Author Archives: dougdraper

“While the NDP welcomes news of more resources to fight human trafficking, a lot of questions remain about whether Ontario’s 42 rape crisis centres will get additional funding this year to provide services to survivors of rape and sexual assault.”                               – Ontario NDP MPPs Jill Andrew and Suze Morrison

A Brief Statement from the Ontario New Democratic Party,s Women’s Issue Critic Jill Andrew and NDP MPP Suze Morrison

Posted March 6^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park – Jill Andrew, Ontario NDP Women’s Issues critic, and Suze Morrison, Ontario NDP critic for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Response, released the following statement in response to the government’s announcement regarding human trafficking:

“While the NDP welcomes news of more resources to fight human trafficking, a lot of questions remain about whether Ontario’s 42 rape crisis centres will get additional funding this year to provide services to survivors of rape and sexual assault. We should be giving rape crisis centres the $14 million dollars the Liberals waited 15 years to promise, and then failed to deliver. Continue reading →

$307 million invested to protect children and youth, crack down on offenders

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted March 6^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines, Ontario — The Government of Ontario is taking strong action to protect children and youth, support survivors, raise awareness and hold offenders accountable by releasing Ontario’s new anti-human trafficking strategy today.

Premier Doug Ford, Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones released today a new, comprehensive five-year strategy to combat human trafficking and end child sexual exploitation across the province.

The new strategy is the largest total investment in dedicated anti-human trafficking supports and services in the country and is a major step forward in Ontario’s fight against human trafficking.  Continue reading →

From Niagara Region’s Public Health and Emergency Services

Posted March 6th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Services is closely monitoring an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Hubei Province, China (including Wuhan).

We’re also collaborating with local hospitals, primary care, emergency services, the Ministry of Health, Public Health Ontario, and other provincial and federal partners to protect Niagara residents. Continue reading →

‘The Ontario Fire Code requires working smoke alarms on every storey of a home and outside all sleeping areas.’

An Important Message to All from the City of St. Catharines Fire Services in Niagara, Ontario

Posted March 6, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario — With clocks rolling forward one hour at 3 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, residents may lose an hour’s sleep, but they don’t need to lose peace of mind when it comes to home fire safety.

St. Catharines Fire Services are reminding residents that with the changing of the clocks they should be taking time to test the smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in their homes. Continue reading →

Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

“Instead of providing the necessary funding to fix Ontario’s emergency services, the Ford government is busy looking for ways (of) plowing ahead with cutting and merging Ontario’s emergency services.”                                                                                  – Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

A News Release from Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff  Burch and Ottawa-Centre NDP MPP Joel Harden

Posted March 5^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP MPPs Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre), the Official Opposition’s Municipal Affairs critic, and Joel Harden (Ottawa Centre) warned Doug Ford (this March 4rth) that he risks putting lives in danger with his government’s cuts to critical emergency services.

Apparently members of Ontario’s Ford government and their supporters don’t need services like this given their continued record of cutting funding or under-funding them.

A new report published today by CUPE Ontario reveals that pressure on frontline paramedics is reaching a breaking point with more ‘code zero’ events where Ontarians call 911 in need of urgent medical care only to be left waiting with no ambulances available to help. Continue reading →

A New Release  from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated hospital system

Posted March 5^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – A new program at Niagara Health is enhancing care and access to services for palliative patients and their families. Niagara Health’s Palliative Care Consultation Service, which launched on March 2, provides patient care services, including managing symptoms, organizing home or hospice care, and social and emotional support.

Niagara Health Palliative Care Consultation Service team, from left to right: General Internists Dr. Lorraine Jensen, Dr. Manon Tougas and Dr. Andre Maddison (Project Lead) and Nurse Practitioner Andrea Lehal. Photo courtesy of Niagara Health

The team consists of a group of physicians and nurse practitioners who offer in-person and phone consultations on a referral basis. The team works across Niagara Health’s Greater Niagara General, Welland and St. Catharines sites and is dedicated to meeting the needs of patients and their families. Continue reading →

From the Office of Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce

Posted March 5th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Stephen Lecce (PC Candidate, King-Vaughan) addresses media at the Hilton Toronto hotel in downtownToronto, Ont. on Sunday May 27, 2018. Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia

TORONTO — Today (this March 5th), Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, issued the following  statement in response to continued strike action by OSSTF, OECTA, and AEFO:

“I have offered all teachers’ union federations a fair and reasonable plan, which should pave the way to reaching a good deal that keeps students in class.

The government has consistently made reasonable moves – effectively freezing class room sizes, a parental opt out for online learning, a commitment to  full-day kindergarten, and one hundred per cent investment in special education.

The time for a deal is now, I urge the unions to stop this disruptive escalation  and return to the table to get a deal that is fair for parents, students, and  educators.” Continue reading →

“We need to fund scientific research that can quickly diagnose and provide therapies to prevent and treat the virus. … And we need to all look after each other.” U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, a Democrat representing the Buffalo, New York area

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

Posted March 5^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – With a virus that has been spreading around the globe like this, it certainly matters what our neighbours are doing about it right across such a heavily trafficked  border. In that spirit, we  post this news.)

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced House passage of H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020.

The bill provides $8.3 billion for a robust response to COVID-19, the “Coronavirus,” including vaccine development, support for state and local governments, and assistance for affected small business.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that was first identified as a result of an outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to those of other respiratory illnesses, and include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Continue reading →

Ontario Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“The chaotic rollout of these new plates will certainly have costs associated. However, the Government has not revealed the costs.” – from Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s March 4^th, 2020 letter to the province’s Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk

News from the Office of Ontario’s Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted March 4^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

The license plate Ontario vehicle owners have had for decades, on top, and the new one below. They also just happen to feature the Ford government’s Tory Party colours.

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has formally requested Ontario’s Auditor General review all costs associated with the production and replacement of the Ford government’s defective license plates, and review the non-disclosure agreement signed between the Ford government and manufacturer 3M.

Replacing the new, faulty license plates with even newer ones will, as Horwath notes in her letter, “certainly have costs associated,” including those related to materials, shipping and redesign –  but Doug Ford and his government are attempting to hide those costs with the non-disclosure agreement. Continue reading →

“It’s time to face facts. Based on its weak Environment Plan, the lack of action to reduce carbon pollution, and its commitment to fight well established climate solutions like carbon pricing, it seems the province (of Ontario) has no intention to fight climate change.”

A Commentary by Keith Brooks, Programs Director, Environmental Defence Canada

Posted March 4th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Ontario’s Environment Minister Jeff Yurek, with Premier Doug Ford to the right, waging a post-truth war on climate change

Since gaining office a year and a half ago, the Ontario government has taken a post-truth approach to climate change: they say what they want you to believe, rather than what experts agree to be true.

Specifically, the government claims to have a real plan to fight climate change that proves you can fight it without a price on carbon.

However, experts agree:

• the plan is not based on sound evidence.
• the plan will not meet Ontario’s weak targets to reduce carbon pollution;
• the plan actually does contain an element of carbon pricing (for large polluters).

