Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Brief Comment by NAL publisher Doug Draper

Once again, I am getting sick and tired of all this John Wayne, tough-talkin’ talk from the likes of Canada’s supreme leader and his minions like Rob Nicholson about extending some war in Iraq, etc.

Canada’s Stephen Harper plays army a few years back in Afghanistan. Will he send young people in his own family to go to Iraq and other war zones to play army, or just send other peoples’ children? Bring back the military draft.

It is also quite depressing that, according to some public opinion surveys, a majority of Canadians want to go along with more warring and a C-51, so-called “anti –terrorist bill” that would compromise even more of the civil liberties Canadians fought and died to defend in wars from the last century.

So alright then,, Harper and company want to “extend and expand” Canadian involvement in the so-called ‘war on terror’ in the Middle East, let’s get some of their fucking skin in the game. Let’s see their children suit up and go over to serve in harm’s way. Let’s see this government have the guts to tell their baseline, blue-blooded supporters to contribute to a war tax to pay for this venture.

I have called for bringing back the military draft in another recent post on this site, and I call for it again. And I just bet that if we had a military draft that meant anyone, including a member of the PM or an MP or a Senator’s family got drafted – not to mention the children of their corporate masters, we might see Harper, Nicholson and these other chicken hawks be not so quick to exercise the military option. Continue reading →

You are invited to Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS)  39th Annual Meeting.

Ontario farm rep and keynote speaker at PALS annual meeting Elboert vanDonkersgoed

WHEN ; Tuesday March 24^th 7 :00 p. St. Catharines Centennial Library 54 Church St. 

SPEAKER : Elbert vanDonkersgoed

Editor Locavore News and former ED The Christian Farmers’ Federation of Ontario

FARM VIEWS OF ONTARIO’S GREENBELT

 Light refreshments at 7:00 p.m. Business 7:30 p.m. Speaker 8 p.m.

Find out more about the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society, one of the oldest surviving citizens group in Niagara, Ontario, by clicking on http://members.becon.org/~pals/AboutPals.html .

(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)

By John Bacher 

Those who are concerned with wildlife in Niagara should pay keen attention to the upcoming provincial review of the Greenbelt.

The Blue Salamander, one of many native Niagara reptiles vital to a health web of life for everyone up to we humans, is a continuous victim of low-density urban sprawl paving over its habitat

Urban sprawl is the biggest threat to wildlife in Niagara. It prevents the return of extirpated species and threatens species that continue to survive, most notably amphibians that perish from higher road density and increased toxins.

Urban environment drives out bluebirds, oven birds and scarlet tanagers, replacing them with a monoculture of starlings and house sparrows. The last time the Red Headed Woodpecker was seen in neighbouring Burlington, Ontario was when a subdivision, now called Woodpecker Woods was raised over its former habitat. Continue reading →

News from the Office of the public interest group Buffalo Niagara River Keeper

(A brief foreword comment from Niagara At Large publisher and environment writer Doug Draper – Congratulations to all of the great leaders and volunteers for Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper for this well-deserved international tribute. 

Unfortunately, we lost the Canada/U.S. citizens group Great Lakes United a few years ago due to a combination of less collective citizen interest in fighting hard for environmental protection and the group’s limp efforts to pander to that lessening interest by trying to go (small conservative/republican) mainstream – when it might have been better to go out fighting for more progressive goals..

But at least a greater Niagara chapter of this group, founded more than three decades ago on the Hudson River with late folksinger Pete Seeger, and still key member Robert Kennedy Jr. among its driving members, is still here to voice concern and act for a healthier Niagara River watershed. This global recognition, once again, is most deserving.)

Voloneers for Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper regularly clean garbage from shores of Buffalo River/Niagara River watersheds. Photo courtesy of Riverkeeper

SPRINGHILL, AUSTRALIA, March 2015 – The International River Foundation has announced that Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is one of four finalists for the first North American Riverprize, a prestigious global recognition for organizations demonstrating excellence and diversity in river restoration.

“As Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper celebrates 25 years of progress for our water, we are honored that our innovative work has been recognized by the International River Foundation,” said Jill Jedlicka, executive director. “Our collaborative efforts to improve water quality and public access in the Great Lakes have been successful because of the decades of tremendous citizen engagement.  We thank all of our supporters, partners and the Western New York community for this shared honor, and as there is much more work to be done, we reaffirm our commitment to continued progress for our region’s water resources.” Continue reading →

News from the Welland Riding constituency offices of Malcolm Allen and Cindy Forster

Welland, Ontario, March 20^th, 2015-NDP MP Malcolm Allen and MPP Cindy Forster joined Save the Welland Hospital Campaign’s Sue Hotte, Welland Mayor, Frank Campion and Ontario Health Coalition’s Natalie Mehra this March 20^th to highlight the detrimental impacts the proposed closure of Welland Hospital will have on local communities. 

“The Welland Hospital is an integral part of south Niagara’s healthcare network,” noted Forster. “People of Niagara need healthcare services that are easily accessible, and the closure of the Welland Hospital will have devastating impacts on our community.”

Stemming from a 2012 report delivered by NHS supervisor Kevin Smith titled Restructuring of the Niagara Health System, the closure of the hospital would mean the loss of  South Niagara’s only emergency medical department and two extended hour urgent care centers—along with numerous other health care services. Continue reading →

Tuesday April 7th atMahtay’s Café and Lounge,  241 St Paul St, St Catharines, Ontario.

 News from Jane Hanlon and Greening Niagara

The doors for this good meeting open at 6:30 pm, Meeting starts at 7 pm at Mahtay’s Café – a wonderful venue that is cultivating a record for featuring talks, film screenings and more on progressive ideas around climate change and other issues facing younger and future generations today.

Niagara, Ontario healthy planning/environment advocate and keynote speaker Don Alexander

This talk, headed up by Greening Niagara, a public-interest group once called Climate Action Niagara, features Don Alexander, one of Niagara’s great elders in the field of planning and environmental protection, doing his best to convince us – young and old and everyone in between – why “we’re all in this together.”

 Don Alexander has 50 years of Environmental Action and concern.From Great Lakes Water Quality Issues in the mid 1960s to current interest in the Provincial Plan Reviews for the Niagara Escarpment and Greenbelt. Continue reading →

• You Are Invited To A Free Screening Of This Film On Our Great Lakes At The Mahtay Café In St. Cahtarines

News from the South Niagara chapter of the Council of Canadians

Award-winning documentary film director, Kevin McMahon, is as passionate about the Great Lakes as he is worried about their fate. His compelling film, Waterlife, will be screened on Sunday, March 22nd, to commemorate World Water Day, at the Mahtay Café and Lounge, 241 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. The documentary will be followed by a panel discussion on threats to the health of the Great Lakes.

