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A Comment to Niagara At Large from Bob Milenkoff, a resident in the Niagara, Ontario community of Welland who, along with many other residents across Niagara, has been pressing for more openness and accountability from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Robert Milenkoff at one of many rallies over the past two years, demanding accountability for what happens to the millions of dollars the NPCA receives through municipal taxes, file photo by Doug Draper

Posted September 26th, 2018

(St. Catharines) Regional Councillor Bruce Timms (who is also member and former chair of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors) once stated that the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) was a model agency for all Conservation Authorities across Ontario to follow, and that to have an audit done would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

That money (Timms insisted) would be better spent on planting trees. Continue reading →

“I encourage residents to ask all candidates running for office if they are more worried about saving their own job prospects or will commit to doing the right thing for Niagara by reducing the number of politicians.” – Niagara Region’s Chair and St. Catharines regional councillor candidate Al Caslin

Niagara Region’s Chair Al Caslin is for fewer municipal in this region. File photo

A Statement from  Al Caslin, Chair of Niagara Region’s council and a candidate for St. Catharines regional council in the upcoming October 22^nd municipal elections

Posted September 26^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Alan Caslin recently appeared on ‘TVO’s: The Agenda with Steve Paikin’ to highlight that Niagara has too many politicians. Caslin is seeking re-election as a Regional Councillor in the City of St. Catharines building on four years of serving as Niagara’s Regional Chair.

Today, Caslin released the following statement –

“Let’s face it: Niagara region has a population of 450,000 people with 125 politicians.  Hamilton just next door is over 550,000 people and has just 16 politicians.  Simply put, we are over-governed.” Continue reading →

“Our downtown neighbourhood has enjoyed an incredible resurgence. … We wanted to showcase that in a way that was creative and unexpected but also felt natural.”

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

Posted September 26th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) awarded the City first place in the Short Film / Video category at the 2018 Marketing Canada Awards for Anything Together: A Downtown Story, a film celebrating the revitalization of Downtown St. Catharines.

The City partnered with Form and Affect, a local agency in Downtown St. Catharines, on the production, which was released in June.

“Since the launch of this film we’ve received nothing but positive and enthusiastic feedback both locally and from outside of the community,” said Brian York, the City’s director of economic development and government relations. “Having it take the top prize in its category at these awards reaffirms there are great stories to be shared about the positive changes in St. Catharines.”

The film, available online at www.stcatharines.ca/AnythingTogether, centres around the story of Jack and Kate as they explore St. Catharines’ vibrant downtown. Featuring several downtown businesses and new facilities, the film is a creative look at the rapid growth and redevelopment of the heart of the community. Continue reading →

A News Brief from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted September 25th, 2018

Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk is ready to table the results of her office’s audit of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

Following more than two years of Niagara citizens, and local municipalities and MPPs demanding an independent audit of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s operations, it now looks like the findings of that audit will be unveiled within days.

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released a one sentence message on Twitter this September 24th that her office will be tabling the details of its special audit on the NPCA this coming Thursday in the provincial legislature. Continue reading →

Why Not Save The Rest Of Us Some Money By Being The First To Wave Off Government Assistance If You Become The Victim Of A Severe Weather Disaster?

News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 25^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

While thousands of Ottawa-area families were reeling from the horrific destruction of tornadoes that touched down in their communities, Doug Ford and his self-described ‘Government for the People’ were busy this past September 21^st, tabling a motion to shred the province’s Green Energy Act.

Some of the destruction left in the paths of the tornadoes that touched down this September in the Ottawa, Ontario area.

Ford could have announced plans to reform sections of the Act that that even the most ardent supporters of green energy found objectionable, like those that deprive local municipalities of having any say in plans to locate large-scale wind and solar energy facilities in their communities.

Ford could also have announced plans to better ensure that all interested companies, and not just those that have a special friendship with the government of the day, have a fair chance of landing renewable energy projects across the province.

But that’s not Doug Ford’s style.

