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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Tuesday, February 4, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Julian Fantino insults veterans so he blames union: Tim Harper

When my cell phone rang last week, the voice on the line was agitated and somewhat incoherent.

It took a couple of minutes, but it became clear that Daniel was a military veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, feeling frustrated and abandoned by a political and court system he has battled over the years.

He figuratively pointed his finger at me and the rest of the media for not helping our veterans.

A veteran’s war story

“Please exercise patience and tolerance with me,’’ he subsequently wrote in an email.

I didn’t snap back at him. I didn’t hang up the phone and I didn’t accuse him of being a pawn of a big union.

That’s the Julian Fantino playbook and Stephen Harper is again watching what happens when the messenger, not the message, becomes the story in the protracted slanging match between the veterans affairs minister and those who served our country.

Ottawa hasn’t seen a communications fiasco of this magnitude since then public safety minister Vic Toews accused his Liberal opponent of standing with the child pornographers by questioning his stillborn electronic surveillance bill.

Fantino appeared bereft of empathy and respect when he belatedly encountered the veterans who were in Ottawa last week to protest the closing of eight Veterans Affairs offices on Friday.

They did close Friday, as some demonstrators shed tears and others vented their anger at their government. (Continued: Toronto Star)

SOCIAL MEDIA

This cartoon appeared on a number of blogs and news sites. Among them, the Royal Canadian Legion and Yahoo Canada News.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Wednesday, January 8, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Harper still confident Keystone XL will be built, says Obama ‘punted’ decision

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says United States President Barack Obama has “punted” a decision on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, but he’s still confident the long-delayed $5.4-billion project will eventually be built.

Harper made his remarks during a question-and-answer session with Vancouver Board of Trade CEO Iain Black. When Black launched into one question by saying Obama had rejected the pipeline, Harper interjected.

A sticker from the MacKayCartoons Boutique“No, he’s punted,” the prime minister said of Obama. “He said ‘maybe.'”
“It is my hope that the administration will in due course see its way to take the appropriate decision, but that’s obviously a political process in the United States,” Harper continued.

TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) first applied to build the 830,000-barrel-per-day pipeline more than five years ago. The Obama administration rejected an earlier iteration of it, but encouraged the company to re-apply with a tweaked route through Nebraska to address environmental concerns.

The $2.3-billion, 700,000-barrel-per-day southern portion of the pipeline between Cushing, Okla., and the U.S. Gulf Coast — which TransCanada could build without U.S. State Department approval because it doesn’t cross an international border — is in the process of starting up.

In an interview last month, TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said he’s optimistic a final decision on the more contentious northern portion of the pipeline will come during the first quarter of 2014.

Sean Devlin, a climate change protester, holds a sign reading "Climate justice now" during an event with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Vancouver Board of Trade on Monday Jan. 6, 2013. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Sean Devlin, a climate change protester, holds a sign reading “Climate justice now” during an event with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Vancouver Board of Trade on Monday Jan. 6, 2013. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Marc Spitzer, a former commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who is now a partner with law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP, said the Keystone XL has become “collateral damage” in an increasingly polarized U.S. political scene.

Those wondering why Keystone XL has become a “poster child” for the U.S. environmental movement might as well ask “why do people care about Miley Cyrus now?” he said.

“It’s one of those accidents of history and the White House made it worse.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Double Take 'Toons: Oil Sans-Pipeline?

Featured on NPR’s Double Take ‘Toons: Oil Sans-Pipeline?

Monday, November 4, 2013

Monday, November 4, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, November 4, 2013

Rob Ford joins Mike Duffy as Stephen Harper ‘distractions’: Tim Harper

It was barely a month ago, with allegations hanging over Rob Ford, that Stephen Harper took the highly unusual step of arranging a photo op with the Toronto mayor — on a Sunday — to pre-announce subway funding.

This prime minister just doesn’t do Sunday photo shoots with mayors. Except this one.

Harper must have known he was taking a risk inviting cameras to record this unusually high profile grip-and-grin, a two-step of mutual celebration followed the next morning with a full announcement with Ford beaming at Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

With the news Thursday that police have the infamous video that appears to show Ford smoking crack cocaine, it is fair to question Harper’s judgment in so eagerly courting his fishing and barbecue buddy, the man who gave the prime minister the big bear hug and thumb’s up on the eve of the 2011 federal election.

So, move over Mike Duffy.

You are not the only “distraction” hanging in the air as Conservatives gathered Thursday for their mid-term convention here.

Harper and his office made the bet in September that cozying up to Ford again was okay because they had clearly determined there were no more nuclear missteps looming for a mayor whose support they wanted again in 2015.

They lost that bet.

Harper also appeared to bet that a cornered Duffy would not fight back with his own allegations and documents in the ongoing Senate debacle.
Alexander Lisi’s lawyer speaks to the media
Another bet lost.

Now Harper appears to be betting that his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, will remain quiet as the prime minister drags his name through the muck. (Source: Toronto Star)

2013-11-05tearsheetSOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDS

This cartoon found quite a bit of exposure on social media. At Yahoo! Canada News it was selected as part of its November 2013 cartoon gallery, and here it is on the Yahoo! Canada Facebook page. It appeared in the Montreal Gazette and the Calgary Herald.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Friday, September 13, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, September 13, 2013

Syria will give up control of chemical weapons

Syria will cede control of its chemical weapons to the international community, the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, has said in a yet-to-be-aired interview on Russian television.

In what is believed to be his first public acknowledgement of the country’s chemical weapon stockpile, Interfax news agency quoted the president as saying the move had not been prompted by US military threats but Russian diplomatic efforts.

“Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia. The US threats did not influence the decision,” Interfax said, quoting the state-run Rossiya-24 channel’s yet-to-be-aired interview.

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Assad also told Rossiya-24 that Syria would submit documents to the United Nations for an agreement governing the handover of its chemical arsenal.

The reports came hours before the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and US secretary of state, John Kerry, were due to meet in Geneva to discuss the proposal, which Lavrov announced on Monday along with Moscow’s plan for implementing it.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said the initiative will not succeed unless Washington abandons plans for potential air strikes to punish Assad for a poison gas attack on 21 August that the US president, Barack Obama, blames on Syrian government forces. (Source: The Guardian)

[caption id=”attachment_2513″ align=”aligncenter” width=”765″]Double Take 'Toons: Putin Peacemonger? Double Take ‘Toons: Putin Peacemonger?[/caption]

FEEDBACK

This cartoon was posted to NPR’s Double Take, with lots of commentary from supporters and detractors.