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Thursday November 2, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 2, 2017

Ontario MPP proposes law to fine distracted pedestrians

A new private member’s bill that would see distracted pedestrians fined up to $50 for crossing the road while using their smartphones was unveiled at Ontario’s Legislature on Monday.

The “Phones Down, Heads Up Act” will be introduced by Toronto MPP Yvan Baker, with a debate set for next March. The representative for Etobicoke Centre, in the city’s west end, said he was prompted to draft the legislation after his constituents raised concerns about the number of pedestrian deaths in Toronto.

In 2016, 42 pedestrians were killed on the city’s streets, the most since 2002.

Baker’s bill would ban people from looking at their phones or electronic devices when crossing roads, with an initial $50 fine for the first offence, $75 for the second and up to $125 for the third. Exceptions would include pedestrians making an emergency call or if they began speaking on the phone before stepping into the crosswalk.

“These fines are modest and are meant to act as a deterrent,” Baker said during a news conference Monday morning. He was joined by Brian Patterson, chief executive of the Ontario Safety League, a group whose work includes pedestrian advocacy. The organization is endorsing the bill.

The legislation would also mandate a ministry of transportation-led annual distracting driving awareness campaign, with a focus on texting and driving.

“This bill is about raising awareness about risky behaviour because limiting that behaviour will save lives,” Baker said. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Thursday September 17, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 17, 2015 Chris Austin, Liberal candidate, pulled for views 'irreconcilable' with party values The Liberal Party has removed another Alberta candidate for expressing views that it says don't conform to the party's values. In a statement Wednesday, the party said Chris Austin is no longer a candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland. "New information was brought to our attention which led to the revocation of his green light status, ending his candidacy," the party said. "Some of Chris Austin`s views, as articulated in past comments, are irreconcilable with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada." Facebook posts still visible on Chris Austin's page include comments made after the Oct. 22 shootings in Ottawa that said "Harper has turned our Nation's Capital into a War Zone as his thirst for War," and suggest the RCMP was the "Canadian Gestapo." This riding will be the party's second nomination do-over in this campaign. - Liberal candidate Chris Brown apologizes for offensive booze-fuelled tweets - Tim Dutaud 2nd Conservative candidate dropped over embarrassing videos - Joy Davies resigns as Liberal candidate over pro-pot Facebook post - NDP candidate Morgan Wheeldon resigns over Israel comments The Liberal candidate in CalgaryÐNose Hill, Ala Buzreba, apologized and resigned earlier in the campaign for things she said on Twitter when she was 16. A third Alberta candidate fingered for off-colour remarks, Chris Brown in Peace River-Westlock, apologized for making profanity-laced remarks on Twitter, attributing them to booze-fuelled anger over the death of his partner in an accident involving a drunk driver. He remains on the ballot. All three parties have had similar candidate controversies in recent weeks, in a growing list of social media trip-ups. The deadline for all parties to nominate their slates of candidates in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election is Sept. 28. (Sou

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 17, 2015

Chris Austin, Liberal candidate, pulled for views ‘irreconcilable’ with party values

The Liberal Party has removed another Alberta candidate for expressing views that it says don’t conform to the party’s values.

In a statement Wednesday, the party said Chris Austin is no longer a candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland.

“New information was brought to our attention which led to the revocation of his green light status, ending his candidacy,” the party said.

“Some of Chris Austin`s views, as articulated in past comments, are irreconcilable with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada.”

Facebook posts still visible on Chris Austin’s page include comments made after the Oct. 22 shootings in Ottawa that said “Harper has turned our Nation’s Capital into a War Zone as his thirst for War,” and suggest the RCMP was the “Canadian Gestapo.”

This riding will be the party’s second nomination do-over in this campaign.

  • Liberal candidate Chris Brown apologizes for offensive booze-fuelled tweets
  • Tim Dutaud 2nd Conservative candidate dropped over embarrassing videos
  • Joy Davies resigns as Liberal candidate over pro-pot Facebook post
  • NDP candidate Morgan Wheeldon resigns over Israel comments

The Liberal candidate in Calgary–Nose Hill, Ala Buzreba, apologized and resigned earlier in the campaign for things she said on Twitter when she was 16.

