Category Archives: Uncategorized

This Time It Is About Eradicating Poverty. But Then How Come Homelessness and the Demands on Food Banks in Niagara and Other Regions of Canada are Growing So Rapidly?

A Commentary by Doug Draper of Niagara At Large followed by a Statement from Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Posted October 17^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so often fails to follow up his warm and fuzzy rhetoric with real iaction?

If Justin Trudeau’s Liberals wonder why they are sinking like a rock in the polls and why all those ‘F— Trudeau’ flags are out there – flags this journalist finds repulsive, by the way – they may want to consider the possibility that people have just about had enough with their failure to follow up warm, fuzzy promises with effective action.

On every challenge from the climate crisis to protecting democracy, soaring grocery costs, affordable housing and women from sexual abuse, Canadians have seen little more than lip-service or the recycling of promises put off for years (like the waving of the GST to build new rental apartments) from Trudeau’s Liberal government.

As recently as this October 17^th, Trudeau has issued a statement observing the “International Day for the Eradication of Poverty,” followed by a bunch of words on how much r his government has done to eradicate poverty across Canada. Continue reading →

What We Need Now is an Annoucement from Doug Ford That He is Resigning from Politics Forever

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

Posted October 16^th, 2023

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

How much more hogwash do we, the people of Ontario, have to take from Doug Ford’s Ontario government on the Greenbelt scandal – an episode that has now triggered an RCMP criminal investigation – before Ford does the only decent thing he can do and resign?

In the wake of news of that criminal investigation and two scathing reports on nefarious Ford government activities involving Greenbelt land swaps to Ford-friendly developers, highlighted by Ontario’s Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner this past August, followed by the resigning of two Ontario cabinet ministers, senior staff and a lame apology from Ford, his latest Tory hack in the Ministry of Housing portfolio – one Paul Calandra – has now tabled legislation he claims would  reverse the land swaps with those developer cronies in our precious food-producing Greenbelt.

Paul Calandra, Doug Ford’s latest Housing Minister, works to sweep the Greenbelt land swap scandal under the rug

And Calandra, like his shameless predecessor Steve Clark in the now-so-discredited Housing portfolio, held a news conference this October 16^th,  spouting the same baloney as Ford and Clark have that the Greenbelt land swap was a “mistake of process” and nothing more.

Forget about some of the developers in question showing up at Ford’s daughter’s wedding gatherings and any brown evelops that reportedly were exchanged between them and government staff, and reports of the premier wrongly using private email addresses and phone numbers to communicate with whoever during that period of time. Continue reading →

“For months, Ford has been distracted, handing out MZOs (ministerial zoning orders) or urban boundary expansions to wealthy insiders, instead of concentrating on building the homes we urgently need.” – Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition Party

Posted October 14^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK – After spending a year wasting precious time with his corrupt attempt to give Greenbelt land to land speculators, Ford’s failed housing policies have left Ontarians with a housing supply that continues to stagnate while demand soars through the roof.

“It’s crystal clear that we need to build different types of homes that can house Ontarians at every stage of their lives, in the communities they want to live in,” said MPP Jessica Bell (University-Rosedale), Official Opposition NDP housing critic.

“We need to get serious about good policies that will help build the affordable homes we need and get the government back in the business of building housing.” Continue reading →

“The climate alarms ring louder every day but the Ford government still isn’t getting the message.”

A Call-Out from the Green Party of Ontario

Posted October 13^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

The records keep piling up – records no one wants to see.

We’ve just had the hottest summer on record. The world saw its hottest day ever. We had three days in a row when much of North America was blanketed in wildfire smoke. And the advent of fall hasn’t seen this trend slow at all. 

In Ontario the unseasonably warm summer weather has continued, making this September the warmest ever and putting 2023 on track to be the hottest year ever. 

The climate alarms ring louder every day but the Ford government still isn’t getting the message. This government continues to ignore cheap, safe renewables while ramping up fossil gas generation and doubling down on a discredited car-dependent sprawl housing policy. Continue reading →

An Action Alert from the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), a long-time defender of a healthy environment for all

Posted October 13^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (is issuing this alert) about the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks proposals to exempt certain waste management systems, storm water management, and water-taking from licensing requirements.

These “streamlining” proposals are eliminating critical government and public scrutiny from projects that could have significant impacts on the environment and human health. CELA strong urges the Ministry NOT to proceed with these proposals, and we encourage you to add your voice.

The most important action you can take is to send an email to Ministry staff. Here’s how:

Continue reading →

“With a significant primary care shortage, and lack of access to emergency hospital services, Niagara-on-the-Lake needs the (Ontario Ford Government and its Health) Ministry to follow through on their promise for nurse practitioner services.”

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted October 12^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates, whose riding also includes Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – NDP MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls Riding) joined Niagara-on-the-Lake Mayor, Gary Zalepa, to call for increased nurse practitioner services for Niagara-on-the-Lake with a joint letter released this October 12^th, 2023.

“Seniors in our community deserve access to health care that is publicly available and easily accessible,” said Gates. “As a popular tourist destination and place to retire, additional nurse practitioner services for Niagara-on-the-Lake are critical to help ensure everyone who lives, works or visits the community will have access to the care they need.”

Niagara-on-the-Lake has a high population of senior residents, with approximately 36.2 per cent of the Town’s population 65 years and over. Continue reading →

“While the (RCMP) investigation is underway, immediate action must be taken to reverse boundary expansions and Greenbelt removals to ensure these areas are protected from further development.”

A Statement from Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence Canada, a citizen’s advocate for environmental protection

Posted October 11^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Statement on RCMP Investigation into Ontario’s Greenbelt Land Swap from Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – We welcome the news of the RCMP’s initiation of an investigation into the Ontario government’s Greenbelt land swap as an encouraging and significant development.

Considering the far-reaching impact of this scandal, it is highly appropriate that this investigation is now in the hands of the RCMP’s Sensitive & International Investigations (SII) unit, a unit specializing in threats to the political, economic and social integrity of Canada’s institutions. Continue reading →

“It is absolutely shameful that under Premier Ford’s leadership this government has appeared to have acted so improperly that the RCMP was compelled to launch an investigation.”

A Statement from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles

Posted October 11^th,2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Media reports confirm that the RCMP has launched a criminal investigation into the Ford government’s $8.3 billion Greenbelt land swap.

Leader of the Official Opposition NDP Marit Stiles, whose requests launched the Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner investigations into this corruption scandal, issued the following statement:

“Now we have a Premier under criminal investigation and a government that is spiraling out of control. Continue reading →

‘Verbal abuse, physical assault and sexual harassment against Niagara EMS paramedics and staff is not okay. Those who do so could be charged.’

A Message from Ontario’s Niagara Regional Government and Niagara Health, the region’s amalgamated public health care system

Posted October 11^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

With rising numbers of reported incidents of violence against front line staff, Niagara Emergency Medical Services (Niagara EMS) is taking steps to protect the safety of paramedics, dispatchers and other staff.

