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–         So Send in the Clowns

A Brief One from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Posted June 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

So where I was before I was so suddenly interrupted some 13 or 14 days ago by little gremlins wreaking havoc inside my hard drive?

Oh yes, I think I had just finished posting a commentary on Niagara’s regional council and how no code of conduct is going to cure that scary clown show.

In all fairness to the dozen or so good members on that council who are at least trying to focus on issues that truly matter to people across this Niagara region, next year’s municipal elections cannot come soon enough to sweep out the rest. Continue reading →

Joint Statement by Niagara  NDP MPPs Cindy Forster (Welland) and Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls)

Posted June 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Queen’s Park, Ontario – NDP MPPs Cindy Forster (Welland) and Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) issued the following statement –

“We are deeply disturbed to hear news reports about Karla Homolka volunteering at a Montreal area school. We share the concerns of parents who believe that their children should never have been put in this position.

Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo were convicted of committing horrific crimes against innocent school children in our region.  Continue reading →

“We are all custodians of this world, and that is why Canada will continue to work with the U.S. at the state level, and with other U.S. stakeholders, to address climate change and promote clean growth.” – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada in response to the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement

Posted June 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement in response to the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement:

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking at Paris Climate Summit two years ago.

“We are deeply disappointed that the United States federal government has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change and support clean economic growth. Canadians know we need to take decisive and collective action to tackle the many harsh realities of our changing climate.

“While the U.S. decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies. We are proud that Canada stands united with all the other parties that support the Agreement. We will continue to work with our domestic and international partners to drive progress on one of the greatest challenges we face as a world. Continue reading →

From the Office of Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted June 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A Statement by Congressman Brian Higgins on President Trump’s Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord –

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

“For decades, the United States set the world’s public policy standard on critical environmental issues. Unfortunately, that tradition ends today. 

“Today’s (June 1^st) decision to back away from the Paris Climate Accord — a pledge joined by more than 190 countries to reduce emissions toward the goal of cleaner air and a healthy planet — does not demonstrate the leadership that is characteristic of America, nor does it protect the health and safety of people today, or those for generations to come. Continue reading →

 ‘The Horror. The Horror’

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 19th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Something’s going on here, and you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?” – a lyric from the Bob Dylan song,                        Ballad of a Thin Man

Niagara, Ontario – Siting there, watching the regional council dong whatever they were doing during this past May 18th, meeting of council was like taking another trip to ‘Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,’ and listening to that character whispering in your ear at the end; “the horror, the horror.’

The irony of this photo of the reginal council, taken a couple of years ago with council meeting holding up signs saying; “Bulliying – Just Stop it!”, speaks for itself

There was a point earlier on in the meeting, that droned on for more than four hours with code of conduct stuff, when Sandra Eaton, the mayor for the Town of Lincoln and one of the more decent people sitting on the council, got up with what looked like a bewildered, searching look on her face and asked the Region’s recently re-assigned integrity commissioner, John Mascarin, what might be done and what he might be able to do about whatever is going on there. Continue reading →

Ontario to Overhaul Land Use Planning Appeals System

A News Release from the Ontario Government

Posted May 8, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario is taking action to overhaul the province’s land use planning appeals system to give communities a stronger voice and ensure people have access to faster, fairer and more affordable hearings.

The old Port Mansion in an Ontario designiated “heritage district” in the St. Catharines/Niagara community of Port Dalhousie became a proposed site for a high-rise condo, theatre and other development a decade ago, and finally went before the Ontario Municipal Board where local heritage activists opposed the condo plan

In the coming weeks, legislation will be introduced to create the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, which would, if passed, replace the Ontario Municipal Board. The new tribunal would be mandated to give greater weight to the decisions of local communities, while ensuring that development and growth occurs in a way that is good for Ontario and its future.

This would be achieved by eliminating lengthy and costly “de novo” hearings for the majority of planning appeals. The term “de novo” has been used to describe how the Ontario Municipal Board deals with appeals of municipal land use planning decisions, by considering the same issue that was before the municipality as though no previous decision had been made. Continue reading →

A News Statement from the U.S.-based citizens group,  Alliance for the Great Lakes

Posted May 18th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canada and America’s shaired Great Lakes from outer space. The world’s larges source of fresh water is here. Let’s all do our part to protect and preserve it!

A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – The new Trump administration in the United States is moving to virtually gut out of existence rules and programs that have been in place for decades for working in tandem with Canadian efforts to protect and preserve Great Lakes waters and environments for some 40 million U.S. and Canadians citizens who need them for the healthy survival of our communities.

Citizens on both sides of the Canada- U.S. border should press our federal, provincial and state representatives to do everything possible to stop Trump from taking actions that jeopardize the security of the entire Great Lakes region.

Now here is the statement from the good citizens working for the Alliance for the Great Lakes –

Zebra mussels, an invasive species, transported to the Great Lakes in the ballast of ocean-going ships, have done untolled damage to municipal and private sector water lines and other infrastructure, and to other domestic species in the lakes. There are ways of controlling their numbers. Will Trump gut them? He’s trying.

This May 18th, the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Committee voted to move the U.S. Coast Guard Authorization Act out of committee and to a full vote in the Senate.

The bill includes a provision, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), that would eliminate U.S. EPA’s authority over ballast water pollution and roll back rules that protect the Great Lakes from invasive species. In response, the Alliance for the Great Lakes issued the following statement.

