sleep

Friday July 26, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 26, 2019

‘Stop harassing citizens’: Brantford police receive angry response to Amber Alert

Stop unnecessary and health damaging alerts to people asleep. Respectfully, do your job and stop harassing citizens. What in the **** are you thinking?

These are just a sample from the flood of angry messages Brantford, Ont., police have received after issuing an Amber Alert overnight Thursday to help find a two year-old girl who investigators say was abducted by her estranged father.

The child was ultimately found safe in Hamilton and returned to her mother, but the police service says complaints from the public have continued to roll in by email and through calls to 911, and dispatch.

One person has even called them about the alert 11 times and is now being investigated for a potential public mischief complaint, according to police.

The response has been so overwhelming, Insp. Scott Williams with the investigative support branch issued a statement addressing concerns about the use of Amber Alerts. He described them as a way to quickly spread the word about an abducted child who may be in danger.

“The main objective of the Amber Alert is always the safe return of the child,” he explained.

“Time is critical in saving the lives of abducted children, and with time comes a growing geography of concern. Once a child is abducted there is no way to determine the exact location the abductor is headed.”

Williams says the investigating began before the alert went out and continued after it was issued. Police follow strict guidelines that ensure Amber Alerts are used appropriately, he said, adding the decision to send an emergency broadcast to the entire province is never taken lightly.

Backlash has followed every Amber Alert issued in Ontario this year, though the broadcasts also have plenty of supporters.

A petition has even been launched calling for the Ontario government to fine people who call emergency dispatchers to complain about broadcasts of Amber Alerts. (CBC) 

 

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 October 1, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 1, 2008

Economy engulfs TV debates

The financial crisis in the United States has forced the economy to the forefront of Canada’s televised leaders’ debates.

Broadcast executives yesterday rewrote the format of tonight’s French-language debate and tomorrow’s English-language event to allow the five politicians more time to discuss the fallout from the financial storm that has been pummelling stocks and financial markets.

The decision to devote more time to what has become the key issue in the election came after the Conservatives appealed to the broadcast consortium that runs the debates to reserve an hour – instead of 12 minutes – for the economy.

The New Democrats and the Green party endorsed the request, and the consortium agreed to set aside the first 30 minutes for the economy.

Gone are the opening and closing statements by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Green party Leader Elizabeth May.

“Given recent events in the global economy and its impact on Canada the economy has become a paramount issue,” the consortium said in a statement.

“In addition, the moderators will take advantage of the flexibility built into the debate format to allow for more time to be devoted to this important issue.” (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

Wednesday October 1, 2008

Wednesday October 1, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 1, 2008

Economy engulfs TV debates

The financial crisis in the United States has forced the economy to the forefront of Canada’s televised leaders’ debates.

Broadcast executives yesterday rewrote the format of tonight’s French-language debate and tomorrow’s English-language event to allow the five politicians more time to discuss the fallout from the financial storm that has been pummelling stocks and financial markets.

The decision to devote more time to what has become the key issue in the election came after the Conservatives appealed to the broadcast consortium that runs the debates to reserve an hour – instead of 12 minutes – for the economy.

The New Democrats and the Green party endorsed the request, and the consortium agreed to set aside the first 30 minutes for the economy.

Gone are the opening and closing statements by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Green party Leader Elizabeth May.

“Given recent events in the global economy and its impact on Canada the economy has become a paramount issue,” the consortium said in a statement.

“In addition, the moderators will take advantage of the flexibility built into the debate format to allow for more time to be devoted to this important issue.” (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

Friday November 26, 1999

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 26, 1999

Chretien’s gunslinger act is getting old; UNITY: Questions of style and timing

It is a sad critique of Jean Chretien’s leadership that his announcement on the rules of disengagement for Quebec has been greeted with suspicion of his motives, mystification over his timing and general dismay that the dozing baby of Quebec separatism is about to howl again.

When Chretien said this week Quebec would have to (a) have a clear question and (b) have significantly more than 50 per cent plus one to declare independence, it was widely seen as fanning the dimmed embers of Quebec nationalism. Why now? Why give such a gift to the opportunistic but increasingly lame-duck Lucien Bouchard?

It’s hard to argue with the substance of Chretien’s comments. Indeed, his suggestion that any future Quebec referendum should be on a question as simple as “Do you want Quebec to be a country” is the kind of clear declaration most Canadians want. Too, there’s little wrong with his suggestion that a negotiated split would require 60 per cent or more support in Quebec. It’s disingenuous for Bouchard to thump the tabletop and insist that 50+1 is the sole requirement of a democracy. To argue a country could be shattered on the strength of a single vote is absurdly arrogant.

But Chretien muddies his own waters. There is his own arrogance: “Quebec is my business, sir, ” he pontificated, “and this is the future of Canada.” The Prime Minister would be well-advised to remember that Quebec has been every Canadian’s business for too long. Canadians are suffering from separatism fatigue and Chretien setting himself apart will not rally us to his side. Then there is his unnecessary combativeness. Much of Quebec is accepting, if not embracing, the concept of a united Canada. He must have known his announcement would spark new anger.

Is this a case of building a patriotic legacy before his time as Prime Minister ends? Is this guilt over his “sleepwalking” performance in the last referendum?

Yes, when one spouse is talking divorce, the other spouse has to deal with it. There is never a good time to open an uncomfortable discussion. But we wish our Prime Minister had shown that this is not just another of his odd impulses, like wrestling with protesters and handing out peacekeepers. It’s hard to attribute this sudden burst of patriotic fervour to Chretien’s vision of 21st-century Canada when he has so far shown little sign of having any such vision. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial, A14, 11/26/1999)