True to the good old days when he and his late brother Rob were the headliners when it came to slash-and-burn politics, and to causing so much of the chaos at Toronto City Hall, he has simply decided to take a wrecking ball to the former Ontario Liberal government’s green energy legislation, leaving very little left for those who want to invest in renewable energy projects in the province to work with. Continue reading →

“The manufacturing sector may look very different than in days gone by, but it’s still a force to be reckoned with.” – Brock University report

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Brock University Niagara Community Observatory director and co-author of Niagara industry report, Charles Conteh

There’s another side to the doom-and-gloom scenario of empty factories and unemployment lines left over from Niagara’s once-booming large-scale manufacturing sector.

The upside: increased employment; lucrative exports; innovative approaches.

The manufacturing sector may look very different than in days gone by, but it’s still a force to be reckoned with, says new research from Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO). Continue reading →

Ford Tories Introduce Legislation to Repeal  Act

“The proposed legislation would give the government the authority to stop approvals for wasteful (i.e. – wind and solar) energy projects where the need for electricity has not been demonstrated.”

News from the Ontario Government of Doug Ford

Posted September 23rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Municipalities to have final say on new energy projects

Toronto — Ontario’s Government for the People is delivering on its promise to repeal the Green Energy Act, 2009, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Infrastructure, announced this September 21st.

The former Ontario Liberal government put the Green Energy Act in place to, among other things, jump start renewable energy projects in the solar and wind fields, in the province.

The original Green Energy Act led to the disastrous feed-in-tariff program and skyrocketing electricity rates for Ontario families, and took away powers from municipalities to stop expensive and unneeded energy projects in their communities. Under the last government energy rates tripled, hurting families and driving manufacturing jobs out of Ontario.

“The Green Energy Act represents the largest transfer of money from the poor and middle class to the rich in Ontario’s history,” said Minister Rickford. Continue reading →

We Deserve A Niagara Regional Council That Puts The Needs Of Our Communities First

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 21st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen d’Angelo. How much more do the people of Niagara have to put up with?

It is just one alarming revelation after another around the conduct of Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo, the Region’s Chair Al Caslin and a cast of characters playing senior roles in and around Caslin’s office.

All of it – the revelations over D’Angelo’s hiring, Caslin’s unilateral decision to extend the length of D’Angelo’s contract and furnish him a golden parachute should he be forced to leave, and on and on and on – is eating up countless hours of regional council time that should be spent on building a healthier, more prosperous Niagara for present and future generations.

And God know, how many hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars it is continuing to us in high-priced lawyers and consultants, and staff time.

This September 21st yet one more revelation was posted online, thanks, once again, to excellent investigative reporting by The St. Catharines Standard and award-winning journalist Grant LaFleche, who members of Caslin’s cabal on the regional council have been doing everything they can to try to discredit with insulting, Trump-like garbage. Continue reading →

It’s Disgusting Enough That We Are Forced To See Millions Of Dollars Of Our Tax Money Go To The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority spent some of its time and our money over the past year slimming Lincoln regional councillor and former NPCA board member Bill Hodgson (left) with a motion of censure and waging a failed lawsuit against outspoken Niagara area citizen activist Ed Smith, right).

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 21st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Shortly after Niagara At Large posted a news commentary this September 20th on a $275-per-ticket gala the NPCA’s fund-raising wing, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation (NPCF) was hosting that night, and an email the Foundation’s board chair, Pelham regional councillor Brian Baty, sent to fellow regional councillors that if they buy a ticket, it  “is an eligible expense,” – Peter Gill, a first-time regional council candidate running in St. Catharines in the coming municipal elections, posted the following message on Facebook –

There is another good idea that comes out of Peter Gill’s Facebook message, by the way. If you are going to donate that kind of money, contribute it to a Food Bank in the area or to a charity that sends food baskets to families in need at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I have no idea how many members of Niagara’s regional council, which includes almost 20 directly elected councillors and the mayors of  the region’s 12 local municipalities, forked the $275 out to go to this “fund-raising” gala at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake because I certainly did not go as a reporter or in any other capacity.

But I hope at least some, if not most of those who went, are not claiming the price of the ticket as a council expense because we, the taxpayers of Niagara, are the ones who end up paying the tab.