A former journalist at the St. Catharines Standard, McMahon shifted to documentary film-making in the mid-1980s. It was in Niagara that his engagement with the Great Lakes began, when he covered the then-emerging disaster at Love Canal in Niagara Falls. Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Liberal GovernmentMarch 18th, 2015 – Ontario Supporting Innovation in Niagara Manufacturing SectorConstruction has officially begun on Niagara College’s new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa  With support from a $4.2 million provincial investment, the new, permanent, high-tech manufacturing centre will provide students with more than 15,000 square feet of lab space for hands-on applied learning, innovation space for companies to work onsite and office space for Niagara students and industry staff. The centre will also help Ontario’s small and medium-sized manufacturers save on production costs and reduce production time by providing them access to leading-edge equipment and state-of-the-art research facilities as well as the expertise and business services of faculty and students.  Supporting business innovation and postsecondary education is a key part of the government’s economic plan for Ontario. The four-point plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, building new public infrastructure like roads and transit, creating a dynamic and supportive environment where business thrives and building a secure savings plan so everyone can afford to retire.

QUICK FACTS Advanced manufacturing innovation programs began in May 2013, led by Niagara College Research and Innovation. More than 850 small and medium-sized enterprises operate in the Niagara region.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre Coming to Niagara Support for the Niagara College Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre Ontario’s colleges and universities

QUOTES”The manufacturing sector is critical to our prosperity and that’s why we are investing in the sector’s future by helping to build the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre. We are also investing in these Niagara College students, who will go on to be highly skilled workers and contribute to Ontario’s success. Smart investments like these are part of our economic plan to make Ontario a better place to live, work and invest.”  — Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance”We are pleased to be breaking ground today on our new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre. This new facility will be a permanent home to expand Niagara College’s faculty and students’ capacity to assist small and medium-sized manufacturers with a centre that is already providing real-world research and innovation solutions to the manufacturing sector through research and innovation. We are pleased that the government recognizes the contribution Niagara College’s faculty and students are playing in advanced manufacturing.”  — Dr. Dan Patterson, President, Niagara College

 Niagara At Large now invites you to share your comments on this post

News from Canada’s Assembly of First Nations

(A Brief Note from NAL – Praise for Canada’s First Nations for standing up for environmental protection and the possibility Harper’s anti-terrorist/secret police bill could be used to legally harass Canadians who join them in standing up for our environment.)

Canada’s Assembly of First Nations chief Perry Bellegarde speaking out with passion against a Harper bill that could gut our rights to speak out for our environment.

Ottawa, Ontario, March 2015 – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (this past March 12^th, 2015) to withdraw Bill C-51, the proposed federal anti-terrorism legislation. 

“I am calling on the government to withdraw this Bill and consult properly with First Nations about the impact of any such legislation on First Nations rights,” said National Chief Bellegarde.  “We believe in safety and security but the federal government’s rush to ram this legislation through is undemocratic and it violates our individual and collective rights.  First Nations will vigorously oppose any legislation that does not respect and protect our rights.” 

The National Chief told the Committee that Bill C-51 sets up “conditions for conflict” by creating circumstances where First Nations people will be labelled as threats when asserting their rights as First Nations citizens. Continue reading →

News from the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War

(A note from NAL – In the wake of ‘Day of Action’ rallies attended this March 14th, 2015 by many thousands of Canadians from coast to coast in opposition to the Harper government’s proposed anti-terrorist or secret police act, there is this upcoming town hall in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.)

Attend the town hall meeting in the Council Chambers of Hamilton City Hall on Wednesday, March 18, at 7:30 pm. Hear Sukanya Pillay, Exec. Dir. of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, plus local NDP MP’s and representatives from community organizations and groups including the Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War. Facebook page with all the details:https://www.facebook.com/events/430169607157981/

The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War began life as the November 16th Coalition, which formed in Hamilton, Ontario to organize opposition to the then impending attack on Iraq. Our goal was to unite all the elements in society who were against America’s design to punish and conquer Iraq in order to further their imperial expansion into the oil rich Middle-East.

To learn more about the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War and its ongoing activities click on – http://www.hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/index.html .

(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)

By John Bacher 

One of the most important roles Ontario’s Greenbelt plays is that it protects most of what is left of Niagara’s precious fruit belt, from urban sprawl.

Sign put up by west St. Catharines peach farmer going out of business. File photo by Doug Draper

 Niagara is one of the only places in Canada where it is still economically viable to grow, on a large scale and for the fresh market, a wide variety of tree fruit crops. These fruits include plums, pears, apricots peaches and sweet and sour cherries.

Another extraordinary aspect of Niagara’s fruit belt is that it is also grape belt. Although new areas in Ontario are opening up for grapes for wine cultivation, virtually all of the grapes grown for juice and jellies in Canada are located in Niagara where many grape growers have long time contracts with Welch’s, one of the largest agricultural co-operatives in the world. 

The Niagara fruit belt makes up a rare part of Ontario where it is possible to grow economically healthy foods that every nutritionist believes we need to eat more of. While for now cheap transportation makes it possible for such healthy food to be imported without driving up the price, this will not endure. Growing concern over the ecological health of the planet make carbon taxes inevitability. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

“Canada In Iraq For Long Term, Minister Says,” reads a headline at the top of the front page of the Friday, March 6, 2015 edition of Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe And Mail.

The minister referred to in the headline is Rob Nicholson, the federal Conservative MP for the Niagara Falls, Ontario riding, who has held a number of key cabinet positions for the Stephen Harper government including Justice Minister, Defense Minister and now Minister of Foreign Affairs.

One might very well ask, and some already have, what there is in Nicholson’s resume that has qualified him to serve as head of defense and foreign affairs in Canada when so many of his counterparts who have held those positions in the U.S. have had real experience serving in the military and in some academic or on-the-ground, overseas capacity in foreign affairs. But that’s another whole commentary

For now, let’s get back to the apparent willingness of Harper, Nicholson and company to prolong Canada’s military involvement in war zones in Iraq. 

“Our mandate is until April 7,” Nicholson was quoted saying in the body of that March 6^th Globe story in a passing nod to the date Harper told Canadians last year that we’d join a U.S.-led bombing campaign to “degrade” ISIS forces that have spread like a cancer in that region of the world. “But we’ve indicated that Canada is not a country that stands on the sidelines and we’re looking at ways that we have contributed and what is available for the future,” he continued while wandering, knowingly or not, into what sounds to a number of his government’s critics like “mission creep” territory.

Sgt. Andrew Dorion, the first Canadian soldier to die in the Iraq war zone, and probably not the last.

“As I say,” Nicholson blah-blahed on, almost certainly from the routine talking points, fed to him and other intellectually challenged member of cabinet like Pablum from the prime minister’s office, “I indicated that we’re in this for the longer term t make sure that we do what we can to help.”

Help what?” someone might well ask, not that Nicholson, being the dutiful water boy he has always been for Harper, he would dare ask himself. Let’s remember that this is a Niagara politician who may have been in the best position to prevent the closing down of Canada’s Consulate office in Buffalo, New York, right on the doorsteps of one of Canada’s most important gateways to the U.S. economy, but was quoted in the mainstream media going along with it, like the cowardly lion he is. 

Now here he is again, doing the Dick Cheney, pumped up testosterone, tough guy thing going back to his days as Harper’s justice minister when he whole-heartedly supported throwing more criminals (just so long as they weren’t white collar criminals working on and around Bay Street or the Alberta tar sands) in jail and throwing away the key. Continue reading →

By John Bacher 

Many people care for our wounded earth here in the Niagara Region, but frequently despair about what can be done to preserve and protect it.

