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Tuesday November 9, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 9, 2021

Trained Seals and their Trainers

Impatience was mounting among Liberal caucus colleagues as they waited for the first national caucus meeting since the election in September.

Radio-Canada spoke to several Liberal MPs, on the record and on background, who said they were eager to make their voices heard on issues at an official gathering.

October 26, 2021

Two weeks age, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with his newly appointed cabinet ministers, but backbench MPs say they’re confused why the whole team hasn’t met yet since securing a minority government in September.

Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès said she found the wait puzzling, while Ontario MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said there was no possible reason for the delay.

“There’s no explanation or excuse for not having already had a national caucus meeting,” he said at the time. “I expect we will have one shortly.”

September 11, 2019

Another MP, who didn’t want to be named, acknowledged there was a certain level of frustration in the caucus.

The federal Liberal caucus finally met for the first time on November 8. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said today he expects his party’s MPs to promote vaccines and leave talk about their efficacy to the health experts — a comment that comes after a Conservative caucus member made some eyebrow-raising comments about COVID-19 shots over the weekend.

October 21, 2021

O’Toole and his team have been grappling with questions about vaccines for months as some of his party’s MPs and senators have spoken out against mandatory shots or have avoided getting vaccinated altogether.

O’Toole has tried to walk a fine line — telling Canadians he supports the vaccination campaign while opposing mandatory vaccination rules for public servants and the travelling public.

O’Toole also has said his party will challenge a House of Commons Board of Internal Economy policy that requires all MPs attending Parliament in person to be vaccinated — but has refused to say how many Conservative caucus members are fully vaccinated.

June 10, 2021

A group of Conservative parliamentarians recently formed what they call a “civil liberties” working group to advocate for the unvaccinated.

While promoting the group’s work during an appearance on CTV, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu suggested that polio — a disease largely eradicated in Canada through vaccinations — posed more of a threat than COVID-19.

“In terms of the risk, people that got polio, many of them died and many of them were crippled, and that is not the same frequency of risk that we see with COVID-19,” she said in an interview on the network’s Question Period program.

“I’m just receiving the information from medical experts that talk about the relative risk. I’m not a doctor myself.” (CBC) 

 

Friday June 21, 2019

June 21, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 21, 2019

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shakes up cabinet amid backlash for spending cuts

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled a cabinet shuffle that moves several prominent ministers out of key roles after he faced fights over spending cuts, sagging poll numbers and loud boos at public events.

April 13, 2019

A year into his term, Mr. Ford demoted his finance minister, Vic Fedeli, two months after he delivered the government’s first budget in April. The budget contained targeted cuts to municipalities and other services that, since the details came to light, have dogged Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives.

The changes expand the cabinet table to 28 seats from 21, and make room for several newcomers. They follow complaints in PC circles that the government has had trouble communicating its message, as some recent polls suggest that under Mr. Ford, the party has suffered as much as a 10-per-cent decline in support from the 40.5 per cent it won in last June’s election.

Ontario, the country’s most populous province, home of its financial hub and generator of nearly 40 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product, will be a key battleground for this fall’s federal election. Senior Liberals see Mr. Ford’s performance as a potential liability for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, and routinely link them in public statements. Senior Conservative MPs say they have heard concerns about the Premier from voters.

February 16, 2019

Lisa MacLeod, who clashed with the parents of autistic children over the government’s changes to funding for treatment, was moved from Children and Social Services to Tourism, Culture and Sport. Lisa Thompson, who, as education minister, faced off against school boards over plans to increase class sizes – saying it would make students more resilient – moves to Government and Consumer Services.

Only eight of Mr. Ford’s ministers kept their jobs in the changes, which come just days after the Premier was booed at an event to celebrate the Toronto Raptors’ NBA championship win. In May, he was booed at the opening of the Special Olympics in Toronto.

February 22, 2012

After Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell swore in the new cabinet, Mr. Ford provided few details on the reasons for the moves. He acknowledged his government has had problems with communication, but said he wanted media coverage to be more “fair and balanced.”

Asked if he is to blame for the recent criticism, he replied: “I look at continuous improvement. It starts with me. Every one of our cabinet ministers, I feel they’ve done a good job, they can always do a better job. I can always do a better job as well.”

The decision to demote Mr. Fedeli, the former mayor of North Bay, Ont., stunned some senior Conservatives, who view him as a steady hand. Mr. Fedeli was the party’s interim leader in early 2018, after Patrick Brown resigned. (Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday April 4, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 4, 2019

Let the Justin Trudeau scandal be a lesson: seemingly pristine leaders will always let us down

Must our politicians disappoint? That is the question that is keeping some of us on the liberal left up at night.

April 2, 2019

The latest let down is Justin Trudeau. He of the bilingual social media, refugee welcoming press stunts and (somewhat performative) feminism. While Trudeau was never as left wing as many of us economically, his leadership style on social issues did seem like a breath of fresh air. He appeared to be willing to take action that went against the narrative of the day, making genuinely tough decisions on issues like immigration where the easy option would have been to turn people away.

Trudeau had transformed his party from within rebuilding it in his younger, cooler image. Now, he stands accused by two female former cabinet colleagues of corruption. His response? To throw these whistle-blowers out of the Liberal Party. The disappointment is profound.

So Trudeau is human after all. His once fleet feet are made of clay. Yes another hero falls from their perch.

March 4, 2016

We expect a lot from our political leaders. So much so that they are bound to disappoint. But should we expect a kind of perfection from them we could never deliver ourselves? Is there a refugee whose life has been changed by Trudeau’s policies that would exchange that for this scandal not happening? Should Labour disown the minimum wage because it was introduced by a leader that let them down so badly elsewhere?

We do need to be clear about what our red lines are. We shouldn’t forgive Blair for the bloodshed of the Iraq War nor of the chaos and loss of trust in politics that followed it just because we think he’s right over Europe. Trudeau’s imperious treatment of his whistle-blowing colleagues should not be glossed over as if it meant nothing just because we like the way he stands up to Trump.

For public service to be the unalloyed good the liberal left believe it should be, we have to learn to be more grown up about those that deliver it. Both the hero worship and the demonisation come from a desire to believe that politicians are different from the rest of us. But we don’t just get the politicians we deserve, we get the politicians we are: weak, strong, courageous, stupid, clever and human. (Continued: The Independent) 

 

Monday September 3, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Monday September 3, 2012

Thousands take to Toronto streets

It may look like your typical parade — marchers marching, flags flying and pipers piping — but Toronto’s annual Labour Day parade is a unique blend of celebration and protest.

“These people have come out to show pride in their movement and the contributions it has made,” said John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, which helped organize the event.

Cartwright estimated that up to 22,000 Ontario workers took to the Queen St. W. route Monday morning, including federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair. From teachers and nurses to firefighters and actors, union groups from across GTA were well represented.

As usual, the march mixed steel drum bands, dancing and cheering with banners demanding more rights for workers.

Cartwright said this year’s parade was especially important in light of recent labour conflicts, particularly between the Ontario government and the teacher’s union — which Cartwright called “an unprecedented attack” on teachers’ rights — and the Canadian economy’s sluggish recovery.

Gerard O’Neill, president of the Durham local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said teachers want the public to understand what they’re facing.

Ontario teachers have not made any move to strike, but remain at loggerheads with the Dalton McGuinty government, which first demanded and failed to get most boards to settle deals with their teachers by Sept. 1, their first day without a contract, then introduced Bill 115, which imposes a freeze on wages, cuts sick days and bans strikes and lockouts for two years. Many members from other unions expressed their support for teachers and their right to collective bargaining at the parade Monday. (Source: Toronto Star)