Author Archives: dougdraper

Lincoln’s Fall Tree Giveaway and Rain Barrel Sale continues to make a sustainable impact

“One of the four pillars of our (Lincoln) Council Priorities is to be a resilient community, and as part of that pillar, we have set out the goal to adapt and respond to a changing climate, and collectively we demonstrate our commitment.”                                  – Sandra Easton, Mayor, Town of Lincoln

News from the Town of Lincoln in Niagara, Ontario

Posted October 28^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton

Lincoln, Ontario – The Town successfully hosted the second Tree Giveaway and Subsidized Rain Barrel Sale on Saturday, October 22, 2022. The Town gave away 450 free native trees to residents and local schools and 131 subsidized rain barrels at the drive-through event.

The additional opportunity was in response to the community’s interest in the inaugural event held in the Spring of 2022.

When the trees are fully grown, the trees and rain barrels will mitigate approximately 1.2 million L of stormwater annually from entering the stormwater system and remove the carbon dioxide equivalent of 11,000L of gasoline. Continue reading →

“Doug Ford needs to allocate these massive historic contingencies to prevent shortfalls in the services that Ontarians count on.”

News from Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP

Posted October 27th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, slammed for holding back on funding health care services in a growing crisis

QUEEN’S PARK – Catherine Fife, NDP Finance Critic, slammed the Ford government for sitting on $44 billion in contingencies as the health care and other crises worsen in Ontario, revealed by the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) report.

The bombshell figure comes from the FAO’s 2022 Fall Economic and Budget Outlook. In it, the FAO is forecasting a $40 billion shortfall across all programs over the next six years, including: Continue reading →

  *   Niagara Parks Foundation to receive $400,000 over three years from TD Bank Group, toward new Visitor Experience and Ecological Enhancement Initiative at Dufferin Islands

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

Posted October 27^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, ON – Through collaboration with the Niagara Parks Foundation, TD Bank Group has committed $400,000 over the next three years, to launch the Dufferin Islands Visitor Experience and Ecological Enhancement Initiative.

Inside Dufferin Islands near the brink of theHorseshoe Falls in Niagara FAlls, Ontario. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks Commission

This multi-phase project, funded through the TD Ready Commitment, will strengthen the overall environmental sustainability of the site. In addition, the project will continue to support meaningful experiences for guests of all ages and abilities, who visit this treasured public park.

Dufferin Islands Visitor Experience and Ecological Enhancement Project

The Dufferin Islands nature area represents a unique active-use, natural urban park, located adjacent to Niagara Falls, and just steps away from the upper Niagara River. Continue reading →

“The United States must lift its border restrictions to encourage a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel and economic activity.”    – U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Congressman also wants two countries to work expeditiously and collaboratively to address the massive backlog of NEXUS application cases

A News Release from the Buffalo,New York Office of Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted October 27^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

Ahead of bilateral meetings between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Canadian Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is asking the leaders to address several key issues especially important to communities and economies positioned on either side of the border.

In a letter to Sec. Blinken<https://higgins.house.gov/sites/higgins.house.gov/files/10-26-22%20Higgins%20Letter%20-%20Sec%20Blinken%20-%2010.26.22.pdf>, Higgins writes, “As you well know, the relationship between the United States and Canada is unique, and discussion of our binational priorities prior to a multilateral meeting serves great purpose in achieving mutual goals. I write to bring Northern Border issues, including current COVID-19 border restrictions, the NEXUS backlog, and their economic impacts, to your attention, so they may be addressed during your upcoming discussions.” Continue reading →

Shame On the Seven Out Of Every Ten of You for Not Voting in These Municipal Elections

A Brief News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and Publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 26thj.2022 on Niagara At Large

You can turn on the cable news any day of the week to reports of  people in countries like Ukraine or Iran fighting for their lives to save or secure the kind of democratic freedoms we have here in Canada.

Countless millions of people around the world can only dream of having the right we do to go out and vote for the candidates we want serving us in government.

This residential area in Thorold gives the impressiion that interest in this October 24th municipal elections was high. Yet in this municipality, only 25 per cent of the eligible  voters bothers going to the polls. The voter turnout in other Niagara municipalities was not any better. photo by Doug Draper

And yet when it came to exercising that previous right during these October 24^th municipal elections, roughly 70 to 75 per cent of eligible voters across this Niagara region (and about the same percentage across the province) decided to give the right to vote a pass.

That, in a word, is SHAMEFUL! Continue reading →

NOTL Lord Mayor Betty Disero, West Lincoln Mayor Dave Bylsma and Wainfleet Mayor Kevin Gibson are Among Those Who Lose Their Seats

For Those of Us Looking for More Progressive Leadership on the Environment, on Housing and a Host of other Social Equity Issues, this Municipal Election was a Mixed Bag

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 25th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Jim Bradley, now serving as Niagara’s Regional Chair, was a big winner in these municipal elections.

One thing is for sure. These October 24th municipal elections in Niagara did not result in the huge purge of incumbents that the 2018 elections did.

In 2018, we were facing then-Niagara Regional chair Al Caslin and his cabal of Halloween spooks at the regional and local levels of municipal governments and voters across the region took full advantage of the elections to clean house.

This time it was different with the Region’s current chair, Jim Bradley, polling (just as he did as a first time candidate for regional council in 2018) in a field of nine, placing him a good position to win the Chair’s seat again if a majority on the new council give him the nod.

Then there were the races for mayor where for better or worse and to no one’s surprise, Jim Diodati racked up another huge win in Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, as controversial as he is in some corners, also won big and is back for a fourth term.. Obviously there are enough people in his city who think that he is the one for the job.

In other municipalities, veteran municipal leader Wayne Redekop won easily, with 67 per cent of the vote in Fort Erie, Welland Mayor Frank Campion won again in his city, Terry Ugulini won a second term as mayor of Thorold, Bill Steele won a second term as mayor in Port Colborne, Jeff Jordon won a second term as mayor n Grimsby and regional councillor and former city councilor Mat Siscoe literally buried his main opponent Mike Britton, with 68 per cent of the vote, in a race for mayor in St. Catharines where the Britton campaign lappeared  to be heavily financed.

Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton is also back. No one contested her so she was acclaimed.

In the case of the Siscoe/Britton stand-off in St. Catharines, it is good to know that you can still win against someone that smears the landscape with signs, runs costly wrap-around ads in the local newspaper and appears to have – given some of the glowing stories – the establishment media on their side.

There were also losers among those in the mayor’s chair. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted Election Eve, October 23^rd, 2022

Taking drive through Niagara this beautiful weekend was another reminder to me how fortunate we are to still live in a region where we can travel for a few minutes from an urban area and be in places with farm fields, woodlands, wetlands and grassy meadows.

It was also another reminder of how much we need more elected representatives at the regional and local council level in all 12 of Niagara’s municipalities to stand up against the forces of destructive, unsustainable growth and greed, and protect what is left of the natural heritage our region has been blessed with.

Raised Green Fists in Grass Field

On this October 24^th municipal election day, I urge as many of my fellow Niagara citizens as possible to go to the polls to vote for candidates with a track record, if they are incumbents, or a platform for the future, if they are running to win a seat for the first time, that demonstrates a commitment to protect and preserve our environment and to do everything we can at the local level to address the climate crisis.

Continue reading →

– They Are Barbara Greenwood, Carolynn Ioannoni and Kim Craitor –

An Election Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 18th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

When it comes to picking the best candidates from all 12 Niagara municipalities to sit on the local and municipal councils for the next four years, that is mission impossible for a news outlet like Niagara At Large with the limited resources we have.

