town Hall – mackaycartoons

Wednesday January 10, 2018

January 9, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 10, 2018

Some questions for Mr. Trudeau

Later Wednesday morning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drops by McMaster University for the second in a series of town hall meetings. It’s the sort of thing Trudeau is good at. His charisma, empathy and accessible style stand him in good stead.

The Liberals under Trudeau continue to enjoy strong support. The latest Nanos Research has the Liberals at 40.9 per cent, the Conservatives at 30.7, the NDP at 19.5 and the Greens at 4.8. Even more impressive is that 45.6 per cent of respondents prefer Trudeau as PM, compared to Conservative Andrew Scheer (20.3 per cent) and Jagmeet Singh (9 per cent). Even after the Aga Khan holiday scandal, Bill Morneau’s travails and numerous broken promises, Trudeau enjoys a level of support most politicians would envy.

Journalists don’t get to ask questions of the PM at today’s event. But here are some we’d like to see him answer. Feel free to borrow.

Entitlement: Trudeau, and his Finance Minister Bill Morneau, are seen by a growing number of Canadians as elitist and privileged. They owe no apologies for their accidents of birth. But even though measures like the child tax credit are unquestionably helping middle class families, there is a sense that Trudeau, especially, is more of a tourist in the lives of working class Canadians. How can the PM assure working Canadians that he is truly in their corner when he doesn’t have the life experience?

Pensions: Stories, many of them heartbreaking, continue to pour in about the hardships being experienced by Sears Canada retirees who have seen incomes cut and benefits lost. U.S. Steel retirees are still in limbo and at risk. Why won’t Trudeau commit to rewriting obsolete bankruptcy protection legislation to give pensioners more clout?

Democratic reform: Trudeau promised electoral reform but broke that promise and now says he thinks a proportional representation system would be “damaging to our stability, to our electoral system.” How can that be? How did reform go from being needed to being a threat? And are we stuck with the status quo forever?

Poverty: The government deserves credit for its $40 billion national housing strategy. But why does the investment not kick in until after the next election? Even more seriously, where is the government’s promised plan to fight poverty, promised in 2016? In his mandate letter, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos was given this direction: ‘Lead the development of a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy that would set targets to reduce poverty and measure and publicly report on our progress, in collaboration with the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. Our strategy will align with and support existing provincial and municipal poverty reduction strategies.’ Nice words, but where’s the action to back them up?

If Trudeau could give credible answers to even two of these four questions, he’d offer assurance to the growing number of Canadians who fear his leadership is long on style and charisma, but short on substance. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

SaveSave

Friday June 24, 2016

June 23, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 24, 2016

Should Hamilton’s ward boundaries be redrawn to reflect areas of growth, perhaps even adding a 16th ward?

The question is, should they remain or should they go?

Not just in Britain — although the Brexit debate has been kind of important, too.

Should Hamilton’s 15 ward boundaries remain the same or change?

That has been the topic at a series of public meetings on the issue — the most recent this week at Waterdown’s Legion Hall.

But the tepid turnout in Waterdown — only three people showed — and also last week at Tim Hortons Field, suggests residents may not be all that engaged.

In fairness, “Ward Boundary Review” is a subject hardly guaranteed to reel in even the most civic minded on a long, warm summer night.

April 26, 2012

And Mayor Fred Eisenberger predicted neither councillors nor constituents would have much enthusiasm to tackle the issue.

But last spring council voted to hire consultants to undertake a boundary review — at cost of $270,000 — to explore if changes would better reflect shifting population patterns.

For example, Ward 7 on the central Mountain has 62,000 residents while rural Ward 14 in Flamborough has about 17,000.

Among the alternatives suggested by the consultants: rearrange wards to follow federal riding boundaries; reshape wards to better reflect population; add a 16th ward.

One option (shown on the map) shows a proposed Ward 16 on the Mountain, and also redrawing Ward 15 so it would geographically be smaller than it is now — essentially Waterdown on its own, defined by Milburough Line to the east, Concession 7 to the north, Hwy 6. and Millgrove Sideroad to the west, to roughly the Niagara Escarpment along the southern border.

Ward 15 Coun. Judi Partridge, whose ward is about 70 per cent rural, says consultants are paying too little attention to criteria such as culture, heritage, and the natural environment, and focusing too heavily on population.

She added that the trio of residents who showed at the Waterdown meeting was pressed by consultants to pick a favourite option, but found the exercise too complex to choose.

Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. wrote in their report that electoral boundaries should be reviewed every 10-15 years, and Hamilton’s have been the same since amalgamation in 2001.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday July 27, 2000

July 27, 2000 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 27, 2000

We accept ‘demigods’ like Harris

The naivete expressed in this letter seems to be common among many Canadians. But, contrary to the writer’s definition of democracy, once elected, a government does become omniscient and omnipotent.

It does mean that it no longer has to consult the people. Remember the amalgamation of Hamilton-Wentworth in general and freedom of self-determination for Flamborough in particular?

It does mean that a government does not have to listen to the elected representatives of the people. Remember Toni Skarica and Brad Clark?

It does mean that a government can tell the people’s representatives what to think. Remember how Premier Mike Harris cowed his caucus by telling them that a vote against the amalgamation of Hamilton-Wentworth was a vote against him?

It may not have been democratic to take power away from our local school boards, but it is quite evident that this action was a response to the inability of individual boards to withstand the steamroller of the teachers’ unions. It is widely perceived that teachers are grossly underworked and obscenely overpaid with benefits, vacations and pensions that the average worker would kill for.

The gravy train had to stop somewhere.

Until such time as the rest of us average Joes come even close to the level of the self-created elite laughingly called the civil service (teachers, firefighters, police, bureaucrats and politicians of all stripes), we will tolerate demigods like Harris. True to our nature, we will vote him out when it suits us.

Personally, I would like to see a form of participatory democracy instead of the alleged representative democracy that we are presently saddled with.

As for expecting fairness from government, don’t hold your breath. (Hamilton Spectator, A10, 7/27/2000)

Tuesday September 21, 1999

September 21, 1999 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 21, 1999

Tri-Town Proponents Start Crunching Numbers

Consultants crunching the numbers for the proposed city of Wentworth will also be looking at that merger’s impact on the region’s other municipalities, and particularly the City of Hamilton.

September 1, 1999

The three towns that would merge — Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough — know they must look beyond their borders in assessing the impact of restructuring.

Richard Fiebig, Flamborough’s chief administrative officer, said: “We will have to see what the impact is on taxation levels across the region. Based on past experience, I know that is important to the province.”

And he knew that even before the province articulated it recently — Fiebig was CAO-treasurer for the City of Kingston when it was restructured to take in two adjacent townships.

Referring to that merger, Fiebig said, “We had to ensure nobody would be disadvantaged.”

Toronto-based Hemson Consulting Ltd. has been hired by the three municipalities to estimate the costs, revenues and tax impacts of the proposed creation of the city of Wentworth. Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough will split the $30,000 bill for that study.

Dundas Mayor John Addison says the three towns must show the province their plan won’t adversely affect other municipalities.

November 23, 1999

“We anticipate an adviser would look at that and pull the fuse on the plan. If the analysis shows a negative impact, we would have to work with the other municipalities to minimize any problems, ” he said.

The consultants will also look at the tax impacts of a supercity model, which is favoured by Regional Chairman Terry Cooke and Hamilton city council. Stoney Creek and Glanbrook are exploring a merger of their own.

The municipalities are anticipating the appointment of a special adviser tomorrow or Thursday at latest. Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Gilchrist announced last month that Hamilton-Wentworth is one of four municipalities in the province that will be restructured by the end of the year. The adviser will have 60 days to gather input before making a restructuring recommendation to the province.

Gilchrist wants the restructuring to streamline services, increase accountabilit y, cut taxes, and reduce the number of municipalities and elected officials.

October 23, 1999

If the city of Wentworth becomes a reality, voters in the new city would likely be electing 50 to 60 per cent fewer representatives than the 25 council members currently elected in the three municipalities combined.

The polling firm Environics has been hired to survey public opinion in the three towns. The $27,000 bill will be split among the towns.

Ancaster Mayor Bob Wade says he will welcome the results, even if those polled don’t support the tri-town model.

“We are trying to follow the will of the people, ” he said, “but when we are not hearing from them, it’s difficult. I will be happy to go with whatever the community decides.

“We know remaining on our own is no longer an option. It concerns me that people aren’t letting us know how they feel.”

The consultants’ report is likely to be completed within the next two to three weeks, and Wade anticipates a public meeting at that point.

“I’m reluctant to go to a public meeting before we have the facts and figures to give people, ” he said. – Lee Prokaska (Hamilton Spectator, A6, 9/21/1999)