Author Archives: dougdraper

–  Protecting Diverse Habitats Across Ontario

News from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Posted July 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario is strengthening the protection and increasing the rate of wetland recovery across the province.

Wetlands are an essential component of Ontario’s biodiversity and are vital in mitigating the impacts of climate change by lowering the risk of flooding and drought, preventing erosion and moderating climate extremes. These diverse and productive habitats have many economic and health benefits, including improving water quality and offering excellent recreation and tourism destinations.

The Ontario government would do well to start by protecting the provincial significant wetlands, like this on, in the Thundering Water Forest in Niagara Falls – a place now targeted for urban development.

Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Kathryn McGarry met with wetland conservation partners today to speak about Ontario’s Wetland Conservation Strategy. Continue reading →

Niagara town council offers not a word of support for one of Lincoln’s gold star citizens

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 19^th, 2-17 on Niagara At Large

Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly. – Mahatma Gandhi

Niagara, Ontario – Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton and her town council had at least two opportunities to publicly speak out in support of one of their town’s most respected and dedicated public servants and citizens. And both times, they did not.

Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton.

That public servant and citizen is Bill Hodgson, a Lincoln regional councillor a mayor and school board trustee for the municipality who, until recently, also served as one of 15 appointed members on the board of directors for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

This spring, a majority of the other 14 NPCA board members – a majority of them elected Niagara mayors and councillors appointed by Niagara’s regional council – went behind closed doors like the snivelling cowards and creeps most of them are and voted to “censure” Bill Hodgson – as in slam the guy with a formal expression of disapproval tantamount to a pillorying or shaming – for reasons many of the rest of us do not understand. Continue reading →

 “This announcement is great news for Fort Erie and Niagara. A new seniors’ facility at this site changes the entire dynamic for the neighbourhood.”  Fort Erie Mayor and regional councillor Wayne Redekop

From a Niagara regional government  news release

Fort Erie Mayor and Niagara regional coouncillor Wayne Redekop

Posted July 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region has purchased a property in Fort Erie that will serve as the future home of Gilmore Lodge long-term care home. 

The 11-acre site, located at 200 Garrison Road, is ideally suited to accommodate a campus of facilities and services to better support Fort Erie’s aging population. It will accommodate a new long-term care home and additional residential and mixed-use facilities.  Continue reading →

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted July 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario  – In response to Ontario auto insurance rates rising for the second quarter in a row, Ontario NDP Transportation critic and Niagara Falls MPPWayne Gates issued the following statement.

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

“After dismissing her promise to Ontarians to reduce auto insurance rates as a ‘stretch goal,’ Premier Kathleen Wynne is now siding with insurance companies.

Instead of helping Ontario drivers and their families who are already paying the highest auto insurance bills in the country, Wynne is allowing insurance companies to continue raising the rates.

Under Premier Wynne, Ontarians pay more than 55 per cent more than anyone else in the country, while being among the safest drivers in Canada. Continue reading →

“By paying my staff a living wage, it encouraged them to take ownership of their positions, build confidence, and find value in their work. This increased overall productivity, boosted company morale and virtually eliminated turnover.”                                         – Damin Starr, Owner, Pre-Line Processing, Niagara, Ontario

A News Release from Ontario’s Liberal Caucus Service Bureau

Posted July 19th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

‘Workers, small businesses and academics agree new legislation helps Ontarians’

Niagara Falls, Ontario – Today (this June 19th), Liberal MPPs were in Niagara Falls to hear about the importance of making sure everyone is sharing in the benefits of our growing economy. Here’s what local workers, small businesses and academics are saying about the new Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs legislation:

Simon Black, Professor, Centre for Labour Studies, Brock University –

“As those with lower income spend more of what they earn then those with higher incomes, raising the minimum wage will improve macroeconomic conditions overall.”  Continue reading →

Can we develop a more just system?

“We see corporate greed all around us. Four out of 10 Canadians – many of them earning around $11 an hour – can’t pay their bills but Canadian corporations are sitting on at least $630-billion in cash they’re refusing to invest in the economy.”               – Nick Fillmore

A Commentary by veteran Canadian journalist Nick Fillmore

Posted July 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Aggressive capitalism is kicking the crap out of us, so we should see if we can start a public conversation about the need for an alternative political and social system.

It’s shocking that capitalist businesses have become so dominant. They literally rule the world.  In Canada, the low-profile Canadian Council of Chief Executives is all powerful when it comes to influencing government. Continue reading →

GNCC Advocates for Evidence-Based Policy, Warns of Dangers in Bill 148 Standing Committee Hearing

A Message from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Posted July 19^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario– This July 19th, the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs convened a public hearing in Niagara Falls to gather community input on Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (2017). The GNCC represented the interests of Niagara’s employers.

The Act includes a large number of changes to Ontario’s labour law, but most importantly, raises the minimum wage to $15/hr over 18 months, starting with an increase to $14/hr on January 1st, 2018.

The GNCC noted that the pace of this change was unprecedented, and while Seattle, New York, and California have opted to phase a similar increase in over four to six years, Ontario will complete the bulk of the increase within only seven months. Continue reading →

A Brief Call-Out from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 19th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“I was brought up to believe that there is no virtue in conforming meekly to the dominant opinion of the moment. I was encouraged to believe that simple conformity results in stagnation for a society.” – Jane Jacobs

For all of us across this greater Niagara region who all too often find ourselves wondering if there is anything citizens can do to stop moneyed developers and their political friends from forcing bad planning on our communities, ‘Citizen Jane – Battle for the City’ is a documentary film that should inspire us all to lock arms as citizens in our communities and fight on because it is possible to win!

