Author Archives: dougdraper

“A $15 minimum wage is the right thing to do, and I’m happy that we’re nearly there thanks to those activists that built a movement.”

A Statement from  Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath  attended a rally this past Wednesday, January 10th  in support of Tim Hortons workers who have faced retaliation from their employer in Cobourg. Horwath released the following statement:

“Millionaires are taking away minimum wage earners’ paid breaks, clawing back more of their paycheques for things like benefits that used to be covered, or calling workers contractors instead of employees to get out of providing some pay or benefits. There are workers, including staff at  some Tim Hortons stores, taking home less pay this month than they did in December because employers are punishing them for the minimum wage increase. That’s just wrong. And workers need us all to have their backs, and amplify their voices. Continue reading →

A New Year’s Message From Avaaz, an online citizens activist network with 44 million followers across the world

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dear Avaazers,

This video recorded by Avaaz team members is going viral! It’s a shot of hope and love for 2018 — will you help share it and spread the joy across the world?

2017 was a rough year, but wow, is the resistance on fire! We’ve never been prouder of our movement — both Avaaz, and all those we stand with.

We’ve stopped the rise of the far-right in several countries, frustrated Trumpism in almost every major accomplishment it sought, opened our hearts to refugees, won major battles to protect our planet, and defeated toxic foes from Monsanto to Rupert Murdoch. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the Organizers of the 16^th Annual Soup’s ON Fundraiser in Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Soup Sampling Serves Up Scholarship

Tickets are going fast for the hottest scholarship event this winter.

The 16^th annual Soup’s On luncheon, on Friday, Jan. 26 at St. Kevin’s Parish hall, will feature soup samplings from secondary school and Niagara College culinary programs as well as from Stephanie, The Lunch Lady. Continue reading →

In Official Statement, Conservation Authority “Stands By” Its Defeated Case Against St. Catharines/Niagara Citizen Ed Smith

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

Posted January 9^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. That hasn’t stopped attacks from the NPCA though.

Niagara, Ontario – In an official statement the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) posted late this past Monday, January 8^th on its website, it pushed backed against rulings by an Ontario Court Judge to dismiss its defamation case against Niagara area citizen Ed Smith and ordering it to pay Smith’s court costs – saying that it “stands by” the decision it made more than a year ago to sue the St. Catarines resident and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer.

The NPCA’s January 8^th statement – coming three days after Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay ordered it to pay Smith $131,000 to cover his costs of defending the lawsuit it slapped against him and more than a month after the same judge dismissed the suit itself – states that Conservation Authority “stands by its decision to defend its employees and the organization itself.” Continue reading →

Ruling Represents Another Victory for Cozens’ Democratic Right to Speak Out!

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

Posted January 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The same Ontario Court Judge who recently dismissed the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s defamation suit against Niagara citizen Ed Smith has followed up with an order to pay Smith $131,000 in legal costs.

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. Now the courts have ordered the NPCA to pay  his legal costs..

The way the NPCA responded in the face of document Smith circulated more than a year ago, raising concerns about the way the Conservation Authority spends millions of mostly municipal tax dollars, and even in the face of Smith’s willingness to retract anything in the document that might be incorrect, was “over the top” and “got in the way of an early resolution of the controversy,” said Judge James Ramsay in a ruling he released late this January 5th, while ordering the NPCA to pay Smith’s legal costs.

The NPCA sued Ed Smith, a resident and community activist from St. Catharines and a retired Canadian Armed Forces officer, more than a year ago, claiming that a document he circulated, raising questions and concerns about the NPCA’s hiring and firing practices, its awarding of contracts to private consultants and other matters, contained erroneous and defamatory information. Continue reading →

 Forum Is On Wednesday,  January 10th   at 8p.m. St. Catharines Centennial Library on 54 Church Street In the City’s Downtown

An Invite from the Niagara District Council of Women

Posted January 5th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – In light of the stark contradiction between the promises of the 1987 Federal  Government  during the International l Year of Housing for the Homeless   and what  some local Niagara  agencies who serve  those living in poverty are currently calling  housing    “crisis”, it is very good news that  both Federal and Provincial governments are  planning  to invest extensively in  affordable  housing . But, is this  enough  given the severity of the  problem? Continue reading →

At Brock University In St. Catharines/Niagara on Thursday, January 25th at 7 P.M.

An Invite from Niagara Action For Animals

Posted January 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

friends of animals

Niagara, Ontario – You are invited to a  a free screening of ‘Cowspiracy’ scheduled for Thursday, January 25th – 7 p.m. at Brock University – Academic South, Room 215 sponsored by At War for Animals, Niagara & Brock Critical Animal Studies. 

This film is largely non-graphic and gives a lot of info about the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. Continue reading →

“CEOs are making 316 times more than someone who makes fifteen dollars an hour. If shareholders can afford this year’s CEO pay hike, they should absolutely be endorsing higher wages at the bottom as well.”

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted January 4^th,  2018 on N iagara At Large 

Ottawa, Ontario  — For the first time, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs netted 209 times more than the average worker made in 2016, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

For many boss hogs, there is no end to their greed while millions of others see their income falling ever farther behind.

The report shows the country’s highest paid 100 CEOs on the S&P/TSX Composite index now make, on average, $10.4 million — 209 times the average income of $49,738, up from 193 times more in 2015.

“Canada’s corporate executives were among the loudest critics of a new $15 minimum wage in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, meanwhile the highest paid among them were raking in record-breaking earnings,” says the report’s author, CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald. Continue reading →

Increased Paid Vacations and New Personal Emergency Days Also in Effect

News from the Ontario Government

Posted January 4^th,  2018 on Niagara At Large

Starting this January , people across Ontario began to see their wages rise $14 an hour as the new general minimum wage takes effect. This change will help workers and their families who are struggling to get ahead in a changing economy.

As part of Ontario’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, the minimum wage will increase again to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019, to be followed by annual increases at the rate of inflation.

Other provisions of the new provincial legislation that come into effect on January 1, 2018, include:

Ensuring workers are entitled to at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with the same employer, bringing Ontario’s vacation time in line with the national average.

Expanding the 10 days per calendar year for personal emergency leave to employees in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, with at least two paid days per year for employees who have been employed for at least a week. Continue reading →

“Today, I hope all Canadians reflect on, or learn more about, the Great Ice Storm, and how we were there for each other.”

