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

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 21st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins

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

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

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

Posted December 21^st,  2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

News from Niagara, Ontario’s regional government

Posted December 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large​

West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner

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

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

Support will Help Enhance and Expand Transit Systems, Reduce Congestion

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 20th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

File photo by Doug Draper

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

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

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

Posted December 15^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

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

Fundamental Freedoms …

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted December 18, 2017 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines Jim Bradley

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

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

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

News from the Office of Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé

Posted December 15^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

Stay Tuned.)

From the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office –

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

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

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

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

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

Posted December 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

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

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

Posted December 14^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

From Alexa Plato –

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

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

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

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

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted December 13th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

Posted December 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted December 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

Latest Port Dalhousie Mega Tower Plan Should Be Spiked!

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted December 13^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

A News Release from Ontario’s Wynne Government

Posted December 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Overhauling the Land Use Planning Appeal System and Strengthening Conservation

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

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

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

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

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

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

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted December 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

“Mistakes” often determine the course of world history.

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

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

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted December 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

Brock University health sciences researcher Tony Bogaert

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

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

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

 News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted December 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Niagara regional council in session. File photo by Doug Draper

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

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

Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

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

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

An Apology from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

After everything St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill  Sawchuk has been through in the past 20 some odd hours with getting tossed out of the Niagara regional government headquarters, and having his notes and computer seized, the least I could have done is spell his last name properly.

I chalk it up to lack of sleep and my own outrage at being there and witnessing what happened. But at the end of the day, there is not excuse for screwing up a media colleague’s name.

Sorry Bill. It has been corrected.

Here is a link to the corrected article if you wish to click on it now – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/12/08/police-called-in-as-newspaper-report-has-his-notes-and-computer-seized-and-is-ordered-to-leave-niagaras-regional-headquarters-2/

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

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

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

Lest There Be Any Further Doubt, Fascism Is In Full Force At Niagara Region

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

It was bizarre and disturbing. And that is the least one can say about what unfolded at Niagara’s regional headquarters during a closed session of Al Caslin’s council this December 7^th.

I can and will go further and call it a brazen, reprehensible assault on the democratic values this Canada of ours likes to celebrate and cherish, and on rights and freedoms of news reporters to perform their responsibility as watchdogs for the public.

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

This December 7^th, while members of the public and media were asked to leave the regional council chambers so the council could go in to closed session to discuss what to do in the face of code of conduct complaints involving St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski, Bill Sawchuk, a reporter for The St. Catharines Standard, had his computer and notes seized, while uniformed Niagara Regional Police arrived to see that he complied with an order to leave the regional government headquarters. Continue reading →

Vigil scheduled for Friday, December 8th, at 3 p.m. at             Brock University

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Yosif Al Hasnawi

Niagara, Ontario – A vigil will be held on the Brock University campus Friday, Dec. 8 to honour first-year Medical Sciences student Yosif Al-Hasnawi, who was killed in Hamilton on Saturday night while trying to stop an altercation.

A memorial fund is also being organized to create a scholarship in Al-Hasnawi’s name to remember the 19-year-old Hamilton resident.

“Yosif’s death devastated us, but we plan to look further into it and make sure his death is not forgotten,” said Brock Student Justice Centre Supervisor Zanab Jafry, a fourth-year Brock student who is organizing the vigil. Continue reading →

A Call-Out to Everyone from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper to View the Video of a Vote that has Raised the Stakes for Public Accountability at the NPCA

Posted December 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Motion calling for a supervisor to come in and clean up NPCA operations was tabled by Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters. It was the first of its kind to be passed by a municipal council in Niagara and possibly not the last.

Niagara, Ontario – This past Monday, November 27th, Port Colborne’s city council became the first municipal council in Niagara – and hopefully not the last – to call on the Ontario government to appoint a special supervisor to take over operations at an NPCA many across our region believe has lost its way as a voice for environmental conservation and has  gone rogue.

It took more than a week, but a video of the Port Colborne council session finally became available on the city’s website and Niagara At Large has cut it down to that segment that begins with Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters reading her motion, calling on the Ontario government to appoint a supervisor, and follows with presentations by Niagara citizen Ed Smith and other citizens, representatives for the NPCA, and finally a debate on the motion and vote by members of council.

