Author Archives: dougdraper

A News Advisory from Niagara, Ontario’s Public Health Department

Posted September 22nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – After finding ourselves digging out our long pants and fall jackets to deal with the unseasonal cold temperatures earlier this September, and now this – what could be record-setting high temperatures forecast this weekend for much of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including Niagara, and for much of Western New York.

Pack it in with unprecedented weather events of a far more dangerous sort in the Carribean and southern United States and in parts of western Canada and the U.S., where extended periods of drought and wildfires have dominated much of the spring and summer just past.

So enjoy however bonus days of July-like weather we get knowing, as many of you who have been following the climate issue closely do, that in the long-run there may be a cost, and it probably won’t be cheap. The rest can relax as they are assured by Tories, Republicans and their corporate masters, that the whole thing is a hoax.

Now here is the Niagara Public Health Department’s heat advisory – )

​An Excessive Heat Alert has been issued today, Sept. 22, 2017, by Niagara Region Public Health as the humidex is expected to approach 40​°C over the weekend. Continue reading →

“Climate change, if left unchecked, will profoundly disrupt the economies of the world and cause untold human suffering. That’s the reason why California and Québec are joining with Ontario to create an expanded and dynamic carbon market, which will drive down greenhouse gas emissions.” — Jerry Brown, Governor of California

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Posted September 22, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This Friday, September 22^nd, Québec Premier Philippe Couillard, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and California Governor Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown further strengthened their cooperation in the global fight against climate change.

From left, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Québec Premier Philippe Couillard and California Governor Jerry Brown sign climate pact. Photo courtesy of Ontario Premier’s Office

Premier Couillard hosted Premier Wynne and Governor Brown in Québec City to sign an agreement linking the carbon markets of Québec, Ontario and California.

By signing this agreement to integrate and harmonize emissions cap programs, Ontario will now formally enter the Québec-California carbon market, effective January 1, 2018. This will allow all three governments to hold joint auctions of greenhouse gas emission allowances and to harmonize regulations and reporting. Continue reading →

“We are sleepwalking to cataclysmic planetary disaster.” – Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May

A Message from the Green Party of Canada

Posted September 22nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – I am not a member of any political party and I do not want to be, but I am posting the following message from federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May  – even though it includes a request for donations to the party and its public interest campaigns – because I believe it is very important.

Canada’s Green Party leader Elizabeth May

It is a message that is coming from the only federal party in Canada that, during the 2015 national election, took a clear and unequivocal stance for leaving what is left in the tar sands buried in the ground and not building any more pipelines for transporting this tar to shipping docks on the coasts.

For that reason alone – given the magnitude of the climate challenges facing the planet and every form of life inhabiting it – NAL is pleased to give Elizabeth May’s continued efforts for more progressive change and action a little exposure here.

Now back to May’s message.)

Dear Friend,

“Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.” – David Orr

On September 5th, we held a press conference in Vancouver with Dr. David Suzuki and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.

The Green Party was hoping to get media attention to the imminent risk of the Liberals abandoning promises to repair environmental assessment law and the damage done by Harper. Almost no one from the media attended.

Dr. David Suzuki (left), Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip press need for more action on climate change.

Out the windows, Vancouver Harbour was bathed in a sickly orange haze, choking in smoke from the BC forest fires. Continue reading →

Friday, September 29th , 8 PM (with a 7 PM VIP reception) at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery overlooking Buffalo, New York’s Delaware Park

Posted September 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York  – The America/New York Buffalo Humanities Festival features environmentalist Bill McKibben speaking on “The Desperate Climate Fight: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Moment.”

American environmentalist Bill McKibben speaks on climate crisis

The critically acclaimed environmentalist and author will speak at the Albright-Knox on issues of environmental justice and economic sustainability, local and regional activism and planning, and the global climate change crisis. Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins will introduce  him.

$20 general admission
$15 Students

Buy Tickets Online

Learn More about the Festival
Learn More about Bill McKibben

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

One of the lessons from in the zone – If you don’t say anything about workplace harassment, apparently it doesn’t exist

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 21st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“We have a positive and high-performing workplace, and that’s what I work at every day.”

Some protest signs outside a board meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority this past April

That is what Mark Brickell, the most recently installed CAO of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, told a reporter for one of region’s daily newspapers following the release of a report alleging a “toxic” environment and repeated harassment of employees in the NPCA workplace.

So if the Chief Administrative Officer for Niagara’s publicly funded Conservation Authority  says that, where do you go from there? Continue reading →

News from Niagara College

Posted September 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Responding to a need for skilled graduates who are knowledgeable in the complex regulations and requirements of an emerging industry, Niagara College will launch a Graduate Certificate program in Commercial Cannabis Production in 2018 – Canada’s first postsecondary credential in the production of commercial cannabis.

Shown in the Niagara College Greenhouse are Al Unwin, associate dean of Niagara College’s School of Environmental and Horticultural Studies, and Denzil Rose, a student in Niagara College’s Greenhouse Technician program. Photo courtesy of Niagara College

The program, which was approved by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development over the summer, would prepare graduates to work in the licensed production of Cannabis, which is used as a therapeutic drug (Marijuana); fiber (Hemp) and as a source for seed oil  (Hempseed). Continue reading →

 A Statement from the Office of Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Posted September 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement this September 19th on the appointment of Member of Parliament Chris Bittle – MPP for the Niagara area riding of St. Catharines, as the new Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons:

St. Catharines Riding MPP Chris Bittle promoted to Deputy Leader post

“I am very pleased that Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, Chris Bittle, has been appointed as the new Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

“Working closely with the Honourable Bardish Chagger, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Chris Bittle will encourage close collaboration and meaningful engagement with House of Commons colleagues, Parliamentary Committees, the Public Service, stakeholders, and Canadians. He will also play an instrumental role as we work to modernize the House of Commons and make it more accountable, predictable, efficient, and transparent. Continue reading →

In response to a deadly opoid crisis that is growing across the province and country

From  the Government of Ontario

Posted September 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The following statement was issued this September 19th by Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care:

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

“The opioid crisis in Ontario is a tragic and growing issue, one we are continuing to work diligently to combat. As part of our government’s commitment to openness, transparency and evidence-based decision-making, we are continuing to make relevant data widely available, including to health care providers and planners working on the front lines, as well as to the public. 

