Author Archives: dougdraper

By Doug Draper

The decade-long drive for a full-fledged transit system for all of Niagara, Ontario has finally been put in the fast lane.

Niagara Regional chairman Gary Burroughs celebrates launch of pilot transit service in September, 2011. File photo by Doug Draper

“I have heard enough from residents of Niagara that we need a regional transit system,” Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey told fellow councillors at a meeting of the regional council this July 26 before tabling a motion asking for a report and recommendations to be produced by this spring of next year for launching one Niagara transit system for the region.

“We need an action plan for this,” said Badawey, adding that the three-year pilot project the regional government launched last year for a limited run of buses between Welland, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines “is not fully representative of what a regional transit system can be. … This is 2012. Look around at most, if not all municipal jurisidictions with populations over 400,000. They have regional transit.”  Continue reading →

By Michael Moore, Open Mike Blog, July 25, 2012

(NAL publisher Doug Draper – I have been thinking about making a few comments about guns and the tyranny of the National Rifle Association in America for days now, and still might. But you have got to stand back for a commentary by Michael Moore, who probed the gun culture in America in his Academy Award-winning film ‘Bowling for Columbine a decade ago. I don’t mind saying at all that I regard Michael Moore as one of the true voices left with a resonance that reaches back to the revolutionary call of the 1960s for a more just, and peaceful and loving world.

This provocative commentary by Michael Moore was posted this July 25 on the wonderful online news and commentary site  Reader Supported News. Please check out that site at https://secure.readersupportednews.org , become a regular subscriber and support it with a donation.)

Since Cain went nuts and whacked Abel, there have always been those humans who, for one reason or another, go temporarily or permanently insane and commit unspeakable acts of violence.

Michael Moore

There was the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who during the first century A.D. enjoyed throwing victims off a cliff on the Mediterranean island of Capri. Gilles de Rais, a French knight and ally of Joan of Arc during the middle ages, went cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs one day and ended up murdering hundreds of children. Just a few decades later Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula, was killing people in Transylvania in numberless horrifying ways.

In modern times, nearly every nation has had a psychopath or two commit a mass murder, regardless of how strict their gun laws are – the crazed white supremacist in Norway one year ago Sunday, the schoolyard butcher in Dunblane, Scotland, the École Polytechnique killer in Montreal, the mass murderer in Erfurt, Germany … the list seems endless. Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

For those of us who love visiting Niagara Falls and the Niagara River, and sometimes want a change from all of the casinos, high-rise hotels, gift shops, Marineland and other hyper-glitzy venues, you can’t do much better than a trip to the Niagara Glen.

The Niagara Glen overlooking the rapids of the lower Niagara River

A few miles downstream from the Horseshoe and American Falls on the Canadian side, the Niagara Glen and adjoining Whirlpool Forest is about as far away from the frazzle dazzle of Clifton Hill as you can get. If you are up to some on-foot physical exertion, take a walk down the open-air staircase. Take a walk down at the gorge face, and journey into a world of rock piles shaped by thousands of years of rushing water and erosion, and vegetation – some of which is growing out of faces in the rock – that is hundreds of years old. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper 

If you are into historic neighbourhoods and beautifully landscaped lawns and gardens, then you have got to try to be in Buffalo, New York for one of the greatest garden walk experiences in North America.

This classic Victorian home on West Delavan Avenue is a popular stop during Garden Walk Buffalo. It’s front and backyard gardens, along with a fish pond and brick paths leading to a ‘hidden garden’, has been featured in internationally circulated gardening magazines. File Photo by Doug Draper

Garden Walk Buffalo, scheduled for Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, is also the largest event of its kind on the continent, featuring more than 340 private and publicly owned gardens.

And the whole event, complete with a detailed garden-walk map and shuttle buses from neighbhourood to neighborhood where gardens are located, is absolutely free! Continue reading →

An Open Letter To Niagara, Ontario Regional Councillors

From Neil Switzer, Chairman of the West Lincoln Glanbrook Wind Action Group

Honourable Chairman and Councillors

Before Niagara officially brands itself as the “Green Capital of Canada” Regional Council should ask itself “Would Kitchener/Waterloo today initiate  their “Tech Triangle” branding with RIM’s  current state of financial affairs?”  Likely not without looking rather stupid or totally out of touch so why then would the Niagara Region want to hitch their reputation to an industry with an even worse financial outlook?

If you think RIM is in bad financial straights check out Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer and proposed supplier to the West Lincoln and Wainfleet wind projects. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Welland, Ontario Riding MP Malcolm Allen, the federal New Democratic Party’s agriculture  critic, says it is time for Canada’s governing Conservatives to do something to address what is turning into a crisis for farmers in the Niagara region.

Many of these corn stocks in a parched field in Thorold, Ontario are barely a foot high, and it is late July! Photo by Doug Draper

The federal government should be prepared to provide economic assistance to due to this summer’s unusually dry conditions, not cut funds, Allen said.

In a July 24 media release, the federal representative noted that “in Ontario alone, the warm and dry weather has caused one of the worst droughts in history. In parts of Niagara,” Allen added, “there has only been 40 to 60 per cent of normal rainfall since April 1, and despite some rain last week, many crops are already irreparably damaged.”  Continue reading →

By Gary Screaton Page

The headline reads, “Big plans for mental health care.” That news would be good news if it wasn’t so bad. 

Niagara Health System hires renown pyschiatrist Dr. Edgardo Perez

For more than fifty years what were once “normal” human issues–childbirth, excessive drinking, obesity, difficult children, criminal behaviour, among others–have become medical conditions. Men and women who drink excessively are “ill”. Fat people are “obese” and have “hormone imbalances.” Criminals who molest children, serially murder, and the like are “misunderstood,” “victims of abuse,” “mentally ill”, or with some exceptions—some but not all—anything but responsible for their behaviour. Medicine is redefining the problems of society. Thus the “bad news” I mentioned earlier. Continue reading →

A Commentary’

Submitted by: Monte McNaughton, MPP

Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of people involved with the Ontario horse racing industry. I have visited horse tracks from Windsor to Kawartha and from Fort Erie to Sudbury.

One thing I have heard at every stop is that Dalton McGuinty and Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s decision to end the successful slots-at-racetracks agreement marked the beginning of the end for Ontario’s horse racing industry and with it over 60,000 direct or indirect jobs at a time when we already have 600,000 unemployed men and women here in Ontario. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Not long ago, groups of peaceful protestors and other assorted disenfranchised people camped without permits in public parks throughout the world.  Reactions from authorities differed, but generally there was huge anxiety and concern, sometimes provoking military operations. In the United States, extraordinarily repressive legislation was crafted to disempower and crush the occupiers.

Typically, camping without a permit doesn’t provoke such seemingly excessive reactions.  The question arises then: What does provoke this reaction?

The answer lies in the fact that the occupiers, and protestors worldwide, have hit the electrified third rail of power. Continue reading →

By Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

If you are a Niagara, Ontario resident and receive at your door each week a copy of a newspaper called Niagara This Week (they call it the Post in Fort Erie, the Town Crier in Niagara-on-the-Lake and whatever else in the Lincoln and Grimsby area) you may notice something missing in the Thursday, July 19 edition.

