Author Archives: dougdraper

A Call-Out from the Niagara Health Coalition, a chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition

Posted November 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large             

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins promised to keep the hospital in Welland, Niagara open. Let’s make sure it is! 　

Raise your voice to make sure the Welland Hopsital site stays open

One Voice working together to save our hospitals services and urgent care centre.

Hear reports from our local politicians, Save Welland Hospital, the Niagara and Ontario Health Coalitions.

Give us your input and help plan our next steps to maintain and enhance our health services in South Niagara.

Town Halls –

Wainfleet: Thursday, November 16 , 7 pm, Wainfleet Fire Hall,31907 Park St., Wainfleet Continue reading →

“This is a challenging time for everyone, but particularly for students. … They deserve our support.”

News from Ontario’s Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews

Posted November 13th

Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development has issued the following statement:

Since the strike began, I have been clear that my focus is on students and their learning. I have had the opportunity to meet with a number of student leaders and their provincial associations. I have heard from them about hardships students are experiencing as a result of this strike. Students have been in the middle of this strike for too long and it’s just not fair.

While every student’s situation is unique, all students are struggling with continued uncertainty. They are worried about how to pay for unexpected costs like additional rent or canceling long-standing travel plans to be home with family. They’ve told me they are stressed about when they will be able to complete their studies or if there will be any extra help when classes finally resume.

That is why I am requiring that colleges establish a dedicated fund with all the savings from the strike.

The fund will be used to support students who have experienced financial hardships as a result of the strike. I will work with students and colleges starting immediately to develop the parameters of the fund. We need to work out the details together and we will do it quickly.

I have just spoken with student leadership from the College Student Alliance and have asked them for their advice and for feedback from their membership. I’m looking for the best ideas about how to make sure this reinvestment directly benefits students who have faced hardship.

This is a challenging time for everyone, but particularly for students. So, in the coming days, I look forward to working directly with student leaders and colleges on how we can lessen the impact of the strike on students. They deserve our support.

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 binational 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

Who Will Stop The Next War? Who Will Start It?

Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

November 11^th, 2017, one day after the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendale that snutted out thousands of young lives on all sides in a  ‘War to End All Wars’ that slaughtered more than nine millon.

“The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don’t count the dead
When God’s on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I’ve learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war comes
It’s them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God’s on your side.

In a many dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war.”

Who will stop the next war?”

– Lyrics from Bob  Dylan’s song, ‘With God On Our Side’

Who will start it? Maybe this man, with his “deplorables” cheering him on as he takes them, and the rest of us, to their great reward – with God on their side.

For more on the horrible destruction in lives that wars take, here are some links to click on –

Link for Sunday Edition piece below – http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-october-29-2017-1.4374949/the-world-remembers-honours-the-dead-of-world-war-one-1.4374963

The World  Remembers site click on – http://www.theworldremembers.org/

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 binational 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

By Doug Draper

Posted November 10^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – A former Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority employee – sued by the NPCA this September for allegedly breaking an agreement she signed when she left the body a year ago not to “disparage” it in any way – is fighting back with a lawsuit of her own.

According to a “Statement of  Defence and obtained by Niagara At Large and filed on her  behalf in an Ontario Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines  this November 7^th, Jocelyn Baker, who was employed at the NPCA for more than 23 years before being terminated in November 2016, is taking the Conservation Authority to court for $200,000 in damages for allegedly defaming her, $200,000 in damages for alleged breach of contract, and additional “punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages to be determined by the court.”

The NPCA board of directors during a session earlier this 2017

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, which earlier this year launched a defamation suit against Niagara, Ontario community activist and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith, sued Baker this past September$164,000 after Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster read an email she sent her in the Ontario legislature as part of a call the MPP was making to the provincial government for more transparency and accountability at the NPCA, and a thorough, independent audit of its operations.

One of the many signs citizen protests have commonly been holding up outside of NPCA meetings. File photo by Doug Draper

In the email to Forster, Baker raised concerns about allegations of ongoing cases of workplace harassment at the NPCA. Baker charged in the email that while still working at the NPCA, she “personally experienced and supervised employees who regularly experienced workplace violence, harassment (sexual, gender and family status), unwanted comment, conduct, and behaviour, including bullying. All of this behaviour by members of senior management.” Continue reading →

“I am committed to stable hospital funding that, at a minimum, matches the rate of inflation plus population growth, and that meets the unique needs of each community.” – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

News from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted November 10^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath issued the following statement regarding the Patient Ombudsman’s report, released today:

“Ontario’s first Patient Ombudsman report gives us a hint about the systemic issues that are plaguing health care in Ontario and impacting patients.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

During their 14 years in power, the Liberals have amassed a wait list for seniors care that’s more than 32,000-people long. We have sick people in this province being treated in hospital hallways, shower rooms and lounges. The gridlock in our hospitals is causing long waits and confusion over discharges – and that’s evident in the Ombudsman’s report, which reported discharges, alternate level of care and homecare services concerns more than any others.

The last Conservative government cut 6,000 nurses, closed 28 hospitals and slashed 7,000 hospital beds.  The Wynne Liberals let us down with further cuts and years of budget freezes – including short-changing hospitals by $300 million in this year’s budget alone. Continue reading →

How Much More Of This Dangerous Screwball Can The World Take? Is There Still A Future To Believe In?

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted November 9th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

One year ago this January 10^th, people around the world – at least those of us who couldn’t make it until the wee small hours when Hillary Clinton finally made her consession – to the stunning news that America’s 21^st Century answer to a P.T. Barnum pitchman on steroids won the keys to the Oval Office and one of the world’s most powerful offices.

Elmwood Village, near a polling station in Buffalo, New York on January 8th, 2017, in the hours before the stunning news that Trump won. File photo by Doug Draper

The day before – election day – I crossed the border to Buffalo to visit friends and take in the atmosphere as people lined up at the polls, and a few moments from that day may stay with me for years to come.

The first was a visit to Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo where a group of family members and friends were gathered inside a mausoleum at the final resting place of Shirley Chisholm – a U.S. Congresswoman who, in 1972, became the first Afro-American woman to run for President – to pay tribute to her historic run before going home to witness what they hoped would be the election of the first woman president of the United States.

A group of family and friends gather at the final resting place in Buffalo, New york of U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chosholm, who was the first Afro Americaan woman to run for U.S. president in 1972. It was election day 2017 and this group went home hoping to celebrate the electon of the first woman to the U.S. presidency. Before sunrise the following morning, the hope had died. File photo by Doug Draper

They were already in a celebratory mood when they asked me to take a picture of them with Shirley Chisholm’s name chiselled in the marble above. Beside Chisholm’s name were the words ‘Unbought and Unbossed’, her campaign slogan which reminded me of one of my favourite Bernie Sander’s slogans from his 2016 insurgency run for the presidency – ‘Billioniaires Can’t Buy Bernie’. Continue reading →

‘The biggest reasons for the population decline are the destruction of bee habitat, the increased use of pesticides and the impacts of climate change.’

