Michael Ignatieff “Just Visiting” Niagara
 
 
Today (July 30), the Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Parliamentary Secretary Rick Dykstra, M.P. for St. Catharines and Dean Allison, M.P. for Niagara West – Glanbrook, are calling Michael Ignatieff’s “Just Visiting” tour an insincere attempt to reach out to the people of the Niagara region.

Niagara Falls, Ontario Conservative MP and federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson

 ”Mr. Ignatieff must tell the people of Niagara during his bus ride why he and his Liberal caucus continue to flip-flop on supporting victims of crime and law-abiding Canadians,” stated Minister Nicholson. “The ‘soft on crime’ Liberals don’t have any good ideas of their own when it comes to justice issues. While our government has consistently put the rights of victims first, they would rather allow criminals to roam our streets.”
 
The Liberal approach to crime is clear. After all, it was a Liberal government that:
 
· Granted the “faint hope” of early release to first degree murderers;
· Brought in conditional sentences allowing violent offenders to walk away free;
· Excluded protection of society as a principle of sentencing in the Criminal Code;
· Instructed courts to use less restrictive sentences and consider all available sanctions other than imprisonment for all offenders; and
· Cut the RCMP by 2,500 officers.
  ”It would be great for Mr. Ignatieff’s bus to take a spin past some of the projects where construction is underway and see how our government’s Economic Action Plan is working for the people of St. Catharines and Niagara”, said M.P. Dykstra.  “I would suggest a tour of Brock University’s new Health and Biosciences Research Complex or the new Carlisle Street Parking Garage.  He can wrap it up with a scenic drive by the Niagara District Airport, presently undergoing a major expansion, which will make our region more attractive to investment and business development.”

St. Catharines, Ontario Conservative MP Rick Dykstra

 
Despite all of Mr. Ignatieff’s bluster and rhetoric since his “Just Visiting” tour began, Canadians know no more about his intentions should he become prime minister than they did before he started.
 
All we do know from his past promises is that Michael Ignatieff wants to:
 
· Raise government spending and accumulate deficits;
· Raise the GST from 5 to 7%;
· Raise business taxes;
· Introduce a costly carbon tax;
· Allow Canadians to receive a full year of EI benefits for only 45 days work;
· Form a coalition government with socialists, and a party whose only purpose is to destroy Canada.
 
 ”In my discussions over the summer with the constituents of Niagara West-Glanbrook, it is clear that the Liberal party continues to be out of touch with rural values on many of the big issues,” concluded M.P. Allison. “Whether it be their soft-on-crime approach or not allowing their members to vote their conscience on the long-gun registry, they continue to demonstrate a lack of appreciation and respect for what farmers and rural residents are saying.”

(Visit Niagara At Large for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to readers in our greater binational Niagara region.)
 

Canadians need to step back and analyze what is really at play here regarding the G20, specifically regarding civil liberties, participatory democracy and foreign interference, or Canada, as we know, it may be changed beyond recovery.

Representatives of unions, environmental and other activist groups march in the streets of Toronto during the G20 summit this June.

Yes, there were decent and reasonable police at the G20 who showed restraint and tried to diligently perform their duties to maintain public safety. However, there were also those who did not, and all en masse were used as political pawns by (Canada’s prime minister) Stephen Harper, (Ontario’s premier) Dalton McGuinty, G20 organizers and foreign agendas.

It is vital that we have public access and democratic input into what takes place behind closed doors by world leaders. Many believe the G20 should not take place at all and certainly not in downtown Toronto. Tactics chosen by the minority Black Bloc were designed so that no other city in the world would want to host the G20, which would satisfy
Black Bloc political aims because they feel the G20 is illegitimate, doesn’t represent the peoples’ best interests, and are the rich and powerful making decisions regardless of their impact on the world’s disempowered and often poor majority.

We already have the UN so why the G20? Because business interests, profits and economic globalization are not the number one priority at the UN.