But so far, none of that seems to matter to the provincial government. They carry on with the post-truth politics on climate change. Continue reading →

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

“We are supporting businesses that are making investments today to help protect our environment for future generations.”     – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

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

Posted March 3rd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Just as Canada’s Trudeau government did a year ago, when it moved to make up for the funding Ontario’s Ford Government cut from a province-wide program for planting millions of trees, it is now offering more in the way of financial rebates or incentives to encourage businesses to purchase zero-emission vehicles and other technologies.

One of the many environmental protecting-gutting moves that the Ontario government of Doug Ford made to please its corporate masters in the carbon fuel industry after coming to power two years ago was to quite literally pull the plug on rebates the previous government had put in to stimulate the sale of electric trucks and cars.

For Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, it has been all about selling more carbon-based fuels, cheaper.

After the rebate was cancelled, sales of electric vehicles in Ontario plunged by more than 50 per cent, which appears to have had little impact on the thinking of a Ford government that is spinning its wheels  in the middle half of the last century when it comes to transportation and to carbon-based  fuels that are contributing to an escalating climate crisis. Continue reading →

“People in Niagara are dying. We lose one Niagara resident to suicide every seven days.” Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted March 3^rd, 2020 in Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Niagara Falls, Ontario  — NDP MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) has responded to the Ministry of Health’s mental health and addictions strategy that fails to include any new funding for the crisis facing Niagara.

“People in Niagara are dying. We lose one Niagaran to suicide every seven days. Over 70 percent of calls to first responders in the region are related to a mental health crisis,” says Gates.

Preventative care and supports to family members helping their loved ones are already inadequate. Even worse, after 9 o’clock at night, there’s almost nowhere for people to go who are in crisis, except our already overstretched hospital. Continue reading →

“The way to stop the spread of the coronavirus is to make sure anyone who might have been exposed can stay home, to avoid spreading it. There are serious concerns about Ontarians who can’t afford to take a day off work if they’re showing symptoms.”                                        – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

News from Ontario’s Official Opposition New Democratic Party

Posted March 3^rd, 2020 on Niagara At large

Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Doug Ford to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, by immediately introducing and passing an emergency bill to ensure employees can stay home from work when they’re sick.

Horwath is asking the provincial government to take two specific measures: prevent employers from requiring people to go to a doctor’s office to get a sick note, and make sure employees have access to paid sick days in order to avoid spreading any illness or virus they’ve contracted, and to self-quarantine if they have any symptoms. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted March 3rd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A red-tailed hawk soaring above the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area and Niagara Escarpment in Niagara, Ontario. File photo courtesy of NPCA

Niagara, Ontario – Monitoring of the 2020 spring hawk migration will once again take place from March 1 to May 15, as members of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH) will be on site counting the number of sightings daily.

“Beamer Memorial Conservation Area is known as the best vantage point in the Niagara Peninsula, with sightings of more than 15,000 hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures on average each spring,” says Kim Frohlich, Ecologist at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

“At this site, members of the public can see a variety of birds of prey, as they migrate from South and Central America, the Caribbean and the United States to their nesting territories in Canada.” Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Centre Constituency Office of Federal Liberal MP Vance Badawey

Posted March 3rd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre Liberal government MP Vance Badawey

Ottawa, Ontario – MP Vance Badawey was selected as Vice-Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. This Group is tasked with providing federal legislators in Canada and the United States the opportunity to discuss issues of importance to both countries.

“Canada and United States have a longstanding and productive bi-national relationship that benefits both nations greatly. We continue to work collaboratively on such issues as NAFTA (CUSMA), the Great Lakes, resource management, binational transportation and integrating distribution and logistics, including strategic bi-national infrastructure investments that promotes fluidity.

By working with our U.S Colleagues at the State and Federal levels, we have seen consistent and positive developments emerge on a range of files relating to our shared social, economic, and environmental stewardship,” stated Badawey. Continue reading →

This Is Our First Chance in 12 Years to Press Our Regional Government to set Stronger Tree Protection Laws in Niagara

News from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted March 2nd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

First, here is a Foreword on the importance of all this by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

In all of my years as a journalist covering environmental issues in this region, few have drawn an angrier response from members of the public than the cutting down of mature, healthy trees.

Over and over again, and right up to as recently as the past few months, I’ve continued to receive messages from Niagara citizens who are upset up to a point, in some cases of being, white hot angry over incidents of buzz saws and bulldozers knocking down trees.

Tree cutting on the property of the Randwood Estate in Niagara-on-the-Lake more than a year ago triggered a public uproar in the community. File Photo courtesy of members of the citizens group SORE (Save Our Randwood Estate)

And in some cases, where citizens called the appropriate public authorities to report the felling of trees, they were told that there were few if any punitive measures that could be pursued because of the way the Region’s current Tree and Forest Conservation By-law is written.

That is why the process that Niagara’s regional government is embarking on this month – to receive public input to update this by-law for the first time in 12 years – is so important for those of us who care about protecting and preserving trees, and for the over-all health of Niagara’s environment. Continue reading →

ACTION ALERT – Ontario’s Conservation Authorities Act – Rules that Help Protect Our Wetlands, Woodlands and Natural Heritage as a whole from Urban Planning that is Destructive and Environmentally Unsustainable – Is At Risk

Ontario’s Conservation Authorities Act Is Under Review (Again) – Please Participate in Support of Maintaining Strong Watershed Protection

An Alert to All of Us from the Canadian Environmental Law Association, one of our country’s oldest and most repsected non-profit organization for protecting our natural hertiage

Posted March 1st, 2020 on Niagara At Large

February 27, 2020 – Urgent action is needed in Ontario to reverse biodiversity loss and ensure our communities are climate resilient. Now is the time for increased public investment in the province’s conservation authorities.

The Ontario government has recently released an online survey <https://www.ontario.ca/page/consultation-ontario-conservation-authorities> seeking input on the role of Conservation Authorities with a response deadline of March 13, 2020. Now is the time to make your voice heard.

Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is seeking limited input on further changes to the Conservation Authorities Act, despite multiple recent modernization actions.  Continue reading →

“Conservation Authorities (like the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority {NPCA} here in the Niagara/Hamilton/Haldimand area) play a key role in protecting Ontarians from the impacts of climate change. We must resist the trend towards environmental deregulation in Ontario.” – Ontario Nature

An Urgent Call-Out from Ontario Nature, a time-honoured, not –for-profit  advocacy group for the protection and preservation of our natural heritage in Ontario

Posted February 28^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

The province’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks is consulting on the mandate of conservation authorities and has posted a survey.

This follows public sessions where developers and others have been urging the government to remove conservation authorities from the planning process, and to limit their mandate and scope.

We must resist this trend towards environmental deregulation in Ontario. Continue reading →

Doug Ford’s American contractor for Employment Ontario has a Disastrous Track Record

“People complain that they are required to engage in activities that are unrealistic given their circumstances, or the health conditions of their children. If they fail to comply they are “sanctioned” meaning that they lose their cash assistance and opportunities for education and training services.”                           – Christine Hastedt, Senior Public Policy Advisor, Maine Equal Justice, in the State of Maine where this firm Ford wants to enlist in Ontario has been operating.