A Statement by the Prime Minister on the 20th anniversary of the Great Ice Storm

Posted January 4th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark the 20th anniversary of the Great Ice Storm:

“On this day (January 4th), twenty years ago, freezing rain began to fall in Eastern Canada. For the next five days, the rain fell, coating cars, homes, trees, power lines – everything – in as much as 100 mm of ice.

“Power lines and hydro towers collapsed under the weight of the ice, leaving more than three million people in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia in the dark. Blackouts lasted for days, weeks, and, in some cases, even months. Continue reading →

A Statement from MPP Cindy Forster

Posted January 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – Cindy Forster, the NDP MPP from the riding of Welland, announced Wednesday (January 3^rd, 2018)  that she will not seek re-election in 2018. She released the following statement:

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

“Over the last seven years, it has been an absolute honour to serve as the voice for the riding of Welland at Queen’s Park. With the support of my constituents, my staff and our riding teams, I have worked to create a healthier and a more just Ontario – not just in the Niagara Centre region, but across the province.

Together, we have accomplished so much: saving our local hospital and urgent care; building safer and more secure workplaces; and safeguarding our natural resources. We have done good work together. Continue reading →

And Here Is Hoping For Much Better Things For Our Niagara, Ontario Region. Creeps & Bullies Be Gone!

A New Year Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper, and from one of his Heroes

Posted December 31^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Hours away from turning the calendar on a year where Trump darkened and demeaned the landscape of America, and where something similar darkened the landscape on the Niagara, Ontario side of the border with a cabal of the of municipal politicians, the likes of which we have never seen,  I feel a growing resolve for something better in the air.

In 2018, American voters have mid-term elections that could wrestle the balance of power away from the cult of anti-science nihilists, neo-Nazis and greediest of the greedy that has become the once proud Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and could fast track the impeachment of the madman in the White House before – one way or the other – he destroys what’s left of life on our planet. Continue reading →

“Despite a tumultuous political landscape, Great Lakes champions like you accomplished some pretty amazing things.”

A 2017 Wrap-Up Message from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a citizens advocacy group with members across the Great Lakes region

Posted December 31st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

2017 is wrapping up and we’re spending the last few weeks of the year looking back on everything you accomplished for the Great Lakes. This week, we’re highlighting advocacy wins and all the ways our supporters championed the Great Lakes.

You, our constituents, sent tens of thousands of emails, letters and petition signatures to decision makers in 2017.  You told your stories and raised your voices to protect the Great Lakes, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have you on our team—check it out! Continue reading →

TVO’s Paikin, Premier Wynne Wynne & Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s Couillard discuss Quebec water power

A News Release from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a province-wide ctizens group

Posted December 30, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Why hasn’t Ontario signed a deal for power purchases from Quebec?

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne stubbornly stands by plans to spend billions refurbishing old nuclear reactors over simply buying clean water power from neighbouring Quebec. Why?

That was the question host Steve Paikin asked the premiers of Canada’s two most populous provinces during the Mowat Centre’s Confederation of Tomorrow 2.0 conference held just before the holidays.

Paikin pointed out that the Ontario Clean Air Alliance continues to push Ontario to choose low-cost water power from Quebec over high cost nuclear rebuilds, and he pressed the Premiers for a response.

Premier Wynne waffled, acknowledging that Quebec has plenty of power to spare, yet defended her decision to spend tens of billions rebuilding old reactors as the “responsible” choice. Continue reading →

 “Day in and day out, we continued to train and educate thousands of progressive activists in every corner of the country, and embolden them to achieve even greater success in their own communities.” – Rick Smith, Broadbent Institute, Canada

A New Year’s Message from Rick Smith , Executive Director of the Canada-based Broadbent Institute

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This time last year, I will confess, I wasn’t feeling so hot.  A maniac had just taken over the White House, reverberations from Brexit were echoing around the globe, and neo-Nazis were building momentum throughout Europe.

As 2017 dawned, it felt like the forces of dangerous far-right bigotry were on the march everywhere.

Broadbent Institute executive director Rick Smtih, left, and the Institute’s namesake, former Canadian NDP Leader Ed Broadbent

But if the past twelve months showed that politics can get ugly in unexpected ways, it also showed that the majority of people won’t stand for hate.

In 2017, progressive politics came roaring back with a vengeance. Continue reading →

A Legendary Eyewitness News Anchor from Buffalo, New York Dies – December 26th, 2017 – at Age 87

A Commentary by Doug Draper, one of probably millions of people across Western New York and Southern Ontario who grew up watching Irv Weinstein on Eyewitness News

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“It’s 11 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”

“Topping tonight’s Eyewitness News, a three alarm fire guts a warehouse in Buffalo and another fatal shooting rocks the city’s west side. … Don’t touch your dial.”

They were the kind of lines that Irv Weinstein turn into clichés over his more than three decades long reign as the king of local television news anchors in Western New York and in a good part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe of Ontario, and, by sheer force and the snap, crackle and pop of his on-air persona, made the old (pre-Cable TV) Channel 7’s Eyewitness News the top-rated newscast in Buffalo, New York area right up to the time of his retirement in 1998. Continue reading →

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

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – Niagara At Large is posting this important public service message from the City of St. Catharines, mindful of the sad probability that most of those who need these warming centres probably don’t have access to a computer to read this message either.

Finally, it is good that the city is providing these places for people to warm up during the day, but where do they go to keep warm overnight? If anyone has an answer to that question, please share it in the comment space below.)

Further to the times and locations for warming centres posted earlier on Niagara At Large, here is an update of times and locations for centres available this Monday, January 1st on New Years Day –

Warming centres at Market Square and Russell Avenue Community Centre will be open on New Year’s Day – Monday, Jan 1. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from Michael Moore, from Michael Moore’s Facebook Page

Posted December 29, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL – For  the sake of his country and for all of us living on this planet, we are posting this for our readers on the U.S. side of the border and we wish American filmmaker and activist Michael Moore the best of  luck with it. And yes, we’re sure a good number of  us on the Canadian side of the border would love to sign  this petition, but as hard as it is, please resist the temptation to do so. This is business for our American friends and neighbours, and we sure wouldn’t want to do anything that might invalidate such an important peitition.

Now here is Michael Moore’s call-out.)

Wow!

We’ve got 3,916,221 signatures to impeach Trump! C’mon everyone! This is historic.