Police officials say they were providing security but some of their tactics, like leaving police cars and city buses unattended, ignoring burning cars for an unusual amount of time before sending in police and fire trucks, ignoring smashing windows for 45 minutes, massive, unnecessarily brutal and illegal arrests, and using police agent provocateurs to incite protesters – as can be seen on YouTube – were designed to make all protesters look violent, lunatic and therefore make their concerns illegitimate.

Security forces in riot gear patrol the streets of downtown Toronto during G20 summit.

One thousands, one hundred were arrested, the majority released without charges, supposedly to catch a small number of known vandals. Peaceful Niagara locals such as John Pruyn, Sarah Pruyn and Julia Kerr were caught in this abuse of our civil liberties, with John being injured and his prosthetic leg yanked off.

Were these politically designed police tactics intended to scare Canadians from attending demonstrations and to silence diverse progressive voices in favour of Canada’s current politically conservative agenda? 

Previous generations worked hard to develop civil liberties and build democratic institutions for the betterment of Canada. When civil liberties are cut back as they were at the G20 they may remain cut back. As citizens we need to educate ourselves and work to maintain all our civil liberties: freedom of assembly, free speech, freedom of movement, freedom from pre-emptive arrests and police misconduct; proper and timely access to lawyers, phone, food, water, toilets and medical care while in detention, freedom of the press and alternative media, and minimal government interference in our lives.

Another disturbing aspect of the G20 was the active foreign influence in the security methods used. Something perhaps Richard Fadden, the head of CSIS, was alluding to in his June 22 interview on CBC. Police tactics used in Montebello, Quebec for the SPP (the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America) in August 2007 and in Toronto at the G20 reflect Israeli tactics and influence.

In 2005, police chiefs from across Ontario went to Israel for training by Israeli police and the Israeli military, and since then Israeli “security consultants” have been advizing police in Canada, and perhaps even selling us some of the weapons used at the G20.

Toronto Chief Bill Blair, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, politician Monte Kwinter, Dalton McQuinty’s office, the Ontario Chiefs of Police Association, past OPP Commissioner Gwen Marie Boniface and other senior officials participated in the Israel trip. (See http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/policecomplaint.htm )
Did you know Canada and Israel share a border treaty ?! 

The perimeter fencing, check-points, police ID cards for people coming and going from their own homes and businesses, tear gas fired from guns, rubber bullets (real bullets covered in rubber), sound canon, snatch and grab arrests, kettling or corralling both protesters and ordinary citizens into tight areas downtown for hours at a time with no exit, police agent provocateurs, most wanted photo cards (like those found in an IDF knapsack when the Mavi Marmara was attacked by Israel in international waters outside Gaza), entering people’s private homes in Toronto for pre-emptive arrests etc made both Montebello, Quebec and Toronto seem more like Israel than Canada?

Media are not covering this aspect of the summit and we must wonder why.

Will Canadians and others affected rally, write letters, file complaints with the Toronto Police Services Board, Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OPIRD), Ontario Ombudsman, contact MPPs and MPs, and particularily important demand an independent public inquiry? Contact information is on the Internet.

 Which course of action to take is not an easy decision. Lawsuits are expensive and may take years to work their way through the courts. Class action lawsuits are even more expensive and time-consuming. And many don’t trust the outcome of filing a complaint through a police body.

Apparently this is not yet over. Civil Liberties rallies took place all across Canada July 10 and 17. People are informing themselves through alternative media like blogs, on-line alternative newspapers, Facebook groups and YouTube and are taking action. John Pruyn, whose prosthetic leg was ripped off has launched a complaint with the Ontario Ombudsman and OPIRD and is preparing a complaint for the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

A group of young women protestors who claim to have been sexually harassed while in detention and strip searched by male officers held a news conference and are deciding which course of action to take.