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted November 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Restore it and they will come. But they won’t stay for long if conditions are not right.

This is what Brock University bee expert Miriam Richards and her research team found in their recently published study of bee populations living in a landfill-turned-nature park in St. Catharines.

Brock University Biology Professor Miriam Richards examines bees collected at the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization site in St. Catharines. Photo court3esy of Brock University

In 2003, when a former landfill located near the University reopened to the public as the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization site, the professor of biology and her team set up 30 bee traps for their study. Continue reading →

Featuring Niagara Community Activist Ed Smith as Keynote Speaker

Posted November 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Tickets $25.

Contact:Angie Desmarais 905-835-5021

WHEN

Friday, November 10th, 5:30 p.m. cocktails, 6:30pm dinner thru to  9:30pm

WHERE

Brebeuf Hall
300 Killaly Street East
Port Colborne, Ontario L3K 1N9
Google map and directions

For an earlier news commentary Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper posted on this fundraiser and the reason Niagara At Large is supporting it, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/11/07/you-are-invited-to-a-fundraiser-friday-november-10th-2017-for-cindy-forster-the-niagara-centre-ndp/ .

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 binational 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

“Don’t tell me that corporate Americans are the job creators.  The American people are the job creators.  The record will show clearly that when there are high wages, there is high demand.  And when there is high demand in the economy, there is high growth in the economy.” – Congressman Brian Higgins

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

Posted November 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Those of us on the Ontario side of the Canada-U.S. border should be pressing our politicians to take the same position Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins is taking here when it comes to corporate tax cuts and automatically branding all corporations as “job creators.”)

Buffalo, New York area Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins

Buffalo, New York – U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), Vice Ranking Member of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, has introduced an amendment to the GOP tax bill to put in writing the $4,000 boost guaranteed to American workers by the backers of the bill.

Higgins’ amendment is based on the promise by Republicans that the $1.5 trillion reduction in the corporate tax rate proposed in the GOP tax bill will lead the average American family to receive a $4,000 raise.  Under the Higgins amendment, if wages do not increase consistent with the promises made, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, then the lower corporate rate would not be allowed to go into effect.

During his introduction of the amendment, Higgins said, in part, “The White House Council of Economic Advisors issued a report arguing that the $1.5 trillion corporate tax cut will accrue to the benefit of middle Americans – they actually said this, ‘that cutting the corporate rate from 35% to 20% will get an annual increase for every American of between $4,000 and $9,000 a year once fully into effect.’  Continue reading →

“One of the lessons learned from the current opioid crisis is that we need good research to clearly identify the appropriate use of medicinal cannabis and to limit potential harm.”

News from McMaster University

Posted November 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Hamilton, Ontario – Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Canada since 2001, but there is still little research proving its effectiveness. A new research centre has been launched by McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton to address the issue.

The multidisciplinary Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) will focus on conducting research, sharing evidence-based information and creating a network of professionals interested in further understanding medicinal cannabis.

The e leaders of this initiative, from left to right, James MacKillop and Jason Busse and medical advisor, Dr. Ramesh Zacharias. Photo courtesy of McMaster University

Leading this initiative are co-directors James MacKillop and Jason Busse and medical advisor, Dr. Ramesh Zacharias.

MacKillop is a professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, and director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Busse is an associate professor of anesthesia for McMaster’s medical school and a researcher for the Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre. Zacharias is a pain specialist, medical director of the Michael G. DeGroote Pain Clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences and assistant chief coroner for Ontario. Continue reading →

It Might Just Do More To Infuriate People.      Why Not Change the Site Location for the Development Project Instead?

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted November 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

It has become a common tactic for trying to keep alive a product or plan that has taken on so much baggage by way of opposition and negative publicity that its fate may be in jeopardy – change its name.

Thus we had the blue-eyed sheiks in Alberta change the name of the tar sands to “the oil sands” and, more recently, to “oil patch” which almost makes it sound as innocuous as skipping though a raspberry or blueberry patch, doesn’t it?

A garbage dump became a “landfill” and then, just to take little more of the sting out of it for people who don’t want a dump near their backyard, names like “secure landfill” or “sanitary landfill” are sometimes used.

Two airplanes colliding in midair is called a “near miss,” a grade school student who used to be called a slow learner is now sometimes referred to as marginally exceptional, and he or she are no longer called a loser if they come in last at something. Better to call them “the last winner.”

So it makes perfect sense to change an urban development plan for portions of the close to 500 acres of woodlands, wetlands and wild grasses that make up the Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario – especially when that plan has drawn such a weighty archive of stories about the public opposition to it – from Thundering Waters to the “Riverfront Community Master Plan.”

A number of young people in Niagara camped out for a week this summer in Thundering Waters Forest to draw more attention to plans they oppose to urbanize parts of it.

Word of the name change began circulating across the region through a recent message the City of Niagara Falls’ Planning, Building and Development Department sent to members of the city’s municipal council. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 7^th, 2017

‘There’s a lover in the story
But the story’s still the same
There’s a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it’s written in the scriptures
And it’s not some idle claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame’

–         From one of Leonard Cohen’s last recorded songs from 2016, ‘You Want It Darker

A whole year has passed since Leonard Cohen left this world for some other mysterious place that may not be as bathed in sunshine and luminous blue skies as some would have us believe. It may, as Leonard imagined in one of his last songs, be darker.

Leonard Cohen died on November 7^th, 2016 and as a tribute to him, an amazing cast of artists, from Elvis Costello and K.D. Lang to Lana Del Ray, Ron Sexsmith and Sting, gathered in Montreal this November 6^th for a concert celebrating his life and brilliant library of poetry and songs. Continue reading →

“A renowned international scholar, an award winning teacher, an engaged citizen of the community and the world, and a warm and generous spirit.”

Some Sad News from Brock University

Posted November 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Brock Professor Zopito Marini

Niagara, Ontario – Brock University is in mourning after the passing of Professor Zopito Marini, a beloved teacher and academic colleague who died suddenly while travelling overseas on Oct. 23 in his hometown of Montebello di Bertona, Italy.