And for what? Continue reading →

A Message from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network’s Election Task Force Group

Posted September 21^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Municipal and regional elections are being held on October 22nd.

The NPRN (Niagara Poverty Reduction Network) Elections Task Group has prepared the following local election strategy:

1. Encourage informed voting and identify key issues that impact people experiencing poverty.

How you can help:

• Print and circulate this attached flyer. Attached is a ½ page flyer that can be printed, cut and distributed to clients, left in wait rooms, office Share social media posts from the NPRN Facebook and Twitter accounts.
  You can follow these accounts here: NRPN Facebook ,  NPRN Twitter

Continue reading →

A Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 20th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

If you have been paying any attention to what has been going on at Niagara regional council and some of our local councils in this region of the province over the past four years, or reading some of the news and commentary on this site or our daily newspapers, you must know by now that we have a hell of a deplorable mess on our hands in the governance department.

To be fair, we have some very good people sitting on our regional and local councils who have tried – often with the odds stacked against them – to fight the good fight on behalf of their communities, and they deserve to be re-elected.

And that we need these good people and the experience they have back to work with new people coming in. Continue reading →

Thursday, September 20^th, 2018 at Queen’s Landing Hotel in NOTL – Tickets Only $275

Can You Afford A Ticket For This?  And Where Do The Proceeds From The Ticket Sales Go?

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 20^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

It’s not too late to ante up and make your charitable donation to conservation projects in Niagara by buying a $275 ticket to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation’s 2018 Water and Environmental Leadership Award Gala this Thursday, September 20^th at the oh-so-swanky Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Or if you have a group of people you want to go to this gala event with, you can fork out $2,500 for a table for 10. Or how about half a table for a grand total of $1,350.

Can you afford a ticket for this? Continue reading →

“A millionaire premier may be happy with fewer elected representatives but it’s very hard to see how it could mean more power for citizens or better representation of their interests and concerns.”

A Message from CATCH – the public watchdog group Citizens at City Hall – in Hamilton, Ontario

Posted September 19th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Hamilton, Ontario – The 14-year experience of CATCH has found municipal councillors to be mainly decent over-worked individuals making hundreds of important decisions about people’s lives. They pay attention and respond to public concerns raised between elections. Those democratic features don’t seem to be valued in the current controversy swirling around Queen’s Park.

The visible issue is the Conservative government’s attempt to reduce Toronto city councillors from 47 to 25. That includes overriding a court ruling that blocked the reduction move for violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The persistence of their actions indicates the Conservative conviction that many people aren’t concerned about having fewer elected municipal councillors or about the right to be effectively represented. If a basis for that view wasn’t there, the governing party would be unlikely to go to such extreme lengths to pursue its objective. Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted September 19^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – This news release follows in the wake of recent concerns raised by Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch and others that increasing numbers of individuals who need Niagara specialized Transit for medical reasons are finding it hard to to book the service due to funding shortfalls at the regional government level.)

Niagara residents have accessible transit travel options on both Niagara Region Transit and Niagara Specialized Transit.

Niagara Region Transit provides conventional transit service for those individuals seeking to travel between Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland with feeder services to Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Niagara Specialized Transit is designed for those individuals who are looking for transportation from one municipality to another municipality and require enhanced accessibility accommodations above what is provided on conventional transit services. A rider may be accompanied by a companion, support person or personal care attendant and /or service animal on both Niagara Region Transit and Niagara Specialized Transit. Continue reading →

And Apparently All Ontarians Have Doug Ford and his “Government for the People” to thank

A News Release from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted September 19^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Fill up at the tanks!

Hey Friends! Give the man a thumbs up

Gas prices dropped by 5 cents today due, in large part, to Premier Doug Ford and the Government for the People’s cancellation of the cap-and-trade carbon tax.

Meanwhile, on the opposition benches, the NDP caucus want hard-working Ontario families to pay more every single time they fill up at the pumps.