In Niagara Falls, re-elect Barbara Greenwood to Niagara Regional Council

So, except in some of the cases where the choices are obvious, we are not even going to try because that would be fooling ourselves and you.

However. in some municipalities, for some municipal seats, the choice is relatively easy. And one of those municipalities is the City of Niagara Falls with respect to who should serve on  the three-directly elected seats the city holds on Niagara Regional Council, in addition to a fourth seat held by the city’s mayor.

Niagara At Large is putting forward the names of three candidates for regional council in Niagara Falls based on years of following them as elected representatives, and based in our view – and contrary to any criticism or allegations  put forward in the past by political opponents  – as honest and decent individuals who have had a long record of promoting and supporting policies and programs that are good for the health of our communities and our environment.

Elect veteran Niagara Falls city councillor Carolynn Ioannoni to Niagara Regional Council

These three individuals are –

• Barbara Greenwood, who is running for re-election in Niagara Falls  as a Niagara regional councillor,
• Carolynn Ioannoni, a veteran Niagara Falls city councillor whose courage for  speaking out for the preservation of wetlands and trees in green places like Thundering Waters Forest often found her in hot water with the city’s mayor and  his allies on and off of the city council, and
• Kim Craitor, a former Niagara Falls city councillor and former Liberal MPP for the Niagara Falls riding who has had a record of being a bit of a maverick in the name of green causes.

In Niagara Falls, elect former city councillorand former Libera MPP for the Niagara Falls Riding, Kim Craitor to Niagara Regional Council

We know that there are a total of eight candidates running for Niagara Falls’ three directly elected regional council seats, including individuals like Karen Fraser who has been a positive citizen’s voice for protecting and preserving our natural heritage.

In the end, it is up to the voters of Niagara Falls to do their homework and hopefully give their support those who will put the best interests of the community and ts people, and a environment first.

The same goes for how we all vote in every municipality across Niagara.

To visit a related piece that Niagara At Large posted on this issue click on –https://niagaraatlarge.com/2022/08/22/niagara-falls-voters-have-three-great-candidates-for-regional-council/ .

NAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Haley Bateman, Jim Bradley, Brian Heit and Laura Ip

An Election Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 18^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

With less than a week to go before the October 24^th municipal election, Niagara at Large (NAL) is featuring some of our top choices for the next term of Niagara Regional Council.

Vote Haley Bateman for St. Catharines Regional Councillor

We begin here in St. Catharines –  the largest of Niagara’s 12 local municipalities, with seven directly elected members of the Region’s council, in addition to the city’s mayor who, like other mayors across the region, automatically receives a seat on regional council.

In keeping with NAL’s  decision not to endorse candidates past what we think are the surest shows for individuals we believe will work progressively for healthy, ustainable communities, environmentally and economically for Niagara’s future, our top four choices for a better future for all of us are Haley Bateman, Jim Bradley, Brian Heit and Laura Ip.

In St. Catharines, Vote Jim Bradley back to Niagara Regional Council

Yes, we know there are still seats to be filled and there are more than enough candidates running to fill them.

But being a news outlet that is currently not asking for or receiving any compensation to operate this site, we do not have the resources to interview or scope every candidate running for municipal office across Niagara.

So that is where you come in dear voters. Do your homework as citizens and, as we hope, vote the candidates that care about issues like building more affordable, green communities.

Dec. 11, 2014 – Photo by Denis Cahill

What we can say here is that, in our view, Haley Bateman, Jim Bradley, Brian Heit and Laura Ip fill that bill.

They are all individuals who have, in a complicated world where standing up for a better life for all is not always easy, have tried, most of the time, to do just that.

And in the case of Jim Bradley in particular, what a  fine new dawn it has been with him serving as Niagara Reigon’s Chair, after all the dark nights we suffered through from 2014 to 2018 with Al Caslin and his cabal at the helm.

In St. Catharines, re-elect Laura Ip for Niagara Regional Council

All of us across Niagara, need these four individuals back on Niagara Regional Council to stand up and speak out for a better Niagara for present and future generations.

We can no longer afford municipal representatives who are stuck in a 20th Century mindset of growth and “open for business” at any cost, and paving over what is left of natural heritage.

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

“On behalf of the NPCA, I want to thank FedDev Ontario for investing in nature for all.”                                                                        – Rob Foster, NPCA Chair, Board of Directors

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted October 18^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is pleased to receive funding through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) and Tourism Relief Fund (TRF), delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

From left to right, Adam Christie, Director, Conservation Areas, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority; Rob Foster, Chair, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority; the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario; Chandra Sharma, CAO, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority; and Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre.

These investments will improve greenspace infrastructure and increase safe access to four NPCA sites throughout the Niagara watershed.

The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, recently announced over $8.2 million in support for 34 tourism and community infrastructure projects in the Niagara region. These investments will create and revitalize community spaces and enhance tourism attractions to welcome more visitors and build stronger, more vibrant communities. The funding NPCA received from this $8.2 million purse totalled $850,000.

Continue reading →

“When we stay quiet, we are complicit in the behaviour. In a way, we are condoning it.”                                                                      – Four-Time Canadian Paralympian Elisabeth Walker-Young

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted October 17^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – There are many moments in Elisabeth Walker-Young’s (BPhEd ’02) life when she wishes she had spoken up.

Brock alumna Elisabeth Walker-Young delivers the Convocation address during the University’s morning ceremony – Photos courtesy of Brock University

Once, in the mid-’90s, she heard her swim teammate make a racist comment to an airport porter. Years later, she was on a crowded bus when one passenger made a racist and ageist remark to another rider. And, more recently, she witnessed her daughter get teased by a child for having a mom who was disabled.

Each instance left her filled with anger and sadness. Though she felt compelled to intervene, she stood idly by. Continue reading →

Climate Crisis is Costing Us Billions of Dollars Alone, and Where Is Ford Government on Addressing It?

News from the Green Pary of Ontario

Posted October 12^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The climate crisis is making life more unaffordable in Ontario.

That’s why our leader Mike Schreiner asked the Financial Accountability Office to prepare a report laying out the true cost of climate impacts on public infrastructure. Last week, it was finally released.

And the report is clear: The climate crisis is costing Ontarians billions of dollars. Climate-related damage to transportation infrastructure alone will cost us $14 billion by 2030.

Record-breaking rainfall, heatwaves and other extreme weather events will cost up to $332 billion by 2100. Continue reading →

It Took the Voices of Everyday People Like You and I – Not Government- to Save this Hallowed Ground

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted October 11^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

In between all of the bad news we are bombarded with every day, there is some good news – good news that needs to be highlighted because it has the potential to give us a ray of hope!

Juno Beach, where Canadians made a heroic charge for freedom, on the shores of Normandy, France

One slice of good news I want to share here and now with you  is that voices of everyday Canadians like you and I – countless thousands of us from coast to coast – helped save Juno Beach along the shores in Normandy, France. Continue reading →

Fall tree giveaway registration launches this Tuesday, October 11^th for St. Catharines residents

News from the City of St.Catharines in Niagara, Ontario

Posted October 11^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Trees ready to be planted. Photo courtesy of City of St. Cathairnes

The City of St. Catharines is continuing efforts to grow its tree canopy with the launch of its semi-annual tree giveaway.

