Scrooge – mackaycartoons

Saturday December 21, 2024

December 21, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 21, 2024

In a Dickensian twist, Justin Trudeau is cast as Scrooge, haunted by the ghost of his father Pierre and other spirits, confronting the fading legacy of his leadership and the mounting pressure to step aside for the good of his party and country.

An Ottawa Christmas Carol

It was a bitterly cold night in Ottawa, and Justin Trudeau sat alone in the grand but lonely halls of Rideau Cottage, now more mausoleum than home. The once-vibrant optimism that had carried him to power now felt like a distant memory, replaced by whispers of discontent and the weight of eroding public trust.

January 12, 2007

As he gazed out the frosted window at the swirling snow, a chill not of winter but of something far deeper crept through the room. Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the sound of heavy chains clinking. Trudeau spun around to see a figure emerge from the shadows: his father, Pierre Trudeau, pale and spectral, draped in a cloak of memories and regrets.

“Justin,” the elder Trudeau intoned, his voice carrying the authority of a man who once weathered his own storms of leadership. “You walk a dangerous path, my son. You are blind to the discontent that grows around you, deaf to the advice of those who have warned you. Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits. Heed their lessons, or your legacy will wither as surely as your power has begun to fade.”

Before Justin could respond, Pierre vanished into the ether, leaving behind only the faint scent of buckskin leather and the echo of his famous walk in the snow.

News: 4 ministers get new portfolios, 8 Liberal MPs promoted in Trudeau cabinet shuffle

The Ghost of Christmas Past

December 21, 2017

The first spirit arrived in a golden glow, bearing the form of a younger, fresher Justin Trudeau—the teacher, the optimist, the champion of “sunny ways.” The ghost led him to a scene from 2015: a jubilant election night, Canadians cheering for change, hope, and progress.

“Remember this moment,” the spirit urged. “This was when your ideals inspired a nation. But where is that leader now?”

The vision shifted to 2020, when the challenges of the pandemic tested his resolve. The applause of 2015 gave way to murmurs of discontent.

“This was your chance to rise above politics, but pride and missteps have tarnished your promises. Reflect on who you were, Justin, before it’s too late.”

The Ghost of Christmas Present

December 11, 2024

The second spirit appeared next: a towering figure wrapped in a cloak of red and white, carrying a scale tipped precariously under the weight of division and scandal.

It whisked Trudeau to the chambers of Parliament, where discontent brewed among his own caucus. MPs whispered in corners, their confidence in their leader eroded. In the homes of ordinary Canadians, families struggled with rising costs and waning trust in government.

“Do you see their struggles?” the spirit asked. “Your choices weigh heavy on them. They feel forgotten, even abandoned.”

The vision changed again to a cabinet table, where Dominic LeBlanc sat wearily holding the Finance portfolio and a growing list of crises. “Even your most loyal allies cannot bear this alone forever,” the spirit warned.

News: Justin Trudeau is facing a political crisis made worse by Donald Trump. Can he survive as Canada’s leader?

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

August 5, 2022

Finally, the room grew dark, and the third spirit arrived, cloaked in shadow. It showed no face, only a skeletal hand that pointed forward. Trudeau followed reluctantly, and the vision it revealed was stark:

An election defeat. A humbled Liberal Party, fractured and leaderless. A legacy remembered not for boldness but for indecision and squandered goodwill. The name “Justin Trudeau” etched into history not as a reformer but as a cautionary tale.

“Is this what must be?” Trudeau cried out. “Can this future not be changed?”

The spirit pointed silently to the snow-covered ground, where faint footsteps marked a solitary path.

Awakening with a start, Trudeau found himself back in his room. The echoes of the spirits still rang in his ears. The lessons were clear: the path forward demanded humility, decisiveness, and the courage to let go when the time was right.

As he looked out at the fresh snow, a thought occurred to him. Perhaps the time had come to take his own walk in the snow—one that might allow his party and his country to find new hope, even if it meant stepping aside.

Friday December 15, 2023

December 15, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 15, 2023

Ontario’s Boozy Awakening Just in Time for Christmas Cheer!

November 30, 2022

In a festive twist just shy of two weeks before Christmas, Premier Doug Ford has bestowed upon Ontario’s booze enthusiasts a gift as grand as old Ebenezer Scrooge’s change of heart. After a century of stringent liquor control, the provincial government is set to break free from the chains of the past, bringing a wave of merriment to beer and wine lovers across the land.

Ford, in his role as the newfound spirit of holiday cheer, unveiled plans to uncork additional choices for buyers of beer, wine, cider, hard seltzer, and premixed cocktails. The modernization of Ontario’s booze laws, set to be fully realized by “no later than Jan. 1, 2026,” promises a liberating experience for consumers. In an exuberant announcement at an Etobicoke variety store, one of the 8,500 new outlets destined to sell alcoholic delights, Ford joyfully declared the fulfillment of a 2018 promise to bring the spirit of celebration to convenience and grocery stores.

