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Thursday August 30, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday August 30, 2012

Federalist voters are faced with some difficult decisions

Jean Charest has called the latest published poll results, showing his Liberal party losing the Sept. 4 Quebec election, “unreliable.”

But the actions of Charest and his party say otherwise.

When the Liberals spend more of their campaign budget on English television spots than usual, and when their leader spends time in the West Island and Outaouais in the last 10 days before a general election, it means something.

It means they’re in danger of losing even seats formerly considered safe.

The poll results from a survey conducted by Léger Marketing for the QMI news agency after last week’s crucial televised leaders’ debates, show Liberal support cratering.

The Liberals were a distant third in popularity among French-speaking voters — the choice of only 18 per cent — and third in every region except Montreal Island.

The poll results indicated that, barring a miracle, the Liberals were facing their worst defeat since 1976.

They also showed the Parti Québécois with less than overwhelming support, but enough for a slim majority in the National Assembly.

So with less than a week to go until the election, the federalist voter is faced with a difficult decision:

Go down with the Liberals, the only major party that is truly federalist. (Source: Vancouver Sun)

 

Wednesday August 29, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday August 29, 2012

New Federal riding for Hamilton?

Hamilton is set to receive a new seat in the House of Commons in time for the next federal election.

A commission tasked with reviewing Ontario’s federal ridings has recommended a new, U-shaped riding called Waterdown Glanbrook that stretches along Hamilton’s outer edge. The proposed district is made up of rural land that’s now part of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale and Niagara West–Glanbrook.

The new riding is one of 15 new electoral districts in Ontario proposed by the commission. The report, released Monday, still faces a public commenting period and review by a parliamentary committee.

If the Waterdown–Glanbrook riding is approved, political science professor Henry Jacek says it will likely go to the Conservatives, given its largely rural population.

However, Jacek also argues that the proposal to whittle down Ancanster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale to only Ancaster and left-leaning Westdale and Dundas could make for an interesting race come the 2015 federal election.

“It will be much more competitive than Ancaster is right now,” Jacek said.

David Sweet, MP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, could not be reached for comment.

Justice George Valin, who chaired the commission reviewing Ontario’s ridings, said the suggestion to create the new riding arose out of a formula that requires the population of each electoral district to come as close as possible to 111,166 people. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Thursday February 5, 2009

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 5, 2009

No ‘Dalton Days,’ says Dwight Duncan

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan insists there will be no unpaid “Dalton Days” for Ontario civil servants, allaying fears sparked by Premier Dalton McGuinty.

One day after McGuinty refused to rule out the possibility of a return to what were known as “Rae Days” in the recessionary 1990s, it was left to Duncan to do damage control.

“We’re not doing them,” the Finance minister said yesterday. “I’m saying right now we will not be doing anything like that.”

Duncan, who will introduce a $100-billion budget within the next four weeks with a deficit of $5 billion to $10 billion, scrambled to reassure anxious public sector workers.

“That sort of component is not necessary,” he said, imploring Ontarians to await the fine print of his recession-fighting budget.

“We’ll lay out a whole plan that deals with, first of all, the short-term challenges all governments around the world are faced with, and then we’ll also talk about what we need to do in the longer term.”

McGuinty was asked repeatedly about the likelihood of “Dalton Days” during an interview with the Toronto Star on Tuesday and would not rule out the possibility. (Source: Metroland)