I saw this great documentary when it was screening at the Amherst Theatre in Buffalo this spring and tonight – this Wednesday, July 19^th at 7 p.m. at the Film House at the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines off St. Paul Street – it is screening again.

Sorry I missed getting this post on earlier, but if you are interested and can still catch this July 19^th screening of Citizen Jane, I know you will love it.

Here is a trailer for the film that you can click on followed by a brief write-up

Read a Buffalo News review of Citizen Jane – http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/11/citizen-jane-hero-time/ .

Back to NAL publisher Doug Draper again – Continue reading →

”Two-thirds of NPCA employees indicated they have experienced workplace bullying, while 70 per cent say they have witnessed “offensive behaviours”.’

 A News Release from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Posted July 19^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

OPSEU president Smokey Thomas (right) and David Barrick, NPCA corporate services director and Port Colborne regional councilor, exchange a few words before an NPCA board meeting at Balls Falls this past spring. Photo by Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario  – More than 85 per cent of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) workers say their workplace is harmful to mental health, according to a stress survey conducted by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), in co-operation with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW).

Almost 90 per cent of NPCA employees completed the survey, which asked them to evaluate the psychological climate in their workplace. Two-thirds of NPCA employees indicated they have experienced workplace bullying, while 70 per cent say they have witnessed “offensive behaviours.” Continue reading →

We, the people, along with our municipal councils can begin the process of dissolving the NPCA now

A Brief One by Doug Draper, environment writer/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted April 18th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Lincoln regional councilor heading in to what would be his last NPCA board meeting this spring before being censured by the board and tendering his resignation

Over the past couple of years there has been much to do about the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and the concerns growing numbers of Niagara area residents and municipal councils have that all is not well with this body and the way it is going about business with millions of our tax dollars.

In the last year alone, we have witnessed the NPCA’s board of directors – a board stacked not with conservationists, but with regional councillors and mayors who may not see protecting and preserving what is left of our natural heritage as any more of a priority than sacrificing ever more of it to sprawling development – use some of the tax dollars the NPCA receives from local municipalities to sue a private citizen who has been lobbying for an independent audit of its operations.

We have witnessed some members of this board insult and smear Cindy Forster, a provincial member of parliament representing the Niagara riding of Welland, who has been among those leading the charge for more transparency and accountability from this board. Continue reading →

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

Posted July 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“There’s been no pause,” Kimberley Nemrava, vice-president for the British Columbia and Yukon division of the Canadian Red Cross was quoted saying of the wildfires destroying homes, communities and vast tracts of wilderness around them in the heart of B.C. this July. “We’ve moved right from floods into fires.”

No pause, indeed!

 As the late, great writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin put it in one of his most searing essays on the follies of humankind – “God gave Noah the rainbow sign. No more water, the fire next time.”

For those who are taking the trouble to pay attention to what is going down in the world around us, it’s as clear as the hell we are collectively creating for ourselves that the floods and the wildfires, and droughts and wind storms are becoming ever more frequent and severe, costing lives and costing our economies escalating billions and trillions of dollars in property destructing, insurance and health costs, and on and on. Continue reading →

A Public Advisory from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted July 18^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario –Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre would like to alert the public about renewed Canada Revenue Agency scams going on in the region.

Mr. Badawey would like to remind the public to be vigilant when dealing with callers or emails claiming to be from CRA officials. The scam claims to be about a tax audit performed on past tax filing years, the result of which is that you are owed a refund. They state that your refund cannot be processed until you provide your credit card information. Continue reading →

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s State on U.S. Release of NAFTA Negotiating Objectives

Posted July 18th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Premier Kathleen Wynne released the following statement this July 17th  on the U.S. federal administration’s release of its negotiating objectives in advance of NAFTA renegotiations:

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

“As Premier, I am committed to standing up for Ontario workers and businesses. I see this as the next step in defending Ontario’s interests and strengthening our trading relationships across North America.

While the renegotiation of NAFTA will be a complex undertaking, it is a chance to bring the agreement into the 21st century so that it better reflects the way we do business today. Continue reading →

Help save Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario from developers’ buzz saws! Sign the Petition below.

Posted July 17th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

An Introductory Message from Doug Draper, environment writer, publisher, Niagara At Large

Niagara At Large is pleased to post the necessary links to a very important petition now being circulated far and wide in social media circles, urging Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government and other political leaders to save some 500 acres of forested lands, provincially significant wetlands, and savannah grasses in our Niagara River watershed before it is too late. Continue reading →

From Tuesday, July 18th to Thursday, July 20th, 2017  at the Welland International Flatwater Centre

News from the Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted July 17^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre is preparing for a busy week ahead as the canoe and kayak portions of the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) come to the City of Welland. Badawey, one of ten members of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus, is proud to be showcasing Niagara Centre to indigenous athletes and their families from all across Canada and the United States.

From July 18 to July 20, indigenous athletes will be competing in canoe and kayaking competitions at the Welland International Flatwater Centre.  The events will be open to the public free of charge. Continue reading →

I’d be happy to see him thrown in the slammer for the wildlife he’s blown away, alone!

