Author Archives: dougdraper

A Brock University PhD student doing cutting-edge research on how children learn to recognize faces has received the national Vanier Scholarship

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Psychology student Claire Matthews has been granted a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship that will see her use breakthrough methods to shed light on children’s perceptions of new faces and the processing of this information in their minds.

A Resarch rock star at Brock University – PhD Psychology student Claire Matthews

“One of the studies in my PhD will examine whether motion facilitates children’s face learning,” says Matthews. “If motion helps children learn, we may actually be underestimating children’s abilities by asking them to recognize a new face by just looking at static images.”

This is part of Matthews’ PhD program, which focusses on facial recognition across the lifespan to understand differences in the process of learning. Continue reading →

Project Will Improve Access To Childcare And Transportation For Rural Women

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted September 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey taking his turn in making funding announcement

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing gender equality and understands the important role that creating more opportunities for women in all aspects of Canadian life can play in promoting women’s empowerment. By investing in projects that improve women’s economic security, we are helping to ensure that women, their families and communities can prosper.

Vance Badawey, the Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, today announced federal funding for a project that will increase women’s economic security and prosperity in the Niagara region of Ontario. 

Solidarité des femmes et familles immigrantes francophones du Niagara (SOFIFRAN) will receive $269,582 in funding for their project, “Sécuriser les femmes du Niagara” (Securing women in the Niagara region). Continue reading →

Group Gives Thumbs Up To Only Seven Of The Incumbents Running For Another Term On Niagara Region’s Council

• Based On Their Voting Records On Seven Key Issues In This Term Of Regional Council, Pelham’s Dave Augustyn, St. Catharines’ Kelly Edgar, Brian Heit and Debbie MacGregor, Thorold’s Henry D’Angela and Ted Luciani, and Welland’s George Marshall Are Being Endorsed by The Better Niagara Group
• The Group Is Saying NO To St. Catharines’ Al Caslin and Bruce Timms, Niagara Falls’ Bob Gale Selina Volpatti and Jim Diodati, Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Pat Darte, Pelham’s Brian Baty, Grimsby’s Tony Quirk, Fort Erie’s Sandy Annunziata, West Lincoln’s Doug Joyner and Welland’s Paul Grenier
• The Group Remains “Neutral” on St. Catharines’ Tim Rigby and Walter Sendzik, Lincoln’s Sandra Easton, Welland’s Frank Campion and Fort Erie’s Wayne Redekop.
• St. Catharines’ Andy Petrowski, Niagara Falls’ Bart Maves, Port Colborne’s David Barrick and John Maloney, Grimsby’s Bob Bentley,  Wainfleet’s April Jeffs and Lincoln’s Bill Hodgson are not running for re-election. Gary Burroughs, who once served as Niagara Region’s Chair and served as a regional councillor for the town this term, is now running for a seat on Niagara-on-the-Lake’s town council.

News from A Better Niagara, is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mandate to encourage civic engagement and municipal public participation in Niagara

Posted September 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Better Niagara is endorsing candidates who believe in integrity, transparency, and accountability. Continue reading →

Niagara College Celebrates The Launch Of Pioneering Graduate Certificate Program

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara College welcomed its first class of future cannabis industry leaders and officially launched its one-of-a-kind Commercial Cannabis Production (Graduate Certificate) program at its Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus on September 5.

From left to right, Commercial Cannabis Production program coordinator and professor Bill MacDonald, Ruth Chun, General Counsel for Newstrike, Vivian Kinnaird, Niagara College’s Dean of Business, Hospitality and Environment, St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle, Niagara College President Dan Patterson, Jeff Ryan, Vice-President of Government and Stakeholder Relations for Canopy Growth Corp. and John F. T. Scott, Chair of Niagara College’s Board of Governors, celebrate the start of class in Niagara College’s Commercial Cannabis Production (Graduate Certificate) program, Canada’s first post-secondary credential in the production of cannabis.

The program is Canada’s first postsecondary credential in the production of cannabis and will prepare students for successful careers in the country’s rapidly expanding cannabis industry. Classes are held in a purpose-built, fully secure teaching lab at the College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus. Continue reading →

“We’re focusing on with emerging markets such as Africa, Latin America and India (for students), says James Mandigo, Brock Vice-Provost for Enrolment Management and International.  “And there has been a huge increase internationally in coming to Canada. It’s the fastest growing market because it’s known as a multicultural country that supports diversity and offers a great education at an affordable price.”

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Call it reputation, call it success, but Brock University is starting the new school year with its largest incoming class in a decade, and it’s largest-ever enrolment.

More than 19,000 students started the Fall Term at Brock University Wednesday, Sept. 5, marking Brock’s largest-ever enrolment.

More than 5,000 new students started the Fall Term at Brock Wednesday, Sept. 5, marking a six per cent increase over last year’s incoming class. Brock’s 2018-19 total fall enrolment is projected to be more than 19,100 students — the largest in the school’s 54-year history. Continue reading →

“Doug Ford has given his family’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, a $667,000 government contract with the Public Accountants Council.” – Ontario’s Official Opposition and NDP Party

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted September 9th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his “Government for the People.” He’s got you!

Taras Natyshak, NDP MPP for Essex, released the following statement regarding the appointment of Gavin Tighe, long-time Ford’s family lawyer and campaign donor, to chair the Public Accountants Council for the Province of Ontario.

 “Doug Ford has given his family’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, a $667,000 government contract with the Public Accountants Council.

This looks like yet another pricey patronage appointment for Ford’s friends and insiders – one that serves Ford and his friends, but not people or the province. Just like Ford’s decision to give his campaign advisor and political supporter Reuben Devlin a $1 million contract, with this new appointment, Ontarians are footing a big bill for Ford to repay favours to friends.” Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

Posted September 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword to this News Release from the Niagara Region from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch is raising red flags about the funding Niagara Specialized Transit needs to serve patients across the region.

The following news release was fired out this September 5th by Niagara’s embattled Niagara regional government, a day after Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch put out a news release of his own, warning that a growing demand from residents/patients across the region for Niagara Specialized Transit (NST) service now has patients experiencing trouble booking the service and a roughly $400,000 shortfall in the funding the Region’s council has approved, to date, to meet growing patients’ needs.

“This is a crisis and Niagara Regional Council needs to put patients first,” Burch stated in his release.

The Region’s release carries the headline; “Niagara Specialized Transit Maintains Current Levels Of Service.”