June 26, 2009

Opinion: Under the influence: Doug Ford and the strange history of Ontario’s liquor laws

Ontario, donning a festive cap, will join Quebec as the only provinces to embrace such widespread, liberalized corner shop sales, treating its citizens like responsible revellers. Premier Ford, a teetotaller with a heart full of goodwill, urged those who partake in libations to revel responsibly and avoid the pitfalls of inebriated sleigh rides.

The publicly owned LCBO will continue its monopoly on spirits but will now dance to the tune of “competitive pricing,” potentially offering a yuletide discount for consumers. Retailers, donning their holiday best, will be free to set their own prices, promoting a harmonious balance between merriment and social responsibility.

November 29, 2023

Amidst the jubilation, The Beer Store, adorned in festive spirits, will continue to control beer distribution until 2031, ensuring that the beer-loving citizens of Ontario have a frothy source of joy. The province will sweeten the deal by paying The Beer Store to continue its successful deposit and return system, diverting 97 percent of beer bottles and cans from landfill annually.

Archives: When beer and wine almost made it into Ontario corner stores

All across Ontario, supermarkets, big box stores, corner shops, and even gas stations selling snacks can now apply for licenses to become purveyors of liquid holiday cheer. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, acting as the guardian of the Christmas spirit, will ensure that underage revellers are kept at bay.

September 24, 2015

In a tale reminiscent of Scrooge’s awakening, the announcement marks the end of the 10-year “master framework agreement,” signed by former Premier Kathleen Wynne, allowing the Progressive Conservatives to keep their almost six-year-old campaign pledge of “beer in corner stores” just in time for the June 2026 election.

While some critics, akin to the ghosts of Christmas past, warned of potential consequences and international embarrassment, the Tories decided to let the master framework agreement run its course, heralding it as good news and a step towards a more spirited future.

News: Ontario unveils plans for beer and wine in corner stores

As a final touch to this holiday extravaganza, the Tories will eliminate a 6.1 percent tax at on-site winery retail stores, spreading joy among the Ontario wine industry. Despite uncertainties about how many Ontarians are clamuoring for more places to buy beer and wine, the government is convinced that this spirited initiative will be the toast of the next election.

Monday May 8, 2006

In this whimsical tale of policy changes and holiday revelry, it seems that even the most staunch defenders of the status quo, like the former Liberal Premier David Peterson, have embraced the spirit of change or, in his own words, “If people want changes, I’m OK with it. If they don’t, I’m OK with that too.” After all, in the grand tapestry of public policy, the expansion of beer and wine in corner stores may not be the most significant piece, but it surely adds a touch of festive sparkle to the political landscape. Cheers to a merrier and more spirited Ontario! (AI)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro. If you’re creative, give illustration a try:

Tuesday December 13, 2022

December 13, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 13, 2022

Premiers demand meeting with Justin Trudeau over health-care funding

Canada’s premiers are demanding more federal money from Ottawa for health care and they want a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make their case.

August 24, 2022

The provincial and territorial leaders appealed to Trudeau on Friday for a first ministers’ meeting early in the new year to tackle the funding crisis in a pandemic-battered system.

While the federal government is willing to increase the Canada Health Transfer — the money Ottawa sends to the provinces on a per-capita basis for health care — it has repeatedly stated any commitment would come with strings attached to ensure the additional dollars go toward measurable, improved health outcomes for Canadians instead of flowing into provinces’ general revenues.

Responding to the premiers, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos declined to say whether Trudeau would agree to convening the meeting.

December 21, 2016

“The prime minister will obviously do what he wants to do. What he has asked me to do is to work with my colleagues — health ministers — to agree on the results and (put) therefore the ends before the means,” Duclos told reporters in Ottawa.

But he said there are conditions that must be met to achieve that goal, such as supporting health-care workers and patients; investing in home care, mental health care and long-term care; and implementing a modern health data collection system.

Duclos said his provincial and territorial counterparts have agreed to those conditions “in private,” and that it is now up to “premiers to let us do our job and express publicly the type of outcomes and results that we need to achieve together.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford insisted provinces want the “flexibility to be able to move those funds around where they’re needed” since they deliver the front-line health services.

July 27, 2019

“We have no problem with accountability, transparency,” Ford said at the virtual meeting chaired by Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson.

“Well, we need a funding partner. We need that funding for long-term care, we need it for home care, we need it for mental health and addiction, we need it for HHR, health human resources, infrastructure,” he said.

Discussions on boosting health-care funding fell apart when Ottawa said it was open to the increase if provinces and territories promised to build a national data collection system and expand the use of common health indicators — measures that show how well a health-care system is performing.

The provinces said they didn’t expect those conditions to be tied to a funding boost, and never saw concrete details on what such an increase would look like.

Stefanson said Friday that Ottawa has yet to present a proposal since that meeting.

Duclos, meanwhile, continued to insist that specific outcomes from the additional money must be clearly determined before any dollar figures are discussed.

“The premiers refuse to speak about those results. Everyone else wants to, but not the premiers,” he said.

Beyond Ottawa’s insistence on tying additional money to improvements in the system, the federal-provincial impasse also hinges upon differing views on current funding.