News from the Constituency Offices of Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch and Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted February 28^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP MPPs Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) and Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) took Doug Ford to task Thursday at the Ontario legislature for his reckless decision to sell off employment services in Hamilton and Niagara to a US-based multinational corporation which, the NDP revealed, has a disastrous track record.

The Ford government signed a deal with American firm FedCap Inc. to take away Employment Ontario’s work — helping Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works program recipients find jobs. A recent review by the Maine Department of Health revealed that FedCap Inc. has comprehensively failed to deliver results for people in the State of Maine, and according to their report “lacks the capacity to fulfill its contractual obligations.”

“In Maine only 10 per cent of participants were ever placed in any real skills training program and nearly half of all participants referred to FedCap lost their assistance without securing a job. Based on this disastrous evidence from Maine will the Premier cancel the pilot program and admit this was a mistake?” asked Burch during question period on Thursday, after his office uncovered the disastrous record of FedCap Inc. in Maine.

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Forty-eight per cent of people that were referred to FedCap Inc. lost their assistance without securing a job. A review conducted by the Maine Department of Health found that people were deeply unhappy with the employment programs offered by FedCap Inc. that were not individualized or responsive to people’s needs, had poor levels of customer service and professionalism, and failed to safeguard confidential data.

“FedCap has a track record and it’s not good. If the State of Maine’s experience is any indicator, then people in our community have a high risk of losing their jobs, and if we include all of the service providers and front-line workers we may be looking at a lot of good paying jobs lost,” said Gates.

“We must stand up for these workers and their employment and say no to selling their livelihoods to an American company with no roots in Niagara,” added NDP MPP Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines).

All 65 of the good-paying jobs administering employment services in the State of Maine were lost once FedCap Inc. took over and the community agency contracts to administer the programs were terminated by the company.

Background

  *   Fedcap Inc. is a U.S. based multinational non-profit social service provider, with operations in the U.K., Australia, and the United States. In February 2020 it was announced that FedCap was chosen by the Ford government to run Employment Ontario services for the combined service area of Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara region in one of three pilot areas.

  *   FedCap Inc. received the contract to administer job placement services for welfare recipients for the State of Maine in October 2016. In 2019, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services wrote to the company with a long list of serious concerns, including:

•   *   a lack of capacity to fulfill its contractual obligations
•  *   poor performance
• *   poor record keeping of client’s personal information
• *   a lack of responsiveness to the needs of program participants
• *   48 per cent of people that were referred to them lost their assistance without securing a job (FedCap Monthly Report, Nov. 2019, pg 7)
•  *   65 unionized state employees lost their jobs after FedCap assumed the contract.

Watch Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch raise this issue in the Ontario legislature by clicking on the screen below – 

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 Reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For More News And Commentary From Niagara At Large – An independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara Region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

You Are Invited to a Community Sustainability Science Café hosted by the Brock University United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

A Free Public Gathering – Monday, March 2^nd, 6:30 p.m. at the Welland Public Library in downtown Welland, Ontario

Posted February 27th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

For more details, view the poster below –

A Footnote by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

The Niagara River is a major connecting channel in our Great Lakes and one of the most iconic, scenic and ecologically significant watersheds in the world.

Over the past 100 years it has faced its share of environmental threats from toxic chemical pollution to loss of wildlife habitat, including wetlands and woodlands, to poorly planned urban development. And often government bodies in Canada have been the first to step up to the plate with measures for protecting this precious watershed we share with our American neighbours.

But on this matter – that of getting what is known as a RAMSAR designation for wetlands in the Niagara River watershed – it is parties on the American side of the river, including local municipalities, citizen groups and private landowners, who got the job of ddesignattng this watershed as a globally significant wetland area done first.

Our American neighbours hosted a celebration last year as a wetland designation for their side of the Niagara River became official while Canadians were left watching. Continue reading →

Help the Nature Conservancy of Canada Improve Habitat for Brook Trout in Niagara’s Lathrop Nature Preserve in the Headwaters of Twelve Mile Creek

A painted turtle, one of a host of wildlife that make wetlands, watersheds and other natural areas in Niagara, Ontario their home. A photo by Cameron Curran for the Nature Conservancy of Canada

News from the Nature Conservancy of Canada

Posted February 27^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

The Lathrop Nature Preserve-ON-NCC_thumb

Niagara, Ontario – When you think of the Niagara region, you probably think about the Falls, wine or maybe the War of 1812.

But did you know that this popular tourist spot is actually one of the most biologically rich areas in Canada?

Surrounded by Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment, the region’s unique climate and ecosystems support a vast variety of species — many at the very northern edge of their ranges. Continue reading →

The Husband of Ontario’s Fifth Case Now Confirmed Positive

A News Release from the Ontario Ministry of Health

Posted February 27^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — Today (this February 27^th), Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, confirmed that the husband of Ontario’s fifth case of COVID-19 has tested positive for the virus. The man, in his 60s, is currently in self-isolation.

“We are working alongside Toronto Public Health, who is now and will continue to be in regular contact with this individual during their self-isolation period,” said Dr. Williams. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide advocacy group for public health care

Posted February 26^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra address huge rally in Niagara Falls, Ontario on February 22nd

On Saturday February 22 at the Ontario PC Policy Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivered a tone-deaf speech, calling for a standing ovation for Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, saying they are doing a great job on health care, and crowing about expanding privatized liquor and beer.

Most of this was a rehash of his election stump speech. Weirdly, he conflated the thousands outside protesting his cuts and privatization of vital public services with the Liberals of Kathleen Wynne, blaming the protesters outside for “running the province into the ground”. Continue reading →

New initiative aimed at improving student safety and well-being

News from Ontario’s Ford Government

Posted February 26^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword to this from Doug Draper, reporter/publisher Niagara At Large –

Some of Niagara’s public school teachers picketing next to the Pen Centre Shopping Mall in St. Catharines, Ontario this February 21st, all part of a cross-Ontario mass strike action by more than 2,000 teachers. Photo by Doug Draper

If and when you read the following news release from the office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s fully on side Education Minister Stephen Lecce, think of all of the elementary and secondary school teachers who are on the front line every day of the school year with students who are being bullied and with students who are bullies, and who are sometimes the targets of bullies themselves.

Doug Ford, who had a reputation for playing the bully when he was a Toronto city councillor and his late brother Rob was the city’s mayor, showing his stuff in 2013, when someone shouted criticism from the council’s public gallery

Those teachers have been out on picket lines, on rotating, one-day strikes, in recent months, fighting planned cuts to Ontario’s public education system by one of the biggest bullies of them all – Doug Ford.