Continue reading →

“Good politicians must be open and available to speak with their voters, listen to their concerns and be prepared to take a position/act.”

A Column by Diana Huson, a candidate for a Niagara regional council in the Town of Pelham

Posted September 9^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Politicians are elected by the people for the people.

Town of Pelham regional council candidate Diana Huson

Their primary purpose is to improve the quality of society and public welfare while maintaining a positive image, staying informed about issues, demonstrate value for taxpayer’s dollars, and prepare to take action when needed.

In a two-tiered system of government, regional representation must also carefully balance local and regional needs. This requires a unique skill set including:

• o Interpersonal skills in building positive relationships in and among the community;
• o Collaboration skills when working with fellow regional councilors, town councilors and the general public;
• o Cooperation skills in working with their local town council to advance community priorities;
• o Communication skills to actively listen to their voters and keep informed about important issues;
• o Leadership in knowing the difference between what is right and wrong for the community and the ability to act on these issues;
• o Accountability and integrity in service.

Good politicians must be open and available to speak with their voters, listen to their concerns and be prepared to take a position/act. Continue reading →

FocusNOTL will be hosting Four  ‘Meet and Greet Evenings with New Candidates for Niagara-on-the-Lake Councillor’

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

• Dates: Sept 11, Sept 19, Oct 3, and Oct 9.
• Venue: Royal Canadian Legion, Legion Hall
  Branch 124, 410 King Street, NOTL
• Time: 7PM – 9PM

Roster of Candidates

• Sept 11th: Norm Arsenault, Gary Burroughs, Terry Davis, Stuart McCormack, Sandra O’Connor
  Sept 19th: Simon Bentall, Clare Cameron, Dennis Dick, Jordon Williams
  Oct 3rd: Allan Bisbark, Wendy Cheropita, Andrew Niven, Erwin Wiens, Anne Kurtz-Just
  Oct 9th: Crispin Bottomly, Mark Brown, Lauren Goettler, Bernhard Peters, Katherine Reid

The public is encouraged to submit written questions across a broad range of issues facing NOTL that are important to you. Make the questions as succinct as possible. Continue reading →

“It is absolutely unacceptable that thousands of children in our province are having to go to hospital emergency rooms for mental health treatment, while others tragically resort to suicide.”

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Party

Posted Septemberr 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Queen’s Park –  Ontario’s  NDP’s critic for mental health,  Bhutila Karpoche, said that Doug Ford is making things worse for children in Ontario who are facing the highest rates of mental health-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the country, according to a new report.

The report by Children First Canada and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, analyzes data from major research organizations including Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Information.  It found that in 2016 alone, 16,291 children in Ontario were hospitalized for mental health-related issues, more than double the number recorded in Quebec, which ranked second. Continue reading →

“This is a crisis and Niagara Regional Council needs to put patients first.” – Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted September 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Jeff Burch, MPP for Niagara Centre says he wonders why Niagara Region Specialized Transit Services is being cut when the demand is greater than ever.

According to a report to the Niagara Region Public Works Committee this September 4^th , the $2 million allocated for yearly service to cover 26,000 trips is now $400,00 over budget. As a result, constituents who have called Burch’s office say they’ve been told that trips are being reduced by the BTS Group, a private contractor hired by the region. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara at Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 4^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Port Colborne reginal councillor claims that the Region’s council should stop discussing or raising questions about the CAO’s hiring and contract extension while the Ontario Ombudsman is doing an investigation.

No sooner did Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube announce his decision this August 30^th to investigate questions swirling around the 2016 hiring of Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo and Regional Chair Al Caslin’s unilaterally move to extend and sweeten the terms of D’Angelo contract, but Port Colborne regional councillor fired out an email to others on the council that said this –

“Contrary to what we were told at the last Council meeting, I see that the extension of the contract is clearly listed in the Ombudsman’s scope – therefore, the Region should cease all discussion on all matters relating to the hiring of the CAO and the contract extension as it is being investigated.

Please ensure these matters do not appear on our agenda as it is completely inappropriate to discuss matters relating to an active investigation by the Ombudsman of Ontario.

Thank you, David”

This note comes from the same David Barrick who earlier in August, at a special meeting called by a majority on the Region’s council to get to the bottom of questions around whether or not the process used to hire D’Angelo two years ago was compromised or corrupted, accused some of the councillors who are demanding answers of engaging in “election politics” and a “Salem witch hunt.”

No doubt Barrick knows something about witch hunts. Continue reading →

Activists Vow To Keep The Pressure On Niagara Falls Amusement Park

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 4^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

As the morning arrived for this year’s Labour Day weekend demonstration in front of the sprawling Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Phil Demers wondered whether the usual 50 or more demonstrators would turn out.

John Holer is gone, but demonstrators were back this Labour Day weekend, at the Marineland park he founded more than 50 years ago, expressing their oppositon to keeping whales and other wild animals in captivity. Photo by Doug Draper

Or would something he called “Marineland fatigue” drive the number of demonstrators down? Continue reading →

Canadian Dynasties Richer Than Ever As Wealth Gap Continues To Widen – Study

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

If you have spent any length of time following the rhetoric of politicians from Conservative Party politicians in Canada and their Republican counterparts in the United States, you have likely heard the term “job creators” used to describe big businesses – especially at times when these same politicians are working to sell on de-regulation or another round of tax cuts for them.

The big lie we are fed is that if we go along with sweeping, across-the-board tax cuts for corporation, we will ultimately reap the rewards in greater numbers of good-paying jobs. Continue reading →

Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath. File photo

“Today, all of Ontario’s workers are facing the threat of a premier that wants to drag Ontario backwards, including ripping off workers by rolling back minimum wage gains, and promising to ‘leave no stone unturned’ when it comes to privatization.” –  Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Leader, Andrea Horwath

A Labour Day statement from Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted September 3rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“Labour Day is an important day for Ontarians to celebrate the protections and rights that generations of workers and unions have fought hard to secure over the years. Continue reading →

A Message from the Broadbent Institute

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent

On behalf of the entire Broadbent Institute team, I would like to wish you and yours a very happy Labour Day!

On this day, we must consider the important contributions unions have made to our society; a shorter work-week, Employment Insurance, maternity leave, collective bargaining, and the right to safety at work, just to name a few. Continue reading →

The Lessons of the late U.S. Senators Life – Told in the Eulogies for Him – Show How Small Trump Truly Is

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Watching, as I did off and on over these last days of August and first days of September, the cable television coverage of the now-late U.S. Senator John McCain’s funeral services, it seemed as though many, if not most or all Americans have been mourning his death as if they are mourning the vacuum of principled leadership and service to country over self now in the White House and in the irretrievably dead Republican Party.