A prolific researcher who was so popular with students that The Student’s Guide to Canadian Universities listed him as one of Brock’s favourite professors, Marini won numerous awards for teaching excellence during his career. He was also a recognized international expert in sociocognitive development, writing and lecturing on such issues as family and school conflicts, bullying and victimization. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Falls constituency off of Wayne Gates

 Posted November 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Niagara, Ontario – This November 7^th, Wayne Gates, MPP for Niagara Falls, partnered with Insurance Bureau of Canada to donate carbon monoxide alarms for the homes of Niagara Falls residents and to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates“I’m happy to partner with the Niagara Falls Fire Department and the Insurance Bureau of Canada to distribute these CO alarms and raise awareness about the issue of carbon monoxide in homes,” said Gates. “Now people in the community can call our friends at the Niagara Falls Fire Department and receive a CO alarm free of charge.” Continue reading →

Fundraiser Will Feature Key Note Speaker &          Niagara Citizen Activist extraordinaire Ed Smith

A Few Brief Words on this Event from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

When Niagara At Large was emailed the information for this Cindy Forster fundraiser a few weeks, back the person who sent it followed up with a phone call and said to me; “We know you are a journalist and you can’t get tied into partisan politics, so we’ll understand if you don’t want to post this.”

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

So let me start this by making one thing crystal clear to those out there who will inevitably say something like this about my running this post – ‘Some journalist he is. You see he’s got partisan ties – probably hides a membership card for the New Democratic Party in his back pocket.”

Writing someone off as an “ideologue “or a “special interest” or a “partisan taking political shots” has become one of the more common tactic that the scoundrels among us use these days in an effort to divert attention away from their deeds and discredit their critics – and it doesn’t work with me!

I am not now and never have been a member of any political party and to paraphrase one of my favourite philosophers, the one and only Groucho Marx, I would never want to join any political party that would have a person like me as a member. Continue reading →

What Will Any New Trade Deals Do To What’s Left Of Decent Jobs in Canada and the U.S. This Time?

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper, followed by a short video presentation with a message that should give us all cause for concern

Posted November 6th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

They’re off to lands of cheap labour and weak environmental and labour rules, trolling for new trade deals. What will that mean for the rest of us this time?

As Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the United States of America’s President Donald Trump separately, but simultaneously spend the days ahead, trolling around the Far East for new trade deals, there is something everyday people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border should keep in mind.

With the possible exception of Japan, both men are dealing with countries that pay their workers peanuts and allow industries to operate in zones of weak environmental and labour protection regulations, so if past trade pacts our leaders have signed with counties that host sweat shops are any example, we have every reason to be concerned about any deal that might sell us down the river this  time. Continue reading →

“The democratic freedoms that so many of us might take for granted – the freedom to express ourselves, to participate in cultural, religious, and political activities, to come and go as we please, to associate with whom we please, and to pursue a safe and happy life – are all due to the sacrifices of Veterans and those who serve today. …Let us be thankful. Let us never forget.”

A Column from Dave Augustyn, Mayor of Pelham in Niagara, Ontario

Posted November 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Remembrance Day services at Old Pelham Town Hall in Ridgeville

Niagara, Ontario – The weather this past Sunday, November 5^th  was mostly dreadful. The leaves on the ground and the chill in the air reminded us that Autumn was upon us.

But the rain – at times nearly torrential – reminded us of what soldiers endured in the trenches in far-away lands.

And yet, Pelham residents took time to gather with members of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Ladies Auxiliary, the 613 Army Cadets, the Pelham Fire Service, and others at the Cenotaphs at Centennial Park, Old Town Hall, and Peace Park and during a special church service at Fonthill United to commemorate and remember the sacrifices of Pelham’s Veterans.

Each Remembrance Day it is right to remember those brave men and women who have served, and who continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict, and peace. Continue reading →

Ontario Health Coalition Calls on Provincial Government to Provide More Details on its Future Plans for Home Care Services

News from the Ontario Health Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan citizens advocacy group for quality public health care

Posted November 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – A leaked presentation from the Ministry of Health revealed by CBC this November 6^th indicates that the government is planning some sort of public home care agency for personal support work in the home.

The Ontario Health Coalition has been advocating for public home care since the 1990s and reacted with cautious optimism to the news.

“The devil is in the details,” said Ross Sutherland, R.N., M.A., chairperson of the Ontario Health Coalition. “If the government is planning public home care, this is great news. If they are planning to somehow have a public agency compete with the private corporations in home care, it will not help.” Continue reading →

“The creation of a strong, accountable, and multi-party committee of dedicated parliamentarians will help us ensure that our national security agencies continue to keep Canadians safe in a way that also safeguards our values, rights, and freedoms.” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

News from the Office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted November 6th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadians have been clear that they want – and need – our national security and intelligence communities to continue to be responsible and fully respect the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all citizens.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin TrudeauThat is why the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the establishment of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, a multi-party committee that includes representatives from both the House of Commons and the Senate. Continue reading →

It’s Looking Like Nothing Will Be Done About the Massive Arsenal of  Weapons that Plays Such a Big Hand these  Tragedies, So Look Forward to the Next One.

A  News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted November 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“Happiness is a warm gun, bang, bang, shoot, shoot.” – lyrics by former Beatle John Lennon, who was murdered outside his New York City home by a deranged man with a gun in December of 1980.

So here we are again.

Rick Perry, then Governor of Texas, doing a Wild West shootin’ thing as he bills himself as a “second amendment candidate’ while running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2011-12. He is now serving as Trump’s Secretary of Energy

It was just a little over a month  ago (this past October 1^st) in Las Vegas, that a home-grown citizen of the United States bullet drilled 58 people to death and wounded more than five hundred others in what is on record, for the moment, as the worst mass shooting in America – and now this past Sunday, November 6^th, we have what CNN headlined in the hours after it happened and witnesses said they could still smell the scent on spilled blood in the air, as America’s “worst mass shooting in a place of worship.”

The total death count as of this posting of 26 men, women and children – the youngest victim was one and a half years old – in a Baptist Church in small-town Texas, all at the hands of a 26-year-old, American-born, ex-U.S. Air Force service man who, despite what authorities have already revealed, had a shopping list of behaviour problems that, among other things, got him dishonourably discharged from a Navy desperate for recruits, still managed to get his hands on assault-style weapons and enough ammunition mow down an army. Continue reading →

Province Focused on Supporting Job Creation and Helping People Get Ahead

“Ontario is supporting a positive environment where employers are creating good jobs and the province’s talented workforce is supplying them.” – Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Growth

Ontario’s Unemployment Rate for October 2017 was 5.9 Per Cent – .4 Per Cent Below The National Average. The Unemployement Rate for St. Catharines-Niagara During The Same Period Was 8.1. Per Cent – Almost 3 Per Cent Above The National Average

A News Release from Ontario’s Liberal Government

Posted November 3^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Employment in Ontario increased by 5,200 jobs in October, the fourth straight month of job gains.

Employment in Ontario is up by 149,200 jobs, year over year. The province’s unemployment rate has been below the national average for 31 consecutive months.