A blue heron soars over Beaverdams Creek, a water system some Niagara municipal politicians feel should be included in Greenbelt. Photo courtesy of Jim Vanderhoek

Farmlands are gobbled up, forests are slashed and streams are entombed in cement. Fish, frogs and turtles lose their homes with the waters. Native bird species vanish while alien pests such as starlings swarm in and deer are confined to parks where they become the focus of conflicts with park neigbhours, animal activists and native peoples.

Normally it is not easy to get be a serious earth protector. Consider the challenges, as I have, of getting elected to serve on a municipal council. This is truly a formidable task, going door to door and facing hostile audiences, and facing hostile political machines. 

Service on municipal councils, despite what you may read in the media, is so important because of the power of zoning. Sometimes, especially during times of rapid growth, municipal politicians feel unhappy at getting elected to provincial politics. That is because they then miss the attention from those concerned if a parcel of land will be zoned agriculture, environmental protection or some urban purpose.

Don’t want to be a municipal councillor? Then where do you appeal  zoning decisions? The answer is go to the Ontario Municipal Board.

If there is anything more torture prone than running for municipal council, it has to be fighting an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. What is even worse than in the olden days, when the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society won OMB battles, is that at these hearings it doesn’t matter how many degrees or what work experience you have anymore. If you want to testify before the OMB and are a member of an environmental protection group, you might as well stay away. 

Dr. Robert Hoover, a Brock University teacher and fully qualified urban planner from 1976 to 1983, did heroic service, representing PALS during those years at a number of OMB hearings.

In more recent times, having that kind of expertise and a prestigious degree is not enough for the OMB. Just ask the recently retired Brock University Geographer Professor, Dr. Hugh Gaylor. Although the OMB ruled that he was qualified to give expert testimony on the basis of his qualifications, he was ruled out by virtue of his alleged membership in PALS. To be an advocate is a cardinal sin. 

Now for a window of a little over a month, there is an opportunity to protect the earth that involves relatively little pain. That opportunity is the Province of Ontario’s upcoming Greenbelt consultations. What is more the time and place for one of these sessions in Niagara are quite accessible, so write it down and encourage your friends to come. 

The Greenbelt consultation for Niagara will be held on Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at the Holiday Inn and Suites Parkway Convention Center at 327 Ontario Street in St. Catharines. It will run from 6 to 7pm, followed by a meeting where deputations can be made from 7 to 9 p.m.

If you want to think globally while acting locally to heal the planet, be there.

John Bacher is working on the Greenbelt Review for the Sierra Club of Canada and the Niagara-based citizens group, the Preservation of Agriculture Lands Society. This is the first in a series on articles on the review. Later articles on the review will deal with wildlife, forests, fruitland , water pollution, the Niagara Escarpment and forests.

(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)

By Mark Taliano

If the governing media framed itself in terms of truth rather than government-sponsored lies, the root causes of terrorism could be addressed and rectified.

These days Harper and membes of his puppet cause are taking advantage of every opportunity possible to scare the crap out of Canadians to get their secret police bill passed

Currently, the root causes are being obscured, and Police State legislation is being offered as a false solution, and for ulterior purposes.

We already have the tools to combat domestic terrorism. “Terrorism, treason, sedition, espionage, proliferating of nuclear and biological weapons, and other offences repeated in Bill C-51 are already illegal,” explains Elizabeth May, Leader of Canada’s Federal Green Party, in “Harper’s police State Law”

She argues further – and with strong evidence – that the security establishment has not made a compelling case for requiring more powers. Bill C-51 Backgrounder , by Kent Roach and Craig Forcese, offers this abstract:

“In Bill C-51, the Canadian government wants to jail people who, by speaking, written, recording, gesturing or through other visible representations, knowingly advocate or promote the commission of terrorism offences in general, while aware of the possibility that the offences may be committed. Continue reading →

A Brief by Doug Draper

Once upon a time, in the years following NBC’s stupid decision to cancel the original 1960s Star Trek series after only three seasons, a story continually circulated around the Niagara region that went like this.

Leonard Nimoy in his iconic Star Trek role as Spock

Somewhere in Niagara, in one of Her Majesty’s courts, a young man found guilty of some minor crime that left him facing at least a few months in jail, was asked by the presiding judge if he had anything to say prior to sentencing. 

According to all accounts circulating in the community at the time, this young man used the opportunity to flip open something akin to a pocket book or wallet he used as a prop for a then futuristic wireless phone featured in the Star Trek series and said: “Quick Scotty. Beam me up!”

Again by all accounts, there was an audible chuckle from almost everyone in the court but the judge who imposed the maximum number of months of jail time he could under the law. Continue reading →

News from Brock University

St. Catharines, Ontario, February, 2015 -Canada has become a “warrior state”, says pan-African socialist and peace scholar Horace Campbell, who will discuss that claim when he delivers the Dr. Morrison African Heritage Month lecture at Brock University this Friday afternoon, February. 27th.

Horace Campbell, professor of political sicne and African American studies, to speak on Canada’s lost status as a peacekeeper

His presentation — “Canada, NATO and Libya: Lessons for Africa”  — will look at how Canada’s traditional role as a peacekeeping power has changed, thanks largely to its leadership in NATO’s bombing campaign during the Libyan civil war. Campbell will discuss Canada’s involvement “in a high-stakes game of normalizing war. “

While many in the West celebrated the Libya campaign as a success, the NATO role in which Canada played a large part resulted in many civilian deaths and destroyed Libya’s infrastructure, says Campbell, a professor of African American Studies at Syracuse University. Continue reading →

A News Commentary from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Tuesday, February 24^th, 2015 was not the best of days for Canada’s supreme leader Stephen Harper and his corporate masters in the petro-chemical industry.

Canada’s tar sands agenda gets a presidential snub

It was a day that U.S. President Barack Obama, who seems determined to be remembered as a leader who did what he could to fight climate change and support greener energy alternatives, vetoed an attempt by a Republican-dominated Senate and Congress to approve the construction of a Keystone XL pipeline for caring tar sands crude through America’s heartland from northern Alberta to refineries near the Gulf coast.

In exercising his right to veto (a right this president has so far resorted to far less than a number of his predecessors, including George W. Bush), Obama had this to say: “The presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously,” he stated in a message to Congress. “But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest – including our security, safety and environment – it has earned my veto.” Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

For the first time in half a decade of self-imposed zero salary increases, Niagara, Ontario’s regional councillor took time at a meeting this Wednesday, February 18^th to vote themselves an increase of 2.93 per cent.

Niagara, Ontario’s regoinal government headquarters

The move sees base salaries (not counting any additional monies that come with sitting on some committees and boards) rise from $28,353 to $29,184 annually for the 30 part-time regional councillors, and from $117,330 to $120,768 for the regional chair.

As news of this salary hike circulates in Niagara’s mainstream media, there are already the trolls out there hiding, like the cowards they are behind pseudonyms, using words like “pigs” to slam those who voted for a raise they are calling “outrageous” and “obscene.”

As someone who has covered municipal politics in this Niagara region for more than 30 years now, I have formed a more nuanced take on this. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional

This February 20^th, 2015 Niagara Regional Council approved the Region’s 2015 budget. This budget focuses on maintaining existing services and supporting new programs that will enable economic prosperity, while limiting the impact to tax payers to less than the rate of inflation.