“Invasive species, like zebra mussels and round gobies, have wreaked havoc on the Great Lakes. Brought in via ballast water tanks on ocean-going ships, invasive species out-compete native species and destroy habitat. They also cost people in Great Lakes communities hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Unfortunately, the shipping industry has convinced some Senators to try to roll back the rules that protect the lakes from these harmful critters.

Despite knowing of the threat posed by invasive species since the early 1980s, it has taken two acts of Congress, a lawsuit, and states passing their own rules to get federal requirements for actual ballast water treatment systems onboard ships in place in 2008.

But even after the U.S. EPA and Coast Guard started that process, excessively long timelines for phasing in the regulations mean most ships on the Great Lakes still do not have ballast water treatment installed.     Why has it taken so long for Congress and federal agencies to act?

Shippers have asked  for special treatment and exemptions from U.S. law over and over. And it is happening again.   New invasions are all too real. In 2016 a new species of zooplankton was found in Lake Erie.

Given that this critter is from the other side of the planet, researchers say that ballast water is a likely way it entered the lakes.  Yet rather than installing treatment technology to stop these invasions as quickly as possible, shippers are staying busy convincing Senators to roll back existing rules.

Several members of the Great Lakes Congressional delegation aren’t buying it, and are working hard to fight off this bad ballast bill. But we need all of them. We urge the Senate to remove these harmful provisions from the U.S. Coast Guard Authorization Act.

We heartily applaud the efforts of Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), all members of the Senate’s Commerce Committee who voted no on this bill because of VIDA.”  -Jennifer J. Caddick | Vice President, Communications and Engagement

For more information on and from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, click on – | www.greatlakes.org  or call 312-445-9760,  mailing address –  150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 700 | Chicago, IL 60601

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

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

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

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

Updated Land Use Plans to Protect Quality of Life for Generations to Come

A News Release from the Government of Ontario

Posted May 18, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Greater Golden Horseshoe in green

Ontario has released four updated land use plans that will help grow the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) in a way that protects the environment, while creating vibrant communities that are healthy and sustainable.

The changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan are the latest step in the government’s reform of Ontario’s land use planning system. The plans work together to: Continue reading →

A Column by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted May 18th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Since Statistics Canada recently released additional information from the 2016 Census, I thought I would write here about the demographics of Pelham. And, since they also provide information for communities from the 2011, 2006, 2001 and 1996 Census, one can compare the make-up and changes of our population over a twenty-year period.

As you may know, Pelham is among the fastest growing communities in the Niagara Peninsula. Since our formation in 1970, we have grown from 9,855 to 17,110 in 2016. That’s a 74% increase!

Other large population increases include Grimsby at 80%, West Lincoln at 76%, and Lincoln also at 74%; compare this with the entire Region’s population which grew by only 33% during that period. Continue reading →

‘The environment at the NPCA has been very difficult on myself and my family, and I have to think of my family and my health.” – Lincoln Regional Councillor and now former NPCA board member Bill Hodgson

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 17th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Bill Hodgson, Lincoln regional councilor, off to one of his last NPCA board meeting this spring before resigning this May 17th. File photo by Doug Draper

Well now they won’t have Bill Hodgson to kick around anymore.

For those of you who have not been following the scary clown show, the “they” I am referring to are the honchoes running the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and Bill Hodgson is Lincoln regional councillor and now a former member of the NPCA’s board of directors.

This May 17th, before the this month’s morning meeting of the NPCA’s board got underway, Hodgson tendered his immediate resignation from the board – just two weeks after a majority on the board, including a number of other regional councillors and mayors of local municipalities in Niagara, angered citizens across the region with news that they had decided to censure him for conduct related to his months long call for a third-party, independent audit of the NPCA’s operations. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted May 16th, 2017

Late this April, I walked in to the Niagara regional council chambers shortly after another meeting of the council started, and the ill-tempered, back-and-forth spitting on the council floor had already begun.

There was one regional councilor, then another taking their verbal jabs, then the chair up their with his gavel doing his usual; ‘That’s enough!” “You’re out of order!”, “Sit down. I don’t want to hear any more of this!”, or whatever.

Niagara regional chair Al Caslin with, to his right, Carmen D’Angelo, the recently hired CAO for the Region who was CAO at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. D’Angelo and the NPCA are parties to a lawsuit they launched a few months back against t. Catharines resident and retired Canadian Armed Force officer Ed Smith who they charge has defamed them with some of what they regard as baseless question and concern he has raised about NPCA operations. File photo by Doug Draper

Then I found myself doing something I have never done in all of the more than 35 years I’ve covered public meetings as a professional journalist. I found myself saying; “Jesus Christ,” as I sat watching this garbage, just loud enough so that people  sitting near me could hear. Continue reading →

Changes would discourage investment, eliminate jobs and diminish economic opportunities in Ontario, especially among small business owners

A News Release from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce iin Niagara, Ontario

Posted May 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has sent a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne warning against potential changes to Ontario’s Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Employment Standards Act (ESA), including the introduction of a $15 minimum wage.

The letter is cautioning that these reforms may have unintended consequences impacting job creation and competitiveness, as well discouraging investment in the province.