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 15^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“The children asked him if to kill was not a sin
‘Not when he looked so fierce’, his mummy butted in
If looks could kill it would have been us instead of him
All the children sing

Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill, Bungalow Bill?
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill, Bungalow Bill?”

–      from The Beatles’ song ‘Bungalow Bill’

Check out the following two disgusting photos from about seven years ago – the first one of Donald Jr. (left) and his idiot brother Eric doing a grip and grin with a wild cat they shot on safari, and the second of Donald Jr. – he’s a “good boy,” his old man insists – posing cheerfully with an African buffalo he apparently bullet-drilled down.

If these two rich, white boys like stalking around in the fields and woods so much, all suited up in camouflage, gum boots and totting a gun, why don’t they do what tens of thousands of other young Americans do and volunteer to serve in the armed forces for the nation their daddy claims he wants to put so first and make so great again? Continue reading →

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Posted July 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Premier Kathleen Wynne released the following statement this past Friday, July 14th regarding her participation in the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Rhode Island:

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

“We are at a critical point in our North American trade relationships. Now more than ever, we must reinforce the need for free trade and cross-border partnerships to grow our economies and create good jobs.

I was pleased to join Prime Minister Trudeau at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting to do just that. Over two days, I have connected with U.S. governors to discuss our common interests and the need to continue working together to advance our shared prosperity. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I can’t help it, Niagara At Large readers, and I hope you will indulge me on this one for a few moments.

Former U.S. Preisdent Jimmy Carter as he looked during his years in office

In what so often seem to be these scoundrel times we live in, it is important to remember that there are good people among us, devoted to making our world a little better.

With that in mind, here is to one of my favourite people and one of the most decent people ever elected to the to the U.S. presidency – Jimmy Carter, who at the age of 92, is still out there volunteering his time to Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building affordable housing for people in the United States, Canada and other parts of the world.

This July 13^th, while working on a building project for the organization in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jimmy Carter collapsed from dehydration and ended up spending the night in hospital. Continue reading →

What’s the point of holding a nomination meeting in Niagara?

A Commentary from the Ontario Liberal Party

Posted July 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Amid accusations from PC Party Members and former executive members that Patrick Brown’s PC Party is stuffing ballot boxes and fixing nomination meetings, Rick Dykstra, the President of the PC Party, submitted sworn testimony to a court highlighting the contempt Brown’s PC Party has for their own party members and their nomination process.

Ontario PC Party president and former St. Catharines Harper/Conservative MP Rick Dykstra

In an affidavit obtained and reported on by the CBC, Mr. Dykstra (a former federal Conservative MP for St. Catharines) admitted that Conservative nominations don’t actually matter, with PC Leader Patrick Brown hand-picking his party’s nominees and bypassing hard-working nomination candidates, like Mike Strange, Dan Sadler, and Nick Lauwers.

“The nomination meeting is not determinative of who will ultimately be listed on the ballot as a PC party candidate in the general election… There is no requirement in the Election Act, the Constitution or the rules that the party leader must endorse, or can only endorse the nomination contestant who is successful at the nomination meeting.” – Rick Dykstra, CBC News, July 10, 2017.  Continue reading →

Sanders speaks up for ‘people power’ and grassroots democracy on cable news program

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I travel across the Ontario/New York State border quite often to visit some of my American friends, and they are repeatedly telling me how depressed they are with Trump and his stupid tweets and temperament scorching their land.

“I can barely stand to turn on the news,” one of them told me recently. “It leaves you feeling hopeless, depressed.”

I dig it. There are many here, on the Canadian border, who worry about the impact the Trump rampage will have on our health and welfare too. Continue reading →

“Our thoughts are with all British Columbians dealing with the devastating impacts of these wildfires. ” – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

A News Release from the Prime Minister’s Office

Posted July 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – The Government of Canada will do its utmost to help the people of British Columbia facing the immediate and long-term impacts of destructive wildfires.

That is why the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the creation of a new ad hoc Cabinet committee to coordinate federal efforts to help the many communities affected by the wildfires raging through British Columbia. Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“It seems in the silly season of an election year this government’s coming up with new promises every single week,” said Ontario Conservative Party leader Patrick Brown during an interview earlier this July on a southern Ontario radio program. You know – policies like the overnight increase in the minimum wage.”

Brown’s “silly season” missive was aimed at promise made by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Liberals this spring to raise the minimum wage in the province from the current $11.40 to $15 an hour by2019.

It’s “too much, too soon,” Brown insisted.

You know, Mr. Brown, a lot of things have gone up ‘too much, too soon’ over the past two or three decades, like the price of groceries, tuition fees for college and university, home and car insurance, just to name a fuel. All while, wages for many have hardly gone up at all, and while for the better part of 10 years while your Tory buddy Mike Harris was premier of Ontario, the minimum wage did not go up one penny. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Desmond Sequeira, Multi-Faith Chaplain (Rtd.), Government of Ontario, and a resident of St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted July 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Along with millions of other Canadians, I fully support the Government decision to apologize to and compensate Omar Khadr for the callous injustices inflicted on him by successive governments of Canada, purportedly representing Canadians including me.

