Author Archives: dougdraper

Ontario Liberals Balance the Budget, Create Jobs, Protect Health Care and Education

(Niagara At Large is posting this one for our readers information from the Ontario Liberals, It particularly slams the Tim Hudak Ontario Conservatives. No mention here of NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.),

Queen’s Park– The Out of touch Hudak PCs abandoned Ontarians by voting against the Ontario budget’s strong action to balance the books, create jobs, and invest in families, said Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi.

Ontario Liberal MPP Yasire Naqvi slams Tim Hudak

“The Ontario Liberal plan makes the right choices and takes strong action to balance the budget, grow the economy and create jobs,” said Naqvi.  “The Hudak PCs keep making the wrong choices – opposing the budget before reading it and trying to force a costly, unnecessary election that puts the economy at risk.”

“While Ontario Liberals worked hard to find common ground to pass the budget, the Hudak PCs abandoned Ontarians from the get-go, refusing to offer a single suggestion” said Naqvi.  “Instead of rolling up their sleeves to make this minority government work, the Hudak PCs are willing to put our growing economic momentum at risk with a costly, unnecessary election.” Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

We’ll there we go. Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty government will survive to kick us in the butt – well, at least most of us, except for McGuinty’s most wealthy and privileged friends – another day.

Ontaro Premier Dalton McGuinty

A Statement from Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

The following statement may be attributed to Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, in response to today’s announcement by Premier Dalton McGuinty and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath:

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“I would like to say I am surprised by this deal but I’m not.   What I am concerned about is the direction of Ontario.

“The choice made by the Premier today leads us further down the same failed path we have been on for the last eight years.  This is the path of more spending, more taxing, and no plan to create a better climate for private sector jobs.  It tinkers with small change when what we need is big change. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Doug Draper

 Niagara At Large is publishing the full text of the following April 23 post from the Ontario Public Service Employees  Union   ((OPSEU) should   ast be of interest to residents in the Grimsby, West Lincoln, Lincoln areas of Niagara, Ontario, where the province’s Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty, together with his finance minister Dwight Duncan, are proposing to cancel funding for a new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby.

It's okay for Ontario Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan to go for a new hospital build in his Windsor area ridiing, but to hell with west Niagara. That should sound familiar to old opponents of the west St. Catharines hospital site.

Isn’t that NICE? What follows is the post from OPSEU on this. By the way, before you get down to the OPSEU piece, check out a few online biographies on Dwight Duncan. What you will find is that this guy has never held a real job and has been on public welfare for most of his adult life. Sorry for the aside. Here begins the OPSEU piece. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

 Never mind the Charter Of  Rights And Freedoms which, according to former P.M Chrétien, celebrates and unifies Canada as “un pays de tolérance par excellence”.

P.M Harper recently had more important matters on his plate, namely, the “courtesy call” from Li Changchun, head of propaganda, and Member of the Communist Party of China’s Standing Committee of the Politburo. According to Forbes magazine, Li Changchun apparently “controls what 1.3 billion Chinese see, hear, and speak.” Continue reading →

 (Niagara At Large is pleased to post this media release from some of our good neighbours in Buffalo, New York for your information. Here is another opportunity to enjoy the fabulous architecture in that city.)

 BUFFALO, NEW YORK– A collaboration between Buffalo, NY area sites designed by Frank Lloyd Wright: the Darwin Martin House Complex, the Graycliff Estate, Forest Lawn’s Blue Sky Mausoleum and the Fontana Rowing Boathouse has resulted in an exclusive new tour offering for 2012:  All Wright All Day.

The century-owned Martin house in Buffalo, New York, designed by the legendary American arrchitect Frank Lloyd Wright

Building on successful day-long sessions designed for last year’s National Preservation Conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the four Buffalo-area Frank Lloyd Wright sites are now proud to offer to the general public this full-day immersion in the built environment that Wright created for the region. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Oh my dear God – not that I am all that religious – do I ever miss Margherita! I’d  be one of those she might call a “stupid bastard” if I didn’t.

Margherita Howe, always listening but never ready to say yes to B.S. - A photo courtesy of the Howe family.

I miss being able to call her up today – this time around Earth Day, 2012 – and asking her how she feels about Canada’s federal government walking away from environmental protection reviews on major public works projects that may impact on what’s left of our natural resources. I miss asking her how she would feel about the so-called natural resources minister for Stephen Harper –  Joe Oliver or whatever the frig his stupid name is – calling people who advocate for environmental protection in this country a bunch of villains or enemies of Canada, or whatever other Fox New/Rush Limbaugh-induced rhetoric Harper and Oliver clamp on to for describing anyone who has the democratic balls to disagree with them. Continue reading →

A short tear or two by Doug Draper

 “I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling ‘bout half past dead, I just need some place where I can lay my head.” –  from the song ‘The Weight’ by The Band.

For those of you whose unique voice sang those lyrice, you know where I am going already with this one, don’t you. I am going to the death of Levon Helm, who was so much of the heart and soul of ‘The Band’, one of the most legendary groups of the rock era of the past 50 years.

Levon Helm, enjoying what he liked to do best.

 Levon Helm, the only American (and, by all accounts,  a proud southern American) of a group, including lead songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson,  died this April 19 at 71 following a long and courageous battle with cancer.

I have more than a few regrets in my life, and one of them was not getting down to Woodstock, New York, along the Hudson River, a few years back to enjoy Levon and his band (a group of musicians  long after The Band) performing, as they did virtually every week on a Thursday or whatever the night was. I had heard that it was a wonderful show and I actually called down there to find out more about it. As it turned out, I got Levon’s wife Sandy was on the phone, and I still remember her saying being nice enough to call me “sweetie” which is one of those very nice things Americans sometimes do when they like having a conversation with you is call you a sweetie. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is please to post these Niagara Parks Commission Earth Day events for our readers in the greater Niagara region in Niagara, Ontario and Erie and Niagara counties, New York and beyond.)