Residents will see an increase of approximately 1.92 per cent in Regional taxes this year, after Council passed its 2015 tax supported operating budget of $321.9 million. For the average house assessed at $236,134, the 1.92 per cent budget tax increase will result in an additional $27.50 per household.

Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin

“Niagara Region’s 2015 budget is focused on maintaining current service levels and new initiatives that will encourage economic prosperity in Niagara,” said Regional Chair Alan Caslin. “This budget enables us to invest in GO transit throughout the Region and advance inter-municipal transit, will improve front-line emergency services, and will foster a welcoming environment for the private sector to bring investment and new jobs to Niagara.”

“For 2015, we’ve kept the tax increase low by becoming more effective and efficient, thereby identifying $2.41 million in sustainable cost savings”, said Councillor David Barrick, Chair of the Budget Review Committee of the Whole. “This approach aligns with our tax payer affordability strategy and ensures that we are making valuable investments in the programs and services that will lead the way to a stronger and healthier Niagara,” concluded Barrick. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Woodlot Association

This year, the non-profit Ontario Woodlot Association is holding its 22^nd Annual Conference and Annual Meeting in Brantford at the Best Western Plus Brant Park Inn on Friday March 20 and Saturday March 21. 

The event is open to anyone with an interest in the environment, invasive species, tree cutting by-laws and new technologies in Ontario and the state of our forested land in Southern Ontario and is being hosted by the Brant, Haldimand and Niagara Chapters of the Association.

On March 20, the day includes a tour to the local Tigercat factory (manufacturer of large forestry equipment) and a guided walk through Grand River Conservation Authority lands. In the evening, a dinner-social at the Brant Rod and Gun Club is planned as is an informal walk is through the Paul Helm Fish Hatchery. 

The AGM and Conference, with speakers covering topics on tree by-laws, new technologies, invasive species, news from the Carolinian Canada Coalition, woodlot management in a changing climate and more, will follow on Saturday, March 21. Continue reading →

 Joint Statement on Measles from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government and the Niagara Catholic School Board

(A Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – In a short phone interview with Niagara Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Valerie Jaeger, she stressed that everyone who hasn’t been vaccinated for measles, should be.

Dr. Jaeger also noted that she is awaiting information from provincial health officers on whether there is any link with the new cases in Niagara and a religious conference for youth, held in Toronto, in recent weeks

And let this publisher just finish it up with a message I have repeated posted. Anyone, who for screwball libertarian or right-wing religious reasons will not allow their children to receive a measles vaccine, should do the rest of the community a favour and keep their children out of our public schools, out of shopping malls and anywhere else where their children could potentially spread a disease that is potentially fatal.)

Niagara Region’s Head Health Officer, Dr. Valerie Jaeger

February 16^th, 2015 – Niagara Catholic District School Board and Niagara Region Public Health can confirm individuals with measles have had contact within the school communities of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Elementary School and Saint Michael Catholic High School. 

While both schools have a very high vaccination rate, Public Health continued to be in contact with the families of students over this past weekend who have not been adequately vaccinated.

According to the Immunization of School Pupils Act, students who have not completed the required immunization schedule for, in this case, measles, have been excluded from school until they meet the requirements to return. Both schools are working with families of excluded students to provide school work during the period of exclusion. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

(A Brief Forward Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – The question is – Why did the Region’s Caslin administration allow crews of low-paid garbage and recycling waste collectors go out this Monday, February 16^th in the first place. Why, when weather specialists all over Ontario and Western New York have been forecasting “dangerous cold” conditions through this past weekend and going into Monday and humane societies have warned pet owners not to put their dogs and cats out in weather like this?

Of course, we are in to a far harsher, more mean-spirited regional council than we have had in the past, with key members of that council down on regional staff. Yet, that should still not serve as a reason for sending waste collectors ought in polar conditions like this. Shame on the neo-con Caslin administration for allowing it to happen.)

Should the crews working these waste collection trucks be required to work in record cold temperatures meteorolists call “dangerous?”

NIAGARA REGION, Feb. 16, 2015 – Garbage and recycling collection in Niagara is experiencing delays due to extreme cold weather. Collection will continue until 4 p.m. today, however some residents will not have their materials collected today. Residents are advised to bring in any materials that were not collected by 4 p.m. today.

Residents who did not have their garbage and recycling collected today should have their materials to the curbside no later than 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17 for collection. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Right there with the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the first time The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, it was one of those events in my childhood that I will remember as if it took place yesterday.

It was the day – 50 years ago this February 15^th, 2015 – that this Canada I am a native citizen of finally embraced a flag of its own, with all of the pride I felt at the time as it was being raised, for the very first time, at a public school I was attending in Welland, Ontario.

For me, and I think for so many other younger Canadians, this new flag was not, as was said by more than a few of our elders, the resemblance of a “beer label.” It was afresh, free-lying symbol of a nation finally breaking out from its ‘Mother England’ apron strings and forging ahead with defining its own character as one of the world’s most progressive and compassionate beacons of a fair, equal and just democracy. Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Falls, Ontario, February, 2015 – In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Canadian Flag, The Niagara Falls Illumination Board will be lighting both the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls in red and white, for 15 minute increments during the hours of 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 p.m., on the evening of February 15, 2015.

Watch for these great iconic Falls to be lit up in red and white to celebrate 50th anniversary of Canada’s flag

The modern Canadian National Flag was adopted by the Canadian Government on February 15, 1965. With Canada’s centennial celebrations close at hand, the government of the day wished to create a very distinctive and unifying flag to replace the previous Canadian Red Ensign. For 50 years, the iconic Maple Leaf on the flag, designed by George Stanley, has been recognized around the world as a symbol of Canada. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Government

A Brief Note from Niagara At Large – It is long past time a senior level of government is taking this step. For the sake of our future, read this post and get involved!

February, 2015 – Ontario has released a climate change discussion paper and invites citizens, businesses and communities to share ideas about how to successfully fight climate change while fostering economic growth and keeping our businesses competitive.

Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change – “Climate change is already costing Ontarians by threatening our communities, businesses and way of life. While Ontario is showing leadership in fighting climate change, we know we need to do more and we need to act fast. Over the next few months, we will be asking citizens about their thoughts on how to fight climate change, foster economic growth and help secure a better future for this province for generations to come.”

The government will engage aboriginal communities and hold province wide consultations with citizens, community organizations, industry stakeholders, municipal representatives and businesses, and will publically post the discussion paper for comment on the Environmental Registry for 45 days. The discussion paper:

• Identifies the climate change challenge, the risks and threats it poses to Ontario’s environment, economy and way of life.
• Suggests actions that encourage individuals, businesses, government and communities to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Asks important questions to help inform a comprehensive climate change strategy and action plan, to be released later this year.

Engaging the public in a conversation about climate change builds on Ontario’s recent achievements including closing coal plants, curbing the use of cosmetic pesticides and protecting 1.8 million acres of land. These initiatives have resulted in fewer smog days and cleaner water. Continue reading →

(This not-for-profit group works to preserve one of the great Frank Lloyd Wright properties in the architecturally rich Buffalo, New York area and Niagara At Large is pleased to post this spring travel event that will help fund the group’s preservation efforts.)