A third Alberta candidate fingered for off-colour remarks, Chris Brown in Peace River-Westlock, apologized for making profanity-laced remarks on Twitter, attributing them to booze-fuelled anger over the death of his partner in an accident involving a drunk driver. He remains on the ballot.

All three parties have had similar candidate controversies in recent weeks, in a growing list of social media trip-ups.

The deadline for all parties to nominate their slates of candidates in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election is Sept. 28. (Source: CBC News)

 

Friday March 13, 2015

Friday March 13, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 13, 2015

Niqab debate important for Canadians, religious freedoms, ambassador says

Canada’s ambassador for religious freedoms says he thinks it’s important that Canadians are having a debate about the place of the niqab in society.

Andrew Bennett says his office doesn’t get involved in domestic political issues; its mandate is to advocate for religious freedoms abroad.

But Bennett says he’s aware how fraught the issue of the niqab can be and that it’s important for Canadians to have a say.

The Conservative government’s decision to appeal a Federal Court ruling allowing a woman to have her face covered by a niqab while reciting the oath of citizenship has sparked a heated debate about religious rights in Canada.

The government argues Canadian values are at stake while the opposition says to ban the niqab goes against those very same values.

Bennett says he thinks the fact that Parliament is having what he calls a robust debate on the subject is wonderful and proof Canadian institutions are functioning.

Wednesday March 11, 2015Bennett spoke to The Canadian Press on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference on religious freedoms in Ottawa. That same day, federal Conservatives were scrambling to clarify that their aversion to Muslim women wearing the niqab applies strictly to citizenship ceremonies.

But they struggled to explain why wearing the face-covering veil is no big deal in other spheres of life, including the federal public service, if — as Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintains — it’s contrary to Canadian values and “rooted in a culture that is anti-women.”

“That is what the prime minister said and that is a point of view that one can hold,” said Treasury Board President Tony Clement, who is responsible for federal civil service. (Source: Globe & Mail)

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Posted (with much negative reaction) at Yahoo News Canada.

 

 

 

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Thursday, February 27, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, February 27, 2014

Distracted driving fines increase to $280 on March 18

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says drivers talking on the phone or texting now cause more deaths on Ontario roads than drunk drivers.

Fines for distracted driving are set to nearly double next month, but you can’t blame the government for this one.

The decision to increase the fine for driving while using a hand-held device — such as a cellphone or MP3 player — to $280 from $155 starting March 18 comes courtesy of Annemarie Bonkalo, chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice.

Bonkalo was not asked to rule on the issue, nor did she provide detailed reasons for her decision, but with the simple stroke of a pen, she has made distracted driving an even more unattractive option.

The Feb. 18 judicial order appears to have come out of nowhere. It is perfectly within Bonkalo’s statutory authority, say her office and the province, but it comes at a time when the minority Liberals are already promising to introduce a package of distracted driver changes, including possibly demerit points.

Bonkalo’s order represents the first time the fine has been changed since legislation was enacted in 2009.

The Transportation ministry confirmed it did not ask Bonkalo for the increase but its minister, Glen Murray, nonetheless told reporters Tuesday he was pleased with her decision, saying it fits in with the government’s overall efforts to crack down on distracted driving.

Progressive Conservative transportation critic Jeff Yurek sees things differently. He said the judge may have been frustrated with the government dragging its feet on the issue, noting it has failed to push through a private member’s bill from one of its own MPPs that would dramatically increase distracted driving fines and add demerit points.

“I think it speaks to a lack of initiative this government is showing,” Yurek said.

He said it was certainly a concern that a judge can increase a fine without it first being debated among elected officials in the legislature, but Bonkalo “was probably frustrated that this government has not acted on this issue that is killing Ontarians.” (Source: Toronto Star)