 The Niagara Parks Commission is pleased to announce a variety of events that will take place on Saturday, April 21 in celebration of Earth Day.

A past Earth Day flower plant sale., photo courtesy of Niagara Parks Commission

 2nd Annual Spring Plant Sale

10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and School of Horticulture will be holding its 2nd Annual Spring Plant Sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in front of the Butterfly Conservatory. A variety of plants will be on sale, all grown on-site at the Botanical Gardens. NPC staff and Master Gardener volunteers will also be available to answer any questions. Quantities are limited, so be sure to arrive early for the best selection. NPC will be offering special discount admission to Butterfly Conservatory that day, with proof of purchase: $3 off for adults and $1 off for children, as well as a 25% discount on any purchase over $25 in the retail shop.

3rd Annual Earth Day Event with the Friends of the Niagara Glen

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

At the Niagara Glen Nature Centre, the Friends of the Niagara Glen will be holding their 3rd Annual Earth Day Event from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. The group and their partners will be showcasing various displays and educational materials about their conservation efforts. Members will also be providing guided hiking tours of the Glen, which is home to the greatest concentration of Species at Risk anywhere in Ontario. Those planning to spend the day at the Niagara Glen are encouraged to bring their own bagged lunch and refillable water bottles.

The Niagara Glen Nature Centre will be open for the day, where you will find members of the Niagara Land Trust (NLT) selling recycled rain barrels ($50 each), in partnership with www.RainBarrel.ca, to help raise funds for their ongoing preservation work. The NLT is a non-profit charity that works to preserve Niagara’s ecological, agricultural and cultural landscapes today for future generations.

(Niagara At Large is posting the following ‘Action Alert’ and appeal to citizens to voice their concern for our readers’ information. This post has been circulated by Great Lakes United, a Canada-U.S. environmental groups, angler and recreational groups, Native communities and other parties around the Great Lakes basin.)

ACTION ALERT! U.S. and Canadian voices must be heard on hazardous waste licensing near the Great Lakes

Our Great Lakes from space. Image courtesy of Kevin McMahon, producer of the documentary film 'Waterlife'

Voice Your Concern regarding the Ontario Ministry of Environment’s Proposal to Exempt Transportation of Hazardous Waste from Licensing Requirements
 
The Ontario Ministry of Environment is proposing to exempt waste haulers transporting hazardous waste from the requirement to obtain a license before commencing their operation. This exemption will also apply to transboundary waste haulers. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

There may be a good number of you out there who don’t care all that much for the New Democratic Party’s Ontario leader Andrea Horwath. But let’s give her a bit of credit for one thing.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath

The water I am talking about is the province’s ability to charge income taxes – a form of tax based on people’s ability to pay. And yes, that is one heck of a lot to ask anyone to do these days – to contribute, based on their ability to pay, to a pool of tax money for essential services like health care, education, policing and so on. Continue reading →

From Niagara College

(Niagara At Large is posting this April 17 media release from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario for our readers’ information)

The Niagara College Foundation announced today that it has successfully
completed its Building Futures Campaign, exceeding the original
$16.5-million target by more than $1-million.

Applied Health Institute under construction at Niagara College's Welland, Ontario campus. Photo courtesy of Niagara College

Launched in 2008, the campaign has raised $17.7-million for new
facilities, equipment and learning resources, and scholarships and
bursaries. With matching funds from the provincial government’s former
Ontario Trust for Student Support program, the campaign’s total impact
on student learning and success is $21-million.
Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting this one from the Niagara Parks Commission in Ontario for our readers’ interest.)

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) is pleased to announce that it has two of the tallest flowers in the world growing on site in the Floral Showhouse, which are expected to bloom within three to five weeks.

Photo courtest of Niagara Parks Commission

The Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan Arum, is a massive bell-shaped flower up to three metres in height. Aside from its size, the Titan Arum is also known for its unique smell. After flowering, a single leaf emerges in the place of the blossom, which is the size of a small tree, standing up to six metres tall and five metres across. This flower is exceedingly rare to see. Until 1989, only 21 flowerings were recorded to have occurred in botanical gardens worldwide. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

 “Dance band on the Titanic, Sings ‘Nearer My God to Thee’, The iceberg’s on the starboard bow, Won’t you dance with me.” –   from Harry Chapin’s 1970s album ‘Dance Band on the Titanic’.

One hundred years ago this Saturday, April 14, the world’s greatest ship – considered a masterpiece of technology in its day that “not even God could sink” – steamed forth proudly and possibly arrogantly, at a high speed at the time of more than 20 knots, toward an iceberg that just happened to be one of this earth’s many and possibly more minor creations.

The iceberg some allege to be the one that sank the Titanic and the lives of some 1,500 of its passengers and crew. Could one like it still be out there, waiting for the rest of us?

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

Say what you want about Ontario’s Health Minister Deb Matthews.

Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews, being crapped on by the province's doctors now

There are a good number of people across this Niagara region – this columnist included – who has had their beefs with Matthews over the Niagara Health System, and almost anything else that has to do with health care in Ontario.

But let’s at least give Matthews credit for asking for a wee bit of restraint from our doctors – a group or professionals who most if not all of us have a great deal of respect for, but who have not done too badly during a pretty economically depressed decade with salaries now averaging $362,000 and ones that have increase. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

The community is in a state of “disbelief and frustration,” said Bob Bentley, the mayor of the Niagara, Ontario municipality of Grimsby of plans outlined in the provincial government’s March 27 budget to scuttle previously promised funding for a rebuild of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

West Lincoln Memorial Hospital as it sits today. How long will it last?

