Young Doug Ford

Saturday October 8, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 8, 2022

Even with rising food costs, many Canadians find Thanksgiving meal traditions tough to break

Young Doug Ford: The Series

A recent online Angus Reid survey of 1,244 Canadians that found of those who celebrate Thanksgiving, more than two-thirds will be eating the same food they usually do, even with inflation pushing up the cost of everything from turkey to potatoes. 

Statistics Canada reported on Sept. 20 that inflation is up nearly 11 per cent across all retail food items. One of the main drivers is still supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, complicated by labour shortages. Another factor is Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has driven up commodity prices.

But some traditions are hard to break.

“The majority of Canadians are sticking to traditions. If they plan to host, they probably will have a turkey,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, which had partnered with Angus Reid for the survey. It was conducted in September with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Pandemic Thanksgiving

Still, about about one-quarter of Canadians will make some meal adjustments, the survey found. Sylvain noted that lower-income households, which earn less than $50,000 a year, are almost certainly making changes due to higher food prices.

Charlebois said the per-kilogram price of turkey has increased about 16 per cent from this time last year. Potatoes are 22 per cent more expensive. Bacon, ham and chicken cost about 10 per cent more.

“People may decide to opt for a smaller bird. They may decide to perhaps go for a cheaper protein source like chicken or ham,” he said. “Perhaps people will just go for another side instead of potatoes.”

“They’ll plan ahead and they’ll try to stretch their dollar,” Charlebois said.

At a Winnipeg Food Fair, customer Jerry Brown says he’s still after the traditional bird.

September 29, 2022

“It’s only once a year or twice if you count Christmas. Nice to have a turkey,” he said.

Others are cutting back, like Ciara Maffiola, who said, “I’m not buying a whole turkey. I’m just buying a small turkey breast.”

Food Fair owner Munther Zeid said he’s noticed most people are not spending less, but they are spending differently. For instance, instead of serving a large turkey plus a ham or roast, some are opting for smaller versions of each.

“I’ve never seen increases like this in all my life. I’ve been in this business working with my dad since I was a kid. I basically started part-time in 1983 and I’ve never seen what we’re seeing right now,” he said. (CBC) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

 

Tuesday August 9, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 9, 2022

Ontario legislature session begins as Doug Ford’s government pushes ahead with new mandate

Young Doug Ford: The Series

Opposition parties and critics are calling on the Ontario government to provide more relief to tackle rising inflation while also expediting solutions for hospital staffing woes when the legislature returns and the provincial budget is tabled this week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government will again table its 2022-23 budget on Tuesday, originally introduced in April and put to the test as a main plank of the PC platform during the June election.

After being re-elected, Mr. Ford said the budget would remain largely intact with the addition of a 5-per-cent increase to Ontario Disability Support Program rates that the party campaigned on, as well as a pledge to tie future annual increases to inflation. The budget promises $4-billion in additional spending for highways and roads and $10-billion for hospital infrastructure over 10 years.

August 3, 2022

But with the cost of living on the rise, inflation surging over 8 per cent and hospitals facing significant staffing shortages, critics say more measures need to be introduced to provide support for Ontarians.

Official Opposition NDP interim leader Peter Tabuns said Friday his party is calling for a new budget that increases spending for health care and education, as well as raises wages for public-sector workers. Mr. Tabuns said this would mean repealing Bill 124, introduced by the government in 2019, capping public-sector wage increases at 1 per cent for a three-year contract period. (The Globe & Mail) 

Friday June 24, 2022

June 24, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 24, 2022

What Doug Ford’s new cabinet faces: inflation, housing crisis, union talks

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will unveil his new cabinet on Friday morning in what is forecast to be glorious sunshine outside of Queen’s Park.

Young Doug Ford: The Series

But after that, stormy economic and political weather looms for Ford’s second-term government. 

Ontario confronts the highest rate of inflation in nearly 40 years, an economic reality that will have a strong influence on everything from the amount of tax revenue the government brings in to the amount of pressure public sector unions exert for higher wage increases. 

The new cabinet also faces a housing affordability crisis that has spread to all corners of the province, an overburdened health-care system weakened by more than two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and a long list of promises to be kept.   

Ford and his newly appointed ministers are scheduled to be sworn in at 11:15 a.m. in an outdoor ceremony in front of the legislature.

Saturday May 28, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 28, 2022

Doug Ford and Ontario’s race for second

Doug Ford is heading toward a second majority at Queen’s Park — not that anyone is paying attention.

Young Doug Ford: The Series

In the unlikely scenario all the polls released in Ontario ahead of its June 2 election turn out to be wrong, or if tens of thousands of voters do indeed vote strategically to deny the premier his majority, I stand to be corrected.

Many observers, including yours truly, yearned for movement in the polling numbers — not for partisan purposes, but for the sake of storylines that might capture the attention of an electorate seemingly apathetic to the campaign: Will the Liberals get over 30 percent? Will the Ontario NDP — ONDP — go in the tank? Or will it regain second place to keep Liberals at bay? Alas, none of it was to be.

But if the writing is on the wall of this 2022 campaign, the race for official opposition could still be compelling.

The PC gained the reins of the Ontario Legislature in 2018 by winning 76 seats (out of 124) with 40.5 percent of the popular vote. The NDP climbed to official opposition with 40 seats (33.6 percent of the vote). The Liberals, after forming government for 15 straight years, collapsed to 7 seats and 19.6 percent of the vote.

In the campaign now underway, the Ontario Liberals and ONDP have attempted, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, to dent the PC armor: More money for public education and long-term care, less for new highways. Remember when Ford closed playgrounds during the pandemic? All legitimate points, but not enough to rattle his base.

April 21, 2021

Ford has been playing 1995 New Jersey Devils-style defensive trap, both soporific and highly effective. Add to the mix an electorate suffering from Covid fatigue, the long-awaited return of sunny patios, the NHL and NBA playoffs (although it went by fast in Ontario), and it is hardly surprising many voters do not feel engaged. Sometimes defense is the best offense.

As of Tuesday, the 338Canada Ontario model has the PC leading voting intentions with an average of 37 percent, a 9-point lead over the Ontario Liberal party, which is at 28 percent.

The ONDP takes third place with 23 percent.

The Green Party of Ontario, which had earned just under 5 percent in 2018, has climbed to an average of 7 percent.

With a little more than one week to go before ballots are counted, the OLP and ONDP stand in a statistical tie in terms of seats, as it appears the anti-Ford vote has yet to coalesce behind one single banner.

And that’s just fine for Doug Ford. (Politico) 

 

Tuesday May 10, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 10, 2022

Ontario Liberals pledge they would bring back Grade 13 on an optional basis

Young Doug Ford: The Series

The Ontario Liberals would reintroduce an optional Grade 13 to allow students to catch up on learning lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, leader Steven Del Duca said on the campaign trail Friday.

The measure that would be brought in if the Liberals were elected next month would not be a “victory lap,” the party leader said, and would be available for a minimum of four years.

“This is going to be a structured option for our kids,” Del Duca said in a park near a high school in Kitchener, Ont.

“Structured so that they can get more mental health supports, so that they can learn more about personal finances, so that they can learn more about civics and citizen engagement and all of the tools that they need to be able to catch up from the past couple of years.”