Front line staff at Niagara EMS regularly face incidents of violence (e.g., verbal abuse, physical assault and/or sexual harassment) on the job.

These incidents are increasing and often go underreported presenting a significant but common challenge to the profession. In Niagara, reported incidents of violence toward front line staff have increased by 53 per cent since 2018. Continue reading →

“We have zero tolerance for any wrongdoing and expect anyone involved in the decision-making about the Greenbelt lands to have followed the letter of the law.”   – from a statement by Ontario’s Ford Government following news of the RCMP’s investigation

Breaking News on Niagara At Large

Posted October 10^th, 2023

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

It is about time.

Now being formally investigated by the RCMP. This image from Ontario’s Green Party which joined other political parties in the province in calling for a full probe of the Greenbelt land swap affair.

For several weeks now, since Ontario’s Auditor General’s Office and its Ombudsman released damning reports on the Ford government’s plans to parcel out land from the province’s precious Greenbelt to its developer friends, and even before the tabling of those reports – when it was clear to observant members of the public and news media that something foul was going on – the RCMP has confirmed that it is carrying out a criminal probe. Continue reading →

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

October 9^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

‘The Face of War’ by artist Salvador Dali

The terrible news coming out of the Middle East over the past few days is another reminder of four words I have framed on a wall above a desk where I do my writing – “MY SPECIES DISAPPOINTS ME.”

With all of the pressing challenges we face in our communities, our countries and all around the world, from hunger, homelessness, poverty and climate change – challenges that too many of our politicial leaders and to many of the people who support them question whether we have enough financial resources to solve – there always seems to be enough money to wage war.

I am far from being any kind of expert or scholar on Middle East affairs so I won’t pretend to be one here by writing a commentary on the latest shooting war declared there. Continue reading →

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives Place Carbon Fuels – Polluting Oil and Gas – Ahead of the Health and Welfare of Present and Future Generations in Our Province

A Call-Out from the Ontario Clean Air Coalition, a not-for-profit citizens group pressing for greener sources of energy

This neanderthal Ontario has for a Premier and his Conservative MPPs would rather keep pumping carbon-olluting gas in the air than work for a better future.

Posted October 6^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Why is Doug Ford ignoring the renewable energy revolution?

The world is going renewable – but don’t take our word for it.  That’s the finding of the International Energy Agency (IEA) [https://www.iea.org/news/renewable-power-s-growth-is-being-turbocharged-as-countries-seek-to-strengthen-energy-security], long a bosom buddy of the oil and gas industry.

According to the IEA, renewables are set to account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years, overtaking coal to be the largest source of global electricity by early 2025! Continue reading →

“Ontario is grappling with an affordability crisis, and it’s our responsibility to ensure no child goes to school on an empty stomach.”- Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from the Constituency Offices of St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens and Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted October 6^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

NIAGARA, Ontario  —NDP MPPs Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) and Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) celebrated the Niagara advocacy that helped secure province-wide funding for student nutrition programs yesterday.

“We are filled with optimism today,” said Stevens. “This journey began right here in Niagara, and the top-up for school nutrition programs is a credit to the relentless advocacy of our service providers and community members. We are proud to have added our voices to theirs. We took the issue directly to the Minister, worked across party lines, and the result is a positive step forward.” Continue reading →

“The world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” – Pope Francis in a Report  called ‘Laudate Deum’, released by the Pontiff ahead of the United Nations’ COP 28 Climate Summit this November and December in Dubai

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

Posted October 5th, 2023

Pope Francis urges world leaders and all of us to take stronger action on the climate crisis that has wreaked record-breaking havoc on the world this year..

For the record, I am not now and never have been a member of the Catholic Church or any other church or religious group on this planet.

However, I have always had a great deal of respect for leaders or prominent members of any religious faiths who dedicate time tor the good of humankind and for all life on this one and only place in the universe we know of that is capable of sustaining us if we have the wisdom and courage to protect and preserve it.

On that front, I felt honoured as an environment reporter in the 1980s and 90s to come and to know and respect a late, a heroic Catholic nun named Sister Margeen Hoffmann who led a group in Niagara Falls, New York called the Ecumenical Taskforce and who worked with environmental groups on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border to clean up industrial dumps and effluent pipes poisoning the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.

Sister Margeen Hoffmann was a leadering activist in the fight to reduce the flow of toxic chemicals to the Niagara River and Lake Ontario in the 1980s and 90s

Sister Margeen, who also worked during the latee 1970s and early 1980s to help hundreds of families flee from the chemically-contaminated Love Canal neighbourhood in Niagara Falls, N.Y,  often liked to quote the words ofSt. Frances of Assisi, a Catholic friar and environmental activist from some 900 years, that went like this, and I paraphrase; “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Now the head of the Catholic Church, who adopted the name of that ancient friar, has released a report, following a summer of record-breaking, destructive and deadly wildfires, droughts, flooding and winds and fjust ahead of an international summit on the climate crisis, that rings of that same message of taking action before we perish. Continue reading →

“The scandal won’t be over until the government’s entire push for car-dependent sprawl on farms, forests and wetlands is abandoned and reversed.”

A Statement by Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager for the Canada-wide citizens group, Environmental Defence

Posted October 5^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Photos of rally at Niagara Regional headquarters by Doug Draper

Toronto, Ontario – (This October 4^th’s) leak of internal documents from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing reveals that just as in Halton Region and Hamilton, the Ontario government knew that imposing 3,211 hectares of boundary expansions in Belleville, Peterborough, Waterloo, and Wellington was a threat to more than the environment – it would also make it harder to build more homes.

More broadly, (the) leak confirms what independent experts and environmental and housing NGOs have shown with robust data: the Greenbelt removals are only the most visible part of a much wider sprawl and real estate scandal that encompasses the push to build Highway 413, the rigging of planning processes to railroad municipalities into approving sprawl, and the provincial government’s direct imposition of 10,270 hectares of forced sprawl across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. All of these actions have been taken contrary to its own land use planning rules. Continue reading →

Ford spent $1 billion less on the health sector than this time last year

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted October 5^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

NDP: FAO report shows Ford weakened our public health care system just as flu season arrives

Now that – thanks to enough Ontario voters – the Ford government has won another majority, it is moving forward with selling our public health care services off to private corporations.

QUEEN’S PARK – The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) revealed that Ford Conservatives continue to dramatically starve the public health care system of resources – just as flu season arrives, ERs face closures, (https://www.pentictonherald.ca/spare_news/article_bc57d17f-fe25-569e-a86b-6ed546fc85b5.html) and Toronto reported an ambulance shortage (https://globalnews.ca/news/10003186/toronto-ambulance-shortage-union/) just last night. MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo), NDP Finance critic responds:

“Ford has been recklessly starving our public healthcare system, leaving us all in a vulnerable position as flu season arrives and we may need to access health care services.

