Category Archives: Uncategorized

 “Through this enhancement project we aim to improve access to greenspace and opportunities for people to connect with nature, protect and highlight the site’s ecological and cultural significance, and showcase our commitment to sustainable practices.” – Adam Christie, Director of Conservation Areas, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).

Cave Springs Conservation Area from the sky. NPCA photo

A News Release from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted July 5th, 2022 on Niagara At Large06.22.2022

An exciting project is underway to enhance access to the Cave Springs Conservation Area, while maintaining the site’s significant natural and cultural aspects.

The outcome of this project will include a completed Cave Springs Management Plan, and enhancements to the conservation area such as a new parking area and improved accessible trail, a new trail system, wayfinding, and educational signage. Continue reading →

“Now it is time to fast-track CLTs to the top of the affordable housing priority list in our communities and across Canada.”

A Guest Column by y Colin Bruce Anthes

Posted July 5th on Niagara At Large

This May Canadian house prices finally fell for the first time in two years, a period during which the average house price had skyrocketed by an astonishing $300,000.

The spiral at one point saw the House Price Index increase by 29 per cent in a single year.

An unprecedented amount of recent purchasing has been made by private speculators and the mega-landlord initiatives called REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), pushing much of the working class off the metaphorical and literal turf. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper, publbisher, NAL

Posted on the Fourth of July, 2022 on Niagara At Large

You don’t have to follow he news from the American side of the border too much to arrive at the conclusion that the country, which  has long branded itself  “the world’s greatest democracy”,  is sliding down a slippery, slimy slope to full-fledged fascism.

Despite all the damaging evidence coming out about Trump and his cult followers at those Jan. 6 Congressional hearings, the common wisdom among pundits on all sides of the political spectrum in the U.S. is that the Republicans, which have become the party of Trumpism, will win this coming November’s mid-term elections.

That means that by the beginning of next year the ‘Party of Trump’ will hold a majority of seats in the U.S. Congress and Senate which will put an end to the current President, Joe Biden, and his Democrats passing anything else in the way of progressive form. Continue reading →

A Brief Message from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted on Canada Day, July 1^st, 2022

Suffice to say, there is a good deal of ugly out there these days.

Whether we want to blame it on how easy social media sites make to trash people, on a growing crisis of confidence in government and our public institutions, on the pandemic, on a Trump cauldron of anger and hate metastasizing through not only bodies of Americans, but the bodies of at least some on our side of the border too, or on a combination of all these and more, it is hard to deny that we are in a darker place than we were even a decade or so ago.

In Niagara alone, there have been attacks of vandalism on the properties of some of our elected representatives, nasty encounters with our front-line health care workers, the repeated acts of damage and defacement done to statues and busts of civil rights heroine Harriet Tubman, including the spray painting of a swastika on a sidewalk outside of a school bearing her name, and recent assaults on the property of people expressing support the people of Ukraine by displaying a Ukrainian flag. Continue reading →

A Brief One by Doug Draper

Posted June 29th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Twenty-Five Years old and threatened with everything up to and including bodily harm  by Trump Republicans, what a profile in courage she is!!!!!

A Statement by Buffalo, New York-area Congressman Brian Higgins on Supreme Court Decision Overruling Roe v. Wade

Posted June 24^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) released the following statement in response to today’s ruling by the Supreme Court:

“The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a devastating and dangerous theft of women’s rights. This takes us fifty years backward, stripping away the personal freedom for all who are pregnant to make medical decisions that impact your body and your life.

“It will limit access to and criminalize reproductive health services in states across the country. This extreme infringement by the conservative court doesn’t reflect the views of a majority of Americans and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the continued erosion of decades of progress on equal rights.”

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

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 23^rd on Niagara At Large

Thanks to new U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Any Screwball Can Carry a Gun into a Movie Theatre, Grocery Store, Shopping Mall – Anywhere They Want!

A Supreme Court in the United States that is largely controlled by Trump and by Facists that Call Themselves Republicans, carrying a gun in public is now just plain dandy anywhere in the United States, including border communities like Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York.

That means that virtually any angry male – and they are mostly males of the Trump persuation – can run around with guns and if they get angry, then it is up to them what happens next.

The June 23^rd Supreme Court rulling comes less that two months after an 18-year-old white supremacist entered a Top’s grocery store in Buffalo and killed and wounded more than 10 people with a military-style assault weapon that he purchased legally – but apparently most Americans couldn’t give a shit because their rights to own these weapons mean more than human lives.

As a Canadian speaking to others on our side of the border, do you want to cross over and take a chance on that?

And why aren’t our federal representatives speaking out and warning us about this?

Why aren’t they looking at closing the Canadian borders to Americans on the grounds that they are okay with carrying guns? They should be given that stastistics in Canada have shown for years now that a majority of the guns used in deadly acts of violence here come from the United States.

It appears that Americans place free and easy gun ownership and use above human live, but why should we?

It’s time to close the border down to gun-totting Americans.

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

A Message from Doug Draper

Posted June 23^rd on Niagara At Large

For the past number of days Niagara At Large has been experiencing serious technical glitches related to the software used to post news and commentary here.

I am not a computer technician or a website expert so I am doing my best to correct the problems so we can get back in business.

I do not make any money for doing this site either so I try to avoid spending more time and money out of pocket to keep this online site going. That’s just the way it is.

I beg your patience while I try to work through the website problems here.

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

“You say it’s your birthday. …. We’re going to have a good time. … Happy birthday to you.”                                    – lyrics from The Beatle song,  and one primarily penned by Paul McCartney

A Brief One by Doug Draper

Posted June 18, 2022 on Niagara At Large

I was barely in my teens when a rock group called The Beatles crossed the Atlantic from Britain ignited music mania with their first big appearance on an American television show that received record-breaking ratings that night.

That was 1964 and Beatle member Paul McCartney was still in his 20 when, three years later, he wrote a song for the group’s Sgt. Pepper album called “When I’m Sixty-Four,” leaving his fans trying to imagine him, along with the rest of us, ever getting that old.

Well, the pages of the calendar seem to have turned faster than a whirligig in a wind storm and here we are this June 18^th with Paul McCartney at 80.