This year’s giveaway will once again require residents to reserve their trees online in advance of the event. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8 a.m., residents can visit stcatharines.ca/TreeGiveaway to request a tree. Available trees for the fall giveaway include Black Cherry, Sassafras, Balsam Fir, or Tulip. Continue reading →

A Brief Message from Doug Draper At Niagara At Large

Posted October 9^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

One of the many beautiful pumpkin stands in Pelham, this one on Canboro Road, that you can visit this fall . Photos by Doug Draper

On this Thanksgiving, I wish to wish the warmest and give thanks to all of you who have continued to visit the Niagara At Large news and commentary site at www.niagaraatlarge.com and I urge you to tell all of your friends about this site.

If enough of us get engaged, we can build a truly independent news and commentary source for our Niagara region.

I am featuring a few photos I took earlier this weekend of a few places in the Town of Pelham which remains a place in our region that has not yet been completely overrun by paved parking lots, strip mall and urban sprawl.

I urge all of us to vote in the coming October 24^th municipal elections who will work to protect what makes Niagara unique from paved over places like Mississauga and Burlington and Brampton.

Let’s all pledge for the sake of our health and the future health of our communities to protect and preserve what is left of Niagara’s great natural heritage.

Please use this October 24th municipal election to vote for candidates that care about our natural environment.

• Have a Thanksgivings Day Full of Peace with your friends and family – Doug Draper

NAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Creation of this Controversial Border-Crossing APP Cost Canadian Taxpayers Far More than Necessary. On this One, Trudeau and Company Picked Our Pockets

A Brief News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 7^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Thanks to Trudeau and everyone in his Liberal caucus for picking the wallets of struggling Canadians to produce and operate their ArriveCAN APP project for crossing our Canada-U.S. border bridges

The Trudeau government’s AriveCAN APP wasn’t just a pain for Canadians and Americans wanting to cross our shared border bridges.

According to a front-page story in the Friday, October 7^th edition of The Globe and Mail, the creation of this online monster that overstayed its welcome until finally deemed unmanatory by the Trudeau government at the end of this September, cost Canadian taxpayers  at least $54 million when it could have less than $1 million to set up and launch.

To make matters worse, and even more suspicious for those of us who have wondered all along who is making the money off this ArriveCAN operation, Trudeau and company is refusing to say what corporations they contracted the work for building the ArriveCAN APP to. Continue reading →

Public Leaders have a Responsibility to be Open with the Community When it Comes to Matters That Impact on All of Our Lives

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 7^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Mike Britton appears to need some lessons in what it means to be a public figure with a responsibility to be a good role model for others.

So Mike Britton – currently a St. Catharines Regional Councillor, and formerly a St. Catharines city council who is now running for mayor of that municipality in the October 24 elections – does not want to declare his vaccine status.

So much so that he is barred from attending Niagara Regional council and committee meetings in person – showing up online, in one of those annoying little digital boxes instead.

According to a front-page story in the Friday, October7th edition of The St. Catharines Standard, Britton, a right-wing conservative from a way back, continues to keep his COVID vaccine status in the closet.

“It’s been a very divisive thing for our community,” Britton is quoted saying in the story. “It’s putting one group of people against another,” he chortled on. And so this has been my philosophy from the beginning – I don’t disclose my status to anyone because the minute I say one thing or another, there’s a whole section of society that thinks they can’t talk to me.”

Now isn’t that interesting,

Continue reading →

Jeff Burch Demands Urgent Health Care Funding And Hiring As Port Colborne Urgent Care Is Forced To Lock Its Doors Due To Staff Shortages

A Statement from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

Posted Octobe r6th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

PORT COLBORNE, Ontario — MPP for Niagara Centre, Jeff Burch, released the following statement in response to news that the Port Colborne Urgent Care centre will be forced to temporarily close this weekend due to ongoing staff shortages:

“It’s appalling to think that a senior or a child needing critical care this weekend may have to travel long distances or be forced to delay treatment because their closest urgent care centre is closed.

Niagara Health and its incredible workers have continued to go above and beyond during the difficult past few years, pushing themselves past the point of burn-out to maintain the services the Ford government refuses to adequately invest in. Ford’s wage-capping bill continues to crush our hospitals by driving nurses and other health professional away. Continue reading →

Here is Why Niagara’s South End is Not a Good Place for Older People with Health Conditions to Live

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large, followed by a News Release from Niagara Health

Posted October 6^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

From Doug Draper –

Gee. What sign does the Niagara Health System put up at the old Port Colborne hospital now?- one for urgent care services or emergency drop-offs only? Because thanks to NHS planning, it sure wasn’t a fully functioning hospital any more. file photo by Doug Draper

Medical service shortages in Niagara, Ontario’s southern tier – however “temporary” or longer term – could prove to be catastropic for any of us who may need them in a life-threatening situation now.

And in Niagara, they could have been predicted more than a decade ago when the then Niagara Health System, under the awful leadership of then CEO Debbie Sevenpifer and then NHS board leaders like Betty Lou Souter – stubbornly pushed ahead with plans to build a new super-hospital for Niagara in the region’s north end rather than somewhere in the centre of our region where everyone would have more equal access to it. Continue reading →

Love Me Do’s release planted the first seed. It was the First Shot of a ‘British Invasion” that launched a music revolution around the world

A Brief One from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted October 5^th, 2022

It was October 5^th, 1962 – John Diefenbaker was Canada’s Prime Minister, John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, and members of the Baby Boomer generation were playing with hula-hoops and  learning how to do a dance calle “the Twist” – and a song was released out of Abbey Road Studios in in London, England, on a British label called Parlophone, by a group from Liverpool that was just beginning to catch fire across the whole of their home country.

The song was called ‘Love Me Do’ and the group was called The Beatles, that would go on through 1963 releasing songs that would become even bigger hits in their homeland, including ‘Please, Please Me’, ‘From Me To You’ and ‘She Love You’ until the very early days of 1964 when ‘Beatlemania’ crashed the shores of North America with the group’s legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and their first hit single on radio stations across  Canada and the United States – ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ with the equally popular ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ on the flip side. Continue reading →

“Today, the (current Iranian) regime continues to crack down on courageous Iranian women protesting the tragic killing of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s so-called ‘morality police.”                      – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

A Statement from Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Posted October 4th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (this October 4th, 2022) issued the following statement on the 1,000th day since the egregious downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752:

“One thousand days ago today, the Iranian regime unlawfully and horrifically shot down passenger Flight PS752, cutting short the lives of the 176 innocent people on board – including 55 Canadians, 30 permanent residents, and a total of 138 people en route to Canada.

The Canadian victims of a commercial airflight ruthlessly shot down by the tyrants in charge of an Iran Canada should fully sanction from our lives

They were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, educators, and students – and most of all, they were loved. Continue reading →

$30 billion in public revenue lost as corporate tax avoidance doubles in 2021

News from Canadians for Tax Fairness, a non-profit, citizen-based advocacy group for fair taxation for all

Posted October 4^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

It seems to be all who has the most money and power with this guy and his Liberal minions.

(A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – When Justin Trudeau and his cabal of federal Liberal Party candidates first ran against the then-Conservative Harper government in the mid 2010s, they suggested that if they formed the next government, which they did, they would do something to make taxation fairer for all of us. And that included making the richest among us pay their fair share,

That has clearly turned out to be another shovel load of bullshit the federal Liberals has dumped on everyday, hard-working Canadian people. For more, read the following from Canadians for Tax Fairness.)

