinces on Monday, announcing his government’s plan to set a minimum carbon tax even as environment ministers were meeting in Montreal to discuss options for carbon pricing.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday March 4, 2016 Ottawa willing to impose carbon price if impasse drags on The federal government is prepared to impose a national price on carbon if Canada's premiers fail to come to an agreement on their own, CBC News has learned. Putting a price tag on pollution would pit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government against some provincial premiers who see the move as another blow to an enfeebled economy. Trudeau is meeting with premiers and territorial leaders today in Vancouver. A senior official close to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Liberal government campaigned on environmental change and won a majority. "We feel that we've got a mandate to do it. And we want to do it in co-operation with the provinces," the official said. "But at the end of the day we are going to do it." Federal action isn't imminent, but Ottawa won't allow carbon price talks to drag on indefinitely. "This should be a conversation about how we are going to price carbon, not whether," said the source. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has been the loudest critic of a carbon tax, saying it will only hammer an already sluggish energy sector. Wall told reporters on Wednesday that he wasn't alone in his position, and that's been backed up in public and private statements by officials from other provinces here in Vancouver. "You're going to hear a lot more about carbon management than carbon pricing," said one premier in explaining the view in their private meetings. Five provinces already have a price on carbon. Penalizing polluters financially is aimed at curbing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carbon-price-cap-and-trade-first-ministers-meeting-vancouver-1.3473524 Canada, provinces, Christy Clark, Phillippe Couilliard, Kathleen Wynne, Rachel Notley, Justin Trudeau, Brad Wall, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, carbon, tax, environment, climate change

March 4, 2016

Several provinces and territories reacted angrily – three environment ministers walked out of the federal-provincial climate talks – after Mr. Trudeau’s unilateral announcement in the House of Commons. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said the decision is a “betrayal” of the co-operative approach the Prime Minister had promised and that the tax would devastate his province’s economy.

Mr. Trudeau essentially told premiers to adopt a carbon tax or cap-and-trade plan or Ottawa will impose its own levy – a minimum of $50 a tonne by 2022 – and return the revenue the provinces. It comes as the Liberal government is embroiled in a dispute with the provinces over health-care funding, and signals the Prime Minister’s determination to exert federal leadership in areas where the premiers largely had free rein for the past decade under the Conservatives.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday September 20, 2016 Trudeau's challenge is to lead on pricing carbon and building pipelines Canada's first commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was made by Brian Mulroney in 1988, at an international conference on the "changing atmosphere" in Toronto. It was pledged then that Canada would seek a 20-per-cent reduction in its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2005. Two years later, that target was adjusted to merely stabilizing GHGs at 1990 levels by 2005. Still, that would have kept emissions to 613 megatonnes per year. Instead, in 2014, the last full year for which data is available, Canada emitted a total of 732 megatonnes of greenhouse gases, a 20-per-cent increase since 2005. If Mulroney had put Canada on a path to achieving that target of 1990, if Jean ChrŽtien or Paul Martin or Stephen Harper had set Canada on its way to achieving any of the targets they subsequently set, Justin Trudeau would now be heading into a merely interesting fall, the biggest issue of which would be the negotiation of new health accords with the provinces or the consideration of a new electoral system. In November, he is due to meet the premiers to finalize a national plan on climate change, or at least the makings thereof. By Dec. 19, his cabinet must decide whether to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal that would transfer oil from Alberta to the port of Vancouver. And between those two, Trudeau gets to wrestle with questions of federalism, the national economy and the future of humanity on a warming planet. The climate change plan seems likely to include some kind of mechanism for pricing carbon.ÊÊAnd while putting a price on carbon has become the focal point of debate about what to do about climate change, pipelines have, fairly or not, become a focus of attention for those who worry about the impact of GHGs on the planet. The prime minister has, either explicitly or implicitly, committed

September 20, 2016

Saskatchewan Environment Minister Scott Moe left the Montreal environment ministers’ meeting before it concluded, as did Nova Scotia’s Margaret Miller, and Perry Trimper, Minister of Environment and Conservation for Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Today is not a good day for federal-provincial relations,” Mr. Moe said.

“We’re struggling a little bit to understand where the Prime Minister’s message came from today, and what’s going to happen moving forward,” Ms. Miller said. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says his province is leading the country in reduction of greenhouse gases by cutting emissions in the electricity sector, but does not want to impose higher taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels.

Wednesday April 15, 2015Mr. Trudeau has long promised that Ottawa would impose a minimum carbon price on provinces unwilling to adopt their own system, but on Monday, he seized the leadership from premiers, who have insisted on the right to regulate carbon emissions as they see fit.

The Prime Minister said he will convene a first ministers’ meeting on Dec. 8 with the aim of concluding a pan-Canadian climate plan, which would include carbon pricing and other measures. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Tuesday May 31, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday May 31, 2016 Tragically Unhip - Tragically Hip fans cry foul after presale tickets scooped up in minutes Many fans hoping to grab presale tickets to the Tragically Hip's farewell tour this morning found disappointment instead, with tickets selling out quickly then appearing minutes later at a massive markup on resale sites. Tickets to the summer tour, which begins July 22 in Victoria, went on sale at 10 a.m. local timeÊthis morning to registered users of the band's fan club who got a presale code by email. Demand was high for this last opportunity to see the iconic Canadian rock band, whose lead singer Gord Downie announced last week he has terminal brain cancer. But fans cried foul when they found no tickets available for some shows on Ticketmaster within minutes Ñ even though tickets were already being resold on StubHub. In Vancouver, for example, at 11 a.m. PT, all the Ticketmaster tickets for the July 24 show were gone, but nearly 100 floor seats were being offered on StubHub for between $237 and $2,799 US per ticket. The original prices were between $116 and $166 Cdn for the same seats, according to Ticketmaster's website>. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tragically-hip-presale-tickets-sold-out-1.3607493 Cartoon modified from original publication date on February 26, 2009.Êhttp://www.mackaycartoons.net/yahoo_files/2009/huh2009-02-26.html Canada, Ontario, ticketmaster, ticket, entertainment, sales, scalper, scalping, Tragically Hip, Hip, concert, Paul McCartney