Niagara At Large is posting the entire segment because we believe that watching it will give anyone still wondering what the controversy swirling around the NPCA all these many months is about, will get a much clearer understanding of what it is about through what unfolds at this Port Colborne council meeting.

So here it is to click on. Please give it a watch and feel free to share your comments on this issue in the space below.

 To read a previous Niagara At Large news commentary posted on what unfolded at this Port Colborne council meeting, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/11/29/port-colborne-council-is-first-in-niagara-to-call-for-provincially-appointed-supervsisor-to-take-over-embattled-npca/ .

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

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

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

A News Release from Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released yet another scathing report this December 6th detailing numerous areas in which the government is not up to standards.

Palliative care was highlighted as one of the “pressing issues” that was “still not addressed”, despite her repeated calls on the government for action.  

“All 21 recommended actions in our 2014 Annual Report on Palliative Care were still in the process of being implemented, including one calling for a review of the way nurse practitioners are deployed in order to provide patients with 24/7 access to palliative care at home; and another recommending consideration of new options such as creating additional physicians who deliver home-based palliative care,” the report reads.      Continue reading →

“We’ve seen this play out. Before an election, the Liberals make promises about auto insurance, and, right after the election, they let people down. Why would people believe them this time?”         – Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Queen’s Park, Ontario — In question period this December 5th, Ontario NDP Consumer Affairs critic and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates said that the latest Liberal auto insurance scheme does nothing to substantially lower auto insurance rates for families and abandons the long promised 15 per cent rate reduction.

“Since 2013, this government committed to lowering auto insurance rates by 15 per cent – which never happened,” said Gates. “The government then tried to bury a report which showed that, even though Ontario has one of the lowest levels of collisions, we pay some of the highest rates. Today, we heard about a new auto insurance scheme, and it doesn’t even target rate reduction.  Continue reading →

Ontario PC response to the 2017 Auditor General report

A News Release from Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party

Posted December 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Statement from Ontario PC Treasury Board critic Lisa MacLeod on the release of the 2017 Auditor General Report:

“There is a culture of waste at Queen’s Park that has festered under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals for 14 years. This has crowded out the key government services everyone depends on, and left Ontario families working harder, paying more, and getting less.

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk tables her 2017 audit on Wynne government this December 6th

“In the energy sector, we again see the politically corrupt Wynne Liberals putting well-connected insiders first, while driving up hydro bills for families, seniors, and mom and pop shops across the province.

“Under the Wynne Liberals’ watch, senior citizens saw their power disconnected in the dead of the winter, meanwhile wealthy executives expensed hundreds of thousands of dollars on egregious items such as raccoon traps, scuba gear, parkas, and carpet cleaning to your hydro bill. Continue reading →

“This funding is a first-step in restoring the Great Lakes so that all stakeholders – economic, environment, and recreational – may utilize this resource in successful cooperation with one another.”                                                                                                       – Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament, Niagara Centre

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Earlier this week, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna announced that the Government of Canada will be investing $44.84 million for the Great Lakes Protection Initiative.  This funding is part of the $70.5 million of new funding that was earmarked in Budget 2017 for freshwater protection. Continue reading →

“There is a forensic audit (of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) that is needed. Critics would say there’s drastic action that is needed now.”-  St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

Some Introductory Comments from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper followed by Excerpts from Bradley’s Statement in Legislature

 Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley. File photo

Niagara, Ontario – On the same day – this past Tuesday, December 5th – that Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster stood in the Ontario legislature to say, among other things, that many constituents she represents in the Niagara region are fed up with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) and the “petty politics” of its regionally appointed board of directors, another Niagara area MPP – veteran St. Catharines Riding Liberal government member Jim Bradley – stood up to raise concerns about the Conservation Authority as well.

Bradley was hardly as direct as Forster was this December 5th in calling on the Ontario Liberal government he is part of to take firm action – as in appoint a special supervisor to take over NPCA operations – possibly because, as he noted during his comments in the legislature, Forster “has a little more leeway than I have as a member of government.” Continue reading →

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne  Gates

Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

Queen’s Park, Toronto  — In question period this Wednesday, December 6^th, Ontario NDP Consumer Affairs critic Wayne Gates called on the Wynne government to end its practice of forcing local distribution companies to print Liberal political spin on energy bills.

Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) Hydro is speaking out, saying that forcing local distribution companies to publish details of the Liberal’s Fair Hydro Plan and other political messages on hydro bills is simply wrong and makes bills more confusing for ratepayers. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper, followed by a Statement from Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

One hundred years ago – on the morning of December 6^th, 1917 – five-year-old Kaye McLeod was playing with her dolls inside her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia when a monstrous explosion slammed her to the floor.

The explosion was triggered by the collision two ships, one of them loaded with munitions on their way the First World War killing fields of Europe, in the nearby waters of Halifax Harbour.. Kaye McLeod died this past October at age 105, the last living survivor of what remains, to this day, one of the most destructive man-made disasters in recorded history.

Barely anything left but rubble in whole neighbourhoods near Halifax Harbour following explosion 100 years ago

Up to the time of her death, Kaye McLeod’s long life was a reminder that even though this horrific event, that killed close to 2,000 people and injured 9,000 , occurred a century ago, the sight, sound and burnt and rotting smell of it still loomed in the memory of someone living and breathing among us – a reminder that in the larger scheme of things, “the great Halifax explosion,” as it has been called, didn’t really happen all that long ago at all. Continue reading →

MPP Cindy Forster Repeats Her Call To Ontario Government To Appoint Supervisor to Take Over NPCA Operations

“The people of Niagara are fed up with the petty politics embraced by the NPCA board members.” – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A Statement to the Ontario Legislature from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The following is from the Hansard for Tuesday, December 5th, 2017 from the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park, Toronto

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Ms. Cindy Forster: “I want to commend the town of Pelham, Mayor Dave Augustyn and town council, whose reputations have been under attack by a group of regional politicians. Throughout, Mayor Augustyn has been honest, transparent and has displayed the very best of what we ask of our public servants.

KPMG recently released an audit clearing the town, council and mayor of any wrongdoing. Despite this, Grimsby (regional) councillor Tony Quirk, chair of the Niagara region’s audit committee, questioned the accounting expertise and said he will continue to pursue his concerns.

Grimsby regional councillor and NPCA board member Tony Quirk

Now, Mr. Quirk is also on the NPCA board, who I talk about quite often, and recently launched a verbal attack against a Superior Court judge, who dismissed the conservation authority’s lawsuit against decorated military veteran Ed Smith. As the justice noted, there are many places in the world one might expect such a crackdown on free speech and criticism to happen, but now in our beloved dominion of Canada. Thus Mr. Quirk’s attacks on Pelham are highly hypocritical. He should release the legal costs for the NPCA’s suing of a private citizen if he’s on a mission of transparency and accountability.

The people of Niagara are fed up with the petty politics embraced by the NPCA board members. The all-party provincial public accounts committee has appointed the Auditor General.

Port Colborne is now calling for a supervisor, and I will continue to work on this file and encourage other municipalities in the NPCA watershed, paying millions of tax dollars, to do the same, because that is how democracy works.”

Niagara At Large will be posting more on this issue later. Please stay tuned!

This display of the NPCA board reps and NPCA exec David Barrick was produced by a new Niagara citizen activist group called Better Niagara. More about that group on Niagara At Large later.

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

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

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

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

“This situation has literally torn this family apart. Remi’s mom has six other children who have had to be moved out of the house so that they can be safe. Remi and his mother live in a space where everything is locked. She calls it autism jail.”              – Ontario NPD Critic Monique Taylor

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

NPD MPP Monique Taylor speaking in Ontario legislature with Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates looking on. File photo

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Monique Taylor, the NDP critic for Children and Youth brought the case of 10-year-old Remi Ranger and his family all the way to the legislature, and called on the government to step in and help the family, which is in crisis waiting for treatment for Remi.

Remi has severe autism and other complex needs that cause him to be very violent with himself and others. Due to a seizure at school, he ended up in the hospital where spent 24 days. During that time, he had no treatment – the family was told that’s because the symptoms were all related to his autism. Continue reading →

Province Introduces Fair Auto Insurance Plan to Promote Better Care for Victims and Affordable Rates for Drivers

A News Release from Ontario’s Liberal Government

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is taking action to make auto insurance more affordable for the province’s nearly 10 million drivers by introducing the Fair Auto Insurance Plan. The plan includes significant reforms that will address fraud in the system, put victims first by providing better access to care for those injured in auto collisions and strengthen consumer protection.

Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance, along with Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General made the announcement this December 5^th  in Toronto. Continue reading →

‘Community Care, St. Catharines & Thorold has been meeting the needs of the less advantaged in our community since 1919.’

A News Release from Niagara College

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Community Care of St. Catharines & Thorold has been selected as the 21st recipient of Niagara College’s Many Hands project. The annual project sees Niagara College students support a local community non-profit organization with fundraising, marketing and public awareness of the agency.

In the Spring of 2018, students in NC’s Event Management (Graduate Certificate) program will plan, manage and host a fundraising event to help Community Care. Continue reading →

“Other countries shouldn’t want to be like us right now.”

By John Kiriakou, former senior investigator with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former CIA counterterrorism officer, from a column circulated on Reader Supported News

Posted December 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A front page that went viral earlier this year from the New York Daily News

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – NAL is posting this commentary by a distinguished American expert in the field of forieign affairs because in our view, it does an excellent job of summing up the dangerous state of affairs facing his country and the rest of the world with Trump in the White House. Canada’s political leaders are hopefully taking note and guarding against being sucked down the same dark hole Trump is working to take our American neighbours down.

Please take a few minutes to read this commentary then share your views in the space below.)

Good governance is a form of power. It serves as an example, and in some cases a beacon, for the rest of the world. It says, “Look at what you can achieve. You can be like us. You should want to be like us.”

The United States under Donald Trump is not that beacon. Other countries shouldn’t want to be like us right now. We don’t have good governance in this country. We used to, with a few exceptions, and it didn’t matter whether a Democrat or a Republican was in the White House. But Donald Trump is different. He’s dangerous. Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted December 4^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – This Monday, December 4^th, Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for Niagara Falls, continued to press the Liberal government to protect the Great Lakes and Ontario water ways, and stop the dumping of raw sewage into the Niagara River.

“Last week, the International Joint Commission released its first assessment on the progress by both US and Canadian governments on the protection of our Great Lakes and rivers,” said Gates. “There certainly has been a lack of action by the premier to address the dumping of sewage into the Niagara River this past summer.”

A massive blob of inky pollution floating in the Niagara River below the American and Horseshoe Falls, with tourist boats floating through it this past summer.

This week, a report commissioned by the International Joint Commission criticized the government for their lack of action on addressing sewage spills and monitoring of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes. Continue reading →

Call this Development Plan ‘Paradise’ or ‘Riverfront’,  or whatever you want – It threatens valuable wetlands in the Niagara River Watershed just the same!

A Commentary by Niagara conservationist John Bacher

Posted December 4^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario conservationist inside Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls. File photo

One of the more dramatic moments I’ve experienced in recent times took place this past November at information event for the ‘Riverfront Community development’ proposed for Thundering Waters Forest in the south west end of Niagara Falls, Ontario and facilitated by proposed Amendment 130 to the Niagara Falls Official Plan.

I went to the meeting upset that contrary to recent statements made in an November 17th, 2017 Niagara Falls Review article by Helen Chang, that GR Canada Investments (a China-government backed corporation Chang is a part of) is proposing that protected  provincially wetlands be down rated in their status.

I walked towards the display board in the meeting room that showed basic concept plan.  As I began to explain that protected wetlands are located within the lands proposed for development, I heard a male voice telling me to stop. I then walked to the back of the room and was told by a security guard that I was now under orders to leave. These orders were later revoked after Niagara Falls City Councilor, Caroyln Ioanonni, appealed to the guard’s supervisor. Continue reading →

“Instead of unthinkingly stumbling into this change, let’s start the work now to look at potential solutions to reform (regional) council.” – Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

A Commentary by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted December 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – This coming Thursday, December 7th, Niagara’s Regional Council will host a public meeting and consider a bylaw to add an additional member to the council.

Niagara regional council in session. File photo by Doug Draper

This would bring the council to a total of 31 members, plus the Regional Chair. In addition to the 12 Mayors, our regional governing body currently includes 18 directly elected Regional Councillors – six from St. Catharines, three from Niagara Falls, two from Welland and one each from Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara on the Lake, Thorold, Pelham, Port Colborne, and Fort Erie.