More Niagarans work in retail than in any other single industry, and retail will be hugely impacted by these changes. They will not only result in downsizing and layoffs in Niagara’s retail workforce, but the costs will be passed on to consumers, resulting in higher prices. Continue reading →

 NDP Leader Andrea Horwath wants to deny Ontarians                 up to 40-50% off bills

A News Release from the Ontario Liberal Government Caucus

Posted May 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – This May 15th,  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath announced her party would not support taking up to 40-50% off your electricity bills. 

Despite Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan helping families, businesses, and farms across the province – including in Niagara and surrounding communities– Horwath said the “NDP can’t and won’t vote in favour of this” during a press conference this morning.

This stunning admission should come as a shock to every Ontarian. Continue reading →

 “This is a $40-billion attempt to buy an election,”                  –  Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

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

Posted May 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s new hydro deal will cause hydro bills to soar – which is why the NDP will vote against the Liberal borrowing bill.

Last week, leaked secret documents from Wynne’s cabinet showed that the Liberal government’s plan to borrow billions of dollars will cause electricity bills to shoot up sharply after the election, as ratepayers will be forced to pay back billions, plus interest. Continue reading →

–         Tuesday, May 23rd, 4-6 p.m., Welland Civic Square

A Call-Out to All from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted May 15th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, is hosting a consultation on ‘Poverty Reduction’.

The Poverty Reduction Consultation will be on May 23rd from 4-6pm at the Welland Civic Square, Community Room. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara Falls, Ontario resident Derek Jones

Posted May 14th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Moms out there -but especially to Mother Earth who, in these troubling times, needs all of  the respect, love and support that she can get.

Since my own wonderful Mother passed away only a few short years ago, Mother’s Day has taken on a deeper, more profound meaning on a personal level.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s all remember that we have more than one Mother to celebrate, and cherish. For without our Mother Earth, we have nothing. I Love you Mother, with all my heart.

Here – in the photo above – is the moon rising over Thundering Waters Forest last night (Saturday, May 13th, 2017). Peace and Happy Mother’s Day.

Derek Jones is a Niagara Falls, Ontario resident and one of many Niagara area residents fighting to save 500 acres of woodlands, wetlands and savannah meadows in the Niagara River watershed known as the Thundering Waters Forest for sprawling urban development.

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

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

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

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

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

No wonder Andy Petrowski tried so hard to keep those code of conduct rulings from being released because, from what us now being reported of them, they are about as damning of him as they can be.

St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski

For those of you who have not been following the follies at Niagara Region – and it’s hard to blame you if you don’t – I’m talking about St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski, and rulings prepared by the regional government’s integrity commission, John Mascarin, on three ‘code of conduct’ complaints filed against Petrowski over the past number of  months.

After a recent attempt at a meeting of the Region’s corporate services committee to have the rulings held in abeyance while awaiting a legal opinion on the conditionality of the regional government’s current ‘code of conduct’ rules, then a failed bid this May 10th to stop there release with a court injunction, Petrowski suddenly handed them over this May 11th to a reporter at the St. Catharines Standard – a newspaper that only days ago, he shot back at in an email with a Trump-like slam; “fake news Standard.” Continue reading →

 News from the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission

Posted May 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

By Jennifer Boehme, IJC

Chemical pollution of Great Lakes waters was subject of great interest at IJC’s recent public meetings, especially discussion in Sarnia, Ontario, of actions by Canada and the United States on Chemicals of Mutual Concern (CMCs).

Canada and America’s shaired Great Lakes from outer space. The world’s larges source of fresh water is here. Let’s all do our part to protect and preserve it!

Chemical contaminants in the Great Lakes basin have historically posed risks to human health and wildlife over many years. The latest 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States seeks to address these risks and “… restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes.” Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 10th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Falls city council has made a multi-million-dollar bet that the provincial government will, indeed, follow through on a now four and a half-year old pledge to build a new ‘south Niagara hospital in the southwest end of the city.

This billboard sign, on a green site in south Niagara Falls, has been up now for close to half a decade. File photo by Doug Draper

This May 9th, all but one of the city’s  councillors approved paying $11 million to purchase an additional 20 acres of land from what Niagara’s mainstream media identifies as ‘a Toronto area business family’ that already donated 30 acres of land off Montrose Road near the QEW for what was promised in 2013 by Niagara Health (then called the Niagara Health System or NHS, for short)) and provincial government as a new hospital for populations of people living in Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Welland, Port Colborne and Wainfleet. Continue reading →

Province Providing Clarity and Protection for Patients and Health Care Providers

“It is critical that end-of-life care, including medical assistance in dying, is provided safely and compassionately. This legislation will help ensure that patients, health care providers and health care institutions have more clarity and effective legal protection when medical assistance in dying takes place. “  — Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins

A News Release from the Government of Ontario

Posted May 9th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario passed legislation today that will support the implementation of medical assistance in dying in the province by providing more protection and greater clarity for patients, their families, health care providers and health care institutions.

Federal legislation, which came into force in June 2016, sets out the parameters for how medical assistance in dying can be provided. Ontario’s Medical Assistance in Dying Statute Law Amendment Act aligns with the federal legislation and will address areas that fall under provincial jurisdiction. Continue reading →

 “I encourage students interested in learning first-hand how this province is run to apply.”                                                                          – Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff.