Omar Khadr, then and now

Persons seeking the truth would do well to visit the details of the “firefight” that started all this ( https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/07/10/omar-khadr-fact-check-paints-a-clearer-picture-of-the-case-and-the-incident-underlying-it.html ) Just don’t ask Jason Kenney for the facts of that firefight!

The subsequent events are now well known. Most significantly, none other than the Supreme Court of Canada has  pretty much declared the whole U.S. Guantanamo Bay judicial process in which Canadian investigative agencies were fully complicit to be nothing short of a kangaroo process. Continue reading →

News from the Office of Welland Riding MPP and NDP labour critic Cindy Forster

Posted July 13th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland MPP and Ontario NDP labour critic Cindy Forster on her feet in the provincial legislature. File photo

An all-party committee of MPPs is touring the province to hear feedback regarding proposed changes to labour laws – but Wednesday night, Wynne’s Liberals and the Conservatives refused to support a move from NDP MPP and Labour critic Cindy Forster meant to extend the committee’s hearings.

The proposal was aimed at accommodating a young worker who wanted a chance to speak. Conservative and Liberal MPPs joined together to cut the proceedings  and send him, and anyone else that wanted to speak away.  Continue reading →

A Call-Out from Niagara Action for Animals

Posted July 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends of Animals 

The Calgary Stampede is in full progress now.

One of many protest demonstration over the years at the Calgary Stampede

Rodeo is a spectacle of trauma and violence, causing immense animal suffering.

Chuckwagon races, calf-roping, bronco riding, and steer wrestling events subject animals to physical pain and psychological torment. Sensitive horses, cows, and calves are lassoed, wrestled, or roped to the ground. Continue reading →

An Invite to all smokers from Niagara Region’s Public Health Department

Posted June 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

​Niagara, Ontario – Free quit smoking patches are available to Niagara residents for a limited time. The STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) Program offers eligible participants in Niagara five weeks of cost-free nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation information to help them in their quit attempt.

• WHAT: Free patches for adults in Niagara to quit smoking
• WHERE: STOP workshops will be held in Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne
• WHEN: July 19, August 17 and September 28, 2017

Registration is necessary. To find out if you are eligible and to register for a workshop, call 905-688-8248 ext. 7240, or 1-888-505-6074. Continue reading →

A Message from Niagara’s regional government

Posted July 11th, 2017 on Niagara at Large

Niagara, Ontario – Thanks in large part to the feedback and continued support of Niagara’s growing number of transit users, Niagara is set to begin making service improvements and governance changes to prepare for a new region-wide transit system.

The Niagara Region Transit pilot service has been in operation for the past six years.

During that time customer feedback has helped to shape a number of service improvements, such as the enhancement of Routes 40/45 to service the Niagara Outlet Collections in Niagara-on-the-Lake, later hours servicing Brock University and Niagara College, and the realignment of several routes to better integrate with local systems. Ridership has also risen during that time as more and more residents rely on the inter-municipal connections the service provides.   Continue reading →

“This report demonstrates that the costs of pollution amount to tens of billions of dollars a year. These costs are real and will be borne by Canadian families, businesses and governments into the future unless we take action to minimize pollution.”                          – Scott Vaughan, president-CEO, International Institute for Sustainable Development

News from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a non-profit organization of experts in economics, law, environmental sciences and a host of other fields, with offices in Canada, the United States and Switzerland

Posted July 10^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A  from Niagara At Large journalist and publisher Doug Draper –

One of many  fish kills in the Great Lakes over my more than 35 years of following Great Lakes environmental issues

This report, released this spring by a team of researchers for the International Institute for Sustainable development, speaks to a very costly reality that, in my more than three and a half decades of covering environmental issues, flies in the face of those in government and industry who repeatedly argue that environmental protection regulations are a burden to the economy.

This rap against “burdensome environmental regulations” has almost always come from politicians on the right end of the spectrum – members of federal and provincial Conservative parties in Canada and Republicans in the United States – who represent the interest of corporation and other entities pushing to advance narrow, short-term interests and gains over long-term consequences that can often prove very costly, and even deadly, for a great many people. Continue reading →

 City now inviting public feedback on plan

News from the City of St. Catharines

Posted July 10^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The last time the City of St. Catharines created a transportation master plan Brock University had just opened its doors, the population was around 85,000 and St. Catharines Transit had been in operation for less than five years.

A City of St. Catharines transit bus. File photo by Doug Draper

The transportation needs of residents have expanded considerably since 1965, which is why City staff are embarking on a new Transportation Master Plan to shape the future of walking, driving, cycling and commuting in St. Catharines.

“Transportation is about more than just cars and streets,” said Brian Applebee, manager of transportation services for the City. “It’s about providing alternative and sustainable ways to connect residents to the places they need to go, both within the city and beyond our borders.” Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the Niagara Activist Network

Posted July 10th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Hello Niagara Activists,

This is 10 Men in a Tent. A movie about how the Niagara community rallied together to save the local food bank, Project Share.

In 2009, 10 community leaders spent 5 days and 5 nights in a tent, eating only food provided by the food bank and with nothing but a tent and a sleeping bag. The event raised $302,000 in food and donations. Continue reading →

Start getting informed and engaged now, people. It’s our region and future at stake here!

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” – from Dante Alighieri’s 14^th century poem Inferno

I too often find these words – intended by Dante to greet any and all unfortunates passing through the gates of hell -– crossing my mind when I dare to enter Niagara Region’s headquarters for another meeting of regional council or begin to watch a live stream of the meeting on a screen.