Today, we have updated the Interactive Opioid Tracker with data from April 1 – June 30, 2017. As part of the $222 million announced last month to fight the opioid crisis, Ontario is making $21 million immediately available to help community-based addiction organizations in their response to this crisis.  Continue reading →

When are the next municipal elections? Bring them on!

A Brief Message from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 19th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“We’ve gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do.”

Some of you may remember the words to that old song by Eric Burdon and The Animals, and after a whole evening this past Thursday, September 14^th  of live streaming Niagara’s regional council meeting and spending this past Monday morning feeling like I had crossed over into the twilight zone at a meeting of the same government’s so-called Audit Committee, I gotta get out of this region for a day and decompress.

Port Colborne regional councilor David Barrick and Niagara’s superhero for open democracy and fiscal accountability wins his month’s long bid for an “independent, third-party audit of the Town of Pelham’s books.

Sitting at that audit committee meeting, watching Port Colborne regional councillor David Barrick (also a senior manager at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority), scolding someone else (in this case a lawyer for the Town of Pelham) and  declaring outrage at the lawyer’s refusal to answer his questions about the town’s financial business, then declare that  he was plowing ahead with his inquiry as a way of standing up for  open democracy, was too much  magic bus and purple haze.

It was like – get me the hell out of this asylum.

Sometimes it is  best not o post the words that immediately come to mind after such alternative reality episodes.

So I will have more to say about this and about the growing number of  Niagara At Larger  readers and citizens in this region who are just plain saying; “Let’s get rid of regional government,” when I return from my retreat this September 21^st.

In the meantime, this day of escape is kind of like that old line about banging  your head against a concrete block. “It feels so good when you stop.”

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

Strike Looming  at Ontario Colleges As Full-Time Faculty Jobs Disappear, Part-Time Faculty Numbers Soar.

“It is a shame that so many students have enrolled in post-secondary education only to find a strike looming that might cost them their semester. The provincial government has thought to provide financial assistance to students but neither the government nor college management seem to have considered those                   who teach them..”

A News Commentary by Melissa McGlashan, a citizen activist in Niagara, Ontario and member of the South Niagara chapter of the Council of Canadians

Posted September 18th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

On September 13th, 2017 Niagara At Large reported that “more than one-third of all full-time college and university students in Ontario are receiving free tuition thanks to the new Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).”

Niagara College alone is reporting a record high enrolment of over 10,000 students. It is a shame that there may not be any faculty at Ontario’s colleges to teach these students.

The current contract for faculty at Niagara College and Ontario’s 23 other provincial colleges expires on September 30, 2017. At a vote held September 14, Ontario’s 12,000 college faculty gave their bargaining team a strike mandate.  

One of the major issues that the union wants addressed is precarious work. Continue reading →

An Invite from Niagara Action For Animals, an animal advocacy & assistance group for animals in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 18^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dear Friends of Animals –

Niagara Action for Animals (NAFA) is hosting an evening with Aleisha Murray on Monday September 25th from 7 – 9 p.m. at the NAfA house – 94 Welland Avenue, St. Catharines.

Amongst other things, Aleisha will discuss how one can honour the passing of their companion animals. Please RSVP if you are coming, so that we can arrange sufficient refreshments and also if we have a great deal of interest, we may have to arrange a 2nd evening or afternoon. Continue reading →

“Read damage was done here,” says Governor Andrew Cuomo of discharge incident

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has always seemed like the type of non-sense guy you wouldn’t want to do something that gets him upset with you.

The dark, oily, foul-smelling blob can be seen surrounding Maid of the Mist boat and dock area near American side of Niagara River on July 29th.

And he certainly proved that to be the case this September 14th when he made a trip to Niagara Falls, N.Y. to let those responsible for operating that city’s wastewater treatment plant how he feels about what a shabby job he feels they did on the last Saturday of this past July when a large, inky looking and foul-smelling blob of pollution entered the Niagara River from their plant, just downstream from the American and Horseshoe Falls were countless thousands of tourists could see and smell it.

For that discharge and other recent ones the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has records of entering the river from the city’s plant, Cuomo, as The Buffalo News reported in a story published this September 15th, cited the Niagara Falls, N.Y. Water Board for a “’lack of training, lack of systems, lack of processes’, and he called the board’s operational violations ‘inexcusable’.” Continue reading →

“I call on all Canadians to get informed and involved. By using our voices as forces for positive change, we can strengthen democratic norms and institutions.”

Niagara At Large urges you to read this statement and think about the disgusting mess we have at the regional government level, right here in Niagara, Ontario

A Statement by Canada’s  Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on International Day of Democracy

Posted September 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark the International Day of Democracy:

“Today, we join our partners in the United Nations to celebrate the International Day of Democracy. We take the opportunity to recognize the freedoms that democracy affords us – and remind ourselves of the responsibility we all share to keep our democracy strong.

“This year’s theme – Democracy and Conflict Prevention – highlights the indivisible links between peace and democracy. Canada recognizes the critical need to strengthen democratic norms and institutions around the world to promote peace and stability. Continue reading →

Just one more in what seems like a never-ending series of NPCA hoof-in-mouth-disease debacles

A Brief Commentary from Linda Babb

Posted September 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

‘When you find yourself in a hole – stop digging’ could be the advice the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s communications specialist Michael Reles and Chair Sandy Annunziata should heed.  