News from Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted May 10th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Queen’s Park, Toronto –MPP Sam Oosterhoff is inviting Grade 7 and 8 students in the provincial riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook to apply to the legislative page program.

“The prestigious program is ideal for ambitious, responsible and community-driven youth,” said Oosterhoff. “It is a wonderful and unique learning experience.”

Selected students will have the chance to work at Queen’s Park during sittings, serving as messengers, and delivering documents to MPPs, among other important duties. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted May 9^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Peace Bridge crossing the upper Niagara River between Fort Erie in Niagara, Ontario and Buffalo, New York is one of North America’s busiest border crossings for people and goods, serving as a conduit for hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits to the economies of communities on both sides.. File photo by Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario – While America’s for-now president Donald Trump says and tweets things that have people in Ottawa, Washington and other places hyperventilating over what havoc he may wreak on the cross-border flow of people and goods, and on key sectors of Canada’s economy like the auto, dairy and softwood lumber industries, provinces and business leaders at regional levels are taking steps of their own to counter any damage. Continue reading →

–         We sure could use Mark Twain around now!

A Brief One for you from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Posted May 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I saw this quote by Mark Twain recently while walking by the window of one of my favourites stores, ‘Antique Man’ on Allen Street in Buffalo, New York. Continue reading →

A Statement from Ontario NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns

Posted May 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

 Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns issued the following statement about the further privatization of Hydro One.

 “By giving up the province’s majority stake in Hydro One , Kathleen Wynne is doing even more damage to our hydro system. Her short-sighted sell off of Hydro One will drive up electricity bills for the residents, businesses and municipalities of our province. Continue reading →

“With the completion of this transaction, the government will have surpassed our financial targets and raised billions for transit, transportation and other priority infrastructure projects.” — Glenn Thibeault, Minister of Energy

A News Release from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal Government

Posted May 8th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is concluding its initiative to broaden the ownership of Hydro One, and will dedicate the net proceeds towards the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history.

The Province offered 120,000,000 common shares at $23.25 per share for total gross proceeds of approximately $2.8 billion, in this offering. The Province also granted an over-allotment option to the underwriters to purchase up to an additional 12,000,000 common shares, which if exercised in full, would result in total gross proceeds of approximately $3.1 billion. Continue reading →

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted May 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario – Wages are down and Ontario had 13,800 fewer full-time jobs in April compared to just one month earlier, according to the newest labour force survey data from Statistics Canada.

With about 12,000 less secure, part-time jobs created, the numbers paint a picture of Ontario being driven into a lower-wage economy at the same time as the cost of living is skyrocketing.

 “The cost of living – from hydro to housing and child care – is way up, but the number of good, stable jobs are down,” said the NDP’s critic for employment, Catherine Fife. “For young people trying to break into their career, the search is getting harder and harder. As a result, too many young people are struggling to move out on their own. Couples are even putting off starting their family. People are really reaching their tipping point with Premier Kathleen Wynne continuing to do damage.” Continue reading →

A News Release from the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party

Posted May 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario – This morning, Statistics Canada released the monthly Labour Force Survey which contained Ontario’s job numbers for April. PC Economic Development, Employment and Growth Critic Monte McNaughton issued comments about the numbers.

 “Last month, Ontario lost 13,800 full-time jobs while adding just 12,300 part-time jobs. At the same time, the public sector continues to grow, this month adding 11,400 jobs while our vital private sector took another big hit, losing 25,500 good, well-paying jobs,” said McNaughton. “April also saw Ontario’s important manufacturing sector suffer further losses, dropping 4,100 key manufacturing jobs.” Continue reading →

Posted May 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

When the rain comes with flood warnings – again and again and again

Joint Statement on Heavy Rainfall, Potential for Flooding

From Bill Mauro, Minister of Municipal Affairs, and Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services

“As communities across the province prepare for heavy rainfall and potential flooding over the next 24 hours, with some reports of flooding having started already, our government is working hard to prepare for any situation, and standing by ready to help. Continue reading →

(An NAL note – The following commentary was submitted to Niagara At Large in the wake of recent news that the Ontario government’s recent budget may contain funding for moving forward with plans to build a new, so-called ‘South Niagara’ hospital in the  southwest end of Niagara Falls – a location many south Niagara residents say is not accessible as it should be for south end residents, and certainly not as accessible as the existing Welland Hospital which they are determined to see kept open as a full-service hospital.)

A Commentary by Fiona McMurran

Posted May 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

How much longer are we going to be played for fools, people?

The Welland Hospital site in Welland, Ontario is the largest remaining hospital facility of its kind still operating in south Niagara. How long will that last? File photo by Doug Draper

The future of hospital services in south and east Niagara was an election issue last time we went to the polls provincially, and it looks like the same scenario for 2018. Why are we no further ahead?

The Niagara Health System’s HIP (Hospital Improvement Plan) was published in 2008. Many of us here in the REAL south Niagara have been fighting to keep hospital services in our municipalities.

Kevin Smith, sent in as NHS Superintendent, far from addressing our concerns, presented a report calling for far more drastic cuts, including the closure of the Welland General. That was in 2012. Continue reading →

“Flowers are better than bullets.” – Allison Krause, one of the students who was shot dead during anti-war protests at             Kent Statue U. on May 4th, 1970.