It’s alarming that this government seems to have learned nothing from the pandemic. Instead of strengthening our public health care system – and supporting the public services that help people live better lives – Ford hides taxpayer money in contingency funds for his government’s own discretionary use. Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Official Opposition Party and its NDP Leader, Marit Stiles

Posted October 4^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

A Quick Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper – I suspect that at least a few people who visit this news site are wondering why we are posting so much news from the Ontario New Democrats on the Greenbelt scandal. Some may wonder if we are doing so because we are NDP supporters. The answer is no. We are not members or supporters of any political party. It is just that in this case, Ontario’s NDP, to its credit and like no other political party in the province, is relentlessly working, like no other party, to get to the bottom of the Ford government corruption here.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles says an internal government memo from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing shows the Conservatives knew their unilateral decisions to pave over greenspace and farmland by expanding urban boundaries were wrong but proceeded anyway.

“What we’re seeing is Act II of the Greenbelt corruption crisis,” Stiles said. “This is yet further evidence that this government will stop at nothing to rig the system so long as it helps their close land speculator friends.” Continue reading →

(Ontario Premier Doug Ford) is ducking accountability at every turn. …  Why? What is he trying to hide?” – Ontario’s NDP Leader Marit Stiles

A Statement by Ontario’s NDP  Opposition Leader Marit Stiles

Posted October 4^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Stiles: Ford blocks Greenbelt investigation

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, released the following statement after Ford’s Conservatives blocked the formation of a Special Investigative Committee that would open accountability and transparency on the corrupt Greenbelt deal:

“This is shameful, even with this government’s track record. Ford has admitted his corrupt Greenbelt grab was flawed – but has no interest in getting to the bottom of what happened. He’s ducking accountability at every turn and blocking the chance to have trust restored in his own government. Continue reading →

Ford’s Conservative Government So Far Fails to Give An Answer. So Much for Openness and Transparency With We, The People Who Pay For All of This.

” What (are they) trying to hide?”

A News Release from the Constituency Offices of Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch and St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted October 3^rd, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP MPPs Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) and Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) received no answers from the Conservatives this morning as they tried to learn how much money Ford spent on his attempted Greenbelt PR campaign (https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/doug-ford-fights-back-against-greenbelt-report-with-ad-campaign-as-tory-insiders-say-he/article_f72b8fce-e582-5a0b-aa0d-1b0d18059132.html) .

“Ford’s Conservatives are running a months-long advertising campaign – using taxpayer money – to try to sell their unpopular Greenbelt Grab to Ontarians as necessary to build homes,” said Burch. “Now that Ford has been forced to backtrack, how much money was spent on his attempts to benefit land speculators?” Continue reading →

“Everyone deserves to be able to live their lives free from hunger or homelessness, and a living wage can truly make a difference for everyone. The benefits are both personal and public, as the living wage has economic benefits throughout the community. This includes higher worker retention and more money to be spent in local communities.”                                                                       – from Living Wage Niagara, part of an Ontario-wide Living Wage Program now administered in our Niagara region by United Way Niagara and funded through the Niagara Prosperity Initiative. 

News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted October 1st, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford gives the shaft to low-income workers again

As of this October 1st, the minimum wage in Ontario increases from $15.50 an hour to $16.55 – an increase of one dollar and five cents.

And to that news I say, in words you should know are dripping with sarcasm – ‘What a magnanimous gesture on the Ford government’s party.’

At a time when many people, including people with jobs across Niagara and the rest of the province are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and find themselves resorting to food banks to give themselves and their children enough to eat, this minimum wage increase is a sick and cruel joke. Continue reading →

From Saturday, September 30^th Thru some of the first Days of October in St. Catharines/Niagara. See Details Below

A News Release and Invite to All from the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre

Posted September 29^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – In June 2021, the federal government announced the creation a new statutory holiday known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to be recognized 30 September each year. 

This day fulfills the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call-to-Action #80 and will serve as a day of remembrance, reflection, action and learning. Since 2013, 30 September has been known as Orange Shirt Day, a day to recognize the tragic history and long-standing effects of residential schools.  Continue reading →

“People are still looking for answers. The Premier may have apologized, but that doesn’t change the fact that this government gave preferential treatment to benefit their insiders — to the tune of billions.” – Ontario Opposition Leader Marit Sytles

News and a Statement from Ontario NDP Opposition Leader Marit Stiles

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

Posted September 27^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles will be calling to issue a Speaker’s Warrant to require public testimony from the two Ford-connected developers who were set to make the highest financial gain from the Conservatives’ $8.3 billion cash-for-access Greenbelt grab. Continue reading →

The Very Ugly Verbal Attacks and Vandalism Aimed at our Politicians is Wrong. But Our Governments Also Need to do More to Address the Causes of the Growing Anger Out There.

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 27^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Canadian Speaker of the House and federal Liberal Party hack Anthony Rota is thankuflly vacating his throne in the House this September 27th, 2023 after embarrassing the country in front of the world.

This past Friday, September 22^nd seemed – at least for a little while, to be one of the better days for a beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.

It was the day that Ukrainian President and champion for democracy Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Canada’s Parliament and parliamentarians of all political stripes – in a rare moment of unity – demonstrated support for Ukraine’s continued struggle for freedom and sovereignty against Russia’s murderous Putin regime.

Then, just a few days later, we find out that the House of Common’s Trudeau appointed  Speaker of the House – a Liberal hack from north Ontario named Anthony Rota – paid tribute during Zelenksyy’s visit to the House to what he described as a Second World War veteran from Ukraine (but now living in his region of Ontario) who he said fought the Russians during that war. Continue reading →

‘People don’t trust this government to fix a (Greenbelt) mess of their own creation. Who knows how many loopholes they will sneak into any legislation they table.’

A STATEMENT by Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles

Posted September 25^th , 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ford’s Conservatives block Greenbelt reversal

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Despite promising Ontarians that they will restore the removed lands back into the Greenbelt, Ford’s corrupt Conservatives blocked the Greenbelt Restoration Act in the Legislature this afternoon.

Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles introduced legislation that would restore protection for the Greenbelt lands by reversing the Conservatives’ changes, giving them the opportunity to stick to their word.

“Ontarians have had enough of his broken promises. The Premier needs to stick to his word,” said Stiles. Continue reading →

“Canada will stand with Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. As Ukrainians continue to fight for their freedom and their democracy, our support will be unequivocal until they are victorious. Slava Ukraini!”                                                                   – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

A News Release from the Office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted September 22nd, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, this September 22^nd, 2023  welcomed the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Canada to showcase Canada’s ongoing solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression.

The Prime Minister and the President held a bilateral meeting where they discussed Ukraine’s military, financial, development, humanitarian, and other needs, now and into the future.