Giving twelve days’ notice, on Thursday, August 31, 2017, the NPCA placed a full page ad in a weekly newspaper, Niagara This Week, with a heading for the ad reading;  “Conservation & Community Strategic Plan Review.”

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board chair and Fort Erie regional councilor Sandy Annunziata, seated in the middle, appears to be making some sort of weird gesture while then-acting CAO Peter Graham, seated to the left and now reportedly no longer with the NPCA, and administrative assistant Lisa Conte, seated to the  right and now reportedly gone or a about to go to another job in the regional government, flank him at an NPCA board meeting last March.

“The NPCA Strategic Plan set forth goals for an organizational transformation.  Now, the 2014 – 2017 Strategic Plan is nearing completion,” the ad went on to say.  “The NPCA needs to hear from our partners, stakeholders, and community.  Have your voice heard by registering to participate in specialized feedback sessions.  Register now to attend.”

In light of consistently negative comments and media coverage regarding the NPCA, lack of information about whether or not they have actually requested the Ontario Auditor General to conduct the full fiscal audit demanded for months, questionable expense claims by Chair Annunziata, allegations of bullying a member of the public and an OPSEU report the NPCA being a “toxic workplace, it is perfectly understandable that the NPCA might wish to improve the image of the organization. 

It would seem a good idea to hold a public meeting to invite their “partners, stakeholders and community” to attend a meeting to “have their voices heard”. 

Interested individuals immediately went to the website to “register to attend” – what a great opportunity to express concerns and make recommendations! 

And yet – on September 8th I received acknowledgement of my interest in attending as follows – “Thank you for your interest in the NPCA Strategic Plan Review.  Due to the overwhelming response, I regret to inform you that the review session is full and we could not reserve a space for you.  Again, thank you for your interest. Should you wish to provide feedback on the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, you may submit your comments in writing to me. I have attached the outline of how we wish to receive feedback on the Plan should you choose to do so.”

Eager to participate, I then asked for confirmation of the venue – on September 11 the response I received was -“Attendance is limited to only those that have been confirmed.”  I look forward to your written submission.”

Then, at 3.22 pm on September 12, I received, along with many others, an email that read – “On behalf of Sandy Annunziata, Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Board of Directors, and aligning with his position that all voices should be heard, we have made accommodations to increase the number of attendees at tonight’s Strategic Plan Review meeting.  All those who have registered to attend the meeting will be granted entry and will be able to participate fully in tonight’s discussion. Please be prepared to provide your input on the execution of the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan.”

Within ONE day – the “overwhelming response”, which precluded all others who “registered”, was no longer an impediment!!  How marvellous and how magnanimous of Chair Annunziata! Those who had been denied could now be “granted entry” and how magnanimous of Chair Annunziata!!

One could interpret or respond to this in different ways, but the most glaring observation is that on Monday September 12, MPP Cindy Forster delivered a strong speech at Queens Park in which she roundly condemned the practices of the NPCA. 

Is anyone else making the connection here?  Can anyone else see ‘extreme damage control’ going into effect?  How well did that work? 

A total of about seven people were in attendance!  Unarguably an “overwhelming response.”

As I said initially, when you find yourself in a hole – stop digging.

About Linda Babb – After over ten years in the political arena in the British Columbia Legislature and twenty more in Public Relations, Linda Babb, now a resident of Niagara, is committed to demanding and restoring accountability at all levels of government.

A little late-breaking news on this one from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

One of the signs that welcomed members of the public outside a meeting of the NPCA board this past spring. What message was being communicated here?

In the wake of all the clamour from Niagara area residents who registered for the September 12th meeting referred to above, only to be told there was no room for them, then later told something else, there are now reports that whoever the flying monkeys are in charge of the NPCA a, have  decided to hold another meeting on or around September, possibly as a way of offering more proof to the old axiom that two wrongs don’t make a right.

As someone who got suckered in to wasting numerous precious volunteer hours some three or four years ago sitting on a committee that made recommendations for the NPCA’s strategic plan on how to better communicate with and engage the public in the Conservation Authority’s work, guess who won’t waste one more precious minute of his going to another one of this body’s meetings? ….

Unless, I get some advance word that the province is finally going to come in and fire the whole upper management and board. I will certainly show up for that one!

–         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 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

Join a meeting of the Niagara Green Party on September 23rd

News from the Niagara Falls Green Party

Posted September 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – September is Democracy Month for the Niagara Greens!

With less than a year to go before the next provincial election, the Niagara Falls Green Party is kicking into gear and taking action NOW!

Do you know what local democratic action looks like? Do you know how local ridings are founded and what being a member means? Ready to get involved?

The Niagara Falls Green Party members are coming together to educate, act and grow on Saturday September 23rd. Continue reading →

Audio and Video of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster on local radio and in the Ontario legislature, with introductory remarks by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“There are all these alleged issues (swirling around the NPCA) and we have been calling on every ministry (in the Ontario government) that kind of touches on this agency to act and all we get (from the government) is that we don’t have any authority.”

Welland Rding MPP Cindy Forster

Those are among the comments Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster made this past September 12^th  during an interview on CKTB Radio in St. Catharines – an interview that followed an address she delivered in the Ontario Legislature the day before, outlining many of the issues dogging the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, from its hiring and firing practices, its awarding of contracts to private consultants, the number of politicians sitting on its board, its lawsuit against Niagara citizen critical of its operations, and on and on.

There are a lot of issues alright and I can say with certainty that very few people aside from those who have a vested interest in the status quo buys the line from Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Kathryn McGarry or anyone else in the province’s Liberal government that this government has no power to clean up the disgusting mess we face here with this once proud Conservation Authority that has turned rancid and rogue. Continue reading →

How do we address this situation: By ignoring it? By counter attack?  Or by getting together as communities and  engaging in “multi-logue” (many-to-many conservation)?