According to the 2017-18 First Quarter Finances, Ontario is on track to balance the budget this year while making investments in the programs and services people and their families rely on most. Continue reading →

A News Commentary posted November 3^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“It is irrefutable that overcrowded emergency departments lead to higher rates of patient mortality,” reads an excerpt from a news release circulated this November 1st by the citizens-based health care advocacy group called the Ontario Health Coalition and posted this November 2nd on Niagara At Large. “Yet the majority of Ontario’s hospitals are routinely running at more than 85 percent capacity almost all the time and many are running at 100 – 120 percent or even higher.”

This is a news release that was responded to with  commentary sent Niagara At Large’s way from Linda McKellar – a Niagara, Ontario resident and retired nurse who  has also been a vocal advocate for quality, public health care services in Niagara – and as much as it is already featured below the Ontario Health Coalition post on our site, Niagara At Large believes it has things to say that are important enough to post it again here.

Lines of hospital patients crowding the halls

The over-riding point in McKellar’s commentary is that the overcrowding problem in  hospitals here in Niagara and across Ontario is hardly new.

It is a problem that has been there and has been building to crisis proportions – all the while waiting for some government in the province to exercise the will and effort to fix – for far too long now.

Here now is the Commentary by Linda McKellar –

This is not a new situation. I have been retired for almost eight years and it went on for at least a decade prior to that.

There is no privacy… so cool trying to move your bowels on a bedpan in a hallway. Not really too pleasant for your neighbours either, especially when they are already sick. Continue reading →

Congressman Brian Higgins Lays Out Impact on Western New York

Posted November 3^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York – (Democratic Party) Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), Vice Ranking Member on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee tasked with tax policy oversight, responded to the release of the Republican Tax Reform Plan with remarks on the House Floor:

“The Tax Policy Center, the Wharton School and virtually every rational economist have reviewed the House Republican tax cut plan and the results are clear: no new good economic growth, big debt and deficit, and big tax cuts for corporations and very rich Americans. 

“Three million wealthy Americans will get a tax cut next year of $220,000.  Two-hundred and fifty million not rich Americans will get a tax cut of $221. 

“If you make $730,000 your income next year, your income will increase by 8 ½%.  If you make $150,000, it will increase by 1%. Continue reading →

Province’s Minister of Children and Youth Services Rolls Out a New Digital Platform for Young People to Participate in Government Decision-Making

“YouthVoiceON delivers on our commitment to listen to youth voices and mobilize their energy and interest in influencing policy decisions that affect them. I encourage youth to start using the tool today and participate in a vital conversation that will help shape public policy and improve their futures.” – Michael Coteau,  Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services

A Call-Out to Ontario’s Young People from the Province’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services

Ontario Minister Michael Coteau recently meeting with young people at the launch of the new digital platform for youth to engage in public decision-making. Photo courtesy of Ontario Government

Posted November 3^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario is giving young people across the province more opportunity to voice the issues that matter the most to them.

Michael Coteau, Minister of Children and Youth Services, and Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Digital Government, were at the WE Global Learning Centre in Toronto today to launch YouthVoiceON, a new online platform that will make it easier for youth in Ontario, ages 14 to 29, to talk directly with government about policy development. Continue reading →

Featuring a Screening of the Documentary film ‘Positive Women; Exposing Injustice’ and Guest Speaker Cecile Kazatchkine, Canadian HIV/Aids Legal Network

An Invite to All from the Niagara District Council of Women and Positive Living Niagara

Posted November 3^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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 binational 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

“It is irrefutable that overcrowded emergency departments lead to higher rates of patient mortality. Yet the majority of Ontario’s hospitals are routinely running at more than 85 percent capacity almost all the time and many are running at 100 – 120 percent or even higher.”

News about Ontario’s hospitals from Natalie Mehra and the Ontario Health Coalition

Posted November 2^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – A memo obtained by the NDP, released in the media late this October, reveals that more than 4,300 patients stayed on stretchers in hospital corridors and the like for significant lengths of time, often waiting 40 – 70 hours for a bed, as the Brampton Civic hospital grappled with “Code Gridlock” for 65 days this year. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Ontario hospitals in every medium-to-large sized town in Ontario report that they are full, often running at dangerous levels of overcrowding amounting to 100 percent capacity (every single bed full at all times) or even higher.

Lines of hospital patients crowding the halls

There is an almost-total consensus among governments and health policy leaders internationally that levels of crowding exceeding 85 percent capacity lead to bottlenecks and blocked emergency departments, take ambulances off the road in offload delays, increase incidence of hospital-acquired infections, increase violence, and lead to inadequate care. Continue reading →

Requirements were approved after fatal 2009 jet crash outside of Buffalo, New York

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

Posted November 2^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – If you wonder if this news about the U.S. Trump administration’s efforts to weaken requirements for commercial air pilot training – requirements that were approved after a commercial jet crashed in the Erie County, New York Town of Clarence , killing 50 people, just a few minutes before it was scheduled to land at the Buffalo Airport in the winter of 2009, just ask yourself how many of you or your loved ones on both sides of the U.S./Canada board use American airlines?

The broken and mangled remains of Flight 3407 in Clarence, New York, a few minutes flight away from the Buffalo Airport where it would have landed, in the winter of 2009

Now ask yourselves if you believe that for the safety of all who fly, the proper training of pilots should take priority over higher profit margins for commercial airline corporation owners and their shareholders?

The Trump administration is actually now moving to weaken pilot training requirements that are so obviously necessary in light of the gross flight crew errors that resulted in that terrible Clarence, New York jet crash going on nine years ago.

Now wonder Trump and his billionaire cronies prefer to fly on their own privately owned jets..

A memorial near the place where the commercial jet crashed, killing all 50 people aboard

Now here is Buffalo area Congressman Brian Higgins’ news release on this issue.)

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) took to the Floor of the House of Representatives to object to ongoing efforts to undermine flight safety provisions achieved through the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010.  The fate of the rules are being debated within the context of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization, set to expire in March 2018. Continue reading →

“The larger issues not discussed concern the tax masquerade system that aids the already wealthy created by the Liberals and Conservatives over many years.”

A Commentary by veteran Canadian journalist Nick Fillmore

Posted November 2nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The so-called “Morneau Scandal” has been a farce in many ways, with mainstream media failing to recognize the real scandal plaguing the government’s financial control system.

First, the tempest in a teapot. While he wasn’t legally required to do so, Finance Minister Bill Morneau made the mistake of not putting his financial holdings, which may run to $40-million, into a blind trust.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau speaks to members of the media as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on at a press conference on tax reforms in Stouffville, Ont., on Monday, October 16, 2017.

The office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner  didn’t object to the fact that Morneau didn’t put his fortune in a blind trust.

Nevertheless, the jackals saw an opportunity to embarrass and possibly bring down the Trudeau government’s Number 2 man. Continue reading →

Hopefully, this is good news for Ontario’s college students and those teachers, precariously employed and poorly paid through contract that can be cancelled any time and without notice – Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

A Brief Statement from the Ontario Labour Ministry, issued over the noon hour on Wednesday, November 1^st

Posted November 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Ministry of Labour mediator has called the parties in the ongoing college teacher’s labour dispute back to the bargaining table. The parties will be returning to the table November 2, 2017.

