Satirical political cartoons have historically been used to expose political misdeeds, and thus have played an important role in our democratic process.
However, this medium can be abused when cartoons are not fair, not balanced, or not true.
While there have been exceptions (i.e. Senator Duffy scandal), most of The Morning Star’s weekly cartoons demeaning the federal Conservative government have been unfair, unbalanced, and occasionally untrue.
As an example, recent cartoons implied that the Conservatives have mismanaged the finances of the country.
However, a 2014 OECD report ranked Canada as having the best GDP growth among G7 countries since 2009, while a 2015 OECD report stated that Canada has the best debt/GDP ratio among G7 nations.
Also, according to the Reputation Institute’s annual report, Canada remains at the top of a 55-nation list for perceived trust, admiration, and respect.
A good test of any argument is how it would be judged if roles were reversed.
In this case, how would these cartoons be judged if another political party or group were mocked on a weekly basis?
Don John
Vernon