“We were one signature (from the province’s Liberal government) away from putting a shovel in the ground,” the mayor added during a meeting of Niagara’s regional council this April 12 – a meeting during which councillors agreed to make support for the hospital one the Region’s priorities when it takes its annual ‘Niagara Week’ to Queen’s Park later this spring. Continue reading →

 By Bernie Slepkov

There’s something I want you to know.

Bernie Slepkov

For the past few years, the people at the City of St. Catharines, Ontario and the Region of Niagara have been gearing up for some serious mind shifting, and they want your help in those efforts.

Oh, I can almost sense the cynicism and complacency that declaration just aroused.

No, seriously. They know “that the times, they are changin’” and are trying to grapple with it. The challenges confronting the governments and residents of our region and communities (of Niagara, Ontario) are universal. Rising energy costs, climate change and poverty are but a few of the forces propelling community sustainability forward. All of those will increasingly touch us all – along with all of the everyday things we take for granted and virtually every aspect of daily living. Continue reading →

This Media Release prepared by Ontario’s Liberal Government

April 12, 2012

The Ontario government is taking strong action to help eliminate the shock many consumers get from opening their cell phone and wireless services bills. 

The province is introducing legislation to make it easier to understand the costs and terms of wireless services agreements while ensuring service providers are upfront with information before contracts are signed.

 Here’s how consumers will benefit if the legislation is passed: Continue reading →

By Donna Krekorian

Many stories have been told about the sinking of the Titanic.

Neshan Krekorian and other Titanic survivors were rescued on a lifeboat like this one, approaching the Carpathia on the morning hours of April 15, 1912.

Many versions of the story of our Grandfather, Neshan Krekorian, have been written.  Most are similar – the story of a third-class male passenger that managed to escape the sinking when so many others did not. For our family, the story is not so concise.  After 100 years, our family would like to put the rumours and innuendos depicting our ancestor as a “coward” or ‘stow away” to rest.  There is a much bigger picture – another layer that makes his ability to survive such a terrible disaster even more meaningful. It is how Neshan Krekorian clawed his way from tragedy to become the true Canadian immigrant success story.  Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

 During the 2006 election campaign, PM Harper soberly cautioned us,

 “Bend the rules, you will be punished; Break the law, you will be charged; Abuse the public trust, you will go to jail.”

 They’re nice words, and they certainly appeal to values of law and order embraced by Canadians, but as it turns out, they’re also hollow words.

Stephen Harper's Conservative majority rules Canada's parliament

 After all, the Harper government is guilty on all counts: bending the rules, breaking the law, and abusing the public trust, yet it is avoiding appropriate punishment like the plague.  Apparently law and order issues are meant to apply only to those who aren’t affiliated with Conservative party misdeeds. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is pleased to post this release from Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers on its annual spring effort to clean the shorelines of creeks and rivers that make up the Niagara River watershed.)

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is recruiting volunteers to join the Spring Shoreline Cleanup on Saturday, April 21, 2012 from 9am to noon. 

Volunteers participae in past spring waterways cleanup. Photo courtesy of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers

 With the early spring weather we are experiencing in Western New York, many people are starting spring cleaning in their homes and yards.  Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is seeking volunteers to help with “spring cleaning” of 35 parks and green spaces along our Buffalo Niagara shorelines.   Continue reading →

By Doug Draper, with information and photos courtesy of Linda McKellar

For the rich and famous, it was a ticket to a joyride on “the ship of dreams.”

For many others, it was a chance to begin what they hoped would be a new and better life in America. Then there were those who worked aboard this most luxurious of liners, many of them at the sweatiest and dirtiest of jobs.

Madeleine Mellenger (in some Titanic-related accounts the last name is spelled Mellinger) shown here,  returning to England four months after her harrowing experience on the Titanic. A few years later she and her mother Elizabeth would settle in Canada where they made roots in Ridgeway, Ontario. Image courtesy of Linda McKellar.

Among those who made up these latter two groups were Elizabeth Mellenger and her 13-year-old daughter Madeleine, both second class passengers from London, England and on their way to work for the wealthy Colgate family in New York, and Albert Ervine, an 18-year-old crew member from Belfast, Ireland who worked in the engine room – all of whom have links, either directly or indirectly, to Niagara, Ontario, and all whose names would become etched in history, 100 years ago this April aboard the RMS Titanic.

Elizabeth and Madeleine were among the 713 survivors when the Titanic, on its maiden voyage, sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. They are both now buried where they lived some of their later years in the Fort Erie, Ontario community of Ridgeway. Albert was among the 1,503 men, women and children who did not, and members of his family, including some living in and in the same community of Ridgeway, have helped breath life into his name on the lists of Titanic victims.

Thanks to Linda McKellar, a Ridgeway resident and a Titanic history buff who has, over the years, collected some information and images of Elizabeth, Madeleine and Albert, Niagara At Large is able to share the following brief accounts of their stories. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Doug Draper

I have so far stayed away from doing any commentary on the multi-billion-dollar scandal over those fighter jets Canada’s Conservative government is so determined to buy mostly because I have found myself getting too angry just reading about it. And as much as measure of anger can be a motivator for a column that has some edge to it, too much anger can have you banging out something equivalent to screaming at the walls.

Harper Conservatives' Defence Minister Peter MacKay now knows nothing about multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal.

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

I’ve often wondered how smart we humans really are as a species on this planet.

Humans and gasoline

There is no doubt we possess enough intelligence to take what we’ve learned from the past and apply it to addressing challenges we face in the present and future.  But we don’t always seem to have the smarts to use that intelligence when we have to.

Take the challenges we as a species face with respect to energy conservation, environmental protection and climate change, for example. I’ve pretty well come to the conclusion that you could  talk to people about driving more energy-efficient cars or about switching to public transit or renewable energy until the last tree is gone and it won’t do much good. Continue reading →

By Brigitte Bonner

The loss of the Fort Erie Slot facilities is a very unfortunate and upsetting event.  But, grouping this recent decision by the Ontario Government with the designation of wetlands, as was evidenced on a sign in front of Fort Erie Town Hall several weeks ago, is a definite mistake. 