Believe it Beatle fans. It’s true.

We’ve gone a long way down that long and winding road.

As a toast to Paul, here is another one of the songs he was the primary composer of, along with a little help from fellow composer John Lennon and The Beatles. You can watch and hear them perform it – one of the group’s biggest of all the big hits it had – following a bit of fun banter from the group by clicking on the screen below –

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

Niagara Health is Maintaining Our Masking Requirement for Everyone Inside Our Hospitals

News from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system of hospitals across the region

Posted June 9^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Health west St. Catharines hospital site

Although provincial masking mandates will change on Saturday, June 11, Niagara Health will continue to require everyone who comes into any of our hospital sites to continue to wear a face mask, including when visiting at a patient’s bedside.

Hospitals care for vulnerable patients who are at heightened risk of infection. Continuing to follow masking is an effective infection prevention and control measure against COVID-19. Masking helps us to maintain a safe environment for our patients and their loved ones, and for our staff, physicians and volunteers, by limiting the risk of infection transmission and outbreaks. Continue reading →

Conservative Sam Oosterhoff Wins in Niagara West, NDP Incumbents Wayne Gates, Jennie Stevens and Jeff Burch win in Ridings of Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Niagara Centre Respectively

A News Commentary by Doug Draper at NAL

Posted June 2^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The slogan Doug Ford and his Ontario Conservatives flashed around the province in this election was “Get It Done.”

Well, they sure did get it done alright, because this was decisive win for the Ford forces that has all but buried the opposition under the asphalt of one of the new highways they are promising to build through swaths of Ontario’s greenbelt.

Fortunately that burial did not include three very good and hard-working NDP incumbents in Niagara – Wayne Gates in the Riding of Niagara Falls, Jennie Stevens in the Riding of St. Catharines and Jeff Burch in the Riding of Niagara Centre. Continue reading →

Do Yourself and Do All of Us a Big Favour. Vote for Anyone Else!

A Brief Foreword Note from Doug Draper

Posted June 1^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The following video, featuring a message from a fellow Ontario citizen and writer named Paul Chato, was sent to Niagara At Large earlier today by one of our readers.

In order to protect the innocent, I will not identify the reader by name. However, I thank her for sending this important message and I urge anyone who is thinking of voting for Doug Ford and his Conservatives to hear it before they go to the polls this Thursday, June 2^nd.

It might just make you consider changing your mind as we face the possibility of suffering through four more years of a Ford government that will continue to wreak havoc on the quality of life in our community, on our public services and on our environment.

To watch and listen to the message, click on the screen immediately below –

Our feature and the future of generations of Ontarians to come is on the line in this provincial election – Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

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

. “Ontarians need to know that the government has done next to nothing to fight climate change the past four years and instead has made more of an effort to battle those who are taking climate action.”                                                                                                           – Keith Brooks, Programs Director of Environmental Defence

A Report from Environmental Defence, a citizens group advocating for our environment

Posted May 19^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

New report reviews Ontario’s poor track record on climate change over the past four years

The report argues that the province is not on track to reach its 2030 emissions reduction target 

Paving more paradise, even in a time of climate crisis

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – A report released today from Environmental Defence reviews the Ontario government’s last four years of climate change policy and argues that Ontario is not on track to meet the province’s emissions reduction target, despite recent modelling released from the provincial government. Continue reading →

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

Posted May 18^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

One day after U.S. President Joe Biden travelled to Buffalo, New York to pay homage to the 10 victims of a murderous, white-supremacist driven rampage this past Saturday, May 14^th and five days after it happened, it already appears that cable news channels in the United States are moving away from covering this massacre.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife and First Lady Jill visit a makeshift memorial to the victims of a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. “Hate will not win,” promised Biden. But in Trump’s America, it probably will.

That is not all that unusual. You can go back to the shooting slaughter of children at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut a decade ago and all of the other mass shootings, they very quickly become little more than statistics in an America that prizes the right to purchase military-style assault weapons more than human lives. Continue reading →

“Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rises, ocean heat levels and acidification, all set new records during 2021, while some glaciers reached the point of no return.”

A New Report on the Need for Urgent Action on Climate Change from the United Nations

Posted May 18th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

How sad it is to think that Ontario voters are about to give Doug Ford and his party of climate laggards another four years in government

A little more than  two weeks out from a provincial election in Ontario – one in which a majority of Ontarians of voting age are showing through their continued support of Doug Ford’s Conservative government that climate change is not a crisis in the making that they take seriously – scientists from around the world, working under the umbrella of the United Nations, have released yet another ‘red alert’ report.

As Ontario seems ready to elected the Ford government to another four years of paving over our green lands for the sake of their big-money donor friends in the property speculation and building industry, my message to Ontario voters is this – Let’s please stop protecting that collectively we give a shit about the climate crisis and our children’s future.

Not when it appears we are about to vote Doug and his party of climate laggards back into power.

Now here is that latest UN report –

The  rural Niagara farmers who are members of a right-wing landowners coalition that hates wind and other forms of reneawable energy. They also oppose any efforts to keep people building on flood plains because they do not believe that climate change is a problem They would rather see us go on burning coal and gas.

Climate and Environment

Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rises, ocean heat levels and acidification, all set new records during 2021, while some glaciers reached the point of no return, according to the latest flagship report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published on Wednesday. Continue reading →

Ontario Liberals Are Like the Deja Vu of Dalton McGuinty and Kalthleen Wynne All Over Again, And Who Wants That Culteru of Screw You, We’re in Charge Here in Ontario  Arrogance Back?

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 9th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca was a dutiful member of the McGuinty’Wynne Liberal team. Now he wants us to believe he is an answer for our future.

Ontario Liberal Leader (why do I have to keep looking up his name) Steven Del Duca) released his party’s full platform this Monday,  May 9th.

The third party’s challenged communications gurus attempted to circulate a copy of the platform to news outlets today but, compared to news circulated by the governing Ford Government and NDP, information about the platform was hard to get to.

Perhaps that makes sense given the fact that going back to the earlier years of this relatively new century, when the Ontario Liberals were in power under the smug, dictatorial leadership of Dalton McGuinty and his sycophant Kathleen Wynne, almost anything resembling openness and transparency when it came to information the public had a right to know was in short supply anyway.