Posted May 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large by NAL publisher Doug Draper

“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, We’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio,” from the song ‘Ohio, written by Neil Young and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The song was banned on many stations across the United States in the spring and summer of 1970.

Memorial for students shot at Kent State University, May 4th, 2017 near the spot on campus where the students fell. File photo taken by Doug Draper during a 30th anniversary gathering at the university.

Watch ‘Soundracks – Songs that made History; Kent State and Vietnam’ on CNN this Thursday, May 4th at 10 p.m.

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

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

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

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

A Column by Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook Riding

Posted May 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

In March, I attended hearings for Bill 84, the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation put forward by the provincial Liberals.

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

I listened to doctors, nurses, ethicists, religious leaders and human rights advocates who had travelled from across Ontario to bring forward their concerns about this law. After the federal Liberal government legalized physician assisted suicide last year, they wanted to ensure there was adequate consultation in the provincial implementation.

Faced with the situation of legal physician assisted suicide, health professionals need clear and explicit conscience protection so that they will not be forced to take part and contradict their deeply held personal convictions. Continue reading →

Watch the Video of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster making her May 3rd Statement in the Ontario Legislature then contact your Niagara area mayor and regional councillors and urge them to stop  the bullying at the municipal government level NOW!

Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large, May 3^rd, 2017

Click on the following to watch Welland Riding MPP deliver her statement in the Ontario legislature this May 3^rd about the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority – a publicly paid for body with a board of directors dominated by Niagara area mayors and regional councillors – and the move by that body to censure a highly respected veteran elected representative in Niagara, Lincoln regional councillor Bill Hodgson.  –

As posted in an earlier Niagara At Large piece on this site, here again, is a full transcript of Forster’s May 3^rd statement –

Ms. Cindy Forster: Today (Wednesday, May 3rd) I rise in support of Bill Hodgson, a member of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board who is being censured by the board because he dared to express legitimate and valid concerns about a questionable RFP they recently issued.

Our community has raised serious concerns about the board’s lack of operational accountability and financial transparency. The Auditor General intervened, offering an impartial audit, one the board declined.

Perhaps fearful of what the AG may uncover, the board issued its own RFP, except it reported back to the very people it was supposed to be auditing.

The public called foul, we wrote letters; Councillor Hodgson did what was right: He questioned it. The NPCA retracted the RFP and decided to go back to the AG.

It’s clear that the NPCA board chair, Sandy Annunziata, in an attempt to cover up his and some of his board members’ own actions, will stop at no end to silence anyone who seemed to disagree.

The majority of elected municipal officials and our communities are fed up. It’s time for the government to appoint a supervisor to oversee the NPCA.

Today I stand alongside local Councillor Hodgson to send a strong message to the NPCA board chair, Sandy Annunziata, and his cohorts: We will not tolerate bullying and we will always stand up for transparency and accountability.”

For names and contact information for the mayor and directly regional councillors representing your municipality on Niagara’s regional council, click on – https://niagararegion.ca/government/council/profiles/default.aspx .

Tell them it is time to stop the bullying in regional government!

 For other recent Niagara At Large postings on this issue, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/05/03/niagara-mpp-cindy-forster-declares-support-in-ontario-legislature-for-embattled-lincoln-regional-councillor-bill-hodgson/ . 

And a May 2^nd News Commentary by  Niagara at Large publisher at – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/05/03/npca-board-takes-aim-at-one-of-its-own-members-lincoln-regional-councillor-bill-hodgson-with-move-to-censure-him/ .

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN TO COMMENT.

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.

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

“Today, I stand alongside local Councillor Hodgson to send a strong message to the NPCA (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) board chair, Sandy Annunziata, and his cohorts: We will not tolerate bullying and we will always stand up for transparency and accountability.”                                                         – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A Statement from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster to the Legislative Assemply of Ontario

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted May 3rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ms. Cindy Forster: “Today (Wednesday, May 3rd) I rise in support of Bill Hodgson, a member of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board who is being censured by the board because he dared to express legitimate and valid concerns about a questionable RFP they recently issued.

Our community has raised serious concerns about the board’s lack of operational accountability and financial transparency. The Auditor General intervened, offering an impartial audit, one the board declined.

Perhaps fearful of what the AG may uncover, the board issued its own RFP, except it reported back to the very people it was supposed to be auditing. Continue reading →

A Statement by  Bernie Sanders from his Facebook Page

Posted May 3rd,  2017 on Niagara At Large

Hundreds from Buffalo, New York area joined tens of thousands across North America this past April 29th in marches for action on climate change. Photo by Doug Draper

The fossil fuel industry, today, in many respects is like the tobacco industry of the 1950s. They lie, lie and lie – trying to deny or obfuscate the damage their product causes.

Unlike the tobacco industry, however, which kills people one at a time by selling a product which causes cancer, heart disease and a host of other ailments, the fossil fuel industry is threatening the lives of billions of people throughout the world – all at the same time.

Trump’s belief that climate change is a “hoax” is not just embarrassingly stupid, it is a threat to our entire planet.

Over the weekend, millions of people throughout the globe marched for sane environmental policies and for the need to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

The momentum is with us, not the fossil fuel industry. If we stand tall and keep fighting, we will win this struggle. Congratulations to all those who marched for the planet.

