sex

Thursday November 8, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 8, 2018

Clement quits Conservative shadow cabinet after sharing explicit photos, video

Longtime MP Tony Clement has resigned from the Conservative shadow cabinet after he shared explicit sexual images and a video of himself electronically.

Tony Clement Cartoon Gallery

Clement says the images were sent in the last three weeks and he believed they were going to a “consenting female.”

However he now says the person was trying to extort him and he has asked the RCMP to investigate.

“I recognize now that I have gone down a wrong path and have exercised very poor judgment,” Clement said in a statement Tuesday.

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer said he has appointed Lisa Raitt to take over for Clement as the justice critic for now.

“While I’m greatly disappointed with Mr. Clement’s actions, I am encouraged that he has decided to seek help and I wish him all the best in doing so,” Scheer said.

The RCMP confirmed it had received information from Clement and was currently investigating the matter, but did not comment further.

Clement is resigning his committee roles as well, but will stay in the Conservative caucus.

Clement, 57, has been one of the pillars of the Conservative caucus for more than a decade, and before that was a senior member of the provincial party in Ontario.

He was a cabinet minister for the entirety of Stephen Harper’s near-decade long tenure as prime minister, and was a cabinet minister at the provincial level before that. 

He says he is sorry to his family, his party and his constituents for his behaviour.

“I am committed to seeking the help and treatment I need in my personal life to make sure this will not happen again while also continuing to discharge my duties as a Member of Parliament,” he wrote.

Clement was twice a candidate for the federal party leadership and also ran for the provincial Tory leadership in Ontario once. He dropped out of the most recent leadership contest early on and endorsed Maxime Bernier.

Clement is one of the most recognizable MPs as well as one of the heaviest users of social media. He is a frequent poster on Twitter. It has occasionally landed him in trouble before, including when he had to apologize after cursing at a 15-year-old on the platform.

He is married to lawyer and author Lynne Golding. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Tony Clement Gallery

He’s been in Canadian politics for a very long time. Tony Clement, known for his cabinet positions in Federal and Ontario political spheres. Known for his ambition to lead conservative parties both federally and provincially. Known for his influence in political affairs going back beyond two decades. Now the man at the centre of a humiliatingly tawdry sexting scandal, seeing his world and legacy collapse before him. Oh well, it’s been a fun ride.  

August 17, 2018
July 14, 2016
May 31, 2016
April 14, 2016
June 20, 2015
January 7, 2015
July 16, 2013
June 22, 2012
June 9, 2011
May 24, 2011
June 18, 2010
January 8, 2004
November 6, 2002
March 23, 2002
November 7, 2001
October 20, 2001
November 28, 2001
March 22, 2000
January 7, 2000

Friday August 24, 2018

August 24, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 24, 2018

Ontario government says it has an interim sex-ed curriculum elementary teachers must follow

February 14, 2018

The Ontario government has released an interim sex-ed curriculum for elementary school teachers to use this September, and Premier Doug Ford is suggesting there will be consequences if they don’t adhere to it.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) was quick to blast the plan, accusing the Ford government of creating chaos instead of addressing the real issues facing the public school system just weeks before classes resume.

The Progressive Conservative government issued a news release about the changes on Wednesday afternoon, while also announcing plans for what it called an “unprecedented” provincewide consultation process on education reform and a future parents’ bill of rights.

September 10, 2015

The Ford government has faced sharp criticism from a number of groups — including teachers’ unions, many parents and the Official Opposition — over its decision to scrap the modernized sex-ed curriculum brought in by the former Liberal government in 2015, which included information about online bullying, sexting and gender identity.

A group of human rights lawyers are also challenging the government’s decision in court on behalf of six families.

Neither Ford nor Education Minister Lisa Thompson took questions from reporters on Wednesday. (Source: CBC News) 

In offending readers, cartoon made its point

We are in the business of publishing content, not suppressing it, writes Paul Berton

Graeme MacKay’s editorial cartoon last weekend caused a predictable fuss.