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

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

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

The Cyberbully In The White House Takes To Twitter And Offers Something Else

A Statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on terrorist attack in New York City, followed by a Footnote on Trump’s deplorable response to this from NAL reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s  Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement  this Tuesday, October 31st, regarding the terrorist attack earlier that day in New York City:

Mangled bicycles on a trail in New York City where an attacker in a truck mowed people down, killing at least eight.

“I am deeply grieved to hear of today’s terrorist attack in New York City. Canadians join me in offering our sincere condolences to those mourning the loss of family members and friends. We also send our wishes for a full recovery to those who were injured.

“New York is known for its resilience and strength, and we know that New Yorkers will stand together as they always have in the face of difficult situations.

“Tonight, we offer our prayers and thoughts to our neighbours in the United States. We are with you, as always, as friends and allies.”

A Footnote from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

As someone with a number of dear friends in the New York City area, I echo Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s words, and regardless of what you think of the current Canadian Prime Minister, contrast his response to this tragedy with Trump’s.

Here is Trump wh, for days on end this past September, following the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, committed by a life=long American citizen in Las Vegas, said it was no time to talk about politics and policy around the easy access to hardware that can make a semi-automatic, assault style rifle operate like a rapid-firing, machine gun killing machine.

And why was that no time to talk politics and policy? Because Trump has his small hands stuck firmly up the sphincter of one of the most dangerous domestic terrorist groups in his country – a National Rifle Association (NRA) whose main mission it is to traffic in weapons of mass destruction. That’s why

Yet, within 18 hours of this latest tragedy in New York, Trump sent out no fewer than three tweets to the basket of deplorables that make up his base, blaming Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate from New York, for allegedly approving a visa program some years back that Trump claims makes it easier for individuals like the one arrested for the New York attack in to the country.

Trump holds up an assault style weapon to gin up the deplorables in his base

In Las Vegas this past September, 58 were murdered and more than five hundred were wounded by military calibre weapons operated by an American-born killer, and to this day, Trump has said nothing about policies that make it easy for people to purchase killing machines like this, and he hasn’t even gone so far as to say no to a bill, tabled by Republican congressional reps and sponsored by the NRA, to legalize the sale of silencers for these weapons.

In New York City, this October 31st, eight were killed and 12 others were injured, reportedly by a 29-year-old man born in the Middle East and radicalized over the internet, and Trump could hardly wait to tweet out messages blaming one of his Democratic critics and immigration policies he claims are conveyer belt for letting Islamic terrorists in to the country.

During a news conference convened hours after the New York attack, the state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo said, in so many words, that at a time like this people across the country and at all levels of government have to come together and support each other, not become divided, because if that happens, the terrorists win.

So what does the orange hair idiot dot but send out poisonous tweets that advance the cause of the terrorists. And the basket of deplorables he claims would support him if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, just keep cheering him on.

Hopefully, a majority of Americans will unite in getting rid of this guy.

• Doug Draper

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 binational 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

If the (Ontario Liberal government’s) legislation isn’t changed now before the law is passed, a loophole will exist that employers could exploit to continue to pay part-time, casual and temporary workers less—a move that disproportionately will impact women in this province.” – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party and Welland Riding MPP and NDP Labour Critic Cindy Forster

Posted November 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto —In question period on Tuesday, NDP Labour critic Cindy Forster called on the Wynne government to fix a Liberal loophole written into the Wynne Liberal Labour bill that allows employers to continue to pay part-time and temporary workers less than others doing the same work. The loophole was introduced as a Liberal amendment to Bill 148 after the first round of committee hearings on the legislation over the summer.

“Mary Gellatly, with the Parkdale Community Legal Services and the $15 and Fairness campaign, made clear yesterday in committee that the Wynne Liberals have diluted legislation intended to protect workers, stating that the Liberal amendment ‘directly undermines the intent of the equal pay provisions,’ ” said Forster. Continue reading →

 “Ontario’s fixation with obsolete nuclear energy is to say the least puzzling, but what is clear is that this fixation is going to cost us dearly.” … Sign the petition below.

A News Commentary by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Posted November 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

In its just released Long Term Energy Plan, the Wynne government has doubled down on its plan to rebuild 10 aging nuclear reactors. The price tag for this dubious plan is a whopper — a 55% increase in residential electricity rates by 2032 (pg. 28).

This high-cost, high-risk plan flies in the face of worldwide trends, where many countries are moving away from nuclear energy and embracing ever lower-cost renewable sources instead.

The giant Pickering nuclear reactors along the northern shores of Lake Ontario

In fact, in 2016 worldwide wind power output grew by 16% and solar by 30%, while nuclear grew by just 1.4% (largely due to China). Continue reading →

“Some students are considering class action lawsuits to get their tuition back, and 120,000 students have signed a petition calling for a tuition refund for each day missed because of the strike.”

A News Release from the New Democratic Party of Ontario

Posted November 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – NDP Education Critic Peggy Sattler says the Wynne Liberals are failing Ontario students affected by a province-wide labour dispute.

On Tuesday, Sattler demanded that the Wynne Liberals explain how students will be compensated for losses related to the strike. Settler also demanded to know why Wynne has been threatening back-to-work legislation, undermining the potential for a fair deal to be reached. Continue reading →

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

Posted November 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Decew Falls, along the Niagara Escarpment, with old saw mill and Morningstar Mill above.

Niagara, Ontario  – Visitors to Decew Falls are advised to follow the instructions on newly posted signs and stay on the marked trails.

Decew Falls and the nearby Morningstar Mill heritage site are popular destinations for hiking. Newly posted signs in the area warn that the gorge embankment is dangerous. Hikers should not climb or hike down to Decew Falls and are advised by Acting Fire Chief Jeff McCormick to stay on the marked trails. 

“Decew Falls is one of the best places to enjoy the outdoors in St. Catharines,” said the acting fire chief. “We want visitors to enjoy Decew Falls safely by using the marked trails and respecting the rules on posted signs.” Continue reading →

The Spooks Have Become Far Too Real And Dangerous

A Comment on the State of Halloween 2017 by NAL publisher Doug Draper

Posted October 31, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Someone with a sick sense of Halloween humour carved this for the kids knocking at their door

Once upon a Halloween Time, back in the days when parents dressed their kids up as goblins and had little to fear about sending them out trick or treating at neighbourhood doors, there were spooks out there that turned out to be figments of our imagination or just one of our friends dressed up as Dracula or the Wicked Witch of the West.

They would say ‘Boo’, we would act scared and startled, and then we would end it altogether in laughter.