The Trudeau’s tax dodgers keep getting away wiith more and more, and to hell with the rest of us

Ottawa, Ontario  – Federal Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier (the revenue minister for Canada’s Trudeau government) needs to be transparent with Canadians about how governments lost over $30 billion in revenue last year due to an unexplained doubling in corporate tax avoidance, says Canadians for Tax Fairness.

The average corporate tax avoidance in the three years before the pandemic was $13.5 billion. Continue reading →

Vote For Only Those Candidates Who Promise to Protect and Preserve What is Left of our Precious, Life-Sustaining Natural Heritage

A Message from Ontario Nature, a group dedicated to advocating for healthy natural places in Ontario

Posted October 3^rd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

On October 24th, Ontarians will return to the polls to vote for their municipal leaders. The mayors and councilors elected will play a vital role ensuring a healthy, sustainable future for our communities.

We can no longer afford to elect municipal council representatives who leave precious places like this, one of the many provincially significant wetlands in the Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario, up for grabs to the greediest of land speculators anddevelopers. File photo by Lori Monroe

Please keep nature, farmland and climate change top of mind when you cast your ballot. Here’s why: Continue reading →

Safe, Affordable Housing for All of Us Should Be a Human Right

A Foreword by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large followed by a Message from Habitat for Humanity Niagara’s CEO, Mark Carl

Posted October 3rd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Dick Halverson, who was a passionate advocate for affordable housing a a founder of the Habitat for Humanity program here in Niagara, Ontario

Foreword by Doug Draper – Sometime around 25 or more years ago, when I was still working as a reporter for the once-proud St. Catharines Standard, when the Burgoyne family still owned it and before it was gutted by the corporate chain pirates who have been gutting the paper ever since, I was asked by my editors if I would like to join a new body called Habitat for Humanity Niagara in building a home in Welland for a young family in need, then write about it.

I had already herd of Habitat Humanity, a group championed in the United States by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, so I jumped at the chance. Continue reading →

Starting this October 1st, Trudeau’s Liberal Government  Has Finally Stopped Making Arrive Can APP Mandatory at our Border Bridges

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins has spent many months urging federal governments on both sides to ease border-crossing restrictions.

“It has been two and a half long years of border restrictions between the United States and Canada. The extended measures have kept loved ones apart and kept border communities from reaching full economic recovery. The end of restrictions is overdue. Canada’s decision is the right one.”                                               – Brian Higgins, U.S. Congressman (Democrat) for the Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York area

A News Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 2nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Traffic crossing the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York in the years before the pandemic.

So here we finally are – longtime friends and neighbours in Canada and the United States  – finally able to cross border bridges to the Canadian side  without being blocked over a failure to fill out or properly fill out and download that glitch-riddled online ArriveCAN form.

It was and still is an online app (for those who know what an app is a still want to fill it out)  that, for more than a year and up to this September 40^th, border crossers had no choice but to fill out and show to Canadian border security officers, preferably on a smart phone that some of don’t have a don’t want. It was either that or face the very real possibility of not being allowed to cross, or to being ordered what many of us took to calling “house arrest” – quarantine in our homes for 14 days even if we were fully vaccinated and COVID free – and face the threat of paying a heavy fine or even serving some jail time if we were caught breaking the quarantine order. Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large on September 30^th, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On this second year of Canada observing a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I am posting a classic old song by one of my favourite people, singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie – a song that got her in trouble with a whole bunch of pre-Trump, right-wing extremists in the United States back in the early 1960s.

As blacklisted as she was by these fascists, she has outlasted them and was here in Niagara, Ontario, performing in concert at the OntarioFirst Performing Arts Center in St. Catharines just this past September at a celebration for indigenous peoples.

To watch her perform the song at another recent concert, click on the screen below –

Here is a  Statement from the Town of Lincoln Honouring National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Lincoln, ON – (September 30, 2022)  – Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html) .

On this day, we encourage everyone to wear orange to remember the children who never returned home from residential school and to honour the Survivors and their communities. Continue reading →

“Extending the life of a nuclear station that has long exceeded its engineering life span. …The Pickering Station (along the northern shores of Lake Ontario)  has a long history of serious accidents.”

A Message from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a citizens advocacy group for clean, renewable energy

Posted September 29^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Thanks to its absolute refusal to consider much  lower cost [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/options2022.pdf] renewable sources and energy efficiency, the Ford government has landed on the idea of once again dragging out the life of the old and unsafe Pickering Nuclear Station.

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance, of which Angela Bischoff is a part of, is calling on Ontario Power Generation to invest in a safer interim storage solution for Ontario’s nuclear waste. Meanwhile, the Alliance has been oppositing any extension of the life of nuclear power facilities like this aging Pickering station along the norther shores of Lake Ontario.

This terrible idea is where you end up if you ignore  better alternatives [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/a-picture-is-worth-billions/], like rapidly expanding use of much lower cost solar and wind, getting back to promoting ultra low-cost energy efficiency to lower bills while saving power, and cooperating with your energy rich neighbours in Quebec. Continue reading →

“The ArriveCAN app has caused huge slowdowns at the border.”

A News Release from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce inNiagara, Ontario

Posted September 28^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Greater Niagara Chamber of Coimmerce CEo Mishka Balsom

Niagara, Ontario  – The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) has welcomed the Government of Canada’s recent decision to ease Canadian border crossings and promote tourism and trade by lifting the requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine and making the ArriveCAN app optional.

“The ArriveCAN app has caused huge slowdowns at the border and been a deterrent to tourist traffic,” said Mishka Balsom, CEO of the GNCC.

“We were one of many voices, including chambers of commerce, tourism associations, bridge commissions, and labour organizations, asking for these to be relaxed. The Government of Canada has shown flexibility and responsiveness in its decision.” Continue reading →

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

“This is incredibly disappointing and frustrating.    It’s the responsibility of the MECP (Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks) to work with owners of former industrial sites to monitor remediation work. It’s the responsibility of the MECP to provide updates to ensure any issues that might have an impact on surrounding neighbourhoods and watercourses are being addressed.”    – St. Catharines Mayor Water Sendzik

A Statement from St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik on

Environment Ministry ancelling appearance at City Council

Posted September 28^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – With just more than 24 hours before the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was set to present updated results (at a council meeting this September 28^th) of its monitoring of 282-285 Ontario Street in St. Catharines to City Council (a former General Motors plant site where a developer is now proposing to build high-density housing), MECP staff have notified the City they will not be attending the meeting.

More than a decade ago, General Motors abandoned its former plant property in St. Cathaines/Niagara, leaving the site in a filthy state andleaving area residents to worry about possible toxic contaminants like asbestos, heavy metals and PCBs being left behind. Residents are still waiting for answers from Ontario’s Environment Minister. File photo of site.

“This is incredibly disappointing and frustrating,” said St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik. “This meeting to update Council was set a month ago. To be cancelled at the last minute is unacceptable.” Continue reading →

A Statement from St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted September 27^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

ST CATHARINES, Ontario – NDP MPP Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) released the following statement in response to the news that 22 workers were sent to hospital after a hazardous materials incident at THK Rhythm Automotive Plant:

“My thoughts and prayers are with the workers who were impacted today, and all of their families. This must have been a frightening incident for everyone involved, and I am thankful for the first responders and health care workers who were able to quickly receive and care for so many patients. I am wishing a fast and full recovery to all of those impacted.

“Today my focus is on the workers and their families.