An Invite to All from Desmond Sequeira, Niagara Resident and Mulit-Faith Chaplain (Rtd.) Government of Ontario, and the Niagara Anti-Racism Coalition

Posted September 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Is the re- emergence of groups of White Supremacists in Niagara that is just a fringe blip or is it a movement to be disturbed about?

How do we address this situation: By ignoring it? By counter attack?  By engaging in “multi-logue”? Can “multi-logue” happen? What are the best steps to take to ensure the long-term Celebration of Diversity in Canada? Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Liberal Government

Posted September 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The photo images for this post were chosen by Niagara At Large and did not come with this Ontario government News Release

This school year, more than one-third of all full-time college and university students in Ontario are receiving free tuition thanks to the new Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, met with students in Ottawa (earlier this September) to talk about how the new OSAP and other proposed programs will make life easier for students, including:

• Free pharmacare so that youth under 25 don’t have to worry about paying for prescription medication, starting January 1, 2018.
• Raising the minimum wage so that students can earn more money to help them afford the cost of school.
• Improved repayment assistance so that students don’t have to worry about paying back their Ontario student loans until they’re making at least $35,000 a year.
• Free online textbooks to help students cover the cost of buying their textbooks.

Continue reading →

Conservation Authority staffers – Past and Present – are looking at suing Kathryn McGarry, sources say

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

When are Ontario Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry ad the Kathleen Wynne government finally going to act on mounting concerns raised about the way the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority does business with millions of dollars of our money?

Niagara, Ontario –

Frustration is reaching a boiling point over Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Kathryn McGarry’s failure to act on repeated concerns that have been raised over the way the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority does business.

So much so that past and present employees with the Conservation Authority are making inquiries with lawyers about possibly filing a class action lawsuit against McGarry for “non-action” on the NPCA file, sources close the inquiries have told Niagara At Large.

Employees want McGarry, whose ministry has jurisdiction over an Ontario Conservation Act that sets a framework for the operations of 36 Conservation Authorities across the province, including the NPCA, to appoint a special supervisor to go in and turf out the current senior managers and board of directors at the NPCA, said the sources, who do not want to be identified for fear of reprisals from the Conservation Authority’s current management. Continue reading →

A Column by Sam Oosterhoff, MPP, Niagara West – Glanbrook

Posted September 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

While many of us enjoyed summer with friends, family members, and the occasional ray of sunshine, the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs toured the province listening to the public’s perspective on Bill 148, the “Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017”.

Although this bill makes a series of changes to the Employment Standards Act, public attention has been focused on the provisions which will increase Ontario’s minimum wage from its current $11.40 an hour up to $15 an hour.

In recent years, minimum wage has been tied to the rate of inflation, such that it increases incrementally, with the cost of living.  However, Bill 148 will have minimum wage shoot up by 32 per cent in less than 18 months. Continue reading →

Cindy Forster’s tear into NPCA conduct receives praise from St. Catharines Riding MPP and Liberal government member Jim Bradley and Niagara West-Glanbrook Riding MPP and Progressive Conservative member Sam Oosterhoff

Posted September 11^th, 2017 with a few introductory comments from Doug Draper

As countless Niagara, Ontario residents who have been paying attention to the news coming out of this region over the past couple of years already know, growing numbers of Niagara area citizens and municipal politicians have been raising questions and concerns about how those currently running the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority have been doing business with millions of our tax dollars.

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Charges of  workplace harassment, wrongful dismissals, cronyism and favouritism when it comes to the NPCA’s hiring and promoting practices, concerns aound awarding contracts to consultants, the launching of a lawsuit against a respected Niagara citizen and the censuring of a respected area politician who sat on the NPCA board are among the issues that have continued to be raised.

And few politicians have been more fearless in raising these questions and concerns than Cindy Forster, the provincial representative for the Welland Riding and a member of the NDP.

This Monday, September 11^th,  on the first day the Ontario legislature went back in to session following a summer break,  Forster stood on the floor and laid many of those concerns and questions flat out for everyone, including  Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her cabinet ministers to hear.

For our readers’ information, I am  now  going to run the entire hansard of  Forster’s remarks, including comments of support delivered by two Niagara area MPPs representing the other two parties.

I will have much more to post on these remarks and related matters in the days ahead so stay tune. But for now, here are Forster’s remarks –

Cindy Forster in Ontario Legislature. File Photo

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 11 September 2017 Lundi 11 septembre 2017

Ms. Cindy Forster: The environmentalists were let go; you’re right. These people didn’t have a union at the time, so it was just: “Here’s your package. Goodbye. See you around”—some of them with 20 or 25 years’ experience. What has happened is, that has kind of continued to happen. These people eventually joined OPSEU and they got a collective agreement. But their life hasn’t been made any easier since then, except that they now have a voice and the right to file a grievance and do those kinds of things. Continue reading →

‘This is not only Sandy Annunziata and his attitude towards our tax dollars. This is a system that has run amok over the citizens of Niagara, and it starts at the top.’

By Ed Smith

Posted September 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – In light of the recent revelation into the use of public funds by Fort Erie Regional Councillor Sandy Annunziata, Niagara at Large is pleased to post the following column by Niagara, Ontario resident and community activist Ed Smith that, in NAL’s view, cuts through some of the crap that has been thrown out there and takes a deeper look into the facts.)

Fort Erie regional councilor Sandy Annunziata has found himself explaining his travel expenses lately.

For those of you who may be unaware, an  article in the St Catharines Standard, published on the front page of the newspaper this past September 2^nd,  exposed the fact that Regional Councillor Annunziata has received thousands of taxpayer dollars in order to drive to Toronto for a radio talk show on which he is a frequent guest host.  According to the Standard article Annunziata asserted the money was “well spent”.