Let’s get to 4 million signatures to Impeach Trump before the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve! We’re only a few thousand away! No petition to remove a president has ever had this many people sign it. Continue reading →

A Commentary by St. Catharines resident and community activist Ron Brydges

Posted December 29^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Having attended the public meeting St. Catharines’ city council held this past December 12^th on the so-called Port Fortress Project (a plan to build a 17-storey-high condo tower in the heritage district of Port Dalhousie), it seemed I was hearing a rehash of the pros and cons of the Port Tower proposal (an earlier plan for a high-rise condo at the same location) from ten years ago.

Port Dalhousie, now at left and with the proposed high-rise tower complex to the right

It did seem that the majority of people (more than 200 were in attendance) at December 12^th meeting opposed this latest development proposal just as they opposed the development ten years ago. Continue reading →

Make Them Game for a Show with more Life & Death Consequences than Celebrity Apprentice

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher and reporterDoug Draper

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canadian TV show host Steve Echlund proudly displayes the cougar he blew away early this December 2017 in Alberta, where one tar sand-loving premier after another continues to let this killing be legal.

Of all the low lives among us, some of the lowest of the low, in my view, are affluent white men who dress up like Rambo and go out and kill some of the most majestic animals on the planet.

And not because they need to hunt down and kill the animal for food or for other reason that may have something to do with survival, but just because they think it’s fun! And they want a trophy hanging on the wall to shore up their fragile mail ego and to impress their affluent white friends.

The most recent example of one of these poor excuses for a human being – until the next one comes along, probably within a matter of weeks, if not days – is this host of a Canadian TV outdoor show called ‘The Edge’ who got all dressed up in khakis, like those crypto-fascist militia nuts that troll the backwoods of America somewhere – and shot himself a magnificent cougar somewhere in northern Alberta earlier this December.

Steve Ecklund is the name of this dirtbag,  and just to show the world he has no shame, he posted photos of himself with the cougar he blew away on Facebook this past December 3^rd with a caption that reads; What an unreal ending to a fun filled season.” Continue reading →

A Brief One by Doug Draper

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Legendary Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Johnny Bower

Way back in the 1960s, when the New York Yankees were a dominating force in the game of  baseball, here in Canada we had a team that was a dominating force in the game of hockey.

Believe it or not, that team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, and in the neighbourhood I grew up in in Niagara, Ontario and, I’m sure, in many other neighbourhoods across the country, almost every kid over the age of 10 knew every member of the Leafs by name. They were the heroes or villains of our time, depending on whether you were a Leaves fan or a fan of the Montreal Canadians or Chicago Black Hawks or one of the only other three teams that made up the National Hockey League at the time.

On the Leafs roster, that won not just one,  but four Stanley Cups during that time, there was Tim Horton and  Dave Keon and Red Kelly and Frank Mahovilich and George Armstrong and Bob Pulford and Eddie  Shack – and there was Johnny Bower, who died this past December 26th at the age of 93.

Johnny Bower played goalie at a time when goalies did not where masks and were much more of a human backboard for pucks flying their way at 100 or more kilometres an hour than they are today.

I remember NHL players like Eddie Shack and Johnny Bower visiting our town during the off-seasons for hockey to play in charity baseball games. We’d all line up for autographs and one of the things I recall the most is the web of scars on their faces where they had to be stitched up, which is why my mother would said no to my having anything to do with  minor hockey, and yes to baseball.

I still find it fascinating that America came up with a nice, pastural game like baseball, and Canada, which has so often prided itself as one of the pre-eminent peace-keeping nations in the world, came up with hockey, which is arguably more violent than American football and, in recent decades, can be  just as brutally violent as boxing when the inevitable fights break out.

I know it may make me seem much less a Canadian to some, but I turned off  hockey almost completely and never went back when the NHL expanded to a point where the talent pool for great players was so diluted that fighting  became the substitute for good plays. So much so that brawls on the ice rather than a video clip of a great goal would come to be what passed for news in the world of hockey on late-night sports casts.

There was a time though, when NHL hockey was more of a game than a fight, and the Toronto Maple Leafs won Stanley Cups with a roster of sports heroes like Johnny Bower.

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space below the Bernie quote.

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

Report identifies more than 2,000 “exempted” activities in at-risk species’ habitats, with no government oversight or public scrutiny

News from the public interest groups Ontario Nature, Ecojustice and the David Suzuki Foundation

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“MNRF (Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Foresty under the province’s current Liberal Government) has put the interests of industry first, and the recovery of Ontario’s most imperilled species second.”

The gypsy cuckoo bumblebee, a vital pollinator in Ontario is endangered, and needs the province’s help. What is Ontario’s Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry doing about this?

Toronto, Ontario  — Ontario’s 2007 Endangered Species Act (ESA) isn’t protecting at-risk species because the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is failing to effectively implement it, according to a report released today by the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice and Ontario Nature.

The report highlights broad exemptions granted to industry from prohibitions, major delays in the development of recovery strategies for at-risk species, and a complete lack of public transparency about harmful activities occurring in at-risk species’ habitats. Continue reading →

‘There are many community-based care options for people who don’t require emergency or urgent care.’

Some Helpful Tips from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamation of hospital services

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Trends in healthcare can be very unpredictable. But one thing that is easy to predict is during the holiday season and winter months, flu and other illnesses spread in our community

Niagara Health, Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Niagara Region Public Health and the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network are working together to help the public better understand the options available for healthcare. Continue reading →

“The enthusiasm Bernie Sanders has generated has carried over to young people here in Canada and around the world.”                  – Former Canadian NDP Leader Ed Broadbent

First Posted by Ed Broadbent on November 23^rd, 2017 on the Broadbent Blog, Broadbent Institute

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Changing the Game with Bernie Sanders

Posted by Ed Broadbent

Last (October) I got to spend some quality time with my fellow social democrat, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.As you may know, for decades, Bernie has been leading the fight for a universal healthcare system in the U.S. – a fight that was at the core of his inspiring campaign to be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

In October the Broadbent Institute, along with our partners, arranged for Bernie to come to Canada. During his trip he spoke to a capacity crowd at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall about what the U.S. can learn from Canadian health care.  Over 250,000 people viewed the livestream online, with a further 1.4 million people reached by the social media surrounding the event. Continue reading →

A Brief Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Following the antics of politicians and others in Niagara, Ontario and outside of what I would call the sane zones of Buffalo, New York where one enters ‘Trumpland’  left me feeling so disheartened  over the past 12 months, I sometimes wondered if I had it in me to keep Niagara At Large going until the end of the year.

