Author Archives: dougdraper

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has the audacity to portray himself as an “education premier” and as the leader of a Liberal Party and government that encourages ‘smarter, more economically sustainable growth’ over the low-density sprawl that has been tearing at the heart of our communities and making them less socially rewarding and less affordable places to live in.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty Follows former Tory premier Mike Harris's lead on school closings

The McGuinty government’s willingness to allow ever more of our neighbourhoud schools, with their proud histories and the vital role they play as community centers for people of all ages, shows once again what a fraud this premier and his government’s promises are.

I wrote the commentary below with a plea at the end to you and to all of your friends and neighbours across our region to contact your provincial member of parliament and let them know that we have had enough of McGuinty’s wrecking ball approach to our cherished schools and to the older neighbourhoods that surround them in the heart of our communities. Let him know that we will be pleased to see his now-minority government defeated by the opposition Conservatives and NDP if it does not begin to take our concerns seriously when it comes to issues like this. Continue reading →

By Andrea and Malcolm Duncan 

Methanol, formaldehyde, carbon disulfide, benzene, toluene and hundreds of other chemicals. …  just a sample of what you might be breathing and drinking in should the following scenario be approved.

A 'No Fracking' poster promoting the documentary film 'Gasland'

Hydro-fracking is a process of drilling for natural gas. Deep holes are drilled vertically then horizontally. Millions of gallons of fresh water mixed with proprietary, secret chemical mixtures are forced into the well. This loosens the shale layers which in turn free the natural gas for collection.  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Should the number of municipalities in Niagara be reduced to possibly eight or six or three, or maybe even just one?

Municipal affairs expert David Siegel speaks to regional councillors and mayors at first session of governance review. Photo by Doug Draper

Do we need as many politicians as Niagara now has – a total of 125 or one for every 3,419 residents at the regional and local municipal levels – serving a region with a total population of 427,421?

Which level of municipal government, regional or local, should be responsible for delivering what services to Niagara’s residents? Or should our regional and municipal governments simply continue with the status quo? Continue reading →

By Dr. Gary Screaton Page

 (Niagara At Large is pleased to post what we hope will be the first in a series of articles by Dr. Gary Screaton Page, a Niagara, Ontario resident and a chaplain with the Niagara Regional Police Service who also assists refugees, on the challenges newcomers to Canada face. Stay tune to more articles by Dr. Page on this subject to run on this site on a more or less weekly basis.)

Dr. Gary Screaton Page

There is much criticism of newcomers to Canada. “They take our jobs.” “They work for nothing and pull our wages down.” “They don’t speak the language.” “They drain our economy and are prone to be criminals.”

A Niagara At Large News Brief

“Welcome to the new Thorold Satellite Office” said Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster during a recent official opening of the office.

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster, joins Thorold Seniors rep Allen Campbell and the city's mayor Ted Luciani for opening of Forster's Thorold satellite office.

With Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani on hand, Forster said it is very important for the seniors we serve and other people in Thorold and South St. Catharines to be able to meet with the staff of their MPP. Through arrangements with Thorold City Council, a space is being provided at the Thorold Seniors Drop in Centre. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 (A brief foreword by the writer – After a similar version of this commentary ran recently in the weekly spot I am granted in the weekly newspaper Niagara This Week, I received more than a few emails from people identifying themselves as Baby Boomers who told this Baby Boomer that they did not appreciate what I was saying here about our generation.

They were quick to stress that they don’t fit my caricature of Boomers, and I take them at their word that, in their case, it is probably true since I would like to believe that I don’t fit it either. But I was quick to respond to these people who felt wounded by my thoughts that many do fit that caricature and there is the record of  Boomers spending themselves and their communities into debt, investing in the greediest of corporate ventures for short-term gain, and using up or despoiling the non-renewable resources we should be protecting for future generations on this planet.

I think that many of my fellow Baby Boomers, who grew up preaching the virtues of peace and love and the common good, know, in the hearts of hearts, that we collectively have a good deal to answer for. Now I will leave the rest to my old friend George Carlin, who was a little too old to be a Baby Boomer, and the words a wrote a couple of weeks back.)

  “Here’s another group I can do without, the Baby Boomers. … Whiny, narcissistic, self-indulgent people with a simple philosophy: “Gimme that! It’s mine!”

 – From a sketch by the late American satirist and social critic George Carlin.

Boy, the Baby Boomers sure know how to get attention, don’t they? They – or should I say “we” since I am a reluctant member of that big, bulging cohort – always have, and why shouldn’t we?

The Baby Boomer's Cry - "Gimme that. It's mine!"

Born en masse between the end of the Second World War and the early to mid-1960s, we Boomers took our place as the most populated group of people on this continent, far outnumbering some of the generations that came before and after us. By virtue of our numbers, we became, among other things, the largest block of consumers and the largest block of voters. So why wouldn’t we get the lion’s share of attention from marketers of goods and services, and from our politicians? Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

  “The price of oil and quality of freedom invariably travel in opposite directions.As the price of crude oil climbs higher in an oil-dominated country, poor or rich, secular or Muslim, the country’s citizens will, over time, experience less free speech, declining freedom of the press, and a steady erosion of the rule of law.  Neither Texans nor Canadians are exempt… It is the ‘axiom of our age’.”

 –   The ‘First Law of Petropolitics’ as outlined by New York Times columnist Thomas Freidman.

In his book ‘ Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future’, Andrew Nikiforuk delineates the failings of Canada’s Tar Sands industry in the province of Alberta.  What follows is an abridged synopsis of the book and its message.  It is an important message to consider at a time when this country’s addiction to short term oil profits is compromising who we are as a nation.