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Join the Conversation when the Canada/U.S International Joint Commission hosts a Three-Day ‘Listening Session’ in Niagara Falls, Ontario Tuesday, Sept. 27^th thru Thursday Sept. 29^th

A Call-Out from the, Great Lakes Ecoregion Network, a Canada-based citizens organization of citizens from across the Great Lakes Basin

Posted September 23^rd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Great Lakes Ecoregion Network (GLEN) invites you to help protect your Great Lake! GLEN is a binational group of dedicated advocates (see: https://greatlakesecoregionnetwork.weebly.com) working to strengthen the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and increase public/community engagement in government policies focusing on Great Lakes water quality.

Please add your voice to help protect the Great Lakes and the communities that rely on them.

Continue reading →

“It has been a long decade,” says former Marineland trainer of the lawsuit the Niagara Falls, Ontario amusement park filed against him

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 22^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Former Marineland trainer Phil Demers and advocate for Smooshi the Walrus and other animals in  captivity

Niagara, Ontario – At long last, we have some good news to report about former Marineland trainer Phil Demers and a walrus he befriended and has fought so hard to save from what he has always considered to be unsuitable conditions for marine mammals at the 61-year-old Niagara Falls, Ontario amusement park.

In a statement Marineland released this September 21st, park officials said a nine-year-old, $1.5 million lawsuit it slapped on Demers, at least in part for his role in alleging substandard conditions for mammals at the park, “has been resolved amicably.”

More importantly to Demers, the  resolution includes an agreement that Smooshi, the walrus he has become so associated with in a 2020, award-winning documentary film called “The Walrus and the Whistleblower”, and the walruses 18-month-old offspring, will, according to the Marineland statement, will be “rehoused” in a facility elsewhere “as soon as reasonably possible.” Continue reading →

With Action Expected by Canadian Government to Lift COVID Border Restrictions, Congressman Brian Higgins Calls on the U.S. to Reciprocate

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York Office of U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted September 21^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins has spent many months urging federal governments on both sides to ease border-crossing restrictions.

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), Co-Chair of the Canada-US Interparliamentary Group and the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, is calling on the United States to end COVID-related restrictions at the U.S. border with Canada.

Higgins, who has long called for a return to pre-pandemic border management, is making a new push for U.S. action following multiple published reports citing sources within the Canadian Government who are saying Canada will not extend border restrictions set to expire on September 30, 2022.

In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security<https://higgins.house.gov/sites/higgins.house.gov/files/9-21-22%20rep%20higgins%20covid-19-related%20northern%20border%20restrictions%20september%202022.pdf> (DHS) Secretary, Higgins writes, “The time is long overdue for the United States to cease its own COVID-19- related restrictions on our northern border.” Continue reading →

“Health care is being attacked through politics—in Ontario, Doug Ford has been championing “innovative channels” and “alternate health facilities” for months. He hasn’t spelled out what he means by this—this could mean diverting our tax dollars—and eventually our savings—into for-profit companies.”

An Urgent Message from Broadbent Institute founder and Canada’s former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent

Posted September 20^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Ed Broadbent

Sixty years ago this summer, Canadians fought and won the campaign for medicare.

It wasn’t a given, and that’s still the case.

Opponents have spent decades trying to dismantle what we achieved together. And now, they’re treating our emergency room crisis as an opportunity to advance their cause.

Conservative think tanks and lobbyists are weaponizing the Emergency Room crisis across the country to push their agenda to privatize and undermine medicare. We need to act together to defend our public healthcare system before it’s too late. Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper onNiagara At Large

On the Day of Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral, Monday, September 19^th, 2022

“Everyone is our neighbor, no matter what race, creed or colour.” – Queen Elizabeth II.

“When life seems hard, the courageous do not lied down and accept defeat. Instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.” – Queen Elizabeth II.

A Brief Footnote from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – For those of us who have followed so much of the commentary around the death of Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years on the British throne, so much of the mourning, I think, has been driven by  the death of one of the very major figures from a “greatest generation” with a line back to so much of the history of the 20^th Century, from the Second World War, through the Cold War and yes, believe it or not, The Beatles and a 1960s “British Invasion”  of music and culture that ccontinued to have an impact on western culture for decades to come.

She was one of the last living embodiments of that history, and with her death we are now left with more ugly times with Twitter, Facebook, Trump and, here in Canada, with so-called “freedom rallies” and Fxxk Trudeau flags and too many political leaders who have not got the guts to offer inspring leadership, and with growing homelessness and climate crisis that may very well finish us off because we seem too stubborn and greedy to make the changes we need to make to provide our communities with affordable housing and to save this planet for humans and other species living on it.

Here is Elton John, who was knighted by the Queen, performing his Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding epic, which seems appropriate for this moment in time.  –

Niagara At Large will be back later this week.

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Environmental Defence Urges Municipal Candidates to Protect Ontario’s Environment by Building A Lot More Homes in Existing Neighbourhoods

This October, it will be up to municipal election voters across Niagara – That Means It Will Be Up to Each and Ever One of US Who Have a Vote –  to protect and preserve Ontario’s environment

A News Release from Environmental Defence, a Canada-wide citizen advocacy group for a healthy economy and environment

Posted September 15^th,2022 on Niagara At Large

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – This October, it will be up to municipal election voters to protect Ontario’s environment.

Environmental Defence says quickly building a lot more homes within the province’s existing post-WWII suburbs is the top priority, and today released its first two Environmental Platforms. They cover Toronto and 905 municipalities, and are designed as the environmental litmus tests for municipal candidates and voters in those elections.

We either intensify growth as communities, and build up, or continue sprawling out and destroying more of what is left of our precious green places

Municipal and regional governments – including those like Toronto without “white belt” farmland and forests of their own – must fight climate change and prevent the loss of farmland and natural areas to sprawl by directing the province’s new homes and workplaces to their existing “single detached” neighbourhoods instead. Continue reading →

Ontario’s NDP Responds To Disturbing New Details Of Legislation Forcing People Into Long-Term Care

Posted September 15^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Where to next for this Ontario senior? It looks like ‘Big Brother’ at Queen’s Park will decide.

QUEEN’S PARK — On Wednesday (September 14^{th. 2022})  the Doug Ford government confirmed Bill 7 will force people into long-term care homes they didn’t choose as far as 150 kilometres away, and require hospitals to charge families $400 a day if a senior doesn’t want to move there.

NDP Health Care critic France Gélinas and NDP Long-Term Care critic (Niagara Falls MPP) Wayne Gates released the following statement in response: Continue reading →

Files Closed After All Recommendations In Ombudsman’s Report On Hiring Scandal Enacted

Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley

“While the 2016 CAO hiring process, and the resulting fallout, will long be remembered as stain on the Region’s reputation, this term of council made it a top priority to take immediate action on this matter. As a team, we implemented all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations, ensuring we took every step necessary to prevent this type of controversy from occurring again.”                                                   – Jim Bradley, Niagara Regional Chair

A News Release from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted September 14^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

The brutish, totalitiarian-drenched rule of former Niagara regional chair Al Caslin and his shameless cabal of sycophants, making up the wretched majority on his council – haunting the lives of Niagara residents and belittled and even harassed those residents who dared to question Caslin’s cabal between 2014 and 2018 – was, without question, the darkest time in this regional government’s 52 year history.

Like two pees in a pod, a file photo of former Niagara regional chair Al Caslin, left, and his favouried CAO Carmen D’Angelo

One hopes that we will never see anything like this rancid period that, as was said this week by the current Regional Chair Jim Bradley, who has done so much through is honourable presence, to turn this around, we will never have to live thourgh this “stain on the Region’s reputation” again. Continue reading →

A Message from Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner

Posted September 12^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Last week I voted against the Ford government’s motion to double down on their efforts to build their destructive $10 billion Highway 413.