Natalie Gray, a protestor who received nasty wounds in the chest and arm from “rubber bullets” fired at close range is launching a lawsuit against the Toronto police department through high-profile lawyer Clayton Ruby. Toronto lawyer David Midanik has a client who is suing, claiming he was shot in the face by a rubber bullet. A class-action lawsuit is also in the works.

Visualize the Canada you want to live in and work hard towards that dream. Because if you don’t, it will remain a dream.

(Susan Howard-Azzeh is a resident of St. Catharines, a long time human rights activist, founder of the Niagara Coalition for Peace (NC4P) and founder of Nidah – the Palestinian Canadian Congress. She has also taught anti-racism and human rights courses at Niagara College.)

(Click on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region, and consider becoming a contributor of news and commentary yourself. Visit Niagara At Large’s home page and click on ‘Be A Contributor’ above our masthead for more information.)

The human spirit endures many threats to its desire to commune.

Niagara, Ontario's Emil Breur

In Niagara, politicians play with our hospitals, amalgamate towns and create regional governments distant from our front doors. Schoolboards become such fiefdoms, ignorant of the desire for a sense of community, that they poach kids from, let’s say, Niagara-on-the-Lake, such that the town doesn’t have enough students for its own high school.

“Progress” wiped out hamlets like Homer (the Welland Canal), Glen Elgin (river mills were passé) and there are places like St. John or McNab where only the churches mark an olden day commingling at the crossroads.

Bucking these forces have been neighbourhood barbecues, ethnic clubs, and sporting organizations that allow us to form our own societies.

And then there’s the Emil Breuer Soccer Tournament, it’s own Brigadoon that, for the last 25 years, has sprung to life every Simcoe Day weekend on the once-remote grounds of German Village in Niagara Falls.

The weekend is a community gathering at its finest, a magical snapshot of what life should be, all inspired by a charismatic man named Emil Peter Breuer.

Despite being a lean 5-foot-10, Emil was big man on campus at Stamford Collegiate in the mid-1970s. Sports, like most things, came easily to him, and he made life look easy.
He could wear a hot pink blazer to a dance—a la his hero Mick Jagger—and still be the coolest guy in the gym. He had a mischievous smile that would have made the Artful Dodger proud, and he liked mischief. In high school he left crazy cartoon characters in textbooks for the next year of students to enjoy, said Donna Senese, a high school sweetheart of Emil’s and now a professor in Kelowna, B.C.

“Yes, he may have loved the (Rolling) Stones and (David) Bowie but he made the polka cool,” said Senese. “When we danced at the Village I felt like I was flying—with Emil your feet never really touched the ground.”

She boils the Emil mystique down simply: “His shy modesty made him easy to admire—the girls loved him and the boys wanted to be like him.”

But on the cool, drizzly morning of October 23, 1985, six weeks before his 28th birthday, Emil finished some ju-jitsu training and felt violently ill. He had a massive heart attack on the way to the hospital.

Emil and Marion Mullen were just about to have a baby. Emily Breuer Mullen was born 17 days later. Amidst all the turmoil, Marion had an inordinate sentiment: “My biggest fear was that people would forget about Emil.”

As they say in Niagara-on-the-Lake: “Pshaw!”.

Friends and family rallied to put on a soccer tournament the next year, and the logical place was the German Village. Emil, the son of Germanic immigrants Joseph and Martha Breuer, grew up at the village, and even performed in their ethnic dances, and later starred for the Village soccer club.

The Village bond, the bond the athlete had with past and present soccer players, and the magnetism he created in his everyday life led to an onslaught of volunteers and participants.

Donnie Antonio, the tournament convenor, said Marion and Martha have been stalwarts in the kitchen over the years, but it is the dedication of his friends and people who didn’t even know him who have given up their civic holiday weekends for the cause.

“His high school friends—Red, Garch, Clutch, Giz and Richie—have manned the bar religiously over those 25 years,” said Antonio, referring to Hill, Rob Gartner, Kevin Hay, Gary Gizzie and Rich Legare. “Johnny Vanstone has been on the burgers, and Rich Ludchen, like his father Hans before him, makes sure the fields are ready.