The designation of Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs) is not an arbitrary decision that the government has made in the same way as the decision to close the slots facility.  Wetlands are important ecological areas that are not only essential for wildlife, but also for us—human beings.  The fact that the wetlands have been designated as “Provincially Significant” means that they provide essential ecological benefits to sustain life.  Yes, it is frustrating that many of the wetlands are in areas close to the major traffic routes which are ideal for industrial growth.  But unfortunately these lands cannot be destroyed and built upon without devastating effects. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is pleased to post the following notice from the Social Assistance Reform Network of Niagara on an upcoming forum on finding solutions to poverty for our readers information.)

The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty Forum

The Social Assistance Reform Network of Niagara (SARNN) is pleased to announce its annual spring forum “The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty”. It will include a presentation followed by a question and answer period.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, April 11^th, 9:00-11:00am, registration starts at 8:30am

Location: Niagara Region Headquarters, Council Chambers, 2201 St. David’s Rd., Thorold

Presenter: Sheila Regehr, Executive Director of the National Council of Welfare (NCW) Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

In the Edwardian era of a century ago, he was classed as a “peasant” – one of those ‘lower’ members of the human species upper classes of people wanted little or nothing to do with.

Titanic survivor Neshan Krekorian

By Doug Draper

The strike involving close to 40 English-as-as-second-language instructors at Brock University – or the traffic mess in front of Brock’s St. Catharines, Ontario campus, if that is the way some of you looked at it – is over.

Strikers picket one of two main entrances to Brock University campus. File photo by Doug Draper

The union representing the striking instructors and the university reached a final agreement this April 5 which apparently means more job security for the instructors who work on contract for Brock and therefore collect no benefits for their work.

Niagara At Large covered this strike and posted at least two or three pieces that shows some sympathized for the  instructors, some of whom said they were making less than $20,000 a year. All NAL asked of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4207-3, the union local representing the instructors in return, was to be kept in the loop on the outcome of the negotiations. The CUPE local chose not to do so and NAL found out about the end of this strike more than half a day later,  through other media sources. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 How sad it is that Ontario’s New Democrats – a party that is supposed to be a voice for the little people –  holds the balance of power in this province, yet is less willing to ask for a progressive tax increase from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government than well-off doctors.

Dr. Michael Rachlis - Ontario;'s Doctors for Fair Taxation.

In a delaration she made in the provincial legislature this past April 3, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath asked the McGuinty government to consider increasing income taxes to people in the province making more than $500,000 annually to help pay for children’s day care and other services.

For someone who is supposed to be the leader of a party famous for representing ordinary, working class people. Horwath sure has set the bar on who should pay a little bit more in taxes a little bit high, hasn’t she? Maybe she has spent a little bit too much time in the gilded cage called Queen’s Park. Continue reading →

From Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

There has been the odd time over the past couple of years of doing Niagara At Large when I wish I did not click “publish.” This April 2 was one of them.

Fort Erie, Ontario Mayor Doug Martin

The post I published led with a headline; “Sorry To Fort Erie, Ontario Mayor Doug Martin And His Red Bull or Redneck Bullies, Or Whatever They Are” and it suggested that the mayor is in lock step with some of the people who are engaging in some pretty nasty conduct toward others in the town. I have no direct evidence that this is the case and for that reason I apologize to the mayor and have pulled that post from the site. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

In the wake of recent bad news in the Town of Fort Erie, Ontario, the mood has turned decidedly ugly in some corners of the town.

Fort Erie, Ontario resident Wendy Wolff and friend. Photo courtesy of Laurie Langley

It is one thing to get angry at the province’s Liberal government, up to and including taking legal action against it (if there is any merit to that) or lobbing to turf the government out over the news this spring that the Slots and Welcome Centre will soon close in Fort Erie, and that the town’s historic horse racing track may be next. It is quite another to threaten the local Liberal MPP, Kim Craitor, to a point where he doesn’t feel safe coming in to the town.

There have been others in the community, including ordinary citizens and some on the town council, who have been subjected to vile messages and other conduct aimed at humiliating or defaming them, and making them think twice about expressing their concerns or attending public meetings, even those of their own town council. Continue reading →

From the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
(Niagara At Large is pleased to post this media release from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority for your information. If you are looking for a breathtaking encounter with nature in our greater Niagara region, you can’t go wrong checking this event out.)
Grab your binoculars and a camera and join the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch team on Friday, April 6th for the Good Friday Open House at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area, Grimsby.

This annual event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and will feature live hawk demonstrations, talks on the hawk migration, a children’s program and nature club displays. This year we are pleased to honour and recognize the dedication of two departed members of the organization; founding president, Bruce Duncan and site founder Dave Copeland. A special dedication and bench unveiling will take place at 11:00 a.m.

The migration trends of birds of prey serve as a valuable biological indicator of ecosystem health. Now in its 38th year, many volunteers from the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch have been at the site since observing and monitoring the annual spring migration of these ‘globetrotters’. These include 15 species of hawks, falcons, eagles and vultures travelling from South and Central America, the Caribbean and the United States to their nesting territories in Canada.

John Stevens of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch notes, “with the unusually warm weather in March the count is running ahead of last year’s total. In addition, we’ve had two Black Vultures, a rather sedentary southern species that is beginning to be seen more often in Ontario and may become our sixteenth regularly-observed raptor species.” Nearly 5,000 raptors, including thirty one bald eagles, 3 golden eagles and over 2,500 turkey vultures have been counted in the month of March. More birds of prey are expected now through mid-May, with an average of 15,000 seen annually.

Renowned as the best vantage point in the Niagara Peninsula to observe the annual spring migration, Beamer also offers visitors hiking trails and one of the most spectacular views of the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario Landscape, as well as nature and wildlife habitat viewing at this Conservation Area. On most days one can see the skyline and mist from Niagara Falls and the skyline of Toronto from the overlooks on the escarpment edge.