If and when you read the following news release from Ford’s government, consider how much of what his government is recommending below will add to the amount of training and the amount of work these teachers will have to do – even as Ford is moving to significant reduce the number of teachers in the province, increase class sizes and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for support staff, including guidance councelors, and other academic and classroom-related resources. Continue reading →

MPP Jennie Stevens says Doug Ford must put a stop to the renovictions crisis now hitting Niagara

A News Release from the Constituency Office of St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted February 25th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP NPP Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) has demanded the Ford government put a stop to ‘renovictions’ and intimidation tactics by developers in this province, that’s leaving vulnerable people without a home and nowhere to go.

Stevens said that the scourge of renovictions, where long-time tenants are forced out by landlords using the excuse of renovations who then jack up rents, is now spreading to every corner of Ontario including St. Catharines in the Niagara region.

“This government has scrapped rent control on new units. They have sat by and allowed rents to skyrocket, and they have created an environment that encourages landlords to pursue aggressive and illegal renovictions,” said Stevens on Thursday during Question Period at the legislature. Continue reading →

‘Housing prices are skyrocketing in cities around the world. Incomes are not.

PUSH sheds light on a new kind of faceless landlord, our increasingly unliveable cities and an escalating crisis that has an effect on us all.’

An Invite to a Screening of PUSH, from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network and The Film House in Niagara, Ontario

Posted on February 25th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network (NPRN) has teamed up with United Way and The Film House (on 250 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario) to join us for this special learning event and screening of PUSH – a film documentary investigating housing across the globe.

PUSH – The Film is from award-winning director Fredrik Gertten featuringLeilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. Leilani investigates the factors that make housing one of today’s most pressing world issues.

A panel featuring the voices of local experiences and experts (Niagara resident Christina Thomas, Jeffrey Sinclair of the Niagara Region, and Elisabeth Zimmermann of the YWCA) will be moderated by Frances Hallworth, executive director of United Way Niagara following the film.

*Mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 7pm to be at The Film House.*

This is a free, ticketed event. Make sure to reserve your ticket!

*GET YOUR TICKET HERE <https://firstontariopac.ca/Online/seatSelect.asp>!*

As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to connect back!

With kindness, Rachel Gillmore*

*Niagara Poverty Reduction Convener*

To learn more about the film and watch some of it, click on – <http://www.pushthefilm.com/>,

To learn more about the good community work of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network, click on – https://www.wipeoutpoverty.ca/ .

To learn more about The Film House and what it is featuring, click on – https://firstontariopac.ca/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=FilmHouse&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

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 Reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For More News And Commentary From Niagara At Large – An independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara Region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

This February 22nd, in Niagara Falls, the People Were Outside – Thousands of Them – and They’ve Got a lot of Beefs With You!

(This post reflects on the massive‘People Vs. Conservative Cuts’ Rally that took place outside the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario this past Saturday, February 22^nd, while members of Ontario’s Ford government were inside, holding a two-day “policy convention.)

By Linda Babb, Niagara Falls resident, community activist and host of the popular online site, The Peoples’ Platform

Posted February 24th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

THIS is COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER!

THIS is “holding space”, “holding and building the “vision” for what we can ALL create together.

Yes – there are “aspects” we dislike.

Yes – we are human and we complain about “stuff” that goes on.

But THIS is what happens when, as Kyle Hoskin says, we break free of the silos and what we think separates us. Collectively “people” do change things. Let’s keep that in mind as we progress towards a strong, liveable, vibrant community for everyone.

Now here is a great take on the massive February 22nd protest rally in Niagara Falls by Niagara resident and member of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1287 Kyle Hoskin –

These last three weeks have been a blur. So much organizing, so much planning. But it’s been worth it. Never mind the rally. The work leading up to it was the best part. Organizing and mobilizing this community these last two weeks has been the proudest moment one of my life. Continue reading →

Governments Ordering Police On To Traditional First Nations Lands Clash With and Arrest Indigenous People

We’ve Come a Long Way from “Sunny Ways”, Reconciliation and the Promise of a Real Climate Plan, Mr. Prime Minister. You’ve Blown It!

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher           Doug Draper

Posted February 24^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Indenous people rally in Niagara Falls, Ontario earlier this February in support of support land rights and pipeline blockades. photo by Doug Draper

When you have political leaders like the one Canada currently has in the Prime Minister’s office who has no clear vision or plan, let alone the strength or  courage to  follow through on it, it is should not come as a surprising to anyone that you end up with people on all sides of an issue who end up feeling confused, frustrated, angry and betrayed, and who sometimes even resort to civil disobedience and violence.

Before I comment further, click on the screen below and watch the video, posted by APTN News (a national media outlet from and for Canada’s First Nation People) on the clash that took place between Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Indigenous people on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario this Monday, February 24^th.

And while you are watching, consider the possibility that it did not have to come to this if we had real political leadership in this country–

In my view, we cannot ultimately blame either side – the police or the Indigenous people – for what we just saw here. Continue reading →

One of the many inhabitants of Waverly Woods near the shores of Lake Erie in Fort Erie, Ontario

Like Thundering Waters in Niagara Falls, this natural heritage gem in Fort Erie, Ontario is one more of our ever fewer green places in Niagara being targeted for Urban Development

A Message from Marcie Jacklin, for the Niagara, Ontario based citizens group Community Voices of Fort Erie

Posted February 24^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Hello everyone.

I’m thrilled to let you know that we gained over 120 signatures last week mostly from people in St. Catharines and Buffalo who have been to Waverly Woods but didn’t know what was happening.

We now have 5,367 signatures!

Inside Waverly Woods in Fort Erie, Ontario. How many more places like this in our region are we willing to lose in an era of growing wildlife losses and climate crisis?

So what is happening. The Hearing date is set for May 25, 2020. Our experts are busy preparing for the best outcome.  Continue reading →

Regional Councillor Peter Nicholson’s Bewildering Bid to have Region Reconsider Suing Caslin and Company is Swiftly Shot Down

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

Posted February 21st, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Region has slapped former regional chair Al Caslin with a $500,000 lawsuit

Despite a last-minute bid by a Niagara Falls Regional Councillor Peter Nicholson to throw a wrench into the works, Niagara Region’s council voted 24 to 1 to pursue lawsuits against former Niagara Regional chair Al Caslin, the Region’s former CAO Carmen D’Angelo and two other key players in what has come to be known as the ‘CAO hiring scandal.

The almost unanimous vote – recorded during the end of this past Thursday, February 20^th’ regional council meeting – brought a quick end to Nicholson’s out-of-the-blue motion to reconsider filing lawsuits against the four, which also include former regional policy director Robert D’Amboise and former communications director Jason Tamming.

This is good news for countless residents across Niagara who have been following the unfolding details of this sordid affair, going back to the events leading up to  Caslin and he regional council of the day hiring Carmen D’Angelo to the $250,000-plus job of chief administrative officer (CAO) of what is a more than a billion-dollars-a-year public corporation.

What is also good news is that this past Wednesday, February 19^th, possibly unbeknownst to most, if not all on the Region’s council, lawyers for the Region had already filed a statement of claim in the Ontario courts against Caslin, D’Amboise and Tamming, suing the trio for a total of $850,000.

The claim breaks down to $500,000 against Caslin, $250,000 against D’Amboise and $100,000 against Tamming.