Canada's tar sands leave scorched earth where forests and clear waters once were

Canada’s headlong rush into the exploitation of the planet’s dirtiest oil is testament to the above axiom, in the same way that we are an icon of how not to exploit what could be a liberating resource.

Instead of transparently controlling and regulating this hydrocarbon as a base for a future low carbon economy, we are being controlled by its siren songs, much as a heroin addict is controlled by the illusory promises of his captor. Continue reading →

 (Niagara At Large is posting the following response to the Drummond Report from Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak for our readers’ information)

 “The roots ofOntario’s current fix lie in both the economy and in the province’s record of failing to keep growth in government spending in line with revenue growth.” – Page 81, Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services

Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak

 February 15, 2012

HUDAK: GET ON WITH THE JOB, PREMIER

QUEEN’S PARK – Don Drummond’s report has exposed a Liberal spending crisis more severe than anything previously disclosed, requiring immediate action to start reversing the damage – and straight talk from political leaders, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said today. Continue reading →

–   Ontario NDP Calls For ‘A Balanced Plan For Balanced Books’

 (Niagara At Large is posting the following February 15 response from the Ontario NDP to the Drummond Report for our readers’ information.)

Queen’s Park– New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath says Don Drummond’s report on public service ignores the full picture when it comes to balancing Ontario’s books.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath

“If we’re going to get Ontario’s books into balance we have to take a balanced approach. Recklessly scrapping programs people rely on while handing out corporate tax cuts doesn’t make sense,” said Horwath. “Instead of hitting families with higher electricity bills or scrapping kindergarten for our kids, we need to ask whether we can afford spending on things like corporate tax giveaways.”

The Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Service was struck by the McGuinty Government to look at ways to eliminate the province’s deficit, but was instructed not to consider any revenue issues, like the $2 billion a year impact of the Liberal corporate income tax cuts. Continue reading →

The McGuinty government today received the report of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services.  Feb. 15

Don Drummond delivers his bitter pill

As part of its commitment to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18 while protecting education and health care, the McGuinty government lowered growth in program spending to about four per cent from about seven per cent last year.  This was accomplished through modernizing the delivery of public services and creating administrative efficiencies to achieve better value for money for Ontario taxpayers. 

Recognizing that this new era of slower global economic growth requires lowering program spending growth further, in March 2011 the government established the commission to provide additional advice on how to make long-term, fundamental changes to the way government delivers services.  Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following February 15 media release from the Niagara Parks Commission for our readers’ information. With this anouncement the NPC is coming on line with Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati and New York State officials in approving this event.)

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) has approved a request by professional tightrope walker Nik Wallenda to walk across the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda will be crossing these falls late this summer

“This decision was approved in part in recognition of the role that stunting has played in the history and promotion of Niagara Falls. We have made it clear that this is a very unique one-time situation. It’s not an every day activity and will not be allowed to become an every day activity,” NPC Chair Janice Thomson said. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following release from the office of St. Catharines, Ontario MP Rick Dystra)

Niagara, Ontario Regional Police Chief Wendy Southall

St. Catharines Member of Parliament Rick Dykstra says this week’s $30 million dollar cocaine seizure in St. Catharines once again highlights the Niagara Regional Police Service’s proactive campaign against the region’s drug traffickers, under Chief Wendy Southall. 

By Doug Draper

Ontario’s economic D-Day’ reads the front-page headline in The Globe and Mail above a story warning that the province’s “day of reckoning is upon it.”

The day in question – this February 15 at roughly two o’clock in the afternoon – is when Don Drummond, a former TD Bank chief economist appointed by Ontario’s Liberal government, is releasing a report detailing more than 400 recommendations for driving down a deficit totaling $16 billion. Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

Just think of it, a theatre in the heart of Port Dalhousie, Ontario’s heritage district, open year round and drawing thousands of people who just might also patronize some of the nearby restaurants and shops that complain they are starving for business when the summer crowds disappear.

A bit of Port Dalhousie, Ontario from across the harbour waters flowing to Lake Ontario.

Almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  And as it turns out, maybe it is.

According to recent reports in The St. Catharines Standard – a newspaper that so shamelessly championed a development group’s plan to build a condo tower complete with a 415-seat theatre in the historic port town – the developers are now of the opinion that the theatre may be the “least viable” part of the plan and are thinking of trading it in for, get this, a grocery store. Continue reading →

The following call on the Canadian government to assist communities across the country in their efforts to conserve and protect lighthouses as part of our country’s marine heritage, prepared by the Heritage Canada Foundation, was submitted to Niagara At Large by one of our Niagara, Ontario region’s veteran heritage advocates Pamela Minns, who is hoping residents here will join in signing a petition to the federal government to save our country’s lighthouses before it is too late.

Point Abino Lighthouse along Lake Erie in Fort Erie, Ontario is in urgent need of refurbishing

Niagara At Large has previously strived to bring attention to the need to preserve the classic Port Abino Lighthouse just off the Fort Erie, Ontario shores of Lake Erie – a lighthouse that has been recognized internationally as one of the finest structures of its kind in the Great Lakes. A link for the petition to the federal government is located in the final paragraph of this post. recognized by many as one of the    The following was received from Heritage Canada Foundation:

Ottawa, February 8^th, 2012– The Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF) is launching a campaign to encourage federal investment in the efforts of local groups and communities to save their lighthouses. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

With a winter cold snap hitting the region and possibly more to follow, how would a bit of tropical warmth mixed in with exotic butterflies and rainforest critters suit you?