“And the refs donate their time for free—on a long weekend.”

There is a spirit of giving that infuses the crowd—money from the tournament has gone to good causes like the hospital CT Scan, Project Share and Heart Niagara—but it has also been an opportunity to enjoy life and friendship, with so many of Emil’s friends reconvening for the cause.

“It brings me back to my youth,” said Hill. “Emil is what brought us all together, but the message is live for the moment, live for today. We’re outdoors, there’s music, friendship, and we talk about all the stuff back when we were young.

“These are the things that are most important.”

Emil’s daughter Emily has attended all the tournaments, often giving out the trophies to the winning teams, but Gartner said the volunteers’ kids have all grown up at the tournament, and they book off time to return as young adults.

The same goes for Gartner’s parents who have attended regularly, along with friends of their era. The link of the generations—even Emil has a two-year-old grandson who now attends—makes it easier to deal with Emil’s sudden departure from their lives, said Gartner.

“The past is important but so is the future,” he said. “We miss Emil and think about all that could have been, but then we think about all of the good that has come as a result of this tournament held in his honour. 

“It is bittersweet.”

Unlike Brigadoon, the mythical Scottish town that appears every 100 years, the people at the Emil Breuer Tournament age—both the players and the volunteers. The tournament used to be about players in their 20s, and now it is filled with graying over-35 teams. This being the 25th year of the tournament might be just the year to end their homage.

With that in mind, the Jonesy band will play Saturday July 31 at 8 p.m. at the Village.

On Sunday at the closing ceremonies, Marion said it will be difficult to contain the emotions when they do their annual moment of silence for Emil. What she loved about the tournament was that it was mainly “about getting people together. You see everybody once a year. It kept the memory of him going.”

(John Nicol is a former columnist from Niagara who once had the honour of living in Emil’s shadow.)

(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region, and consider being a contributor of news and commentary yourself. You can obtain more information by clicking on ‘Be a contributor’ above the masthead on our home page.)

It’s always nice to see a local resident really making a name for themselves. It always gives me a sense of pride, having grown up in Niagara. Then, once in a while you come upon a story, with a name, that diminishes that joy you once shared with your neighbours.

Omar Khadr then and more recently

For me, most recently, that story stars our (Niagara Falls) MP, Mr. Rob Nicholson, and his involvement with the Omar Khadr case. One could argue that Mr. Nicholson is merely doing his job by following the direction of our Prime Minister. However, as Canada’s Minister of Justice he must be held accountable for upholding our rights as Canadians, and, as his title implies, ensuring that justice is served.

For Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, he has not only failed on this front, but continues to fight against those standing on the just side of the law, that is, the Federal Court and previously, the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Khadr was only 15 years old when detained at Guantanamo Bay. By Canadian standards, and even more importantly, international law, he was a child. He has been held for eight years awaiting trial. Eight years spent in a prison rife with conflict, illegalities, and human rights violations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has stated that, “Every person in enemy hands must have some status under international law: he/she is either a prisoner of war and, as such, covered by the Third Convention, a civilian covered by the Fourth Convention, [or] a member of the medical personnel of the armed forces who is covered by the First Convention. There is no intermediate status; nobody in enemy hands can fall outside the law.”

The officials at Guantanamo Bay have been able to hold prisoners indefinitely by not classifying them into these categories, keeping the prisoners in a black hole of sorts, beyond the reach of US or international law. Omar Khadr is no exception.

While waiting for the US government to determine exactly what to do with its prisoners, what laws can be altered to better serve their purposes, Mr. Khadr himself has been frozen in time. Physically, his obvious aging from a child to adult, and the developing signs of probable mental illness from years of physical and mental abuse helps one to realize exactly the amount of time he has spent in a battle for his civil rights.

That is what it comes down to. The case against him is precarious at best, but the actions of the Canadian government have been loud and clear: We will not help. We will not stand behind our citizen even knowing that his civil rights have been violated, that we are at fault.