Again according to the article in the Standard; regional councillors receive 54 cents for every kilometre traveled up to 5,000 kilometres, and 48 cents for every kilometre after that.  Of the more than 15,900 kilometres Annunziata claimed as travel expenses in 2015 more than half, or 8,324 km, were for trips to Newstalk 1010. He would have received around $4,100 dollars. Continue reading →

Be there for this Event on Wednesday, September 20th at 7 p.m. in the Fort Erie Public Library

A Submission to Niagara At Large from  John Bacher

Posted September 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Mel Swart in the 1990s, celebrating the designation of the Niagara Escarpment as a World Biosphere Reserve.

Much of the history of the protection of the environment in Niagara, Ontario is the result of the bonds of friendship between a few people working patiently to defend the earth over decades. Nowhere else is this history as vivid as the ties between a handful of Fort Erie residents, Edmund Zavitz, and a great disciple of this rescuer of Ontario, Mel Swart.

  Many of these people are members of the Bertie Historical Society, based in the Niagara municipality of Fort Erie.   Continue reading →

Just last year,  Kathryn McGarry stood  in the Ontario legislature and expressed zero tolerance for harassment in any workplace in the province

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

Posted September 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

When are Ontario Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry ad the Kathleen Wynne government finally going to act on mounting concerns raised about the way the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority does business with millions of dollars of our money?

The release this past September 5th of a report about alleged cases of workplace harassment, including alleged “witnessed (cases) of offensive behaviours such as undesired sexual attention, threats of violence, bullying and discrimination, against employees at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has more than a few citizens across this region, along with this one, asking the same question.

The question is this –

When in God’s name is the Ontario government and the province’s Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry finally going to use whatever powers they have under the Ontario Conservation Act they seem to be so proud of updating to address these disturbing allegations and all of the other concerns and questions that have been raised over the past two years by everyday citizens, by local municipalities, by area MPPs and more recently, through this September 5th report by the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union about the way the NPCA does business with millions of dollars of our tax money?

Continue reading →

 Niagara At Large first posted the following petition, including an introductory commentary urging you to sign it , in the days leading up to the last long weekend  of this summer when many of our readers were either away on vacation or were wanting – quite understandably – to have a little end-of- summer  time away from what is happening in the news.

Congressman Brian Higgins Makes Safety a Priority as Department of Energy Proceeds With Transport of Highly Enriched Liquid Nuclear Waste Underway

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

Posted September 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo area Congressman Brian Higgins has been a leader in raising concerns about planned cross-border shipments of radioactive waste.

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins, who has frequently objected to the U.S. Department of Energy’s transport of liquid nuclear waste between Canada and the United States without a thorough environmental review, won approval for legislation that will help support efforts to prepare and protect communities impacted. 

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whose mission is preventing nuclear terrorism by improving detection, planning and response capabilities in conjunction with international and state and local partners. Continue reading →

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

Posted September 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Visitors to downtown St. Catharines’ St. Paul Street will soon notice a more ‘pedestrian friendly’ main road at the east end of downtown.

St. Paul Street road construction wraps up this week and the road will re-open to vehicular traffic Friday, Sept. 8. St. Paul Street between Carlisle and James streets has been under construction and closed to vehicles since May.

Sidewalks widened significantly on a stretch of St. Paul Street between Carlisle and James Street in heart of downtown. Photo by Doug Draper

Among the enhancements making the road more accessible and pedestrian-friendly are the new, wider sidewalks and the pedestrian crossover at Garden Park, a new crossing where vehicles are required to stop and wait for pedestrians to completely cross the road. Continue reading →

OPSEU leaders call on province’s Liberal government to do something about” impacts on employee health” at Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

A Call for Government Action from the Ontario Public Service Employees Uniont (OPSEU)

Posted September 6^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

For the past couple of years, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) has been at the centre of a great deal of public controversy. The NPCA has been accused of improper use of public funds, disrespect for the democratic rights of citizens, and a pro-development bias that is ignoring environmental concerns in a region that has already lost 90 per cent of its wetlands.

One of many public demonstrations- this one last year in front of the NPCA offices in Welland –  fueled by concerns over how the Conservation Authority does business with millions of our municipal tax dollars – this one last year in front of the NPCA offices in Welland. Photo by Doug Draper

The public turmoil swirling around the NPCA is matched by a difficult and unhealthy workplace environment. Continue reading →

“It’s the job of journalism, , to provide key facts and context for people to understand their world. … if you are denying the reality that the Earth is warming, then you are not going to prepare in the same way for what we are seeing now, for these unprecedented events. … You will just go ahead and rebuild the oil capital of the United States exactly how it was, as if there’s no connection between this very industry (and) the storm itself.”

Naomi Klein

A Message to North America’s all-too conservative mainstream media

Posted September 6th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper – There is a reason why you often have to go to edgier alternative sources for news and analysis like ‘The Nation’ or ‘Democracy Now’ to hear or read Naomi Klein, one of Canada’s most dynamic and fearless progressive thinkers and authors of such gooks as ‘No Logo’, ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’ and most recently ‘No is Not Enough’, a book we all need to read as a manual for how to overcome the scourge of Trump and, as Klein hopes, “arrive at a radically better future.” Continue reading →

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey brings national attention to water issues

A News Commentary by Fiona McMurran, a citizen activist residing in Niagara, Ontario and long-time member of the South Niagara Chapter of the Council of Canadians

Posted September 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara South Council of Canadians member Jake Falardeau collects a water sample from Lyons Creek in the Niagara, Ontario municipality of  Welland. Photo by Melissa McGlashan

The South Niagara Chapter of the Council of Canadians delivered a message in a bottle to the Trudeau government calling for the restoration of protections to Canada’s waterways.