When it was brought to my attention before publication, I laughed out loud, and immediately recognized it would be problematic.

Indeed, some readers called it vulgar, another was disgusted and saddened, and said the paper “has sunk to the level of a tabloid.” One writer didn’t like the fact that it seemed to mock Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and added that he didn’t like it either when MacKay made fun of “our president.”

Why did we print it?

I could talk about the freedom of the press, the unique ability of satire to get to essence of an issue, or the importance of reflecting different points of view, and I could remind you that a cartoonist’s views are not necessarily those of the newspaper,

although sometimes they are. In the case of The Spectator, MacKay’s views are his own.

Or we could have just killed the cartoon, arguing that any reference to a penis in connection with Ontario’s premier is inappropriate, even if it is in the context of a heated debate over the future of sex education in the province.

We could have decided our readers don’t need that kind of thing at breakfast, let alone lunch or dinner. But that too, is the heart of the matter — and the point of the cartoon.

Ultimately, we are in the business of publishing content, not suppressing it. There have been times in the past when I thought I should have prevented something from publication, but in retrospect, I regret far more often the things we didn’t print than those we did.

Besides, if we had spiked that cartoon, we would have denied many other readers the laugh that I and others experienced from it, and laughs these days are all too rare.

For not only did we receive complaints about the cartoon, we also received kudos in their wake. You can turn to today’s letters-to-the-editor for some evidence of that. It is human nature to complain, but compliments are much less common.

Such supporters realize a good cartoonist never takes the issue as seriously as those in the midst of it — politicians usually, but often anyone in authority. True, cartoons often say in pictures what some of us are too polite to say in words, but they also make us look in the mirror, point out obvious or sometimes hidden inanities, and poke fun at people who take themselves too earnestly.

Any newspaper editor who says an editorial cartoonist doesn’t cause her or him grief is probably lying. It has always an uncomfortable relationship, and indeed, some cartoonists have been fired for their views. It would be easier for newspaper editors if nobody ever called to complain, but then we’d be approaching irrelevance.

Fortunately, Spec readers care deeply about this news organization, many of you think of us as part of the family, and feel a personal connection. We appreciate that, and we encourage all complaints, considered arguments and feedback of any sort. (Source)

Paul Berton is editor-in-chief of The Hamilton Spectator and thespec.com. You can reach him at 905-526-3482 or pberton@thespec.com

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

Saturday May 12, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 12, 2018

NDP suspends Quebec MP Christine Moore in wake of inappropriate conduct allegations

November 6, 2014

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has temporarily suspended Quebec MP Christine Moore from her duties with the party and ordered an investigation after a veteran of the war in Afghanistan accused her of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The allegations against Moore are the latest to rock the third-place party. Singh expelled another MP from caucus last week following a three-month investigation that was sparked by a complaint from Moore.

In an interview, retired corporal Glen Kirkland said Moore first approached him after he testified before a parliamentary committee in June 2013, where he had been asked to speak on the treatment of ill and injured soldiers.

January 31, 2018

Kirkland was wounded in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008 while driving a light-armoured vehicle that was hit by recoilless rifle fire. The shot killed three other soldiers and left Kirkland with severe injuries, including a damaged pancreas and right eye, crushed vertebrae, bleeding in the brain and PTSD.

Kirkland did not want to get into specifics Tuesday. But he did tell the CBC that Moore followed him back to his hotel and continued to send explicit messages, even turning up unannounced at his Manitoba home before he forcibly told her to stop.

January 26, 2018

“I’m not claiming rape or anything,” Kirkland, who is now a real estate agent in Brandon, Man., told CP. But, he said, “she was inappropriate. She used her position of power and authority to get what she wanted.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Singh said Moore will remain a member of caucus pending the results of an investigation, but that she is being temporarily relieved of her duties on committees and other party matters.

“I take these allegations very seriously and I will be appointing an independent investigator to conduct a fair and full examination,” Singh said. (Source: Edmonton Journal)