In 2004, Paul Forsyth (left), Doug Draper and Doug Youmans earned Niagara This Week a national newspaper award for a series on a controversial plan to build an amusment park ride at the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was quite an achievement for a paper that, at the time, was less than a year old.

For the first time in years, there will not be a weekly column by yours truly, Doug Draper.

There won’t be one next week or in the weeks after that either, because Niagara This Week – a TorStar/Metroland publication run out of the GTA – has decided to drop the column, and put a quick and unceremonious end to a relationship I have had with Niagara This Week since its launch eight years ago this spring.

Because my column for Niagara This Week often dealt with issues that were heated or controversial, there will no doubt be some who jump to the conclusion that it was nixed for that reason. I almost wish that was so because it would make for a more interesting story, but that is not the case at all.

The reason had to do with something that is far more mundane in today’s world – cost-cutting measures. Continue reading →

Submitted To Niagara At Large by the Binational Alliance and Binational Heritage Peace Garden Trail – July 19, 2012

This Sunday, July 22 at 2 p.m., dignitaries and community members will be joined by former U.S. President James Madison and his wife Dolly at the Hull Family Home & Farmstead Site in Lancaster, NY for the official rededication of the Hull House 1812 Heritage Peace Garden and dedication of a new historical marker provided by a grant from The William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

The historic War of 1812-era Hull House in Lancaster, New York.

President Madison will be joined by Ebenezer Walden, former Mayor of Buffalo (1838), in providing brief remarks during that event as to their experiences during the War of 1812, followed by a musket salute from a contingent of soldiers from the 23rd Regiment U.S. Infantry.

The Hull House Peace Garden was inaugurated in August 2011, and is being rededicated as the 12th of 23 Peace Gardens that make up the new Binational Heritage Peace Garden Trail launched by the Binational Alliance and community partners from across the Southern Great Lakes as a legacy project for the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

So you say you don’t believe in the kind of radical climate change that can trigger record heat warnings and drought.

Open-air fires banned due to drought

Well, it doesn’t matter whether you think climate change or not. Niagara, Ontario and many other regions of eastern Canada and the United States are now experiencing record-setting heat waves, combined with smothering smog conditions and a lack of rain that is threatening to cause billions of dollars in crop damage, push up food prices for many months to come and turn our properties in to tinder boxes for any spark that comes along. Continue reading →

A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper

In an age when growing numbers of individuals and groups around the world are pointing to public transit as more environmentally friendly alternative to cars, you may already know that Canada’s Via Rail has recently announced cuts to its rail transit services, including those running between the Niagara, Ontario region and the Greater Toronto Area.

This recent announcement came before a not-for-profit U.S. group called the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, ranked Canada 11^th out of 12 industrialized nations around the world when it comes to the use of public transit and other technologies to conserve or reduce the use of non-renewable energy. Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

 The Canadian and U.S. governments are installing new technology at the Peace and Queenston-Lewiston border bridges and along car and truck routes approaching the bridges in an effort to reduce wait times for people crossing the border.

A line-up of traffic – and this isn’t even a big one – at the Peace Bridge crossing at Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. File Photo

 “Canada and the United States are taking action to promote the safe, secure and efficient movement of people and goods across the border,” said Nicholson. “This technology will make cross-border travel easier for Canadians and facilitate trade by providing reliable, up-to-date information to help drivers plan and choose the fastest crossing.” Continue reading →

By Will MacKenzie

As an observer of politicians and politics for the past 47 years, I have come to the conclusion that in order to bring about political reform in this country, we must start with electoral reform.

Ballots should have a space for “none of the above.”

The various political parties are too entrenched in their ways and ideology to change to meet the needs of the citizens of today.

The political parties will not change unless forced to. All one needs to do is look at the federal Liberal party and one can see the intense reluctance to change. Continue reading →

By Dan Wilson

Two recent news stories affirm the callousness and cruelty that is humankind. Both involve the exploitation, maiming and killing of animals by their owners, and sadly, both incidents are perfectly legal and supported by most people in our society.

An image from a CBC video of the latest chuckwagon mess at a rancid circus event for cowboy rednecks called the Calgary Stampede. These people care for horses the way plantation owners in the old American south said they cared for their slaves.

The first story is about the practice of tripping horses for human entertainment at rodeos south of the border. 

A video by SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) was posted online depicting horses at the Jordan Valley Big Loop Rodeo in Oregon being lassoed and then tripped to show off the cowboys’ roping skills. Here’s the link:

http://eugeneweekly.com/blog/oregon-rodeo-horse-abuse

Did you watch the video? If not, please watch it right now: http://youtu.be/zmp8pkbU03I

Did it sicken you? Yet people in attendance are heard cheering and applauding. I don’t know how anyone could think this is fun to watch, but apparently lots of people – normal people by society’s standards – do. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 My wife Mary recently returned from her first trip back to her homeland of Italy since leaving there with her family as a young child and one of the first things she discussed was the culture shock she felt after she got back down on the ground here.

Less than a year after the ribbon cutting for a three-year-pilot inter-municipal transit system in Niagara, Ontario, some reginoal councillors already want to pull the plug on it. File Photo from September, 2011 by Doug Draper

What she was talking the seemingly endless maze of roads and highways, with cars and truck buzzing in and out of clogged asphalt lots for box stores and strip malls, and in and out of the dead worm roads and cul de sacs for those those low-density, residential zones we so loosely describe as “planned communities” or “family-oriented neighbourhoods.” Continue reading →

A Brief Note from Doug Draper 

“I can’t get no, I can’t get no … no satisfaction, no satisfaction! ”

Those words were among the first heard around the world by a London, England-based band called The Rolling Stones.

A cpver of one of their earliest albums

It was 50 years ago this July that The Rolling Stones, fronted by Mick Jagger, an ever-menacing survivor and blues/rock guitarist and composer Keith Richards, the late Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, played their first gig in a club in their hometown of London.  A couple of years later, they were performing their gritty brand of rock and blues around the world. Continue reading →

Tim Hudak – A Statement On Tragic Pelham Car Accident 

The following is a statement by Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak on the deadly car accident that took place on Regional Road 20, west of Fonthill:

“On behalf of the Ontario PC Caucus, it is with great sadness that we learn the news of those involved in this most tragic and fatal car accident.

Ontario Conservative Leader and Niagara area MPP Tim Hudak

“As the MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook, it pains me to know that an accident of this magnitude has happened here in my own riding. I know all residents are in mourning. Devastating news like this truly hits our small town, and close knit community, hard.

“I want to acknowledge the brave EMS staff, fire fighters and police officers, who with such professionalism and care, arrived at the scene of this terrible accident to bring calm, resolve and reassurance to those left distraught and in fear.

“I know families will hold those impacted by this tragedy in their prayers.”  