In 2012, the federal government under now former Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched a wholesale attack on Canada’s environmental protections. Among the substantial changes to legislation and regulations was the refashioning of the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which became the Navigation Protection Act.

The revised Act removed 99 per cent of Canada’s lakes and rivers from the Schedule of protected waterways, leaving them vulnerable to damaging impacts from industrial projects such as dams, pipelines, fish farms, and mines.   Continue reading →

News from Niagara’s regional government

Posted September 6th, on Niagara At Large​

Niagara Region headquarters in Thorold

Niagara, Ontario – Regional Chair Alan Caslin is pleased to announce that Niagara Region is the recipient of a $35,000 grant from Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and an additional $20,000 from the Local Immigration Partnership, a Federal program. 

These grants will fund the strategic redevelopment of the Region’s online immigration portal, a key marketing tool that will be used to grow Niagara’s economy through the attraction of highly qualified immigrants. Continue reading →

News from the Council of Canadians

Posted September 6th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara/Hamilton, Ontario – The Council of Canadians has been opposing the tripling of the existing 63,000 barrel per day Enbridge Line 10 heavy crude pipeline since November 2015.

As noted on the Calgary-based transnational Enbridge corporation website, “Line 10 is a 143-kilometre export pipeline that carries oil from Enbridge’s Westover Terminal in Hamilton, Ontario to West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. From there, the oil travels via the Kiantone Pipeline to Warren, Pennsylvania, where it is refined into gasoline, diesel, propane, butane, asphalt and other petroleum products.” Continue reading →

Thousands of Trees being stripped away to make way for controversial oil pipeline

A News Analysis from Hamilton, Ontario-based ‘Citizens At City Hall,” known by many in Hamilton simply as CATCH

Posted September 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Thousands of trees are being cut down across rural Hamilton to make way for the controversial expansion of the Enbridge Line 10 oil export pipeline opposed by local climate activists. Company plans call for the clearing of more than fifty times the “treed area” that was logged this summer near Scenic Drive by a housing developer. 

The latter cutting spurred public outrage and councillors recently refused to provide a retroactive permit to that developer who removed just over 100 trees. But city bylaws don’t require tree cutting permits outside the urban boundary where almost all the pipeline work is taking place. And council didn’t pay any attention to this impact of Enbridge’s pipe expansion when they submitted comments to the National Energy Board project review last year. Continue reading →

“While the temporary change in taste or odour may be noticeable … there is no health risk.”

A News Advisory from Niagara’s regional government

Posted September 5th on Niagara At Large

​​Niagara, Ontario – Niagara residents who receive their drinking water from the Decew Falls Water Treatment Plant (residents of St. Catharines, Niagara-on the-Lake, Thorold and Lincoln) may notice a musty/earthy taste or odour in their tap water.

Changes in taste and odour are caused naturally by seasonal changes affecting the conditions of source water, with late August being a particularly common time to see these types of changes. These seasonal conditions can result in naturally occurring elements in the water that result in a musty/earthy smell and taste that may be detectable to some people at very low levels. Depending on weather conditions, these tastes and odours may continue for a couple of weeks. Continue reading →

A Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada in response to North Korea’s latest testing of a nuclear weapon

From the Office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

If we don’t poison ourselves to death with our own pollution, maybe this screwball can finish us off with nuclear bombs, while China keeps his brutal regime by supplying it with  energy and other vital resources.

Posted September 3rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement in response to North Korea’s latest testing of a nuclear weapon:

“Canada unequivocally condemns North Korea’s‎ nuclear test of September 3 which, combined with its aggressive program of ballistic missile testing, represents a clear and present threat to the safety and security of its neighbours and the international community.

“This most recent test, which appears to have been of a much greater magnitude than its five previous nuclear explosions, is in direct contravention of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and‎ demonstrates once again North Korea’s flagrant disregard of international law.

“These continued provocations by North Korea’s leadership, along with their profoundly dangerous push to develop nuclear weapons and test ballistic missiles near neighbouring countries, only serve to further isolate them.

“Canada has been steadfast in insisting that North Korea abandon its current course, including its aggressive rhetoric, and asks that it resumes constructive dialogue toward a comprehensive and verifiable solution.

“We urge the UN Security Council to take further decisive action to effectively constrain North Korea’s proliferation efforts, and call on all states to fully implement relevant UN sanctions.

“We will continue to work with key regional partners – including the United States, South Korea and Japan – as well as the broader international community, to counter the North Korean threat.

From the Prime Minister’s Web Site (http://pm.gc.ca/)

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

‘PRIVATE PROPERTY … . Please use only the public beach area. THANK YOU!’  – a sign along the beach shores

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 3rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – One sunny warm weekend earlier this August, I took a short trip with a few others in the Fort Erie area to the shores of Lake Erie to take a walk along a beach.

I had not been to a Lake Erie beach for a while and as odd as it may seem for someone who lives in the Niagara region, I have probably done more walks along the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts over the past two or three years than I’ve done along the beaches of our Great Lakes over the past 20 or 30.

Odd, except that I’ve got a number of friends who live or vacation out on Cape Cod and, as I was reminded during that recent trip to a beach along Lake Erie, the beaches along the Cape, where lining the shores are some of the most expensive homes you can find on the continent, are far more inviting to visitors and residents alike. Continue reading →

Summer of Love vs. Summer of Floods, Fires, Hate and Fear …. 50 Years Ago and Today

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do. … There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.’ – from the Eddie Cochran song ‘Summertime Blues’, performed by The Who on the cusp of ‘The Summer of Love’ – 50 years ago this 2017 – at the Monterey Pop Festival.

The official start of ‘Summer 2017’ – the Canada Day or the Fourth of July holiday, depending on which side of the border you live on – started off on a fairly high note it you were living on the Canadian side.