It was especially remarkable to watch this while coming to terms with something I thought I would never see– a sitting President of the United States not only uninvited, but instructed via the wishes of the deceased and surviving members of his family, to stay away from services that rise to the level of a state funeral.

Flags at half mast for John McCain. At the White House, Trump tried raising the flag again until he was forced to lower it again due to an outcry from people across the country.

Then again, in the case of Donald Trump, why would anyone who respects the decency and love for country that (however much you may have  agreed or disagreed with his politics) exemplified John McCain’s life, want this despicable, hate-filled individual anywhere near the great man’s casket? Continue reading →

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 31^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St Catharines regional councillor Kelly Edgar, left, and fellow St. Catharines regional councillor Brian Heit

Wnen we received the good news this August 30^th that the Ontario Ombudsman has agreed to come in and investigate serious questions around the hiring of Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo, two regional councillors that had a great deal to do with getting us to that good moment were not available for comment when we posted our first story on this news.

Those two councillors, both representing St. Catharines on the Region’s council, are Kelly Edgar and Brian Heit, and here are their responses to that news now, starting with one from Kelly Edgar – 

St. Catharines regional councillor Kelly Edgar

“I am very pleased that the Ontario Ombudsman has accepted our request to do this investigation – at long last!” said Kelly Edgar in a statement he shared with Niagara At Large.

“I must also add that the 113 or more citizens that lodged complaints with the Ombudsman’s office to get this done should be very happy as well,” Edgar added. “Without their activism and support, who knows whether this investigation would ever have been done?”

“Thank you to all those who chose to help us. You’re the best!”

“Best regards, Kelly Edgar Continue reading →

Niagara Residents Will Finally  Get A Thorough,   Independent Probe Into This Serious Matter

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube

“Given the high volume of public complaints, the request from regional council, the concerns raised publicly by two local MPPs and others, the evident seriousness of the issue and the fact that local efforts to resolve the matter have been exhausted, I have determined that a formal investigation by my office is in the public interest.”-  Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé

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

Posted August 30^th, 2-18 on Niagara At Large

Questions about the integrity of the process used to hire this man – Carmen D’Angelo – to the CAO job at Niagara Region will now be investigated by Ontario’s Ombudsman.

After many weeks of calls from citizens across Niagara, local MPPs and finally, this past week, Niagara’s regional council, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé announced in a media release this August 30^th that he will begin an independent investigations that the process the Region used to hiring the Region’s chief administrative officer (CAO) was corrupted to the advantage of the current individual holding that $230,000-a-year job – Carmen D’Angelo.

The Ombudsman’s announcement also comes after almost five full months of excellent investigative reporting by The St. Catharines Standard – reporting that discovered a growing file of documents produced by staff inside the office of the Region’s Chair Al Caslin and downloaded by D’Angelo containing information that could have given him a significant advantage over other individuals applying, two years ago, for the CAO’s job. Continue reading →

“Newspapers are unique in comparison to other mediums in that they are the most cited source citizens use for news about their local town or city, arts and culture, or schools and education. This is why I am concerned about the imposition of duties on newsprint that this petition would result in.” – Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

Higgins, other Members of NY Delegation  called on ITC and Commerce Dept. to reconsider effects of the tariffs

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

Posted August 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Newspapers like The Buffalo News and those who work for the paper stood to take a significant hit from Trump’s punitive tariffs on Canadian newsprint.

Buffalo, New York – The International Trade Commission (ITC) has released a unanimous 5-0 ruling determining that antidumping and countervailing tariffs on Canadian imports of uncoated groundwood paper did not cause material harm to the U.S. paper industry, and has nullified them.

This decision comes after Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) and several other Members of Congress from New York wrote a letter urging the ITC and the US Department of Commerce to reconsider the severe negative impact the tariffs would have on the newspaper industry. Continue reading →

Ontario’s  “Government for the People” moves  to Reduce Cost of Natural Gas. End of carbon tax will save consumers about $80 a year

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted August 29^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

For all of you older people across Ontario  who are more in to saving about 22 cents a day on your gas bill more than what might happen to the climate and weather conditions sometime in the future when you may not be around anyway, this news from Doug Ford’s self-described “Government for the People” may be cause for applause.

For younger people who will be around 20 or 30 years from now and are already concerned about the increasing frequency of wildfires, droughts, floods and severe storms, batten down the hatches and get ready for an even more stormy ride.

Continue reading →

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 29^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A large group of Brock University student volunteers and staff members will come together Sunday, Sept. 2 for the University’s annual Move-In Day tradition.

Nearly 2,400 mostly first-year students from across Canada and around the world will be moved into one of Brock’s seven residences between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday. To make that schedule work, families are given a one-hour window of time to arrive.

Nearly 2,400 mostly first-year students will be moving into their residences at Brock University Sunday, Sept. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As families arrive and pull into a specific unloading area near their residence, some 600 Brock University students from a wide variety of athletic teams, student clubs and groups, will help unload the incoming students’ belongings and bring them to their assigned room. Continue reading →

The Residents Of Niagara Should Not Have To Endure Another Two Months Of This Individual At The Helm

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

Posted August 29th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin. How much more of his leadership can we take?

Earlier this August, when a majority of Niagara regional councillors finally showed enough spine to do what they should have done months ago – petition the Region’s Chair, Al Caslin, for a “special meeting” of council, dedicated to getting to the bottom of charges of corruption swirling around the hiring of the Region’s CAO, Carmen D’Angelo – Caslin had the gall to fire back with an email, accusing at least some of those councillors of “disingenuous politicking.”

In the same email, dripping with an insolence we’ve come to expect from this Chair over the past four years, Caslin reminded the councillors of a closed session of council that most, if not all of them attended on July 26^th, before telling them; “You all had two hours last meeting (a council meeting held on July 26^th) to speak candidate to Carm.”

Al Caslin with the Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo seated to the right of him.