I would sit there at a meeting of Niagara’s regional council or of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, watching bullies eviscerate any other member of the body or the public they viewed as a threat, or you turned on the cable news to the multi-ring circus from hell that is the Trump presidency, and wonder if there would ever be enough people out there, ready and willing to stand up and stop this.

Yet here we are. We’ve made it to the end of the year and there are some signs out there that growing numbers of people on both sides of the border are ready to stand up against the bullies and when they get a chance to vote (on the Ontario side of the border there are provincial and municipal elections in 2018, and on the U.S. side there are congressional elections), more of us than possibly ever before in the past three or four decades, will vote for positive, progressive change

So on that note of hope (and with much more to come that front on Niagara At Large later), here is wishing all of our many readers and supporter on both sides of the border in our greater Niagara region, a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Here at Niagara at Large, we could not have made it through the year as well as we have without the unqualified love and support of some of our favourite furry friends, including one of Niagara, Ontario’s most beloved celebrities in the cat world, Tigger, pictured immediately below, who you can find greeting customers (when he’s not busy napping) at the Pet Valu store at the plaza on Pine Street in Thorold. If you are lucky, they may even have a copy of Tigger’s 2018 calendar left. It is full of purrfect pictures of him, taken by his friend Joe Krawchuk, and that you can have for $20 in cash that goes to non-profit animal assistance organizations.

Seasons Greetings from Tigger

Photo by Joe Krawchuk, courtesy of Pet Valu at Pne Street plaza in Thorold/Niagara where you can go say hi to Tigger

Dylan, the white guy, and Dexter, Photo by Doug Draper

Now Tigger may enjoy more celebrity across the region, but we at Niagara At Large also want to share our best wishes for the end-of-year holidays with our home friends, Dylan, the one in white, and Dexter, who is in rub-my-belly mode here. There is not enough we can say about the support  we have enjoyed from them when they have not been caught walking across the keyboards of our computers.

Last but not lease, there is Pinky, our trusted mascot from afar  who spends most of her time living in Florida with the snowbirds and is the first canine we know who declared support for Bernie Sanders when he ran for U.S. president in 2016.

Our mascot Pinky, still ‘Feelin’ the Bern’ down in Florida.

Pinky turned down a chance to do Taco Bell commercials to help us in our ongoing efforts to build Niagara At Large as a vital alternative news and commentary voice for our greater Niagara region.

So from all of us, we wish you and your loved ones some peace and joy during this Holiday Season.

Catch you all on the flip side where – at long last and here’s hoping – some change for the better is in the air.

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space below the Bernie quote.

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

Higgins Votes No on GOP Tax Bill

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

Posted December 22, 2017 on Niagara At Large

U.S Congressman Brian Higgins

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), Vice Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement following his vote against H.R. 1, the GOP tax bill:

“This GOP tax bill provides a heartbreaking catapult to income inequality in America that will serve to grow the gaping wedge between hardworking Americans and wealthy corporate bosses.  This is policy not motivated by bettering the lives of families, students and retirees and certainly not founded in genuine public interest; it is driven by greed and corporate influencers in a callous move to please stockholders and increase the bottom line of big business. Continue reading →

‘The decision (by  Ontario’s Wynne government to restrict personal emergency leave days for autoworkers across the province) appears to have been made at a Wynne Liberal cabinet meeting held behind closed doors shortly before Kathleen Wynne went to Japan and met with major auto manufacturers.’ – Niagara area MPP Cindy Forster

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted December 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

Welland – Ontario NDP Labour critic MPP Cindy Forster is calling on the Liberal government to reverse its secretive decision to give auto workers in Ontario fewer personal emergency leave days than everyone else.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government are cracking down on auto workers,” said Forster. “These people work hard, often in physically demanding roles, and they certainly deserve treatment that’s equal to what everyone else in the province is getting.”  Continue reading →

A News Release from Democracy Watch Canada, anon-partisan citizens watchdog group based in Ottawa, Ontario

Posted December 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Paying only 22% of all income taxes, at near lowest rate of G7 countries, and loopholes legalize tax evasion

New national petition calls for Finance Minister Morneau to make key changes to make them pay their fair share of taxes

Key changes also needed to stop Big Bank gouging and abuse – Canada’s Big 6 Banks made a record profit of $42.3 billion in 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December  2017

OTTAWA – This December , Democracy Watch launched its new national petition on Change.org calling for key changes to make Canada’s big businesses and Big Banks pay their fair share of taxes.

A special report recently published in the Toronto Star details how Canadian big businesses, especially the Big Banks, have higher profits but pay a lower rate of taxes than ever before. Continue reading →

Province Helping Ontario Families Stay Healthy with Free Prescription Medication for Everyone Age 24 and Under

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 21st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“We believe all families in Ontario deserve the same access to medication they need to protect the health and lives of their children.” – Dr. Eric Hoskins , Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins

Ontario is helping families afford the care they need to stay healthy by making prescription medications free for everyone age 24 and under.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, met with young mothers at Massey Centre in Toronto today, where he launched OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare. In just under two weeks, children and youth will be able to get their medications at no cost by simply showing their Ontario health card number and a prescription at a pharmacy. Coverage will be automatic, with no upfront costs. Continue reading →

Some End-of-the-Year News from the Chamber of Marine Commerce on the Great Lakes

Posted December 21^st,  2017 on Niagara At Large

With just two weeks left of the season, St. Lawrence Seaway cargo volumes are expected to finish ahead of 2016 after a year marked by economic recovery and new business wins.

According to The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, total cargo tonnage from March 20 to November 30 reached 33.6 million metric tons – up 8.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. As of Monday, there was still a steady number of ocean-going and domestic ships travelling through the waterway to pick up or unload cargo. This is expected to continue for the balance of the season. Continue reading →

“We are desperate to have some action on this (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) front. … All four (Niagara, Ontario area) MPPs have expressed concern about the Conservation Authority, so that’s why I’ll be supporting this.” – St. Catharines city councillor Bruce Williamson

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – After disappointing many citizens across the Niagara region last October by putting the matter on hold, St. Catharines’ city council has finally supported a motion to call on Ontario’s Wynne government to appoint a special supervisor to both clean house at and clean up a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority that has lost a good deal of public trust in recent years.

St. Catharines city councilor Jennie Stevens gets council approval for motion calling on province’s government to appoint a supervisor to take over NPCA>

A motion to call for a special supervisor – similar in spirit to one put forward this past October by St. Catharines city councillor Bruce Williamson – was tabled at the city council’s December 18^th meeting by another city councillor Jennie Stevens.