(A Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – As a hopelessly addicted newspaper reader, one of the first sections of any newspaper I turn to is the editorial section, and what  I often check out first, even before I read the paper’s editorial opinions, are the letters to the editor.

To me, and as a columnist whose faults at least sometimes include being too wordy or long-winded, there is nothing I enjoy more than a letter to the editor that, in more than two or three paragraphs on an issue, just plain nails it.

Such is the case with the following letter to the editor, in my view, from the July 13, 2012 edition of The Globe and Mail, one of the last great daily newspaper left in Canada and, thankfully, not owned by Sun Media. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper 

I’ve got to be honest. I’m getting kind of tired after all these years of writing about the nonsense coming out of the Niagara Health System.

Road widening and other costly infrastructure work underway near new NHS super hospital in west St. Catharines, Ontario. File photo by Doug Draper

There again, it is hard to let the story appearing on the front page of July edition of the St. Catharines Standard and its two Sun Media companion papers, the Niagara Falls Review and Welland Tribune. The story begins like this; There might yet be hope for pediatrics and obstetrics services with south Niagara’s hospitals. .. “Where there’s life, there’s hope,” Niagara Health System supervisor Kevin Smith said.

Well, excuse me Mr. NHS supervisor, but there is plenty of life in Niagara, Ontario’s southern tier to justify keeping pediatrics and obstetrics services there. There are more than 175,000 people if you include Niagara Falls in the mix with Welland, Port Colborne, Fort Erie and Wainfleet, and they were never told those services would be taken away until the NHS’s so-called ‘Hospital Improvement Plan’ was tabled four years ago this summer by the system’s former CEO Debbie Sevenpifer and her board full of brown-nosers and sycophants. Continue reading →

A Brief Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper

During this relatively slow news period in July and August, this publisher will take a little more time to walk whatever open beaches we have left for the public to walk on in Niagara and, yes, I will be walking a few along the shores of my dear old home away from home, Cape Cod.

A favourite beach along the shores of Cape Cod Bay. Photo by Doug Draper

Therefore, we are going to kind of join the rest of the summer set in taking a little more easy during what we in the news business sometimes call ‘the dog days of summer.’

That does not mean Niagara At Large won’t be posting news and commentary on issues of interest and it certainly does not mean we will not be posting your responses to posts on this site or some of the news and commentary pieces we receive from contributors. It just means that we will be slowing down a little to do a little reflecting and recharging of our minds for what will likely be some challenging times ahead for our region, our country and for the world most of us wish to live a safe, peaceful and prosperous life in. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following release from Health Canada for our readers’ information. The study is a response to ongoing concerns expressed by residents living near industrial-size wind turbines about the potential negative impacts of these facilities on their  quality of life and health.)

July 10, 2012
For immediate release

OTTAWA – Health Canada, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, will conduct a research study that will explore the relationship between wind turbine noise and health effects reported by, and objectively measured in, people living near wind power developments.

“This study is in response to questions from residents living near wind farms about possible health effects of low frequency noise generated by wind turbines,” said the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health. “As always, our Government is putting the health and safety of Canadians first and this study will do just that by painting a more complete picture of the potential health impacts of wind turbine noise.” Continue reading →

A Submission from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission 

Niagara Falls, Ontario, July 11 – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), in partnership with the Parkway Artist Guild (PAG), is pleased to announce the return of the annual Art in the Gardens event at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. On July 14^th and 15^th, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., PAG artists will be on hand to showcase and sell their local artwork while demonstrating their skills in the beautiful setting of the Botanical Gardens.

The Horseshoe Falls from Niagara Park’s Table Rock area. Photo by Doug Draper

This year, the art show will also feature a free Children’s Paint Corner. Children of all ages are invited to try their hand at basic painting techniques with the help of a skilled PAG artist. All art supplies will be provided. Just bring your imagination. 

The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens is located at 2565 Niagara Parkway, also home to the popular Butterfly Conservatory attraction. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Opponents of plans by Canada’s Harper government and its corporate masters to build the Keystone pipeline from the Alberta tar sands to Texas and the Northern Gateway pipeline from the same hell hole of a place to the Pacific coast in British Columbia now have another powerful argument in their favour, courtesy of Enbridge Inc.

An aireal shot of the awful mess a leaking Enbridge oil pipeline made of the waters of Michiigan. The Calgary-based oil company is expected to pay $800 million or more in an attempt to clean this filth up, although some experts wonder if the ecosystem will ever fully recover in our lifetime.

In case you missed the July 10 nightly news broadcasts on CBC and numerous American channels, the Calgary, Alberta-based petroleum firm was blasted in a report prepared by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for its negligence in a major oil pipeline leak in Michigan two years ago. And it speaks to exactly the kind of concerns raised by environmental groups that have been written off as fear-mongers and enemies of Canadian interests by Harper and company over their opposition to the Keystone and Northern Gateway pipeline. Continue reading →

By Willy Noiles 

At what point does the public’s right to know cease? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since a story appeared on the front page of one of Niagara, Ontario’s local daily newspapers detailing how the bank took over St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan’s home.

Brian McMullan, St. Catharines, Ontario mayor and chair of Canadian and U.S. cities around the Great Lakes advocating for the lakes, signs an agreement with Ontario Environment Minister and St. Catharines MPP to safeguard the lake waters in Quebec City a few weeks ago.

What point did publishing this story serve? Firstly, it was hardly ‘front page news’ according to the usual definition because the bank seized the property back in April and the story was running two-and-a-half months later. If it had been any other story about an event that took place two-and-a-half months ago, the reporter would’ve been lucky if it appeared on page four, if at all.

So why did the story warrant front page? One almost wonders if it was done to publicly embarrass the mayor. Continue reading →

A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper

I have got to be honest. I had my doubts, at first, whether remembering a blood, 200-year-old conflict between what was then a fledgling United States republic and an Upper and Lower Canada still under the yoke of the British Empire was a great way to “celebrate 200 years of peace.”

Americans and Canadians gather together at Georgia Peace Garden Ceremony for War of 1812

Yet the more I watch this bicentennial of the War of 1812 unfold, the more I come to the conclusion that this is one great way for two of the friendliest democracies in the world realise how fortunate we are to inhabit a continent together. My wife and I crossed the gaborder a few days ago, as we do almost every one or two weeks of the year, and we did the usual grumbling about wait times at homeland security and customs. But that is bullshit compared to what other parts of the world have to go through.

We are fortunate, we Canadians and Americans are, that we have this bond, although some on the extremes may not agree.

Here, this past July 4 in Georgia, in the community of St. Marys, the folks in that community dedicated a ‘Peace Garden’ to remember those who fought and died on both sides in the War of 1812.

Here is a submission from the Canada/U.S. Binational Business and Tourism Committee on this event.

Buffalo/Niagara/Georgia – On Wednesday, July 4, dignitaries from Canada and the U.S.

joined  community leaders in St. Marys Georgia to dedicate their 1812 Binational Heritage Peace Garden. St. Marys Garden is now the 10th of 23 Canadian and U.S. Peace Gardens that make up the new Binational Heritage Peace Garden Trail: a special initiative to commemorate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and 200 years of peace between Canada and the U.S.