 “I encourage you to focus on the important community issues before us including: lowering taxes and bring quality jobs to Niagara,” Caslin went on to instruct with all of the grace of a school marm. “I will not be calling another meeting to talk about the same tabloid stories that have already been thoroughly investigated and decided upon by a third party investigation that has cost the taxpayers of Niagara dearly.” Continue reading →

“These allegations (of a memo directing provincial staff to stop using the term climate change) are serious (and) I was shocked to read them.” – Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario

A News Commentary from Doug Draper

Posted August 28th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

One of the first things Doug Ford did after being sworn in as Ontario’s Premier in late June is scrap the former provincial Liberal government’s recently launched cap-and-trade program for reducing climate changing carbon emissions. And if you want to encourage more people to oppose the program, you call it a “carbon tax”.

Sometime  this August, an email went out to employees in the provincial government’s Ontario Parks department from an official higher up in the food chain, notifying them that; “Per Premier’s Office, we are not allowed to mention climate change in social media at this time. ….We will let you know about any change in this direction.”

On first blush, the contents of this note seems so preposterous that it leaves one wondering if it is, to use a Trump term, “fake news.”

Indeed, a follow up memo was sent to Ontario government employees this past August 24th from Steven Davison, an acting secretary for the Ford cabinet, calling the information in the email “false” and adding that “the premier’s office never provided direction regarding the reference of climate change in social media posts.” Continue reading →

“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” – then U.S presidential candidate and five-times draft evader Donald Trump in 2015, speaking of decorated military veteran and U.S. Senator John McCain

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

John McCain, one of the last of the “lions” in the U.S. Senate died this August 25th at age 81

Whether we favoured the politics and policies he championed or not, many of us may agree that a towering figure of a person on this continent passed on this Saturday, August 25th with the death of U.S. Senator John McCain.

John McCain, who died at age 81 from the same kind of brain cancer that took the life, a decade ago, of one of his friends and colleagues, Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy, was an elder statesman and standard bearer for what was left of the once proud Republic Party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

Unfortunately, in his final years, McCain witnessed the Republican Party he devoted so much of his adult life to morph into the stinking, steaming cauldron of hate-filled white supremacists, neo-Nazis and assorted other crypto-fascists, sociopaths and psychos that it is today. Continue reading →

“We encouraged the (Ontario) government to fund municipal projects that help create wealth and prosperity for a community… We also discouraged the government from investing in projects that create more sprawl – like urban boundary expansions or “smart centers” disconnected from community.” – Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

A Column by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted August 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Last week, Pelham Councillors Gary Accursi and Peter Papp. And the Town of Pelham’s CAO Darren Ottaway (from Niagara, Ontario), and I attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa.

The annual three-day conference offered a range of learning sessions and networking opportunities for the more than 1,500 delegates.

While at AMO, your Pelham representatives also met with various Ministries to directly advanced your interests with the Provincial Government.

We met with Hon. Jeff Yurek, MPP, Minister of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF), and Toby Barrett, MPP, Parliamentary Assistant, about maintaining and increasing the protection of the Fonthill Kame. Continue reading →

“I’m excited about our strong team of Hamilton and Niagara MPPs. …Together we will give families hope for a brighter future.” – Andrea Horwath

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

Posted August 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park – Earlier this August, Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath recently announced the NDP’s new critic roles, naming Hamilton and Niagara MPPs for key portfolios to help make life better for families.

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch, Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates and St. Catharines MPP Jennie Steven, all appointed to key critic posts for Ontario NDP

“The people of Hamilton and Niagara voted for a vision of hope and elected dedicated New Democrat MPPs to help them deal with their daily challenges,” said Horwath. “From access to mental health supports, to quality education and an increasing cost of living, each of our MPPs brings a unique perspective to the team, and will hold this government accountable to the needs of their communities.” Continue reading →

We Need The Ontario Ombudsman  A.S.A.P. To Help Clean Things Up

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin finally confirmed this August 23rd that he extended CAO Carmen D’Angelo’s contract for the top administrative job. Would we even know this much now if it weren’t for recent leaks to the media?

Whether we like him or not, we now face the possibility that the people of Niagara are saddled with Carmen D’Angelo as the Region’s CAO right in to the year 2022.

That may be the case unless the next term of regional council, to be sworn in following this coming October’s municipal elections, chooses to buy D’Angelo’s contract out for an estimated cost to Niagara taxpayers that could total a million or more dollars, given that the CAO is paid about $230,000 plus benefits per year.

And who do we, the residents of Niagara, have to thank for all this?

More than ever, the answer to that question appears to be the current Chair of Niagara’s regional council, Al Caslin, who confirmed at a special meeting of the council this August 23^rd that he took it upon himself to unilaterally extend the length of D’Angelo’s contract, signed in the fall of 2016, to the year 2022 because – GET THIS! – Caslin said he thought “he was doing the right thing for the new council and for the Region as a “corporation”.

“It just made more sense to me,” Caslin told members of the council this August 23^{rd –} councillors who were hearing for the first time in open session of Caslin’s decision to unilaterally grant D’Angelo, whose hiring is already the subject of serious controversy, a contract extension. Continue reading →

“Confidence must be restored in Niagara Regional Council and this investigation will play a key role in restoring the faith people once had in our local government.” – Jeff Burch

Niagara At Large received a copy of the following  letter, dated Friday, August 24th, from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted August 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

To Mr. Paul Paul Dubé, Ontario Ombudsman

Re: Investigation into the Hiring of the Niagara Regional CAO

Dear Mr. Dubé:

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Further to my email in July to your office, I am sending this letter regarding the ongoing controversy involving the hiring of Chief Administrative Officer for the Niagara Region, Carmen D’Angelo.

Last night (Thursday, August 23rd), Niagara Regional Council voted unanimously to call upon your office to conduct a full investigation into the hiring process of the CAO following in depth reports by the St. Catharines Standard exposing a number of serious concerns regarding this issue. Continue reading →

From the Campaign to Elect Haley Batement to Niagara Regional Council

Posted August 24th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Haley Bateman. one of a large slate of candidates running for a total of six Niagara regional council seats in St. Catharines

Earlier this August, Niagara Regional Council Candidate Haley Bateman for St. Catharines announced her platform.

“After years of participating at Council and speaking with thousands of people, I am thrilled to get to the point where I can confidently say that we can make great progress in Transit, Affordable Housing, Conservation and Culture and other integral parts of Niagara that will improve the live of residents”, said Bateman.

Bateman has been known for challenging Council on several issues and worked to reinstate the Integrity Commissioner. Continue reading →

Wednesday, September 12^th from 7 to 9 P.M at                  St. Catharines Centennial Library

An Invite to All from the Niagara District Council of Women

Posted August 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Former Niagara Regional Chair Debbie Zimmerman will be the Forum’s moderator

Niagara, Ontario  – The Niagara District Council of Women will be hosting a “Women in Niagara Politics – 2018 Candidates Public Forum” on Wednesday, September 12 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm at the St. Catharines Centennial Library (54 Church St. in St. Catharines’ downtown.) 