• The NDP continue to actively promote and support Kathleen Wynne’s cap-and-trade carbon tax.
• Joel Harden, the NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, openly campaigned on a $150/tonne carbon tax – which would be the highest carbon tax in the entire world. If implemented, it would increase gas prices by 35 cents per litre.
• The NDP’s Finance Critic Sandy Shaw has called the PC plan to lower gas prices “reckless.”

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

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

‘Any lout can throw their weight around. Reasoned, consultative governance takes more than you seem to be displaying at this stage of your leadership.’

A Commentary by Gary Screaton Page, a Fort Erie resident and recent recipient of Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship

Posted September 19^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Trump Tot, aka Trumpette, aka Doug Ford is not about governing for the people but rather about governing BY Doug Ford.

He is so Trump-like.

Consider how he dismisses protesters as “professionals”.

Label a group or person and that takes care of them. Give them a dismissive name and diminish their humanity.

We do that with enemies. The behaviour is typical of childish, schoolyard bullies. Continue reading →

On Municipal Election Day – This October 22nd – Hire Those Politicians Who Will, Fire Those Who Won’t

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 18th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

I heard a brief dispatch on CBC this Tuesday (September 18th) morning about a new report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada – the national association for the country’s insurance industry – about the surging costs of severe weather flooding and the urgent need to conserve what are left of our natural wetlands as one important way of protecting people’s properties from the destruction caused by floods.

Hearing that report drew my mind to the ongoing battle by environmental groups and by citizens in Niagara to save the sprawling, 482-acre Thundering Waters Forest and its more than 200 acres of wetlands in Niagara Falls, Ontario from a, more of half of which is wetlands, in Niagara Falls from an urban development plan backed by Chinese investors and supported by too many politicians on the local and regional council.

A peak at the wetlands inside the Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario

This development plan for what is referred to these days a “Riverfront community” began making headlines more than two years ago when, of all agencies, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) was playing with the idea of trying something called “biodiversity offsetting” there – an idea that involves artificially constructing wetlands somewhere else to replace whatever real or natural wetlands may be drained over mowed over to make way for this development. Continue reading →

Some News from Niagara Action For Animals in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 18^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends of animals

Rob Laidlaw has spent more than 30 years working to protect animals.  He is the founder of Zoocheck and regularly speaks to groups of all ages about animal issues and how individuals can empower themselves to effect change.

He has kindly donated copies of his book ‘Cat Champions’ which has won several honours and awards – it’s a great book for young readers, but contains information that adults will find interesting too. Continue reading →

Two Sessions – Wednesday, September 26th and Thursday, September 27th, 2018

An Invite to All from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

Posted September 17th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – As stewards of the rich environmental and cultural heritage along the Niagara River corridor, Niagara Parks is pleased to host two upcoming Public Information Centres, on September 26 and 27. These two sessions will provide information on Niagara Parks’ environmental stewardship role and present several key projects currently underway.

Niagara Parks’ new 10-year Strategic Plan places a renewed focus on environmental sustainability and we have established goals for restoring native species and culling invasive species, while enhancing the many formalized viewing areas, parkettes, picnic areas, and other shoreline sites for the benefit of wildlife and the public. Continue reading →

Respondents live in the eight Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Lakes Seen as Valuable for Recreation, Drinking Water and Essential to Region’s Economy

By Sally Cole-Misch, Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission

Posted September 16th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Eighty eight percent of respondents to a new poll believe protecting the Great Lakes is important. And 55 percent are willing to pay more for consumer products as a result of increased regulations or enforcement to ensure the lakes are restored and protected. The numbers come from a second large survey by the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board.

The survey was completed in January 2018 and is summarized in a poll report released in mid-July. Continue reading →

PM Says Not A Single Word Here About The Trampling Of Our Rights And Freedoms In Ontario

“On this day, I hope all Canadians … give heart to their democracy, to treasure it, and to revere it.’ We have an opportunity to strengthen our democracy every day.” – Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Protests in Ontario this September over Ford government over-riding Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – These are good words, Mr. Prime Minister, but if you are a citizen in Ontario, and you stand up for democracy in the provincial legislature, you may be escorted out of this “peoples’ house” in handcuffs!)

What Follows Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on International Day of Democracy.