West Lincoln Township Council initiated the process to add another member a few months ago by asking the Region to petition the province’s Minister of Municipal Affairs to allow the discussion. The Minister got back to the Region this Fall with his consent – and that debate will occur at the Region this week. Continue reading →

At The Very Least, An Official Letter of Apology to the Town of Pelham Is  In Order

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

Posted December 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I was driving along Lafayette Street in Buffalo, New York a few weeks ago – past some of the most beautiful homes you could ever imagine being built during the early decades of the last century – when I notice the car in front of me sporting a bumper sticker that read; ‘If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention!”

Yes, that’s what it read – “If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention!” – a message that seemed completely out of place in this idyllic old neighbourhood where it seemed to me, there was little, if anything, to be outraged about.

Sad to say, it is a message that rings all too loudly in certain settings back here in Niagara, Ontario, including one I attended this past November 29^th in Pelham, where the town’s council held a “special meeting” in a high school cafeteria packed with some 300 people. Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system for hospital services

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Health is pleased to share that the latest health system report measuring hospital performance across Canada shows we are a top performer in several areas.

Niagara Health’s St. Catharines area hospital site. File photo by Doug Draper

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Your Health System 2016/17 report shows Niagara Health is a top performer – in the top 10 percent in Canada for at least the last three consecutive years – in four performance indicators:

• Obstetrical injury to the mother during instrument-assisted vaginal deliveries
• Readmissions to hospital for all patient types (medical, surgical, obstetrical and pediatrics)
• Percentage of residents whose condition did not worsen related to assistance with walking and other movement
• Number of long-term care residents whose mood from symptoms of depression worsened

Continue reading →

 “If you’re one of 13 million Americans to lose your healthcare coverage, and the millions more who will see their premiums explode because Congressional Republicans needed another $300 billion for their deficit-exploding corporate tax cuts, you’ll be taking a big hit on top of a big tax cut.” – U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, representing Buffalo and other regions of Western New York

A News Release from the Office of Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted November 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

As GOP leaders speed closer to passing tax legislation, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) warned of the impact the bill will have on higher education and healthcare in America:

To access video of Higgins, speaking on the bill,  click on:

From Democratic Congressman Higgin’s address in Congress on the Republican Brian Higgins – Continue reading →

Find Out More In A Special Talk At Brock University – Wednesday, December 6th at Noon

An Invite from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted November 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Dec. 6, 1989 École Polytechnique massacre changed the conversation around violence against women, and led to the creation of Brock University’s Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies.

Brock University Assistant Professor Robyn Bourgeois, Robyn Bourgeois, an indigenous woman who was a victim of violence as a teenager, will deliver the Talk. Photo courtesy of Brock University

But Brock Assistant Professor Robyn Bourgeois, an indigenous woman who was a victim of violence as a teenager, says that despite nearly three decades of activism, violence against women is still very much a reality.

“While we certainly have more social awareness and, more importantly, more resources for those experiencing violence than we did in 1989, we still have a long way to go in Canada to achieve the goal of ending violence against women and girls,” says Bourgeois, also known by her indigenous spirit name Laughing Otter Caring Woman.

Two years after the mass shooting that killed 14 women, Dec. 6 was named the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Continue reading →

Plan Says Greenfield Can House 80,000!

“Most of the lands (targeted for sprawling development)  are drained by Twenty Mile Creek which flows through Smithville and Balls Falls to Jordan Harbour.”

News from Citizens At City Hall, a Hamilton Watchdog Group

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The city’s newest expansion onto rural lands will accommodate three times the population of Dundas and consume more area than the aerotropolis. The next step in the controversial Elfrida Growth Plan is to gather public views on how much natural area should be protected for the headwaters of four streams.

Three options for watershed management will be presented at a public meeting on Wednesday December 6 at Valley Park recreation centre starting at 6:30pm. The 3100 acre L-shaped block lies east and south of the intersection of Upper Centennial and Rymal Road. It extends from Trinity Church Road to Second Road East and from Mud Street to Golf Club Road in upper Stoney Creek. Altogether it&rsquo ;s equal to about half of the built-up area on Hamilton Mountain.

Most of the lands are drained by Twenty Mile Creek which flows through Smithville and Balls Falls to Jordan Harbour. There’s also a substantial block of headwaters for Stoney Creek and smaller portions of the upper reaches of Hannon Creek and Davis Creek that both feed Red Hill Creek. Continue reading →

Patrick Brown and the Ontario PCs will make life more affordable for families by lowering hydro bills by an additional 12 per cent

A News Release from Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This November 29^th, in neighbouring Burlington, Ontario, the Province’s PC Leader Patrick Brown  laid out the Ontario PC plan to lower the average hydro bill by an additional 12%. This would save the average household $173 a year on their hydro bill.