The Georgia War of 1812 Peace Garrden

St. Marys is Georgia’s southernmost coastal city, and is the first Binational Peace Garden to be located beyond the Southern Great Lakes.  This community has many binational stories to share, from its Acadian history to the War of 1812 Battle of Point Peter that took place between January 11 and 15, 1815.  

The garden, originally the St. Marys EarthKeepers Memory Garden, is situated next to historic Oak Grove Cemetery.  It will be dedicated at 1 p.m. with a number of guests including Binational Alliance Executive Director Arlene White from Niagara, Canada, Robert Pengelly, Consul from the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta, State Representative Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, Civic, Business and Tourism Leaders, and a Navy Color Guard.  Both countries’ national anthems will be sung, and permanent signage for the garden will be unveiled.

 According to Alex Kearns, Chair of the St. Marys EarthKeepers and coodinator of the St. Marys Peace Garden project “This effort represents a wonderful economic and tourism opportunity for all of the communities involved. St. Marys has a deep connection to Canada through our history and our tourists and we celebrate this chance to further strengthen those ties by celebrating 200 years of mutual peace and cooperation between nations.”    

Beyond the Binational Peace Garden Trail, St. Marys Peace Garden is also paired with one in Fort Erie, Ontario, located along the Niagara River, at the mouth of Lake Erie, and the site of some of the most significant battles of the War of 1812.  Old Fort Erie, one of Canada’s historic sites operated by the Niagara Parks Commission, dedicated their Peace Garden on June 29 at the launch of the 26th Annual Binational Friendship Festival, with recognition of the special sister city relationship that has come about as a result of the Peace Garden initiative.

“The 1812 Bicentennial was definitely the catalyst for this project.  When we began in 2008, we had no idea how many communities would be interested in creating peace gardens or if we would have enough gardens to make a trail.  But by 2010 the initiative had grown beyond the binational Niagara Region to communities across the Southern Great Lakes.  With the inclusion of St. Marys, we have far exceeded our initial vision, and now anticipate more peace gardens along the Eastern seaboard and new opportunities to demonstrate our shared history and the many trade and tourism connections we have binationally throughout the U.S. and Canada”, advises Arlene White, Executive Director of the Binational Alliance, and Project Lead for this initiative. “We expect more than 60 bicentennial themed gardens will be launched by 2014, and we will continue to work with binational communities to create new peace gardens with a variety of binational peace themes in 2015 and beyond.” 

Other Peace Gardens being dedicated on the trail this year include: 

May 27 Victor, NY  

June 1 Burt, NY 

June 15 Leamington, ON 

June 16 Grimsby, ON, Sacket’s Harbor, NY 

June 21 Tecumseh, ON 

June 29 Fort Erie, ON 

June 29 Youngstown, NY 

July 19 Windsor, ON 

July 20 Colchester, ON 

July 22 Lancaster, NY 

Aug 9 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON 

Aug (tbd) Lewiston, NY

Aug 26 Black Rock, Buffalo, NY 

Sept 1 Winery, Colchester, ON 

Sept 8 Olde Sandwich Towne, Windsor, ON 

Sept 15 Kingsville, ON 

Sept 22 Botanical Gardens, Buffalo NY 

Sept (tbd) Niagara University, NY 

Sept (tbd) Thamesville, ON

Oct 13 Amherstburg, ON – 2 sites 

Go to http://NAL July 4 to learn more about this legacy project.

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your thoughts on this post.)

By Doug Draper

Just when many Niagara, Ontario residents may have thought the two-decade old plan for a mid-peninsula highway was history, the controversial idea is back on the regional council agenda again.

Niagara,regional councils have  supported the idea of a ‘mid-peni highway’ going back to the 1990s when Debbie Zimmerman, still sitting on the council, championed it as regional chair.

At its July 5 council meeting, a clear majority of regional councillors, including mayors across Niagara, voted in favour of asking Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation to “accelerate” an environmental assessment review on what the ministry calls the ‘Niagara to GTA corridor’, but is often referred to as the mid-peninsula corridor or highway in the Niagara region.

As part of the council’s support for moving forward with the mid-pen corridor project, it also supported resolutions asking the ministry to “accelerate the placement of a highway designation on the proposed new corridor,” and to direct regional staff “to promote the mid-peninsula corridor, specifically the connection to Highway 401, south of John Monroe Airport” in the Hamilton area. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Cut off the serpent’s head to kill the “snake.”

Information streams in Canada have been polluted by science-denying misinformation for years now, but apparently the country’s Harper government thinks more toxins need to be added to an already murky corporate mix.

Canada’s Harper government aims to shut down federal environmental research work at the Experimental Lakes Area in Kenora, Ontario.

First, and under the guise of austerity, Harper muzzled and then fired federal scientists.  The impacts to the scientists and their families are devastating, as are the continuing impacts toCanada’s environmental and economical stewardship.  Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

 Here is one teachers union in Ontario that deserves top grades for its willingness to show some restraint and responsibility to the rest of the province’s taxpayers during tough economic times.

Ontario Education Minister Laurel Broten reaches wage freeze agreement with Catholic teachers union

This July 5, the union representing some 43,000 Catholic elementary school teachers across Ontario, agreed to accept the provincial government’s call for a two-year wage freeze for teachers and some significant concessions with respect to teachers’ benefits.

“This is a historic and transformational agreement that has been reached between government and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association,” the Ontario Liberal government’s education minister Laurel Broten told the CBC in a statement this July 5. “It talks the issues that we wet out to tackle when we began these provincial discussions.” Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Doug Draper 

It must be a pretty slow time for news in Canada when national newspapers and broadcasters are making Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet shuffle one of their lead stories.

Canadian parliamentary democracy at work

I’m serious when I say that this cabinet shuffle is a non-story. I mean does it really matter who sits on Harper’s cabinet? Every reporter and columnist – liberal or conservative – who has spent any length of time covering the way Harper does governance knows that he calls all of the shots anyway. You could have Curly, Larry and Moe, along with Homer Simpson and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in this prime minister’s cabinet, and it wouldn’t make any difference.

They are all, each and every one of them, no more than knobs on a seat. Trained seals. Whether they are a member of Harper’s cabinet, and every member of his caucus right down to the lowliest member of his caucus can’t even make a few statements about a historical plaque being unveiled in a park in their constituency without those statements first being filtered through the prime minister’s office.

So who cares who sits on Harper’s cabinet? And who cares who makes up his caucus of MPs, for that matter. In fact, we could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in scarce money that could be used for health care or education for young people if we simply replaced all of these MPPs – each raking in $157,737 a year, not counting expenses – with a box of light bulbs that can be rigged up on the desk tops in front of their parliamentary seats. Continue reading →

NAL andy Griffiths

(A note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – At the dawn of the 1960s, following all of the black listing and cold war bluster of the 1950s, television viewers were introduced to a magical little town called Mayberry, where the town drunk Otis let himself in and out of the jail cell and the worst crime might involve a kid riding his bike on the sidewalk or some hick up in the hills running a still.