And I say this as someone who, for most of the 47 years we have had regional government in Niagara, Ontario, has been a strong supporter of transitioning from local municipalities to one ‘City of Niagara’ as possibly the best way of providing all Niagara residents, urban and rural, with equal access to water, waste management, public transit and other services we need.

Well I haven’t got a dying breath left in me to support a regional system of government in our Niagara any more – not with what I, along with many other residents from all corners of Niagara – have witnessed of this current edition of regional council under the chairmanship of Al Caslin.

Depressing, dispiriting, disturbing … these are just a few of the politer words that come to this reporter’s mind at far too many of the committee and council meetings Caslin and his pals have chaired over the going on three years since the last municipal elections and the end of Gary Burrough’s four-year tenure as regional chair.

Think I’m being over the top? Continue reading →

News from the Ontario government

Posted July 7th, 217 on Niagara At Large

With forest fire season well underway in Ontario, the province has increased the maximum fines for individuals and corporations for starting forest fires.

If found responsible, individuals can now be fined up to $25,000 for starting a forest fire, with fines for corporations that start a forest fire going up to $500,000. These increased maximum fines will help deter human-started fires.

Approximately half of all forest fires are started by people. Forest fires can cause considerable risk to public safety, can cause expensive property damage and have broader impacts on communities and regional industry. Continue reading →

Money should go to committed Internet news sites

A Commentary from Veteran Canadian journalist  Nick Fillmore

Posted July 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

News Media Canada – formerly the Canadian Association of Newspapers – has submitted a proposal to Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly for a whopping $350-million a year to prop up the journalism of the country’s struggling 105 dailies.

The publishers are asking for:

• $175-million of our tax dollars per year to subsidize the first 35 per cent of the salaries of hundreds of journalists who are paid $85,000 or less, including luminaries such as the Globe and Mail’s  columnist Margaret Wente, who creates her own reality, and the National Post’s right-wing reporter Christie Blatchford.
• And $90,000 a year to help each of these newspapers improve their presence on the Internet – a request that comes 18 years after Kijiji and others began grabbing their classified ads. This reveals their ineptitude to successfully get on the Internet themselves.

Continue reading →

 “I firmly believe that Niagara Centre’s designation as a Foreign Trade Zone, combined with our Gateway incentives, creates an environment that perfectly aligns with the Minister’s vision for a ‘Trade and Transportation Corridor’.” – Niagara Centre Riding MP Vance Badawey 

News from the Niagara Centre Riding constituency office of Liberal MP Vance Badawey

Posted July 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – This initiative may face at least one problem Canada has little control over. Trump doesn’t seem much interested in a future trade relationship with Canada.)

The Peace Bridge between Niagara, Ontario and Buffalo is a major Canada-U.S. crossing for people and goods

This July 4^th, Canada’s Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, unveiled details of the Government’s new Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative, which seeks to increase the efficiency of Canada’s transportation systems in order to ensure that goods are better able to reach domestic and international markets.

• $2.1 billion dollars will be invested in order to support the government’s plans.  This includes:
• $2 billion over 11 years, to develop a National Trade Corridors Fund.  This merit-based program is geared towards strengthening the efficiency and reliability of Canada’s trade corridors in order to best get people and goods to market. 
• $50 million directed towards establishing a Trade and Transport Information System. Working with Statistics Canada, public, and private partners, increase data collection will allow for sound scientific-based decision making in order to streamline all modes of transportation.   
• $50 million towards the adoption of autonomous vehicles and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), in particular the development of regulations and standards which will ensure that these new technologies are developed and implemented with the highest degree of safety.

Today’s announcement includes a preliminary call for “expression of interest projects” under the National Trade Corridors Fund. Continue reading →

If you believe in Climate Change, join the petition calling on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to isolate Trump at the G20 pushing the 19 remaining countries to sign a pledge to switch to 100% clean energy!

A Call-Out from the global, online citizens’ campaign network, Avaaz

Posted July 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends,

The international environmental group Greenpeace projected this image on the U.S. embassy headquarters in Berlin, Germany this spring after Trump announced his intentions to back away from the Paris climate agreement.

Trump’s going to try to hijack a meeting of the world’s 20 most powerful nations and turn it into an attack on our planet and the Paris climate deal.

Unless Germany’s Angela Merkel stops him. She’s one of the great climate leaders of our generation and could push hard to isolate Trump with a plan for 100% clean energy from the remaining 19 countries.

But she’ll need to know she has massive support from everywhere to take this unprecedented step. Sign and share the open letter to Merkel — we have just days to hit 1 million and Avaaz will print it in major German media ahead of the summit!

To read and sign your name to the petition, click on – Add My Name Continue reading →

“New Democrats call on Premier Wynne to stop running roughshod over Ontario workers and Ontario’s workplace safety and insurance system.” – Cindy Forster, NDP labour critic, Welland Riding MPP

A Message from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted July 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Queen’s Park – Cindy Forster, the Ontario NDP’s labour critic and MPP for the Niagara riding of Welland, issued the following statement in response to the Wynne government’s refusal to drop its defense of discriminatory practices that are currently denying injured workers their WSIB claims after they developed mental health issues while on the job –

“Instead of helping workers who were injured on the job, the Wynne government is going to court to fight them. Continue reading →

News from Canada’s Chamber of Marine Commerce

Posted July 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – Trump may not give a damn about addressing climate change, but since he announced his intentions this June to walk away from a Paris Climate Agreement endorsed by Canada and many other countries around the world, numerous parties, including U.S. state governors and industries in and outside his country, have pledged to forge ahead with plans to reduce carbon emissions that impact the earth’s climate.