News from Buffalo, New York’sMartin House Restoration Corporation

The Martin House Restoration Corporation is offering a weekend travel package to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob in Pennsylvania on June 6th-7th, 2015.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater – an iconic residential home in a wooded area in rural Pennsylvania.

 This package includes one night’s accommodations at the Omni William Penn in downtown Pittsburgh, motor coach transportation, tours, lunch and gratuities, and a reception at the Omni featuring a lively conversation with Fallingwater’s Director of Preservation.

Fallingwater is the home that Wright designed for Pittsburgh retail mogul Edgar J. Kaufmann and his family as a mountain retreat. Perched over a cascading stream, this is one of Wright’s most iconic masterpieces. Continue reading →

News from the Government of Ontario

On Wednesday, February 11^th, 2015 Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, and Dr. Robin Williams, Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health, issued the following statement on the measles cases in Ontario:

“In the last two weeks, eight cases of measles have been confirmed in Ontario. So far, there are no known common sources of exposure and currently they are not known to be linked to the cases in the United States.

Dr; Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Minister of Health

While the risk to the general public is low, measles is highly contagious. It is important for people to be fully immunized against this serious disease; it’s the best way to prevent measles and its spread. We are urging Ontarians to ensure all their immunizations for measles and those of their children are up-to-date, not only to protect them from this disease, but those around them. Parents who do not get their kids immunized are putting other children at risk.

Adults born in 1970 or later require two doses for optimal protection, depending on their age and level of risk. Individuals born before 1970 are generally presumed to be immune from measles. Currently, it is recommended that children should have the first dose at 12 months and a second dose when they are four to six years old, preferably before they start school. Continue reading →

A  Commentary  by Doug Draper

In recent months, as I’ve crossed the Peace Bridge back into my native Canada from a day trip to Buffalo in the U.S.A, I’ve routinely been asked by our border officers if I’ve been to Africa or spent any time around someone who may be infected with the Ebola virus.

Measles, a potentially fatal disease, all but eradicated in North America due to mass vaccinations, is breaking out again.

‘No’, is my honest answer and I don’t necessarily mind the question being asked.

But let’s put things in perspective. There have only been a few well-publicized cases of Ebola on the U.S. side of the border and no confirmed cases in Canada following a couple of concerns over possible cases.

On the other hand, there are now over 100 confirmed cases of measles in the United States, and at least seven in Niagara, Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, including at least six confirmed cases in the Greater Toronto Area and one in Niagara to date. Continue reading →

Nocturnal – Creatures of the Night Exhibit Now Open At Niagara Parks Commission’s Butterfly Conservatory

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large – Those who are regular NAL readers know that there is almost zero tolerance here for capturing animals in the wild and exhibiting them for human entertainment. By contrast, the group that has been doing this exhibit annually now for the NPC only has animals rescued from negative captive conditions and that otherwise might be euthanized. It also does a great job of teaching visitors to the exhibit how critical these animals are to sustaining a healthy web of life on this planet.)

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The Niagara Parks Commission is pleased to present a new family friendly, educational exhibit “Nocturnal: Creatures of the Night,” that will take place from February 7 until May 10, at NPC’s Butterfly Conservatory. Continue reading →

NAL

News from members of St. Catharines & District Council of Women.

On Thursday, February 12^th at 8 p.m. at the St. Catharines Centennial Library on 54 Church Street in the city’s downtown, the Council of Women is hosting a public meeting on questions and concerns related to labels attached to so much of the food we purchase and eat. 

Among the questions to be addressed at the public meeting are;

• Ever wonder what the food label on your favorite food means?
• Do food labels have to be so complicated?
• How do food labels relate to our   health?

Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper

I’ll confess that I have never been a fan of Target stores, not even in the United States where Target rose and apparently still reigns as one of the major profit-making players in the big box retail business.

The Target brand failed in Canada and more than 17,000 low-paid Canadian workers are paying for it – but not the CEO.

Yet with all the news this winter of Target’s disastrous foray into Canada – after such a grandoise launch less than two years ago – and all of the “Closing! Total Liquidation” signs being hung at each and every Target outlet across the Great White North this February 2015, I could not help but take a brief walk through one of those doomed outlets at the Pen Centre Mall in St. Catharines.

This liquidation sale, so sad as it seemed to attract fewer prospective buyers, proportionally, than a yard sale you or I might stage on a Sunday afternoon, made one wonder if Target’s boardroom broncos ever knew what they were doing in the first place. Some of the floor employees in the St. Catharines store – among the 17,600 losing their jobs at Target stores across Canada – were keeping their dhins up as they stamped more discount stickers on whatever merchandise was left.

And here is the sad punchline. Continue reading →

In the wake of concern over an outbreak of measles in Canada and the United States, Niagara’s regional government has issued the following news, along with a call from its Public Health Department to for people to get a measles vaccine. 

NIAGARA REGION, Ontario, February 4^th, 2015 – Niagara Region Public Health is investigating one confirmed case of measles in Niagara. The case is an adult female. As part of the investigation, there are individuals who require follow-up.

Niagara, Ontario’s regoinal government headquarters

Location to have been directly exposed:

  From 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, to noon on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, visitors to Greater Niagara General site, Unit C, 5546 Portage Rd., Niagara Falls, Ont.

 Individuals meeting these criteria are asked please call Public Health to speak with a nurse for instructions at 905-688-8248 ext. 7330, or after hours at 905-984-3690. Persons who visited any of the following public locations may have been exposed to measles and are being asked to watch for signs and symptoms and to ensure their vaccination is up to date. Measles starts with cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes, and fever, and after about four days a rash begins on the face and moves down the body. There may be white spots inside the mouth. Continue reading →

(A Brief Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper – In a commentary I posted this January 30^th, 2015 on hopeful signs that we may finally have a senior level of government – this one being the government of Premier Kathleen Wynne in Ontario – that will earnestly raise the bar when it comes to caring for whales and other marine mammals in the custody of Marineland in Niagara Falls and other zoo and amusement parks in Ontario, I made a few sorry omissions on parties who should be credited for finally getting us to this point.

One of many rallies over the years in front of Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. File photo by Doug Draper

I mentioned a few dedicated individuals and groups like Dan Long, Dan Wilson and Catherine Ens and long-time members of Niagara Action for Animals or NAFA for short. But I failed to mention critically key individuals like Dr. Naomi Rose, a renowned marine biologist from the United States, Dr. Paul Spong, a scientist specializing in marine mammal research in British Columbia, and Zoocheck Canada – most particularly Rob Laidlaw and Julie Woodyer from that time-honoored animal advocacy group that have all called for Canada and Ontario to show more respect for these great mammals through humane policy initiatives for decades now.  Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

How promising this may finally be for some of our most wondrous beings we should feel privileged to share a life with on this planet!

Protesters have rallied for years in front of Marineland park in Niagara Falls, Ontario. File photo by Doug Draper

For the first time in decades- possibly for the first ever, for that matter – we seem to have a government in Ontario that is taking seriously the health and welfare of marine mammals – whales and other ocean animals held in captivity in zoos and aquariums in the province for little more than peoples’ passing amusement.