My brother Dave and I watched the Andy Griffith Show religiously and like millions of others, we were warmed over by the sheriff who never needed a gun and who was about the best TV model ever of a father for a son named Opie.

When I heard the news this July 3 that Andy Griffith had died earlier that day in his native state of North Carolina, I immediately thought of Dave and our times watching the Andy Griffith Show together. So I asked my brother, who also once visited the lot where the show was filmed and has collected practically every episode aired on DVD, to write this brief tribute.)

By Dave Draper

Yesterday, a lot of people felt like they lost a neighbor.

Mayberry, North Carolina may not have been the place where those people actually lived, but it certainly was a place that a lot of them wanted to live, or wished the place that they actually lived was more like. And the lost friend was the sheriff, Andy Taylor, a man of gentle wisdom, guided by the golden rule, and a sheriff who never carried a gun. But what sheriff would need a gun… with a deputy like Barney Fife (played by the late, great Don Knotts) who could ‘turn his whole body into a weapon’ when confronted with danger! Continue reading →

A Submission from the Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Falls, Ontario – On Thursday July 5, 2012, The Niagara Parks Commission and Chippawa Branch 396 of the Royal Canadian Legion will be conducting its annual memorial ceremony in honour of all those who served during the Battle of Chippawa. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m., at the Battle of Chippawa Monument, with NPC Chair Janice Thomson providing opening remarks followed by a special presentation by NPC Historian, Sherman Zavitz.

A previous ceremony at the Chippawa Battlefield Park in Niagara, Ontario.

As  residents on both sides of the Niagara River in our greater Niagara region celebrate Canada Day and the Fourth of July on the first long weekend of summer, Niagara At Large wishes everyone peace and happiness.

This photo of the Peace Bridge at night was submitted to Niagara At Large by Terry Tong, a resident and avid photographer in the Buffalo, New York area.

We also wish to thank  NAL’s many supporters on both sides of the border, and in other regions of the world, and we encourage you to invite all of your friends and associates to visit this independent news and commentary site, subscribe to it and if you have an idea for news or commentary that you feel out be of interest to our readers for posting here, please send your idea for a post to NAL publisher Doug Draper at drapers@vaxxine.com.

Thanks again for continuing to visit Niagara at Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

By Doug Draper

A public survey conducted for the Niagara Health System this spring concludes that residents in the four Niagara, Ontario municipalities that may see  their hospitals closed – Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Welland and Port Colborne – are most opposed to NHS supervisor Kevin Smith’s recommendations for restructuring the region’s hospital services.

The Welland hospital site is one of four current hospitals in the region that would be closed if a new hospital is built in Niagara’s southern tier. File photo by Doug Draper

The phone survey, conducted by the polling firm Pollara between May 25 and June 5, after Smith tabled his hospital restructuring plan in early May, also found that less than half of the residents contacted have a positive impression of the NHS as an administrative body. The most negative impressions were expressed by survey respondents in Port Colborne, where less than three out of every 10 residents held a positive impression, and in Fort Erie, Wainfleet and St Catharines. The best impression scores were recored in West Lincoln and Grimsby where, interestingly enough, those municipalities are mainly served by the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital which is one of the only hospitals in the region that is not run by the NHS and which has often received praise from the residents it serves. Continue reading →

 Niagara At Large is posting  the following for our readers’ information. The Niagara Parks lands overlooking the American and Horseshoe Falls are among our greatest natural gems in this region of the world. Let’s not take them for granted. Take the time to treasure them as we wish you all, on both sides of our shared Niagara border, a great Canada Day and Fourth of July.

Niagara Falls, Ontario– The Niagara Parks Commission is pleased to announce an exciting line-up of events for the upcoming Canada Day / Independence Day holidays.

Niagara Parks in Niagara Falls, Ontario is making it happen for the Canada Day weekend. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks Commision

Free Coca Cola Concert Series and Falls Fireworks

Spectacular fireworks displays are scheduled at 10 p.m. for June 29 and July 1 – 4. (Note: the July 3 fireworks display will be 25 minutes long and will be fired from the U.S. side, courtesy of the Seneca Casino).

The free Coca Cola Concert Series will take place at 8 p.m. on the Illumination Tower Stage in Queen Victoria Park, before the Falls Fireworks at 10 p.m. Concert goers will have a prime view of the fireworks displays, making for the perfect family outing. Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper

Those who have been following some of the more news on Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak’s positions on the challenges facing the province and its economy, may know that he has made some strong statements about the need, as he sees it, to reign in the wage and benefit demands of unions representing teachers, police and other public sector employees.

Yet the following release, distributed this June 27 by the office of the PC leader and posted here for our readers’ interest, is arguably the closest Hudak has come to date to declaring all-out war on union leaders in Ontario.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 27, 2012 

ONTARIO PCs RELEASE PATHS TO PROSPERITY: FLEXIBLE LABOUR MARKETS

 QUEEN’S PARK– Ontarians will thrive in a future of balanced budgets, lower taxes, affordable energy and a well-educated, competitive workforce – but to help get there, we must modernize Ontario’s workplace laws, regulations and agencies, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak

“The world has changed, and our economy has changed with it,” Hudak said. “But the rules governing the workplace, and the way unions are run, have not. It’s time to open up economic opportunities for individual workers, not union bosses. 

“More broadly, this is about getting our economic fundamentals right – things like lower taxes on job-creating businesses, affordable energy and more flexible and responsive regulation.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

As one of his final acts before leaving his provincially appointed role as supervisor of the Niagara Health System, Kevin Smith could do something that might place this body on the road to earning some public trust it has never enjoyed in its more-than-decade long existence.

At a 2010 annual meeting, the back-slapping hacks on the Niagara Health System”s board assure those of us in the gallery that everything is going great. Seven months later the board would suddenly dump NHS CEO Debbie Sevenpifer for reasons it refused to devulge to the public it was supposed to be serving. File photo by Doug Draper

That act would involve staking any new Niagara Health System board with people from across this region who, when it comes to the hospital services the NHS is mandated to deliver, will place the interests and concerns of their fellow Niagara residents ahead of playing kissy face with whoever is the chief executive officer of the NHS at the time.

In other words, Mr. Smith, show the courage and wisdom to appoint people to the NHS board who care passionately enough about the quality of hospital services people in our Niagara communities need to question the CEO and his or her support staff if need be. And whatever you do, for the sake of people across this region, sir, Do Not … let me repeat that … DO NOT reappoint any of the shameless sychophants and brown nosers who have sat on this board in the past. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Doug Draper

 One of the very best and most active advocates for our precious waterways in the greater Niagara region is Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers – a not-for-profit group of citizens that was presented a certificate of recognition by the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission three years ago for its many years of preservation and restoration efforts. 

This group is once again inviting members of the public to join it on free tours of area waterways as one more opportunity for those of us to live in the region to learn more about a part of our natural environment that is so vital to our lives.