However, according to one Global News report, “ Continue reading →

“People in Grimsby have been asking their government for a GO station for over a decade. They want and deserve better transit connections. … We’ll finally get the train to stop in Grimsby. ”       – Niagara West Riding NDP candidate Dave Augustyn

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP

Posted May 9^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

GRIMSBY — An NDP government will construct a Grimsby GO Station and make sure families get access to frequent and reliable GO train service, said NDP leader Andrea Horwath and Niagara West NDP candidate Dave Augustyn.

“People in Grimsby want and deserve better access to GO Transit to get to work, school or wherever else they need to go,” said Horwath.

“Families have been waiting for years for a GO station in Grimsby. Doug Ford and the Del Duca Liberals refused to give this community access to GO trains and reliable all-day service. An NDP government will invest in better public transit and make sure Grimsby families get the GO station they need to make their commutes easier.” Continue reading →

Ontario government relying on climate change deniers in court case against youth

Ontario’s chosen experts question basic climate science and dismiss Ontario’s responsibility to lower emissions

A News Release from Environmental Defence, a Canada-based citizens goup

Posted May 9th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – The Ontario government solicited expert testimony from a known climate change denier to defend its poor record on climate action, in a court challenge brought from seven Ontario youth.

The youth are arguing that the Government of Ontario violated their charter rights when it rolled back targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The provincial government also solicited evidence from an economist who believes that Ontario’s actions have little to no impact on Canada’s overall emissions and, therefore, the province bears no responsibility for the damages caused by climate change. Continue reading →

Following the Supreme Court’s Draft Ruling on Abortion, Another Body Blow to the Rights of Women – Just in Time for Mother’s Day

A Brief One by Doug Draper 

Posted May 9th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

I admit that it’s been a while since I’ve been to a doctor to have my ears syringed but, but I thought I just heard on a television I have on in the background that the U.S. Supreme Court has ordered all American women to wear burkas when they are out of their homes.

Sorry, I made the mistake of assuming that this was U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and some of her female  members of her Democratic Party caucus covered in these burkas. But how are you supposed to tell? As it turns out,, no burkas  for American women yet,

The burka ruling comes just a week after a draft ruling was leaked showing that a majority of the mostly Republican-appointed Justices on the Supreme Court are moving to overturn Roe v. Wade, an almost 50 year old ruling from the Court that allows American women the right to have an abortion.

For those who don’t know what a burka is, it is a garment that covers a woman’s entire body and leaves her looking like some combination of a pup tent and a beehive keeper, which might make sense if we weren’t living through a time when bee populations are plummeting due to pesticide use, habitat loss and other climate-related causes. Continue reading →

Ford Boasts That He Is Not Going to Let Anything Stop Him From Pouring Pavement

On First Day of Ontario Election Campaign, Ford Says He Won’t Let Anything Get In Way of Cutting Thru Geenlands and Pouring Pavement

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 4^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

“We’ll cut through all the excuses, all the obstacles and delays and it’s time to start pouring the concrete.” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford on May 4th, 2022 election launch

Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives now seem on their way, according to polls, to winning a second majority in this June 2^nd’s provincial election.

And among other things, he is staking a big win on building more roads and highways, even through greenlands and wetlands.

Given Ford’s base, which includes a disproportionate number of older Ontarians who live in a culture of roads and highways and car dependency, he may very well be right to assume that their support is enough to win him a second term of government.

Here is Doug Ford’s opening election address, delivered at a site for a proposed Highway 413. To watch it, click on the screen below –

My fear is that Ford is right in assuming that a majority of Ontario voters will want more roads and highways, even if it means that the billions of dollars it will cost to build them will not go to other services.

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

Do You Really Want Another Four Years of Ford Government?

A  Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted May 2nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

So far, it looks like Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives are laughing their way to a Big Win in this spring’s provincial election.

I know that there are more than a few people out there who put little stock in polls when it comes to predicting the outcome of elections.

Then there is that old line that the only poll that really counts is the one when the final votes are counted on Election Day. As hard a line it is to argue with, it is most often used by those who find the party they support running behind in the polls.

As a journalist who’s had a hand in covering more elections than I care to count, I have my issues with polls too – not least of which is what appears to the a practice of too many news outlets (especially in recent years) to substitute stories on polls for good, in-depth coverage of the candidates and their policies.

That being said, it is hard to ignore polls completely, just as it is hard to ignore the fact that over the years, pollsters have become better at forecasting elections with a high degree of accuracy. Continue reading →

A Reminder About an Online Workshop – This Tuesday, May 3d at 7 P.M.  – For You

Posted May 2^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

To read a related piece Niagara At Large posted on this event, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2022/04/28/join-a-workshop-on-how-to-run-for-municipal-office-in-niagara-and-win/

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

Formed by a desire to see transparency and accountability in municipal politics A Better Niagara is committed to a Niagara that is more democratic, more equal and more open.

For more on A Better Niagara, click on – https://www.facebook.com/betterniagara/

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

In Niagara, the Message from Private Lakeshore owners and Local Municipalities  Seems to Be – Pay Up Or Get the Hell Off the Beach

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

Posted April 27^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

This is how those who don’t own land along the Great Lakes shores in Niagara are treated – ‘ No Tresspassing” or, for short, ‘get the hell out.’. So much for ‘Our Great Lakes’.

For more than four decades, this reporter – in my capacity as one covering environmental issues – has encouraged us all to do what we can to protect our Great Lakes.

But it is getting harder and harder for me to do that any more because these Great Lakes apparently do not belong to us.

They belong to federal and provincial governments that want to fill them full of fingerlings so that they may be exploited as a multi-billion dollar commercial and sport fishery.

And they belong to municipalities in Niagara and elsewhere that want to exploit them for revenue by charging residents in our region and other regions of the Great Lakes fees to walk on the beach. Continue reading →

NDP Platform –  Strong. Ready. Working For You – Focuses On Fixing And Expanding Health Care, And Making Life More Affordable

News from the Office of Ontariio’s Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted April 25^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

TORONTO — The (Ontario) NDP has released a comprehensive election platform that lays out a plan to fix the things that matter most to people — including expanding OHIP so people can get mental health care, dental care and prescriptions with their OHIP card, not their credit card.