This past Tuesday, January 27^th, 2015, the still relatively new Ontario Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne issued a media release like no other I have seen from past Conservative NDP and Liberal governments in this province, promising to, as the release puts it, “take action to increase protection of marine mammals and prohibit future acquisition and breeding of orcas.”

“Ontario is moving ahead with enhanced standards of care for marine mammals such as dolphins, belugas and walruses, to ensure both greater protection and improved treatment,” says the release from Wynne’s government. The new standards of care,” promises the government … will be among the best in the world.”  Continue reading →

News from the Council of Canadians South Niagara Chapter

(A free event at the St. Catharines, Ontario campus of Brock niversity that includes workshops, parking, lunch and child-care. REGISTER ON-LINE. Read on for details.)

The tower on the Niagara, Ontario campus of Brock University in St. Catharines

Whatever your reasons for wanting to become an activist, tips from the grassroots for turning passion into action will be the focus of a workshop presented by the Council of Canadians South Niagara Chapter. Just Doing It! is the group’s how-to for “Putting the Act in Activism”, this year’s theme for the 8^th Annual Niagara Social Justice Forum on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Workshop participants will be invited to join with local activists from the South Niagara Chapter to review several of their social justice and environmental campaigns as they have tried to impact and influence local government and other decision-makers. Participants will then have the opportunity to try their own hand at planning and mapping out the action steps to conduct a local social/environmental justice campaign. Continue reading →

Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

News from the Office of Welland, Ontario Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Welland, Ontrario, January 26^th, 2015 – Cindy Forster, NDP Critic for Community and Social Services, called on the Liberal government to come clean about the chaos caused by SAMS, as an internal memo predicts at least 10 more weeks of turmoil for families and caseworkers.

“The SAMS nightmare keeps getting worse for families on social assistance,” said Forster. “This Liberal government was careless to put the most vulnerable Ontarians at the mercy of unreliable software. Months later and with over $250 million dollars spent, the Liberal government still has no clue how to fix it.” Continue reading →

A Brief from NAL publisher Doug Draper

He never won an Olympic Gold Medal – the most he won was a Bronze – yet he may very well have had more of an impact on his sport than anyone over the past 40 years.

Toller Cranston in 1976 and at the top of his sport.

Toller Cranston, who was born in Hamilton, and who died this January, 24^th, 2015 of an apparent heart attack at age 65 – has been credited by many in the sport of figure skating of changing it in to a form of artistry up to this time, even while he did not earn the respect of Olympic judges and others for being ahead of his time.

That became all too obvious during one Winter Olympic Games held in Austria in the 1970s and Cranston did not win Gold for what was clearly a flawless and brilliant free-form single men’s performance. I can still remember hearing the collective ‘you have got to be kidding’ from so many who watched his performance on TV. And it seemed so clear, even to many of the Olympic commentators at the time that he was rushing beyond pure technical skills, to an artful extravagance that the judges of the day could not yet come to terms with. Continue reading →

News from the American-based citizens group Alliance

(A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large – With the unfortunate demise a few years ago of the binational citizens group Great Lakes United, The Alliance for the Great Lakes, although based in the U.S., is the only real group we have left with a reach across the basin that includes working with Canadian citizen groups when possible. For the sake of these Great Lakes – the largest reservoir of life-sustaining fresh water on this earth – do what you can to support this group.)

A look at the world’s largest basin of fresh water from space

Support for Great Lakes restoration funding and protection against Asian carp are key Great Lakes priorities for the new Congress, with algae-promoting nutrient pollution topping a list of issues to watch with wary eye.
The Alliance reached out to congressional members this week with a lineup of Great Lakes priorities needing their attention in 2015.

Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

If he were a human and eligible to run as a candidate in this last fall’s 2014 Ontario municipal elections, he might very well hold a seat on Thorold, Ontario’s municipal council now.

Tigger wants his birthday to be a chance for people to donate to the Animal Assistance Socity of Niagara and Community Care Thorold

And the people of Thorold – to leave the kitty completely out of it and say so myself – might be better off.

Tigger – a regal, orange tabby who resides at a Petvalu retail outlet at the Pine Plaza on Pine Street in Thorold – is turning seven in human years and the store’s staff is celebrating with a Birthday Party on Saturday, February 7^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

As I hope regular visitors to Niagara At Large know, does not give plugs to retail businesses in the form of what is sometimes termed as an ‘advertorial’ or sponsored content.’ 

But Tigger’s birthday is different. It is not just about this Pevalu outlet promoting itself with an event that includes raffles, gams nd cupcakes. It is about asking encouraging us to make donations to Niagara’s Animal Assistance Society and to Community Care in Thorold. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper

“I am convinced that if we succumb to the temptation to use violence in our struggle for freedom, unborn generations will e the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, nd our chief legacy to them will be a never-ending reign of chaos.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this January 19^th, 2015 – set aside in the United States to remember the non-violent struggle for civil rights lead by the late Martin Luther King, I find myself wishing we had more leaders like him today.

Martin Luther King, following his 1963 speech ‘I Have A Dream’, in Washington. D.C.

Instead, more than four and a half decades after his assassination and all of his achievements in the are of human rights, we continue to face a world where difference of colour, creed and religion are met by hate-filled intolerance and violence. 

Can we not yet find the wisdom and compasson as humans to move beyond this? 

After all, as Martin Luther King once tried to warn us; “Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. …

“If there is to be peace on earth,” King said, “we must finally believe in the ultimate morality of the universe, and b elieve that all morality hinges on moral foundations.” 

As a footnote, if you have not seen the Academy Award nominated film Selma., please do. It should be mandatory for viewing and discussion in all of or schools.

(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)

 A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

We humans may arguably be one of the smartest species on the planet. But when it comes to looking after a planet we ultimately need to take care of in order to survive, we seem to fall short on vision.

Lower and lower gas and diesel prices like we haven’t seen in years.

That shortfall is most apparent when it comes to crises like climate change, where it is necessary to think in terms of decades – never mind minutes, hours or even one or a few years – to address what could amount to a catastrophic future, cost wise and health wise, for our children and grandchildren by the last half of this century.

This is all a way of saying let’s build up the resolve to show some vision and not let the recent falling price of gasoline take our eyes off the prize. And the prize, to anyone who has been following what has been going on in the world and does not see the world through the narrow lens of a Stephen Harper, should be obvious.

It is the final move boldly to a future of energy conservation and alternative, greener sources of energy that will turn the tide on carbon emissions and move us to a healthier, more prosperous life for whatever may be left of our lives and for the lives of generations to come.

That means not letting this temporary slide in gas and diesel prices tempt us back to SUVs and other carbon fuel guzzling habits of life that have already brought humanity to the brink of doing terrible damage to our lives and this one and only planet we live on. Continue reading →

Mark Taliano

The biggest threat to Canada’s national security is internal.

It is the offshoot of an extraordinarily successful — because it remains largely undetected — coup that imposed itself on the country with the federal election of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) in 2006, and solidified its impacts with the election of a Conservative majority in 2011.

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Author, poet, academic, and former Canadian diplomat Professor Peter Dale Scott recently disclosed a wikileaks cable indicating that the International Republican Institute (IRI), an off-shoot of the CIA, and a subsidiary of the  National Endowment for Democracy (NED) helped install Stephen Harper as Canada’s Prime Minister. This was the coup.