A young girl passing through Butterfly Conservatory meets a Crested Gecko from 'Animals of the Rainforest' exhibit. Photo by Doug Draper

Starting this February 11 and running through this coming May 11, the Niagara Parks Commission has all of this warmth and rare and wonderful wildlife wrapped together under the glassed-in dome of its world-renown Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

A special exhibit of wildlife from the rainforest regions of the world, organized by the Ottawa-based Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo, rolled in to the Conservatory this past February 10 or a pre-exhibit media appearance. Continue reading →

– Vows To “Rebuild A Proud, Strong, Confident Ontario

A Foreword by Doug Draper

 This February 10, 11 and 12, Niagara, Ontario area MPP Tim Hudak and his provincial Conservatives gathered in Niagara Falls for, among other things, a review of his leadership of the party.

Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak

The review comes four months after a provincial election that had his part and the NDP gaining enough seats to reduce the government Liberals to a minority that could be brought down any time during the next three and a half years should both the Tories and NDP agree that any furtherance of the Liberals in power is, in their view, is out of the question. It also comes after an election that, much to the disappointment of many provincial Tories, Hudak let victory slip out of the party’s hands after he had a convince lead in the polls in the months leading up to it. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

If you are among us older types who feel that today’s young people are not as interested as involved as they should be in making our communities better places to live and work in, you should have attended a meeting at the Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario campus of Niagara College this February 8.

Niagara College student Jeff Sinclair talks up active citizenship and supporting regional transit. Photo by Doug Draper

The meeting, attended by more than 60 students and members of public agencies and businesses from across the region, was titled “Active Citizenship: An Interactive Discussion on Building a Better Niagara” and featured some inspiring presentations by students who have volunteered their knowledge and skills in developing countries around the world and are now anxious to apply them to bettering life for their fellow citizens here.

The meeting also focused on a recently launched, student-driven initiative called ‘Meet on the Bus’ where anyone in the Niagara community can participate in discussions on how we can all work together to make Niagara better and “celebrate and support” Niagara’s fledgling regional transit system at the same time. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

An offer for Niagara’s regional government to purchase more than 20 acres of shoreline property in the local municipality of Wainfleet was narrowly defeated by the Region’s council this February 9.

Grimsby regional councillor Debbie Zimmerman - Saying 'no' to offer was best decision for Region's taxpayers

Niagara’s regional chair Gary Burroughs cast the vote that killed the offer when a recorded vote from councillors in the chambers, following a closed door meeting  on the property matter that ran more than an hour, on the matter, in an 11-to-11 tie.

The property in question stretches along the beaches of Lake Erie and is part of the former Easter Seals campground which was purchased for about $3.2 million in 2005 by a company called Lakewood Beach Properties. According to sources Niagara At Large talked to in the days leading up to the February 9 vote, the company was offering to sell half of the property to the region for something in the range of $7 million – a price the sources said had at least some regional councillors wondering if it was a good deal for taxpayers. The other half is being used by Lakewood Beach Properties  to build a multi-store condominium overlooking the lake.

The offer was tabled a week before the February 9 meeting during a closed session of the Region’s Corporate Services Committee and was given the green light by enough councillors present during that session to go to the full council for the vote. Sources said some of the councillors in favour of moving the offer forward, including St. Catharines regional councillors Andy Petrowski and Tim Rigby, received donations from parties with links to Lakewood Beach Properties. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

A small but determined group of representatives for Niagara area unions and seniors entered the Niagara Falls, Ontario constituency office of Conservative MP and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson demanding to speak to him.

Union reps Lou Ann Binning (left) and Heather Kelley (right) with Seniors rep George Sitek during brief "occupation" of Tory MP Rob Nicholson's Niagara Falls riding office. Photo by Doug Draper

The group of six, led by Heather Kelly, vice president for the Niagara Regional Labour Council, wanted to talk to Nicholson about the Conservative government’s recently expressed interest in cutting back on or possibly making millions of Canadians approaching retirement wait longer for Old Age Security benefits.

“We are one of 21 groups across the province visiting the offices of Tory MPs to speak to them (about any plans to cut or put off providing pension assistance to seniors,” said Kelly after the group was told by constituency office worker that Nicholson was busy in Ottawa. In the spirit of the ‘Occupy Movement’ the group chose to “occupy” the office for a little over an hour, waiting for phone call from the MP before leaving.

Many seniors who were struggling to get by on low incomes in the years leading up to their retirement are living under the poverty level as it is, Kelly told Niagara At Large outside Nicholson’s constituency office. If anything, the federal government should be heeding her Labour Council’s call for a doubling of pensions for seniors who find themselves in those straights “so they can live out there years with some dignity,” she said. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Peter Kormos is eager to get back into the political arena. Only this time, the arena would be closer to home.

Peter Kormos running for Niagara regional council

A veteran of provincial and municipal politics, the 59-year-old native of Welland has announced his intentions to run for the Niagara regional council seat vacated by Cindy Forster last fall when she won a seat at Queen’s Park as the NDP candidate for the Welland Riding. Forster ran provincially after Kormos made it known last spring that after 23 years as the NDP representative for the Welland Riding, he had decided not to seek another term at Queen’s Park.

As for his decision to join a field of six other candidates, including former Welland mayor Damian Goulbourne, for the empty seat at the Region, Kormos stated in a February 6 media release that “he is eager to continue to contribute” in public affairs. “Welland needs a strong voice on regional council,” he said, and “I believe that I can be an effective advocate for Welland.” Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper

I can’t believe I am posting this in a sense because I am by no means a monarchist. The whole idea of a monarchy with its royal blood lines repels almost every rebellious impulse and craving for democracy in my body.

The Queen as I remember her during my earliest grade school days.

 Yet I can’t help but have a soft spot in my heart for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and offer a nod if not a bow to her on the 60^th anniversary this February 6 of her accession to the British throne.