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

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

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

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

New OHIP+ Will Make Prescription Drugs Free For Everyone    24 and Under

A News Release from the Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Posted May 3rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Premier Kathleen Wynne met with students at the University of Waterloo today to discuss how Ontario’s new OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare Program will benefit them and their families.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. File photo

Last week, Ontario announced that as part of the 2017 Budget, it is moving to make prescription medications free for all children and youth 24 years of age and younger, regardless of family income. Coverage will be automatic, with no upfront costs.

Beginning January 1, 2018, the proposed program will improve access to prescription medications for more than four million children and young people, including students and young professionals who may not have access to comprehensive drug benefit plans as they pursue postsecondary education or begin their careers. Continue reading →

“The NPCA Board of Directors has a duty to demand from its members integrity and honesty at all times when conducting the important business of the Authority. We will continue to observe and uphold our legislative and fiduciary responsibility.” – NPCA board chair and Fort Erie regional councillor Sandy Annunziata in a May 1^st letter to Niagara regional chair Al Caslin, relaying board’s decision to censure Bill Hodgson.

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 2^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I got the information I’m about to post earlier this May 2^nd and I have to admit, dear readers, I had to stop and take some deep breaths before I began writing this.

The doors that greeted Niagara area citizens when they first arrived at a meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority this April 26th.

So let me start with a few words that may help put the crap that is coming down on Bill Hodgson in context.

Lincoln regional councillor and NPCA board member Bill Hodgson arriving at the April 26th board meeting – one that would not go well for him. Photo by Doug Draper

Along with 30 or so other citizens from across this Niagara region, I travelled to Ball’s Falls in Lincoln this past April 26^th for a monthly board meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, only to find – for the second month in a row – the doors shut tight for a “closed session” of a board meeting the NPCA had listed on its website for a starting time of 9:30 a.m.

It is bad enough that we had to wait for more than an hour outside doors with broadsheets of paper taped over them so we couldn’t see in before we – the people who pay the taxes that fund this body – were finally let in. On other doors leading in to the building where the meeting was held, signs were taped up with the NPCA’s name and logo on them that read; “Aggressive or intimidating behaviour, harassment or course language will not be tolerated.” Continue reading →

“With anti-black police violence and Black Lives Matter in the news, … now was the time to revisit the events of May 4, 1992. – Simon Black, Assistant Professor in the Centre for Labour Studies at Brock University

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted May 2^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Feeling marginalized and targeted, a part of the population reaches its breaking point and takes to the streets in protest.

.

It sounds like something that could have taken place today, but Thursday, May 4 marks 25 years since the Yonge Street Riot took place in downtown Toronto. Continue reading →

 A Column y by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted May 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Town of Pelham in Niagara, Ontario – An odd thing happened at Regional Council last week. On a vote of 14 in favour and 11 against, Council nearly did not approve the agenda for our Thursday, April   28th  meeting.

What does that mean, and why?

The first order of business for any municipal council is to approve the agenda – that is agree on what to discuss and consider during the meeting. It’s usually approved without fanfare and the meeting begins.

But last week, after some other Councillors and I outlined our concern that the Chair neglected to include three Integrity Commissioner’s reports, 11 Councillors spontaneously voted against the incomplete agenda. Continue reading →

 “Getting access to life-saving medications isn’t going to get easier unless Ontario does something. … The NDP is ready to act on Pharmacare.”

A Statement from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted May 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ontario – The Wynne Liberal government refuses to commit to a universal Pharmacare program in Ontario – and NDP MPP Catherine Fife (Kitchener-Waterloo) asked the premier this past April 26th  why families like the Thurleys should have to stretch their finances to the breaking point to protect their health.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, this April 24th, announces pharmacare plan for all in province

 “Families that are getting sick are being forced to make decisions that no Ontarian should have to make,” said Fife. “New Democrats have a bold plan to fix this for everyone – and it’s shameful that the Wynne Liberals and the Conservatives won’t get on board.”

Kitchener resident Peter Thurley had a series of surgeries that saved his life in 2015. But he’s now paying between $700 and $1,000 every month out of pocket for the medications he needs to continue his recovery. Peter cannot work while he’s recovering, and he’s run out of drug coverage. Continue reading →

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted May 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharings – Industrial agriculture might seem good on paper, but the trend of reducing biodiversity in the name of profits is harmful to communities.

Ripe tomatoes growing on the branches – cultivated in the garden

Liette Vasseur, a Brock University Professor of Biology, says many species of vegetable and fruit plants that have fed communities around the world for generations are being phased out to make room for large commercial crops such as coffee, tea, wheat and canola because of the strong international market demands. Continue reading →

Posted May 1st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce and the Buffalo-Niagara Partnership, Western New York’s regional Chamber of Commerce and private sector economic development organization, are pleased to announce a new strategic agreement that bridges their two organizations.

Under this agreement, members in one organization will be entitled to associate membership in the other. This agreement is designed to build cross-border business relationships and create new opportunities in our bi-national economy. Continue reading →

Also, would a code of conduct do the current administration of Niagara’s regional council any good?

More on this and other journeys in to the heart of darkness, to be posted here, in the days ahead on Niagara At Large

This Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors meeting this past Earth Week, behind closed doors – AGAIN

Stay Tuned!

Enjoy the weekend and this Saturday, April 29th, 2017, March for the Earth’s Climate in you can – Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

For more on a March for Climate event that you can participate this Saturday, April 29th in Buffalo, New York, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/04/28/on-this-earth-week-a-message-from-the-mother-of-the-modern-day-environmental-movement/ .