“Under Kathleen Wynne’s watch, families are struggling to pay their hydro bills,” said Brown. “We need to do better on hydro. Ontario families need a hydro bill they can afford. The Ontario PCs will deliver much-needed hydro relief to families by lowering the average hydro bill by an additional 12%.”

Hydro rates have tripled under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals. Families pay $1,000 more today than they did when the Liberals took office. Continue reading →

So what was all  the condemnation of the Pelham mayor and his council at Niagara’s regional government level all about?

A Brief News Commentary from Doug Draper, reporter/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted November 29th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – To listen to David Barrick and other members of the Caslin cabal on Niagara’s regional council all these months, you would think that the Town of Pelham was a fiscal time bomb ready to go off with such force, it might take the rest of Niagara – and most surely the credit rating it needs to carry on healthy business – with it.

Looking for this in the Town of Pelham’s books? The Canadian accounting firm KPMG’s independent audit of those books says it isn’t there. What does that say for those at Niagara’s regional council who spent months charging that it very likely is?

So you better believe I went out to the special meeting Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn and his council held on the evening of this November 29th, where representatives for the Canada-wide financial firm KPMG were unveiling the results of an independent audit they were hired to do on the town’s books, to find out how big this fiscal bomb might be and when it might go off.

The only thing is that by the end of the KPMG presentation and a follow-up report by Pelham’s treasurer, there is no bomb – no unreported $17-million dollar debt, no legal hanky panky around a parkland dedication or anything else about dollars spent on development in the east end of the Pelham community of Fonthill that justified alarms going off over in Caslin land. Continue reading →

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

Posted November 28th,  2017  on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario  – There’s a new role at St. Catharines City Hall to help guide large investments and major developments all the way from blueprints to ribbon cuttings. 

The City hired Margaret Josipovic as project expeditor to support businesses and investors with expansions, new developments and other investments in St. Catharines.

A few blocks of St. Catharines’ downtown streetscape, under construction and made more pedestrian friendly this past summer.

  “We’ve made great strides to improve our processes to support the building community and move developments along,” said Jim Riddell, the City’s director of planning and building services. “Adding the project expeditor to our staff further enhances our service and supports the good work our builders and investors are doing in our city.” Continue reading →

“I’m inviting the other leaders to get on the same page as Ontario families who don’t support the privatization scheme in hydro. It’s not too late.” – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

News from the Office of Ontario  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted November 29^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario  — This November 29th, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath initiated debate on a motion that forces all three parties to vote on whether Ontario will keep Kathleen Wynne’s privatized hydro scheme in place – or start reversing course and bringing Hydro One back into public hands. Continue reading →

“The City of Port Colborne respectfully requests the Premier of Ontario to immediately appoint a Supervisor to take over the operations of the NPCA.” – from the motion passed this November 27th by Port Colborne City Council

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

Posted November 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Three tries this October and November, and finally we have a municipal council in the region that voted in favour of calling on the Ontario government to appoint a supervisor to take control of operations at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

Motion calling for a supervisor to come in and clean up NPCA operations was tabled by Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters. It was the first of its kind to be passed by a municipal council in Niagara and possibly not the last.

St. Catharines’ City Council entertained a motion first a provincially appointed supervisor for the NPCA, but this October put it off in favour of asking its staff to study questions and concerns many Niagara citizens have raised about the way the run-amok Conservation Authority does business first.

Earlier this November, the Council for the Township of Wainfleet considered a similar motion and chose to put off giving it any further consideration until Ontario’s auditor general takes a look at the NPCA’s books.

Then this November 27^th, the Council for the City of Port Colborne voted five to three in approval of a motion for a provincially appointed supervisor tabled by Port Councilor and a former NPCA  board of directors member Barbara Butters and seconded by Councillor Angie Desmaris with some strong words of support from other councilors, most notably Yvon Ducet and Dave Elliott, who (in Elliott’s case) scolded representatives of  the NPCA for – to this day – failing to answer questions and concerns Niagara citizen Ed Smith, with the backing of many other area citizens, MPPs and area councilors, put to them more than a year ago! Continue reading →

Governments Also Called On To Accelerate Efforts To Protect Drinking Water And Eliminate Releases Of Untreated Sewage

A Call-Out from the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission

Posted November 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

In its First Triennial Assessment of Progress under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement), the International Joint Commission (IJC) calls on Canada and the United States to set specific timelines and targets for making critical improvements to wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, reducing nutrient runoff and eliminating releases of chemicals of mutual concern.