 I’m not all that sure where the soft spot came from but it may have a little bit to do with the fact that in my life she has always been around. I was barely more than nine months old in February of 1952 when her father, George V1 (portrayed so well in the recent film ‘The King’s Speech’ died too young and the 25-year-old princess was called home from a trip to Africa to wear the crown. Continue reading →

–   A Public Meeting On How You Can Invest Your Money In Ways That Have Positive Social And Environmental Impacts

 A Note from Niagara At Large – This Thursday, February 9, two public interest groups, Climate Change Niagara and the St Catharines and District Council of Women, will be hosting a public meeting  at the St. Catharines Centennial Library on 54 Church Street featuring Eugene Ellmen, executive director of the Toronto-based , not-for-profit Social Investment Organization.

Eugene Ellmen will talk about opportunities for all of us invest and spend our money in ways that lead to positive social and environmental change.

The February 9 meeting begins at 8 p.m. and is free to the public. Posted below is an article by Eugene Ellmen on socially responsible investing.

By Eugene Ellmen, A Special to Niagara At Large

In these times, when economic conditions and social and environmental problems appear ever-more difficult, Canadians seem to be losing faith in their power to make a difference in the world.

Eugene Ellmen, a natioanl advocate for socially responsible investing

Sustainable solutions — the pathways to balanced approaches between economic needs and social and environmental imperatives — seem increasingly distant in these polarized times.

 Yet millions of Canadians have not lost faith. Faced with difficult problems like global warming, many Canadians are taking sustainable solutions into their own hands. They are making consumer and investment decisions that personally contribute — even in a small way — to addressing such issues. Continue reading →

NAL port weller dry docks,

 By Doug Draper

A dry spell for St. Catharines shipbuilder  Seaway Marine & Industrial Inc. – formerly Port Weller Dry Docks – came to an end this February 6 with the announcement of a $21.7 million federal government contact to refurbish the Canadian naval destroyer HMSC Athabaskan.

St. Catharines shipbuilding hard wins federal contract. File photo by Doug Draper.

The announcement was made at the at the shipbuilder’s site along the along the east side of the Welland Canal in north St. Catharines by federal Public Works and Government Services Minister Rona Ambrose and St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 Imagine the complete and utter stupidity of a political leader granting a company millions of dollars in tax breaks with no strings attached and no guarantee that the company will create a single new job, let alone keep its operations in the country that was so generous to it.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper enjoys a photo up in a locomotive after announcing tax breaks for Electro-Motive (the Caterpillar Corporation) in London, Ontario four years ago.

 Well, you don’t have to imagine it. Look no further than Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper who, with our tax dollars in hand, went to a manufacturing plant in London, Ontario in 2008. While there, Harper hand Electro-Motive (later the Caterpillar Corporation) that was running the plant about $5 million in tax subsides, only to have Caterpillar, which is swimming in record profits, close the plant this February and put more than 450 Canadians out of work. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

As the old saying goes, all good things eventually come to an end.

The Occupy Buffalo encampment as it looked this past Christmas, Photo by Doug Draper

Then again, what is “good” is often in the eyes of the beholder and as much as the protesters who kept vigil at the Occupy Buffalo encampment received the support of everyone from passing motorists to this New York border city’s mayor, some have no doubt been wanting police to move in and do what they finally did at 2 a.m. this Thursday, February 2 – dismantle all the remaining tents and banners at Buffalo’s Niagara Square and move the occupiers out. Continue reading →

–   More Than 450 Ontario Workers  Left Out In The Cold

By Mark Taliano

 Caterpillar showed its true colors this Friday, February 3 by announcing that it is closing its locomotive plant in London, Ontario.

Many Canadians, including Mr. Ken Lewenza, CAW National President, suspected, from the beginning of the lock-out, that this was the company’s not-so hidden agenda. “Caterpillar,” he says,” had no intention of keeping this plant open.” Continue reading →

By Preston Haskell

We have now witnessed a foreign corporation ‘being allowed’ to buy up a Canadian Corporation for the sole purpose of eliminating a Canadian Competitor. And to think that our Canadian Government paved the way for this despicable act with our tax dollars!

This flag few over a rally this January of close to 15,000 Ontario residents supporting workers at the now-closed Caterpillar plant in London, Ontario. Photo courtesy of Tori Criispo.

Caterpillar has now proven itself to be a looter and as such should be barred from doing any further business in Canada. We are a sovereign nation. It’s time to start acting like one!

No wonder Canadians have become skeptical and suspicious of government.

I would like to reiterate my comments made earlier on Niagara At Large under title: ‘Canada Doesn’t Need Corporations Like Caterpillar To Survive and Prosper’. Continue reading →

A Statement from Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and London area MPP Teresa Armstrong on the closure of the Caterpillar plant

February 3 – London families, and all Ontarians, are shocked and dismayed by the announcement that Caterpillar International will shutter London’s Electro-Motive plant and put 465 highly skilled workers out in the cold.

One of the signs held up at a huge rally against the Caterpillar Corporation this January attended in London, Ontario by Niagara residents and close to 15,000 others across the province. Photo courtesy of Tori Crispo.

This is devastating news for those workers and an entire community that’s seen good jobs vanish, plants close and unemployment levels that are simply too high.

More than ever it’s clear we need new ideas and a new approach if we’re going to create and maintain good jobs in Ontario. Ontario’s across-the-board corporate tax giveaways reward companies like Caterpillar (that are) making record profits, even while they ship jobs and investment out of Ontario. Continue reading →

 By Malcolm Allen, MP, Welland (Ontario) Riding

As you may know, Stephen Harper recently jetted off to Switzerland to tell the world’s financial elite about his plan to fund billions in corporate giveaways on the backs of those planning for retirement. That’s plain wrong.

Welland Riding MP Malcolm Allen

Some 11 million working Canadians don’t have a workplace pension and as life gets more expensive, most families can’t afford to gamble with their economic security. Almost every day, I hear from another constituent in the Welland Riding who’s deeply worried about what’s coming.