 We have invited all 21 women who are running for either Mayor or Regional Councillor in Niagara municipalities to speak for 3-4 minutes, with questions to follow.  Candidate confirmations to attend have been very high with only a few unable to attend due to other commitments.

 The focus of this unique candidates’ meeting is the fact that women are needed in Niagara politics and can make a difference in how our communities are best served in all aspects of life — economics, education, health, environment, housing, justice, status of women, social development and seniors’ issues. Continue reading →

A Brief from Doug Draper

Posted August 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Questions about the integrity of the process used to hire this man – Carmen D’Angelo – to the CAO job at Niagara Region may now be addressed by Ontario’s Ombudsman. Niagara’s regional council approved calling the Ombudsman in to investigate the matter at a special meeting this August 23rd.

Niagara, Ontario – Following four months of damning headlines and public uproar, Niagara’s regional council has finally voted to do what many members of the public and a handful on the council believed it should have done in the first place – call Ontario’s Ombudsman in to get to the bottom of concerns that the process used to hire Niagara Region’s CAO may have been tainted or corrupted.

A motion, calling on Ombudsman Paul Dube’s office to conduct “a full investigation of all matters” associated with the hiring of CAO Carmen D’Angelo two years ago, finally received unanimous approval this Thursday, August 23^rd at a special meeting of Niagara’s regional council Continue reading →

Buffalo Area Congressman  Announces $163,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grant for Western New York

News from the Buffalo Area Office of  Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted August 21^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL reporter and publisher Doug Draper i – My many years as an environment reporter at The St. Catharines Standard taught me that any news from jurisdictions on either side of the Canada/U.S. border that they are taking steps to fund and carry out water protection programs in the Great Lakes Basin is great news for all of us whose lives depend on the health of these freshwater bodies.

Congressman Higgins’ announcement falls into that category. So thank you Congressman Higgins for this good news, and now here it is.)

U.S Congressman Brian Higgins, a Democrat representing the Buffalo/Western New York area.

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District has been awarded a $163,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant by the Great Lakes Commission.

“This award represents national recognition of Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District’s important work to protect the health of our waterways and communities,” said Congressman Higgins, a member of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force. 

“This grant is also a reminder of the need to protect Great Lakes Restoration Initiative resources, which have contributed to the cleanup of our rivers and lakes, as well as the recent growth of Western New York’s economy.” Continue reading →

What We Need Now Is A New Regional Council

A  Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 21st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Only weeks away from municipal elections, Welland regional councillor Paul Grenier wants the Region’s council to get together to address “challenges” Niagara’s communities face now.

Is it possible that one of our Niagara regional councillors – Paul Grenier, who was gifted to us in the 2014 municipal elections by the voters of Welland – is trying his hand at writing political satire?

If so, he better keep his day job or find one if he has to because if a column he wrote and had published in Niagara’s daily newspapers this past Saturday, August 18^th is any example, he’ll never get past the gatekeepers at Frank or MAD Magazine.

Then again, maybe Grenier’s column, dressed up with a headline that read; “Debate needed on core functions of Niagara Region,”, was not meant to be funny, in which case I have to wonder what regional council Grenier has been sitting on for the past four years because it sure isn’t the one I’ve been covering. Continue reading →

“We tend to think of precarious work as something that happens in low-wage, low-skill jobs, but the findings from this national survey suggest that there is no safe harbour.”

New from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario

Posted August 21^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario  – Despite their high level of education, credentials, skills, and even experience, 22 per cent of Canadian professionals are in precarious jobs, says a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario (CCPA-Ontario) office.

Based on a national survey of professionals about precarious working conditions, the first of its kind, No Safe Harbour: Precarious Work and Economic Insecurity Among Skilled Professionals in Canada shows professionals across the country are not immune to the hallmarks of precarious work: no steady income, no pension, no benefits, no sick pay. Continue reading →

Consider Calling Your Ontario Member of Parliament  and Signing the Petition Below

“This project aimed to identify a better social assistance system that was rooted in fairness, adequacy and simplicity.”

From Glen Walker, Chair of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted on August 20^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – As you have likely heard by now, the provincial government has cancelled the Basic Income Pilot Project that was initiated last year. This project aimed to identify a better social assistance system that was rooted in fairness, adequacy and simplicity. I think we would all agree that a change like that is dearly needed.

The reasoning provided by the Minister Lisa MacLeod for this decision was that the program is too expensive, not sustainable and is not achieving the expected outcomes. Seeing as we are only one year into a three year project, all of this information is unfounded  at this point in time. Continue reading →

Ontario Premier Doug Ford Delivers His First Keynote to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) 2018 Annual Conference

Helping Ontarians begins with municipal and provincial partnerships

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted August 20th, 2018 on Niagara At Large 

Premier Doug Ford addresses Ontario’s municipal leaders

OTTAWA, Ontario  — Premier Doug Ford delivered his first keynote address to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s 2018 Annual Conference, where he committed that the Government for the People will work with municipalities to deliver better and more efficient services for people across the province.

“Municipalities are the closest link to the day-to-day lives of Ontarians, and we share a common goal: our commitment to working for the people, and respecting the taxpayer,” said Premier Ford. “Through open and collaborative efforts with our municipal partners, we can help more people in more communities across Ontario.” Continue reading →

At Annual Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) Conference,  Andrea  Horwath Vows To Protect Local Democracy

“In the most paternalistic and insulting way possible, Doug Ford has interfered in municipal and regional elections.” – Ontario NDP  & Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

News from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted August 20th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL – This address to municipal leaders across Ontario comes in the wake of Premier Doug Ford’s decision this July to cancel elections for regional chair in Niagara and three other Ontario regions, and to cut the number of councillors sitting on Toronto’s city council in half.)

Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath. File photo

Ottawa, Ontario  – Speaking to hundreds of elected municipal representatives from across the province at the annual Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) conference now in session, Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath announced new legislation that would prevent the provincial government from changing the makeup of municipal governments without consultation and local approval.