Not that there weren’t always some real spooks out there. Continue reading →

A Commentary by John Bacher

Posted October 31^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Since 1993, one of the worst crime against our natural heritage in Niagara has been the various assaults on the Thundering Waters Forest.

Regionally rare butterfly Milkweed in Thundering Waters Forest. Photo by Adrin Willems

Thundering Waters is a refuge for a bewildering number of rare species, perhaps the last refuge in Canada for the Nine Lined Lady Beetle. Rare species such as the Black Gum, Acadian Flycatcher, four types of Endangered Bats, and the most recently discovered Dense Blazing Star find a refuge here.

In 1993, Thundering Waters was hit by a 35 acre clear cut.  It was hit by another a seven acre cut in 2014. and varied cuts for a golf course-residential development.

Protests since 2015,  however, have held the line at Oldfield Road.

Now a new assault is planned on the 483 acre refuge. This dagger in the heart is a 121 acre scheme called the Riverfront Community Private Official Plan Amendment. Continue reading →

‘From 1882-2012, the NWPA protected Canadians’ right to paddle our lakes, rivers, and streams and ensured that corporate interests would not be able to impede those rights… Join in being a voice for change. Your action makes a difference.’ – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

A Message from  Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

Posted October 31^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

How have they forgotten?

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May

Destruction of the Navigable Waters Protection Act sparked #IdleNoMore.

Indigenous peoples across Canada set up drumming circles in malls and blocked roads to protest Harper’s 2012 omnibus bill. Omnibus bill C-45 removed 98% of Canada’s inland waterways from the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which Harper renamed the Navigation Protection Act. So he literally took “waters” out of the act.

No longer are federal permits required before development can destroy inland waters – rivers, streams, and lakes. Harper did so to speed the way for dams and pipelines. Continue reading →

“The system needs to work better and be fairer to the growing number of people who are put on contract, who are working part-time or who are among the nearly 30 percent of workers earning less than $15 an hour. Ontario can and must do better.” – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

A Statement from the Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Posted October 31st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne released the following statement this past October 30th after meeting with workers to discuss the government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act:

“This morning (Monday, October 30th) I had the opportunity to hear directly from workers about the changes we’re making with the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act. As the bill returns to committee today, it was important to me to hear the voices of some of the millions of people who will be impacted by these changes. What I heard was similar to what I’ve been hearing from people in every corner of the province — it is time for action. Continue reading →

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati is “a champion for Niagara and Niagara Falls,” said Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins of the mayor’s continued lobbying for the new hospital

By Doug Draper

Posted October 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – They began by calling it a “win-win” for all of Niagara.

In front of a gathering this October 30^th of Niagara’s municipal leaaders, Ontario Heaalth Minister Eric Hoskins announced that the province’s Liberal government has approved plans to build a second new hospital in the Niagara region within a matter of 15 years – this one being built to serve municipalities in the southern half of the region.

Ontario Health Minister Eri Hoskins announces province’s approval of  proposed Niagara South hospital

The hospital will be built in the south end of Niagara Falls at the intersection of Lyons Creek and Montrose Roads just of the QEW highway.

“It will be a state of the art hospital” offering a “wide range of services for populations in Niagara’s southern tier, said Hoskins, adding that the province is also committed to keeping the Welland Hospital open with “24/7 emergency services and more.”

“Everybody knows how important the Welland Hospital is to the Welland community,” said Hoskins, while not offering any further detail in his comments on what services at the Welland Hospital beyond the emergency department will be saved.

Hoskins then introduced Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati as “a champion for all of Niagara and Niagara Falls” who relentlessly lobbied for the new hospital in his municipality’s south end. Continue reading →

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted  October 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Cindy Forster in Ontario Legislature. File Photo

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – NDP Labour, Fairness and Work critic Cindy Forster says after ignoring urgent workplace and labour issues for 14 years, the Wynne Liberal’s proposed labour reforms are a half-hearted pre-election gambit.

“Liberals have had 14 years to make changes to improve the lives of workers in this province, and yet now, in the final days of this government, it’s clear what this Liberal government is willing to do does not go far enough,” said Forster during question period this morning. Continue reading →

Bernie Sanders is working to lower out-of-control pharmaceutical drug costs in the United States.                          Why isn’t Canada working  to do that too?

News from Ed Broadbent and the Broadbent Institute in Toronto, Ontario

Posted October 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Senator Bernie Sanders, the high-profile former Democratic presidential candidate, is visiting Toronto this weekend to see what his country can learn from Canada’s public healthcare system.

But while Canadians are proud of our public healthcare system, there is one area where Canadians can learn something from Sanders: pharmacare. Continue reading →

A News Brief from Doug Draper

Posted October 28^th, Ontario on Niagara At Large

Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has sent out a media advisory that the province’s Health Minister, Dr. Eric Hoskins, will be in Niagara this coming Monday, October 30^th to make an announcement.

Ontario Health Minister Eri Hoskins to make announcement at proposed Niagara South hospital site in Niagara Falls this October 30th

The health minister, according to the October 27^th media release, will be making the announcement in the southwest corner of Niagara Falls at the corner of Lyons Creek and Montrose Roads, just off QEW  – and guess what that is the site of.

That’s right.

Some of you may already know that is the place where, for the better part of five years, south Niagara municipalities, including Niagara Falls, Welland, Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Wainfleet, agreed through negotiations  with Niagara Health (formerly the Niagara Health System) responsible for operating the regions hospital services, agreed to build a new hospital for south Niagara. Continue reading →

I” noticed your recent RSVP to our event. … Please note that this event is invite-only and is being held for staff, family, and friends of the NPCA.” – the kiss-off message Niagara At Large got back from the NPCA to our request to attend the party

Does Anyone Out There Know How Much We Paid For This Bash?

A Commentary by Doug Draper, reporter/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted October 27th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Well, it was their party and I hope they got whatever lift out of it that they were looking for, because it probably isn’t going to last.

Here is the poster image that came with the invitation to NPCA’s love-in party

This past Wednesday, October 25^th, while Well and Riding MPP Cindy Forster and an all-party Public Accounts Committee of  the Ontario legislature finished up calling on the province’s Auditor General to do a full audit on the Niagara Peninsula conservation Authority’s operations, the board members and administrators at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority were getting ready to host what they called an “I LOVE NPCA KICKOFF PARTY” at the Ball’s Falls Conservation Area in an idyllic spot above the Niagara Escarpment in the municipality of Lincoln.