To see Mr. Nicholson so proudly proclaim that his government will be fighting the federal court ruling that demands that we, as a country, help this man, shames me as a Canadian and a resident of Niagara. When did our country decide to become so disreputable, no longer an example of freedom and rights for the world to look up to?

Once we become a country that can pick and choose which citizens have rights, we become a country full of citizens without any real rights at all.

(Mollie Stovell is a resident in Niagara, Ontario. This is her first contribution to Niagara At Large.)

(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region. And consider being a contributor of news and commentary yourself. Click on ‘Be a contributor’ above the masthead on our home page for more information.)

These goats are among the many animals recently removed from popular Happy Rolph's park in St. Catharines, Ontario where animals were violently assaulted by still-unknown persons this spring. File photo by Doug Draper.

Paul Vanderzanden, the West Lincoln turkey farmer who leased the animals to the park, announced earlier this week that he had removed them after a number of questionable decisions (questionable to Mr. Vanderzanden anyways) were made by the city.
 
Regardless of what those decisions were, the fact remains that the animals are gone. Is this a bad thing? I say no. I’ve never really been a big fan of petting zoos and the only reason I go down to Happy Rolph’s is to photograph the ducks and turtles.
 
I personally don’t see what’s so appealing about seeing animals in cages. Of course, they’re not exactly cages, more like enclosures, but the principle is the same: they’re locked up and they can never leave. Their whole world is a pen measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, or in the case of the larger animals, 20 feet by 20 feet.
 
If any of us were forced to live under the same conditions we’d scream bloody murder, but assume the animals don’t care one way or the other. After all, they’re just animals, and they’re domesticated so they don’t mind. They get plenty of food and water too, and let’s face it: they’re not the most intelligent animals on the planet. So what’s the harm?
 
By the way, many of these arguments are used to keep whales, dolphins and other animals in captivity too. But I’m sure the people who used to go to Happy Rolph’s to see all the cute and cuddly animals there also visit places like Marineland and Zooz, and are probably thinking: what’s this guy smoking?
 
The problem is that we continue to view and treat animals as property. Because we “own” them, we can do whatever we want to them, including killing and eating them, as long as we’re “humane” about it (and even if we’re not). 
 
So people bring their kids to Happy Rolph’s to feed the cows, pigs and chickens, take pictures of the baby lambs and billy-goats, and go “ew” and “ah” about how cute they are, then they go home and eat the slaughtered remains of other farm animals. Doesn’t this seem a little strange? Isn’t it a little sick?
 
Kind of reminds me of the stories I’ve heard from people who have visited the markets in China and Vietnam. All these beautiful dogs, most of them pups, lined up for you. “I’ll take that one,” you say in Mandarin or Vietnamese, or you just point, and then they slit the dog’s throat, cook it up and serve it to you in a bowl with mixed vegetables. Nice.
 
Given the choice, these animals would rather live than die. Their lives have value to them, even if they’re just lunch to you. So whether they are on display at Happy Rolph’s or not, you’re all missing the point: how can you love one and eat the other?

The Buffalo Sabres, hosts to the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship taking place December 26, 2010 to January 5, 2011 in Buffalo NY, have endorsed the Binational Economic & Tourism Alliance (BETA) and Niagara Sport Commission (NSC) as the Southern Ontario leads for the upcoming games.
 
The BETA and NSC, both members of the Host Organizing Committee for the Championship, will work together with a consortium of Canadian and U.S. partners, to assist with the coordination of Southern Ontario community stakeholder communications, visitor packaging, border-crossing logistics and providing one point of contact to ensure quality delivery, ease of transportation, and customer/fan satisfaction during the World Junior Hockey Championship.
 