“In the most paternalistic and insulting way possible, Doug Ford has interfered in municipal and regional elections.   Without any consultation and ignoring the wishes of democratically elected municipal leaders he is ripping up ward boundaries, and cancelling elections in the middle of the campaign,” said Horwath. Continue reading →

“During the election, we presented our Plan for the People. Citizens across Ontario supported our plan by sending us to Queen’s Park with a strong majority”, said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara West PC Party MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted August 20^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Niagara, Ontario – (Earlier this August), Ontario Government House Leader, Minister Todd Smith recapped our government’s promises kept since coming to office. Focusing on our top 20 achievements, these historic changes will save families money, make life more affordable and bring accountability back to government.

“During the election, we presented our Plan for the People. Citizens across Ontario supported our plan by sending us to Queen’s Park with a strong majority”, said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

“Since July, we have delivered key initiatives that will help lower gas prices, reduce your hydro bills, restore accountability and trust in government, and send a message to the world that Ontario is open for business,” said Todd Smith, Government House Leader and Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Continue reading →

‘Revoke My Security Clearance, Too, Mr. President’

An Open Letter to Trump from Retired U.S. By William H. McRaven, from The Washington Post, August 17^th, 2018

Posted August 20^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

Going back at least as far as the War in Vietnam and all of the Cold War posturing with nuclear bombs during the 1960s and 70s, I have never felt all that hot about higher ups in the U.S. Pentagon and  its foreign and domestic intelligence networks.

A very strange thing has happened though. In the past year and a half, with Trump in the White House, the Republican Party of Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes that he has eviscerated has gone from being a shameless supporter of virtually everything U.S. military and intelligence leaders do to sitting back and saying nothing or even applauding while Trump publicly slimes any still active or retired military or intelligence leader who dares to criticize him.

In that spirit, Trump has torn a page from the playbooks of Nixon from the Watergate era of the 1970s and Senator Joe McCarthy from the Red Scare era of the 1950s, and create enemy lists blacklists for any higher ups in the U.S.. military or intelligence community who fail to pay him the loyalty he demands. Continue reading →

Where Is The Courage On Council To Call The Ontario Ombudsman In To Investigate CAO Hiring Controversy?

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 18th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Was the 2016 process used to hire Niagara Region’s current CAO tainted or corrupted in any way?

Did the Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo receive information he should not have when he was applying for the $230,000-a-year job – information that may have given him an unfair advantage over other candidates applying for the same position job?

Was any information of that nature provided to D’Angelo by one or more individuals in Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin’s office?

How much, if anything did Caslin know about this?

A special meeting of Niagara Region’s council ended this August 16th with questions around hiring of the Region’s CAO left unanswered

Those are among the questions residents across Niagara were hoping to finally learn answers to at the August 16^th special meeting that 18 members of the Region’s council petitioned for an d ultimately went ahead with despite objections from Caslin himself. Continue reading →

“The protection of Thundering Waters may take up to three appeals to win the legal battle.”

News from John Bacher, a veteran conservationist living in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 17th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Earlier this August, in the Niagara Falls Clerk’s Department I filed a letter of appeal against Amendment 128 to the Niagara Falls Official Plan. The amendment seeks to pave over about 120 acres of the approximately 500 acres Thundering Waters Forest.

Although most of the Thundering Waters Forest is provincially protected wetland barred from development, much of the Amendment 120 lands known as the Riverfront Community are an unusual savanna complex. It is dominated by a native shrub species, the Dotted Hawthorn. Continue reading →

“These initiatives … place a renewed focus on environmental sustainability and have established goals for restoring native species and culling invasive species.”

News from the Niagara Parks Commission

Posted August 17th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

• New plan includes emphasis on shoreline renewal, removal of invasive species and restoration all along the Niagara River Corridor

• Public Information Sessions to be held in September to receive public feedback

 Niagara Falls, Ontario  – As steward to the environmental and cultural heritage all along the Niagara River Corridor, The Niagara Parks Commission is pleased to announce the advancement of several environmental initiatives.

Ontario’s Niagara Parkway, overlooking the Niagara River, one of the most significant connecting channels in the Great Lakes basin.

These initiatives, as well as Niagara Parks new 10-year Strategic Plan, place a renewed focus on environmental sustainability and have established goals for restoring native species and culling invasive species, while enhancing the many formalized viewing areas, parkettes, picnic areas, and other shoreline sites for the benefit of wildlife and the public.

These goals will be coordinated with Niagara Parks’ new Cycling strategy, which is currently in development. Continue reading →

“Promises Made, Promises Kept.” Doug Ford Says He’s Giving The People wWhat They Want.

“We told people what we were going to do. We promised them action. And we are delivering. If there are four words that define this summer they are: Promises made, promises kept.”                    – Todd Smith, Doug Ford’s Minister of Government and Consumer Services

A News Release from Doug Ford’s “Government for the People”

Posted August 17^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

From killing a cap to control climate changing carbon emissions and reducing social assistance to people at the lower end of the income scale for reasons of “compassion,” to vowing to deliver you a “beer for a buck” by Labour Day, Doug Ford and the majority government he was awarded after receiving less than half the votes cast in this spring’s Ontario election is following through on his bumper sticker promises aimed at “putting more money back in your pocket.”

What are you going to do with the extra money you get from all this – plan a vacation to Disney World? Buy a new toaster or perhaps an ice bucket for all that cheap beer? Continue reading →

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 16th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton stands and makes a point at a special meeting of Niagara Region’s council this August 16th to address concerns over 2016 CAO hiring

Niagara, Ontario – After more than five hours of open and closed discussions at a special meeting of Niagara Region’s council this August 16th, the public learned very little that is new about the CAO hiring controversy that has shaken even more trust in and respect for regional government in recent months.

What the meeting mostly did was confirm which members of the council are determined to get to the bottom of questions around the October, 2016 hiring of Carmen D’Angelo to the top administrative job at the Region and which ones want to keep a lid on any further questions.

But more on them later. Continue reading →

In a recent email to members of Niagara Region’s council, Caslin has delivered “the most puerile and disrespectful taunt any chair has ever lodged. For this alone Caslin deserves to NOT be elected on the St. Catharines regional ballot this coming October.”                 – St. Catharines resident and former Niagara regional councillor Don Alexander

A Special Meeting Of Niagara Region’s Council on the Hiring Controversy has been scheduled for this Thursday, August 16th, starting at 2 p.m. at Niagara’s regional headquarters in Thorold

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 15^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo is at the centre of a controversy over the integrity of the process used to hire him in 2016 to the Region’s top bureaucratic post – a job that pays $230,000 a year.