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 31, 2016

Tragically Unhip – Tragically Hip fans cry foul after presale tickets scooped up in minutes

Many fans hoping to grab presale tickets to the Tragically Hip’s farewell tour this morning found disappointment instead, with tickets selling out quickly then appearing minutes later at a massive markup on resale sites.

Tickets to the summer tour, which begins July 22 in Victoria, went on sale at 10 a.m. local time this morning to registered users of the band’s fan club who got a presale code by email.

Demand was high for this last opportunity to see the iconic Canadian rock band, whose lead singer Gord Downie announced last week he has terminal brain cancer.

But fans cried foul when they found no tickets available for some shows on Ticketmaster within minutes — even though tickets were already being resold on StubHub.

In Vancouver, for example, at 11 a.m. PT, all the Ticketmaster tickets for the July 24 show were gone, but nearly 100 floor seats were being offered on StubHub for between $237 and $2,799 US per ticket.

The original prices were between $116 and $166 Cdn for the same seats, according to Ticketmaster’s website>. (Source: CBC News)

Cartoon modified from original publication date on February 26, 2009. 

 

Saturday March 14, 2015

Saturday March 14, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 14, 2015

Kathleen Wynne not afraid to liberalize beer, wine sales, minister says

Premier Kathleen Wynne has the “steel” to bring beer and wine to Ontario supermarkets, says Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid.

In the wake of revelations by the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn that the spring budget will boast the greatest liberalization of booze sales laws in Ontario history, Duguid said no one should doubt Wynne’s fortitude.

Kathleen Wynne Beer Buster“If you’re questioning the determination of this premier to make some of these tough decisions that have not been made in generations in some cases, I would suggest that this premier has the steel to make those decisions,” he told reporters Friday.

“She’s determined to ensure we get full value out of those assets not for the sake of doing so but to ensure that we have the ability to invest that value in building a stronger province through investing in public transit and investing in infrastructure.”

Duguid said the government is awaiting the final recommendations of former TD Bank chair Ed Clark’s advisory council on government assets to determine the future of the Hydro One transmission utility and how to improve beer and wine distribution.

“The demands of customers are growing in retail, the expectations are growing,” the minister said.

“This does provide an opportunity for the government to provide Ontarians with a better retail experience,” he said.

“We’re very impressed to the work that Ed Clark has been doing to date with regard to both Hydro One and regarding the alcohol distribution system.” (Source: Toronto Star)

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Tuesday, December 3, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Amazon PrimeAir drone deliveries coming soon, CEO Jeff Bezos says

Amazon.com Inc. is testing drones that it hopes will soon deliver packages to customers, company CEO Jeff Bezos says.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Bezos said the small, unmanned aircraft could deliver packages that weigh up to 2.3 kilograms to homes or about 86 per cent of the items the company currently delivers. The drones could fly within 16 kilometres of the company’s distribution centres, covering a significant portion of the population in urban areas.

The aim would be half-hour delivery. The company hopes to deploy the drones within five years.

A video from the Seattle-based company showed a drone labelled “Amazon PrimeAir” taking a package from a distribution centre to a customer’s front yard.

“In urban areas, you could actually cover very significant portions of the population,” Bezos said. “It won’t work for everything — we’re not going to deliver kayaks or table saws this way. These are electric motors, so this is all electric. It’s very green. It’s better than driving trucks around.”

The drones would be autonomous, flying to programmed GPS co-ordinates.

“The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say — look, this thing can’t land on somebody’s head while they’re walking around their neighbourhood.”
Bezos said the drones couldn’t be put in place until 2015 because it would take that long to work out regulations with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. He said he optimistically hopes the drones could be delivering packages in four or five years.

“It will work and it will happen and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
The FAA currently forbids the use of commercial drones. That is expected to change in 2015 when its Drones Act, which was passed last year, will require commercial jets and drones to share the same air space. (Source: CBC News)

Thursday July 26, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday July 26, 2012

Push for beer in Ontario corner stores won’t succeed

The Ontario government is denying a request by the province’s convenience stores to sell beer and wine at some locations.

The Ontario Convenience Stores Association held a news conference at Queen’s Park on Wednesday in which it presented a petition with 112,500 signatures from across the province supporting the idea of broader retail availability of beer and wine.

But a finance ministry spokesman told CBC News that while the government takes the proposal by the convenience store association seriously, it believes the public is served well by the current system.

The LCBO is an effective way to govern public interest, said Scott Blodgett.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak questioned if “the old solutions from the 1930s and ’40s that the government should run the alcohol business in the province from top to bottom” were still appropriate today.

New Democrat critic Rosario Marchese said the LCBO was a “pretty good system” which provides strong revenues for the province and restricts youth access to alcohol.

“I think our priority should be making the system work better, not new schemes that make it easier for young people to get their hands on alcohol.”

Former Liberal premier David Peterson promised to allow corner stores to sell beer and wine in the 1980s, but it never happened. (Source: CBC News)