U2’s Bono greating fans on Parliament Hill during Canada Day 2017 celebrations

There was the huge Canada Day bash on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in celebration of the country’s 150 years of Confederation, with U2’s Bono – rock music’s global ambassador for peace and giving – winging in to congratulate Canadians for holding to values that now seem so lost south of the border, in Trumpland.

“When others build walls, you open doors. When others divide, your arms are open wide. Where you lead, others follow, and that’s the real reason we’re here today,” said Bono before he and his band mate, The Edge, broke into a song in the shadow of Canada’s Parliament Building. “Thank you for the country you are continuing to build.” Continue reading →

Petition urges Ontario’s Wynne government “to immediately give access to the Ontario Auditor General to conduct a forensic financial and operational audit and increase authority powers of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry over local conservation authority board operations.”

 You can read a copy of the petition, drafted by Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster, and add your name to it by clicking a link you will find at the bottom of this post.

Posted on Niagara At Large, with an introductory commentary by NAL publisher Doug Draper

August 30^th, 2017.

Welland Rding MPP Cindy Forster

Niagara, Ontario – Possibly no member of the provincial legislature has been more vocal in her determination to get the Ontario government to act on concerns and questions many Niagara area residents have raised about the way millions of their tax dollars are being spent by at the  Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority – an NPCA with a board of directors stacked with municipal politicians appointed by a majority of their political counterparts (including themselves, in many cases) on the Al Caslin-led regional council – than Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster.

For her efforts, Forster has weathered a relentless backlash of criticism, peppered with insults and scorn, coming from members of the NPCA board and a cast of their political cronies and willing enablers. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwth

Posted August 29th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to immediately increase funding for Ontario hospitals, as the crisis in neonatal intensive care highlights the impact of Conservative and Liberal cuts to hospital services.

One of Niagara, Ontaro’s remaining hospitals in Welland.

“Parents of sick or premature babies who need immediate care are already under enormous stress and anxiety. They deserve to know that their baby will be cared for today, without any delay,” said Horwath.

“But cuts to hospital funding have created a capacity crisis inside Ontario’s hospitals that’s causing huge worry for parents and stress for doctors, nurses, and health care workers. It’s time for the Wynne government to wake up to the crisis they have created and take immediate action to fix it.” Continue reading →

News from regional Niagara’s Public Health Department

Posted August 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region Public Health has received its first laboratory-confirmed case of West Nile Virus for 2017.

Although most people infected with West Nile Virus do not get sick, 20 per cent of people suffer flu-like symptoms and fatigue, and one per cent suffer serious infections of the brain such as meningitis. Fever, severe headache, body aches, neck stiffness, confusion, weakness, tremors, and sudden sensitivity to light are the most common symptoms of severe infection. Anyone suffering these should see a physician. Continue reading →

Thanks to all of the dedicated citizens out there who work            to make  good communities happen

A Column by Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted August 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Pelham/Niagara Mayor Dave Augustyn

Time and again this summer, I have been very proud of Pelham’s wonderful community and small-town feel!

Congratulations and thanks to the Fonthill Lions, for instance, who hosted a first-time, amazing community event on Saturday – called Sliderfest!

Held at the Lion’s GL Klager Park, the sold-out event featured a head-to-head “slider” competition between five Pelham restaurant Chefs: Zest Restaurant, Lookout Pointe Country Club, Pub on the Hill, Iggy’s Pub & Grubb, and Churchill Meats (the crowd’s favourite). Continue reading →

From the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

(A Brief Foreword on this dangerous matter from Niagara At Large journalist and publisher Doug Draper – I’ll say it right here.

Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gages in Ontario legislature. File photo

Good for Wayne Gates! – the only politician on the Ontario side of the Niagara River who is regularly and publicly raising concerns about what is now looking like an epidemic of serious discharges of pollution from a Niagara Falls, New York wastewater treatment plant to a Niagara River that is an upstream source of drinking water for millions of Canadians and Americans around Lake Ontario.

There was a massive discharge of oily looking pollution from the Niagara Falls, N.Y. plant on the last full weekend of this July – creating an unsightly blob below the Horseshoe and American Falls that made international news – and there have been at least two serious discharges to the Niagara River from the same plant since.

Meanwhile, The Buffalo News –  the only mainstream newspaper in all of Western New York and Southern Ontario that has been covering this issue well – obtained information earlier this August that this plant allowed a series of overflows of untreated effluent to the same international water body for the better part of a year now.

The dark, oily, foul-smelling blob can be seen surrounding Maid of the Mist boat and dock area near American side of Niagara River on July 29th.

And what is the only word we get from anyone in our Ontario government to date? A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change told the media earlier this August, that since the pollution is originating from the American side of the Niagara River, it’s not the province’s place to get involved. Continue reading →

Hamilton city planners may not like it but this could be good news if you want to see a limit or  end to paving over ever more of what’s left of paradise

A News Analysis from Hamilton, Ontario-based ‘Citizens At City Hall,” known by many in Hamilton simply as CATCH

Posted August 24th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large journalist and publisher Doug Draper – If, as the following recent news post from the Hamilton group Citizens At City Hall suggests, the Ontario government is taking steps to limit discourage more low-density urban sprawl into what is left of our farm lands, forests and other green places, then Kudos for the provincial government.

Hopefully, it will help stop the bulldozers and buzz saws from invading Thundering Water Forest and other green places here in Niagara.)

Hamiltion, Ontario – Planning staff (for the City of Hamilton) say updated provincial anti-sprawl rules have ignored city concerns and will restrict urbanization of more farmland such as the Elfrida expansion. They’re also worried Hamilton can’t meet the new rules requiring higher density housing and employment near LRT stops. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Dan Rather, from his Facebook page

Posted August 24^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Blame the press. Blame President Obama.

 Insist down is up and up is down. Create an alternate reality. Gaslight. Gaslight. Gaslight. Misquote yourself. Leave out the words that outraged a majority of a nation.