The following statement from Canada’s Chamber of Marine  is but one example of those pledges. It was shared with Niagara At Large earlier this June, during a  period our site was shut down due to technical problems, but we still feel it is worthwhile posting as one more message of hope during a time when  Trump’s madness has so many of us feeling down.

So here it is – )

June 7, 2017 – The Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) is endorsing proposed international targets to reduce marine shipping’s carbon emissions per tonne-km by 50 per cent by 2050 in order to match the ambition of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Continue reading →

• Keep Peace, Liberty and Democracy Alive!
  

A Brief Message  from Doug Draper, NAL publisher

Posted July 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

What a difference an election can make!

A lot has changed – and certainly not for the better – in the 12 months since July 4th, 2017 when Barrack Obama was still in the White House, and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were still competing for delegates to become the Democratic Party’s  candidate for president of the United States.

Yet ‘Lady Liberty’ still stands tall with her torch in the harbour, and millions of Americans have risen up to resist efforts to pull them away from the torch’s light, to darker corners where fear, anger, hate and oppression crawl up from the swamp where the orange-hair creature resides. Continue reading →

 News from the Niagara Parks Commission

Posted July 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A re-enactment of battle at Niagara Park’s Chippawa Battlefield Memorial Park. File photo

Niagara Falls, Ontario – Niagara Parks and the Chippawa Branch 396 of the Royal Canadian Legion will hold a commemorative ceremony to honour those who served on the Chippawa Battlefield on Wednesday, July 5 at 7 p.m., at the Chippawa Battlefield Monument.

Fought on July 5, 1814, the Battle of Chippawa was the opening engagement of the Niagara campaign, the longest and bloodiest military operation of the War of 1812. Each year on July 5, a memorial service is held to honour the legacy of those who fell in service of their nation. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from Niagara Action for Animals (NAFA)

Posted July 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends of animals 

Here is an important petition that needs to be signed.

You can sign it by clicking on – https://www.change.org/p/premier-wynne-black-bears-shouldn-t-be-needlessly-killed-in-toronto

Every year, bears that wander into developed areas are needlessly shot, not because they pose a threat, but because there is a lack of an experienced and coordinated response.

A properly trained police unit, working closely with a wildlife expert, will help to ensure the most effective and humane outcome in these situations. Continue reading →

U2’s Bono Praises Canada as a nation that ‘opens doors’ rather than ‘builds walls’ … that ‘leads while others follow’

A Brief One to share from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Before this 150^th anniversary of Canada Day is over, I want to share this moment with you if you missed CBC’s broadcast of the afternoon festivities at Canada’s big birthday party on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

U2’s Bono pays tribute to Canada for opening up arms, doors.

Bono, front man of the legendary rock group U2 and a long-time champion of humanitarian causes around the world, took time out from the band’s ongoing global tour to attend Canada’s country and praise the country for standing by policies that reflect compassion and inclusivity in a world where – in these times – there are too many forces pushing the other way.

 “When others build walls, you open doors,” said Bono to those, including Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, gathered on Parliament Hill for the festivities before singing a song. “When others divide, your arms are open wide. Where you lead, others follow.”

To watch a video of Bono’s appearance at this July 1^st’s Canada Day party, click on –

.Before I end, I mentioned in a Canada Day piece I posted on NAL earlier this July 1st that a Canadian writer, Stephen Marche, recently had a very thoughtful column about Canada published in the New York Times. Continue reading →

A Brief Message from Doug Draper, journalist/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted July 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“It’s so nice to visit a country where we are not called ‘enemies of the people’,” a news reporter from the Buffalo, New York area told me after covering a recent visit by Canada’ Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to Niagara-on-the-Lake for an Environment Day event.

The Ontario and Canada pavilions at EXPO 67 in Montreal in 1967.

The reporter was referring to the relentless campaign by the current occupant in the White House to undermine a press essential to the workings of a free and open democracy.

In my regular cross border trips to the Buffalo, New York area, I cannot count the times since Trump took the oath of office that I’ve had friends and associates I meet there if they would be welcome to come live in Canada.

It is a reminder that for all of the challenges and problems we Canadians face in our region, province and country – and we will continue addressing those in news and commentary on Niagara At Large in the times – we are still very fortunate to be living here rather in many other places in this world. Continue reading →

A Canada Day message from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted July 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Dear Friends,

We all want to feel good about what Canada stands for. From progress on LGBTQ rights, to communities coming together to support new immigrants, to modest steps toAward reconciliation, there are reasons to be proud of how far we’ve come in 2017.

But are we prepared to move beyond pride—to acknowledge just how much more work needs to be done?

For over 35 years, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has been promoting public policy solutions grounded in ideals of social, economic and environmental justice. We’ve always believed that public policy can play an important role on the road to social transformation. But today, on the occasion of Canada 150, we are asking ourselves tough questions about the role of public policy in reconciliation. Continue reading →

A Canada Day message from Ed Broadbent, Chair, Broadbent Institute

Posted July 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

So much of what makes us proud about Canada is the product of the dedication of principled activists who won’t take “No” for an answer.