Posted September 15th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

September 15, 2018
Ottawa, Ontario

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (September 15th) issued the following statement on the International Day of Democracy:

“On International Day of Democracy, I am reminded of the words of former Member of Parliament Arnold Chan. He was a close friend and colleague and, above all, a devoted public servant. While Arnold passed away exactly a year ago yesterday, his wisdom lives on and continues to hold lessons for us all – perhaps now more than ever.

Here is what standing up for democracy in Ontario’s Queen’s Park legislature could get you. What if she was your grandmother or mother or sister? Oh Canada. ….

“Arnold believed deeply in our democracy, and never lost sight of the individual, every day actions that make us who we are as a country. He reminded us how small acts of civility are foundational to democracy, as essential as casting a ballot. Continue reading →

Niagara’s Regional Council Now Faces A Plan To Expand Board Of Directors From 15 to 19 Members

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 14th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara’s regional council is looking at a plan to increase the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors from 15 to 19 members.

Do we really need the board of directors the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority to get any larger?

The plan for adding another two members to the NPCA board from Niagara and two from the City of Hamilton is in the hopper. But at the suggestion of St. Catharines regional councillor Brian Heit, the Region’s council decided at its September 13th meeting to hold off giving the matter any further consideration until Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk releases her findings from a detailed audit her office has been conducting for several months now on the agency’s operations. Continue reading →

A Message from Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted September 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Andrea Horwath has been slamming Ford for days for walking over Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Queen’s Park –  Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath issued the following statement on Doug Ford’s use of the legislature this weekend to push through a bill that will violate the Charter rights of all Ontarians in order to interfere in Toronto’s election.

“NDP MPPs would be very happy to sit all weekend to deal with the issues facing Ontarians, issues such as painfully long hospital wait times, crumbling schools or the tragic loss of jobs, after 80,000 jobs were lost last month under Doug Ford. 

Continue reading →

“We have a mandate from the people of Ontario to use every tool at our disposal to protect Ontario families and businesses from the federal carbon tax.” – Ford’s Ontario Environment Minister, Rod Phillips

Doug Draper, reporter and publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted September 14th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The same Ontario Premier Doug Ford who is over-riding Canadian’s constitutional rights and freedoms to settle old political scores by slashing the size of the Toronto city council he and his late brother once raised havoc on, is now citing sections of Canada’s Constitution as an excuse for cancelling the province’s “cap-and-trade” program (what Ford strategically refers to as a “carbon tax”) for reducing carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

The irony of this might only be lost on people who were foolish enough to vote for Ford on an assumption that he had well-thought-out plans for making positive change in Ontario.

At the end of a week of chaos of his own making over the over-riding of Canada’s Charter rights and freedoms to strike out against his political enemies on Toronto council, Ford has filed arguments in the courts (see the Ford government’s news release blow for more details) against the cap-and-trade program Ontario’s former Liberal government launched to reduce carbon emissions.

The filing, which does not come as a surprise from a Ford government that obviously believes man-made climate change is a joke, also comes at the end of the same week that Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned that too many nations are falling back on the pledge they made through the Paris Accord, to a point where there is a “paralysis” in the overall effort to reduce climate changing gases. Continue reading →

Conservative cabinet ministers prop up Ford’s Assault on Rights and Freedoms

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted September 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Queen’s Park – Jeff Burch, Ontario NDP Municipal Affairs and Housing critic and Niagara Centre MPP, defended the Canadian Charter or Rights and Freedoms today as Conservative cabinet ministers propped up Doug Ford’s unprecedented abuses of power.

After the courts struck down one of Ford’s laws, ruling that it violates people’s Charter rights, Ford tabled a bill Wednesday that includes a notwithstanding clause — taking that Charter right away from people. 

“Mr. Ford’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause is an unprecedented abuse of power and displays nothing but pure contempt for people,” Burch said. Continue reading →

For 12 hours each day for 61 days, the names of those killed in the First World War will scroll across video screens in Niagara and around the world.