The motion also reads that is a supervisor is not appointed by the Ontario government within 60 days,  the NPCA’s current board of directors – many of them members of and appointed by the Al Caslin cabal dominating Niagara’s regional council – “be dissolved and be replaced by directors appointed by the members of the lower tier municipalities, based on skill set, not politics or political ties, and that Niagara Region develop the process with stakeholders, to be in place after 2018 Municipal Election.”

Stevens’ December 18^th motion follows a motion passed by Port Colborne city council this November, calling for a supervisor to take charge of the NPCA, and a more recent one, tabled by St. Catharines city councillor Joe Kushner and passed by a majority on the council, demanding that the NPCA disclose how much its failed lawsuits against St. Catharines citizen and NPCA critic Ed Smith cost taxpayers across the region. Continue reading →

I want to make it very clear that this process that West Lincoln Council embarked on, alongside our local area municipal partners, was not just about more governance, but rather increasing the level of service for a municipality experiencing tremendous growth starting in 2017. – Township of West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner

News from Niagara, Ontario’s regional government

Posted December 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large​

West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner

Niagara, Ontario – A proposal to add a second representative from the Township of West Lincoln to Regional Council has received “triple majority” approval.  As a result, for the first time electors in that municipality will be able to vote for a Regional Councillor in the 2018 municipal elections.  The Mayor, by virtue of the position, automatically serves on Regional Council.

After the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing provided a regulation in November kick-starting the process, Regional Council gave its approval earlier this month followed by approvals from the majority of local area municipalities representing the majority of electors in Niagara – achieving the triple majority requirement. Continue reading →

Support will Help Enhance and Expand Transit Systems, Reduce Congestion

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario is providing more support to 105 municipalities across the province, to help them enhance and expand their transit systems, reduce congestion, and shorten commute times.

File photo by Doug Draper

Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, was joined by Harinder Malhi, MPP for Brampton-Sprindale and Linda Jeffrey, Mayor of Brampton, today to announce this year’s gas tax funding for municipalities. Brampton is receiving more than $11 million to support upgrades and enhancements that could include major transit infrastructure projects, buying more buses, adding new routes, extending hours of service, or improving accessibility. Continue reading →

Apology To Reporter Is Not Enough. What Happened Here Was A Thuggish Attack On The Rights Of All Of Us

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

Posted December 15^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. …..

Fundamental Freedoms …

‘Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:… Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication. ….”

According to stories in the newspaper employing the reporter whose constitutional rights to do his job without interference were  violated by Niagara’s regional government this past December 7^th, that government’s chair – one Al Caslin –issued an apology days later to the St. Catharines Standard reporter, Bill Sawchuk, for unlawfully seizing his computer and notes, and for ordering him out of the regional headquarters building under the watch of Niagara Regional Police.

Veteran St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Suachuck, at right, being ordered out of Niagara’s regional government headquarters after his notes and computer were seized. Photo by Emily Beth

Based on what this veteran journalist and former Standard reporter witnessed at the time of this incident, and based on what I have has heard and read of Caslin’s apology – perhaps the most fulsome one he has given in his three years as regional chair since he felt it necessary to apologies to members of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority two summers ago for what he claimed to be a defamatory presentation St. Caatharines citizen Ed Smith made about to the regional council about the conduct of his political pals on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board – I have one over-riding hope. Continue reading →

150 Children to Benefit from 9 New Child Care Rooms in          Local Schools

News from the Constituency Office of St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley

Posted December 18, 2017 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines Jim Bradley

Niagara, Ontario – Ontario is taking a significant step towards creating 45,000 new licensed child care spaces in schools, communities and other public spaces across the province including funding for 9 new child care rooms at 3 schools in the Niagara Region. As a result of this investment, 150 children and their families will gain access to high-quality licensed care in a safe, convenient setting.

Oakridge Public School and École élémentaire L’Héritage in St. Catharines as well as Our Lady of Mount Caramel Catholic Elementary School in Niagara Falls will each be receiving more than $1.5 million to construct these additional spaces. Continue reading →

Probe Launched Over Seizure of Standard Reporter’s Computer, Notes, and his Expulsion from Regional Headquarters Building

News from the Office of Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé

Posted December 15^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube launches probe on Niagara regional government over seizure of reporter’s computer, notes

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper – I was relieved to read and am pleased to post the following news release from the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office on the disgusting treatment a member of the mainstream media received this past December 7^th, at the hands of the thugs now running our Niagara regional government.

I will be posting my own editorial on this grotesque and unconscionable violation of the constitutional rights of the media in our democracy in the hours ahead on Niagara At Large.

Stay Tuned.)

From the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office –

This December 14^th, 2017, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé informed the Regional Municipality of Niagara that he will conduct a formal investigation into an incident at a council meeting on December 7, when a journalist and a citizen blogger were reportedly asked to leave the premises and had their property seized.

Veteran St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Suachuck, at right, being ordered out of Niagara’s regional government headquarters after his notes and computer were seized. Photo by Emily Beth

(TORONTO – December 14, 2017) Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé today informed the Regional Municipality of Niagara that he will conduct a formal investigation into an incident at a council meeting on December 7, when a journalist and a citizen blogger were reportedly asked to leave the premises and had their property seized. Continue reading →

 Come Celebrate Ed Smith’s Court Victory Over the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority on Sunday, December 17th, 2-4 p.m., at Cats Caboose, 224 Glenridge Avenue, in                     St. Catharines/Niagara

A Call-Out to All of You and a Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

When an Ontario Court Judge recently dismissed the lawsuits that a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority dominated by board members sitting on Niagara’s regional council and that the NPCA’s former CAO and current Niagara Region CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against Ed Smith, it was not only a victory for Smith.

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. File photo by Doug Draper.

It was a victory for each and every one of us who cherish freedom of speech and the right of citizens in a democracy to ask questions and keep government bodies accountable to the people they are supposed to serve.

This coming Sunday, December 17^th, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Cats Caboose, a restaurant and tavern in a plaza at 223 Glenridge Avenue in south St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario, a citizens coalition called A Better Niagara will be hosting a celebration of Ed Smith’s November 23^rd Ontario Court victory over what, in the eyes of many members of the public and Smith’s lawyer, were SLAPPS – “strategic lawsuit against public participation.”