Niagara At Large is therefore pleased to post the following information from Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers on the tours planned for this year. 

Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER – Media Release

Join Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper on Western New York waterways to learn about nature, while enjoying some great paddling and hiking! We have tours for experienced and beginners, family-friendly events, a diversity of locations all over Western New York, and some fun creative themes you won’t want to miss.

A Riverkeepers’sponsored waterways tour.

 Some paddles are interpretive with educational themes and some are leisurely to just get out on the water!   

For a complete listing of tours and to register, please visit bnriverkeeper.org. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Lamont at elamont@bnriverkeeper.org org 716.852.RIVER (7483) ext. 19. Continue reading →

Honour Uggie By Adopting A Great Animal Friend

A Short Note from Doug Draper 

As you who’ve been following Niagara At Large for the past couple of years may know, we have a very soft spot in our hearts for our animal friends here.

Uggie at least made the red carpet this past year for his stellar performance in ‘The Artist’.

So this time, let’s give two thumbs up and all the applause we’ve ever heard mustered in a theatre for Uggie, the incredible canine co-star of this past year’s Academy Award-winning film, ‘The Artist’ 

In my books, and as someone who was swept away with the magic of this wonderful film in a theatre this past winter in Buffalo, New York, this remarkable pooch should have been nominated for an Academy Award himself – not that the Academy yet has the humanity to  create a category for animal actors.

But the main thing to remember about Uggie, who is now retiring from the movie business, but not before the Jack Russell terrier was the first canine or any other animal to have his paw prints immortalized this June on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is that he was adopted. That is right. He was adopted from a pound and possibly saved from being “put down,” as they say, in one of those places. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following information from the blog of Kevin Smith, the provincially appointed supervisor of the Niagara Health System, for our readers’  information. The relationship between the former NHS board, responsible for key decision making around hospital services in Niagara, Ontario, and many members of the public was acrimonious to say the least.

It will be very interesting to see who among our region’s citizens are chosen to sit on the new board and whether any of them are individuals who sat on previous NHS boards over the past decade.) 

News from the Blog of NHS Supervisor Kevin Smith

Posted Monday, June 25, 2012 in Dr. Kevin Smith’s Blog

An important part of my job as NHS Supervisor is to rebuild the Board of Directors for Niagara Health System.

NHS Supervisor Kevin Smith. File photo by Doug Draper

As I noted in my Interim Report, I feel strongly that the communities of Niagara Region are best served by a single Board for their hospitals. I have made it clear that I believe this Board needs to seek community input to be successful, and must work to ensure there is transparency in the way the Board is selected. A key step toward reinforcing our culture of transparency and enhanced community input is the establishment of a Community Based Nominating Committee  for the Board. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario’s economy – battered for years by the loss of manufacturing jobs – received a much-needed boost this June 26.

For the second time this month, Niagara has learned it will be a site for a plant producing parts for wind turbines – announcements that set this region on a path to becoming a hub for green energy production.

TSP CEO Chris Xie announce’s company’s first Canadian manufacturing plant in Niagara, Ontario.

The first announcement was for 50 new jobs and a $5-million investment by a German-based company called ENERCON to produce electrical parts for wind turbines at a plant it is setting up in the Niagara municipality of Lincoln. This time it is a China-based company called Shanghai Taisheng Wind Power or TSP for short, investing $25 million to create 150 jobs, and ultimately 250 or more, at the former Hayes Dana auto parts plant in the Niagara municipality of Thorold to produce the giant towers for wind turbines.

“This is a great way to start summer,” said Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor, an Ontario Liberal government member who spoke on behalf of Premier Dalton McGuinty at the June 26 announcement for the new TSP plant.  “You have confirmed this government’s belief (that wind and solar power can lead to new jobs and prosperity for the province) when it created the Green Energy Act,” he told TSP’s chief executive officer, Chris Xie, who had just received the applause of dozens of local officials for making the announcement. Continue reading →

“Ontario’s Great Lakes Mayors are delighted to renew this important partnership with the Province of Ontario to ensure that our governments collaborate on the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.” – St. Catharines, Ontario Mayor Brian McMullan and chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

A Submission to Niagara At Large from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative 

St. Catharines, Ontario– This June 24, Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley and St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, signed a renewed Memorandum of Cooperation on the Great Lakes (Great Lakes MOC) between the Province and cities. 

Our Great Lakes – the most abundant, and yet a fragile resource of freshwater in the world, and one we should be protecting for the health of present and future generations here. An image from the Canadian film documentary Waterlife.

“I am pleased to renew this commitment with Ontario’s Great Lakes municipalities as the province moves ahead with further protection for the Great Lakes. Our shorelines and beaches are vital to Ontario’s economy and underpin our quality of life. Our continued collaboration will help ensure our lakes remain healthy for the benefit of all.” Continue reading →

By Imogen Reed

The Leveson Inquiry in London, England has opened the doors onto the murky world of the political influence wielded by Rupert Murdoch and his global media conglomerate News Corporation.

Corporate Media kingpin Rupert Murdoch has wielded enough power to have elected governments in England and North America kneeling at his feet.

Over a period of decades, Rupert Murdoch appears to have used different strategies to penetrate new markets and expand audience share. These strategies have included political brokering, leveraging public opinion, stretching the boundaries of media content, and diversifying and adapting media holdings in the face of technological and regulatory changes. Continue reading →

 A Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

I almost can’t stand to hear the sound of their names any more. It is largely their fault that I made one of the dumbest decisions of my life – to get in to journalism.

Watergate investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during their investigative days at the Washington Post

It was because of the heroics of Woodward and Bernstein, and the all-too-rare support they received from a managing editor at the Washington Post named Ben Bradley, that the newspaper had the guts to produce reporting that ultimately brought down a president of the United States for acts that violated much of what a free democracy in a country like the U.S. or Canada is supposed to be about. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper 

Well, the mayor of Niagara, Falls sure was right!

Jim Diodati, who was a booster of Nik Wallenda’s dream to walk a high wire across the Falls when the Niagara Parks Commission and provincial government were still saying ‘no way’ to it, promised in the days leading up to the June 15 extravaganza that it was “going to be exciting, historic (and) the biggest event in the world.”

Nik Wallenda, to the right, in a media scrum that you would likely not see in Niagara if they found deadly concentrations of dioxon in the Niagara River. Photo by Doug Draper

A drive along the Niagara Parkway the day before the walk certainly gave every reason to believe that was going to be true. Satellite trucks for more than 80 accredited media organizations, including ABC television, which had purchased exclusive rights to air the event live, and a Chinese broadcast network boasting more than a billion viewers, were parked for hundreds of metres along the parkway. Inside Niagara Parks’ Table Rock Welcome Centre, near the brink of the Horseshow Falls, the man of the moment was surrounded by swarms of reporters for another in a series of media briefings where the inevitable, no-brainer question was pitched to him for the umpteenth time – ‘Are you getting nervous?’ Continue reading →

”Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, a war two hundred years ago, well beyond living memory, is critically important. … It shaped our past, shaped our past, our world and continues to shape our future.” 