Both leaders reaffirmed the two countries’ partnership and advanced the development of shared long-term security commitments, discussed efforts to rebuild Ukraine, and highlighted the close ties between our peoples and shared values that unite our countries. Continue reading →

A Statement from the Office of Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley

Posted September 22nd, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley,

Regional Chair Jim Bradley offered the following statement regarding the announcement by Premier Ford that development will not be occurring in the Green Belt – 

“I applaud the provincial government’s decision to reverse their plans to permit development on lands designated as the Green Belt.

“I commend the government for responding to concerns expressed by many Ontarians about the potential impact of development on Ontario’s natural heritage and valuable agricultural land.

“The Niagara Region is committed to working in close cooperation with the provincial government to achieve its goal of providing 1.5 million homes for the growing population of Ontario. Continue reading →

The Niagara, Ontario Municipality’ Council  Deserves the Nation-Wide Praise it is Getting for  Responding with a Unanimous NO to Proposed Gas-Fired Energy Plant in its Community and the City Should Serve as a Role Model for other Municipalities across the Country

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted September 21^st, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Those who have followed any of my writing as a journalist in Niagara, Ontario over however number of decades, may know that I am hardly the go-to guy when it comes to singing praises for governments on any number of issues.

The City of Thorold’s current council receives Canada-wide praise for its recent decison to reject a plan to build a carbon-emitting gas plant in the municipality

Yet I cannot help but sing some praise for Mayor Terry Ugulini and his Council in the Niagara, Ontario City of Thorold – a municipality I happen to live in – for voting No this past September 19^th to a proposed gas-fired power plant in the municipality – a proposal that was driven by the wrong-headed and dangerous policies of Ontario’s Ford government to continue opting for burning carbon fuels that wreak havoc on our climate over renewable energies. Continue reading →

“To clean up what remains of the Ontario government’s land use and environmental mess, including Highway 413, it is essential to strengthen Greenbelt protections to ensure future government’s can’t try this again.”

A Statement from the Canada-wide citizens group Environmental Defence on Ontario’s Greenbelt Scandal

Posted September 22^nd, 2023 on Niagara At Large

A Statement from Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager on Premier Ford canceling $8.28-billion Greenbelt land removals

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – “While we welcome Premier Ford’s full reversal of the inappropriate removals of Greenbelt lands, the Ontario government’s $8.3 billion gift to developers represented just the most visible part of a dishonest and counterproductive push for sprawl that will only worsen Ontario’s housing shortage.

“To clean up what remains of the Ontario government’s land use and environmental mess, including Highway 413, it is essential to strengthen Greenbelt protections to ensure future government’s can’t try this again. Continue reading →

Ontario Premier Doug Ford tries sweeping Greenbelt scandal under the rug

“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise and for that I’m very, very sorry. …. I made a mistake”                                                             –  Ontario Premier Doug Ford at September 21st Press Conference in  in Niagara Falls, Ontario

A Brief News Commentary for now on this  with more to come, from Doug Draper

Posted September 21^st on Niagara At Large

Following two damning reports this past August – one from Ontario’s Auditor General and one from its Ombudsman – and the resignation of two senior ministers and the rolling of heads in senior staff, Premier Doug Ford has announced a decision to reverse any and all multi-billion dollar plans with developers to pave over what he once called “big chunks” of the Greenbelt.

In making this announcement, which is a victory for present and future Ontario citizens who know that value of these precious Greenbelt lands, there was no clear message in Ford’s words that he has come to realize how valuable this natural resource is to we, the people, collectively.

Instead, Ford tried to pass the whole corrupt mess off as a “mistake” with the process the government used to parcel off Greenbelt lands in a manner that the Ontario Liberal Party’s interim leader John Fraser says looks like “insider trading” and a “gravy train” for his development industry buddies. Continue reading →

‘Thorold understand(s) that more polluting gas is the last thing we need. Unfortunately, the Ford government does not.’

A News Release from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a citizens advocacy group for greener, more renewable sources of energy

Posted September 20^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Last night (Tuesday, September 19^th), the people of Ontario scored a major victory thanks to the determination of a group of local councillors who listened to their constituents.

That resulted in  Thorold City Council voting unanimously to reject Northland Power’s proposal to build a new gas plant in their Niagara Peninsula community.

And that matters, because Energy Minister Todd Smith has stated that no gas plant can be built without municipal approval.

Now, thanks to the work of local citizens who kept the pressure on Thorold Council, making it crystal clear that a gas plant was not welcome in their community, we have created a real test for the minister’s resolve. Continue reading →

“We are encouraged to see communities like Thorold recognize this and stand up for their residents. … In voting against this proposal, Thorold has both helped with the global project of decarbonization and taken an important step to protect air quality in Thorold  and the broader Niagara region.”                                                                         – from the Canada-wide   group Environmental Defence

A Statement on Thorold City Council’s Unanimous Vote Against a New Gas Plant in Niagara, Ontario

From the Canadian citizens advocacy group for green issues, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE

Posted September 20^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Huron-Wendat – We applaud the members  of Thorold City Council for voting unanimously against this unnecessary and  highly polluting project. Ontario doesn’t need more gas plants.

We are encouraged to see communities like Thorold recognize this and stand up for their residents. In order to ensure a safe and stable future, we need more clean energy, not more fossil power.

Respected bodies like the International Energy Agency have been clear – there is no room for new fossil fuel infrastructure if we want to hold warming to 1.5 degrees. Continue reading →

Investment at Highland Ridge in West Lincoln Part of Province-Wide Push to Competitiveness in Ontario’s Agri-Business

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara West Conservative Government MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted September 19^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

SMITHVILLE in Niagara, Ontario  – The Ontario government is investing up to $25 million in fifteen innovative projects through the Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund to expand food-processing capacity in the province and strengthen food supply.

Niagara West ConservativeMPP Sam Oosterhoff

Through the Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund, Highland Ridge in Smithville is receiving up to $1.7 million to increase meat processing capacity.  The project includes construction of a 17,932 square foot facility in West Lincoln and installation of meat processing equipment, including slicers, scales, metal detectors, smokehouse, grinders and mixers.

“As a leading meat processor in Southern Ontario, Highland Ridge is a model of innovation and economic growth in our region,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

“I congratulate the de Jonge family and the hardworking team at Highland Ridge as they expand their growing operation in Smithville.” Continue reading →

“Ontario’s Greenbelt was established to protect farmland, specialty crop, forests, wetlands, watersheds and communities. It also preserves cultural heritage and supports recreation and tourism in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.”                     – – From St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman’s motion to Niagara Regional Council to save our precious Greenbelt lands.

Contact your Niagara Regional Councillors and Urge Them to Support5 this Motions 

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

Posted September 18^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Since this August’s bombshell reports from Ontario’s Auditor General and Ombudsman on the highly questionable deals members of the Ford government have made to sell off protected Greenbelt lands to powerful developers, we have had little to nothing about this growing scandal from Niagara Region’s chair, Jim Bradley, and most of the others sitting o9r doing whatever else they do on Niagara’s regional council.

St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Batement was the only other regional councillor who stood up and said she would vote no to Ford telling the Region who it should have as its Chair.

