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Thursday January 14, 2021

January 21, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 14, 2021

Based on new lockdown measures, Doug Ford isn’t getting it

The latest version of Ontario’s quasi-sort-of-not-quite lockdown will be remembered more for what it does not do than what it does do.

January 13, 2021

First, the usual disclaimer: Few people would disagree that the Ford government is working feverishly at changing trajectory of this pandemic. Whatever it is doing wrong, it’s not for lack of effort.

But the latest measures really amount to a little of this and a little of that.

Ontario is in a state of emergency, which demonstrates that the government fully appreciates the seriousness of the situation, but does little else. The government has issued a “stay-at-home” order which certainly sounds serious but really amounts to what most of us are already doing: locking down, not having people into our houses and venturing out only for essential reasons like food and exercise.

It gave police the authority to oversee that order, but has not made details clear.

It is telling employers that anyone who can work from home must do so, which is the status quo for the most part. And it is requiring masks in workplaces that do remain open, which again is largely the status quo.But let’s consider what the province is not doing.

It is not ordering non-essential retailers to close their doors, as was the case at the outset of the first wave. Instead they must close for curbside shopping by 8 p.m. Non-essential manufacturing businesses can stay open.

It is not directing the closure of things like libraries, playgrounds and skating rinks as was the case in the first lockdown.

And critically, it is not mandating paid sick leave to vulnerable workers in sectors like manufacturing, transportation and warehousing.

June 9, 2020

We know that many people in these sectors, who are working in low-paying, low security jobs, with few or no benefits, are either working poor or close to it. It’s easy for Ford to say that when they feel sick they should stay home. He is fond of pointing to his government’s policy that prohibits employers from terminating employees who are absent for reasons to do with the pandemic. He also likes to refer to the federal program that can provide paid leave, but he doesn’t mention that public health experts and advocates alike acknowledge that is not adequate.

We know that neighbourhoods where these workers live have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic. But in many cases, if they don’t go to work, they don’t get paid. And they cannot afford to not get paid, so they work even when they should be staying at home.

Public health experts including epidemiologists agree this is a major factor behind COVID-19’s continuing spread. And yet the Ford government will not budge.

This is a prime example of an increasingly troubling reality. Ford, who is the face of the government, talks an increasingly urgent and desperate game, but his government’s actions say something else.

The government is continuing to seek a balance between fully cracking down on the pandemic and preserving what little economic redemption is left at this point. It is now clear that balance does not exist.

Here is one thing we know for sure. At the outset of the pandemic, a hard lockdown — which has become known as a circuit-breaker — succeeded in flattening the curve, which has become a terrifying spike at this point in the second wave. While it is understandable that the government is so reluctant to shut down the economy entirely, there is nothing to suggest more half-measures will help. Which means we could be back here in two weeks or a month contemplating a circuit-breaker and why we didn’t do it sooner. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Canada, Ontario Tagged: 2021-02, Canada, covid-19, essential workers, frontline workers, invisible, Ontario, paid sick leave, pandemic, Pandemic Times, pillars, Sickness, temple

Thursday June 13, 2019

June 20, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 13, 2019

Advisory council calls for $15B universal, single-payer pharmacare plan

An advisory council appointed by the Liberal government is recommending the establishment of a universal, single-payer public pharmacare system.

The council’s 171-page report, released Wednesday, calls for the creation of a new drug agency that would draft a national list of prescription medicines that would be covered by the taxpayer, beginning with an initial list of common and essential drugs, by Jan. 1, 2022.

The council recommends that initial list be expanded to a comprehensive plan by Jan. 2, 2027. When fully implemented, the total cost would be $15 billion a year.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, a former Ontario health minister and chair of the advisory council, acknowledged there are “significant incremental costs” to building pharmacare, but he noted that those costs are already being picked up by Canadians.

“We are confident that the implementation plan that we have put forward is one that meets the objectives and requirements that were handed to the council, of creating a program and implementation plan that is fair and sustainable and accessible to Canadians,” he said.

The council proposes a $2 co-payment for common drugs and $5 for less common ones. The fee would be waived for Canadians on social assistance or with low incomes.

The council spent the last year studying various pharmacare models and hearing from more than 32,000 Canadians and organizations sharing their views online and through letters, written submissions and meetings across the country.

Hoskins said it’s time to show “courage and boldness” and to do “some nation building” on a project that would benefit Canadians in “unimaginable ways.” (CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2019-22, architecture, Canada, drug plan, health, pharmacare, pillar, prescription, temple, Universal health

Thursday June 12, 2008

June 12, 2008 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 12, 2008

Harper apologizes for residential school abuse

By saying “we are sorry,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged the Canadian government’s role in a century of isolating native children from their homes, families and cultures.

“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter of our history,” he said Wednesday in the House of Commons. “Some sought, as was infamously said, to kill the Indian in the child. This policy was wrong, caused great harm and has no place in our country.”

Residential school survivors from across Canada — many wearing traditional clothing — filled the House of Commons. Parliament postponed other business for the day, to hear the Government of Canada’s official apology.

More than 1,000 watched from outside, where big screen televisions were mounted outside the Commons and on the Parliament lawn. And more than 30 events were organized in communities across the country.

Harper began his long-awaited speech after leading a procession of native leaders including Phil Fontaine, the Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, into the House of Commons.

Harper took responsibility on behalf of the federal government for cultural loss and patterns of abuse that resulted from the schools’ policy. (Source: CTV News) 

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Posted in: Canada Tagged: affairs, apology, Canada, First Nations, indian, natives, reconciliation, residential, school, Stephen Harper, temple

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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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