Ed Smith, a St. Catharines resident and community activist who is also a retired 25-year career officer in Canada’s Armed Forces, was slapped with the lawsuits a year ago, following a long list of questions and concerns he raised about the way the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has been hiring and firing people, awarding contracts to private parties and pursuing other matters with millions of our tax dollars – most of those dollars coming from municipal taxes collected across the Niagara region and parts of Hamilton and Haldimand that encompass a watershed under the NPCA’s jurisdiction.

Niagara citizens Ed Smith presses for answer at NPCA board meeting in 2016. File photo by Doug Draper

The questions and concerns Ed Smith was raising (and continues to raise) about this NPCA, with a board dominated by local mayors and regional councillors, and with another Niagara regional councillor, David Barrick, serving full-time as its director of corporate services, are the same or similar to ones being raised by thousands of other residents across the region, and by area MPPs and members of local municipal councils.

Little wonder then that so many Niagara residents and local and provincial politicians across the region saw these lawsuits as a totalitarian-like attempt by a government body to bully a citizen into silence, using lawyers paid for with our tax money. Little wonder, so many residents applauded St. Catharines city councillor Joe Kushner earlier this December, when he stood up at a council meeting and called the lawsuits “reprehensible.”

They were most certainly reprehensible, just as they – along with the disgusting, unlawful seizure of a St. Catharines Standard reporter’s computer and notebook at Niagara regional government headquarters this past December 7^th – are among the more blatant expressions of a totalitarian-like strain of incivility coursing through the veins of the current regional government chaired by Al Caslin.

So there is good reason to celebrate Ed Smith’s court case – and each and every one of you is invited to the Sunday afternoon party at Cats Caboose in  St. Catharines to do that – but there is a great deal of work left to do in the next year coming up to the October 2018 municipal elections to campaign for  “A Better Niagara” and make sure that we elect people to municipal government that serve we, the people, in a spirit of openness, fairness and democracy.

Here is an opportunity to meet people we can all work on that campaign for a better Niagara with.

Before I sign off here, let me leave you with two more things.

First, here are words – always worth repeating – from Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay’s November 23rd ruling on the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO filed against Ed Smith, who is identified as the defendant here –  

 “I share the defendant’s disappointment at his treatment by the Authority. A private citizen,” wrote the Judge, “he (Smith) raised questions about the governance of the authority. He was met with a public accusation of forgery and the threat of litigation from “his own government,” as he put it, together with a demand that he issue a written apology, undertake never again to publish “the document” which contained many things that are not said to be actionable, and reveal his sources. There are many places in the world where I might expect such a thing to happen, but not in our beloved Dominion.”

Finally, and once again, I am including a poster of currently elected mayors and regional councillors sitting on the NPCA’s board of directors and in one case – that of Port Colborne regional councillor – serves as a full-time administrator at the NPCA, who deserve to get the boot in next year’s municipal elections.

Make a note of their names and let’s work to find good people in our communities – and there are many good people in our communities – who can replace them on our regional and local councils.

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space below the Bernie quote.

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

“I ask of you – please take into consideration the joy, memories and history you will be taking away from future generations all because you decided greed was more important than the heritage and culture that make up our little town of Port Dalhousie.” – from a presentation made this past December 12th at a special meeting of St. Catharines City Coucil by 22-year-old                        Port Dalhousie resident Alexa Plato

A Presentation to St. Catharines City Council by Alexa Plato, posted here with her permission

Posted December 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – Alexa was one of many residents of Port Dalhousie/St. Catharines and surrounding communities to speak out at a special meeting of St. Catharines council this past December 12^th against yet another plan to build a high-rise condominium tower in the heart of Port Dalhousie’s heritage district.

Her remarks, coming from one of the more youthful voices in the large theatre at the FirstOntaro Performing Artis Centre where the meeting was held, received a hearty round of applause from the more than 200 people in attendance.

As a veteran journalist who has found myself attending too many meetings of Niagara regional council lately that have been disturbing and depressing to watch and listen to – to say the least – I found my spirits being lifted by the passion and intelligence that came across in words Alexa and so many others spoke this past December 12^th in support of saving what we have left of our great heritage places in this region. If we only had as many people now sitting on our municipal councils speaking with as much passion  and intelligence for what matters the most in our communities!

As I said to Alexa Plato following her presentation, we need people like her running for municipal government in Niagara – given what little we now have, we need them desperately!  … although, in Alexa’s case, she says she is soon heading off to medical school, which is a good thing too.

In the meantime, Niagara At Large is pleased to share her words here.)

From Alexa Plato –

“Port Dalhousie has been my home since the day I was born.

The iconic caurousel at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie, a beloved ride for generations of childrens and adults alike.

Growing up I spent most of my time in Port Dalhousie, going to the ice cream shop, riding the carousel for a nickel with my Nana, and getting some treats for my parents and I at the local candy store.

It is easy to say that I will be able to do all of this in the concrete conglomerate they are proposing but that would simply be missing the point. Continue reading →

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted December 13th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto— In the Queen’s Park Media Studio Ontario NDP Health Critic MPP France Gélinas was joined by Steven Barrett, Partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP and Sharon Richer, Secretary-Treasurer, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) this December 13^th to discuss the need for her upcoming legislation to protect workers who speak out against workplace violence and harassment. 

“Workers in Ontario hospitals have been clear that they want protection from workplace violence and their employers have ignored them. When they speak out about violence or harassment they are putting themselves at risk of reprisal from their employer. By including protections against reprisals in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, workers who speak out are protected,” Gélinas stated. Continue reading →

Trump-Appointed FCC Hacks Voted this December 14^th to Repeal  Consumer-Friendly Federal Internet Rules

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

Posted December 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Democratic Party Congressman Brian Higgins fights to save net neutrality rules that will impact U.S. internet users and may also hit Canadian users in the pocketbook.

(A Brief Forward Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – NAL is posting this news, circulated by the Congressman’s Buffalo office late this December 13^th because yes, it is reported by some experts on the Canadians side of the border, that this could end up hitting Canadian consumers of internet services in the pocket too. Whether the bill the Congressman is sponsoring will still do any good, given that the Trump administration has moved  this December 14^th to gut net neutrality remains to be seen. American news outlets are reporting that there will likely be court challenges to the Trump move.)