For directions or more information visit our website at http://www.npca.ca.

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below. Remember that NAL only posts comments by individuals willing to share their real first and last names with their views.)

By Gary Screaton Page

(This is another in a series of articles by Dr. Gary Screaton Page that Niagara At Large is posting about some of the immigrants and refugees who have come to Canada to begin a new life after some often unimaginably brutal experiences they have suffered through in their countries of origin. In these posts, based on stories Dr. Page has learned from helping newcomers to the country in his border town of Fort Erie, Ontario, names have either been changed or last names have been omitted to protect individuals and their families and friends from any repercussions in their native lands.)

The students’ protest was over. Her cousin languished in an Ethiopian jail, arrested for being a part of the demonstration. Other protestors had gone missing altogether.

Gary Screaton Page

Meanwhile Hiwot, fearful that she, too, might be arrested struggled over what to do. She had only been visiting with her cousin when she decided to join him and the other students’ protesting Meles Zenawi’s attempts to divide the country by tribal groups to specific regions thus breaking up families of mixed tribal blood and separating, in many cases, children from parents.

With her cousin in prison Hiwot knew the police would also be looking for other protesters including her. Fortunately, she was not of the same region from which most of the student protestors had come. She would not be under suspicion if she sought an exit visa to leave the country. Hiwot did just that. She got a flight to theUnited Stateswhere she sought political asylum. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

In a matter as important as electoral fraud, transparency and the rule of law should be of utmost importance.  What we’re currently getting is the opposite.

A makeshift sign like this should not have to be hoisted in front of Canada’s parliamentary building

Instead of an immediate Independent Inquiry with the power of subpoena, we’re getting a pseudo-inquiry by Elections Canada, a government appointed watchdog group.

Instead of empowering Elections Canada at a time of electoral crisis, Elections Canada has been disempowered by a funding cut of $7.5 million per year, effective immediately.  The watchdog has already become a well-restrained puppy. Continue reading →

A Media Release from Bert Miller Nature Club

Town of Fort Erie Drainage Superintendent Brett Ruck was honoured at the March 19^thmeeting of the Bert Miller Nature Club for fostering science, community involvement and intergovernmental cooperation through the innovative approach used for drain maintenance in Beaver Creek.

Bert Millier rep Tim Seburn presents certifcate of honour to Fort Erie town official Brett Ruck.

A project was initiated in 2009 through an innovative arrangement between the Town of Fort Erie, the Department of Fisheries & Oceans and several other partners, including the Friends of Fort Erie’s Creeks, and the Bert Miller Nature Club. The purpose of the project, called the Grass Pickerel Project, was to determine if there was a way to perform drainage work in Beaver Creek while promoting the protection of grass pickerel. This species, found in the creek, is at risk of disappearing from Canadian waters. Continue reading →

A Comment by Doug Draper

I just turned on CBC Radio to the news that in this region of the world Earth Hour about to begin.

That means that for a full 60 minutes we are supposed to turn off all of our lights and feel our way around in the dark. I’ve done this for at least a couple of years now since this Earth Hour thing got started by some green-minded person somewhere in the land down under.

The idea behind this now-annual ritual, as I understand it, is that it is supposed to raise a little more public interest in energy conservation and environmental protection. But where is any evidence that it has been the least bit successful? Continue reading →

From the Office of Federal MP Malcolm Allen

(The following message from the Welland, Ontario riding federal MPP is in response to the strike of Brock ESL instructors which began on March 26 following a breakdown in talks over a collective agreement negotiated between the instructors and university over a reported “error” the unviersity discovered in a draft copy of the agreement.)

Ottawa – Welland Riding MP Malcolm Allen is calling on Brock University to live up to the collective agreement they signed with their English as a Second Language Instructors.

Welland, Ontario MP Malcolm Allen

“Ontario workers have the right to bargain collectively as defined in the Ontario Labour Relations Act. Brock University has a responsibility to respect those rights,” said Allen. “When you agree to something, you should live up to it. It’s a matter of integrity.”

Major disruptions are making life more difficult for everyone on campus, added Allen, but picketing would be unnecessary if the University simply accepted the fairly negotiated settlement they already signed. Continue reading →

By John Bacher

When proponents of the Canadian Motor Speedway in Fort Erie, Ontario began their public relations campaign to sell their purported “NASCAR-like” complex, part of the sales pitch was that about a third of their 827-acre scheme was to be a campground. It was claimed that about a third of the acreage was to be a “family recreation area.”

A 'parking camp' around a race track in Michigan. Is this what is in store around a NASCAR track proposal for rural lands, including wetlands and the headwaters of Miller Creek in Fort Erie, Ontario?

Images were made of a camp ground in a conservation area like setting, on former farmland, while protected wetland forests would be laced by hiking trails. This was seen as a charming feature which would lure prestigious industries to establish themselves in a park-like campus.  Continue reading →

A Release from the Greater Niagara (Ontario) Chamber of Commerce
 
Niagara, Ontario, March 2012– With a massive structural deficit and a continued sag in the global economy, the Ontario govenrment has released a budget (this March 27) that projects a return to balanced budgets in 2017-18.

Greater Niagara, Ontario Chamber CEO Walter Sendzik

The budget has been built on the projection of $17.7 billlion in savings in the next three years and $4.4. billion in new revenue growth. While the projections released in the budget signal that the Ontario government is getting serious about addressing the province’s debt load and structural deficit – the test will be in how the government fairs in cutting expenses and at the same encouraging investments in Ontario.
 
