speech

Tuesday January 25, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 25, 2022

More tools needed to fight hate crimes

It’s a sad sign of the times that Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, has taken to telling interviewers that “our clergy not only need to be versed in Torah, they need to be versed in tactics.”

September 13, 2012

The tactics to which Greenblatt refers are those necessary not just to combat hate crimes, but quite possibly to engage in combat with those who are committing them.

Greenblatt made the comments in response to this month’s hostage-taking at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. And while we might prefer to think it couldn’t happen here, police and Jewish community leaders clearly think otherwise.

Concerned about a copycat attack, some community leaders have encouraged heightened vigilance, and police have increased their presence in the vicinity of some synagogues.

The concern is understandable given that the Colleyville attack occurred at a time when hate crimes have been increasing dramatically throughout North America. Data from 2021 is not yet available, but Statistics Canada says there were 2,669 police-reported hate crime incidents in 2020, up 37 per cent from the previous year. And while crimes against certain groups, notably Asian-Canadians, increased exponentially during that period, Jews continue to be the most frequently targeted group.

Saturday October 30, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 30, 2021

COP26 climate talks off to an ominous start after weak G20 leaders’ meeting

It was in the city of Glasgow that Scottish engineer James Watt improved the workings of the steam engine and, unwittingly, kicked off the Industrial Revolution. Never could he have imagined that humans would burn so much coal, oil and gas over the next two centuries that they would imperil the very climate that has allowed for their existence.

June 6, 2007

More than 120 leaders will speak Monday in the very same city to begin the COP26 climate talks, where they will set the tone for two weeks of negotiations that can either end with a plan to rapidly decarbonize the planet, or make watery statements to delay what the science shows is needed, possibly pushing it off until it’s too late. Climate leaders and experts are calling it the world’s last best chance to address the climate crisis.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the talks, will warn Monday that humanity has run down the clock on climate change.

“It’s one minute to midnight, and we need to act now,” he will say in an opening speech, according to remarks sent to journalists.

“We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees. Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are, but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change.”

The G20 leaders’ meeting that ended in Rome on Sunday suggests that leaders are finally listening to the science, but they still lack the political unity to make the ambitious decisions required to meet the moment.

August 13, 2021

The latest UN climate science report published in August made clear what needs to happen — deep, sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over this decade to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above levels before industrialization. Even with all the newly announced pledges, the world is still on track for 2.7 degrees of heating.

Global warming beyond 1.5 degrees will bring worsening impacts of the climate crisis. But the positive news is that the 1.5 limit is entirely in our reach. The UN report showed that by mid-century, the world needs to reach net zero — where greenhouse gas emissions are no greater than the amount removed from the atmosphere — and warming can be stopped in its tracks.

All of this scientific language was in the G20 leaders’ communiqué, including an acknowledgment that to meet net zero by mid-century, many member nations will need to lift their emissions-reductions pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), over this decade. (CNN) 

 

Tuesday April 6, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 6, 2021

Mark Carney would be a welcome addition to a Canadian political class

September 28, 2012

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Mark Carney entering politics, if that’s what he wants to do. But before taking the leap, Mr. Carney might want to ask himself: Am I Dwight Eisenhower or am I Michael Ignatieff?

The former governor of the Bank of Canada and then of England has a new book out and will deliver the keynote address at this week’s Liberal policy conference. Twitter is clucking.

“The beginning of a journey that will end in deep regret and the erosion [of] a critical independent pillar of a modern economy – the central bank,” declared Ken Boessenkool, who was an aide to former B.C. premier Christy Clark and prime minister Stephen Harper.

Liberals “don’t see – or care, really – how this could erode our institutions; they only see partisan gain,” Laval University Professor Stephen Gordon said.

But there are precedents, of sorts. Oliver Mowat quit his job as a judge to become Ontario Liberal premier. Lester Pearson moved without fuss from undersecretary of state (deputy minister) for External Affairs to secretary of state (minister).

February 11, 2009

Mr. Carney has been away from the Bank of Canada for eight years. He is superbly qualified for public office. He has views on the role of markets and governments in combatting climate change. If he wants to enter the arena, good on him. The political class in Canada needs all the talent it can find.

That said, Mr. Carney should bear a few things in mind (and is certainly already bearing them). First, he could seek to become a Liberal member of Parliament, only for the Liberal Party to lose the next election. Would he enjoy four years on the backbench?