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is cosponsoring The Save Net Neutrality Act (H.R. 4585) a bill, introduced by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, prohibiting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from proceeding through the process of repealing Net Neutrality rules. Continue reading →

‘Patrick Brown and the (Ontario) Conservatives made it clear in their platform that Brown backs Wynne’s privatized hydro system and borrowing scheme, and would make no changes.’ – NDP

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted December 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park. Toronto — This past Wednesday,  December 13th, Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government blocked an NDP bill to ban pre-pay hydro meters in Ontario and protect families from having their electricity cut off if they don’t feed the meter.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath asked for unanimous consent to allow her bill banning pre-pay hydro meters to become law before the legislature breaks for the winter. Horwath introduced the Protecting Hydro Consumers Act (Prepayment Meters), 2017 on Dec. 11. Continue reading →

Latest Port Dalhousie Mega Tower Plan Should Be Spiked!

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Why is it that we can’t seem to have a heritage gem in Niagara – a last remaining remnant of nature called Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls or a historic urban community like Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines – without vandals swooping in with dollar signs in their eyes and a building plan that wreck the place?

If you don’t buy what I’m talking about, spend a little time in the main branch of the St. Catharines Standard scanning through old copies of the local daily newspaper where each week the paper carries a piece called ‘Yesterday & Today’, featuring photographs of how a place in or around the city looked many years ago and how it looks now.

The historic Port Mansion Hotel – located in an Ontario designated heritage district in the Port Dalhousie community of St. Catharines, was completely levelled to make way for a high-rise condo tower that was ultimately never built. Another another mega condo is being proposed. File photo by Doug Draper

I’m sure most of you would compare the photos, often of a grand old home or building surrounded by majestic gardens and trees, replaced years later with a glass and concrete box surrounded by asphalt, and react the same way I do – ‘Look at what a beautiful place this was before they took a wrecking ball to it to make way for what? Progress?’

Tragically, you could fill book shelves full of examples of this kind of wanton destruction of places that were jewels – some of them man-made and some natural great – across this Niagara region at the hands of greedy property speculators and politicians who lack the imagination and intelligence to direct growth and prosperity in our communities in ways that don’t destroy valuable pieces of our heritage.

Often, when people in the community rise in opposition to this kind of vandalism, our political leaders will respond with one of the most stupid lines of all – ‘If we don’t say ‘yes’ to this, we are sending out a message that St. Catharines or Niagara Falls or whatever other community the build or rebuild happens to be planned in, is not open for business’.

The aforementioned community of Port Dalhousie is a textbook case where a decades ago, a group of developers came forward with a gargantuan plan for a high-rise condo building right in the heart of what was a designated heritage district – a plan that was opposed by many in the community and supported by others, including politicians who, you guessed it, argued that giving the green light to this was a good way of sending a message to the world that Niagara is open for business. Continue reading →

A Statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the first day of Hanukkah

Posted December 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement this December 12th marking the first day of Hanukkah:

“At sunset this December 12th, Jewish communities in Canada and around the world welcomed the beginning of Hanukkah – one of the oldest traditions in the world. Continue reading →

Legislation Includes Rules and Policies for Governing Bodies like the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

“Communities across Ontario benefit from the efforts of our conservation authorities. This legislation gives conservation authorities the tools and flexibility needed to address climate change, deliver exceptional services to communities, and protect people and property.”
 — Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry

A News Release from Ontario’s Wynne Government

Posted December 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Overhauling the Land Use Planning Appeal System and Strengthening Conservation

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board chair and Fort Erie regional councillor Sandy Annunziata meets Ontario Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry earlier in 2017 at a conference in the province. So far, McGarry has demonstrated no concern in the face of numerous calls from Niagara area citizens, municipal politicians , union representatives and Niagara area MPP to act on their concerns and questions over how the NPCA is doing business with millions of our tax dollars.

Today (December 12^th, 2017), Ontario passed legislation that will give communities a stronger voice in land use planning and better preserve our natural environment.

The Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 will replace the Ontario Municipal Board with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, and help ensure that proceedings before the tribunal are faster, fairer and more affordable.

The new legislation will also create the free Local Planning Appeal Support Centre, which will provide people across the province with information about the land use planning appeal process, legal and planning advice, and, in certain cases, may provide legal representation in proceedings before the tribunal. Continue reading →

Gates is the MPP for Niagara, Ontario Riding of Niagara Falls

“We are looking forward to the rest of Niagara’s MPPs ( St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley and Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster) acknowledging the significance and importance of this undertaking,” – NPCA Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brickell

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted December 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

NPCA board chair Sandy Annunziata with Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates who is embracing NPCA’s tree planting pledge. NPCA photo

Welland, Ontario. (December 4, 2017)—The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is pleased to announce Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Wayne Gates, New Democratic Party (NDP), has committed his support in helping the NPCA plant one million trees, and three million native species throughout the Niagara watershed.

“One million trees is an ambitious goal and we can’t do it alone. Having our elected officials on board, recognizing the significance of these bold plans sends a strong message to our community partners,” said NPCA Board Chair Sandy Annunziata. Continue reading →

You Are Invited To A Talk by Award-Winning Author Michel Chossudovsky, Hosted Monday, December 18th by the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War

News from the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, a citizen activist group based in Hamilton, Ontario

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

We are at a dangerous crossroads. Miscalculation could lead to the unthinkable. What distinguishes the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis from today’s crisis is that Kennedy and Khrushchev were acutely aware of the dangers of nuclear annihilation. Trump is not.

“Mistakes” often determine the course of world history.

Come to Prof. Chossudovsky’s rare appearance in Hamilton to hear what you can do to stop this war. Continue reading →

An Invite to All from the Sierra Club’s   Climate and Clean Energy Writer’s Group of Western New York

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

1.The Climate and Clean Energy Writer’s Group will meet on Thursday, December 14th from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Crane Branch Library, 633 Elmwood at Highland Ave., 2nd Floor in Buffalo, New York. This month’s topic is on Sustainable Investing. Think about it… Are the savings you’ve invested (401k, IRA, etc.) supporting things you believe in or things you dread?

Come hear experts with vision explore how we can invest in a sustainable future. For 2018, you can make a plan to do well by doing good! Speakers include JD Hartman, Sister Jean Sliwinski, and John Stith. Invite your financial planner to attend! Continue reading →

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – How much of our municipal tax money did the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority spend in its unsuccessful attempt to sue St. Catharines community activist and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith?

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. Now St. Catharines city council wants to know how much those failed lawsuits cost area tax payers.

St. Catharines’ city councilors passed a motion at their December 11th council meeting demanding to know.