Their responsibilities will include:
1)       Communication of event information to stakeholders from Niagara to Toronto.
2)      Coordination of accommodation/shopping/shuttle buses for visitors.
3)      Coordination of transportation/logistics with U.S. and Canada Customs, Niagara Bridge operators, public and private    transportation and parking lot providers and hotels.
4)      Coordination of Canadian volunteers for the event.
5)      Media sponsorship support for community and visitors.
6)     Sponsorship and fundraising through private and public sector resources.
7)     Maintaining all event protocols as directed by the Buffalo Sabres and Host Organizing Committee members.
 
“The Niagara Sport Commission will be involved in the recruiting, scheduling and training of the southern Ontario volunteers to fill the promotional roles leading up to the event on the Canadian side, as well as info booths on the US side during the event” advised Scott McRoberts, Director of the NSC.
 
“We are pleased and honoured to serve in this coordinating role for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship and thank the Buffalo Sabres for bringing an event of this calibre to the region” said Arlene White, BETA Executive Director.  “We believe this provides a tremendous economic and tourism opportunity for binational Niagara to showcase our area to North American and international visitors and media who will be here over the 11 days, and we intend to make this a fantastic and memorable experience for everyone involved.”
 
“The Buffalo Sabres are pleased to be working with the Binational Economic & Tourism Alliance as well as the Niagara Sports Commission,” said Buffalo Sabres Managing Partner Larry Quinn. “We are very excited about the World Junior Championship coming to Buffalo in December and Arlene and Scott’s groups will be a very integral part of the successful staging of this world-class event.”  
 
There will be 31 games played over the 11 days at HSBC Arena, Buffalo and Dwyer Arena at Niagara University.  The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship showcases the talents of the top players under the age of 20 from the top 10 international hockey countries.  Last year, the WJC was held in Saskatoon, and generated $50.6 million in expenditures, and in excess of $86 million in total economic activity.  Estimates for the 2011 games in this region are in excess of $100 million in economic impact to the binational region.
 
Over 400,000 tickets will be sold, and accommodations, restaurants, attractions and special events will be sold out to serve the visitors to this community. 65% of these tickets will be from Canadians and International visitors.  Over 400 volunteers will be on hand to help with the event.
 
Almost 10,000 ticket packages have already been sold, and organizers anticipate the event being sold out.  For complete tournament schedule details and to book your tickets, go to www.buffaloworldjuniors.com.  For real-time updates, event info and the latest news, go to twitter.com/2011WorldJrs.
 
To get more information about Southern Ontario public meetings, sponsorship and community opportunities, contact Arlene White, BETA at 1-877-884-2736 ext 133 or arlene.white@btapartners.com or Scott McRoberts, NSC at 905-354-5557 or
scott.mcroberts@niagarasportcommission.com.

(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern in our greater binational Niagara region.)

Several members and friends of Niagara Action for Animals last year celebrated David Suzuki’s World Ocean’s Day in an ad hoc fashion, by picking up rubbish along the Green Ribbon Trail and Martindale Pond.

Some of the discarded fishing line and other rubbish retrieved around St. Catharines' Martindale Pond.

 It was decided to expand this effort and on a regular basis since, we have armed ourselves with buckets, bags & gloves.  On a recent Sunday afternoon, eight of us spent a couple of hours retreiving what others decided to throw in and around the water; the ubiquitous take-out coffee cup, pop/beer/beverage cans, cigarette butts, plastic bags, bottles – both broken & intact – and more…. All in all, about 10 buckets full of out and out garbage. 

But most unfortunately – we found yards and yards, perhaps miles of fishing line, lures and hooks, tangled into the trees, along the waters edge, among the rocks and even on the ground.

Fishing line and hooks are a distinct threat to all wildlife as they become entangled in the line or injured with the hooks – all thanks to our friend, the fishermen – the ones that would have us believe that they are the conservationists; touting that they are the stewards of the environment & wildlife!  Anyone that doubts this only need take a look around any popular fishing spot to find more of the same. 

Have a spontaneous pick-up nearby your favourite pond, beach or river; help the wildlife and clean-up at the same time! 