Niagara, Ontario – Ongoing reports by The St. Catharines Standard and other news media that the October, 2016 hiring of former Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) CAO Carmen D’Angelo to chief administrative officer (CAO) for Niagara Region may have been tainted or corrupted by others inside the regional government have drawn widespread public concern.

This Sunday, August 12^th, those reports, along with growing demands from Niagara citizens for action, prompted 18 members of the regional council to petition the Region’s Chair Al Caslin this August 12^th to address this serious matter again.

In a letter accompanying the petition, the 18 directly elected  councillors and Niagara mayors who sit on the Region’s council stressed that they “are very concerned about the erosion of public trust in our communities regarding Niagara Regional Government. The harm to the reputation of the Region is a serious concern.” Continue reading →

“Public health experts, addictions counsellors and users have all said loud and clear – overdose prevention sites save lives.”           – St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

News from St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted August 15th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines’ recently elected  MPP, New Democrat Jennie Stevens

Niagara, Ontario  – Ontario NDP St. Catharines MPP, Jennie Stevens, says the Ford Conservatives’ backward decision to cancel lifesaving overdose prevention sites puts the lives of vulnerable users at risk and endangers local communities.

“These sites save lives,” Stevens said. “There were over 1,200 people who overdosed last year.  Those were 1,200 lives that could have been saved. Yet the deputy premier has already confirmed that no new sites will be opened despite calls for new life-saving sites in communities like St. Catharines.” Continue reading →

“Stripping our right to vote for our Niagara Regional Chair in the middle of an election campaign, without notice or consultation, is an affront to local democracy.” – Karrie Porter, aSt. Catharines resident and candidate for St. Catharines’ city council in Ward 4-St. Patrick’s who launched a petition this July to stop the Ford government from cancelling this October’s election for Niagara regional chair.

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 15th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Never mind the public outrage that followed Doug Ford’s July 27th announcement that he and his self-described “Government for the People” were scrapping  elections for regional chair in Niagara,  York, Peel and Muskoka, and cutting the number of councillors on Toronto’s city council in half.

Waving all petitions from residents and elsewhere aside, along with calls from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party to at least push a “pause button” and consult with the people, Ford and the majority government he was gifted by less than half of the people who voted in this June’s provincial election, made the shocking announcement this past July 27 – on the last day citizens had to register to run as a candidate in this October’s municipal elections – to slash the size of Toronto’s council in half and cancel elections for the position of regional chair in Niagara and the other three regions referred to above.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his trained seals clap and cheer this August 14 as they ram through legislation to kill Niagara election for regional chair and slash size of Toronto council less than three weeks after it was first tabled.

In all of the vague rhetoric Ford dished out during this spring’s Ontario election, there was never a mention that he would do that kind of a hatchet job on Toronto’s council or deprive the reisdents across Niagara of the opportunity to vote for the person they want serving as our regional chair rather than have a person appointed to that all-important position by those sitting on the Region’s council. Continue reading →

“If PR (proportional representation) had been in place in Ontario, Doug Ford wouldn’t have had the power in the legislature to pass Bill 5.” – former federal NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and the Broadbent Institute of Canada

“The greatest way to defend democracy is to make it work”            – Tommy Douglas, Canada’s Father of Universal Health Care

A Column from Rick Smith, Executive Director of the Broadbent Institute

Posted August 15, 2018 on Niagara At Large

There was a time when all participants in the political process – whether from the left or right – disagreed about the best approach to issues, but did so with a respect for their opponents and our democratic process.

This is not one of those times.

Moments ago (this August 14^th), in the Ontario legislature, Doug Ford’s Conservatives rammed through Bill 5: an unprecedented new law that alters the City of Toronto’s election rules, gerrymandering ward boundaries and cutting the number of Council seats by almost half; over the strenuous objections of the city and in the middle of the election itself.

Make no mistake: We haven’t seen anything like Bill 5 before in recent Canadian history and this stealthy attack on municipal government will have national implications.

(A Note to Niagara At Large readers – Bill 5 is the same legislation Ford’s “Government for the People” is using to kill elections for regional chair in the Niagara, Peel, York and Muskoka regions.)

Doug Ford didn’t campaign on a promise to unilaterally change Toronto’s election rules.  He didn’t submit the hair-brained scheme to public consultation. And he refused to allow it to be studied – as is customary – by a legislative committee. Continue reading →

If There’s Nothing Wrong, You’d Think Niagara’s Region al Chair Would Want To Call In Ontario’s Ombudsman Himself To Clear The Air

“To ask for another meeting less than two weeks later is nothing less than disingenuous politicking by the same few characters who have contributed the least this term of council.” – Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin, in an August 12th, 2018 email to regional councillors

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara regional chair Al Caslin. He could have agreed to call the Ontario Ombudsman in four months ago in an effort to clear the air over the hiring of CAO Carmen D’Angelo.

More than four months have passed since The St. Catharines Standard published a story that took reporter Grant LaFleche and others at the newspaper months to investigate and fact check.

It was a  a story that raised serious questions and concerns about the  integrity of the process in place to  hire Carmen D’Angelo, in the fall of 2016, to the $230,000 a year job of chief administrative officer or CAO of a Niagara regional government responsible for services  costing more than $1 billion of our tax money to operate each year.

The April 6^th story, based on documents the newspaper obtained and sources it obviously could not name for fear of those people becoming targets of reprisals, alleged that D’Angelo, then CAO of a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) already facing intense public scrutiny, received information he should not have that  may have given him unfair advantage over other candidates for the Region’s CAO job. Continue reading →

Come this October 17th, Pot Smokers 19 Years of Age and Over Will Be Able To Purchase Weed Online

“We will be ready to put in place a safe, legal system for cannabis retail that will protect consumers.”                                                        – Doug Ford’s Ontario General Caroline Mulroney

News from Premier Doug Ford’s “Government for the People”

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Doug Ford moving ahead with plans for selling pot in Ontario

TORONTO, Ontario  — Following the federal legalization of cannabis on October 17, Ontario will immediately introduce an online retail channel for cannabis, to be followed by a private retail model by April 1, 2019.

Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney today shared details about how the province will manage cannabis retail following the federal government’s decision to legalize the drug effective October 17, 2018.

“We will be ready to put in place a safe, legal system for cannabis retail that will protect consumers,” said Mulroney. “We will also be ready to undermine the illegal market and protect Ontario’s roads.  Most importantly of all, we will be ready to protect our kids.” Continue reading →

News from Doug Draper & the Ontario’s Provincial Legislature

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

It didn’t take long.