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

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

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

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

–         Join the ‘People’s Climate March in Buffalo, New York, Saturday, April 29th, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.  – Details Lower Down

Posted by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper, April 28^th, 2017

Rachel Carson – 1907 – 1964. Her courageous 1962 book Silent Spring became helped inspire the first Earth Day in 1970 and became a bible of the modern-day environmental movement. It should be mandatory reading in every school.

 Join the People’s Climate March Buffalo on Saturday, April 29th, 2017 starting at 1:30 p.m. at 1 Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo, New York near the City Hall and heading to CanalSide where it will wrap up at3:30 p.m.

by WNY Peace Center

WE RESIST! WE BUILD! WE RISE!

The new administration has attacked the hard-won freedoms and rights of the American people as well as the protections of our health and the health of our planet.

Continue reading →

Ontario is giving children and youth a better start in life by moving to make prescription medications free.

A News Release from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal Government

Posted  April 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Health Minister Eri Hoskinsis

“The Children and Youth Pharmacare program is the first universal drug program in Canada for youth 24 and under, providing access to prescription drugs to over four million young people.”   — Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Premier Kathleen Wynne was joined this April 28th  by Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, and Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance, at Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre in Toronto to announce the new OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare Program. Continue reading →

A News Story from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted April 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – A Brock University scientist says wine grapes are a “canary in the coal mine” for climate change’s impact on agriculture.

Pictured from left, CCOVI researcher and Brock professor Gary Pickering, has been working with research students Stephanie Small-Kelly and Margaret Thibodeau on projects that will help grape growers and wine makers overcome the challenges presented to the industry by climate change.

New data from NASA shows Earth has just experienced the second-hottest March in the 137 years records have been kept. As climate change slowly moves the temperature higher, the agriculture sector is keeping a close watch.

Gary Pickering says the vineyards sprawling across Niagara can serve as an early warning system for how increasing warmth is affecting agriculture. Wine grapes are good monitors of climate change impacts because of the “narrow geographic and climatic range required by most wine grape varieties,” Pickering says. Continue reading →

A Statement from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted April 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park –  For 14 years, the Liberals have had the power to make sure everyone in Ontario could afford their medicine, but instead, the Wynne government has only moved in the opposite direction – even trying to hike the price of medication for seniors last year.

 The NDP has made a commitment to create Ontario’s first universal Pharmacare program. In question period this past Tuesday, April 25th NDP Health critic France Gélinas asked Premier Kathleen Wynne why she refused to get on board with that plan.

 “Does the premier believe people in Ontario should have universal access to medication?” Gélinas asked.

One in four Ontarians doesn’t take their medication because of cost, and 2.2 million Ontarians have no prescription drug coverage at all. That number is expected to get worse as unstable and non-traditional work grows in Ontario.

‘’Our Pharmacare program would start by covering the 125 most common drugs – medications like asthma inhalers, birth control and blood pressure medication,’’ said Gélinas. The cost is estimated by the NDP and experts not to exceed $475 million – or one-third of one per cent of the provincial budget.

 “When I think of the people who leave their doctor’s office with a prescription that they’ll never be able to fill, it’s clear to me we can’t afford not to do this,” said Gélinas.

“When I think of the number of patients who end up in our already-overcrowded hospitals because they couldn’t afford to take their medication, I know we can’t afford to wait for a national Pharmacare plan. And when I think of the stress families face as costs pile up – costs like housing, hydro and medication –  while Premier Wynne watches; I know this should be a priority.

 “We need to deliver lower cost, less stress and better health to Ontario families. We need this Pharmacare plan, now.”

Audio:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19807208/Q2_Gelinas_04-25-17.mp3

Video:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19807208/Q2_Gelinas_04-25-17.mp4

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

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

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

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

Statement from Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown

Posted April 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The following is a statement from Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown on Budget 2017:

 “For 14 years this Liberal government has made life harder. This April 27th’s budget is more proof that Ontario families will continue to pay more and get less.

Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown

 “This is not a balanced budget. The government is hiding a more than $5 billion dollar operational deficit through cash grabs, unauthorized pension assets, and one-time and unusual revenue. The Wynne Liberals are cooking the books a year before the next election.

 “The Liberals have no plan in this budget to get the debt under control. They’ve more than doubled the debt in just 14 years, and Ontario is worse off as a result. It’s eroding the services Ontario families depend on, and places a burden on future generations that they don’t deserve. Continue reading →

An Invite and a Call-Out to You for support from Niagara Action for Animals (NAFA)

Dear friends of Animals

St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario – We are holding a yard sale fundraiser this Saturday, April 29^th,  94 Welland Avenue, St. Catharines (NAfA house) open from about 8:30 til noon.  

We have a variety of items to sell, including but not limited to: books, Martha Stewart magazines, DVD’s, children’s toys, dishes, car polishers, knick-knacks, household goods, lamps, bedside cupboard, tools, basketball hoop, some clothes, purses, shredder, some ‘pet’ supplies, basketball hoop and a George Foreman grill! and more.  Come by and say hello and see what you can find. Continue reading →

A Statement from the Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted April 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – Showing how out of touch she is with Ontario families, Kathleen Wynne’s budget fails to undo the damage she has done to affordability for people, or the services they count on.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“What’s clear from this budget is that Ontarians waiting for a $15 minimum wage will have to wait for a change in government,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. “The 85 per cent of Ontarians that want a public hydro system and reform that will get their bills down, and keep them down – they’ll have to wait for a change in government. And the vast majority of the 2.2 million Ontarians without a drug plan won’t get the help they need until after the election.”