Continue reading →

“Mayor Diodati is Trumpian in his vendetta against a Councillor who he appears to dislike and who consistently votes and speaks her mind.”

A Call of Support for the Councillor from A Better Niagara, a Niagara-wide citizen watchdog group

Posted February 20^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

The outspoken Niagara Falls City Councillor Carolynn Ioannoni, loved by many citizen activiists across Niagara, but often at outs with Niagara Falls’ Mayor Jim Diodati and others on the council.

When I first read the news earlier this February that Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodiati and a majority on his council had moved hyper harshly to punish one of their own, City Councillor Carolynn Ioannoni, by suspending her council pay for 90 days and removing her from all committees and boards for the rest of the council term, my head was left spinning.

My thoughts immediately went back to a few weeks earlier to a January 30^th public meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where more than 200 residents came out, many of them to voice their opposition to a controversial proposal – supported by Diodati and a majority on his council – to urbanize property within metres of provincially significant wetlands inside a place known as Thundering Water Forest.

Among the very first to speak, Ioannoni received applause from the gathering when she leaned into a microphone and told  representatives of the corporation responsible for the proposal; “I don’t think you would have a room full of people here because they believe that the wetlands are going to be preserved.” Continue reading →

We, the People, deserve to see justice done in this matter

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

Posted February 19^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

What gives with first-term Niagara Falls Regional Councillor Peter Nicholson? Why is he reportedly having second throughts about the Region filing a lawsuit against former CAO Carmen D’Angleo, former regional chair Al Caslin and two others?

What gives with the freshman regional councillor from Niagara Falls, Peter Nicholson?

If a story on the front page of February 19^th edition of the St. Catharines Standard is correct, this  regional councillor wants fellow members of Niagara Region’s council to reconsider a motion they reportedly passed in closed session this past January to file lawsuits against four of the main players in what has become commonly known as the ‘tainted CAO hiring scandal’ – what Ontario’s Ombudsman dubbed an “inside job” in a report he released he released last November – that rocked and ravaged our Niagara regional government as a credible, functioning public body over the past four or five years.

The four individuals our Regional Council reportedly voted this January to file lawsuits against are the former CAO at the heart of the hiring, Carmen D’Angelo, former Niagara regional chair Al Caslin, a former regional policy director Robert D’Amboise and former communications director Jason Tamming. Continue reading →

The Provincially Significant Wetlands in Thundering Waters Forest – in the long-troubled waters of our Bi-National Niagara River Watershed – Should Not Be Paved Around At All!

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

Posted February 14th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Let me segue into yet another call for saving Thundering Waters Forest and the rich abundance of wetlands inside this jewel of a place in our bi-national Niagara River watershed this way.

A look inside the wetlands-rich Thundering Waters Forest in the Niagara River watershed.

At a meeting this past February 12th of Niagara Region’s planning and economic development committee, Wayne Redekop, a member of the committee and Mayor of the Town of Fort Erie, said  the following before the committee was about to defer any decision on a request by Ontario’s wine industry to relax rules over what then can do on Niagara Escarpment lands – some of which are designated, through the United Nations, as a globally significant “biosphere reserve.”

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop believes that in this age of climate change, our region has to do everything possible to save what is left of our natural heritage

“Our interest is obviously in ensuring that we have a vibrant economy,” Redekop told fellow members of the committee. “But we also have an interest in ensuring that we protect natural heritage features.”

“And for as long as I have been here,” he added, “we have heard people talk about what a great area Niagara is to live, to do business and to raise a family. And I am trying to get my head around how do we do that if we don’t have some regard for what people really do think is significant about Niagara. And that is our natural heritage.”

“With all of the stuff that is happening with respect to climate change, the Fort Erie mayor concluded, “with the significance of biodiversity, I am really not supportive of …eroding the natural heritage area that we’ve got in Niagara, whether it is NEC, whether it is the greenbelt, whether it is the wetlands in Fort Erie.  I think we’ve got to keep our eye on the ball.” Continue reading →

“Niagara Health has a bright future ahead of it and it’s because of our people…. I’m very impressed by the professionalism, care, and compassion of everyone here.” – Lynn Guerriero

News from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system of hospitals

Posted February 18th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Health’s new president, Lynn Guerriero

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Health is welcoming our new president, Lynn Guerriero, to her role today. Ms. Guerriero will play a critical role in helping us achieve our purpose of extraordinary caring to every person, every time.

“I’m excited to join Niagara Health, which has such dedicated staff, physicians, learners, volunteers, and board members,” said Ms. Guerriero. “Niagara Health has a bright future ahead of it and it’s because of our people. As I learn more about the organization, I’m very impressed by the professionalism, care, and compassion of everyone here.”

“Lynn is strongly committed to providing patients and families with extraordinary caring in every aspect of their experience. With her passion and deep understanding of healthcare, she was the unanimous choice of the selection committee and is an outstanding executive leader who will be a positive presence at Niagara Health,” said Mr. John Bragagnolo, Chair of the Board of Directors at Niagara Health. Continue reading →

This School Board Owes Trustee Kate Baggott and All of Her Constituents an Apology

“To think is sacred; let every person think freely!

“To express what you think is sacred; let every person express his thought freely! If you do this, you prove that you are a conscientious and a moral human being!

“If you don’t do this, you just declare yourself being fascist!”

―Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish playwright and writer, world-renown for his work, including his play on the legendary activist and advocate for non-violent protest against oppressors, Mahatma Gandhi

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted February 16^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

This Niagara school board trustee, Kate Baggott, gets publicly pilloried by the board for having the nerve to communicate with a parent who has concerns

Let’s revisit for a second or so more the point that Mehmet Murat ildan makes about living and operating in a world where we can express our thoughts freely.

Is there anyone out there, aside from the kind of person who would support a politician like Donald Trump, who doesn’t believe there something sacred about that?

If you truly believe that the right to express ourselves freely should be a guiding principle for living in a healthy, functioning democracy, then the answer to any question about how sacred or sacrosanct that is should be a no-brainer.

It should be, but apparently it isn’t such an easy question to answer these days  at the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN). Continue reading →

“He’s now president for life. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot           someday.” – U.S. President Trump, seemingly “joking” to an adoring audience of supporters  at a May 2018 Florida fundraiser about a power grab that had just been made by China’s president, Xi Jinping, to rule his country for life

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

Posted on this Presidents Day in Trumpland, February 17^th, 2020

“Donald Trump is functionally a monarch at this point. … If the king does it, it’s okay.”                                                              – American historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham, shortly after Moscow Mitch delivered Trump an acquittal shortly after the sham of an “impeachment trial” held in what is left of the U.S. Senate this January

“Every public official that I know believes that his election (in 2020) is in the public interest,” said Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard University law professor, acquaintance of convicted sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein  and member of Trump’s legal team from hell, during what so many mainstream American media lemmings dutifully called an “impeachment trial.” Continue reading →

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

“Today in Canada, one-in-five Canadians – close to 7.5 million people – either has no drug coverage at all or effectively has no coverage due to high deductibles and co-payments. As a result, nearly three million Canadians do not take their medication as prescribed because they cannot afford it – leading to hundreds of preventable deaths every year.”                                                             – Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

News from Canada’s New Democratic Party

Posted February 14th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

 Ottawa, Ontario – This week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford to update the government of Ontario on the NDP’s plan to bring in pharmacare for all and to seek his government’s support to make sure every person in Ontario is covered.

