spectrum

Friday February 8, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 8, 2019

Ford government autism program overhaul met with outrage by some parents who fear kids will lose out

The Ford government’s plan to overhaul Ontario’s autism program has sparked anger among parents — including a PC political staffer and father of two autistic teens who quit in disgust over the changes Wednesday.

January 25, 2019

Under the revamp, aimed at clearing a therapy wait list of 23,000 kids, parents will be given funding and the power to choose the services they want. But families will face a lifetime limit of $140,000 per child and high-earners will no longer be eligible.

Parents, who say funding should be based on need and not on age or arbitrary cut-offs, were devastated by the move.

“In light of today’s announcement, I told my minister I did not feel I could continue in my role as legislative assistant,” said Bruce McIntosh, who joined Progressive Conservative MPP Amy Fee’s political staff when the Ford government was elected last spring.

McIntosh is the former president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, a parent advocacy group that has pushed for more government support but has been critical of age-based funding.

November 17, 2018

Fee (Kitchener South—Hespeler) is parliamentary assistant for Lisa MacLeod, minister of children, community and social services, who announced the autism overhaul at Toronto’s Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Fee, the mother of two children with autism, spoke about her own family’s experiences during the news conference.

An estimated 40,000 children in Ontario have autism, a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication. About 2,400 of them are waiting for a diagnosis, 23,000 are on a wait list for behavioural therapies and just 8,400 are receiving services.

MacLeod said the government will double funding for diagnostic hubs to $5.5 million a year for the next two years, clear the therapy wait lists and ensure families get their funding within the next 18 months.

The program under the previous Liberal government was inefficient and did not address children’s needs, she said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Letter to the Editor, The Hamilton Spectator, February 19, 2019 – A cartoon worth a thousand words

RE: MacKay cartoon (Feb. 8)

I want to commend Graeme MacKay for his Feb. 8, 2019, cartoon. His depiction of Premier Ford providing a mere drop of assistance to the families of those on the autism spectrum is proof once again that a picture is worth a thousand words. As the accompanying piece explained, cutting the same-sized pie into smaller pieces will not address the needs of the families who have been waiting for the services their children require. I thought Premier Ford’s platform promised that he would not be cutting services for Ontario’s citizens. It seems the Conservative politicians have forgotten this. Higher education support, elementary school class sizes, workers’ rights, services to children with autism, who will be next? Health care recipients?

Theresa Flynn-Purchase, Hamilton

Saturday March 24, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 24, 2018

An Election with no Centre

As Doug Ford was declared the new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, critics and political opponents wasted no time portraying the new party chief as a radical, hard-right conservative who poses a threat to civil liberties and women’s rights.

November 28, 2017

A statement by the Ontario Liberal Party declared that Ford’s win signalled the Tories had “gone back in time to pick the most conservative leader they could find” and by selecting Ford had in part chosen “religious extremism over the rights of women.”

De Clercy noted that during the leadership campaign, there was little ideological distance among the candidates.

Kathy Brock, a political scientist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., said he has to bring together factions of the party and appeal to a broad base of voters.

“Doug Ford is a very politically astute person,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to say some things that are polarizing, but he also understands the need to build with different communities.”

June 11, 2014

Ford himself recently told CBC News that the party is “always going to be progressive” and “have a big social heart for a lot of social issues.”

Conservative strategist Jason Lietaer says Ford ran a relatively moderate, measured and practical leadership campaign. 

“It certainly wasn’t an ideological campaign other than a strong commitment to fiscal conservatism and low taxes.”

He said the Liberals are just engaging in fear-mongering, and that when voters start paying attention, they will ask themselves if Ford really looks like the “radical right-wing lunatic” his political opponents are making him out to be. (Source: CBC News) 

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Tuesday November 28, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 28, 2017

The Progressive Conservatives have found their voice.

And Patrick Brown, the little-known Opposition leader who would be premier, is making himself heard. Just in time for the coming provincial election.

May 13, 2015

Who is Patrick Brown? Why should he be premier? What would he do in power?

He will cut income taxes. Reduce hydro rates. Impose a carbon tax. Issue refund cheques for child care. Take over our subways and build more of them. Boost health-care funding.

And step down if he doesn’t deliver on his key promises in four years.

His proclamation of a “People’s Guarantee” — signed onstage with a dramatic flourish — had the ring of a Marxist people’s manifesto as 1,500 loyal convention delegates cheered him on. Brown is no Bolshevik, but on Saturday he purged the party of the ghost of Mike Harris — and the Common Sense Revolution that has haunted PCs for decades, culminating with the defeat of Tim Hudak in 2014.