Niagara’s seniors shouldn’t be forced to work an extra two years just to foot the bill for Ottawa insiders and their well connected friends. The Harper Conservatives may have kept this scheme a secret during the last election, but our team of New Democrats has always been clear. We believe the government should be working to ensure that every Canadian senior can retire in dignity— not making things worse by slashing Old Age Security. We want to strengthen pensions for the future, instead of making them more vulnerable to market turmoil. Continue reading →

By Dan Wilson

“Part of our history is also whaling, for example, and the day came when the whaling industry stopped. Now, is that day coming with the seal hunt? It just may be.” – Ryan Cleary, MP, St. John’s South-Mount Pearl in a statement to the CBC last week.

This was all it took for some animal rights groups to declare a “victory” for the animals.

Seal slaughter on the bloodied ice flows off eastern Canada

By Frank Valeriote –  MP for Guelph,  Ontario. Liberal Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food 

Special to Niagara At Large

Recently, in light of drastic cuts facing the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, I and many other Members of Parliament have received a flood of letters to

Guelph Liberal MP Frank Valeriote

 Michael McCain, President of Maple Leaf Foods concerning the safety of our food. I share the frustration these letter writers are expressing regarding this shocking step backward by the Conservative government on food safety.

The Liberal Party has condemned plans by the Conservative government to cut hundreds of employees from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and reduce the agency’s funding by millions.

Canadians have every reason to be upset and worried. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following media release on a call by Ontario’s New Democratic Party and its Welland Riding member Cindy Forster calling for a stop to expanding the power of controversial Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) until a promised review of them is completed.)

Queen’s Park– Ontario NDP MPP Cindy Forster called for moratorium on expanding LHIN powers before a delayed review of the legislation is completed.

Niagara's NDP MPP Cindy Forster, File photo by Doug Draper

“The Liberals promised a comprehensive review of the LHINs, but have delayed instead of delivered,” said Forster. “Giving the LHINs more power before conducting the promised review is reckless and irresponsible.”

The 2006 law creating the local health integration networks (LHINs) stipulated that a “comprehensive review” be completed by the Legislature by 2010. But in 2010, the Liberals changed the law to delay the review, which has yet to happen. Continue reading →

NAL transit struggling

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

I know I’m not the only one who has seen Niagara Region transit buses running up and down the roads and highways between Welland, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines with hardly any passengers in them.

Niagara regional chairman Gary Burroughs speals at official launcing of Niagara Region Transit last September. Photo by Doug Draper

I’ve heard people making snide remarks about the near-empty buses with “Niagara Region Transit” stamped on the side of them for more than three months now. And as much as I have been a long-time advocate for a regional transit system, I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a half a dozen passengers on one of these busses, even going in an out of a place as busy as the Pen Centre shopping mall during the height of the Christmas shopping season.

 Usually the number of passengers I see on these buses is no more like two or three, and that is sad because it is already starting to make some of the people who never favoured this regional service in the first play say pull the plug on it.

 The number of those wanting Niagara’s regional regional government to park the eight  buses it paid $3.7 million for and leave transit services to the local municipalities probably won’t grow any smaller when word gets around about the ridership figures for the first four months since Niagara Region Transit was officially launched at the beginning of last September. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Doug Draper

 This fall Niagara-on-the-Lake’s town council passed a resolution asking senior levels of government in Canada and the United States to agree to a moratorium on any discharge to the Great Lakes of wastewater associated with the hydraulic drilling for natural gas until the potential impact on water bodies like the Niagara River and Lake Ontario are reviewed.

Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor Jamie King

 The town council’s resolution followed in the wake of reports that petro-chemical companies in the U.S. are exploring the possibility of shipping chemically-contaminated water from the drilling or “fracking” process to the Niagara Falls, New York wastewater treatment plant for treatment and discharge to the Niagara River.

 Since last October, four other local municipalities in Niagara, Ontario –  St. Catharines, Wainfleet, Thorold and Fort Erie – have supported the resolution tabled by Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor Jamie King. But much to King’s disappointed, Niagara’s regional council has so far only considered accepting the resolution as an item of information. Continue reading →

By Pamela Minns

 In 1974 Heritage Canada Foundation first established the third Monday in February each year as Heritage Day.

A gateway to Queenston Height and Brock's Monument. Photo by Doug Draper

In fact, the entire third week in February has traditionally been set aside as “Heritage Week”in celebration of what has been defined as“the sum total of our inheritance – built, cultural and natural”.

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 Let’s say you live in a rural community in Ontario like West Lincoln or Wainfleet and you find out some out-of-town company wants to build a wind farm for generating electricity near your backyard.

A wind farm in the country

 You’ve heard all of the concerns raised by wind farm opponents about these towering turbines keeping people awake all night, and causing headaches and other health problems. You’ve heard charges that wind energy is driving electricity costs up and that the looming turbines used to generate that energy is dragging surrounding property values down.

 That’s enough to have you paying a visit to the local municipal hall to find out what your mayor and council can do about this wind power plan. The answer you get you’re your municipal leaders can be summed up in one word – “Nothing.” Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the entire report Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey delivered to the city’s council this January 30 for our readers’ interest.)

 Moving forward with vision…. A Report to Council by Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey

Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey

“In response to (Niagara Health System supervisor) Dr. Kevin Smith’s comments made public recently, in my opinion, he validates the direction the City of Port Colborne has taken throughout the past few years….a new vision and who better to create this vision than those leaders from across the Region – community and medical leaders, along with members of our community.

Through a process of consultation with community health care service providers, enablers and members of our community, we have developed and presented to Dr. Smith and the province a clinical services plan for South Niagara as a response to the changes proposed to be introduced to our health care system.  Continue reading →

 A Foreword by Doug Draper

 Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews used a talk before the Toronto Board of Trade this January 30 to announce the launch of a new “action plan” for transforming the province’s health care system for the future.

Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews

The action plan, according to a brief Niagara At Large received from a spokesperson for the health minister, is aimed at dealing with such challenges as the demands the province’s aging population will place on the system and the province’s deficit, while at the same time “ensuring families get the best health care where and when they need it.”

“Health care remains a priority for Ontarians and that is why the government has invested 61 per cent more in health care since 2003,” states a media release the provincial government circulated following Matthews’ January 30 talk. “The government is committed to maintaining its investment in health care to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right place.” Continue reading →

 By Pat Scholfield

Eeenie, meenie,  miney,  mo,  where should the new south Niagara hospital go?

Niagara health care advocate Pat Scholfield

While local politicians salivate at the mouth, and before we get out the dart board; we should focus on how to fix our broken system now.    

We must figure a way to attain adequate access to essential hospital services for south Niagarians and to retain these services until such time as a “new” hospital is built. That is the challenge for all of us and Dr. Smith to ponder.

 I have a few suggestions: Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

They are on the verge of invading the Great Lakes waters and if they do, it could spell disaster for native fish and other forms of life in and around the waterbodies.

An Asian Carp caught in waters near the Great Lakes. A U.S. National Parks Service photo

They are Asian carp, a voracious eater capable of growing more than three feet long and weighing more than 100 pounds, that were imported to the southern United States from the Far East in the 1970s and have since found their way into the Mississippi River watershed to within striking distance of Lake Michigan.

An electric barrier, now being installed and maintained by U.S. agencies in a water system connected to Lake Michigan, is about the only thing preventing an all-out invasion of the Great Lakes where these fish could empty the lakes of nutrients necessary for the survival of native wildlife. A worst-case scenario could be the loss of a commercial and recreational fishery worth billions of dollars to Canada and the United States. Continue reading →

 By Sue Salzer

 Kevin Smith and the Niagara Health System he was appointed by the provincial government to supervise have polarized residents and politicians in Niagara, Ontario’s southern tier this past week with headlines proclaiming the possibility of a new hospital to serve south Niagara.

Sue Salzer speaking at health care rally last year. File Photo by Doug Draper

 The idea of a new hospital for the southern tier holds some promise. But in reality it is futuristic and will join the lengthy list of requests for new hospital facilities from all across the province, some of which have been gathering dust at the Ministry of Health for years while they await approval and funding.

 What is really needed immediately here in Niagara are common sense adjustments immediately to a system in distress. The Niagara Health System’s so-called “Hospital Improvement Plan” has, for the more than three years it has been the NHS’s roadmap for restructuring our hospital services has created chaos and systemic problems that have yet to be addressed. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives prepare to loot an Old Age Security program for millions of Canadians approaching retirement, they go right on pigging out from the public trough.

Ottawa at work

The gold-plated trough they have their snouts buried in guarantees a federal member of parliament who has served in office for as few as six years an annual pension of $40,000, that can begin collecting as early as age 55. And guess who’s paying for these generous offerings to our MPs?

You’ve guessed it my fellow 99 per centers. They are being paid through taxes by the very Canadians Harper and company are now thinking about forcing to work until they are 67, unless they want to retire earlier without as much as a penny of Old Age Security.  Continue reading →

By Preston Haskell

Isn’t government just wonderful? Just wonderful!

Preston Haskell

Is there even one government agency that is not over budget? Is there even one government agency, including municipal, provincial and federal, that is not scrounging to satiate their appetite for more financial resources?

Our federal government alone has chalked up a $600 billion debt! To put it into perspective, that’s $17,ooo  for every Canadian citizen from cradle to grave or about $300,ooo per taxpayer. Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

No wonder so many people I hear from every day tell me that they have had it with politicians.

Take Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper for example.

Prime Mnister Stephen Harper outlines his 'grand plan' for Canadians at World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

This past January 26, Harper used an opportunity thousands of miles away from us, at the World Economic Forum  in Switzerland, to drop a bombshell that could have a profound impact on the Old Age Security funding as millions of Canadians are approaching retirement age.

“Harper’s Grand Plan” read the headline in the following morning’s Globe and Mail above a story that quoted saying that Canada’s demographics (meaning the big bulging numbers of baby boomers now approaching their 65^th birthday) pose “a threat to the social programs and services that Canadians cherish.”  What if some of us were to argue that one of the biggest threats to the social programs and services  Canadians cherish is Harper’s government? Continue reading →

NAL Niagara south hospital,

 A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

 Now Kevin Smith is talking!

NHS supervisor Kevin Smith

Smith was also quoted saying a new hospital in Niagara, Ontario’s southern tier would probably also mean “the closure of the majority of the other sites” in the south end. Continue reading →

 By Bill Trench

Although most residents continue to demand better health facilities, the town of Fort Erie seems determined to welcome into the community a polluting giant, the toxic effects of which could affect the health of residents on both sides of the Niagara River for decades. I refer of course to the proposed motor speedway.

Architect's rendition of proposed NASCAR race track for Fort Erie, Ontario

While proponents trumpet their support of auto racing, the public at large continues in blissful ignorance of the very real threat that this endeavour poses to Fort Erie and the whole Niagara area. In a word: LEAD.

Have locals forgotten the pollution of Love Canal? Continue reading →

NAL Drummond report,

 A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper

Niagara At Large is posting the following January 27 media release from the Toronto-based Ontario Health Coalition, a citizens’ organization that has often visited Niagara, Ontario to support residents fighting for better hospital services in this region.

Ontario Health Coalition director Natalie Mehra

The OHC’s director Natalie Mehra, along with a representative of the citizens group Democracy Watch and Bryan Evans, a politics professor at Ryerson University, warned at a media conference at Queen’s Park this January 27 that the Drummond Commission, created by the province’s Liberal government, is about to recommend “sweeping public service cuts” to the government with no input from the public.