“New Democrats know that sky-high prices put enormous pressure on the provinces. In fact, prescription drugs are now the second largest spending category in Canadian healthcare, costing more than physicians’ services,” said Singh. Continue reading →

An International Celebration of Winter Birds in our Bi-National Niagara River Corrirdor – Identified as a “Globally Significant Important Bird Area”

A Great Snowy Owl on the Niagara River. Photo courtesy of Jay Burney

An Invite to All from the Niagara Falls Nature Club and Bert Miller Nature Club in Niagara, Ontario and the Buffalo Audubon Society in Western New York

Posted February 14th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara’s three naturalist clubs have partnered with Niagara Parks and several organizations on the US side of the river to welcome birders; from beginners to experts to get outside and experience the stunning natural beauty of the Niagara River corridor.

Photo courtesy of Jay Burney

Hundreds of thousands of birds representing over 40 species of waterfowl, including colourful ducks, and sociable swans, snowy owls, gulls and other birds visit here from the north and can be found on the Niagara River during the winter. Continue reading →

The laugh is on we, the people! Did you vote for up to an 11 per cent hike on your auto insurance premiums?

Doug Ford dings Ontario drivers with another insurance rate hike

Auto Insurance Rates Expected to Soar as High as          11 Per Cent in Ontario 

News from Ontario’s Official Opposition New Democratic Party

Posted February 11th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK – Tom Rakocevic, Ontario NDP Auto Insurance critic, released the following statement in response to news that some Ontario drivers will be paying up to 11 per cent more for auto insurance this year as rates continue to climb in the province:

Get your stacks of cash ready, if you have any. More of it needs to go to some of the businesses that fund the Ford Tories’ election campaigns

“It’s wrong for the Ford government to let auto insurers pile on with another rate hike as Ontario drivers struggle to keep up with skyrocketing auto insurance rates.

Adding insult to injury, Doug Ford campaigned on lowering auto insurance rates and he’s turned around and done the exact opposite, driving premiums up and up.

This confirms that there is no relief in sight for Ontarians as Doug Ford’s Conservatives pick up where the Liberals left off. Continue reading →

“Ontario is required to consider climate change before exempting forestry from environmental assessment. … This didn’t happen for Temagami,”                                                                                            – Joshua Ginsberg, a lawyer with Ecojustice’s law clinic at the University of Ottawa.

These old=growth trees have been standing in Ontario’s Temagami Forest for hundreds of years. Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Tories across the province would have them cut down in a matter of days without a proper review of the consequences.

“These 400-year-old trees are not something that is a sustainable harvest. You’re not talking about regrowing them. … They started growing before Champlain discovered this part of the world, “We’re not talking about a cycle of regrowth and return.We’re talking about ancient creatures that have acquired and protected this carbon for centuries.”                                             – Gord Miller, a former Environmental Commissioner for Ontario and now Chair of  Earthroots, an Ontario-based grassroots conservation organization

A News Release from Ecojustice, Canada’s largest environmental law charity, and the Ontario-based environmental groups Earthroots and Friends of Temagami

Posted February 10th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Don’t simply let more of this happen in Ontario’s Temagami Forest

Ecojustice lawyers, on behalf of Earthroots and Friends of Temagami, have filed a lawsuit against the Ford government for refusing to take into account climate-related considerations in its forestry management plan for Temagami.

“Ontario is required to consider climate change before exempting forestry from environmental assessment. When this condition is not met, the environment ministry is legally required to kick-start the individual environmental assessment process. This didn’t happen for Temagami,” said Joshua Ginsberg, lawyer with Ecojustice’s law clinic at the University of Ottawa.

“This is a systemic problem across the province where climate-related impacts are left out of the picture for Ontario’s forests despite the legal requirement for it to be included.”

In Ontario, forestry management plans benefit from a class-based exemption from environmental assessment, provided the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) addresses a list of mandatory conditions, including efforts toward climate change mitigation and carbon management. Continue reading →

‘Ontario’s industrial carbon pricing plan is weaker than the federal system, and was tabled after the deadline set by  Ottawa needs to stand firm and keep the existing federal system in place.’

“Ontario has been openly hostile to the environment and has taken this country backward in the fight against climate change,” – Keith Brooks, Programs Director at Environmental Defence Canada

An Urgent Call-Out from Environmental Defence Canada, Burlington Green, the David Suzuki Foundation and 27 other environmental organizations across Ontario and Canada

Posted February 10, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – Over 30 Canadian environmental organizations sent a letter to 85 Ontario MPs calling on them to urge the federal government to keep Canada’s industrial carbon pricing policy in place in Ontario, and not approve the province’s weaker proposed system.

Ontario’s proposed system would give polluters a big break by putting a price on far fewer emissions than the current federal system. There is no justification for giving Ontario’s inferior proposal a pass, the groups said. Continue reading →

The Antarctic’s “immense ice sheet is up to 4.8 kilometres thick and contains 90 per cent of the world’s fresh water, enough to raise sea level by around 60 metres, were it all to melt.”                  – Experts in the United Nations’ global weather agency

Aerial view of melting glaciers on King George Island, Antarctica. UN Photo

News from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization Posted February 10th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword from Doug Draper, a veteran environment writer, and a reporter and publisher of Niagara At Large –

Anyone who still thinks that the melting of our planet’s polar ice caps – happening much faster than experts predicted even 10 or 20 years ago – is not going to have a drastic impact on climate conditions for all of us – conditions that lead to even more costly and devastating floods, droughts, wildfires, violent windstorms and the collapse of plant and animal species – has not been paying attention to the science and the growing number of expert reports on what is going on.

Save Thundering Waters – 

The more I read reports like this latest one from experts at the United Nations, the less patience I find myself having for the provincial and municipal politicians and bureaucrats in our Niagara region who refuse to think globally and act locally to do whatever needs to be done to join the world in addressing what countless thousands of experts now agree is a full-blown climate emergency.

A look inside the wetlands-rich Thundering Waters Forest in the Niagara River watershed.

When I read this report, one of the first things I thought of was that young Niagara mother at a recent public meeting in Niagara Falls, asking for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer out of Helen Chang, the president of a China-based company pressing to do urban development in the wetlands-rich Thundering Waters, to the question; “Do you believe we face a climate emergency?” Continue reading →

The Antarctic’s “immense ice sheet is up to 4.8 kilometres thick and contains 90 per cent of the world’s fresh water, enough to raise sea level by around 60 metres, were it all to melt.”                  – Experts in the United Nations’ global weather agency

Aerial view of melting glaciers on King George Island, Antarctica. UN Photo

News from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization

Posted February 9th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword from Doug Draper, a veteran environment writer, and a reporter and publisher of Niagara At Large –

Anyone who still thinks that the melting of our planet’s polar ice caps – happening much faster than experts predicted even 10 or 20 years ago – is not going to have a drastic impact on climate conditions for all of us – conditions that lead to even more costly and devastating floods, droughts, wildfires, violent windstorms and the collapse of plant and animal species – has not been paying attention to the science and the growing number of expert reports on what is going on.