By John Armstrong 

(A Foreword from Niagara At Large – This post features the full text of an address delivered by John Armstrong, Chair of Niagara, Ontario’s War of 1812 Legacy Council, at opening ceremonies for Bicentennial Commemorations for the War of 1812 at Queenston Heights on Saturday, June 16. His brief account of discovering family roots stretching back to one of that war’s defining battles at Queenston Heights, 200 years ago this coming October, touched a chord with many who gathered for these ceremonies. Niagara At Large is pleased to have received permission from John Armstrong to post his address here.)

 Thank you Brian.  Excellency, Ministers, Lord Mayor, Chair Burroughs, ladies and gentlemen.

I am descendent of 1st. Lieut. George King of the1st Flank Company, Second Regiment of the York Militia.

John Armstrong delivering his address at Queenston Heights opening ceremonies this June 16. Photo by Denis Cahill.

We were farmers from East Flamborough, (and) for those who don’t know, that is at the head of Lake Ontario in what is now Burlington (Ontario). 

Lieut. King joined the York Militia on May 9, 1811 and he died December 1812 after seeing action at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October of 1812.

It’s unclear if he died of illness, or from wounds received in that Battle. It is unclear if he died at home with his wife Barbara and his two sons, or if he died somewhere near Fort Erie. I have read both. Continue reading →

A Submission from the Niagara Parks Commission

(Niagara At Large is posting this release from the Niagara Parks Commission, the provincial body responsible for protecting and preserving lands along the Canadian shores of the Niagara River, from Fort Erie, through Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The release speaks to the appointment of John Lohuis as the NPC’s new general manager. He replaces Fay Booker, who held the position until March of 2012.) 

NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO, June 22  – John Lohuis, former Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Mississauga, has been appointed General Manager of the Niagara Parks Commission, Chair Janice Thomson announced today.

The Niagara Parks Commission’s new general manager John Lohuis

“John’s strong background in all areas of Parks management and development is an excellent fit for the NPC and his proven, disciplined approach to meeting customer needs within a structured budget will help achieve the organization’s goals,” Thomson said. 

As General Manager of the Niagara Parks Commission, Lohuis will work with the Commission to provide leadership and strategic business direction that maintains profitable growth, inspires and engages management and staff in pursuit of Commission goals, and builds effective relationships with employees, community and business. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

At what he called a “town hall meeting” in Niagara Falls, Ontario this June 21, Tim Hudak finally got around to doing what many of his supporters and would-be supporters wish he had done in the weeks leading up to last October’s provincial election – spend less time bashing the province’s premier and more time talking about what he would do if he were premier.

Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak fields questions from a local labour representative at a ‘town hall’ meeting in Niagara Falls. Photo by Doug Draper

“I did a really good job last time of telling you what was wrong with Dalton McGuinty,” said the Ontario Conservative leader to a mixed crown of municipal, business and labour residents attending the meeting. I didn’t do a very good job of telling you what is right about our (party’s) plan.”

It was a mistake at least some political pundits believe may have been responsible for Hudak losing his early lead in last fall’s election, one the leader seems to have learned from as he spent more than an hour at the June 21 meeting talking about what a government led by him would do to boost Ontario’s economy and create more jobs. Continue reading →

A Release from the Ontario Premier’s Office

(Niagara At Large is posting the following release from the office of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty for our readers’ information.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

NAL does so with just a few preliminary points we wish to make here.

There is no heading in this release for environmental protection issues covered in this provincial omnibus budget legislation for reasons that may have to do with the fact that the legislation pulls more of the teeth out of an already weak ‘Endangered Species Act’ in this province at the pleasure of the mining industry and other developers. The legislation also gives discretionary power to the provincial cabinet to ignore the Fish and Conservation Act if it feels that act’s protection clauses are standing in the way of favoured development projects.

On the education file, you will note in the premier’s media release that the budget is “protecting 20,000 teaching and support jobs by ensuring smaller class sizes and the full introduction of full-day kindergarten.”  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

It wasn’t a good night for residents opposing plans to erect giant wind turbines in their rural Niagara communities.

Rural residents opposed to wind turbines in their communities pack regional council chambers, Photo by Doug Draper

More than 70 rural residents from the West Lincoln, Wainfleet and surrounding areas packed the gallery in the Niagara regional council chambers this past June 14, hoping the council would support a motion that would call to Ontario’s provincial government to, among other things, agree to a moratorium on approving any more wind farms until independent studies are completed on health and other impacts they may be having on people and their properties. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Doug Draper

For more than two decades now, Niagara’s regional government has honoured individuals, groups and businesses that have gone out of their way to protect and preserve this region’s natural heritage.

Earl Plato of Fort Erie wins Niagara Region’s life-time achievement award for his environmental protection efforts.

This year, the region has done the same and has honoured Earl Plato, in particular, with its ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, and what a wonderful choice.Earl Plato, a Fort Erie, Ontario resident, a professional teacher, now retired and in his 80s, has devoted most of his adult life to his love of nature, and protecting it and sharing it with young and older across our region, alike. He has also been an advocate for preserving Marcy’s Woods, a rare gem of forest and dunes along the shores of Lake Erie. He is one of a number of individuals and other parties that have been honoured this June, at an awards evening for Niagara Region’s 23^rd annual Environmental Awards. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following public advisory from the Niagara Health Coalition and its umbrella group, the Ontario Health Coalition, for our readers’ information.)

When:   Tuesday June 19, 2012 at 6:30 pm

Where: St. Catharines Central Library (Banker’s Room) located at 54 Church Street

When: Wednesday June 20, 2012 at 6:30 pm

Where: Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre located at 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Who:  Niagara Health Coalition

What: Town-hall meetings concerning the recent Ontario austerity budget. This harsh budget has set health care funding even lower than the most radical of recommendations. It will result in a new round of significant health cuts at the local level. The health coalitions and the public will discuss issues specific to St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, including Dr. Kevin Smith’s proposal to close all southern tier hospitals and urgent care centres in the southern tier and replace them with one new hospital. Furthermore, Dr. Smith has proposed the closure of the Niagara-on-the-Lake site and its 20 complex care beds. This centralization of services means that people will have to travel further to get the care they need. There have been no public meetings to receive input from those who will be most affected by these recommendations. This is an opportunity for the health coalitions and the public to share information and strategies about health care concerns in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

For more information visit www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca .

By Doug Draper

“It remains a defining point in our history,” said Niagara, Ontario Regional Chair Gary Burroughs as opening ceremonies began this June 17 for commemorating the bicentennial of the official ‘Declaration of the War of 1812’ .

Niagara, Ontario Regional Chair Gary Burroughs speaks at opening ceremony for War of 1812 bicentennial commerorations. Photo by Doug Draper

Hundreds of people from both sides of the Canada/U.S. border gathered on the verdant grounds of Queenston Heights as Buroughs and other dignitariesopened the curtains on three years of special events that will bring back to life a history that began with bloody battles, yet ended with 200 years of friendship and peace between two nations that is too often unheard of in this world today. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Recently in Canada’s House Of  Commons, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May cautioned, “Beware the wages of spin”.  