 “Despite no mention of these plans during the election only a few months ago, the McGuinty government has forged a mandate for the Drummond Commission that is extraordinarily biased towards privatization,” Mehra  told Queen’s Park reporters. Continue reading →

By John Bacher

A recent cartoon published in The St. Catharines Standard – a newspaper which is now part of the Conservative Party leaning Sun Media empire – portrayed soldiers standing on guard during the War of 1812. They were instructed by their commander to stand firm, since if the Americans succeeded in winning, Canada would be turned into a National Park.

American troops stand firm during War of 1812 battle.

Following his encounter with the Native Americans of the plains, Catlin wrote the words which still resonate with Canadians who, in these dark times that try the soul, still dare to identify themselves as environmentalists.  He urged that “some great protecting policy of government” serve to preserve its “pristine beauty and wildness (as) a magnificent park.”  Such a “A Nation’s Park”, for Catlin would allow the world to see “for ages to come, the native Indians in classic attire, galloping his wild horse, with sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elk and buffaloes.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Imagine a brand new prison in Niagara! Wouldn’t that be great?

Let’s put it this way. If we really believe, as Niagara Falls MP and Stephen Harper’s justice minister Rob Nicholson does, that we should be cracking down harder on law breakers, we ought to be the first ones in the country to welcome a new prison into our neighbhourhood, shouldn’t we?

Niagara Falls MP and federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is all for getting tougher on crime. Can he help bring a new prison to the region too?

So I am urging all of my fellow Niagarians to call or email the constituency offices of Rob Nicholson and all of our other MPs and MPPs. Let them know that we want the new prison that Ontario is going to need when the Harper government passes its get-tougher-on-crime bill and the courts start sentencing more people who get fresh with the law to jail time located right here in Niagara. After all, why should the Greater Toronto area get everything? Continue reading →

A Brief Note from Niagara At Large

Each year Niagara, Ontario’s regional government presents awards to businesses, local municipalities and others that have carried out building and other projects that contribute to the aesthetics of urban and rural landscapes in our region, and to the quality of life in our communities.

The latest annual Niagara Community Design Awards were presented this January 25 in a banquet room in Thorold, Ontario and Niagara At Large is pleased to post the following news on them from the region, along with the list of recipients.

NIAGARA REGION, Jan. 26, 2012– The Niagara Community Design Award recipients were announced this January 25 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Thorold.

This year's Architecture Award winner - the new Niagara District Airport Terminal in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

This is the seventh year for the Region’s Niagara Community Design Awards which recognize and celebrate excellence in design in Niagara and that demonstrate the application of Smart Growth Principles. The awards continue to focus on projects that enhance the built environment, efficiently use land, and demonstrate creativity and vision. Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

Those opposed to a natural gas drilling process called “fracking” because of the impact it could have on the environment, including the waters of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, could find themselves coming up against a cheerleader for the process more formidable than the petro-chemical industry.

U.S. President Barack Obama on the "fracking" bandwagon during State of Union speech

 That cheerleader is none other than the president of the United States, Barack Obama.

 This January 24, during his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, Obama lauded the so-called fracking process (more technically known as “hydraulic fracturing”) for obtaining natural gas from underground layers of shale as a key to his country’s independence from Middle East oil and a practice that has the potential to create 600,000 American jobs. Continue reading →

–  McGuinty stresses need to control spending and and public-sector wages

A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper – Followed by Premier’s address

Ontario’s economy is growing and “now we need to take further action on another important front and that is the deficit,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty this January 24 during an address to the Canadian Club of Toronto.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

 “Tackling the deficit is simply an essential step in building the strong economy (that) supports good jobs and quality public services,” said McGuinty, adding that “borrowing money to help Ontarian through a terrible recession is one thing, but living beyone our means, constantly adding to the debt we are leaving to our children (is) quite another thing. That would be wrong for our children and for us.”

 McGuinty said that driving down a debt that now stands at $16 billion and ultimately balancing the province’s budget in the fiscal year 2017/2018 “won’t be easy (and) getting there will require that we slow down our spending significally.” Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following open letter from Arthur Miller of the citizens advocacy group Marineland Animal Defense/Shark Allies Niagara to regional councillors in Niagara, Ontario, urging them to support a ban here on the sale of shark-fin soup and other products with shark remains in them. Such a ban has already been passed in other Ontario municipalities including Toronto, London, Oakville, Brantford and Mississauga.)

 Dear Regional Councillors,

 We are writing you this letter as concerned citizens from across the Niagara (Ontario) Region.

A shark butchered for its fins before being thrown back in the ocean to drown.

(Niagara At Large is posting the following January 23 media release from Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservative Party. The party believes Ontario residents may receive lower-cost, higher-quality services if wants to see competitive bidding for public service work.)

 “This white paper says loud and clear that it shouldn’t matter if providers are from the state, private or voluntary sector as long as they offer a great service. The old, narrow, closed    state monopoly is dead.”

– David Cameron on the Open Public Services White Paper, The Guardian, July 11, 2011

ONLY ONTARIO PCs WILL CREATE COMPETITION IN PUBLIC SERVICES

QUEEN’S PARK– Public sector unions would compete with private sector unions, not-for-profits and businesses to provide and deliver government services under an Ontario PC government, Leader Tim Hudak said today.

Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak in provincial legislature. Photo courtesy of PC leader's office.

“If we’re going to pull Ontario out of Dalton McGuinty’s jobs and spending crisis we need to think in innovative new ways,” Hudak said. “Creating competition in government service delivery can help us break away from hidebound, dated approaches to serving the public. It will also make government more efficient, freeing up savings for the services we all value – such as health care and education.” Continue reading →

 By Preston Haskell

Everywhere one looks, the headlines scream out misery regarding foreign corporations abusing  their power, abusing their employees, abusing abusing Canadian customs and abusing Canada.