Former Federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent, chair of Broadbent Institute, Canada

We had a great example of this earlier this month when Parliament adopted a bill prohibiting discrimination against transgender Canadians and affording them protection against hate crimes.

The Canada we are proud of is also the product, whether explicit or not, of a social democratic engagement to put equality and the good of all first. As my friend Rosemary Brown, the first Black woman elected to a Canadian legislature, famously said “Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.”

Though we’ve come a long way, Canada remains a work in progress. The narrative of an inclusive Canada is a story that is still at odds with the lived experience of too many Canadians. And nowhere is the gap between rhetoric and reality more glaring than in the case of First Nations. Continue reading →

Find a petition here to sign below

From the citizen advocacy groups Niagara Action for Animals and Animal Justice

Posted June 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends of animals

Animal Justice, a Canada-based legal action group for animals, has sent a post about our lax Canadian laws that allows bestiality!

Please go to the site below to sign a petition urging the Prime Minister to outlaw the sexual abuse of animals in Canada.

To sign the petition, click on – https://e-activist.com/page/10386/action/1?ea.tracking.id=email&ea.url.id=950618  Continue reading →

 A Call-Out from the Council of Canadians

Posted June 30^th,, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Council of Canadians is calling on the Wynne government to ban bottled water takings in Ontario, rather than simply increase water taking fees for the bottled water industry.

The Ontario government has released a formal decision to move forward with a regulation that would increase bottled water taking fees from $3.71 per million litres to $503.71 per million litres. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper and some News from BDS Coalition representatives in Niagara and other regions of Canada

Posted June 29^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

From NAL publisher Doug Draper –

Members of groups – some of them Jewish and some of them not, but all of them saying they are opposed to current Israeli government policies they feel violate the civil rights of Palestinian people in the West Bank region of the Middle East – are pushing back at a motion approved by a majority on Niagara’s regional council earlier this June to condemn the so-called “Boycott-Divestment- Sanction (BDS) Israel movement” and a recent expression of support for the movement by some members of the Niagara Centre NDP Riding Association.

Niagara’s regional headquarters

That expression of support, tabled at a riding association meeting where the ridings MPP, Cindy Forster, was not present, reportedly never received an ounce of support from NDP’s provincial party. But that didn’t stop Fort Erie regional councillor Sandy Annunziata from condemning members of the riding association for flirting with it and from publicly scolding Forster, in her absence, for not apologizing to Jewish communities in the region and beyond for the fact that support for the BDS movement had been entertained by one or more NDP members in her riding g at all.

I sat at the June 8^th regional council meeting while mayors and councillors from across Niagara rung their hands for the better party of two hours over what to do with Annunziata’s motion of condemnation, and while three spokespersons for groups representing members of the Jewish community in Niagara and elsewhere in the province and country expressed their views that the BDS movement is nothing short of an expression of hate toward Jewish people – code for anti-Semitism – pure and simple.

But like so many other issues facing humankind in this world today, there is apparently nothing all that pure and simple about it. Continue reading →

“We’re pleased to be leading this program in response, and to take decisive action that will close the skills gap and help businesses here in Niagara.”– Mishka Balsom, President and CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

News form the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Posted June 29th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Linking Niagara, the first project of its kind in Ontario, is being launched in Niagara.

Overseen by a steering committee consisting of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, Niagara Workforce Planning Board, YMCA Employment & Immigrant Services, Rel8ed.to, Business Jumpstart, the Niagara Community Observatory and Niagara Connects, Linking Niagara will close the skills gap in Niagara.

Mishka Balsom, CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

 Linking Niagara is funded by the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation, with the support of Ryerson University and the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development.

Employers in Ontario identify access to a talented workforce as their number-one challenge, yet despite this fact, there are still thousands of job-seekers in Niagara who are not finding roles. Linking Niagara aims to bring the two together, building the connections and tools that will help businesses recruit talent, job-seekers to find available jobs, and employment service providers to connect their clients with local employers.

The program will raise awareness of the various support programs, initiatives, and funds available to local employers. A key challenge for employers is not a lack of programs to assist with hiring, but a lack of awareness of them. Linking Niagara will build that awareness.

The project’s coordinators will work throughout Niagara running workshops, info sessions, and information technology tools to make connections and help employers access key hiring resources. The project will particularly focus on smaller enterprises who do not have dedicated human resources staff, and face challenges recruiting and expanding their business.

The long-term results of this project will be decreased unemployment, faster economic growth, and more job opportunities, particularly among the long-term unemployed, persons with disabilities, and equity-seeking groups. The program will aim at creating a self-sustaining network and body of knowledge between employers, job-seekers, and employment service providers in Niagara.