Point 12 of the cable explains that; “In addition to the campaign schools, IRI will be bringing in consultants who specialize in party renovation to discuss case studies of political parties in Germany, Spain, and Canada which successfully carried out the process”

The “party renovation” referenced in the cable is the “renovation” of Canada’s indigenous Progressive Conservative Party into a Republican-inspired Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) that is largely subservient to the U.S Empire south of the border. Continue reading →

From Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

A group of Niagara, Ontario area citizens working under the banner ‘The Save The Welland Hospital Campaign’ will be hosting a public meeting Sunday, January 11^th on exactly that subject – save what is left of the Welland Hospital.

Future of Welland hospital and accessible acute care hospital services for south Niagara resiidents hang in balance.

This public meeting, described by the group as an “information meeting to update the public on the work and exciting activities and events developed by our five committees,” will begin at 2 p.m. in the community room of Welland City Hall on East Main Street in that same city, and for anyone in Welland or any other south Niagara municipality, from Wainfleet and Port Colborne, to Fort Erie and southern reaches of Niagara Falls, it would be a good idea to attend this meeting and to get more engaged in the debate over where hospital services in the region’s southern tier should go over the next 50 or more years. Continue reading →

News from the Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Welland, Ontario – Cindy Forster, MPP is encouraging local schools and community and volunteer organizations to identify nominees for the Leading Women Leading Girls Building Communities Recognition Program now underway.

Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

This would include West St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland, Wainfleet, Port Colborne and everything in between. Nominations must be in by January 16, 2015.

Do you know of a woman or girl who is making a difference in your community?

Since the program was introduced in 2006, more than 650 women and girls across Ontario have been recognized for their leadership qualities. 

Forster said “I am honoured to have the opportunity to recognize women across the Welland riding who are dedicated to community service and inspiring others.” Continue reading →

By Nick Fillmore

The CBC, and particularly CBC Radio, is easily Canada’s most important cultural and public interest institution.

Click on the image to enlarge andread all text.

I say this not so much as someone who worked at the Corporation during the glory days of the 1970s and ’80s but, like so many other people, a kid who was brought up in a home that was always watching and listening to the CBC.

Residing in a small village in Nova Scotia, we greatly appreciated the voices and images, ranging from Clyde Gilmour’s 40-year run of Gilmour’s Albums  on radio to the hard-nosed journalism of Norman DePoe on TV.
But after decades of serving and educating Canadians, Stephen Harper’s vicious cuts have brought the organization to its knees. Continue reading →

News from the St. Catharines & District Council of Women 

Just a few thoughts from Niagara At Large to begin here.

A monument in the Canada’s capital of Ottawa to abused and murdered women.

How tragic and totally reprehensible it is that we still have to have public meetings focusing on male brutes beating up and, in all too many cases, killing girls and women in this Canada we like to think is civil and civilized when it comes to such crimes. But apparently we do.

Unfortunately, and however much Canada’s supreme leader Stephen Harper tries shovelling Canadians this slp that his Tory government is tough on crime, that doesn’t apply as much to crimes committed against women – most particularly aboriginal women – but all women, including any and all women living in your neighbhourhod, and possibly even women in your own circle of relatives and friends. Continue reading →

A Brief Note from Doug Draper

Here is wishing to all of our readers and everyone else who has visited and supported Niagara At Large as a truly independent online news and commentary site a warm and peaceful time during this Holiday Season, and peace in the New Year.

Winter in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, File photo by Doug Draper

The Holiday Season can be a happy, magical time for many of us. But please remember it can be a lonely and sad time for people too, for any one or more reasons that have to to do with everything from the loss of a loved one to worry over where the next money will come for essentials like food and home heating.

In the spirit of the season, let’s all do our best to reach out to those in need.

I also cannot help but send out a reminder to shop local – that means spending your dollars in locally owned, independent stores whenever you can – and to do what you can to support public transit, and to protect and preserve the natural resources on this only planet in the universe we have to sustain our lives and those of all other creatures, big and small.

NAL will remain in a relatively dormant state during the holiday season and will get back to our mission, in a full, spirited way this coming January.

(NAL invites you to share your vews on this post in the comment area below. Remember that we only post comments by readers who share their real first and last name.)

By Doug Draper

 She was, first and foremost, a warm, passionate human being – a person whose down-to-earth humility belied the many tributes and awards she received around the world for her groundbreaking work in the field environmental health and science.

Internationally renown environmental scientest Theo Colborn

The last thing I think I remember Theo Colborn wanting to be compared to was Rachel Carson, author of one of the groundbreaking environmental books of the last century, Silent Spring.

Yet Theo Colborn, an American scientist who left this earth and all of the life on it she cared so much for in her late 80s this December, 2014, fell into the same rarified circle as Rachel Carson (as was acknowledged by other esteemed groups in her own country who awarded her Rachel Carson medals).

Theo Colborn was that brave scientists whose research lifted Carson’s warnings about synthetic chemicals assaulting our health and environment to a more urgent level. Colborn’s warnings of the research she outlined in her own groundbreaking book ‘Our Stolen Future’ some two decades ago, were that some of the smallest concentrations of pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals (including those we use to spray our lawns, gardens and bugs) flushed into our rivers and lakes will come back to break down our immune systems and to screw up the endocrine systems of fetuses in their womb before they see the light of day. Continue reading →

By Nick Fillmore,  Canadian freelance writers

With yet another United Nations-hosted climate change conference making very little real progress, a near miracle will be required if countries are to reach a meaningful and binding global agreement on carbon emissions in Paris next December.

The ‘Lima Call for Climate Action’ document, agreed to on Sunday by 194 countries, is not a new “deal” for the climate. It is a 12-month work plan leading to COP21 a year from now.

The major change – a victory for rich countries – expects countries with rising economies, such as China, India and South Africa, to take action on climate change in much the same way rich countries will contribute.
In another setback, developing countries gave up on a 20-year feud that caused considerable animosity between South and North. Rich countries will no longer be expected to carry the burden of cutting carbon emissions in the South with contributions of $10-billion a year to underdeveloped countries. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Brock University

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – For those of us who already have enough cheap plastic crap from Mall Wart or whatever other big box shopping venue there is, and yet would still like to participate in the Holiday Season by giving something special to others in need, I could not resist posting the info below from Brock University.)

December 19^th, 2014 -Plan Canada’s talking goat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49QMhKf69s) encourages you to help improve the lives of children in developing countries.

The gift of a goat can help keep a family in need alive.

So when a talking goat tells you to give a charitable gift, do you do it?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/in-the-charity-world-cash-is-the-new-goat/article22130056/

Todd Green, a professor at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business studies ethical gift-giving and what motivates you to give socially meaningful gifts.

His research shows that making the decision to give an ethical gift — whether it be purchasing a goat, supporting an environmentally friendly company or selecting a fair-trade gift — depends on the giver and the recipient and often leads to inconsistent behaviour by consumers.

So for all the last minute shoppers wondering whether to buy a goat, Green will be available for interviews until December 23 to talk about socially responsible gift-giving and the motivations behind giving a meaningful gift this holiday season.