That’s right – not an ‘I love conservation party’ or an ‘I love Niagara’s natural heritage or the region’s watersheds party’, but an ‘I love the NPCA party’ because, after all, with all of the controversy swirling around the way the NPCA’s current rostrum of managers do business these days, it’s little wonder the NPCA honchoes are looking for a little more lovin’. Continue reading →

NPCA Announces that 2 Staff Members Are Returning & Unveils Huge Initiatives

A News Release from  the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted October 26^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

NPCA chair and Fort Erie regional councilor Sandy Annunziata

Niagara, Ontario. – At a celebration held today . (October 25, 2017 at the Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) was pleased to learn that the Auditor General has agreed to audit the NPCA. Chair Sandy Annunziata shared the following statement:

“With today’s announcement, we are grateful for the news that the Boards request to invite the Auditor General to conduct a value for money Audit of the NPCA has been approved. It as our hope that all CA’s in the Province will follow the lead of the NPCA and invite the Auditor General of Ontario into their organizations.

We will be reaching out to the AG and setting up meetings with our Audit Committee in order to start the process. We look forward to providing all resources and information to the Auditor General’s team. Continue reading →

 Read A The Transcript Below of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster’s Call for a full audit of the NPCA

A Dispatch from Doug Draper,  reporter/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted October 26th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

In an interview with Niagara At Large this October 24th, Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster said she is “very hopeful” that Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lsysk will follow through on a request, approved unanimously, by the provincial legislature’s all-party Standing Committee on Public Accounts to do a full audit of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s operations.

The ball appears to be in Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s court now on doing a full, independent audit on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s operations.

The decision by the committee, made up of five Liberals, two Progressive Conservations and one NDP member, to support Forster’s motion for Lysyk to move forward with what would be the thorough, independent audit many citizens and local municipal councils across Niagara and Hamilton have wanted for several months now is in the hands of the Auditor General’s Office  now, Forster said, and she is optimist the Office will act favourably.

“My hope for the audit by the Auditor General  is to actually restore openness, fairness and accountability in the operations of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority for the people that pay the freight.” Continue reading →

Some Good News from Nora Reid, Chair of Welland’s Central Station Education Initiative

Posted October 26^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – With a cheer and a toast, the Central Station Education Initiative thanked Welland city councillors for their support.

Welland’s Central Fire Hall, circa 1920, Welland, in the region of Niagara, Ontario.

Last Tuesday, City Council at its regular meeting agreed to lease the Welland Central Fire Station to CSEI for five years at $1 a year.

The not-for-profit volunteer group will oversee the 1920 heritage building and praised councillors for seeing the value in protecting this downtown Welland asset. Continue reading →

Western New York area Congressman Brian Higgins Says, “As We Tear Down the Parkway, We Build Up This Great City”

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

Posted October 26th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) welcomed the public meeting to detail final design and removal of the Robert Moses Parkway North in the City of Niagara Falls. 

A stretch of the Robert Moses Parkway (renamed ‘Niagara Scenic Parkway’, along Niagara River upstream from the Falls. The Robert Moses continues along the lower Niagara River through Lewiston to Youngstown at mouth of river.

Higgins said, “For too long there has been a disconnect between arguably the most magnificent waterfront in the world and the City that gets its name from this natural wonder.  Millions of people visit Niagara Falls each year but the people who live here and operate businesses here aren’t enjoying the full benefit of the City’s status as a premiere destination.” 

“Removal of the Robert Moses Parkway represents a giant step in righting a historic injustice and reconnecting the community with its waterfront.  As we tear down the Parkway, we build up this great city.” Continue reading →

A Brief One from Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted October 25^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

An all-party committee of the Ontario legislature has passed a motion, tabled by Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster, to conduct a full financial audit of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s operations.

Citizens, local municipal councals across Niagara and Hamilton and area members of provincial parliament, including Forster, St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley and Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff have joined a push for a full, independent audit of the NPCA for more than a year now – a push that has been met, for the most part, with a good deal of resistence and political game-playing on the part of senior managers and board members at the NPCA, and a majority on Niagara’s regional council.

The call for an afull audit has been driven by growing questions and concerns in recent years over the NPCA’s hiring and firing practices, its land-transaction practices, its tendering of contracts and other matters involving the spending of millions of municipal and provincial taxdollars.

The motion tabled by Cindy Forster, which was passed by the all-party committee earlier this Wednesday, Ocober 25^th, reads as follows –

“I move that pursuant to section 17 of the auditor general act, that the standing committee on public accounts request that the auditor general conduct a full financial audit of the Niagara peninsula conservation authority”

Stay Tune to more on Niagara At Large on this development in the ongoing NPCA saga.

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 binational 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

At Least Sarah Palin May Have Been Good for a Few Laughs

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted October 24, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Back around last April Fools’ Day, stories began circulating that Donald Trump might pick America’s oh-so-loopy Tea Party princess, Sarah Palin as his recently installed autocracy’s ambassador to Canada.

I remember fellow Canadians expressing horror over the thought that  the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate would be given anything to do with a country she didn’t even know was America’s largest partner while she was running for an office that would have her sitting a heartbeat away from the presidency – until, of course, these Canadians decided this must be an April Fools’ joke.

Yet having Palin seated on the throne in U.S. Embassy headquarters in Ottawa might at least offer a little SNL-like humour as we watch her finally discover that there is something called the North American Free Trade Agreement her country signed a few decades ago with Canada and Mexico just before her boss in the White House rips it up, which Trump probably will unless terms are agreed to that could possibly ravage dairy farmers, auto workers and people working in  other key sectors of Canada’s economy. Continue reading →

“We need the government to lead us into a sustainable future that protects all lakes and rivers and people’s right to navigate them.” – David Suzuki,  scientist, environmentalist and long-time host of CBC TV’s Nature of Things

News from Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui

Posted October 24rth, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – Leading environmental organizations, Indigenous nations and prominent people in Canada are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and the federal government to restore protection for 99% of all lakes and rivers in Canada.

Five years ago this October, the former government removed protections from all but 97 lakes, 62 rivers and three oceans under the Navigable Waters Protection Act, now named the Navigation Protection Act (NPA). Continue reading →

Hike For The Trees To Protect Old Growth Forest

An Invite to You from the Sierra Club of Canada, Niagara Wetlands Theater, Food Not Bombs

Posted October 24th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara conservationist John Bacher in on of region’s forested areas in Niagara Escarpment corridor with fellow conservationist. Photo courtesy of Thaia Jones

Niagara, Ontario – Recently the Ontario government extended the Greenbelt to protect the valley of the Twelve Mile Creek and lands adjacent to Lake Gibson.  This will protect critical wildlife habitat for magnificent species such as the Great Blue Heron and safeguard’s Niagara’s drinking water.

Not yet protected by the Greenbelt however, is a 16 acre stretch of predominately old Growth Forest on Lockhart Drive in St. Catharines, immediately below the Niagara Escarpment. It is home to giant old growth hickory, oak and walnut trees, and has vernal pools, which provide breeding habitat to frogs and the Blue-Spotted Salamander.