One of the all to  few on the council who has raised the issue is St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman, who let her fellow councillors know at a meeting in late August that she was going to be bringing a motion forward on the Greenbelt at this coming Thursday, September 21^st’s meeting of Niagara Region’s council.

That motion echoes a recommendation Ontario Auditor Bonnie Lysyk made in her scathing report this past August – for Premier Doug Ford and his government to roll back land swaps in the Greenbelt that stand to haul in developers closetothe Ford government more than $8 billion dollars.

If you support protecting our precious food-growing lands and adjoining woodlands, wetlands and other natural resources in a Greenbelt that includes lands in Niagara, please contact and urge your members of Niagara Regional Council to support Haley Bateman’s motion. Continue reading →

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

Posted September 18^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

This Tuesday, September 19^th at 6:30 p.m., the City of Thorold’s council will be holding a special meeting to decide whether or not to approvel plan by a corporation called Northland Power to operate in Thorold a gas-fired plant for generating energy during times of peak energy demands.

Representatives of Northland Power – a company that is also known in more positive ways for building renewable solar and wind energy plants across the country – told me and others attending an open house this past spring on the Thorold project that Ontario’s Ford government is pushing for these gas-fired “peaking projects.”

This is the same provincial government whose Premier, Doug Ford, declared more than four years ago that he was “proud” to rip up hundreds of renewable energy contracts signed with private companies by Ontario’s former Liberal government. Continue reading →

Engage in learning and reflection with local Indigenous artists, storytellers and knowledge keepers

An Invite from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted September 15^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), Niagara Folk Arts Festival, and Kakekalanicks Consulting have partnered once again to host the second annual Reawakening program at Ball’s Falls Conservation Area.

Set within the beautiful landscape of the Niagara Escarpment and Carolinian forest, the Reawakening event series returns on Saturday, Sept. 23, featuring ‘Indigenous Stories by the Fire’ and interactive storytelling, drumming, music and dancing that will ignite participants’ sense of place, purpose and connection. 

This specially programmed evening will allow participants to awaken their spirits in the natural world with immersive Indigenous cultural programming under the stars. Continue reading →

Find Details for this 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 20^th Meeting and How to Register for it Below An Invite to All of Us from the Niagara District Council of Women

A News Relase from the Niagara District Council of Women in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 14^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

The Niagara District Council of Women is hosting a Public Zoom meeting on Wednesday September 20th   regarding “ Our  Great Lakes in Troubled Times  Big Threats, Root Causes, New Strategies. “

Our Great Lakes – the largest single source of fresh water in the world and vital to the lives of tens-of-millions of Canadians and Am,ericans – re,main under stress from a host of human activities. What can we all do together to protect this precious resource for present and future generations?

Speakers Jane Elder, from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania  and John Jackson of Kitchener, Ontario  have worked on Great Lakes issues  for more than forty years.

Both are founding members of the Great Lakes Ecoregion Network, a border-spanning network to galvanise leadership around tackling over-arching threats to the Great lakes, such as climate change and old and new toxic pollution, like radionuclides,- to air, water, soils, birds and animals and residents  in and surrounding the Great Lakes . Continue reading →

“Doug Ford is actively making the climate crisis worse — most recently, by carving up the Greenbelt.”

A Message from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted September 13^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Doug Ford is actively making the climate crisis worse — most recently, by carving up the Greenbelt — and Ontario’s climate change impact assessment (https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-provincial-climate-change-impact-assessment) is an inconvenient reminder of the risk that climate change poses to Ontarians’ health, livelihoods and property.

The report was presented to the government in January and quietly released August 25, with no announcement from the government, as the Premier and his ministers have attempted to cover up their growing Greenbelt corruption scandal. Continue reading →

“The I(recent Ontario Ombudsman)report found the government failed to protect seniors, their families, and workers. …The (Ford) government had no plans for how inspections were to be conducted during the pandemic – and in fact, the government cut inspections before the pandemic. Inspectors were not provided with basic PPE or training.”                                                                         – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

News from the Niagara, Ontario Constituency Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted September 12^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

QUEEN’S PARK – MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), NDP Critic for Long-Term Care, questioned new LTC Minister Stan Cho, on Monday about the Ford government’s record on long-term care. Cho was recently named Minister, the fourth in five years under the Ford government.

“It’s unfortunate that this file has been passed around to four different Ministers in the last few years – especially since nearly 6,000 of our moms and dads, our grandparents, and loved ones died in long-term care during the pandemic,” said Gates. “Maybe if the Conservative government took the file seriously, that wouldn’t have happened.”

Gates asked the new Minister to acknowledge whether the Ford government made mistakes in long-term care that led to the deaths of LTC residents – a question the Minister refused to answer. Continue reading →

Friday, September 15^th at 4 P.M. Starting at Niagara Falls City Hall in Niagara, Ontario

A Call-Out to All of Us from 50by30 Niagara, a citizens group dedicated to fighting the climate crisis

Posted September 12^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

50by30 Niagara is participating in ‘Fridays for Future’ climate rallies taking place around the world on Friday, September 15th.

Join us in Niagara Falls, at City Hall front steps and lawn, and make your voices heard!

Continue reading →

Date of Meeting Has Been Changed to September 19^th But Keep Up the Pressure Against This Carbon-Emitting Plant! Urge Thorold Councillors and Your Niagara Regional Councillors to Vote NO!

A Brief Update from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted September 12^th, 2023

The Thorold City Council meeting, originally scheduled for September 12^th, on whether or not to approve a new Gas-Fired Energy Plant in the Niagara, Ontario municipality has been postponed to Tuesday, September 19th at 6:30 p.m.

This image from the citizens advocacy organization Ontario Clean Air Alliance(OCCA

Please read the revised the post on this controversial at the bottom of this update for information on what you can do to raise your voice by clicking on the link below.

And, for the sake of our future and the fight to address a climate crisis that is ravaging homes, economies and life on our planet, use the information in the link below to contact Thorold councillors and your Niagara regional councillors to reject this carbon-polluting plant proposal

– Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Please click on the following link – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2023/09/10/urge-thorold-city-council-to-vote-no-to-a-new-carbon-emitting-energy-plant-in-niagara/

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

An Urgent Update – The Thorold City Council meeting on whether or not to approve a new Gas-Fired Energy Plant in  the municipality has been postponed to Tuesday, September 19th at 6:30 p.m. Please read the revised post on this controversial below and, for the sake of our future and the fight to address our climate emergency, use the information below to contact Thorold councillors and your Niagara regional councillors to reject this carbon-polluting plant proposal – Doug Draper, NAL

At a time when the world is literally on fire, we should not be adding any more fossil fuel generation, especially as alternatives exist.’                                                                – from a Call-Out to All of Us from Liz Benneian, a leading member of the Niagara citizens coalition Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara

This image from the citizens advocacy organization Ontario Clean Air Alliance(OCCA) See a link for the OCCA below.).