I’m not sure what Doug Ford and his government have against farmers, but we have to stop paving over the farmland that feeds us and the nature that protects us.

If built, this super-sprawler highway will:

Continue reading →

A Statement from Fort Erie, Ontario Mayor Wayne Redekop Regarding The Death Of Queen Elizabeth II

Posted September 9^th, 22022 on Niagara At Large

Fort Erie, Ontario Mayor Wayne Redekop

“As a community, we mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history. As head of state not only for Britain, but also for the parliamentary democracies of the British

“Commonwealth, including Canada, she provided continuity and stability during transitions of power and times of crisis.  She epitomized grace, dignity, duty, and public service ? an example and role model during a time of diminishing courtesy and decorum. Continue reading →

“Her Majesty’s reign spanned so many decades – a period when we (in Canada) came into our own as a confident, diverse, and forward-looking country. It is her wisdom, compassion, and warmth that we will always remember and cherish.”                      – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 8^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

“BREAKING NEWS – Queen Elizabeth II Dies at Age 96”.

Can that really be true?

That was the headline across the bottom of Cable News channels in Canada and the United States and, yes, many of us knew she was old and oh so  brittle in the health department, but how could so many generations of us imagined a day when she would no longer be around.

In my lifetime, and the lifetime of most generations of Canadians alive today, there was never a day when her image was not on the walls of so many of our school classrooms and our government buildings.

Whether we were monarchists or not – and I am about as far away from being a monarchist as you can get – there is no doubt about this. Continue reading →

Justin and Company Continue to Shove Their Made-In-Ottawa AriveCAN B.S. Down Travellers’ Throats

A  Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 6^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati

Those of you who have, over the years, been regular readers of my commentary may already know that I have a lot of issues with the record of Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati.

My issues with the mayor begin with his full-out support  a China Communist Government plan to build a commercial/residential complex around a host of provincially significant wetlands in Niagara Falls’ sprawling Thundering Waters Forest.

They continue with his nonsensical opposition to a proposal to designate the Niagara River as a globally recognized (RAMSAR) wetland of importance, and to not even be open with the public as to why he and a majority on his council oppose such a designation, and the list goes on. Continue reading →

A Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted on Labour Day, September 5th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Suffice to say that this past two and a half years of wave after wave of one variant after a more virulent other of COVID-19 has taken a hell of a toll on all of us.

In Niagara alone, COVID has also, since the pandemic began, claimed more than 600 lives, leaving a hole in the hearts of their loved ones.

And whether we want to face it or not (and I am putting it this way because it appears that there remain many among us who are acting as if it is over), there continues to be new COVID cases and there continue to be deaths-  especially among those who still refuse to get vaccinated in the name of whatever god or cult leader they bow their knees to.

Meanwhile, back here on Planet Earth, this Monday, September 5^th is Labour Day, a time set aside to pay homage to everyday workers rather than the rich and famous for a change. Continue reading →

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted September 2^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

New proposed guidelines recommending Canadians consume no more than two alcoholic drinks per week to reduce health risks should be taken with a grain of salt, says Brock University researcher Dan Malleck.

The Professor of Health Sciences and expert on the history of liquor laws in Canada says a report published earlier this week<https://ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2022-08/CCSA-LRDG-Update-of-Canada%27s-LRDG-Final-report-for-public-consultation-en.pdf> by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) offers a “distorted view” of alcohol’s health impacts.

The report indicates health risks escalate quickly above six standard drinks per week, especially for women, saying three to six drinks a week can increase the risk of developing certain cancers, while more than seven drinks per week can increase the risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Continue reading →

“The station and infrastructure improvements we are making will create a generational impact on this area, this community, and the way in which transit options are leveraged for decades to come. I look forward to continuing the Region’s collaboration with our partners.”                                                                                         – Jim Bradley, Regional Chair, Niagara Region

A News Release from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted September 1^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

NIAGARA REGION – Niagara Region is playing an active role in the transformation of Niagara’s two iconic train stations to enable enhanced GO service to Niagara.

The Region has acquired the historic train stations at St. Catharines and Niagara Falls,along with the surrounding station lands, as part of a significant redevelopment of the two station sites.

From left to right,  St. Catharines City Councillor Karrie Porter, Regional Chair Jim Bradley, Karla Avis-Birch (Chief Planning Officer, Metrolinx), MPP Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff and Mayor Jim Diodati (Niagara Falls)

Niagara Region and VIA Rail have been working since 2019 to transfer the St. Catharines andNiagara Falls station to Niagara Region. Niagara Regional council has approved the terms of the station transfer, VIA Rail’s Board of Directors has also approved of the transfer in principle pending approval from Parks Canada for the disposition of a heritage railway station. Upon approval from Parks Canada the two parties are positioned to immediately transfer station ownership. Continue reading →

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins, Visit Buffalo Niagara & Destination Niagara USA Lead Discussion on the Economic Impact of Travel & Tourism in Western New York

Talks Come as Travel at the US-Canadian Border Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York office of U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted September 1^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins has been an ongoing advocate for a common-sense return to Canada-U.S. border crossing requirements, including putting an end to the ArriveCAN requirement.

Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) joined representatives from Visit Buffalo Niagara and Destination Niagara USA, for a roundtable discussion led by the U.S. Travel Association, with Western New York leaders, organizations and destinations about the importance of travel and tourism to the local economy.

“As we continue moving toward a post-pandemic world, remaining restrictions and measures related to COVID-19 at the US-Canadian border are discouraging people from resuming cross-border travel at the same rate as before the pandemic,” said Congressman Brian Higgins.

“The U.S. and Canadian economies have historically been connected by travel and tourism, especially in Western New York and Southern Ontario. In order to revive our local economies to their pre-pandemic levels we must remove the barriers to travel and return to northern border management that encourages the convenient and efficient flow of people between both countries.”

“International travel is key to our economic and jobs recovery, and Rep. Higgins has been a champion for safely restarting and rebuilding cross-border travel,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Policy. “The conversation today focused on what’s needed to continue the progress that has been made. We’re grateful to Rep. Higgins for his focus on the full recovery of this vital economic sector.” Continue reading →

Why didn’t this guy – Ontario Premier Doug Ford – tell us he was going to do this to old people before this spring’s provincial election?

“What Doug Ford is doing is despicable. Mr. Ford is playing a cruel shell game, shunting people from a badly understaffed hospital system into a badly understaffed long-term care system against their wishes.”

A Statement  from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted August 31^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Interim Ontario NDP Leader Peter Tabuns released the following statement in response to the passage of Bill 7, Doug Ford’s cruel legislation forcing people waiting in hospitals to move to a long-term care home they don’t want to go to:

“It’s a devastating day for thousands of Ontarians and their loved ones. Think of how helpless the families sitting at dad or grandma’s hospital bedside are feeling.

Think of how scary it is, bracing for a call that will send your loved one to a long-term care home they don’t want to go to. I shudder at the thought of people being coerced into the kind of for-profit long-term care homes where the military found cockroaches and seniors stranded in soiled diapers. Continue reading →

A Message from the Green Party of Ontario

Posted August 31^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Healthcare in this province (of Ontario) is in crisis.