“The recently released Drummond Report provided a reality check for Ontarians,” explains Walter Sendzik, CEO Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce. “The report clearly demonstrated that the Ontario government must change its way of doing business – and today’s budget doesn’t appear to be aligned with the report.”  Continue reading →

A  Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

“I don’t understand why prostitution is illegal,” said the late American humourist George Carlin a few years back. “Selling is legal. Fxxxing is legal. So why isn’t it legal to sell fxxxing?”

Hey, Mr. Premier, there is more money for you, right out there walking the streets.

 Sorry if you found the barely disguised use of the F-word offensive here, but let’s not lose the point of George’s question. Why isn’t prostitution legal, especially in Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario?

I mean here we are talking about a government that is all-out in favour of casinos and online gambling, and of finding ways to encourage more people to gamble so it can rake in those ‘sin taxes’ for what? To improve our health care and education systems? Continue reading →

From the Council of Canadians 

(Niagara At Large is posting this piece from the Ottawa-based citizens group Council of Canadians, responding to a lack of funding for protecting the Great Lakes in the Ontario government’s March 27 budget.)

While the Ontario budget was released on Tuesday, there was no mention of funding for the Great Lakes. The Council of Canadians is calling on the McGuinty government to fulfill their promise of $52 million in spending for protecting the Great Lakes.

The Council of Canadians' Maude Barlow

“The Great Lakes are a commons – something that belongs to the Earth and all living beings – and are in dire need of funding to address invasive species, wetlands destruction, water withdrawals, multi-point pollution, climate change and other threats,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson for the Council of Canadians, “We need to invest in the Great Lakes now to protect it for current and future generations.”

During election campaigning MPP Laurel Broten of Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding outlined a $52 million plan to clean up the Great Lakes called the Great Lakes Protection Act. Continue reading →

 A Short Tribute by Doug Draper 

He was to the banjo what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar and Oscar Peterson was to the piano.

One of popular music's greatest, the irreplacable Earl Scruggs

Unfortunately, but fortunately just the same, many people of an older age may remember him the most for his banjo playing in the theme song to the super popular 1960s TV show ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. “Come listen to the story ‘bout a man named Jed. Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed,” were among the memorable lyrics before Earl Scruggs punched in with a banjo solo that was mind-blowing for an instrument that had not much more stature than a vaudeville toy before he picked one up.

Earl Scruggs took up a banjo, like the late, great Paul Butterfield took up an equally under-rated instrument called the harmonica or harp, for short, and made it soar majestically and like a sconic boom, above guitars, string sections or any other musical backing laid down behind it. Continue reading →

By Fort Erie resident Paul Kassay

I wonder how many people took part in that so called “Town Hall meeting” in Fort Dreary the other night.  It was conducted as a kind of conference call  and lasted almost an hour. The idea was that callers were given a chance to speak directly to their senior elected officials and voice their beefs for all to hear.

Paul Kassay's depiction of the car wreck (with some thought given to the NASCAR track plan) that his town of Fort Erie, Ontario has become with one loss of job sites after another. Image courtesy of Paul Kassay.

My chance came after a wait that seemed an eternity. My question was; Why did not the OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation) coincide the closing of The Slots with the end of Horse racing season? “

Guess what ? I never did get on the program. I registered early and came on late, maybe too late. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper – A Brief Commentary  from Queen’s Park

It looks like the life or death of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal minority government is now up to Ontario’s NDP leader Andrea Horwath.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has a few very heavy days ahead of her

By Doug Draper

Let the war on younger people continue.

Seniors pension reform details in Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's March 29 budget.

In case you haven’t yet caught the news through The Globe and Mail and CBC, Canada’s federal government, through its March 29 budget announcements, is planning to move ahead with its plans to “reform” the Old Age Security pension program by pushing ahead the age of eligibility from age 65 to 67. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is continuing to post media releases it receives from Ontario’s party leaders and from Niagara area MPPs on provincial Liberal government’s March 27 budget. The following release is from the office of St. Catharines Liberal MPP and Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley.)

Strong Action For Ontario – Liberals Balance Budget, Protect Health Care and Education          

St. Catharines– The McGuinty government is taking strong action inthe 2012 Ontario Budget to tackle the provincial deficit while protecting seniors, health care and education in Niagara, St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley announced today.

St. Catharines, Ontario Liberal MPP Jim Bradley

“Building a stronger Niagara and stronger Ontario is about making the right choices to protect what we’ve built together over the last eight years,” Bradley said. “But these are tough economic times that require difficult, but careful decisions. Rather than thoughtless across-the-board cuts, we are making appropriate choices to ensure that Ontario families are receiving the best possible services and the best value for tax dollars.”

Our government listened to Ontario families and developed a budget that reflects their priorities. We will protect and strengthen these priorities by: Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following message from the office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak for our readers information.)

“Premier Dalton McGuinty took not an axe, but a butter knife to his budget.”- The Toronto Sun, March 27, 2012

March 28, 2012

QUEEN’S PARK– Ontario’s 600,000 unemployed will be saddened this morning to learn that Tuesday’s budget does nothing to give them hope, PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“The budget fails them on two counts,” Hudak said. “First, it’s not just the total absence of a jobs plan. It’s the fact that the budget actually makes things worse for the job creators who could help get our 600,000 unemployed men and women back to work.”

This is because the Liberals increased their tax load by canceling the promised next round of business tax reductions – in the midst of an economic downturn, Hudak said. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following public release from Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath for your information. With a minority Liberal government, and the NDP in a position to vote down the Liberal’s March 27 budget, triggering a provincial election if the opposition Conservatives join them in a non-confidence vote, you may wish to use the contact information in this post to express your views.)

Queen’s Park – New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath called on Ontarians to have their say on the provincial budget released yesterday.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“We have been clear that in order for this provincial budget to be acceptable, it needs to work for everyday people,” said Horwath.  “Last October, Ontarians voted for positive change. In this minority government, New Democrats are taking this budget very seriously.”