Come out on Saturday, October 28^th at 2pm to celebrate and strengthen Ontario’s Greenbelt. There will be exciting activities such as hiking, tree measuring, and eating a cake prepared for the occasion. Activities are will start at the Brock University Research and Innovation Center, 130 Lockhart Drive.

Event sponsored by Sierra Club of Canada, Niagara Wetlands Theater, Food Not Bombs

Join the tour. Photo courtesy of Thaia Jones

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 binational 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

Commentary from Ynonne Siew Chung Ho and John Bacher, Sierra Club Ontario

Posted October 23rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“Conservation Authorities since 1946 have played a major role in protecting Ontario’s landscape from deforestation and consequently, rescuing the province from the blights of desertification and flooding…

Since changes in 1996 which made municipal councils responsible for the appointment of conservation authority boards, they have been weakened to the threats caused by urban sprawl over critical wildlife habitat.”

A look inside Thundering Waters Forest and its provincially significant wetlands in Niagara Falls, Ontario – now a target for urban development

The struggle to rescue two of Ontario’s great wetlands shows the need to restore provincial oversight over our conservation authority boards.

This removal previously ensured by the appointment of the chair and four other members to conservation authority boards was one of the worst excesses of the “common sense” revolution of Premier Mike Harris. Continue reading →

Open Letter from NDP MPPs Peggy Sattler and Cindy Forster to Premier Kathleen Wynne on college labour dispute

Posted October 23rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

College faculty across Ontario on strike. More than half a million students out of class.

Queen’s Park, Ontario — This past Friday, October 20th,   ND P critic for Advanced Education and Skills Development Peggy Sattler and NDP Labour critic Cindy Forster released the following open letter to Premier Katheen Wynne regarding the labour dispute at colleges throughout Ontari

To Premier Kathleen Wynne, Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario

Dear Premier:

College faculty and over 500,000 Ontario students are disappointed by your inaction as we approach the second week of the labour dispute at colleges throughout the province. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the Rochester People’s Climate Coalition, ACE NY, New Yorkers for Clean Power, Mothers Out Front, Frack Action, Alliance for a Green Economy and The Harley School, sponsors of the New York Climate Solutions Summit 

Posted October 23rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

You don’t want to miss this.

A Climate March this past spring in Buffalo, New York. File photo by Doug Draper

We are pleased to announce and support the NY Climate Solutions Summit on Saturday, October 28th in Rochester, NY!

The NY Climate Solutions Summit invites both new and experienced clean energy and climate organizers from across the state to gather and learn about case studies, experiences, projects, resources, and skills that will help their communities implement climate change solutions.

Presenters will share case studies on solar, wind, geothermal heating and cooling, energy efficiency, transportation, environmental justice, and land use, in addition to workshops on movement building and technical skills. More details on the full program can be found here.

Former Sierra Club President Aaron Mair and Acclaimed Author and Ecologist Sandra Steingraber will be our Keynote Speakers Continue reading →

“It’s time for our government to get real about cutting electricity costs. It’s time to make a deal with Quebec, which has guaranteed power available year-round at an incredibly attractive price.” – Ontario Clean Air Alliance

A Call-Out from Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director for the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Posted October 23rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

How to actually cut electricity costs

Ontario’s Auditor General is slamming the Wynne government for its use of creative accounting to hide the real cost of bloated nuclear projects.

Instead of using accounting tricks, the government could actually cut costs by simply taking Quebec up on its offer to supply the province with low-cost wawouter power.

If Ontario signed on to the deal offered by Quebec this summer and scaled back the already over budget Darlington rebuild project, it would save Ontario ratepayers more than $12 billion over the next 20 years. And we could save even more if we made a deal with Quebec to supply enough power to replace Darlington entirely. Continue reading →

“We had heard from our membership that the initial plan would have greatly hurt business growth and prosperity, especially for our small businesses. … We are glad that the government acknowledged our voice and that it is flexible enough to revise policy in accordance with new information.” – Mishka Balsom, President & CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

A Commentary from the Greater Niagara and Canadian Chambers of Commerce

Posted October 23^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce CEO Mishka Balsom

Niagara, Ontario — The GNCC and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcome the government’s plans to revise its proposed tax reforms and to reduce the small business tax rate as a result of the comments and concerns expressed through the national #ProtectGrowth campaign and in consultations.

“We are pleased to see that the Government of Canada has responded positively to the outpouring of feedback from the business community,” said Mishka Balsom, President & CEO of the GNCC. “We had heard from our membership that the initial plan would have greatly hurt business growth and prosperity, especially for our small businesses. Together with Chambers of Commerce across the country, our voice was loud and strong. We are glad that the government acknowledged our voice and that it is flexible enough to revise policy in accordance with new information.” Continue reading →

Let’s Have The Fate of Regional Government in Niagara put to a ballot in the 2018 Municipal Elections

A Commentary by Doug Draper, journalist/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted October 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Let me ask you something.

How many of you – and I’m  putting this to all of you who are living and doing business  in one of the 12 local municipalities across Niagara, Ontario right now –would like to get rid of Niagara’s regional council?

How many out there would join in possibly the largest street party this region has ever seen if that happened?

The current edition of Niagara regional council with some senior regional staff in the mix here, holding signs urging us to ‘stop bullying’.

If somehow a question could be put on next year’s municipal election ballots, asking if you would be in favour of completely scrapping the regional level of government in Niagara and keeping the 12 local councils and run Niagara-wide services like policing, waste management, water and wastewater treatment, roads, transit, public health, long-term care and affordable housing – all as public utilities with the mayors or an alternate from  each of the 12 councils sitting on public utility boards – would you support that? Continue reading →

 A Brief Commentary by  Niagara West-Glanbrook Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted October 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Explosive new documents in the civil lawsuit against the Government revealed that the Liberals deliberately planned for the “collapse” of the horse-racing industry, which they knew would lead to “23,000 job losses and 27,000 dead horses.”

 Reports also indicate that breeders were forced to sell off horses to livestock exchanges.

“The horse-racing industry has had a long and important history in Niagara and across the province and deserves to be treated with respect,” stated Oosterhoff. Horses have been racing at Fort Erie since 1897. The celebrated Fort Erie race track is one of the biggest employers in southern Niagara.  Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Jacob Falardeau, a Welland, Ontario native, college student and member of the Council of Canadians, a nation-wide citizens advocacy group

Posted October 19^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

We are living in a golden age of post-secondary education; this September marked the first time in history the poorest youth in our society finally have access to post-secondary education thanks to a revamped OSAP that includes “free” tuition.

At least, that’s what the provincial government would have you believe.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne recently applauds her government’s efforts to offer ‘free tuition’ to large numbers of province’s college and university students

As a matter of fact, the so-called “free tuition” is anything but. The revamped OSAP program has many flaws that are seldom mentioned by the government. Continue reading →