The premiers say their jurisdictions pay 78 per cent of health-care costs, with the federal government ponying up the remaining 22 per cent. They want Ottawa’s cash contribution to jump to 35 per cent. (The Toronto Star)

Friday December 24, 2021

December 24, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 24, 2021

The ghosts of a pandemic Christmas

A lot of Canadians will empathize with Ebenezer Scrooge on this second COVID-19 Christmas Eve.

December 24, 2016

It’s not that they share the opinion of Charles Dickens’ infamous miser that the holiday is nothing but “humbug.” It’s simply that as they take stock of life at the end of 2021 they will, like the hero of “A Christmas Carol,” be haunted by three phantoms: the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

The Ghost of Christmas Past: The first spirit will be the most amiable, but unfortunately in ways that make the other pair seem even more worrisome. Somehow those childhood Yuletides are always gold-plated.

We might remember nervously sitting on the knee of a shopping-mall Santa, listing our heart’s desires for Christmas Day. Or we’ll recall laying a stocking by our bedside on Christmas Eve, secure in the knowledge it will magically be filled to the brim next morning. Helped by the Ghost of Christmas Past, we’ll hear the songs of carolers and, perhaps, of a church choir singing “Silent Night.” And we’ll laugh, perhaps even blush, at the antics of bygone Christmas office parties

Was it only two Christmases ago that people still came together in large gatherings, where a card table would be set up in the dining room and lawn chairs hauled in from the garage to handle the mob of relatives and friends cramming our homes to the rafters? People still shook hands and hugged in those days. Imagine that.

November 28, 2020

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: The smiles inspired by the Ghost of Christmas Past might turn upside down when this grim reaper drops by. What will Christmas 2022, 2023 or 2024 be like? We might shudder to think, as Scrooge did when his phantom of the future finally led him to a graveyard.

What variant might we face in a Christmas or two? What pandemic wave might engulf us then? Will the antivirals coming our way cure us if we catch COVID? Will the vaccines we have now still work? Christmas or not, there’s no denying that two years into COVID the situation is still disastrous and there are no guarantees it won’t be this bad next year. Which brings us to the ghost that matters most.

The Ghost of Christmas Present: Whatever rose-coloured glasses we put on to view the past, it is gone and unrecoverable. As for the future, despite our valid trepidation, it nonetheless remains within our power — as it did with Scrooge — to determine what it will be. We should reach out and grasp that power.

If we’re responsible and respect the new provincial guidelines set down just days ago, many of our gatherings with families and friends will be smaller this year — or even cancelled. Loved ones who’ve tested positive — a growing trend with the emergence of the Omicron variant — will be absent. The latest advisories against nonessential travel will keep others somewhere else, far away. So yes, a lot of people won’t be home for this Christmas.

March 26, 2020

But there is still this stubborn, resilient holiday waiting for us. Though we may not be able to mark it as we once did, we need it more than ever as 2021 staggers to a close. We need its peace, its joy and its unquenchable spirit of giving — especially to the sick, the homeless and all those living in great want. Even wearing a protective mask, we can celebrate the hope found not only in all the wondrous Christmas stories but in what we have done together to survive nearly two years of pandemic. We should never forget that those game-changing, life-saving vaccines developed in record time are themselves veritable miracles worthy of continual thanks.

And finally, whether we celebrate the special day in a church, around the tree in our living room, or even if this holiday is not part of our own tradition, we should all be able to perceive the inestimable value of human love wrapped up in the gift it leaves for us. In the darkest time of year, the days are finally lengthening again. So, when the Ghost of Christmas Present comes knocking at your door, let him in. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

Thursday December 21, 2017

December 20, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 21, 2017

Trudeau violated multiple conflict laws when he accepted a family holiday to Aga Khan’s island

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated ethics rules in accepting vacations to the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas, according to parliament’s conflict of interest watchdog.

Conflict of Interest Commissioner Mary Dawson said Trudeau broke multiple conflict laws in accepting a family vacation at Bells Cay in December 2016.

And in a report released Wednesday, she faulted the prime minister for hitching a ride on the Aga Khan’s private helicopter to get to the island.

Trudeau knew well the extent of the Aga Khan’s official dealings with the federal government and that should have been a red flag, Dawson wrote.

“Mr. Trudeau failed to arrange his private affairs in a manner that would prevent him from being placed in a conflict of interest. Neither Mr. Trudeau nor his family should have vacationed on the Aga Khan’s private island,” she said.

In a hastily called press conference in the House of Commons Wednesday, a contrite Trudeau apologized and said he will be clearing all future personal travel with the ethics commissioner.

“(The report) makes it very clear I should have taken precautions and cleared my family vacation and dealings with the Aga Khan in advance,” Trudeau told reporters.

“I’m sorry I didn’t.”

He told reporters that he because he viewed the Aga Khan as a friend – even though Dawson stated they rarely talked – he didn’t think the free vacation would be a conflict, saying that he sought a location where he could enjoy “quality family time.”

“On this issue of a family vacation with a personal friend, it wasn’t considered that there would be an issue there. Obviously, obviously, there was a mistake,” he said. (Source: Toronto Star)