The Wynne government’s 2017-18 budget, released Thursday, ignores Ontarians who have been feeling the squeeze caused by high prices for hydro, housing, medication and so much more. Continue reading →

“Finance Minister Charles Sousa committed funding for our health care future, specifically for a new south Niagara hospital.”

News from Niagara Health (former known as the amalgamated Niagara Health Service or NHS)

Posted April 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Our vision to build a healthier Niagara got a significant boost today with the provincial government’s announcement that it will be investing in healthcare in our region.

This billboard sign, on a green site in south Niagara Falls, has been up now for more than half a decade. File photo by Doug Draper

Finance Minister Charles Sousa committed funding for our redevelopment plans, specifically for a new south Niagara hospital. There are many other areas mentioned such as: primary care improvement and wait time reduction funding with further details to follow. Our redevelopment plans are before the Ministry for feedback and approval. Continue reading →

In a letter, Forster also seeks assurance no records will be destroyed prior to audit

“Given the existing climate and the interest of the Auditor General in providing public assurance to our communities, I trust that the board fully appreciates the importance of retaining any and all pre-existing documents.”                          – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A letter to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster, with a Brief Foreword from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Posted April 26th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario – At a meeting this April 26th of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, St. Catharines regional councillor and board member Bruce Timms (until this past January the board’s chair) tabled a motion that commits the NPCA to destroying none of its records until an audit is performed – possibly by Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s office – on its books.

A meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, File photo by Doug Draper

Timms’motion was approved by the 15 member board – 11 of which are Niagara regional councillors and mayors of area municipalities – in the wake of concerns raised by numerous area residents, Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster and Ontario Public Service Employees Union president Smokey Thomson, whose union represents more than 20 NPCA employees, that managers at the Conservation Authority might destroy internal documents before a thorough audit is done of the body and before any and all court actions and wrongful dismissal complaints are dealt with. Continue reading →

“I have received several calls over the past few months from Cindy’s constituents who are growing tired of her obsession with the NPCA.” – from a recent email from St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski to Mike Haines, an executive assistant in Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster’s  constituency office.

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted April 25th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

We seem to have a growing trend of regional councillors in Niagara taking a keener and keener interest in the business of our local municipalities and members of provincial parliament in this Niagara region.

St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski has received word from Welland MPP Cindy Forster’s constituents upset over her NPCA “obsession.”

And isn’t that a good thing?

After all, what better person could we have scrutinizing the conduct of our local municipal councils and those we elect to represent us in the Ontario legislature than a member of Niagara regional council? Right?

Now here are just two of the more recent examples of what I am talking about here.

Late this past March, those of us who still dare to peak in on meetings of Niagara Region’s council were offered the spectacle of Port Colborne regional councillor David Barrick, who also serves as chair of the regional government’s budget and corporate services committees aside from his full-time administrative job at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, tabled a motion calling for a closer examination of the Town of Pelham’s financial well-being given that it might (according to wording in his motion) deal a serious blow to the credit rating for the entire region.

This reporter attended a town hall meeting arranged by Pelham’s municipal council this April 24th to address the concerns raised in Barrick’s motion, but so far – based on the questions and concerns addressed at that meeting, at least –Pelham’s finances don’t appear to have the makings of a budget bomb that could send shrapnel flying all over the peninsula. Not even close. Continue reading →

A Message from the Ontario Health Coalition, a not-for-profit, citizens advocacy group for better health care services in Ontario

Posted April 25^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario Health Coalition welcomes the Ontario NDP’s announcement today of a proposed drug program to expand coverage to 2.2 million Ontarians.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, this April 24th, announces pharmacare plan for all in province

Just as public health care, or “medicare”, covers hospitals and doctors, public pharmacare would be a public insurance program covering medicines.  It would improve the current patchwork of private insurance plans, the Ontario Drug Benefits program and the Trillium Drug Plan. Continue reading →

News from the Constituence Offce of Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Same Oosterhoff

Posted April 25th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook riding MPP Sam Oosterhoff

In an open letter to Finance Minister Charles Sousa, Ontario PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff, representing the riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook, called on the government to finally stand-up for the Niagara Region in the provincial budget.

The Ontario PCs also echoed these calls in the legislature this April 24th at Queen’s Park. Audio and video of the question is below.

 “My question is to the Minister of Finance. I wrote to the minister last week. Continue reading →

Ontario Basic Income Pilot to Launch in Thunder Bay, Hamilton and Lindsay

News from the Ontario Premier’s Office

Posted April 25th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Hamilton, Ontario – Ontario is launching a pilot project to assess whether a basic income can better support vulnerable workers, improve health and education outcomes for people on low incomes, and help ensure that everyone shares in Ontario’s economic growth.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced details of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot (OBIP) project this April 24th at LiUNA Station in Hamilton. The three-year study will test how a basic income might expand opportunities and job prospects of those living on low incomes while providing greater security for them and their families. Continue reading →