Posted September 10^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

From Liz Benneian, Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara, with her Special Thanks to another regional citizens group, 50by30Niagara –

On September 19th, Thorold City Council will be voting whether to approve Northland Power’s bid to install a Gas Peaker Plant in Thorold.

At a time when the world is literally on fire, we should not be adding any more fossil fuel generation, especially as alternatives exist (more wind, solar, large scale battery storage capacity, improve energy efficiencies, buying clean hydro from Quebec etc.). Continue reading →

$1.8 Million Investment Will Help Expand Health Care Workforce and Increase Ambulance Availability Across Niagara Region

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara West Ontario Conservative Party MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted September 8^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

THOROLD, Ontario – As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care<https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-health-plan-connected-and-convenient-care>, the Ontario government is investing an additional $51 million into the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program over the next three years to reduce offload delays at hospitals across the province.

From Left to Right. Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, joins Jim Bradley, Chair of the Regional Municipality of Niagara, at the Merrittville Highway EMS Station in Thorold. Photo courtesy of Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s constituency office

This will provide thirty local municipalities with around 800,000 dedicated hours to support offloading ambulance patients to the emergency department, ensuring paramedics can get back out into the community faster.

Through this investment, the Regional Municipality of Niagara is receiving $1,853,196 in provincial support, more than doubling funding from last year. Continue reading →

Ontario Ombudman Report finds that Ontario’s Long-Term Care Home Inspection System Collapsed

‘Make no mistake – the Ford Conservatives axed the level of LTC inspections when they took office, leaving the system already strained when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. They failed to respond to the clear crisis with the appropriate level of urgency and commitment.’                                                                                              –  from Wayne Gates , NDP MPP for the Ontario Riding of Niagara

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from Niagara Falls MPP and NDP critic for Long-Term Care Wayne Gates

Posted September 7^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ford failed Ontario’s seniors during the pandemic, the latest Ombudsman report confirms, finding that Ontario’s Long-Term Care inspection system “collapsed during the deadly first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.” MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls riding), NDP critic for Long-Term Care (LTC), released the following statement:

“Ford’s absolute failure to protect seniors during the pandemic contributed to an unconscionable wave of deaths in Long-Term Care. Today, we learned that many of these deaths were preventable.

The safeguards meant to protect seniors failed entirely. Under this government’s watch, inspectors did little or nothing to hold these homes accountable. And thousands of our friends, parents and grandparents died. Continue reading →

“Tragically, the (Ontario) Ministry of Long-Term Care was unprepared and unable to ensure the safety of long-term care residents and staff during the pandemic’s first wave.” – Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé

News from the Office of Ontario’s Ombudsman

Posted September 7^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – Ombudsman Paul Dubé today (September 7^th.2023)  called for an overhaul of Ontario’s long-term care inspection system, after his latest investigation found it was completely overwhelmed during the first wave of COVID-19.

There were no inspections of long-term care homes for seven weeks in the spring of 2020 and no inspection reports issued for two months, the Ombudsman reveals in his investigation report, Lessons for the Long Term, released today. “Few knew that this oversight mechanism had fallen apart,” he writes.

“Tragically, the Ministry of Long-Term Care was unprepared and unable to ensure the safety of long-term care residents and staff during the pandemic’s first wave,” he states, noting that “it is crucial that the Ministry fully understand and learn from the failure of the Inspections Branch to adequately and quickly respond.”

The Ombudsman launched the investigation on his own initiative on June 1, 2020, shortly after Canadian Armed Forces personnel reported shocking conditions inside several long-term care homes where they had been called in to help in the early days of the COVID crisis. Continue reading →

A Message from the City of St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario

Posted September 7^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario — The City of St. Catharines is deeply saddened to learn about anaccident that injured one of our dedicated crossing guards at the corner of Haig and Carlton Streets.

The safety and well-being of our crossing guards, who play a vital role in ensuring the safety of our community’s children, is of utmost importance to us. Our thoughts are with the injured crossing guard and their family, and we are hopeful for a speedy recovery.

We urge all members of our community to exercise caution and be vigilant while driving, especially in school zones and areas where crossing guards are on duty. Please remember that safety is a shared responsibility, and together, we can help prevent accidents. Continue reading →

Join the Celebration September 8^th thru 10^th  In Downtown St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario

News from The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in Downtown St. Catharines

Posted September 7^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The 7th annual Celebration of Nations brings Indigenous teachings and reflections on sustainable living, environmental stewardship and harmonious coexistence.

From 8-10 September in downtown St. Catharines, the gathering includes a variety of opportunities to learn more about Indigenous culture with a variety of teachings that include The Creation Story, Indigenous Food Sovereignty, The Medicine Wheel and Land Based Leadership.

For the 2023 edition, Artistic Producer Tim Johnson has contributed programs that explore the theme of borders.

“This year my curatorial focus deals with the theme of borders, physical, sociological, and personal,” said Artistic Producer Tim Johnson. Continue reading →

“We are collecting evidence about private clinics (in Ontario) and how they are extra-billing patients illegally.”                                              – from the Ontario Health Coalition, a not-for-profit citizen-based group fighting to save quality public health care.                                                           

A Call-Out from the Niagara Health Coalition, a branch of the non-profit citizens-based Ontario Health Coalition

Posted September 6^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Have you been charged for health care in a private clinic? We need to hear from you urgently

If you have been charged for a cataract surgery, diagnostic test like an MRI or CT scan, or other medically needed surgery in a private clinic in Ontario we need to hear from you.

We are collecting evidence about private clinics and how they are extra-billing patients illegally. This fall we will also be actively pursuing getting people’s money back for illegal charges.  Continue reading →

A Statement from Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted September 5^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates made the following statement regarding the appointment(by Ontario’s Doug Ford Government) of Stan Cho as Minister of Long-term Care –

“This is now Ford’s fourth Minister of Long-Term Care in almost as many years. Seniors in long-term care are incredibly important, but the way Ford passes the LTC file around like a hot potato shows they are just not his priority. With this cabinet shuffle, Ford is rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.

“We need a government that is working pro-actively to prioritize seniors’ care, not one that expands a private, for-profit system that is failing residents. Continue reading →

‘Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss’. We, The People, Should Not Get Fooled Again

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Posted September 5^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

So Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s ethically bankrupt Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark is gone and Ford has replaced him and and made a few other changes in his cabinet in the wake of growing concerns over corruption – possibly rising to crimes being committed – over more than $8 billion dollars worth of land swaps being make in our province’s protected Greenbelt. Continue reading →

A News Brief from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted September 5^th, 2023

For the record, Niagara At Large is posting below  a copy of Ontario’s now-out-of-here Munipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark’s September 4^th resignation letter to his boss, Premier Doug Ford.

Now ex-Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing continues to echo Ford government’s untruths about the need to pave over Greenbelt land to build housing.