Save Thundering Waters – 

The more I read reports like this latest one from experts at the United Nations, the less patience I find myself having for the provincial and municipal politicians and bureaucrats in our Niagara region who refuse to think globally and act locally to do whatever needs to be done to join the world in addressing what countless thousands of experts now agree is a full-blown climate emergency.

A look inside the wetlands-rich Thundering Waters Forest in the Niagara River watershed.

When I read this report, one of the first things I thought of was that young Niagara mother at a recent public meeting in Niagara Falls, asking for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer out of Helen Chang, the president of a China-based company pressing to do urban development in the wetlands-rich Thundering Waters, to the question; “Do you believe we face a climate emergency?” Continue reading →

Governor Andrew Cuomo Calls Trump’s Move “Politically Motivated,” and a Form of “Extortion”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ready to take Trump administration to court over move to mess up matters for New Yorkers wanting to cross Canada/U.S. border

“Time and time again President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda.”                           – New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

News from the Office of New York State Government Andrew Cuomo

Posted February 9^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

If you are wondering why an online news and commentary site in Niagara, Ontario is posting yet another news release on Trump’s move to make it harder for law-abiding New Yorkers to gain access to services that make it easier to cross the Peace Bridge and other U.S./Canada border crossings, it is out of concern for what collateral damage this move could do to people and to economies on both sides of the border.

Trump has already shown hostility toward Canada. What else might he do to hurt relations between the two countries?

Who knows what further steps this erratic and vengeful president may take next?

Could he take steps that makes crossing a Canada/U.S. border that feeds countless billions of dollars in back-and-forth business each year to both countries even more difficult, if not impracticable or impossible? Continue reading →

50 Million Tree Program Reduces Tree Planting Costs for Landowners in the Niagara Watershed

Forests Ontario has planted almost 600,000 trees in the Niagara region

A Call-Out to Tree Lovers in Niagara from Forests Ontario, a not-for-profit charity organization in the province, dedicated to planting trees

Posted February 7^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

Early this past year, Ontario’s Ford Government confirmed once again that when it comes to protecting and preserving our natural environment, it could care less.

In April 2019, much to the chagrin of many tree lovers across Ontario, and Conservation Authorities, including the Niagara Pensinula Conservation Authority, that work with landowners and community volunteers to plant trees for the future, the Ford government decided to completely cut more than $4 million in annual funding to the charity group, Forests Ontario, 50 Million Tree Program, effectively killing it.

Fortunately, Canada’s Trudeau Government decided in June 2019, to step in and cover the cost of the program – a move that will hopefully keep it going, in an era of climate crisis when we need trees more than ever before, for many years to come.

Now here is a February 7^th, 2020 news release from Forests, Ontario, encouraging landowners and others in the Niagara Watershed to step forward and help with the continuation of planting trees for present and future generations. –

A News Release from Forests Ontario, February 7th, 2020 – 

Planting trees in our province, Photo courtesy of Forests Ontario

Property owners in the Niagara watershed plan to plant more than 45,000 trees in 2020 under Forests Ontario 50 Million Tree Program (50 MTP), according to new data.

Forests Ontario recently modified the program’s criteria. In the past, landowners needed to commit to planting on 2.5 acres of land to participate in the 50 MTP, but now anyone with room to plant a minimum of 500 trees may apply. Though planting sites vary, 500 trees can usually be planted on less than one acre.

“The 50 MTP is better and more accessible than ever,” said Rob Keen, Registered Professional Forester and CEO of Forests Ontario. “The new, expanded criteria opens the program to more land and property owners, meaning more trees in the ground. It’s a win-win for landowners, who save on tree planting costs, and for the environment.” Continue reading →

Cars and trucks lined up to clear homeland security on the U.S. side of the Peace Bridge

“Over 16.8 million truck and passenger vehicle crossings occurred on New York bridges in 2018, including more than 11.79 million right here on Western New York’s four northern border bridges. This (Trump) … threatens the future viability of Western New York’s commerce, auto manufacturing, health care and cultural economies that are highly dependent of predictable and efficient access to and from Southern Ontario. … Make no mistake, the White House actions will directly and indirectly hurt all of us.”                                                                                                       – Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

A Statement from U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, Buffalo, New York

Posted February 7^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

On Trump Administration Policy Excluding All New Yorkers from New Enrollment in Trusted Traveler Program

Trump is now moving to make it harder for Americans, including commercial vehicles, to cross Canada/U.S. borders like the Peace Bridge

“White House actions against New York and Western New York trusted travelers are punitive and unacceptable. We are already receiving calls from Western New York residents in the final stages of trusted traveler enrollment who are being turned away today, and others confused as a result of this hasty, heavy handed and ill-conceived decision.

“Over 16.8 million truck and passenger vehicle crossings occurred on New York bridges in 2018, including more than 11.79 million right here on Western New York’s four northern border bridges. Continue reading →

The WNY (Western New York) for Bernie Team is holding a Fundraiser in Buffalo, New York on Sunday, February 9^th, 2020 at 6 p.m.

If You You Are Still ‘Feeling The Bern’, Read Below for Details

Bernie Sanders at a huge rally in the Buffalo area during the 2026 primaries

A Call-Out from the WNY for Bernie Team

Posted February 7^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Welcome to the WNY for Bernie mailing list!

It’s an indisputable fact that Bernie won the popular vote in Iowa! Energy is high and the Bernie campaign just pulled in 25 million dollars in January. Lets keep the momentum going!

How you say?

Continue reading →

Honour it by reading books or by watching some good documentaries about black history, and or by attending some of the events planned for Black History Month in our greater Niagara region

A Brief One from Doug Draper, NAL

Posted February 5^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Wilma Morrison has possibly done more than anyone else in Niagara to archive black history in the region. She has received the Order of Ontario and numerous other awards for her many years of volunteer work.

As many bad actors committing bad acts we have weathered in Niagara over the past number of years, it is important to remind ourselves that, among our ranks, we have good people doing, or at least trying to do  good things in this region too.

If you follow Niagara At Large on a fairly regular basis, and I hope you do, I hope that you also know that, along with watchdogging bad actors, I also like to use this site as a platform for paying tribute to some of those good people too.

And when we turn the pages of the calendar to February and to Black History Month, one of the very first of the good people who come to my mind each year is Wilma Morrison, a Niagara Falls, Ontario. Continue reading →

“Let’s make sure we can promise Ontarians, going forward, that we’re doing everything we can to protect their families.”                – Andrea Horwath, leader of Ontario’s Official Opposition       New Democratic Party.