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, emboldened by his majority of seats, dictates his party’s economic ideology.

May’s comment was directed specifically at the undemocratic nature of Bill C-38 (known more simply as the omnibus budget bill),   but it applies just as appropriately to the economic mismanagement of the Harper regime. Without the “spin”, this government’s economic record reveals itself to be a failure on many levels.  Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper 

Niagara, Ontario’s regional council has given a developer the green light to build what is being marketed as the largest outdoor, outlet mall in Canada off the Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Forget about ‘smarter growth’ or urban renewal. This field out in the hinterlands and off the QEW is where our Niagara, Ontario regional leaders approve of locating the ‘largest’ outlet mall in all of Canada. Photo by Doug Draper

The 720,000-square-foot mall, to be located off the QEW/Glenridge Avenue interchange near a campus of Niagara College and the White Oaks Resort and Spa, will mean a big boost for jobs and business in Niagara, said some of an overwhelming majority of regional councillors who supported it.

“We are always saying that we (as a region) are open for business,” said Niagara-at-Large Lord Mayor David Eke whose (give the fact that the mall is going in his municipality) was the most vocal supporter of the proposal put forward by long-time shopping mall developer Ivanhoe Cambridge of Toronto. “We need to work with these people.”  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

You may recall that a few weeks ago it was learned that the Harper government in Canada had made up its mind – all by itself – that it is going is going to close down the country’s consulate office in Buffalo, New York, serving one of the busiest and most economically vital cross-border regions shared by Canadians and Americans on the continent.

The Harper government’s reason for this – articulated by Niagara Falls MP and Harper cabinet minister Rob Nicholson, who appears to be placing his partisan ties with Harper ahead of the region he should be serving on this one –  – is that visa requests for Canada can now be more easily processed on line. It is a reason that shows how little Nicholson and other Harper government members know or care to know about the larger roles this consultate office has continued to play in bringing business and other key sectors together to address the economic challenges and improve the quality of life for residents throughout Western New York and Southern Ontario. And these are the politicians we should be counting on to serve the best interests of our region and country. Continue reading →

This post submitted by the Niagara Parks Commission 

Walk pays tribute to the Niagara’s daredevil traditionwhile showcasing the national treasure of the Falls and Niagara Parks 

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario– With his high wire walk across the Niagara Gorge (this June 15), Nik Wallenda has helped showcase Niagara Parks and remind people around the world of the many reasons to visit, according to Janice Thomson, Chair of The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC).

These cranes at Table Rock in Niagara Falls, Ontario hold the wire Nik Wallenda walked on. To the left, in the distance, cranes at Terrapin Point on the U.S. side of the Falls hoist the wire where the walk began. Photo by Doug Draper

“The Commission congratulates Mr. Wallenda on a thrilling performance. It captured the imagination of millions and allowed Niagara Parks to showcase its beauty and put our national treasure – The Falls – on display for the entire world to see,” Thomson said.

In tonight’s walk, Wallenda became the first person in more than 100 years to cross the Niagara Gorge on a high wire and the first person ever to walk across on a wire so close to the Horseshoe Falls. Part of the walk was over the Horseshoe Falls itself. Wirewalkers in the past have performed downstream from the Falls. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty seems intent on playing a game of chicken with the opposition parties in the provincial legislature, leading one to won to wonder if he can count enough seats in that chamber to remind himself that he has a minority government that could be defeated at a moment’s notice.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath urges province’s premier to back off his election threat and pass a budget

Some of us may very well say; “Hey Dalton, make our day!” Continue reading →

Here is the full test of Niagara Regional chair Gary Burroughs’s announcement on the decision southern tier mayors have made to date on where a new hospital for Niagara’s southern tier should be located. 

“Dr. Kevin Smith tasked the 6 southern mayors (along with myself) to recommend a unanimous decision on a location or locations to be included for consideration with his report to be filed with Health Minister Deb Matthews later this month.

Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Chair Gary Burroughs

He set Friday, June 15 as the deadline to arrive at that decision.

 The 6 southern mayors and I have now met five  times. Regional GIS staff have been providing objective, ongoing data and analysis mapping as requested by the mayors and have provided excellent mapping work relating to population density, EMS call volumes, drive times, municipal infrastructure, and a number of others factors. Continue reading →

QUICK BULLETIN

By Doug Draper 

In an announcement at this June 14 Niagara regional council meeting, the Region’s chair, Gary Burroughs, said the six mayors in south Niagara – representing Wainfleet, Port Colborne, Niagara Falls, Welland, Pelham and Fort Erie – have reached consensus on two areas where a new hospital could be located in Niagara, Ontario’s southern tier.

Those locations include the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) and Lyons Creek area near the border of Niagara Falls and Fort Erie and the East Main Street and Highway 140 area in Welland. Continue reading →

A Comment by Stuart MacDonald

This weekend marks the opening ceremonies commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812 in our city.  How sad that those celebrations are receiving such little attention in the face of a stunt that has brought ridicule to our city.

Media zooms in on high-wire walker Nik Wallenda during recent media scrum in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

As Stephen Colbert said on his television show this June 13, “[Nic Wallenda] received an exception to the Falls’ no-stunts policy, thanks to the local economy’s sluggishness […] You know a town is in bad shape when they have to create a tourist attraction to attract tourists to their tourist attraction.” 

If the tourist industry is sluggish it has little to do with Niagara Falls not having potential.  It has everything to do with a mentality that sees a once-in-a-lifetime-stunt as the answer to problems. Continue reading →

By Imogen Reed

There can be few people in Niagara who haven’t yet heard of Nik Wallenda. His daredevil antics over the Falls this Friday, June 15 will be the latest in a long line of feats that have taken place at world’s most famous waterfall.

High wire walker Nik Wallenda joins Niagara Parks Commission chair Janice Thomson this June 13 at a media conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

Wallenda is not the first to tightrope walk the Falls. The stunt was first achieved by Jean François  Gravelet, aka Charles Blondin, in 1859, and dozens have accomplished the same feat since. Although, Wallenda’s 1,800 feet walk is the first across the actual brink of the Falls, as other attempts have been downstream, and not for more than 100 years. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Marineland and animal advocates dedicated to shutting down the iconic Niagara, Ontario amusement park’s animal exhibits – most particularly its whale and dolphin exhibits – faced off at a Niagara Falls city council meeting this June 12, and it wasn’t a pretty.

Animal activists demonstrat on Portage Road in front of Marineland. File photo by Doug Draper

The faceoff was triggered by a three-year draft lease agreement, ultimately approved by the Niagara Falls council at the end of the night. That agreement allows Marineland to lease a portion of public space on Portage Road around its entrance gate to the park where animal advocates have spent years offering park-goers information flyers on why mammals as large as whales should not be kept in cement ponds for the public’s amusement. Continue reading →