Today, Horwath unveiled a website and toll-free number that Ontarians can use to tell New Democrats what they like and don’t like about yesterday’s budget.  Ontarians can have their say online at www.ondpcaucus.com/yoursay/, www.ondpcaucus.com/exprimez-vous/ or by telephone at 1-855-ONT-BDGT (668-2348). Continue reading →

By Preston Haskell

A front-page headline in the St. Catharines Standard readsPage Headline Standard reads: ‘Province Will Freeze Social Assistant Rages’.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty takes it out on the down and out.

The Standard inserted an image of ‘The Great Impoverator’ into their article possibly to remind folks what kind of job he and his fellow dumb donkeys are doing. The Great Impoverator drives out Ontario Commerce and then throws the unemployed under the bus.

Before I go on I just have to say that the other political parties have had their turn at doing better and by looking at our deficit they demonstrate clearly that their only ability is to whine. They cannot even come up with a simple suggestion other than to ask us to vote THEIR sorry opposition donkeys into office! Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting this media release from teacher unions in Ontario in the wake of the March 27 budget from the provincial government, calling on teachers  to accept at two year wage freeze, and calling on them accept some compromises with respect to their benefits, including having them pay more into their pensions in order to reduce the amount the pensions are topped up by Ontario taxpayers across the board.)

Ontario Secondary School Teachers' president Ken Coran

Toronto – When Minister Duncan introduced his budget today (March 27), he referred to contract negotiations in the education sector and said, “if no agreement can be struck to protect Ontario’s progress in education and health care, we are prepared to propose necessary administrative and legislative measures to protect the public from service disruptions…Respect will be our watchword when it comes to these negotiations. Respect for our public-sector partners. Respect for the collective bargaining process.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

So you say you want a provincial budget that takes the axe to spending? And you certainly don’t want to pay any more in the way of income taxes, do you?

A depiction of the "new" West Lincoln Memorial Hospital

So something has to give. And how about starting in Niagara with the multi-million-dollar rebuild planned for the Grimsby, Ontario-based West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, which happens to be in Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook. Continue reading →

From the Office of Welland NDP MPP Cindy Forster

 (Niagara At Larger is posting this media release from Welland MPP Cindy Forster on the second day of a strike of Brock University Instructors in English as a Second Language that began on March 26. The decision to strike followed news that the University had found an “error” in the draft of a collective agreement reached with the instructors and their union, and therefore refused to sign that agreement.)

Queen’s Park– Cindy Forster, NDP MPP for Welland, expressed her support for striking English as a Second Language Instructors at Brock University.

Welland, Ontario Riding MPP Cindy Forster. File photo by Doug Draper

 “CUPE 4207-3 bargained in good faith with Brock University. Together they came up with a mutually acceptable collective agreement. That should be the end of story, but now the employer claims they didn’t cross their t’s and dot their i’s.” said Forster. “Smart people run Brock University. I find it hard to believe they’d make such an elementary mistake.” 

To avoid any further disruption to the lives of students and faculty Forster urged Brock University to put an end to this unnecessary labour dispute and to respect a fairly negotiated collective agreement. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Listen up Niagara regional council. You now have a  guy with a no-B.S., kick-butt, suffers-idiot-remarks-lightly record on your hands.

His name is Peter Kormos, the former Ontario NDP member for the Welland Riding and once Ontario cabinet minister, who won a byelection this March 26 for a seat as a Welland respresentative on regional council.

Kormos beat out about half a dozen rivels, including former Welland Mayor Damian Goulbourne, who lost a bid in the municipal elections more than a year ago to win a regional council seat, then lost an attempt in December of 2010 to become Niagara’s regional chairman. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

The mayor of St. Catharines, Ontario says he plans to table a notice of motion at the next Niagara regional council meeting – calling for pulling the plug on a $80-million-plus plan to build and operate a new police headquarters in Niagara Falls.

The current Niagara Regional Police Headquarters in St. Catharines, Ontario. Should we keep it? Photo by Doug Draper

St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan confirmed his desire to table the motion following a March 22 Niagara regional council meeting in which he once again argued that whatever reasons there may have been for moving the police headquarters from downtown St. Catharines to Niagara Falls, at a capital cost totaling more than $80 million, have died.

Those reasons included the possible location of the Canada Border Service Agency in a new Niagara Falls headquarters, which now seems unlikely as the CBSA has yet, after more than a year, to agree it wants to locate there. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper, Photos by Dan Wilson

 As we all know, we’ve been having some unusually warm weather lately following a winter that never was.

Grass fire in dull blaze in March in Niagara, Ontario. Photo by Dan Wilson

Lounging outdoors in t-shirts and short plants, watching tree buds burst around us is not the norm for this time of year in Niagara. It’s usually hard to find a grass fire this time of year too. Grass doesn’t burn all that well when it is either covered with snow or still all soaked with water from the snow melting.

Yet this past March 23, residents in the Thorold area of Niagara were treated to walls of flames, rolling through the fields of Beaverdams for a good hour or so before firefighters were able to bring the situation under control. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

 In a March 26 media release, Brock University calls it “a very unfortunate situation.”

Stricking Brock Univesity instructors. Photo by Doug Draper

 It certainly seemed that way – for the St. Catharines, Ontario-based university, for its students, for the instructors who are out on strike, and for those commuters using routes in and around the Merrittville Highway/St. David’s Road intersection where there seemed to be more than enough Niagara Regional Police directing traffic this March 26 than you might find at the scene of a train wreck.

The 30 to 40 strikers – all instructors in ‘English as a Second Language’ program and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees – began picketing this March 26 in front of the main entrances of this university because, according to a few I talked to on the same date, all they want is some job security. All they want, they say,  is some decent compensations from a university that doesn’t mind paying its highest one per cent well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars taken from our tax funds and debt-ridden students each year. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Boy oh boy, the already well-endowed in the high-paid stratosphere really know how to look after their own, don’t they?  Don’t you wish you could wander in to some six-figure deal for yourself– all at the taxpayer’s expense?