“The last few years have been tough. People are waiting in pain because our health care system is on its knees. And folks are working harder than ever while the cost of living and the cost of homes makes it impossible to get ahead,” said Horwath.

“But it really doesn’t have to be this way. Ontario is the greatest place in the world to live, and together we can start to fix the things that have been broken — the things that matter most to everyday people.” Continue reading →

This April 25^th an Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing Begins that May Decide the Fate of a Popular Green Place Known As Waverly Woods

A Commentary by Maria Featherston, a Fort Erie resident and member of Community Voices of Fort Erie, a citizen’s group now fighting a David vs. Goliath battle to save Waverly Woods

Posted April 23^rd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Inside the tree canopy of Waverly Woods, a beautiful green area along the shores of Lake Erie in Fort Erie, Niagara, and a much beloved destination for people on both sides of the Niagara River. File photo by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Four years ago, a small group named Community Voices of Fort Erie was formed to do battle over a beautiful piece of property named Waverly Woods.

They do not have great amounts of money or power; they are just ordinary citizens, like your neighbours, but they have a strong sense of purpose.

Starting Monday morning, April 25, their lawyer and team of experts will attempt to convince an LPAT (Ontario Land Tribunal) hearing that the planned subdivision with its condo should not go ahead.

What makes Waverly Woods so special?

It is a microcosm of Canadian history, beginning with indigenous history thousands of years ago on the site. During the War of 1812, Erie Beach/ Waverly Woods played a significant role, especially during the Siege of Fort Erie August 14-15, 1814, which was described by an American officer as “a great slaughter.” Continue reading →

‘When we protect our planet, everyone benefits. We deliver clean air, we create good middle-class jobs, and we ensure our children and grandchildren can inherit the natural landscapes we are so proud of as Canadians.”                                                                                – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Posted April 22, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on Earth Day:

“Today, we join the international community to mark Earth Day, which reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect our planet – for now and for the generations to come.

“As Canadians, we are fortunate to have breathtaking forests, majestic mountains, and scenic lakes and coasts right in our backyards. Just as these gifts inspire us, they come with a tremendous responsibility to protect them. From preserving nature to fighting climate change and delivering clean air, Canada will continue to lead the way to a better future for everyone. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted on Earth Day, April 22^nd, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Was it really just three years ago that a world-wide movement involving unprecedented millions of people to address the climate crisis was on a roll.

That movement, propelled by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teen activist bursting with purpose and determination, inspired tens of thousands of people to march in Montreal, and inspired people other cities across Canada, including Niagara, raising a voice for action.

One the signs from these marches that stayed has stayed with  me, held up by a young lady who, like Greta, appeared to be in her teens, was painted with the following words; “If You Don’t Act Like An Adult, We Will!” Continue reading →

An Earth Week Invite to All from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

An Invite from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted April 21st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Children enjoying the annual trout fishing event at NPCA’s St. John’s Conservation Area. Photo courtesy of NPCA

This Saturday, April 23, the pond at St. Johns Conservation Area (in Pelham, Niagara’s Effingham area) will officially open for another trout fishing season, starting at 10 a.m.

Visitors are welcome to enjoy a spring outing in nature with family and friends at the first community fishing day held at St. Johns Conservation Area since the pandemic.

“We are excited to welcome visitors to St. Johns and look forward to engaging them in outdoor education and recreation, and the conservation of the native species that call this area home,” says Alicia Powell, Manager of Conservation Area Services at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). Continue reading →

“The goal of GLEN (the newly organized Great Lakes Ecoregion Network) is to generate momentum to strengthen the protection of water quality (in the Great Lakes).

An Introductory Message from the Great Lakes Ecoregion Network (GLEN)

Posted April 20th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh, drinkable water in the world, if we have the sense to look after them.

The Great Lakes Ecoregion Network (GLEN) is a new initiative to engage members of the basin-wide Great Lakes environmental community on issues related to the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).

As the 50th anniversary of the signing of the GLWQA is celebrated later this (April), we call on the US and Canadian federal governments to renew and strengthen their commitment to water quality and ecosystem health in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.

The GLWQA, first signed by President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, on April 15th, 1972, was a groundbreaking step by the two nations to jointly manage a shared resource. It led to strategies to revive Lake Erie and tackle toxic pollution throughout the Basin. Continue reading →

There Are Currently 90 Inpatients At Niagara Health Who Have Tested Positive In Our Care, Including Five In Our ICU.

“Unfortunately, our (hospital) staff and physicians are experiencing an increased number of disrespectful behaviours directed towards them. … Every member of our community has been impacted by the pandemic. People are exhausted and discouraged, and this includes our staff and physicians who continue to provide care for those in need.”

A News Release from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system of hospitals

Posted April 20^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Health’s St. Catharines hopsital site

Niagara, Ontario – Since Thursday, April 14, seven patients from the Niagara region who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. Our teams are currently managing eight outbreaks at our Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland sites and in our Extended Care Unit (ECU) at the Welland Site. In addition, 372 Niagara Health staff and physicians are currently self-isolating.

We would like to reinforce the importance of wearing face masks and following other public health recommendations to protect against this highly contagious virus. We are working closely with regional and provincial partners to coordinate our efforts and provide safe, quality care to our communities. Continue reading →

And Please Say a Pray for Victory and Peace for the People of Ukraine

A Brief Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher     Doug Draper

Posted April 16^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

It may be as warm outside as we would like it to be for the middle of April, but I hope that doesn’t stop any of us from enjoying a nice Easter with some people and/or pets that we love.

This Easter comes five days before the 52 anniversary of the very first Earth Day on April 22^nd, 1970 when we can get together with members of our communities and, through planting trees, cleaning up plastic and other waste from shorelines and roadsides, or other earth friendly acts, show our politicians that we demand more than just words out of them when it comes to the fate of our planet.

Continue reading →

“We’re pleased to have on-going support from local employers who recognize the value and benefits of paying at least a living wage. Paying a living wage is direct action to address poverty and helps people afford the cost of living.”                                                  – Jennifer Gauthier, Vice Chair, Niagara Poverty Reduction Network.

