Niagara At Large

By Doug Draper

We Canadians and Americans who live across the Niagara River from one another know that down the middle of that waterway we share a border border the forefathers of our countries have drawn.

For our binational region, let's hope this isn't a bridge too far. Photo by Doug Draper

It may have been drawn for a list of reasons that have to do with historical circumstances and sovereignty. But to what degree does it have to be a barrier?  Does it have to divide the people of Erie and Niagara Counties, New York and the people of the Niagara Region in Ontario from working more closely together as a ‘Greater Niagara Region’? Does it have to keep us from getting together to overcome the common challenges we face as people living and working in this region of the world and from promoting our interests for the betterment of all?
For the first time since the catastrophic events of Sept. 11, 2001 all but killed talk between political leaders on both sides of breaking down that barrier and building a Greater Niagara Region – what former Buffalo mayor Anthony Masiello envisioned as a larger “city-region” where municipalities on both sides of the river would make up” the middle ground” – there appears to be a growing interest in moving forward with that vision.

(more…)

 By Doug Draper

As the provincial government and its enablers, including the Niagara Health System (NHS) and Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), slowly but surely dismantle hospital services in Niagara’s centre and south end, one mayor and his council are determined to take their services back.

Citizen protesters watched this spring as the emergency room of the Port Colborne General Hospital was converted to an urgent care centre as part of a downsizing plan the Niagara Health System is imposing on smaller hospitals across the region. Photo by Doug Draper

“We want to take control of our own destiny,” says Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey of his city’s decision over the past year to establish what it calls a Niagara South Health Care Corporation that is separate from the NHS and is moving forward with its own “blue print” for rebuilding hospital services in Niagara’s southern tier.
And if Badawey’s boldest dream comes true, that blue print includes a successful pitch to the provincial government for a new hospital to service south Niagara. Someone has to take on the responsibility and leadership to see that health care is available and the people here have access to all of the health care they need,” said Badawey in a recent interview with Niagara At Large of the move his council is taking to develop a health care system of its own.

(more…)

By Tim Seburn

Already known for its activism over Marcy Woods and most recently its hospital closing, controversy is once again brewing in Fort Erie.
The latest burning issue is the Canadian Motorsports Speedway (CMS) proposal targeting 823 acres of mostly prime agricultural land in the heart of this town. The one mile oval and two and one-half mile road course are planned to open in time for the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812. A local newspaper has called those opposing CMS backwards facing. Now the nature club returns the aspersion, setting the scene for yet another interesting battle in this border town.

(more…)

By Doug Draper

A combination of recession, gridlock and heightened demands for identification at the border crossings is costing the economies of communities in the Greater Niagara Region thousands of jobs and countless lost dollars, says a representative for a not-for-profit organization promoting tourism in the region.
“We need a remedial action plan to fix this because it is affecting us dramatically,” Arlene White, the director of the Binational Tourism Alliance representing about 140 public- and private-sector tourist and business interests in Niagara, Ont. and Niagara and Erie Counties, N.Y. told members of the regional council on the Ontario side of the border recently. (more…)

By Becky Day

Every municipality in the greater Niagara region seems to have its sticking point when it comes to heritage preservation.

Thorold's former city hall, a designated heritage building, remains abandoned and awaiting its fate. Photo by Doug Draper

Thorold, Ontario, the city’s former city hall building has become as contentious as the Port tower condo project now destined to replace so much of the heritage district in the historic old community of Port Dalhousie, located along the southern shores of Lake Ontario in St. Catharines.
Strapped to a roller coaster of political nonsense and inaction, Thorold’s aging city hall building has been held hostage for more than three years, waiting for local politicians to decide their next move.
The heritage structure located at 8 Carleton St. n Thorold – also once home to L.G. Lorriman Public School – rots quietly as it awaits its fate. If the city doesn’t act soon, the designated site will suffer irreparable damage.
All too often, residents across the greater Niagara region have seen the same fate overcome other heritage buildings that fall into neglectful hands. In nearby Buffalo,  for  example, residents and visitors to that city have witnessed the half-collapse of a 19th century livery stable in what is lovingly known to some as the the city’s “cottage district.” Claiming ‘demolition by neglect’ on the part of the livery stable’s longtime owner, residents are working with the city and others to restore this historic treasure. (more…)

By Doug Draper

Two citizens in south Niagara have received awards from an Ontario-wide coalition of health-care advocates for their role in fighting for fair and accessible hospital services for their communities.

Port Colborne health care activist Pat Schofield addresss a public meeting on cuts to hospital services earlier this year. Photo by Doug Draper

Pat Schofield, a Port Colborne resident and leader of the People’s Health Care Coalition in that community, and Sue Salzer, a Fort Erie resident and leader of what has come to be known across the region as the Yellow Shirt Brigade, were recently presented with Dan Benedict Awards at the Ontario Health Coalition’s annual conference in Toronto.
The awards, named after the late Daniel Benedict, an Order of Canada recipient and Canadian Auto Workers representative who was a champion of universal health care, recognize the continued efforts by Schofield and Salzer to lobby governments and hospital administrators for quality hospital services across the Niagara region. Natalie Mehra, director of the Ontario Health Coalition, told Niagara At Large her citizen-based organization chose Schofield and Salzer for the awards because “they have exhibited an extraordinary commitment to their communities and we wanted to celebrate and acknowledge this. They have put in endless hours. They have worried, burned up the phone lines, organized their communities, and through it all, have shown exemplary leadership. …
“We believe that public services like hospitals are just that – public,” added Mehra. “They rely on an active and engaged community to hold them to account, to support them, to keep them viable, and to meet the needs of people who perhaps cannot speak for themselves. That is why the Health Coalition tries to recognize people like Sue and Pat who really understand the ideas of public service and community.

(more…)