August 31, 2016

Now, Brown is remaking the party in his own emerging image — a mirror image of the Bill Davis era that tried harder to be all things (or more things) to all people. Not just right-wing people.

It is a focused, focus-group-tested campaign platform with a twist — more heft and left than hard right, offering more political lift than trickle-down:

September 21, 2017

Surprisingly progressive income tax cuts are targeted at lower-income people, not high rollers (including a sales tax credit). The child-care credits offer more to poor people with less, and rebate actual expenses (unlike the no-strings-attached “baby bonus” that Stephen Harper’s Tories conjured up to buy votes federally).

This election platform is not just a U-turn from the Harris years but an off-ramp from the Harper hothouse where Brown and many of his staff got their start. Instead of the provocative “chain gangs” that Tories proposed to punish prisoners in 2011, Brown offers “anti-gang” money to combat human trafficking of women. (Continued: Toronto Star) 

 

Tuesday September 1, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday September 1, 2015 Mulcair can only benefit from claims heÕs not a traditional leftwinger (By Kelly McParland) If I was a conspiracy theorist, IÕd suspect there was a conspiracy under way to covertly boost the image of Thomas Mulcair among non-NDP voters. ThereÕs no question Mulcair has made a real effort to separate himself from the partyÕs loopier policies of the past. You wonÕt hear the word ÒsocialismÓ escape his lips. He has promised a balanced budget Ñ not someday later on, when they get around to it, if circumstances allow, as the Liberals have done. But right away, in the first New Democrat budget after taking office. And heÕs pledged to do it without raising taxes on income. ThatÕs all well and good. But thereÕs also been a series of curious leaks that seem intended to undermine Mulcair by arguing heÕs too conservative, not a real New Democrat but a late convert who adopted the party because it seemed best suited to serve his personal ambition. ItÕs possible the accusations might raise doubts among true NDP believers, who like their politics undiluted by practicality, but they could also have the opposite effect, making him more attractive to voters who might otherwise be disinclined to support the countryÕs traditional left-wing party. In other words, if you believe in conspiracies, you might suspect the leaks are an effort to achieve the opposite of their apparent intention. As the National Post noted recently, Mulcair has been outed for once saying nice things about Margaret Thatcher, of considering an offer to join the Conservatives after quitting QuebecÕs Liberals, of being Òthe most right wingÓ member of that Quebec Liberal caucus, of supporting Quebec business owners against QuebecÕs language police, and of failing to adopt the leftÕs rote opposition to free trade in all its forms. He was also criticized by Ed Broadbent, the NDPÕs current patron saint and elder statesman, w

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 1, 2015

Mulcair can only benefit from claims he’s not a traditional leftwinger

Listen to this old dittie from yesteryear as you read on…

(By Kelly McParland) If I was a conspiracy theorist, I’d suspect there was a conspiracy under way to covertly boost the image of Thomas Mulcair among non-NDP voters.There’s no question Mulcair has made a real effort to separate himself from the party’s loopier policies of the past. You won’t hear the word “socialism” escape his lips. He has promised a balanced budget — not someday later on, when they get around to it, if circumstances allow, as the Liberals have done. But right away, in the first New Democrat budget after taking office. And he’s pledged to do it without raising taxes on income.

RB-Mr-InBetween-promo

Available at the boutique

That’s all well and good. But there’s also been a series of curious leaks that seem intended to undermine Mulcair by arguing he’s too conservative, not a real New Democrat but a late convert who adopted the party because it seemed best suited to serve his personal ambition. It’s possible the accusations might raise doubts among true NDP believers, who like their politics undiluted by practicality, but they could also have the opposite effect, making him more attractive to voters who might otherwise be disinclined to support the country’s traditional left-wing party. In other words, if you believe in conspiracies, you might suspect the leaks are an effort to achieve the opposite of their apparent intention.

As the National Post noted recently, Mulcair has been outed for once saying nice things about Margaret Thatcher, of considering an offer to join the Conservatives after quitting Quebec’s Liberals, of being “the most right wing” member of that Quebec Liberal caucus, of supporting Quebec business owners against Quebec’s language police, and of failing to adopt the left’s rote opposition to free trade in all its forms.

He was also criticized by Ed Broadbent, the NDP’s current patron saint and elder statesman, who questioned Mulcair’s leadership skills, accused him of claiming credit for matters he had nothing to do with, and of seeking to change the NDP into “another Liberal party.” Perhaps worst of all, Mulcair is known to be sympathetic to Israel, challenging the party’s status as a safe harbour to all manner of anti-Israel zealots and promoters of boycotts. (Continued: National Post)

 

Alberni Valley Times (British Columbia) September 2, 2015

Alberni Valley Times (British Columbia) September 2, 2015