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted September 13th, 2018 on Niagara At large 

Niagara, Ontario – For 12 hours each day for 61 days, the names of those killed in the First World War will scroll across video screens in Niagara and around the world. Sadly, it will take from now until Remembrance Day to recognize the more than one million men and women killed on both sides of the conflict.

Digital displays at Brock and the Niagara Falls Public Library will display the names of more than one million war dead from now until Nov. 11

This November marks the centenary of the end of the First World War, and Brock University is involved in The World Remembers, a Canadian-led international project to commemorate those killed during the war and those who died of their injuries in the years that followed. Continue reading →

“No government in Canada should take the contemptuous step of disregard for the Charter of Rights that the notwithstanding clause offers them.” – Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada

Amnesty International calls on Ontario government to withdraw use of Charter of Rights “notwithstanding clause”

A News Release from Amnesty International Canada

Posted September 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Amnesty International today condemned the Ontario government’s tabling of legislation, Bill 31, The Efficient Local Government Act, which invokes the “notwithstanding clause” in section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“No government in Canada should take the contemptuous step of disregard for the Charter of Rights that the notwithstanding clause offers them,” said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.

“To do so in a case involving the fundamental freedom of expression in a context in which core principles around elections and the underpinnings of our democracy are at stake is particularly disgraceful. This invocation of section 33 by Premier Ford’s government should be withdrawn immediately. Questions about the interpretation and application of the Charter should be pursued through appeals and left to judges to determine.” Continue reading →

Mr. Sawa, 46, died on Aug. 17, 2011 at the Greater Niagara General Site following a transfer from the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold

A News Release from the Ontario Ministry of Community, Safety and Correctional Services

Posted September 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ontario

Niagara, Ontario – Dr. Karen Schiff, Regional Supervising Coroner for West Region, Hamilton Office, today announced that an inquest will be held in the death of Kelvin Sawa.

Mr. Sawa, 46, died on Aug. 17, 2011 at the Greater Niagara General Site following a transfer from the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, on Aug. 15, 2011.  An inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act.  Continue reading →

Ford’s Contempt for Ontarians’ Constitutional Rights and Freedoms has put the Lie to that

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

‘We are doing this for the people of Ontario,’ Doug Ford, the province’s premier, declared in the provincial legislature this September 12^th of his self-described ‘Government for the People’s’ rushed decision to stomp all over Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms so it can take a meat axe to Toronto’s city council.

Just as Ford got those words about doing the people’s work out of his mouth, uniformed guards moved in on people protesting in the galleries of a Queen’s Park legislature – a legislature that suddenly looked more like the Reichstag from 1930s Berlin^. as these people were hustled away.

A few of those people, looking like someone’s grandparents, were taken out in handcuffs as if they were about to be locked in a cage in a banana republic.

What does that say for Ford’s “Government for the People”? Continue reading →

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to move Reasoned Amendment to delay rights-stripping bill

“Doug Ford has attacked the courts. He attacked democracy. And now, he’s attacking any Ontario person who dares to disagree with him.” – Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

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

Posted September 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Party Leader Andrea Horwath continues to slam Ford as she is removed from provincial legislature this September 12th

Queen’s Park – Ontaro’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath and NDP MPPs were ordered to be kicked out of the legislative chamber this Wednesday, September 12^th  as they stood up to Doug Ford as he tried to table a bill that cancels a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The removal of the NDP MPPs comes on the same day that everyday Ontario people, including seniors, were handcuffed and removed from the visitor’s gallery of their legislature.

“Doug Ford has attacked the courts. He attacked democracy. And now, he’s attacking any Ontario person who dares to disagree with him,” said Horwath. Continue reading →

Ford government’s rash tear-down of Ontario’s legislative regime for combating climate change irresponsible, environmental groups say

A News Release from the environmental group, Greenpeace Canada

Posted September 12th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – Environmental groups have launched a lawsuit against the Ford government for denying the rights of Ontarians to be consulted on its wholesale revision of Ontario’s laws for combatting climate change.