 Visit Plan Canada at https://plancanada.ca/GiftsofHope/products/1-All-gifts/47-Goat/ … for more information on offering a goat as a gift this Holiday Season or any other time of the year.

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post below.)

A Brief from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Environmentalists on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border have not won many battles in recent years, but this December 17^th, 2014 they won a big one.

On that date, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, his health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker and an expert panel assembled by the state two years ago said no to any plans involving hydraulic fracturing – or what is more commonly called “fracking” for gas in deep layers of shale rock – across their state.

The decision to ban fracking in New York State also has important implications for residents in Ontario given that petro-chemical corporations were interested in using a wastewater plant in Niagara Falls, New York to dump treated chemical effluent from the fracking process to the Niagara River and Lake Ontario (sources of drinking water for millions of Ontario and New York residents), and that Ontario is still in the process of deciding whether fracking should be allowed in rural regions here.

A story on the front page of the December 18^th edition of The Buffalo News quoted Zucker, the state’s health commissioner, summing up the decision this way; “The potential risks are too great,” he said. “They are not even fully known.” Continue reading →

A Brief Update from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Plans to incinerate some of the world’s most infamous toxic waste in Ontario have been snuffed out by the company on the verge of carrying out the operation.

A historic photo of barrels of toxic chemicals to be buried at the Love Canal site before a school and heibhourhoood homes were built around and on top.

The waste in question – collected over decades of cleanup and containment efforts at the Love Canal dumpsite in Niagara Falls, New York – was already being trucked through border crossings in Niagara to an incinerator in the Sarnia, Ontario area when the U.S.-based company that owns and operates it decided to turn the trucks around.

According to a December 16^th CBC report, the company, Clean Harbors of Massachusetts, buried plans to incinerate numerous tonnes of waste laced with dioxin, PCBs, chlorobenzenes and other manmade poisons from the Love Canal site, following protests from people in the Sarnia, Ontario area. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

It is a bit surprising to learn that the name ‘Love Canal’ can still pack a public punch.

A sign posted at the Love Canal site in Niagara Falls, New York more than three decades ago by some of its now long-gone residents.

 As one of the first and very fiew reporters for a Canadian newspaper that was covering the Love Canal when people from that Niagara Falls, New York neighbourhood were still struggling, some 34 years ago, to get away from the chemical buried under and around their homes, the name was synonymous with man-made poisons capable of causing suffering and death.

So much so at the time that then-U.S. president Jimmy Carter wrote two unprecedented national emergency orders to compensate residents for the value of their ravaged homes and no other community at the time in the United States or Canada was willing to accept this waste for treatment and reburial in a co-called “secure landfill site” or for destruction in a high temperature incinerator. In fact, any argument environmentalists made back then for excavating the Love Canal poisons from their grave near the Niagara River and shipping them off to another community for incineration was nixed by U.S. environmental officials. 

‘No other community on this continent,’ and paraphrase fairly here, ‘is going to accept shipments of Love Canal wastes,’ one senior administrator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation told me at the time. 

Now here we are, all these years later, with reports this December 11^th, 2014 in the Sarnia Oberver and CBC Radio on wastes from the Love Canal area – wastes that include the likes of mirex, PCBs, chorobenzenes and the most toxic strain of a Vietnam War-era poison used in Agent Orange – being trucked off to the Sarnia, Ontario area for apparent safe diestruction in an incinerator operated by a company called Clean Harbours hazardos wastes there. Continue reading →

Latin Americans Pay The Price For aCorporate Climate Destruction

By Nick Fillmore

December 11^th, 2014 – Information contained in a new report that details how multi-national corporations are destroying the environment and causing serious climate damage in Latin America brings attention to an important area not being discussed at the UN COP 20 climate negotiations being held in Peru.

A damagine mix of droughts and coastal flooding is ever more in the forecast for Latin American countries as climate change becomes the rule of our times

The report describes in detail how the destruction caused by three European multi-national corporations is typical of the damage caused by multi-nationals throughout the continent.

While the climate discussions in Lima are focussing on what nation states need to do to reach a binding climate agreement a year from now, what is missing is a discussion about how corporations are not held accountable for the climate damage they cause in developing countries – damage that those countries are held accountable for. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario, December 11^th, 2014 – Niagara’s regional council has a new chair.

Niagara, Ontario’s regional government headquarters

 Al Caslin, a one-term regional councillor for St. Catharines and long-time business leader in the community, swept a four-way race for the Region’s top political job in the first and only round of ballots cast by 30 regional councillors from across Niagara. 

Caslin replaces Gary Burroughs, a former lord mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake who has served as chair for the past four years and who will continue to hold a seat for his town on regional council for the coming four years. Caslin beat Burroughs by a vote of 18 votes to seven.

The other two candidates for regional chair – Lincoln regional councillor Bill Hodgson and Thorold regional chair Henry D’Angela – drew three votes and two votes respectively. Continue reading →

A Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

Due to family issues we are continuing to deal with following the death of my father earlier this November, Niagara At Large will remain slow until early December.

The wake from a ferry boat on Cape Cod Bay, File photo by Doug Draper

We have few other options but to beg your patience as we choose the proper time in the near future to ramp up Niagara At Large as a vital, alternative news and commentary voice in a Greater Niagara Region that embraces all of Niagara, Ontario and our cross-border neighbhours in Buffalo/Erie and Niagara Counties, New York. 

Forced with a decision to ramp down at this time, I am well aware that this could mean death for the future of this site since, the way it goes in this highly competitive online reality, you have to keep feeding the beast (or piling the posts on) or web surfers will simply go somewhere else. And everything you have worked for in the past to build up a readership or visitors to your site is done. 

Yes, I am well aware of that and if this is the end of NAL, then so be it. At least I can say I gave it a try. 

And I am sure of this. If this Niagara area online news site goes down, another will most certainly come along to fill the void left by mainstream media, owned and operated by corporate outsiders, who have been doing such a crappy job of covering local news on the Niagara, Ontario side of the border. (I leave the Buffalo News, Art Voice and other Buffalo area publications out of this criticism because they, in my estimation anyway, are still at least trying to offer their communities meaningful news and commentary.)

So there we are. I can only ask you now to stand by while Niagara At Large gets through this valley and prepares to climb the next mountain.

Thank You, Doug Draper 

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views below.)

A Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

Few contemporary Canadian writers and filmmakers I know – and I am pleased to say I know this one  – have spent more time documenting issues impacting on the people and environment of Canada’s far north than Kevin McMahon.

Filming the Arctic Project for TVO

Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, has bee up there in recent years for photo opportunities and looking for oil-drilling opportunities as the Arctic’s ice shield melts, but Kevin began going there in the 1980s,chronicling the plight of the peoples of that region around environmental impacts they were already suffering in documentary films and in a book called ‘Arctic Twilight’.

Now Kevin, who was a reporter at the old Burgoyne family-owned St. Catharines Standard when we worked there together back some three decades ago, has employed all of the passion and intelligence I know he does to help put together this coming Polar Sea Project series to be aired on TVO. Please watch it, and now here is a note from Kevin, along with key links for this production and related others.

Hello Friends and Associates

I am writing because you advised us with, worked on or may be interested in our Polar Sea project, which was three years in the making and now is about to launch. I want to let you know what we have created and where it can be seen. Continue reading →