You may very well note, as you read Clark’s letter, that he continues dipping himself in the snake oil his government peddles that the housing crisis we face  has something to do with whether or not to pave over what Ford once called a “big chunk” of our Greenbelt lands.

Even as he resigns, Clark seems unwilling to openly admit a truth that virtually every municipal planner in the Greenbelt region of Ontaro, including those in Niagara, can tell him –that there is enough room within existing urban boundaries to build housing for many years to come.

There is absolutely no need to pave over lands in the Greenbelt.

Continue reading →

Premier Doug Ford and All of his Willing Enablers Should Be Next

A Brief One from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted this September 4th Labour Day, 2023

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s scandal-ridden Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark has at long last  resigned.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark finally resigns. Good riddance to this ignorant, arrogant threat to our green lands.

And wouldn’t you know that this arrogant pawn for Ford’s long-intended plans to sell off “chunks” of what’s left our precious green heritage to the worst of the worst in the development industry would pick Labour Day – a day set aside to honour working people – to make his resignation announcement, hoping it would catch news outlets and critics flat-footed and  take some of the edge off of it.

Of course, when did the Ford Conservatives (forget the ‘Progressive’ in their party namer) every really care about working people, despite the B.S. Ford shovels out that he is there for ‘regular people’. Never mind his horrid tasting ‘buck a beer’. One of the first things Ford and company did when they formed a government in 2018 was gut a “basic income project” that would have given more of a chance for people making poverty wages a chance to put a roof over their heads and build a decent life.

So now here we have Steve Clark resigning in the wake of a growing scandal involving the Ford government and greedy developers colluding to destroy Ontario’s Greenbelt for billions of dollars in profit. Continue reading →

“A housing crisis is no excuse for breaking the law. None.” – Marit Stiles, Leader of Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP

A Statement from Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

Posted September 1^st, 2023 on Niagara At Large

(Ontario Premier Doug) Ford and (his Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve) Clark gave empty apologies for the Greenbelt scandal to the camera (this past August 31^st)  – while they run a massive publicly-funded advertising blitz that pushes the busted myth that their corruption scandal has anything to do with housing.

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition Ontario NDP released the following statement:

“Everywhere I go in Ontario – even in places kilometres away from the Greenbelt – people are angry at this government. They’re angry that Ford and Clark are still refusing to take accountability for something they know is wrong. And they’re angry that when they go on social media, or turn on their radio, they find advertisements pushing their tired excuses. Continue reading →

From Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

Posted September 1^st, 2023

To the rest of you. and especially to all of those who voted for Doug Ford and company or who didn’t care enough to vote at all,  join the fight and make a pledge on this Labour Day Weekend to take action to address the climate crisis and to support the fight for guaranteed livable income for all.

And for the sake of your future and everyone else’s, make a promise to never vote for a Doug Ford Conservative Party or any other political pary like it in this country again!

A Labour Day Message from Doug Draper

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Premier Doug Ford Must Fire his Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Steve Clark

Statement from Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles followed by a Note on this growing candal by journalist Doug Draper

Posted September 1^st, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP issued the following statement after Premier Ford expressed his confidence in Minister Clark, who still refuses to resign, even after the Integrity Commissioner’s blistering report:

“This Minister broke the law with his involvement in these dirty deals.

Ontarians deserve so much better than fake apologies. His words are meaningless without any action to back them up.

Ontarians have lost all trust in this Minister and he needs to go.

The Premier needs to step up, show some leadership, kick Clark out of cabinet. Then get us all back in the Legislature so we can restore all of these lands back to the Greenbelt.”

A Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

Continue reading →

A Statement from Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP Party Leader Marit Stiles 

Posted August 30^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large 

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, released the following statement in response to the Integrity Commissioner’s finding (https://www.oico.on.ca/web/default/files/public/Commissioners%20Reports/Report%20Re%20Minister%20Clark%20-%20August%2030%2C%202023.pdf) that Conservative Municipal Affairs & Housing Minister Steve Clark breached Section 2 and 3.2 of the Member’s Integrity Act:

 “Today we got another damning piece of the puzzle in this disturbing pattern of corruption from Ford’s government.

Continue reading →

Some Breaking News on the Greenbelt Issue

Posted August 30^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Integrity Commissioner Releases Report Re: (Ontario  Municipal Affairs and Housing) Minister Steve Clark

Aug 30, 2023

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark – an arrogant, yet incompenent destroyer of Ontario’s precious food-growing lands. It is time for him to go.

In a report filed today (this August 30^th, 2023) with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake, K.C., determined that the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and MPP for Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes contravened the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994.

Minister Clark contravened sections 2 and 3(2) by failing to oversee the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected for development, leading to the private interests of certain developers being furthered improperly.

The inquiry established that Minister Clark’s former Chief of Staff, Ryan Amato, was the driving force for the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected for development. Mr. Amato was involved in the selection of 14 of the 15 properties that were removed from the Greenbelt or redesignated and received information provided to him by certain developers. Continue reading →

Chiefs Adopt Resolution Calling for “a criminal investigation into the manner in which the Greenbelt lands were chosen for removal and the extent to which the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Steve Clark) and the Premier (Doug Ford) had control over the situation.”

News from The Chiefs of Ontario, representing all First Nations groups in Ontario

Posted August 29^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – The Chiefs of Ontario have released the following statement following today’s Emergency Chiefs Assembly and subsequent media event with First Nations Leadership, pertaining to the Auditor General’s Special Report on the Changes to the Greenbelt:

‘On August 28, 2023, the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) called an Emergency Chiefs Assembly to allow for all Ontario First Nations Leadership to gather virtually to discuss the Auditor General of Ontario’s Special Report on the Greenbelt, as well as further direction for the COO to undertake with regard to the relationship with the provincial government.

Following this, the COO held a media event as an opportunity for First Nations Leadership to discuss their concerns directly with members of the media.

During the Emergency Chiefs Assembly, a resolution was passed by the Chiefs-in-Assembly that directs the COO to demand that Premier Doug Ford commit to all the recommendations as outlined in the Auditor General’s Report, including the recommendation to return all land parcels to the Greenbelt immediately. Continue reading →

A Statement from Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP Party Leader Marit Stiles

Posted August 29^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

Queen’s Park– Earlier this August 29^th, 2021) morning, (Ontario’s Premier’s office shared a statement with media regarding two Greenbelt properties that the developer put up for sale in Ajax.

Ford’s statement noted that developers were “on notice” and that any land not being used by developers for housing will be put back into the Greenbelt.

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, issued the following statement:

“Ford’s Conservatives are changing their tune simply because they got caught. Continue reading →

“ONTARIANS DESERVE TO KNOW THE FULL STORY OF HOW $8.3 BILLION FLOWED INTO THE HANDS OF DEVELOPERS CONNECTED TO THE PREMIER AND THE PC PARTY.”                             – Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner

A Statement from Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner

Posted August 29^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner

Under Doug Ford’s watch, accountability and transparency have gone out the window in the name of favours to wealthy, well-connected elites.