The IJC commends the two federal governments for considerable progress they have made to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated Areas of Concern, set new loading targets for the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Erie to reduce harmful algal blooms, and establish the work groups and processes needed to implement the Agreement. However, the IJC finds that work needs to be increased in several key areas. Continue reading →

 Campaign raised $3,000 more than last year

A News Release from Niagara Health, an amalgamation of Niagara, Ontario’s hospital services

Posted November 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Compassion, optimism and a commitment to achieving ambitious results. All of these things haven proven to be key components of another successful employee-giving campaign. 

Niagara Health employees proudly raised $78,714 during our United Way Workplace campaign in October.

Niagara Health team members, from left to right, Jackie Moore, Avia Whitehorne, Lisa Pepperall, Anna Cobian and Alicia Azzarello at the St. Catharines Site wearing blue T-shirts in support of the United Way Workplace Campaign which raised $78,714. Photo courtesy of Niagara Health

In addition to the generous one-time donations and payroll deductions, staff placed change jars on their units and purchased “A Healthier Niagara Starts Here” T-shirts to wear on Dress Down Fridays to show their support. Continue reading →

Audit Follows In Wake of Regional Government Charges of Financial Mismanagement by Town

Posted November 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Okay, so let’s hope that this Wednesday, November 29^th, the people of Pelham and the rest of us across the Niagara region finally get the answers to some very serious questions that have been raised about Pelham’s financial health and whether or not economic decisions it has made around land transactions and the building of a new community centre in the town could harm municipal tax payers and the credit rating of the whole Niagara region.

Port Colborne regional councilor and Niagara Region’s corporate services committee chair David Barrick led call this spring for audit of Pelham’s books

Questions and concerns about all of this have been swirling since at least as early as last spring when David Barrick, chair of the regional government’s corporate services committee and a Port Colborne regional councillor, won regional council support for a motion calling for an independent audit of Pelham’s books.

The issue has been raised a number of times at the regional government level, including again earlier this November during a heated session attended by a full gallery of Pelham residents demanding answers.

So let me repeat a hope that all of this will come to a head with answers to the outstanding questions and concerns this coming November 29^th at a special session of Pelham council scheduled for 6: p.m. at E.L. Crossley Secondary School in the Pelham community of Fonthill. Continue reading →

“People working in the Niagara media are our friends and neighbors and involved members of our region. Their work keeps us informed on local events and issues impacted our daily lives.” – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

From the Niagara Falls Riding Constituency Office of MPP Wayne Gates

Posted November 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates released the following statement responding to the announcement this November 27^th that TorStar and Postmedia (two of Canada’s largest corporate media chains) will close several local media outlets in the Niagara region:

“Niagara families have long been fortunate to benefit from a diverse media landscape with dedicated and talented professionals. Today, many of these journalists, editors, web designers and other media professionals received the heartbreaking news that their organizations will close and jobs will be lost—my thoughts go out to these professionals and their families as they cope with this difficult news. Continue reading →

NDP says Libs, PCs trying to out-privatize each other when it comes to hydro

 “Families deserve help with hydro bills. What the Liberals are offering is help for Hydro One to collect people’s money.” – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

A News Release from the Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted November 27th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is demanding that Ontario ban the use of pre-pay hydro meters that force families to feed the meter to turn the electricity on. Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals are defending a proposal to start installing the meters on Ontario homes.

The proposal is to spend $9.1 billion to install the meters on Ontario homes. The meters would skirt rules that prevent the privatized Hydro One from disconnecting people’s electricity in the winter. 

“With the pre-pay meters, Hydro One won’t have to disconnect anyone. The power will get cut off automatically if the customer doesn’t feed the meter,” said Horwath. “Imagine a family struggling to keep up with their skyrocketing hydro bills. There will be no option to come up with a payment plan, and no protection against a winter-time disconnection – the meter just runs out, and the home goes dark.”  Continue reading →