Ecojustice lawyers, in partnership with the Ottawa-Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic, have filed the case on behalf of Greenpeace Canada. The case alleges that the Ford government unlawfully failed to provide for public consultation on a regulation that ended Ontario’s cap and trade program and on Bill 4, the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018, currently before the legislature. The case also asks the Court to quash the regulation. Continue reading →

Does Ford’s Ontario Election Win Put His Government Above The Law? He Seems To Think So.

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

This past July, Doug Ford’s then barely four-week old Ontario government shocked people across the province with a sudden announcement that he had tabled legislation – Bill 5 or what he and his Tories where calling the “Better Local Government Act” – that would slash the number of seats on Toronto city council in half and cancel elections at large for regional council chairs in Niagara, York, Peel and Muskoka.

Doug Ford won’t let a little thing like Canada’s Charter of Rights stop him from imposing his will at the municipal government level.

Ford made his announcement just hours before the deadline for people to register their papers as candidates in this October 22^nd municipal elections – causing many to question why he would mandate such significant changes without consultation and when the municipal election process was already underway.

The City of Toronto chose to challenge Ford’s ‘Bettter Local Government Act’ in the courts. Niagara, Peel, York and Muskoka did not. And this past Monday, September 10^th, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba ruled that with respect to the moves Ford was making on Toronto at least – to slash the number of seats on its city council from 47 to 25 – those constitute a violation of the democratic freedoms enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights.

Doug Ford says he is the one standing up for democratic rights and freedoms

Then, within hours of the judge’s ruling, there was Ford announcing that he will not only use who knows how much tax money to appeal it, he will also go to draconian lengths to use the Charter of Right’s “notwithstanding clause” – usually reserved for emergencies that rise to the level of a major disaster, war or terrorist attack – to walk over the rights cited by the judge and do what he wants to do to Toronto’s city council anyway.

And why is he going to such drastic lengths?

According to him, it is because the judge, who dared to question the constitutionality of something he was doing, was appointed and he is the leader of a democratically elected government. Furthermore, Ford said he would not hesitate to reach for the notwithstanding clause again he felt it was necessary to impose his will, even if it means overriding the rights and freedoms of others.

Ford earned a reputation as a bully during the years he sat on Toronto city council and road shotgun for his late brother Rob when he was mayor. Now here he is bringing the same conduct and character to Ontario politics on the grounds that he won a provincial election with 38 per cent of the vote.

This guy is already behaving like a bully and dictator at the provincial level, and unless members of his caucus show the courage to restrain him, we have over three and a half more years of this.

Here is the Ford government’s September 10^th media release on its determination to move over, despite court ruling based on constitutional law, with the slashing of Toronto’s city council. What municipal government in the province will Ford go after next?

News Release

Doug Ford Announces Action to Uphold the Better Local Government Act

Released September 10, 2018

Will call back the Legislature and invoke Section 33 of the Constitution to ensure the Better Local Government Act remains in effect as passed by Ontario’s democratically elected Legislature

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced (this September 10th) that his government will take immediate action to ensure the Better Local Government Act remains in effect as passed by Ontario’s democratically elected legislature. 

“Canada’s Constitution makes it clear. The province has exclusive responsibility over municipalities,” said Ford in announcing his government’s action. “The Better Local Government Act will reduce the size and cost of government while reducing dysfunction at City Hall.

The people who are most vocal and fighting this move are a small group of left-wing councillors looking to continue their free ride on the taxpayers’ dollar and a network of activist groups who have entrenched their power under the status quo.”

Ford announced that his government will immediately recall Ontario’s Legislature and introduce legislation that, if passed, will invoke Section 33 of the Constitution and ensure the Better Local Government Act is preserved in time for the October 22 Municipal Election. 

Ford also announced that his government will immediately appeal Judge Belobaba’s decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

“I believe this decision is deeply concerning and wrong and the result is unacceptable to the people of Ontario,” concluded Ford.  “If you want to make new laws in Ontario – or in Canada – you first must seek a mandate from the people.”

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

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

“Bruce Timms represents to us exactly what is broken in Niagara politics. Under no circumstances does he represent A Better Niagara.” – Ed Smith, a St. Catharines resident and executive director of the Niagara-wide group, A Better Niagara.