American journalist and former CBS news anchor Dan Rather

The speech that President Trump gave (to an arena full of supporters in Phoenix, Arizona this past August 22^nd) was not the teleprompter-confined President of speech (he delivered the night before) on Afghanistan.

He was the martyr to an unfair witch hunt. His words after Charlottesville were in reality healing – if the press would just tell the truth. He was misquoted and taken out of context. He has drawn the battle lines to divide a nation between his “us” and the “them” of the others. And he basks in the swagger. Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 23^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Wayne Thomson, a Niagara Falls, Ontario councillor and former mayor for the city, called it “one of the best presentations I have heard on the issue.”

Niagara citizen Owen Bjorgan speaks with passion to Niagara Falls city council for saving what he calls a rich and remarkable place.

The issue was Thundering Waters Forest – 484 acres of forest, wetlands and savannah grasses that is in the crosshairs for urban development these days – and the presenter is a young Niagara citizen and biological sciences graduate Owen Bjorgan, who started the Niagara Falls city council meeting this August 22^nd wondering if he was even going to be heard. Continue reading →

“Before the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Water Act, economic prosperity correlated with burning rivers, a dead Lake Erie, and toxic neighborhoods like Love Canal….  The current attempts (by the Trump administration) to remove the nation’s clean water protections will negatively impact thousands of miles of waterways … and even has the potential to undermine the recent restoration progress in our own region.”                                                                                                       – Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper  

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

Posted August 23rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York – Fivey-one years After President Lyndon Johnson Visited Buffalo on his “Save Lake Erie Tour” Western New Yorkers Stress Importance of Federal Protections & Investments in Clean Air & Water.

Citizens Campaign for the Environment led a “Save the EPA” rally with Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) and several Western New York environmental organizations emphasizing the importance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role in protecting the health and safety of communities.

The event took place during National Water Quality month; 51 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Buffalo, NY to embark on a three-day Northeast tour to save Lake Erie.  Continue reading →

“Niagara officials may state that 2,800 jobs will be created, but they fail to mention what workers will be hired for those jobs. … Chinese investors are already known globally for            importing their own workers.”

A Commentary by Melissa McGlashan, Trade Critic, South Niagara Chapter, Council of Canadians

Posted August 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Proponents of the Thundering Waters development in Niagara Falls, Ontario claim that it will create jobs and economic prosperity for people in the region.

In The Globe and Mail on July 25, 2017, Jill Mahoney reported that; “Officials estimate the master-planned community called Paradise would attract 3.5 million visitors a year and directly create 2,800 jobs.”  Unfortunately, the fact that the developer, GR (CAN) Group, is a Chinese investor makes local employment from this development highly unlikely.

Melissa McGlashan, Trade Critic for the Council of Canadians’ South Niagara Chapter, along with two other South Niagara Chapter COC members, Fiona McMurran and Timothy Healey, visit Thundering Waters Forest earlier this August when other Niagara citizens were camping out in the Forest to draw more public attention to the campaign to save the area from urban development.

Canada has a trade and investment agreement with China, known as the Canada – China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, or Canada – China FIPA.  Under this agreement China is granted most favoured nation status. This means that no other nation’s companies in Canada (including Canadian companies) can be given preferential treatment over those of China. Continue reading →

“Ontario this summer is headed for one of its worst outbreaks of West Nile virus in the past 15 years.”

A News Alert from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted August 22, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario this summer is headed for one of its worst outbreaks of West Nile virus in the past 15 years, according to research by Brock University scientist Fiona Hunter and PhD student Bryan Giordano.

A close-up image of a Culex pipiens mosquito perched on a pin is shown. Photo Credit: Centre for Vector-Borne Disease, Brock University

The alert stems from the testing of mosquitoes in recent weeks, which found that Ontario’s second West Nile epidemic since 2002 is imminent.

The Brock researchers’ paper West Nile virus in Ontario, Canada: A twelve-year analysis of human case prevalence, mosquito surveillance, and climate data was published Tuesday, Aug. 22 in the journal PLOS ONE. Continue reading →

Forest defenders planning to take their conservation message to August 22nd Niagara Falls city council meeting

News Commentary

A Update from NAL reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The week-long campout several Niagara citizens staged in Thundering Waters Forest may be over but their campaign to save the 484 acres of forest, wetlands and savannah grasses from a development plan they fear will forever degrade this place as a natural filter for air and water, and as a haven for wildlife goes on, the citizens say.

One of the many frogs those camping in and visiting Thundering Waters Forest earlier this August spotted in the wetlands. Photo courtesy of Owen Bjorgan

“We have momentum and we have larger and larger numbers of people who have picked up on this issue and what is at stake her for our environment,” Owen Bjorgan, a university graduate in environmental sciences and one of the citizens who spent seven days and nights camping in the Thundering Waters Forest in the south-western end of Niagara Falls, Ontario told Niagara At Large this August 21^st. Continue reading →

Town delegation speaks for Fonthill Kame, Ridgeville, Strategic Funding & GO Rail at  Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference

A Column from Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted August 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Town of Pelham Mayor and Niagara regional councilor Dave Augustyn

(A brief foreword note by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – A few of the sentences in the following column by Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn have been highlighted by Niagara At Large to bring attention to the fact that at least some municipal representatives in the Niagara region – in this case representatives from the Town of Pelham – actually went to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa earlier this August with calls to the provincial government to protect what is left of the region’s natural heritage, including lands on the Fonthill Kame, and to discourage any more paving over our the region’s natural area with low-density urban sprawl.)

Now here is the Pelham mayor’s column –

Last week, Pelham Councillor Peter Papp, the Town of Pelham’s chief administrative officer, Darren Ottaway, the town’s treasurer, Teresa Quinlin, and I attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa. Continue reading →