News from Ontario’s NDP/Official Opposition Party

Posted February 5^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Ontario – Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Doug Ford to return public health to 2019 funding levels, and commit to undertaking a review of the novel coronavirus outbreak response to determine future provincial funding levels.

“I am so grateful to public health unit staff, and frontline health care and emergency services workers that have been protecting us all from this latest coronavirus outbreak, and caring for those affected in Ontario,” said Horwath. “The response of our public health staff in the face of the novel coronavirus has been outstanding, and we need to keep it that way. Continue reading →

An Invite to All from the Niagara District Council of Women

Posted February 5th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

INVITES  YOU TO  A WEDNESDAY  FEBRUARY   12^TH  PUBLIC MEETING

IMPROVING  NIAGARA’S HEALTH SERVICES – Everyone has a Role to Play

8 p.m.St. Catharines Central Library 54 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario 

SPEAKER: MADELYN LAW

Associate Vice Provost Teaching and Learning and Assistant Professor Health Science, Brock University

For more information on the Niagara District Council of Women, click on – http://ndcw.ca/

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 Reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For More News And Commentary From Niagara At Large – An independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara Region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

‘Destroying our environment, damaging our homes, risking our lives and those of our children and grandchildren because of wilful neglect to address climate change cannot be allowed.’

A Commentary by Brigitte Bonner, a long-time environmental advocate living in Fort Erie, Ontario

Posted February 4^th, 2020 in Niagara At Large

I am totally appalled by the lack of action by politicians on climate change.

A kangaroo attempting to flee from the fires engulfing Australia

Even more sickening is the active ways that many of them are promoting policies that directly cause climate destruction. This needs to stop now!

The raging fires that are causing up to a billion animal deaths in Australia are one example.

 Cruelty to animals is against the law.  So why is this massacre not being punished?

These fires are potentially wiping out thousands of species and entire ecosystems. Not to mention the devastation to humans because of politicians’ neglect to protect the environment and purposely promoting destructive environmental policies.

Koala bears, suffering from burns they received in the wildfires of Australia. There are estimates that more than a billion animals have perished in these fires, fueled by climate change

Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, is only one example.

President Bolsonaro in Brazil is actively promoting deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest, leading to devastating and unprecedented fires. Continue reading →

On Thursday, February 6^th at 6 p.m. on the Second floor of the Crane Library on 633 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York

An Invite to a Community Solar Forum from the Sierra Club’s Niagara Group in Buffalo

Posted February 4^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

The Sierra Cub group has had a long history of hosting public forums and meetings on topics that matter to the health and welfare of communities we should all want to live in.

So it is always a pleasure to post information about the public meetings they are hosting, like this one –

For more information on the Sierra Club Niagara Group, click on – https://niagarasierraclub.com/

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 Reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For More News And Commentary From Niagara At Large – An independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara Region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

One of the Niagara region’s largest employers set to fill over 500 student and seasonal positions

Job Fair Dates – Saturday, February 8^th and Saturday, March 7^th (read details below)

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

Posted February 4th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The Niagara Parks Commission, one of the region’s largest employers with over 1,700 full-time and seasonal employees, will host two Job Fairs on Saturday, February 8 and Saturday, March 7 at Niagara Parks’ Legends on the Niagara Golf Complex.

Annual Job Fairs allow Niagara Parks to showcase the seasonal job opportunities that exist within the Commission each year, while providing individuals with an opportunity to connect directly with various departmental hiring managers. Representatives from Niagara Parks’ Human Resources Department will also be on-hand to help answer any questions. Continue reading →

“We’ve put up with this mess for too long,” says (St. Catharines) resident Susan Rosebrugh, who has been demonstrating Wednesday mornings on Ontario Street (where the GM property is located). “I won’t be done until I see some real progress.”

The abandoned General Motors site off Ontario Street in St. Catharines, Niagara – a rotting eyesore near residential neighbourhoods and the city’s downtown

A News Release from the Niagara citizens group, Coalition for a Better St. Catharines

Posted February 2^nd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A look inside the abandoned industrial mess near downtown St. Catharines

Niagara, Ontario – Over 2,000 residents of St. Catharines have asked the City to make the GM Lands safe and secure by signing a petition organized by the citizens group Coalition for A Better St. Catharines. At least 90% of the signatures were collected in person with additional signatures coming from an online portal found on the group’s Facebook page.

The petition drive has been ongoing for about 30 days and continues via volunteers in the neighbourhoods adjoining the half demolished former manufacturing site.

“It is no problem getting signatures,” says Coalition for A Better St. Catharines organizer Peter Russell. “In fact, wherever I go people ask to sign the petition. They thank me for helping to get the community organized behind this action.” Continue reading →

Chamber Calls on Ford Government to Offer Businesses Incentives “to hire and retain full-time workers, especially younger workers.”

News from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Posted February 3rd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario –The Government of Ontario has issued a call for submissions in its pre-budget consultations, and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) will offer suggestions for the 2020 budget.

The vision of the GNCC is to see the Niagara region at its social and economic best, and the Chamber will be presenting policy options that would support not only business growth, but general prosperity. Continue reading →

“Vaughan Working Families” – the name of the group posted on the ad – “looks like a shell group, and Ontarians deserve to know where the piles of money to attack teachers is coming from.” – Ontario NDP MPP Ethics and Accountability Critic Taras Natyshak

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted February 3^rd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

So far, no one can contact anyone from the group that put this out, raising suspicions that some “shell group” may be involved.

(A Brief Foreword Note from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –

This call for an investigation will be interesting to watch given concerns raised in other regions, including Niagara, in recent years that there may be entities out there, including online sites posturing as news media outlets, that are shells for one special interest group or another, or for certain political groups.

There were also suspicions last year that Ontario’s Ford government was using those stickers it was ordering gas stations to put on their pumps, opposing the federal government’s so-called “carbon tax,” as a way of using provincial tax money to help the Scheer Conservatives in a federal election. It is somewhat surprising that the federal Liberal government has not filed a complaint with Elections Canada about that.)

Queen’s Park, Ontario — The NDP has called on Elections Ontario to investigate advertising by a group calling itself “Vaughan Working Families.” The anonymous group placed full-page political advertisements that attack teachers in weekend newspapers — ads which appear to violate Ontario’s political advertising laws. Continue reading →

What is Left of Niagara’s Biodiversity is WORTH FAR MORE  than this Billion-Dollar Development Monstrosity proposed for Niagara Falls

A Call-Out to All of Us from the region-wide citizens watchdog group, A Better Niagara

Posted February 2^nd, 2020 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper –

I urge you to read the following and use the links in this post, for contact information for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) and Niagara Region representatives, to press our decision-makers to do everything they can to save our sprawling Thundering Waters, with its many acres of wetlands, woodlands and savannah grasses, before it is to late.

Now Here is the Call-Out from A Better Niagara – 

Time for Thundering Waters is running out and the need to make your voice heard is urgent. The NPCA and the Region will decide what they will allow on the site in the next few days.

Those who oppose the development of Thundering Waters must write the NPCA and the Region, copying the Niagara Falls Council now (email addresses listed below). Continue reading →