A News Release from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted April 11^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that Niagara SPCA and Humane Society has become a certified living wage employer at the Champion level.

The Niagara SPCA and Humane Society serves eight municipalities in the Niagara region, as well as Haldimand County and the Mississauga’s of the New Credit. They operate three shelters, one low cost animal clinic, and two mobile animal hospitals that travel throughout the province. Continue reading →

You Have an Important Role to Play in Stopping the Destruction of 12 Mile Creek Ravines in St. Catharines/Niagara

A Call-Out from Friends of 12 Mile Creek, a Niagara-based citizens group

Posted April 7^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Twelve Mile Creek is a study in contrasts – in some areas, one of the most natural, and in other areas, one of the most altered watersheds in Niagara.

The ravine behind Riverview Blvd. is in an altered area, however, it is a quiet and peaceful place of Creekside trails and woodland slopes.

Sadly, this ravine is being destroyed by a plan advanced and supported by the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games and the Mayor of St. Catharines for the construction of a mountain bike racecourse. Continue reading →

“This tragedy has affected everyone on our campuses and created a strong desire to help.”

A News Release from Niagara College

Posted March 31^st, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Student Anastasia Bobrova, who is from Russia, pens her message of support for Ukraine at NC’s Welland Campus with a powerful message “We are all one family. Ukraine, we are with you.”

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara College has partnered with a number of colleges across Ontario to make a joint donation of $200,000 to UNICEF’s Ukraine emergency fund<https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en>.

“Niagara College stands with the people of Ukraine,” said NC president Sean Kennedy. “We are proud to contribute to a fund that will help provide vital necessities and services for Ukrainian families who are experiencing hardship and loss.”

Donations to the Ukraine emergency fund will support the organization’s ongoing programs and response to the escalating need in Ukraine by providing communities with safe water, urgent medical aid and health-care services, child protection and education. UNICEF has been working in Ukraine since 1997. Continue reading →

Effective March 1^st, Ford Government Will Lift Proof of Vaccination Requirements for All Settings

A News Release from the Office of the Ontario Premier

Posted February 14^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — With key public health and health system indicators continuing to improve, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is cautiously and gradually easing public health measures sooner, with the next phase of measures being eased on February 17, 2022 at 12:01 a.m.

“Given how well Ontario has done in the Omicron wave we are able to fast track our reopening plan,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This is great news and a sign of just how far we’ve come together in our fight against the virus. While we aren’t out of the woods just yet we are moving in the right direction.” Continue reading →

Virtual event, weeklong display to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people

An Invite to Us Al from Brock University and Niagara College

Posted February 10th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Red dresses will be hung throughout the campuses of Brock University and Niagara College next week to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

The REDress Project, an annual initiative that sees red clothing displayed in public spaces, began as an art installation by Métis artist Jamie Black at the University of Winnipeg in 2011. It has since been replicated in communities across Canada, including at Brock University and Niagara College in recent years.

The empty red dresses are meant to signify the loss of thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGTBQQIA) people over the past 40 years to colonial violence. Continue reading →

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

Posted February 10^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

The Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre will fully reopen to provide 24/7 service beginning on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 8 a.m.

In addition, consistent with recent changes in provincial direction, Niagara Health will proceed with the gradual resumption of surgical, procedural and outpatient services beginning next week.

“We are pleased to be in a position to start reopening services for patients, and appreciate the community’s understanding during this challenging fifth wave when we had to make difficult decisions to prioritize care for patients needing critical, emergency and acute care services,” says Lynn Guerriero, Niagara Health President and CEO. Continue reading →

You Are Invited to a February 15^th Online Summit To Help Stop Health Care Privatization

A Call-Out from the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide citizen advocacy group for quality, public health care

Posted February 10^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

Last week Doug Ford’s Health Minister (Christine Elliott) announced that she is bringing in *private hospitals*.

• They are midstream in *privatizing 18,000 LTC beds* for the next 30-yrs.
• They passed legislation to *privatize* the last remaining public parts of *home care*.
• They are *privatizing vaccines and COVID-testing*, and more.
• They are planning *billions of dollars in permanent cuts* to public services post-election…*

… if we don’t stop them.* 

It Stops *Now* EMERGENCY SUMMIT II Health Care Privatization & Cuts Launch the fight back for Long-Term Care, Hospitals, Home Care & more.

 Join us on *Tuesday, February 15 at 7pm* via Zoom to beat back privatization & austerity, and to force improvements in LTC, hospitals and home care. Continue reading →

‘The Wainfleet Bog (in Niagara, Ontariio) is a provincially significant wetland and is the largest least disturbed bog remaining within the Carolinian region of Southwestern Ontario.’

A Call-Out from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted February 3^rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The NPCA is in the process of establishing the Wainfleet Bog Advisory Committee and applications are now being accepted at https://getinvolved.npca.ca/wainfleet-bog-advisory-committee until Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.

This committee will provide collaborative perspective, guidance, and expert advice in the review, revision and implementation of the Wainfleet Bog Management Plan and other site strategies for the Wainfleet Bog Conservation Area. Continue reading →

Additional measures to slow the spread of Omicron variant as province accelerates booster dose rollout

News from the Ontario Government of Doug Ford

Posted December 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — In response to the rapidly-spreading and highly transmissible Omicron variant, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is applying additional public health and workplace safety measures, including capacity and social gathering limits.