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 10^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Veteran St. Catharines regional councillor Bruce Timms may have been making the pitch that he’s been working for “a better Niagara” for years now, but a Niagara-wide group called “A Better Niagara” is taking issue with him using “a better Niagara” in his pitch in the weeks leading up to this October’s municipal elections.

St. Catharines Regional Councillor Bruce Timms is on the ‘Better Niagara’ citizen group’s list of incumbent candidates it is urging voters not to support in the coming October 22nd municipal elections.

“A Better Niagara (the group) is concerned that voters may construe the fact that Bruce Timms’ advertisements prominently feature the term “A Better Niagara” to mean that our organization endorses him, which we do not,” said Ed Smith, a St. Catharines resident and executive director of the group, in a statement shared with Niagara At Large this September 10^th.

“We do recognize that the term is not copyrighted by us, nor would we want it to be,” Smith said. “However it is important for us to ensure that a politician such as Bruce Timms is not confused as representing us, or as being endorsed by us.” 

“The political behaviour demonstrated by Bruce Timms and many others like him at Regional Council these past four years is what led to the creation of A Better Niagara,” Smith continued. Continue reading →

Judge’s September 10th Ruling Applies To Toronto Only. What About The Freedoms Of Candidates Impacted By Ford’s Act – Also Known As Bill 5 – In Niagara & Three Other Ontario Regions?

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 10th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Superior Court Judge slaps down Doug Ford’s move to slash size of Toronto council. Ford’s cancellation of Niagara-wide elections for regional council chair reportedly  remains untouched. Ford is already vowing to overturn the judge’s ruling on the grounds that his Tory Party  was elected on a promise to reduce the size of government .

An Ontario Superior Court Judge began this week  of Monday, September 10th by delivering a serious blow to the part of Premier Doug Ford’s so-called  “Better Local Government Act” that would slash the number of Toronto city councillors following this October 22nd municipal elections from 47 to 25.

Unfortunately, the Judge’s ruling reportedly did nothing to overturn or address that part of Ford’s bill that – suddenly and without warning this past July 27th – cancelled region-wide elections in Niagara, York, Peel and Muskoka for who will serve for the next four years, as Chair of Regional Council in those four regions. Continue reading →

Get More Informed for the October 22nd Come to the Public Forum this on Wednesday, September 12th from 7:00 to 9:30 pm at the St. Catharines Centennial Library

An Invite to All from the Niagara District Council of Women

Posted September 9th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Niagara District Council of Women will be hosting a “Women in Niagara Politics – 2018 Candidates Public Forum” on Wednesday, September 12 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm at the St. Catharines Centennial Library (54 Church St. in the city’s downtown). We have invited all 21 women who are running for either Mayor or Regional Councillor in Niagara municipalities to speak for 3-4 minutes, with questions to follow.  Candidate confirmations to attend have been very high with only a few unable to attend due to other commitments. Continue reading →

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

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

Project Will Improve Access To Childcare And Transportation For Rural Women

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted September 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted September 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

Niagara College Celebrates The Launch Of Pioneering Graduate Certificate Program

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted September 9th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

A News Release from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

Posted September 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading →

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

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

Posted September 9^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Politicians are elected by the people for the people.

Town of Pelham regional council candidate Diana Huson

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

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

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

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

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

Posted September 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

Roster of Candidates

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

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

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

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

Posted Septemberr 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

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

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

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

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted September 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

A Commentary by Niagara at Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted September 4^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

Thank you, David”

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

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

Activists Vow To Keep The Pressure On Niagara Falls Amusement Park

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 4^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

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

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

Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath. File photo

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

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

Posted September 3rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

A Message from the Broadbent Institute

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent

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

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

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

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 31^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

St. Catharines regional councillor Kelly Edgar

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

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

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

“Best regards, Kelly Edgar Continue reading →

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

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted August 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

News from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted August 29^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

Continue reading →

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 29^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted August 29th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

A News Commentary from Doug Draper

Posted August 28th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

A Column by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted August 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

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

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

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

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