Preston Haskell

Demonstrators cast slurs against greedy corporations. Canadian unions defend their cash flow of dues. Politicians do their best to (to speak falsely or) prevaricate. Socialists blaspheming against every private enterprise, while offering only the imperialistic and failed practice of government-run institutions. However, there is more than enough greed to destroy any society. A greedy growing ‘Patrician Class’ suckling on the life-blood of prosperity, on the power hungry unions playing  their part in the inequality of Canadian fortune, and all carving up the nation as if they own it. Continue reading →

– Close to 15,000 decry foreign company’s bid to slash Canadian workers’ wages and benefits 

By Mark Taliano

If it wasn’t so ridiculous or “radical”, or “extreme”, it might even be funny.

Thousands demonstrate in London, Ontario park against Caterpillar's bid to rip workers' wages and benefits. Photo by Tori Crispo

In 2010, Industry Canada allowed American-owned Caterpillar to bulldoze its way into London, Ontario to purchase Electro-Motive Canada, a plant which assembles locomotive diesel engines.  They even humbly accepted offer an offer from Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, of $5 million dollars of taxpayers’ money in the form of tax breaks. 

Politicians were no doubt pleased that Caterpillar profits increased by 95% in the first three quarters of 2011, which amounted to a staggering $3.4 billion in profits.  Better yet, production was up by 20 per cent and Canadian workers, who were being paid about $36.00 per hour, hadn’t had a raise for about six years.

Then, in a scene that could have come directly from Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine (create or exploit a “shock” to undemocratically force societal changes), the corporation insisted that its Canadian employees accept a 50% pay cut from about $36.00 per hour to $16.50 per hour, no cost of living adjustment, a new co-payment plan for health insurance and the elimination of pension plans.  This was the “shock”. Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper (followed by a media release from Port Colborne, Ontario Mayor Vance Badawey)

While the Niagara Health System – the body the province established more than a decade ago to amalgamate most of Niagara, Ontario’s hospital services has been systematically dismantling acute care services, including two hospital emergency rooms, in Niagara’s southern tier, Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey and his council have been working with doctors and other health care professionals to build a health system for the southern tier’s future.

Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey

A new system for the community is already emerging, said Badawey in a note to Niagara At Large, with the “introduction of Family Health Teams and Community Health Centres in our areas. In Port Colborne alone,” added the mayor, “we have recognized that 18% less patients are utilizing the ermegency rooms and urgent care centres throughout the Niagara Health System because enhanced services are available to them through community based primary health care, especially allied health care of which is required in some cases. Therefore, it’s working!” Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

 Close to 30,000 Brock University and Niagara College students will now be able to use the transit passes they purchase through their tuition fees to hop a ride on Niagara Region’s inter-municipal buses.

A Niagara Region Transit bus making a stop in Welland. Photo by Doug Draper

 A majority of Niagara, Ontario’s regional councillors voted this January 19 to accept what are called student “U-Passes” on Niagara Region Transit buses for a trial period starting now through to this April. The decision, following a heated council debate on the matter this past December, was applauded by Brock and Niagara College student representatives. Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

Gary Burroughs and his Niagara regional council will soon begin addressing an issue that has often been treated as if it was radioactive by previous councils.

Niagara Regional Chair Gary Burroughs

 “We are opening it up and everything is on the table,” Niagara Regional Chair Gary Burroughs told Niagara At Large following a meeting of regional council this January 19. That means everything from sticking with the status quo to making changes to the region’s committee system, to how many individuals should sit on the council and how the regional chair is selected. And yes, the council will also review the ever thorny issue of amalgamating municipalities, right up to an including the idea of one ‘City of Niagara’. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

 “The movement must address itself to restructuring the whole of American society. The problems we are dealing with are not going to be solved until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power.”

–         Martin Luther King, 1967

 This past Monday, January 16, I drove around Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York where the Occupy Buffalo encampment was first set up last October and lo and behold, even through some of the frigid weather we’ve been having lately, the encampment was still there.

The Occupy Buffalo encampment in the shadow of Buffalo, New York's city hall. Photo by Doug Draper

That Monday also happened to be Martin Luther King Day in America and I can’t help but believe that the late civil rights leader would be pleased to see this encampment and the fight for economic justice it stands for. There can also be little doubt, given King’s record of perseverance, that he would want to see the Occupy Movement in the United States and Canada that this Buffalo encampment is part of survive and grow.

 I predict that the Occupy Movement will grow in the months ahead because the economic conditions that gave rise to the movement this past fall – the growing wage gap between the rich and almost everyone else, the loss of good-paying jobs, the high cost of living and the diminishing of health care and other essential services – are not going to change. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting this column by veteran American filmmaker and longtime environmentalist Robert Redford on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project for your information. The column was originally posted on the online news site Reader Supported News. You can visit Reader Supported News and subscribe for the many insightful posts on that site by clicking on http://readersupportednews.org/)

 Robert Redford,  January 18, 2012

Let’s face it: Big Oil is used to getting its way. But not today… and we have President Obama to thank for standing up to them in spite of the political risk.

Robert Redford, photo from Reader Supported News

President Obama has just rejected a permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline – a project that promised riches for the oil giants and an environmental disaster for the rest of us.

His decision represents a victory of historic proportions for people from throughout the pipeline path and all across America who have waged an uphill, years-long fight against one of the most nightmarish fossil fuel projects of our time. Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

 Kudos to U.S. President Barack Obama for at least stalling a proposal for the

U.S. President Barack Obama

controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada until the completion of an environmental review.