Perhaps his ambition is to lead the party, if and when Justin Trudeau decides to depart. But that might not be soon. Mr. Trudeau rescued the federal Liberals from the brink of extinction, so while an effort by some disaffected cabal to push him out of the leadership would be in the finest tradition of the party, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

If he does run for the Liberal leadership someday, Mr. Carney would make a formidable candidate. But not an invincible one.

Some figures have successfully taken over a party’s leadership from another field without difficulty. Mr. Eisenhower, who commanded the Allied forces in Europe during the Second World War, was so sought after that Harry Truman offered to step down as president if Mr. Eisenhower would seek the Democratic nomination in 1948. Instead, Ike chose the Republican Party in 1952, serving two terms as president.

May 2, 2009

Others have not fared so well. Mr. Ignatieff, a distinguished public intellectual, was supposed to rescue the Liberal Party from its unaccustomed sojourn in opposition. Instead, he led the party to a third-place finish in 2011.

Could Mr. Carney’s ego withstand the daily pummelling of Question Period? Could he dish out the political dirt when required? Leading a party is about more than crafting an environmentally sustainable fiscal policy. Speaking to a few dozen of the party faithful in Prince Albert on a cold February night is also part of the job.

And Mr. Carney would have a formidable political rival: his friend Chrystia Freeland, the Finance Minister, who is also rumoured to be contemplating a bid for the leadership if and when it comes open.

November 28, 2012

Both potential leaders appeal to the political, bureaucratic and cultural elite of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Since they would be chasing the same voters (and dollars), it’s hard to imagine both of them seeking the Liberal leadership. If one runs, the other probably won’t.

Canada has benefited greatly from non-politician politicians. David Emerson was so interested in reviving Canada’s moribund trade policy, and so uninterested in politics, that he switched from the Liberal to Conservative front bench when Mr. Harper defeated Paul Martin in 2006.

Maurice Strong had a career in the oil business before taking on a variety of assignments for governments and the United Nations. C.D. Howe was a wealthy engineer before becoming “minister of everything” under Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent.

If Mr. Carney truly wishes to lead the Liberal Party and the country, Canadians of all political stripes should welcome the decision. If only all politicians had his chops. (Globe & Mail) 

 

Friday September 8, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 8, 2018

Worries, praise follow Ontario government’s new free speech directive

Universities and colleges in Ottawa say they’ll work with the Ontario government to meet next year’s deadline for crafting free speech policies, as campus groups both laud and worry about the new directive.

August 24, 2018

The province announced last week that schools have until Jan. 1, 2019 to develop, implement and comply with policies that meet a minimum standard the government sets — or risk losing funding.

That standard is based on the University of Chicago Statement of Principles of Free Expression, which doesn’t allow for hate speech but precludes shielding students from ideas they might disagree with or find offensive.

There are fears, however, that the Progressive Conservative government’s new directive could blur the line between free speech and hate speech.

“There’s a limit as to where healthy debate becomes a little bit of an issue. Because as we’ve seen in the past, some of these things have led to students feeling unsafe, students feeling like they were targeted or hated,” said David Oladejo, president of Carleton University Students’ Association.

Oladejo said he welcomes clarification on university free speech policies, as long as they’re not vaguely worded and students don’t feel unsafe on campus.

He said he doesn’t believe there have been any incidents in recent years in which Carleton students have felt threatened by either groups or guest lecturers. (Source: CBC)

 

Saturday April 28, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 28, 2018

Federal program funds summer job to help ‘stop Kinder Morgan pipeline’

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to vow that the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion “will be built,” his government’s summer jobs program is funding a position with an activist group working to stop the project.

April 19, 2018

A call for applications for an “organizing assistant,” posted online by the non-profit group Dogwood B.C., says the job involves working to help the group’s network “stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project.” It notes the position is funded by the federal Canada Summer Jobs Program.

The temporary full-time job is open to students. It pays $15 per hour for 9 to 12 weeks of work and is based in Vancouver.

But according to the organization receiving the funding, this kind of political push-and-pull is nothing new.

Dogwood B.C. said it has received funding for such positions since 2010, under both the Trudeau and Stephen Harper governments. The organization even got the funding when it was fighting the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, which Harper supported.

Kai Nagata, Dogwood’s communications director, said the group isn’t certain yet how many students it will hire with the help of federal funding this year. He said that in past years, students have worked on other projects as well, including one to prevent U.S. thermal coal exports from moving through Vancouver.

“The federal government has never thought to impose its political agenda on kids canvassing in B.C. on environmental issues,” said Nagata, who previously worked as a reporter for both CBC and CTV. (Source: CBC) 

 

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