It is a question that Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority  (NPCA) administrators and board members have so far refused to answer since this past November 23rd  when Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay dismissed defamation suits filed against Smith by the NPCA and its former CAO and now CAO for Niagara’s regional government, Carmen D’Angelo. 

The motion, tabled by veteran St. Catharines city councillor Joe Kushner, calls on the NPCA’s board – a majority of who are made up of Niagara area mayors and directly elected regional councillors appointed to it by the regional government’s Al Caslin administration – to “disclose the total amounts spent on the lawsuits.”

Before his motion was passed this December 11th, Kushner argued that current operations at the NPCA continue “to be problematic” and he called the whole idea of a public body like the Conservation Authority suing a Niagara citizen “reprehensible.” Continue reading →

Brock University-led study confirms link between the number of older brothers and increased odds of being gay, and demonstrates the effect is womb-based

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted December 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Groundbreaking research led by a team from Brock University has further confirmed that sexual orientation for men is likely determined in the womb.

Brock University health sciences researcher Tony Bogaert

In the first-ever laboratory study of mothers of gay men, the research was prompted by more than two decades of statistical data examining the ‘older brother effect’ which shows that biological older brothers — but not older sisters — increase the odds of homosexuality in later-born males.

The study, “Male Homosexuality and Maternal Immune Responsivity to the Y-Linked Protein NLGN4Y,” was published Monday, Dec. 11 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Continue reading →

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

“I had a call from the NPCA              (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) telling me that I wasn’t welcome to attend their kickoff party to talk about their $1-million tree planting —  I wasn’t welcome; it was only for friends and family, of which I was neither — and I wasn’t welcome to attend, even  though the event was being paid for on the taxpayers’  dime..”                                                         – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Veteran Ontario Liberal Party MPP for St. Catharines, Jim Bradley

“What essentially what essentially has happened is that people who are pro-development have been taking over the leadership of the Authority (NPCA), and those who are more environmentally inclined have been given the pink slip to head out the door, and have been silenced as well with agreements that compel them not to say anything about it.”                                                                         – St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

More Statements in the Ontario Legislature from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster and St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

Posted December 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large Continue reading →

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Veteran St. Catharines city councilor Joe Kushner wants transparency from NPCA on court costs in failed lawsuit against Niagara citizen

Niagara, Ontario – Veteran St. Catharines city councilor Joe Kushner is tabling a motion for his council’s consideration that demands to know what the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and its band of administrators and regionally appointed board members are so far refusing to tell us – How much of our tax money was spent on its failed defamation suits against St. Catharines community activist and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith?

Kushner’s motion, to be tabled at St. Catharines’ meeting of city council this Monday, December 11th (available to watch on Cogeco Cable 10 or online beginning at 6p.m., calls for nothing less than disclosure of “the total amounts spent on the lawsuits,” on the grounds that municipal tax dollars are used to fund the annual multi-million-dollar budget of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). Continue reading →

A second community vigil in honour of Al-Hasnawi will be held at Hamilton City Hall Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.

 News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted December 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The mother of slain Brock student Yosif Al-Hasnawi fought back tears and spoke in a hushed voice about her first-born son, as 150 people stood silently listening at a vigil at Brock University on Friday afternoon.

“Yosif had a beautiful soul,” said Amal Alzurufi, “and a smile that would light up any room. His smile was contagious. If he was smiling, you were smiling.

The mother of Yosif Al-Hasnawi, Amal Alzurufi, addressed the crowd alongside her sons Mahdi al-Hasnawi, left, and Ahmed al-Hasnawi, right, during a vigil at Brock University Friday

“He was a bright young man with dreams of becoming a doctor, he hoped one day to make a difference in the world.” Continue reading →

“The actions of Niagara Regional Council members and police are an outrageous assault on media rights, and evidence of a disturbing disregard for the role of the press in a democracy.”

A Statement from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression on the Niagara Regional Government’s Assault on the Rights of the News Media

Re-Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

CJFE is deeply concerned by an incident in the Niagara Regional Council meeting in which city clerk Frank Fabiano seized notes and a computer belonging to St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk, allegedly on the orders of Chief Administrative Officer Carmen D’Angelo.

Niagara regional council in session. File photo by Doug Draper

Sawchuk regularly covers meetings and was in attendance when a regular session was moved in-camera to discuss a code of conduct violation by  Coun. Andy Petrowski. After leaving the chamber, Sawchuk was notified by staff that he was suspected of surreptitiously recording the closed session with his laptop and that his device and notes were being seized.

After the seizure of his device, the reporter was ordered to leave the city hall building and threatened with police action if he failed to comply.  After repeated inquiries by the Standard and their legal counsel, the laptop was eventually retrieved from the staff member’s office and returned.

The actions of Niagara Regional Council members and police are an outrageous assault on media rights, and evidence of a disturbing disregard for the role of the press in a democracy.

A reporter’s notes, sources and electronic devices should never be seized or searched except through enforcement of a court order, and only then under most narrow and rigorously scrutinized circumstances.

It remains unclear under what authority the Region believed it was authorized to seize the belongings of a journalist. Canada dropped to 22nd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 World Press Freedom Index.

CJFE calls on Mr. Fabiano and Mr. D’Angelo to provide an immediate and unconditional apology to Mr. Sawchuk.

We furthermore support MPP Cindy Forster’s request to Minister of Municipal Affairs to immediately investigate this attack on press freedom, and if necessary recommend policies to better protect the rights of media workers covering Niagara Regional Council.

About Canadian Journalists for Free Expression – Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world.

Our vision – To achieve universal respect for and protection of the right to free expression and access to information.

Our mission – CJFE monitors, defends and reports on free expression and access to information in Canada and abroad. Rooted in the field of journalism, we promote a free media as essential to a fair and open society. CJFE boldly champions the free expression rights of all people, and encourages and supports individuals and groups in the protection of their own and others’ free expression rights.

For more about the CJFE, visit its website at – http://www.cjfe.org/about-us .

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 “A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

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

Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

Niagara, Ontario – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster has called on Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro and the province’s Office of the Ombudsman to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surround the Niagara regional government’s seizure of notes and a lap-top computer belonging to a St. Catharines Standard reporter before ordering the reporter out of the regional headquarters this December 7^th. .

“Ms. Forster is asking the Minister of Municipal Affairs to investigate this unwarranted attack on the press by the Regional Municipality of Niagara last night,” says a statement emailed to Niagara At Large in the wake of the incident involving Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk. Continue reading →