Daily Archives: July 20, 2010

By Doug Draper

When it comes to getting rid of another unpopular tax Ontario’s Liberal government is trying to impose on consumers, it helps to have one of the country’s major retailers on your side.

It was only a day before the province’s environment minister, John Gerretsen, was forced this July 20 to pull the plug on the government’s controversial “eco fee” on potentially hazardous toxic products, that Canadian Tire – one of the largest retailers of cleaners and other products that fall under that category – declared that it would no longer participating in collecting the fee from its customers.

All of that just 20 days after Premier Dalton McGuinty and his government used Canada Day (this July 1) to slip in this fee on top of the infamous Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), another regressive tax it imposed on consumers across Ontario on the same day. Continue reading →

Foreward by Doug Draper

Okay, so which is it? Is Niagara, Ontario’s hospital system still in the red or is it now in the black?

It is the same question Pat Scholfield, a Port Colborne resident and advocate for Niagara hospitals services, asks in a letter to the editor Niagara At Large is posting below. And there is good reason for the question.

According to a report broadcast this June 18 by the CBC, and based on figures it obtained from Local Health Integration Networks overseeing hospitals across the province, the Niagara Health System, as of this past March, has a surplus of $19 million, thanks to an infusion of funding from the province that erased an $18.8 million deficit (one of the worst in the province) it was wrestling with last year.

But this July 20, according to stories published in the St. Catharines Standard, Welland Tribute and Niagara Falls Review chain of newspapers, the NHS is still nursing a deficit of about $3 million – keeping it on the left side of the ledger with about third of the other hospital systems in the province that are collectively experiencing a funding shortfall from the Ontario government of about $107 million. Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

Well, well, well.

The Niagara Health System – the organization the former Ontario government of Mike Harris established as an amalgamation of hospital services on the Niagara, Ontario side of the border – is finally operating with a surplus of $19 million, according to figures compiled at the end of this past March and reported in a CBC story this June 18.

That compared to drowning in red ink with one of the largest deficits for any hospital board in the province – running at $18.8 million and counting – a year ago at this time.

And how did the Niagara Health System manage to go from broke to a surplus in such a short period of time?

Certainly a recent infusion of about $49 million from the province’s Liberal government to partially make up for under-funding of Niagara’s hospitals going back to the Conservative government years of Mike Harris and one of his favourite former cabinet ministers – the now leader of the provincial Conservative Party and Niagara area MPP Tim Hudak – has been a big help. Continue reading →

English and tropical gardens surround this classic Victorian-style home on Buffalo's West Delavan Avenue, one of the many popular stops on the garden walk. File photo by Doug Draper.

By Doug Draper

If you live within reasonable driving distance of Buffalo, New York and love classic urban neighbourhoods and architecture, and have a passion for gardening on top of that, then mark July 24 and 25.

This coming weekend marks the 16th anniversary of Garden Walk Buffalo – what has grown into the largest free garden walks in all of North America, featuring more than 340 gardens at homes and other places in neighbourhoods often dating back more than a century.

Garden Walk Buffalo now attracts tens-of-thousands of visitors each year for an event that remains free of charge, unless you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, poster, a great book of Buffalo Gardens with a fine DVD taking you on a virtual tour of gardens and those who care for them in some of the city’s most historic neighbourhoods. Continue reading →