Niagara, Ontario's 2011 'Sunshine Girl' Debbie Sevenpifer. File photo by Doug Draper

Take the case of Debbie Sevenpifer, now the former chief executive officer or CEO, of the Niagara Health System, the former Ontario Conservative government amalgamated body now responsible for most of the hospital services in Niagara, Ontario. In other words, take the case of someone who, just this past year, ran a hospital organization that experienced a disproportionately high number of C-diff deaths in the country and was subject last year to a professional survey of Niagara residents on its performance that was almost as negative in the responses received from the public as that done on Tyoto when its car’s were receiving world-side headlines for catastrophic accelerator-peddle failtures. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Another two to three per cent annual wage increase for the police? The response to police union demands for an increase like that should be a flat no, says St. Catharines regional councillor Bruce Timms. The taxpayers of this region, he says, simply can’t afford it.

“I want the same two-year pay freeze for the police,” added Timms at a regional council meeting this March 22, “that (the province) is asking teachers for.”

“I think we all should respect the taxpayers and not just selfishly ask for more and more and more,” Timms continued of recent media reports that the union representing the Niagara Regional Police is using its latest contract talks with Niagara, Ontario’s regional government to ask for wage increases comparable to the 2.5 to three per cent yearly increases police forces of similar size are getting across the province. Continue reading →

 (Niagara At Large is posting the following March 23 release on federal funding for the community work of AIDS Niagara for our readers’ information.)

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario – On behalf of the Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq, Rick Dykstra, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, today announced support for a community-based project to improve knowledge and reduce the rate of HIV in that region.

St. Catharines, Ontario MP Rick Dykstra

“Through education and awareness programs, this project seeks to reduce the rate of HIV infection among high-risk populations including First Nations, Inuit and Métis,” said Mr. Dykstra. “Our Government applauds the work of AIDS Niagara as they continue to make great strides in addressing HIV and AIDS at the community level.” 

AIDS Niagara’s mission is to improve the quality of life for those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to reduce the spread of HIV. Continue reading →

From Fiona McMurran
 
Dear Friends,

We are all concerned about the future  of the world’s water, and particularly about the fate of the millions of  people around the globe who lack access to clean water and sanitation. On the week of this  World Water Day (observed this March 22, there is one action you can take that might make a  difference. Continue reading →

NAL Hudak on Energy

 From the Office of Tim Hudak

 QUEEN’S PARK– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak led a special Legislative debate this March 22 on another of his ideas for kick-starting private sector job creation – The Affordable Energy and Restoration of Local Decision Making Act, 2012.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak joins anti-wind farm rally on lawns of Queen's Park last year.

“Affordable energy is a building block of a strong Ontario that meets the expectations of its people: Excellent education, dependable health care and world-beating infrastructure,” Hudak said. “But to be able to pay for these things, we need to get the basics right. And one of those basics is affordable energy.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

If I were ‘King of Ontario’, one the first things I would do is give the royal boot to the head of the province’s Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Paul Godfrey, and his partner in gambling, the “honourable” finance minister Dwight Duncan, and replace them with Paul Collard.

Fort Erie, Ontario town councillor Paul Collard has a better grip on what to do about gambling mess than province does.

Who is Paul Collard, you may ask?

Well, Paul Collard is a councillor for the Town of Fort Erie, Ontario and after spending a half hour or so with him on the phone, I’m convinced that he may know more about the ups and downs of gambling industry than both Godfrey and Duncan combined, and he most certainly has a better feel for what it can do to dash people’s hopes and dreams.

Collard does not work in the gambling industry himself, nor is he a gambler, but he has two sons in their 30s, Ryan and Randy, working full-time in the industry. They are among the more than 200 people who will be losing their jobs at the end of this April when the OLG and its provincial government masters shut the doors on the Slots facility that opened with such fanfare in Fort Erie a mere 13 years ago. Continue reading →

By Dr. Gary Screaton Page

(This is the third in a series of articles by Dr. Gary Screaton Page that Niagara At Large is posting about some of the immigrants and refugees who have come to Canada to begin a new life after some often unimaginably brutal experiences they have suffered through in their countries of origin. In these posts, based on stories Dr. Page has learned from helping newcomers to the country in his border town of Fort Erie, Ontario, names have either been changed or last names have been omitted to protect individuals and their families and friends from any repercussions in their native lands.)

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada. A form of slavery, this crime often preys on immigrants and refugees who do not speak any English. Here is just one of their stories.

Dr. Gary Screaton Page

Nineteen-year-old Timea could not conceal the joy she felt as she boarded the plane for Canada. The agent who had hired her in Hungary and arranged for her flight told her she would have the choice of working as a nanny, housekeeper, or dancer when she arrived. With her education and entertainment industry background these opportunities sounded interesting to her. Not only would she be able to earn some money while travelling in Canada, she would also be learning first hand about Canadian culture.

Filled with a young woman’s sense of adventure, Timea disembarked and was met by her Canadian employers at the Toronto International Airport arrival gate. Quickly they whisked her away to her summer residence where Timea’s joy turned to horror. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Sheldon S. Wolin, in his book Managed Democracy And The Specter Of Inverted Totalitarianism offers some particularly powerful points that resonate in Canada’s current political environment.

Voter management, (which is particularly timely with the current electoral fraud controversy) is a form of “managed democracy”.  It occurs not only when illegal voter suppression tactics are used, but also with the time-honored propaganda technique of repeating slogans.

When a slogan is constantly repeated, people make the assumption that it is correct, even though the assumption necessarily isn’t based upon evidence.  An example of this would be the repetition of the “corporate tax cuts” slogan.  Evidence shows that these cuts are not producing results, but people assume the opposite because they are bombarded with the message. Continue reading →