These measures will help curb transmission and continue to safeguard Ontario’s hospital and ICU capacity as the province continues to rapidly accelerate its booster dose rollout. Continue reading →

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

“Having spoken with our pharmacies it is clear that Niagara is not being given enough booster doses to meet capacity at our pharmacies and primary care providers. Some pharmacies are finding that the doses they are receiving are considerably less than the doses they’re ordering. This means that they’re forced to book booster dose appointments well into 2022. This is not acceptable for Niagara and lives depend on your quick action to rectify this.”                                                                        – from an Open Letter Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates sent this December 13^th to Ontario’s Health Minister

An Open Letter to Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Health Minister from Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates Posted December 14^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

To Ontario Health Minister and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott

RE: Immediate need for doses at pharmacies and primary care providers in Niagara

I (Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates) am writing to you today (this December 13^th)  to urgently request that your Ministry release additional booster shot dosages to pharmacies and primary care providers in Niagara. As you likely know, Niagara Region Public Health has made the understandable decision to focus their vaccination efforts on children aged 5-11 years old for the next few weeks. As Public Health tells us, children have three times higher rate of getting COVID-19 than any other age group, and they have not yet had any chance to be vaccinated. Continue reading →

The Citizens’ Effort Continues to Save this Beloved Island of Green in Fort Erie, Niagara from being Paved Over

A Call-Out from Marcie Jacklin, a Fort Erie resident and leading member of the citizens’group, Community Voices of Fort Erie

Posted December 9^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

From Marcie Jacklin –

Marcie Jacklin

Hello everyone

Do you need a special Christmas gift? Check out our unique guide to the Birds of Waverly Woods. 60 colour photos. Only $13.
To order email waverly2021@gmail.com or call 905-871-4681. 

And for that special someone that has everything? Give a gift for generations to come by donating to https://www.forterievoices.org/donation 

Inside Waverly Woods – now a target for urban development

* Share the petition with others https://www.change.org/p/ten-story-condo-going-up-in-waverly-woods Can we get to 8900 signatures by December 31st?  If you prefer not to sign the petition an alternative is to join our email list by sending your email and name to cvferie@gmail.com .

* Please donate to help us cover our legal and expert costs.

Go to this link https://www.forterievoices.org/donation or send a donation to Community Voices of Fort Erie, P.O. Box 273, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 2S0. Continue reading →

December, 1980 – Forty-One Years Ago This December 8^th

By Doug Draper                   

Posted December 8^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

John Lennon, as he looked during his ‘Fab Four’ days with The Beatles

Forty-one years ago this December 8^th, I was a young cub reporter at The St. Catharines Standard, driving back to the newsroom to write a story out of a meeting I was covering in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

I barely sat down at my desk in the newsroom when one of the editors, checking some of the news coming in from around the word, said; “Oh know. Someone shot John Lennon.”

“Is he dead,” another in the newsroom asked. “It doesn’t say,” was the response. “This is just a first bulletin coming in.”

This Beatles fan, who was a particular fan of John, decided to write whatever story I had to write as soon as possible because I had a feeling that the next bulletin coming in would not be good, and it wasn’t. Continue reading →

“My bill would honour (our veterans’) sacrifice and service by making sure they can access care as soon as they need it.”               – Jennie Stevens, NDP MPP for St. Catharines

A News Release from the Constituency Office of St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted December 8^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP MPP Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) re-tabled her bill Wednesday that prioritizes veterans for long-term care beds, making sure veterans and their families can access care when they need it.

“Seniors who need the support of a long-term care home should be able to quickly find one in their community. That’s especially true for the many veterans who have sacrificed so much for their country, who are now languishing on long waitlists to be able to get the care they need,” said Stevens.

“My bill would honour their sacrifice and service by making sure they can access care as soon as they need it.” Continue reading →

Support for workers and employers will continue until July 31, 2022

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 7th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO – The Ontario government is extending its Worker Income Protection Benefit program, which provides paid sick days, until July 31, 2022 to continue keeping workers safe and ensure they do not lose pay if they need to miss work for reasons related to COVID-19.

Employees can continue to access this paid leave to get tested, vaccinated, self-isolate, or care for a family member. Should the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit be extended, workers in Ontario have access to the most generous paid sick days program in Canada. Continue reading →

“This is one holiday tradition we never want to miss, no one should ever go cold over winter.” – Kathleen Powell, Supervisor of Historical Services and St. Catharines Museum Curator.

A Call-Out to All from the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre

Posted December 2^nd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines/Niagara — Giving the gift of winter warmth is a holiday tradition worth keeping at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre.

This Saturday, Dec. 4, the museum will kick off its Annual Mitten Tree Campaign, inviting the public to come out and donate new, or gently-used winter wear such as mittens, gloves, scarves and toques.

The donated items will be used to decorate the Mitten Tree set up in the museum lobby, and ultimately will help those in need through Community Care St. Catharines and Thorold; and Start Me Up Niagara’s Out of the Cold Program. Guests can stop by the museum during open hours from Dec. 4 to Jan 8 to make their donation. Continue reading →

News from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

This image courtesy of citizen-based Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara

Posted December 1^st, 2021

The Niagara Regional Council meeting was tonight – this December 1^st – and the vote went in the right direction for our environment.

This story will be updated this December 2^nd.

To watch the meeting and the excellent delegations from citizens across Niagara who went before the council and spoke up for Option 3C, click on – https://www.niagararegion.ca/government/council/council-meetings.aspx?q=Committee+of+the+Whole

What Option 3c is about

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

“I understand that the government was dealing with an unprecedented (pandemic) crisis. But even in a crisis, systems should be in place to make sure that only eligible businesses receive taxpayer dollars, and program funds reach those who need it most.”                                                                                               – Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario

A News Release from the Office of Ontario’s Auditor General

Posted December 1^st, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO – Provincial economic aid to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic was provided without consultation or good criteria, and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars going to ineligible recipients, while there was no help for others that needed it, says Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk in her 2021 Annual Report.

“The province wrote off $210 million of Ontario Small Business Support Grants paid to ineligible recipients,” said Lysyk.

“Given the amount of money, the absence of better controls or assessment processes is troubling.”

Continue reading →

Ontario Government Supports Expansion of Care to Individuals Experiencing Homelessness in Niagara

“This new funding extends care to marginalized and homeless members of our community who do not have a doctor.”                       – Sam Oosterhoff, Conservative Government MPP for Niagara West Riding

A News Release from Ontario’s Ford Government

Posted December 1^st. 2021 on Niagara At Large

A new helper for Niagara’s homeless people marches to town in the name of Niagara West PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff

ST. CATHARINES – The Ontario government is supporting high-quality and compassionate health care for individuals experiencing homelessness in Niagara through an Alternative Funding Plan (AFP) partnership with the Shelter Health Network and REACH Niagara.