And while hospitals across the province struggle with staff shortages and ER closures, Doug Ford has $25 billion committed to building new highways, including Highway 413 and the Holland Marsh Highway – two projects that will pave over prime farmland, threaten local food supply, destroy natural habitat and increase carbon pollution. Continue reading →

Headphones and children’s toys tested contain toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and antimony

A Report from Environmental Defence Canada

Posted August 31^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – A new report released today by Environmental Defence found heavy metals such as lead and other toxic chemicals in products sold at Dollar Tree and Dollarama.

The report titled Passing the buck: the toxic cost of dollar store products in Canada, revealed the presence of hazardous phthalates, bisphenols, and PFAS or “forever chemicals” in a variety of food, toys, recess and daycare items.

These chemicals are associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes and are particularly dangerous for vulnerable populations such as children. A children’s activity tracker and earbuds contained more than 8000 times the external level of lead established for children’s products.  Continue reading →

“We’re more than halfway through the 2022 right whale season in Canada and have no known right whale deaths, which is building on two previous years of no known  right whale deaths in Canadian waters.”                               –  Michel Charron, Acting Director of Whale Protection Policy at Transport Canada.

‘The North Atlantic Right Whale is an endangered species with an estimated population of just 350 whales.’

A News Release from Canada’s Chamber of Marine Commerce

Posted August 30^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

(Niagara At Large is posting this because it appears to be some good news at a time when we are receiving too much bad news around the fate of wildlife. The unnecessary fatal shooting of a white Arctic wolf in Niagara comes immediately to mind.)

Canada is leading the efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale with notable progress being made by the federal government in collaboration with ship operators and the research community in terms of  surveillance and protection measures, according to Moira Brown, Senior Scientist  at The Canadian Whale Institute / Campobello Whale Rescue Team.

In a new article appearing in the Chamber of Marine Commerce’s online magazine, /Marine Delivers/, Brown says: “In terms of research, surveillance, and putting  into place feasibleprotective measures, I don’t think anyone is working harder than Canada right now to figure out how to help this species.” Continue reading →

There Never Has and There Probably Never Will Be Another Music Store Palace like Record Theatre, on either side of the Niagara River

A Brief One from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted August 30th, 2022

If you love record stores like I do, you may remember one of the greatest ones ever in this region of the world- Record Theatre in Buffalo, New York.

The grand old record store, looking so lonely, after its August, 2017 close. File photo, Doug Draper

I can’t let the fifth anniversary of its closing – in the final days of August, 1917 – go by without a brief mention.

A look at the cavernous store, inside

Record Theatre’s flagship store (because there were a number of satellites) opened to much fanfare at the corner of Buffalo’s Main Street and Lafayette Avenue, back  in the days when there were mega artists like Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, and the sale of vinyl records surpassed just about anything else on the planet. Continue reading →

“Residential schools are a shameful part of our history – that is the truth the Survivors’ Flag is going to remind us of, every day, here on Parliament Hill. By raising this flag here (this August 29^th, 2022), we’re saying: we will always remember. We will continue to listen to Survivors. We acknowledge the intergenerational trauma these so-called schools have caused. And we commit to continue working together as partners toward a future of healing and partnership.”                                               – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

A News Release from the Office of Canada’s Prime Minister

Posted August 29^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Survivor Flag

Residential schools are a shameful part of our history that continue to have a deep and lasting impact on Survivors, their families, and their communities across the country.

We cannot forget this truth. As Canadians, we must all learn about the history and legacy of residential schools. Only when we face the hard truths of our past, can we truly move forward together toward a better future.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was joined today (this August 29th) by the Executive Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), Stephanie Scott, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, and Survivors from across the country to raise the Survivors’ Flag on Parliament Hill. Continue reading →

Trudeau Liberals Working to Do a U.S. Republican-Style  Gerrymandering Job on Our Electoral Ridings 

A Brief News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 26^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

If you voted in the last federal and provincial elections, many of you in Niagara might just as well say goodbye to the candidate you voted for.

The Trudeau government doesn’t give a damn who you voted for in those elections. It is redrawing the lines on election riding maps in ways that many of us in Niagara will lose whoever the MP or MPP it was we voted for.

Trudeau government’s new proposed election riding maps for Niagara

Just to take the riding I live – the Riding of Niagara Centre now represented by federal Liberal MP Vance Badawey and provincial NDP MPP Jeff Burch –  Trudeau’s army of bureaucrats took out their Donald Trump sharpies and drew lines around all of Thorold that would now place it in the Niagara West Riding, where federal and provincial Tories rule. Continue reading →

Ford Government Limits Debate & Removes Public Hearings in an Attempt toPush Through Bill 7 Which Pushes Senior Citizens into LTC Homes Not of Their Choosing, Without Consent

“This is extremely undemocratic and is a blatant attempt to trample on seniors’ rights in order to push our most vulnerable into long-term care homes that may be far away, are in staffing crisis, are culturally inappropriate and/or have horrendous records of care.”                – Ontario Health Coalition

A News Release from the Ontario Health Coalition, a non-profit citizens organizations dedicated to protecting access to quality health care across Ontario

Posted August 25^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Doug Ford. He’s Ontario’s Premier for another four years and he is going to do what he wants to please his masters in private business.

(A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – I am beginning to wonder why I bother posting pieces like this.  The majority of Ontario residents out there didn’t even bother to vote in  this spring’s provincial election, so I assume that means you don’t give a damn about what happens to health care, our environment or anything  else in the province. You now have the government in this province that you apparently want.)

Yesterday (August 24rtgm 2022), the Ford Government passed a time allocation motion to limit the debate of Bill 7 and allows Second and Third Reading of the Bill to happen on the same day.  Continue reading →

“Ukrainians are not only defending their country; they are defending the values of freedom and democracy that we hold dear here in Canada and in many places around the world.” – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

A Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Ukrainian Independence Day

Posted August 24^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (this August 24th, 2022) issued the following statement on Ukrainian Independence Day:

“Today (this August 24^th, 2022), we mark Ukrainian Independence Day. On this day in 1991, Ukraine  declared its independence as a nation.

Today, 31 years later, Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom in the face of Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable  invasion of their country.

“Despite Russia’s brutality, Ukrainians have been relentless in their bravery and defence of their homeland. We have all seen the powerful images: images of ordinary people protecting their country, images of volunteers bringing food and aid to communities, and images of Ukrainian-Canadians sending support back home. Continue reading →

Three Municipal Leaders Who Have Been Beacons for Decency, Openness and Issues That Matter to Everyday Niagara Citizens Have Decided Not to Run Again –And We Are the Poorer For It

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 24th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

Port Colborne Niagara Regional Councillor Barbara Butters

In this coming October’s municipal elections – not to make these three fine people feel bad – Niagara residents will all be losing to the extent that we will not see the names of Barbara Butters from the City of Port Colborne, Kelly Edgar of St. Catharines and Fred Neale of Thorold  on the ballot.

In my more than 40 years as a reporter covering issues, including more than I wanted to of politics, in Niagara, Butters, Edgar and Neale have been among those that exemplify the best in municipal politics – those who have placed the interests of everyday people in this region above those who are the worst of the worst in the development industry, big business crowd and other special interests.

I am only going to say a few words about each of them here but I want to make sure that anyone clicking in out there knows who they are. Continue reading →

From the Campaign to Elect Haley Bateman Regional Councillor for the City of St.Catharines

Posted August 22^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Region – St. Catharines – St. Catharines resident Haley Bateman announces her second bid to represent St. Catharines as a Regional Councillor.