Meanwhile, precious farmland and forests and wetlands are still being removed from the Greenbelt, and wealthy land speculators are still cashing in.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s special report (released earlier this August, 2023) on the Greenbelt found that “direct access to the housing minister’s chief of staff resulted in certain prominent developers receiving preferential treatment” with regards to the process of selecting which lands were to be removed from the Greenbelt.

Let’s get the truth out into the open .

Continue reading →

“Marineland should be restructured without animals, and the existing animals at Marineland should be moved to appropriate and safe sanctuaries.”

A Statement from Niagara Falls, Ontario NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted August 25^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Protesters have been a common sight outside of Marineland for many years. File photo by Doug Draper

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

In all of the many years I have been following the Marineland story, going back to my time, in the 1980s and 90s,  as an environment reporter at The St. Catharines Standard, Wayne Gates, a former Niagara Falls city councillor and now an elected member of the Ontario legislature, is one of the first – if not the very first – politician in this region calling on the amusement park to get out of the business of holding animals in captivity to draw park visitors.

Gates’ call for a Marineland without animals – falling in the wake of a Canadian Press report that a total of 15 marine mamals – 14 whales and one dolphin – have died at the park since 2019, echoes similar calls made by animal rights groups and by some of the park’s former employees, including former marine mammal trainers, for at least half of the park’s 62-year existence.

In the face of any and all charges of animal mistreatment, Marineland representatives, including the park’s founder, John Holer, who died in 2018, have repeatedly insisted that the animals it holds in custody have received a high quality of care and that any charges to the contrary are completely false. Continue reading →

“Our entire community benefits with this significant shoreline acquisition, one more step in Fort Erie’s efforts to protect and preserve our natural heritage.”                                                                     – Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop

News from the Town of Fort Erie in Niagara, Ontario

Posted by Niagara At Large on August 25th, 2023

FORT ERIE, Ontario – Mayor Redekop and Fort Erie Council are thrilled to announce that Fred Costabile of 5001997 Ontario Inc. has donated 22 acres of riparian lands east of Waverly Beach Park to the Town of Fort Erie for conservation and public use.

Inside the tree canopy of Waverly Woods in Fort Erie, Ontario, near the shores of Lake Erie. It appears that at lease some of these wooded lands are being donated to the Town for preservation. Photo by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

The Transfer of title to the lands was registered on August 14, 2023. Access to the Lake Erie shoreline is a significant issue in Fort Erie. This acquisition of waterfront lands will add to the inventory of Lake Erie properties owned by the Town.

In May 2022, an environmentally friendly settlement regarding the Harbourtown Development was reached between the developer and Fort Erie Community Voices. Continue reading →

Unknown Second Ontario Ford Government Staffer Had Hand In Greenbelt Grab

“The resignation of (Ford Cabinet Minister) Clark’s Chief of Staff  (Ryan Amato) – apparently against the wishes of Ford – is not nearly enough. This corruption starts at the top, and we need to get to the bottom of how far down it really goes.”                              – Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

News from the Niagara Centre Constituency Office of NDP MPP Jeff Burch

Posted August 24^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

WELLAND – Jeff Burch, the Ontario NDP Critic for Municipal Affairs, is reiterating Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles’ demand (https://www.ontariondp.ca/news/rot-starts-top-opposition-leader-stiles-demands-accountability-greenbelt-corruption-scandal) that Premier Ford force Minister Clark’s resignation from Cabinet, highlighting that Clark’s chief of staff was not the only member of his team who had a hand in the Greenbelt Grab

There was an unknown second staffer who had a significant role in selecting Greenbelt sites.

“The fact that a second Clark staff member was selecting Greenbelt sites to hand over to developers makes it even more incredulous that the Minister was unaware of what was going on in his own office,” Burch said.

“Who was this staffer that had a role in carving up five parcels of the Greenbelt? What was their role? We need more information about who was involved in this important matter of public interest.” Continue reading →

“We’re fighting for vital environmental land that needs to be protected for the benefit of the people of Ontario (and Premier) Doug Ford doesn’t get to wash his hands of this.”                              – Ontario Opposition Party Leader Marit Stiles demands accountability on Greenbelt Corruption Scandal

News from Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

Posted August 24^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Leader of the Official Opposition NDP Marit Stiles says the resignation of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Chief of Staff is not nearly enough in the wake of one of the most serious breaches of public trust in Ontario’s history.

“The Auditor General’s report left no room for doubt – there is no way this single staff member acted alone to rig the system,” Stiles said. “Ford and Clark’s assertions are completely and utterly implausible.  The rot starts at the top. The Minister must do the right thing and step down.” Continue reading →

“Investigating the provincial (Doug Ford) government’s land use decision-making processes requires an expanded investigation by the Integrity Commissioner and a new investigation by the Auditor General. We urge your office to make these investigations a priority.”

“Gutting Ontario’s Wetland Evaluation System to such a degree that Conservation Authorities have estimated that over 80% of the wetlands that currently receive protection will lose this status.”   – Just One of Many Examples raised by the Coalition of the Ford Government’s Assault on our Natural Heritage

News from Alliance For A Liveable Ontario, a large coalition of citizen voices from across Ontario, including Liz Benneian and Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara representing numerous individuals and citizen groups from across the Niagara region

Posted August 18^th, 2023 on Niagara At Large

This August 18th, key members of the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario sent a letter to the Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner asking them to investigate a host of other planning policy changes made within the last year.

The letter notes that these changes may have been the result of indefensible processes similar to those identified with the Greenbelt land removal and may also have benefitted a small number of select interests.

The green areas on this map, including those in Niagara, mark the Greenbelt. It is unclear if there is enough political will among our municipal and regional elected representatives to fight for its protection.

As the letter notes, “Transparent, defensible and unbiased land use planning is a cornerstone of a healthy economy and democracy. We are concerned that, given the revelations from the Auditor General’s report about the Greenbelt land removal, there is a disturbing possibility that other recent provincial land use planning policies may have and may come from equally problematic processes.” Continue reading →

Dec. 11, 2014 – Photo by Denis Cahill

In 2016, Ted Luciani Was One of Only Eight Elected Reps Brave Enough to Vote Against Hiring Carmen D’Angelo to Niagara Region’s Top Administrative Job

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

Posted August 17^th, 2023

If or when you enter the lobby of Niagara, Ontario’s regional headquarters where St. David’s Road turns into Sir Isaac Brock Way in Thorold, you may look along one of the walls and notice the portrait of Al Caslin along with those of six other past Regional Chairs going back to the formation of Niagara Region in 1970.

I have say that the sight of Caslin’s portrait up there with those of Gary Burroughs, Debbie Zimmerman and the others is an insult to them and it should come down. No other elected member of the Region’s council – and I know I’m far from the only Niagara citizen who feels this way – has done more to soil the reputation and healthy functioning of our regional government than Al Caslin. Continue reading →