Premier Doug Ford and his health minister, Christine Elliott, shelve plan for drug overdose prevention site in St. Catharines/Niagara despite spike in overdose deaths here.

Just  days after St.  Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens and the Niagara city’s mayor, Walter Sendzik, asked Ontario Premier Doug Ford if he “supports a safe injection site for St. Catharines,” and urged him to follow through on former Liberal government plans to set one up, Ford and his Health Minister, Christine Elliott, have announced that they are putting the plan on hold while they “review its merits”

The shelving of this site – the type of which has proven effective in other regions of North America for helping people with drug addictions – follows news from Niagara’s public health department this spring that there has been a 90 per cent spike in drug overdose deaths in Niagara over a one year period in 2016 and 2017. Continue reading →

Message Follows In Wake Of Retired Brock Prof’s “Abhorant” Tweets Against Indigenous People. University Is Moving To Strip Prof of                     Honorary Professor Emeritus Title

“I think of my two-year experience at Brock as more of a survival story than an educational experience.  … It got so bad I took a year off to heal and now as I prepare to return, I am yet again reminded about the “underneath”; the subtle mechanisms that perpetuate racial oppression in institutions.  I am tired of hearing about reconciliation when what we need is action.”          – Celeste Smith

Celeste Smith, speaking two years ago at a gathering of Indigenous people and other members of the Niagara community, to save Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls from urban development. File photo by Doug Draper

From  Celeste Smith, Oneida, Six Nations of the Grand River,  Undergrad Student/ Indigenous Human Rights Activist

Posted August 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Open Letter to Brock University in response to the recent anti-Indigenous social media activity of Professor Emeritus Garth Stevenson.

To the Brock University Community:

You have a racism problem. Unfortunately, what was exposed last Thursday (August 9th) on social media is not an isolated incident, but a large and underlying truth. I know this first hand as an Indigenous student who has been degraded and humiliated in the classroom and in other spaces at Brock in my short two years of academic study.

Now, before you raise your hand in protest and inundate me with stories of initiatives and strategies you are implementing and before you tell me the professor in question has been thoroughly humiliated and the issue resolved, let me stop you. Continue reading →

“Will the premier continue to bulldoze over evidence-based solutions to combating the opioids crisis, or will he support a provincially funded safe injection site for St Catharines and Niagara?” – St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted August 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – As communities in St. Catharines continue to have some of the highest opioid overdose deaths and as reports indicate that the riding saw a 300 per cent increase in overdoses in the last year, Jennie Stevens, Ontario NDP MPP for the riding, condemned the Conservative government’s backward priorities and urged the premier to commit to a provincially funded safe injection site for the region.

“Mayor Sendzik and St. Catharines city council unanimously called for a safe injection site for the city in January,” Stevens said. “The future of the site, like other sites in the province, is now in limbo. Does the premier support a safe injection site for St. Catharines?” Continue reading →

Ford’s Bill Threatens to Cancel Regional Chair Election in Niagara – a Move at least some call an “Assault on our Democracy”

“Doug Ford is cancelling public hearings on his vindictive law that determines the scope of municipal elections already underway, cuts representation for Torontonians in half, and ends elections for voters who used to decide on their regional chairs.”  – John Vanthof, Ontario NDP MPP. and Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Fighting Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cancel elections for regional chair, including the election for the regional chair position in Niagara, and to slash size of Toronto city council.

Queen’s Park, Toronto – The NDP has successfully delayed Doug Ford’s draconian bill to slash the number of Toronto City Councillors in half and end regional chair elections already underway.

Fighting back on behalf of the people of Toronto, and the regions where Ford cancelled the election of regional chairs, New Democrat MPPs Gilles Bisson and John Vanthof moved amendments on Ford’s bill after the Ford government cancelled public consultations and cut off legislative debate on Ford’s election-meddling bill.

“We will continue fighting like hell to allow people to have their say in what happens to their local representation,” said Bisson, NDP House Leader who introduced one of two amendments this past Thursday, August 9th. Continue reading →

It’s Time for Regional Councillors to stand up for Niagara’s Taxpayers and Demand that the Ontario Ombudsman do an Independent Investigation – Now

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

If what The St. Catharines Standard is reporting in its Saturday, August 11th edition is true – and this journalist has no reason to believe it is anything but true – heads should already be rolling at Niagara regional headquarters. Never mind waiting for this October’s municipal elections.

Niagara Region’s chair Al Caslin with CAO Carmen D’Angelo to his right

And one of those heads should be that of Niagara Region’s Chair, Al Caslin.

For the past 22 months since Carmen D’Angelo, a former CAO at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, was hired to the CAO job at Niagara Region, virtually everyone – regional councillors included – believed (because of what they and the rest of us were told) that D’Angelo was hired under a contract that ran three years.

Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo. Should he have anything to do with investigating his own hiring? Why are a majority of regional councillors still letting that happen?

In other words, in 2019 – after a new Niagara regional council is elected this October and settled in – that council, preferably made up of many new players, would have the opportunity to decide whether or not to renew D’Angelo’s contract.

Now, after many weeks of being steeped in controversy over whether the process used to hire D’Angelo in October of 2016 was tainted or corrupted in some way, The Standard is reporting that some way or somehow, between the time D’Angelo was hired and now, the life of his contract was extended  to the year 2021.

More disturbingly than that, this extension was apparently made without the knowledge of most, if not all directly elected councillors and without the knowledge of the mayors of Niagara’s 12 local municipalities who also hold a seat on the regional council. Continue reading →

“Brock has no connection whatsoever with (former political science professor Garth Stevenson’s) views, and abhors comments that have been posted on his social media sites.” – Tom Dunk, Brock’s University’s Provost and Vice-President Academic

Reprehensible Comments Made in Wake of Victoria, B.C. Decision to Remove John A. Macdonald statue.

Brock University now looking to strip  Stevenson of his honorary Professor Emeritus title.

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 10^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

John A. Macdonald statue, scheduled to be removed from steps of Victoria, B.C.’s city hall this August 11th.

In the wake of a decision by the city council of Victoria, British Columbia this past August 9^th to remove a state of John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, also often identified as Canada’s ‘Father of Confederation’, emotions have been running high across the country.

Yet, few outbursts reported in the news so far have been received with as much objection as those posted on social media this August 9^th and linked to retired Brock University political science professor Garth Stevenson. Continue reading →