Quotes:

“Employers have repeatedly said that their biggest problem right now is finding talent. It was one of the key takeaways of the 2016 Niagara Economic Summit. We’re pleased to be leading this program in response, and to take decisive action that will close the skills gap and help businesses here in Niagara.”— Mishka Balsom, President and CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

“As Niagara’s leading workforce research organization, we are very aware of Niagara’s workforce challenges: people without jobs, jobs without people. Linking Niagara is the means by which we can solve that problem for ourselves.” — Mario De Divitiis, CEO, Niagara Workforce Planning Board

“Linking Niagara will help the YMCA and other employment service providers with more tools and bigger networks so that we can reach even more of the people we need to. This project is a new and valuable resource for everyone in Niagara who is trying to connect job-seekers with employers, to help people find work, and to help employers recruit talent. “ — Deanna D’Elia, Director of Employment and Newcomer Services, YMCA of Niagara

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

 “Too many vulnerable adults who are under the care of these private operators don’t have the ability to advocate for themselves.” – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

News from the Constituency Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted June 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park – This June, a bill from Welland MPP Cindy Forster designed to protect vulnerable adults and seniors in Supportive Living Accommodations (SLAs) passed a critical vote in the legislature.

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

sIncluded among the safeguards proposed in Forster’s bill is a provision that would require housing providers to be provincially licensed in order to collect ODSP cheques and other types of support payments on a resident’s behalf.

“I’ve been hearing complaints about some SLAs from support workers, tenants and families,” Forster said. “Too many vulnerable adults who are under the care of these private operators don’t have the ability to advocate for themselves. In some cases, the operator provides horrific conditions and substandard care. We simply have to stop this from happening to anyone.” Continue reading →

News from Cystic Fibrosis Canada

Posted June 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – This news was sent to NAL on June 16th, while our site was down for technical reasons, and we still wanted to get it in due to the cause and the great lengths Niagara resident Emily Allan has been going to support it.)

Each day, Emily Allan wakes up in a new town along the Bruce Trail with one goal in mind: to cover more ground, and raise more money for Cystic Fibrosis.

Fonthill’s Emily Allan, cross country coach and an employee at Brock University, has now covered more than 250km of her End to End Bruce Trail run to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. She will finish at Queenston Heights on Canada Day.

The cross-country coach and an employee in Brock University’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Emily has now run more than 250km during End to End CF, a fund-and awareness-raising expedition covering the entire 895km Bruce Trail.

Cystic Fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian kids and young adults. Emily is doing the run in memory of her cousin Sarah Bloomfield, who died of the disease at the age of 23. Continue reading →

“With the world pretty much in a state of chaos and false news coming at us from many directions, a strong CBC has never been more important.”

A Commentary by Nick Fillmore, veteran Canadian journalist

Posted June 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s federal government has taken the first step on a long road toward what hopefully will be the restoration of the CBC as Canada’s most important public interest and cultural institution.

For nearly 10 years the Harper government forced the CBC off track from its original goals of promoting culture and the arts, providing quality news, and facilitating a national discussion.

Harper refused to adequately fund the Mother Corp. In one fell swoop in 2012, the Harper government cut the CBC budget by $115-million over three years.

Harper very likely would have wanted to sell off the CBC but that would have caused a national backlash. Instead, he appointed seven Conservative lackeys and donors to the CBC Board with the idea of keeping the broadcaster in check. Continue reading →

“Flooding across Great Lakes cities this spring shows that cities really are on the front lines of climate change and protecting our water sources.” – St. Catharines, Niagara Mayor Walter Sendzik

A Message from Mayors of Great Lakes Communities in Canada and the United States

Posted June 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Montreal, Quebec – Member mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative met at their annual meeting and conference (earlier this June), hosted by outgoing Chair Mayor Denis Coderre, in Montreal.

“This has been a very busy year. The Trump administration backed out of cutting the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for the remainder of 2017, but we must continue the battle for 2018 and beyond. 48 million people depend on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence for their drinking water. We are concerned for the future because such a decision would affect us all, from the port of Montreal to the waterfront restaurant in Windsor to the sport fisherman on Lake Superior,” declared Mayor Coderre this past June 15th.

Mayors of the Cities Initiative also asked the Canadian government to develop a more comprehensive strategy and framework for Great Lakes and St. Lawrence funding.

“Given the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence are a shared responsibility, both federal governments must reflect the importance of the resource in their budgets. The mayors of the Cities Initiative will continue working with the Government of Canada to develop a funding strategy for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to ensure their successful restoration and protection for years to come”, said Sandra Cooper, Mayor of Collingwood, Ontaro and vice-chair of the Cities Initiative.

Following the United States departure from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, Mayors reemphasized the increased role of cities in the fight against climate change. “While the President of the United States has bowed out of the Paris Agreement, we are stepping up as cities to lead the charge against climate change,” added Paul Dyster, new Chair of the Cities Initiative and Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York.

Cities Initiative board member, Mayor Walter Sendzik also commented on the meeting. “Flooding across Great Lakes cities this spring shows that cities really are on the front lines of climate change and protecting our water sources. As a board member of the Cities Initiative, I’m proud of the leadership role our cities are taking to protect our Great Lakes, the greatest fresh water source in the world,” said Mayor Walter Sendzik.

The mayors also resolved to seek UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve status for the entire Great Lakes and St. Lawrence basin, a measure intended to draw international attention to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River as a unique ecosystem of worldwide significance. The resolution encourages the US and Canadian federal governments to pursue creating one of the largest UNESCO Biosphere Reserves on the planet.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a coalition of 130 cities from the United States and Canada representing over 17 million people who work together for the long term protection and restoration of the resource. The mayors work closely with state, provincial, federal, tribal, first nation, metis, industry, and non-government representatives from across the basin to protect, restore, and sustain one of the largest freshwater resources in the world.

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