Announced today by Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, additional support from the province will increase the annual base funding to up to $935,000 for eight to ten new service sites in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls to provide primary care services to 1,500 patients in 2021/22.

The commitment from the province includes an additional $425,000 in 2022/23 for two to three additional service sites to support another 500 unique patients.

A collaborative effort to increase access to primary care, REACH Niagara partners with local physicians and nurses, community health clinics, family health teams, as well as Niagara Public Health, Niagara EMS, and local shelters, to treat marginalized communities and individuals experiencing homelessness with dignity, kindness and respect. Continue reading →

Doug Ford has weaponized MZOs and is abusing his power to attack our environment and reward the well-connected few.

A News Release from the Liberal Party of Ontario

Posted November 30th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO – Under the cover of a pandemic, Doug Ford has been abusing his powers and recklessly using MZOs to push through a list of rewards for his rich buddies over environmentally-sensitive land. Today, Ontario Liberals are releasing their plan to eliminate MZOs and bring in strict rules to ban Doug Ford’s abuses of power.

“Doug Ford has weaponized MZOs and is abusing his power to attack our environment and reward the well-connected few,” stated Ontario Liberal Leader, Steven Del Duca. “Ontario Liberals will scrap MZOs and bring in strict rules to protect our environment while responsibly building communities.” Continue reading →

Regional Councillors Will Meet this Wednesday, December 1^st at 6:25 p.m. To Decide Fate Our Green Places

A Call-Out from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large to all Niagara residents to contact their mayors and regional councillors ASAP and urge them to vote for the highest level of protection for our precious natural places on the table – Option 3C

Posted November 30^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

For  details on this issue and contact information for your mayors and regional councillors, please click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2021/11/29/call-your-mayor-and-regional-councillors-now-and-urge-them-to-vote-for-a-healthy-future/ .

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

A Brief One by Doug Draper

Posted November 29^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

It was 20 years ago this November 29^th that the youngest member of The Beatles – George Harrison – died following a battle with cancer.

Here are some of his friends performing one of his great songs at a tribute concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England a year or so after his death.

To watch, click on the screen below –

Rest in Peace George.

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

A News Release from the Campaign to Elect Dave Augustyn

Posted November 28th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Dave Augustyn nominated NDP candidate for Niagara West

Former Pelham mayor, regional councillor running for the Ontario NDP in the Niagara West Riding

PELHAM – NDP members in Niagara West haven officially selected Dave Augustyn to be their NDP candidate for the 2022 provincial election at a local nomination meeting on Sunday. The former three-term mayor and regional councillor released the following statement:

“I’m grateful to have the trust of our local NDP members and for the privilege to run to represent my community here in Niagara West.

Families across Niagara deserve so much better than the Ford government. They deserve to have their voices heard at Queen’s Park, and to have their families put first. Continue reading →

Posted November 25^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

A Brief One from Doug Draper –

This Thursday, November 15^th is Thanksgiving Day for our American neighbours – a day that means more too many of them, from what my American friends have told me, than Christmas.

That’s because it is just a day for families and friends to get together around a dinner table and enjoy each other’s company.

Old Sea Pines Inn on Cape Cod in Brewsters, Massachusetts. photo by Doug Draper

For the better part of the past 30 years, my family – even though we are Canadians – were honoured to be invited to a beautiful in on Cape Cod, called Old Sea Pines, where a large gathering of friends came together each year to celebrate Thanksgiving until we got a little old to do a gathering that large and folded it with a lot of beautiful memories.  

One of the traditions at the Inn, on Thanksgiving Day, was to play that oh so very long story song by Arlo Guthrie (son of the legendary Woody Guthrie) called Alice’s Restaurant.

As a tribute to all of my American friends, here it is, as performed by Arlo. You can watch it by clicking on the screen below –

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 Invite to All from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted November 24th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is excited to welcome the community to the 2nd Annual Ball’s Falls Holiday Trail<https://npca.ca/events> this winter season.

The NPCA is thrilled to announce the return of a cheerful and bright holiday tradition at Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, with thousands of sparkling lights along its trails, a skating rink, and immersive activities.

The Ball’s Falls Holiday Trail will run each evening, from November 26 to January 9, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, and 31. Continue reading →

 “He (Ontario Premier Doug Ford) still refuses to have electric vehicle incentives or rebates, and refuses to commit to putting back the charging stations he took away.”                                            – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates, followed by a News Release from Ontario’s Ford Government

Posted November 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates. file photo

QUEEN’S PARK — Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), the Official Opposition NDP critic for Auto Strategy, released the following statement in response to Premier Doug Ford’s press conference on electric vehicles:

“Doug Ford’s sudden flip-flop on electric vehicles is late, weak and badly incomplete. He still refuses to have electric vehicle incentives or rebates, and refuses to commit to putting back the charging stations he took away.

Doug Ford literally had electric vehicle charging stations ripped out of the ground. He cancelled incentives for people to buy electric cars. He refused to try to save Oshawa’s GM jobs, saying ‘They’re gone. They’re done,” – and the workers proved him wrong. He was more interested in cutting than in attracting auto jobs and building up Ontario into an electric vehicle leader.

The Liberals had 15 years. Katheen Wynne and Steven Del Duca didn’t deliver an electric auto strategy when they had the chance, either. Continue reading →

Tell Niagara Region to Stop Extension of Merritt Road through Wetlands

A Call-Out from Liz Benneian, a director of Biodiversity and Climate Change Niagara, a large coalition of individuals and conservation-related groups across Niagara Posted November 16^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large Your last chance to have your say on whether the Region should destroy Provincially Significant Wetlands to extend and widen Merritt Road in Thorold will be on Wednesday, December 1st, at 6 p.m. To join the online presentation go to: https://niagararegion.ca/projects/regional-road-37/ on the day of the event. The Regional study team has rejected all other possibilities and is solely focused on this plan which will destroy acres of woods and wetlands.