(Catherine Ens is a resident of Niagara, Ontario and longtime member of Niagara Action for Animals, a non-profit, all-volunteer group devoted to ending all forms of animal cruelty through education, direct action and protest. For more information visit NAFA’s website at www.niagaraactionforanimals.org.)

 (Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region. We also invite individuals and groups to offer their own contributions to this site. Click on the tab ‘Be A Contributor’ at the top of our home page to learn more.)

The provincial government may be asking its million or so public employees to accept a wage freeze for the next couple of year. But obviously that does not apply to our police.

This July 27 – a week to the day that Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan hauled more than 50 representatives for public union employees across Ontario to urge them to accept a two-year wage freeze – an abitrator for the province approved a wage increase of close to 10 per cent for the Niagara Regional Police Service over the next three years.

This means that taxpayers across Niagara, Ontario are going to have to pay for this increase through their property taxes – not through income taxes or anywhere else. The province gets to be the hero here and give the police the salary increases they want, and they don’t have to pay for it. Pretty good deal for a province that has it enshrined in an Ontario Police Act only it can change.

And hey, why would the province change the act if they can be the good guys and let people pay for it off their property taxes rather than through income taxes set at the provincial and federal levels?

One might wonder why, when so many of their friends and neighbours across communities in Niagara are trying to get by on a median income of about $35,000, why $77,000 a year (about the current rate for a first-class constable in Niagara) isn’t good enough. What is wrong with that!

But here we are. Once again the provincial government of Dalton McGuinty and one of his senior cabinet soldiers, Jim Bradley of St. Catharines, has tied our regional government’s hands. And now our regional councillors have to try to keep property taxes down around the gold-plated salary and benefit increase McGuinty’s and Bradley’s hand-picked arbitrators has reached with the union representing our police.

As for the rest of us out here, take a wage freeze.

(Click on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.)

Canada’s federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is wheeling his “Liberal Express” into Niagara this July 30th for what he is billing as a “town hall meeting” and you are all invited.

The Friday public meeting begins at 1:45 p.m. and will take place at the Old Merritton Town Hall on 343 Merritt Street in St. Catharines, Ontario.

This meeting is another in a series of get-togethers Ignatieff is hosting across the country in a bid to strike enough of a connection with Canadians to prevail in an election that could within the next 12 months.

Since members of the federal Liberal Party officially endorsed him as leader of the party in May of last year, Ignatieff – or Iggy as he is often called – has found himself sagging in public-opinion polls suggesting, more and more, that the Conservative government of Stephen Harper might finally win a majority if Iggy is one of Harper’s only real opponents in the next election.

Critics of the Liberal leader – even those on the left who would prefer a Liberal government to any more years of Harper – wonder where his vision for the country is or whether he would take the country on a direction that is any different than Harper when it comes to health care, the environment, crime, job creation and other issues.

And hey Iggy, while we are talking about issues you might want to take a stand on, where do you stand on holding a full and independent public inquiry into the security operations at the recent G20 summit in Toronto that resulted in the largest mass arrest of Canadian citizens in recent history? It might be helpful to get your stance on that before we the people gave any further thought to trusting you with the reigns of power.

Perhaps the July 30th town hall is an opportunity for us to get some idea where Ignatieff would take the country if he were elected prime minister.

(Click on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.)

Canal Days, Port Colborne, Ontario. File photo by Doug Draper

The Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival is celebrating its 32^nd year as an event that, earlier this year was designated by Festivals & Events Ontario, through a nomination process that included more than 3,000 festivals and events across Ontario, as among the top 100 best to go to across the province.

In recent years, countless tens-of-thousands of people of all ages and from both sides of Niagara’s binational border have flocked to Canal Days for live music, craft shows, car and motorcycle shows, carnival rides, fireworks displays and much more along the shores of Lake Ontario and the Welland Canal.

For more information on this festival and events featured this year, visit canaldays.ca or call 1-800-Port-Fun.

Click on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.