Haley Bateman for a seat in St. Catharines on Niagara Regional Council i

“While we have seen a shift for the better at Regional Council under the leadership of Jim Bradley, we have to keep pushing for some much-needed progress.”

“Affordability, safe streets, better options for senior living, tiered transit, equitable access to health care and a serious commitment to the environment were the issues brought forward by residents in the Provincial Election and these are some of the issues I will be advocating for as a Regional Councillor.” Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 22nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword to Our Good Readers – With all of the candidates for municipal office now registered (as of this past August 19th), Niagara At Large will begin to highlight those that this on-line news outlets hopes will win in municipalities across our region.

In this fall’s municipal election, let’s make sure we fill Niagara regional council seats who place people first, and who care about affordable housing and preserving our natural heritage, and health care and sustainable public planning above the greed of the creeps in the land speculation and development and paving and building  industry. It is long past time we put healthy, sustainable planning for our future first.

We would rather place most of our focus on good candidates that we know will listen to people and not big business interests on issues like affordable housing, good urban planning, health care, waste management, and protecting and preserving what is left of our food-growing lands and natural heritage.

We will also focus on those candidates we feel will demonstrate the kind of honesty, openness and integrity that was so sorely lacking during the Al Caslin administration at the regional government level from 2014 through 2018. We hope to never see that brand of fascism at work at the municipal government level in Niagara again. Continue reading →

Niagara Coastal is restoring coastal dune habitat at Nickel Beach; Port Colborne’s most popular beach destination. In partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, the City of Port Colborne and VALE Canada Ltd., this project engages community members in local actions to contribute to a healthy and resilient Lake Erie coastal ecosystem.

News from Niagara Coastal Community Collarborative (learn about this group at bottom of this post.)

Posted August 21^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Eroded coastal sand dune at Nickel Beach. Image captured December 14, 2021 following a severe storm a few days prior.

The coasts of the Great Lakes are under threat from the impacts of our changing climate. High water levels, more frequent and intense storm events, and decreasing lake ice cover are resulting in unprecedented rates of erosion throughout the Great Lakes.

Blair Holinaty, Supervisor, Recreation and Marina with the City of Port Colborne has personally witnessed this degradation. “As a result of major storm events in recent years, the coastal dunes at Nickel Beach have seen significant erosion, resulting in public safety concerns, and significant impacts to neighboring properties”, comments Holinaty. Continue reading →

“What this legislation does is take away the fundamental right to consent to health care, a right that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. People are going to be pressured to make bad decisions and the chance of them getting out of the home they do not want to be in and into a home of their choice in their lifetime is frankly low.”        – Jane Meadus, lawyer and institutional advocate and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly

A News Release from the Ontario Health Coalition, a citizens advocacy group for access to quality, public health care in Ontario

Posted August 20th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario — Advocates and experts spoke with one voice today decrying the new law that the Ford government introduced yesterday and intends to pass within just two weeks.

The new law, disingenuously titled “More Beds, Better Care Act” gives new powers to force the elderly and persons with disabilities who are waiting in hospitals into long-term care homes against their choice, in what legal experts and patient advocates warn is a fundamental violation of their rights. Continue reading →

“Families have no idea just how far away their loved one could be moved in the final years of their life. And it’s pretty obvious the Conservative government knows that seniors will be moved against their will, because they’re already making rules against physically restraining people to move them.”                                                                     – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Wayne Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for the Riding of Niagara Falls

Posted August 19^th,2022 on Niagara At Large

Get ready to say good-bye to grandma. Doug Ford and his Tories will dump her or grandpa into any privately-owned long-term care home in the province they want to

QUEEN’S PARK — Wayne Gates, Ontario NDP critic for Long-Term Care, Home Care and Retirement Homes, is listing the three most troubling parts of Premier Doug Ford’s new long-term care legislation:

1. WITHOUT CONSENT. Contrary to Long Term Care Minister Paul Calandra’s claims, the legislation will allow seniors waiting in hospitals to be moved to far away long-term care homes without their consent. The bill reads (https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-7) : “This new provision authorizes certain actions to be carried out without the consent of these patients.” Continue reading →

Almost 5,000 Canadians Joined in Raid. More Than 900 Were Killed

‘Honouring the memory of those who have defended our values of peace, freedom, and justice.’                                                                                     – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Statement by the Prime Minister on the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid

Posted August 19th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (this August 19^th) issued the following statement on the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid:

“Today, we remember the brave Canadians who took part in the Dieppe Raid, one of the most difficult and tragic days of the Second World War for our country.

“On August 19, 1942, nearly 5,000 Canadian soldiers, along with their British and American allies, approached the beaches of and around Dieppe, in occupied France. Their objective was to test the enemy’s defences, damage its port facilities, and gather important intelligence to help defeat Nazi Germany. Continue reading →

Province Will Hire Up to 6,000 Additional Health Care Workers and Frees Up 2,500 More Hospital Beds

A News Release from the Government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted August 18th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Ontario’s new Health Minister for the Ford government that you, the people, elected, Sylvia Jones. She’s now there, working for you. Dig it.

TORONTO – The Ontario government has introduced its Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery, a five-point plan to provide the best care possible to patients and residents while ensuring the resources and supports are in place to keep the province and economy open.

“This plan further bolsters Ontario’s health care workforce, expands innovative models of care and ensures hospital beds are there for patients, including expanding beds and increasing critical capacity in Niagara,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

“Patients across our region can expect to see faster access to health care, including lower wait times in emergency rooms, lower wait times for surgical procedures and more care options in their local communities – and always accessing the care they need when they need it through their OHIP card.” Continue reading →

 “The announcement of the Rockway Community Centre purchase marks an important investment in our region and our environment. This strategic acquisition demonstrates the NPCA’s commitment to maintaining, protecting, and enhancing Niagara’s natural heritage.”  – Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted August 17^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is pleased to announce the purchase of a 1.12-acre property previously known as Rockway Community Centre, which is adjacent to its ecologically significant and highly visited Rockway Conservation Area.

Rockway Conservation Area in Lincoln/Niagara. Photo courtesy of NPCA

The land is located at 2021 Regional Road 69 in Lincoln. It is considered one of the Niagara Peninsula watershed’s hidden gems, as it is part of the Niagara Escarpment, with significant ecological features, flora, fauna, and recreational assets. The extensive trail system connects to the Bruce Trail and offers a hiking experience within the Fifteen Mile Creek Valley, surrounded by mature trees, a salt spring, and two spectacular waterfalls. Continue reading →

“St. Catharines has a lot of stories to tell. I encourage everyone to explore a building they’ve never been to and learn more about our vibrant history.”                                    – St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

A News Release from the City of St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario

Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Buildings all over the city will be opening up to showcase their historical significance on Saturday, Aug. 20 with Doors Open St. Catharines.

The historic Morningstar Mill site, one of many great places you can visit this Saturday, August 20th, during St. Catharines’ annual Doors Open event. Photo by Doug Draper

“Doors Open is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to explore historic and architecturally significant buildings in our city, not all of which are normally accessible to the public,” said Mayor Walter Sendzik. “St. Catharines has a lot of stories to tell. I encourage everyone to explore a building they’ve never been to and learn more about our vibrant history.”

A total of 15 different organizations are taking part including the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the Meridian Centre – which is also home to the City’s Sports Hall of Fame. Significant heritage sites including the Lake Street Armoury, Morningstar Mill, and The Brown Homestead will all be open for the day. Continue reading →