I have attached the comments Biodiversity and Climate Action submitted to the Planners back in June. Please feel free to use them in your comments. Comments can also be submitted directly to Maged.Elmadhoon@niagararegion.ca or Jeff.Suggett@woodplc.com

To read the entire message on this issue, click on –  https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=598837254902330&id=114688909983836

About Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara – Biodiversity and Climate Action Niagara (BCAN) is a collective of Niagara’s environmental groups and citizens that advocates for proven municipal best practices and policies that protect and enhance local biodiversity and combat climate change.  For more about this citizen’s coalition, click on – Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee – 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

“Ontario parents with little ones deserve so much better than the sky-high child care fees being charged under the previous Liberal government, and now the Ford government. They deserve universal, public and non-profit high-quality $10-a-day child care.” – Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Early Learning and Childcare critic Bhutila Karpoche

News from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted November 15^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Early Learning and Childcare critic Bhutila Karpoche are calling on the Doug Ford government to stop holding up a $10-a-day child care deal with Ottawa as Alberta signs its deal, leaving only Ontario (holding out).

Horwath and Karpoche released the following statement:

Continue reading →

“Greenbelt, NOT Asphalt” Protest Scheduled for Saturday, November 13^th

“Communities along the proposed route for the 413 and Bradford Bypass are saying “no” to paving over their natural environments, Greenbelt, and productive farmland. Ontarians are saying no to creating more car-dependent communities and spending billions on these highways that will enrich a few wealthy developers at the expense of the rest of the province.”        – Keith Brooks, Environmental Defence

A News Release from Environmental Defence, a Canada-wide citizens advocacy group

Posted November 11^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – On Saturday, November 13, 2021, concerned residents in communities near the proposed routes of two new highways poised to destroy farmlands and sections of the protected Greenbelt are holding a Day of Action to demand “Greenbelt NOT Asphalt.”

If built, Highway 413 would run from the Highway 401/407 interchange in Halton to Highway 400 in Vaughan. The highway would pave over farms, forests, wetlands and 400 acres of the Greenbelt and cost Ontario taxpayers upwards of $6-10 billion. Highway 413 would also add over 17 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, at a time when cutting emissions is more urgent than ever. Continue reading →

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

Posted November 10^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

It has been on the books for more than two decades now – a plan to build a so-called “Mid-Pen Highway,” above the Niagara Escarpment and through some of the heart of Niagara’s rural lands from the Hamilton-Burlington area to the Fort Erie, Ontario-Buffalo, New York border crossing.

So while Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives seem to be on a roll now with saying yes to one controversial highway plan in the Greater Toronto Area – all in the name of “Building Ontario” – why not dust off and give a green light to the Mid-Peninsula Highway plan too.

In other words, why stop now if Ontario’s future involves paying over more green lands for highways and the low-density development to accommodate more cars and trucks on the road?

Why don’t we just finish it up?

Continue reading →

Come this November 8th, how many Canadians will want to go back to crossing  border bridges for a day in the Buffalo area if they have to pay up to $300 for a COVID test on top of showing proof of vaccination?

Canada’s Travel Rules Punitive for Middle-Class Families – Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable

Mandatory pre-departure PCR testing for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers is proving prohibitively expensive for Canadian families

Travel & Tourism Roundtable calls on the federal government to remove the pre-departure PCR test and amend the discriminatory child policy for travelling minors

A Brief Foreword  from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

For more than a year, and a half bridges like this – the Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York – have been closed to most traffic.

As this coming Monday, November 8^th approaches for re-opening border crossings to so-called “non-essential” Canadian travellers for the first time in more than a year and a half, we learn that community leaders in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York are preparing to hold a media event on the morning of the 8^th, welcoming their Canadian neighbours back.

That welcoming event seems nice on the surface but political and business leaders on the American side may be in for a letdown because Canada’s federal government is continuing to insist that any Canadian returning to their home from a trip to, let’s say, Buffalo, is not only going to have to show they are fully vaccinated. They are also going to have to show that they have tested negative for COVID-19. Continue reading →

Wage Increase Could Harm Businesses at Critical Time When They are Still Struggling to Recover from Pandemic

A Statement from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce CEO Mishka Balsom

Posted November 2^nd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Mishka Balsom, CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Niagara, Ontario – Today (November 2^nd), Mishka Balsom, CEO of Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement regarding the Government of Ontario’s proposed legislation that, if passed, would raise the general minimum wage effective January 01, 2022.

“We support fair wages, and we recognize that workers have been impacted by the pandemic and an increased cost of living.

“However, two months is not enough time for businesses to plan for and implement such changes, especially when many will have already set their budgets for next year. Continue reading →

“We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on repairing this planet. Not trying to find the next place to go.”       – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and now second in line to the British Throne

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

Posted October 15^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

While some of the world’s richest people like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk – people who don’t pay a penny of taxes down here on earth – play around with rocketing tourists into space, at least some wonder the following.

They wonder if these top of the Fortune 500 plutocrats might consider investing some of their fortune to make things better down here on planet earth.

I am not the biggest fan in the world of the British monarchy, but I would like to give Prince Williams two big thumbs up for being one of the latest to come out and say that in a BBC interview that there is something about these billionaires playing around with space toys that is way out of whack when we are facing a catastrophic climate emergency earth side. Continue reading →

A Holiday Weekend Message from Niagara At Large

Posted October 10th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Here we are going through the second Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in a row with this killer pandemic at large.

Every piece of factual information I read and hear tells me that this nightmare we are collectively suffering through  did not have to be this prolonged if more people followed the health measures and got vaccinated.

If you have not gotten vaccinated yet, please do so for the sake of yourself, your friends and family, and for the common good of all.

And please stop  – if you happen to  fall in this stream of information consumers   – relying so heavily on Facebook and mostly other right-wing venues for misinformation about what still remains a word-wide health catastrophe.

Thank you for visiting Niagara At Large for the news and commentary we post on this independent site, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

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

A Statement by Niagara West Ford Government MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted October 8th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West and Ford Government MPP Sam Oosterhoff

“One pillar of our government’s plan to fix long-term care is increasing staff so they can provide more, high-quality care to residents.

“That is why, the Ontario government is providing long-term care homes across the province with $270 million to hire more staff to increase direct care for residents from 2 hours and 45 minutes to 3 hours, per resident by the end of this fiscal year. This will make Ontario a leader in direct care.

“Every long-term care home in Ontario will benefit from this funding as it will allow them to hire more staff and these staff will deliver increased care to residents. Continue reading →