Trade

Thursday May 23, 2013

Thursday May 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday May 23, 2013

Harper in Peru

Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted Thursday that he did not know about – nor was asked to sign off on – the arrangement that saw his chief of staff cut a personal cheque for $90,000 to Sen. Mike Duffy.

Harper, currently on a trade mission in South America, took questions on the Senate expenses scandal for the first time since news emerged about the controversial cheque written by his former right-hand man.

I did not know … (and) I was not consulted, “Harper said, the Peruvian president standing at his side.

“I was not asked to sign off on any such thing, and had I been consulted or known, I would not have agreed with it, and it is obviously for those reasons that I accepted Mr. Wright’s resignation.”

Harper said he learned about the arrangement the same way Canadians did: through media reports. At that point, “I immediately asked that that information be released publicly,” he said.

He also described himself as “sorry,” “frustrated” and “extremely angry” about the whole mess, which has engulfed his government and threatens its carefully cultivated image as a pillar of accountability and sound financial management.

The payment allowed Duffy to stop co-operating with an external audit of his expenses – an audit that has since been referred back to the same Senate committee that has already reviewed its so-far-incomplete findings.

The affair is also under investigation by the federal ethics commissioner. (Source: iPolitics)

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January 16, 2007

Again I find myself the only cartoonist who felt it necessary to draw on something that has been completely ignored by everyone else: the Premier’s trade mission to India. The 17 day trip began last week and includes a 100-member Ontario government delegation with hopes of cashing in on the country’s lucrative film industry and becoming a self-styled “Bollywood North,” as Dalton McGuinty himself described it. To me it smells an awful lot like the old Chretien days, when the old Prime Minister would gladhand his way through countries like China and India with high hopes of bringing foreign investment to Canada. It’s debateable how effective these junkets are. For now let Dalton be the star of his own cheesy show.

Here’s some photos from the trip thus far. I’d love to see some cartoonist out there draw something on this rather comical journey by Ontario’s Premier.

By the Numbers

I was curious to find out how frequently Dalton McGuinty appears in cartoons so I did a little tabulation of cartoons I’ve drawn of him over the past 12 months. Through a simple defined search of my syndicate I discovered I drew 16 cartoons of him in 2006. Sue Dewar of the Ottawa Sun actually beat me by drawing 20. This led me to wonder which politician was drawn the most last year among all the artists represented through Artizans. Here’s the ranking:

  1. Stephen Harper — 422
  2. Ralph Klein — 89
  3. Paul Martin — 87
  4. Dalton McGuinty — 48
  5. Jack Layton — 45
  6. Michael Ignatieff — 42
  7. Rodney MacDonald — 35
  8. Peter MacKay — 34
  9. Stephane Dion — 34
  10. David Emerson — 32
  11. Belinda Stronach –28
  12. Rona Ambrose — 27
  13. Bob Rae — 23
  14. Gordon Campbell — 23
  15. Gilles Duceppe — 20
  16. Jim Flaherty — 17
  17. Jean Chretien — 15
  18. Scott Brison — 14
  19. Bill Graham — 9
  20. Frank McKenna — 9
  21. Joe Volpe — 9
  22. Ken Dryden — 7
  23. Ed Stelmach
  24. Hedy Fry — 6
  25. Gerard Kennedy — 4
  26. Jean Charest — 4
  27. Vic Toews — 4
  28. John Baird — 2
  29. Gary Doer — 1
  30. Lorne Calvert, Martha Hall Findlay, Danny Williams — 0

Tuesday January 15, 2013

Tuesday January 15, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 15, 2013

McGuinty wraps up Premiership touring China

Ontario’s trade mission delegates will meet as many as 500 Chinese companies over the next week as part of the fourth trade mission to China led by Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The Premier had a productive meeting with Canadian Ambassador Guy Saint-Jacques and Rick Savone, Canada’s Consul General to Shanghai, discussing his priorities for the mission. He then addressed the 50 delegates, rallying the group for the busy week. The delegates represent 38 businesses, universities and other organizations.

Earlier in the day, the Premier laced up his skates and hit the ice with the Shanghai Thunderbirds, a minor hockey association made up of players aged 7 to 17. Some of the hockey players are the sons and daughters of Canadian business people living in China.

The Premier’s final trade mission to China is focused on identifying new opportunities in the agri-food, clean water and clean technology sectors. As China’s growth continues to outpace most other countries around the world, Ontario expertise and innovation in these areas are in high demand.

The mission spends its first two days in Shanghai before moving on to Nanjing, Chengdu and Beijing. (Source: Government of Ontario Press Release)

Wednesday December 7, 2005

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 7, 2005

U.S. to cut softwood duties almost in half

Canadian officials are cheering a move by the U.S. Commerce Department to chop softwood lumber duties by almost 50 per cent.The Commerce Department set the new rates on Tuesday, settling on average payments of 10.81 per cent.

That figure is a considerable drop from the current average payment of 20.15 per cent.

“This is a very positive step forward as Canada fights to have the illegal duties reduced to zero,” John Allan, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, told the Canadian Press.

The softwood dispute has been the main trade irritant between Canada and the U.S.

The U.S. believes Canada improperly subsidizes softwood production because most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada the wood is mostly cut on Crown land.

The U.S. government has collected about $5 billion in duties on Canadian softwood exports to the U.S. since the tariffs were introduced in May 2002. (Source: CBC) 

 

Wednesday March 23, 2005

March 23, 2005

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 23, 2005

Paul Martin at the Bush Ranch Hoedown

Paul Martin, who came to power with big ideas on foreign policy, appears to be lowering his sights as he prepares for a summit with the presidents of the United States and Mexico. The meeting in Texas among the prime minister, George W. Bush and Vicente Fox will be heavy on trade policy, border security and a host of so-called quality of life issues such as environmental protection.

But Canadian officials say there won’t be any “big bang” announcements on any of those fronts.

Nor do they expect any talk of missile defence — the issue that did more than anything to sour Martin’s relationship with the Bush administration in Washington.

That’s just as well, said Charles Doran, a specialist in Canada-U.S. relations at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

In his view, the best Martin can hope for is to put the missile dispute behind him and try to make modest progress in other areas.

His greatest challenge may be building ties of personal trust with his fellow leaders.

“Whether we like it or not, personalities do count,” Doran said in an interview yesterday. “These meetings are worth every bit of time that is invested in preparing for them.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)