A Brief Comment by Doug Draper, followed by a CBC Radio Phone-In Program Featuring Former Marineland Trainer Phil Demers
Posted September 9th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
Former Marineland marine mammal trainer and vocal animal justice activist Phil Demers
With yet another death of a beluga whale reported over the past week, raising the death toll of belugas at the 64-year-old Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario to at least 20 since 2019, how many more might die before the provincial and federal governments finally step in and have the remaining 30 or more belugas and any other remaining animals at the park removed to safe sanctuaries?
This is a question now being asked by animal rights activists and by many others across the Niagara region, province and country as the future of the Marineland park – once billed by its late owner John Holer and his marketers as the most popular tourist attraction next to the Falls themselves – now hangs in limbo. Continue reading
This Monday night at 9p.m., if you get the PBS channel (WNED) out of Buffalo, N.Y. that public broadcast network will be playing a two-hour long American Experience documentary called “Poisoned Gound- The Tragedy At Love Canal” in Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Region, Ontario – Teachers and school leaders in Niagara now have an easier way to bring vital safety education into their classrooms.
GRIMSBY – This past September 5th, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, welcomed the announcement that Hamilton Health Sciences has officially taken ownership of the redeveloped West Lincoln Memorial Hospital following substantial completion.
Toronto — A powerful coalition of private developers, non-profit housing providers, and civil society leaders is calling on the federal government to launch an ambitious “nation-building” plan to build one million affordable homes for low- and middle-income Canadians.
Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Transit is receiving a major investment of more than $128 million from the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario and Niagara Region to refresh its transit fleet and improve public transit services.
Lincoln, ON – As part of the Town of Lincoln’s commitment to growing a healthy tree canopy and supporting water conservation, residents are encouraged to take part in the 2025 Tree and Rain Barrel Sale.
This Labour Day, my thoughts go back to the darkest days of the COVID pandemic just a few years ago when our politicians at the municipal, provincial and federal level locked our public buildings up to us like Brinks trucks while employees at grocery stores went on working every day so that we could put food on our tables.
As of this last long weekend of summer, Trump and his tens-of-millions of MAGA supporters in the United States continue to target our Canada with punishing trade tariffs in the hope that they can bring us to our knees and make us agree to be annexed as a “51st state.”
OTTAWA – Ontario NDP Shadow Minister of Education Chandra Pasma made the following statement in response to Ford’s education minister’s comments on Newstalk 1010
It was a great delight recently to learn that the increase surge in Canadian visitors has caused the revenues of the Niagara Parks Commission to increase, despite a decline in American tourists to our region.
FORT ERIE, Ontario — The Town of Fort Erie Council has adopted a new Official Plan that establishes a strategic framework to guide growth and development through to the year 2051.
“There always seems to be a reason for this (Ontario Ford) government to not pass this legislation. It is not a difficult task. Creating a safe working environment requires clear workplace protections. This is the third iteration of this legislation. It’s been debated for three years. (Ontario Municipal Affairs) Minister (Rob) Flack knows exactly what is needed to get this right.” – Haley Bateman, a Niagara Regional Councillor for St. Catharines and member of the province-wide citizens advocacy group Women of Ontario Say No
Ontario’s wetlands store 29 billion tonnes of carbon. They provide critical habitat for 20% of our species at risk, protect our communities from flooding, clean our water and deliver over $50 billion in ecosystem services annually in southern Ontario alone. 
Bruce Springsteen was already rising rapidly to the top of the pantheon of rock stars when on August 25th, 1975, he and his E Street Band released a song he composed that would forever brand him in the world of popular music as ‘The Boss’.
Niagara Falls, ON – In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the binational Niagara Falls Illumination Board, a special light and laser show synchronized to music will be presented on Niagara Falls on the evenings of September 12, 13 and 14.
The International Joint Commission (IJC) is seeking public input on the recently released Draft
The Grace Peace Group (GPG) is partnering with the Niagara Palestine Coalition (NPC) to put on a yard sale to raise funds for local Palestinian/Gazan families who are supporting relatives currently suffering in Gaza, or caught in refugee limbo in Egypt, and who hope to join their relatives in Canada.
Niagara, Ontario – August is Tree Check Month
Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region Public Health has reported its first laboratory-confirmed human case of West Nile virus infection in 2025.
After decades of being plagued with severe, toxic algal blooms, Lake Erie is showing small signs of recovery. Residents of Ontario are responding to a call for action on social media to raise awareness and urge governments to take necessary action to ensure the health of Lake Erie continues to improve.
The Niagara Falls Nature Club welcomes you to participate in leisurely walks as we enjoy the flora and fauna of Niagara. The walks are rated from 1 to 10: 1 is easy and 10 is strenuous. For more information or if you have any questions, please get in touch!
FORT ERIE, Ontario – On Monday, August 11, 2025, Fort Erie Town Council approved the municipality’s first Climate Change Action Plan, taking a significant step forward in protecting the community and environment for the future.
I find myself needing a little escape from all the news because, to be quite honest about it, I am on the verge of burn-out – and I am not just talking about the extreme heat we have been suffering through lately.
We are accepting new homeownership applications!
Right now, thousands of Canadians are under evacuation orders or fire bans. Newfoundland is facing the worst wildfires we’ve seen there. In B.C., wildfires have cut off towns and knocked out power. In P.E.I., temperatures hit levels not seen in decades, while Ontario and Quebec sweltered through dangerous heat waves.
To July 31, Canadians have logged over 830,000 fewer return trips from the United States through Canada’s major airports than last year — and July’s drop is the biggest yet.
During a recent walk down the main street of the South Niagara community of Ridgeway in Fort Erie, I noticed that a number of stores had signs in their windows that read; “Save Our Hospital.”
A Fire Ban Alert from the Town of Fort Erie in Niagara, Ontario
Last month, we asked what “nation-building” means to you. Hundreds of people across Canada took the time to respond. Housing emerged as a clear, urgent priority, especially among younger respondents.
What is the #1 reason? The ultra-wealthy have way too much money. That’s why the housing crisis is happening all over the world, not just in Canada. When billionaires accumulate more money than they can spend, they invest it in assets that produce “passive income” — like buying up housing to collect rents, or buying up mortgages to collect interest.
Donald Trump is hitting Ontario with new tariffs on steel and copper – a direct threat to our province’s industries and jobs. But we don’t have to take it lying down.
Remember when Doug Ford announced a multi-million dollar feasibility study for his Highway 401 tunnel fantasy?
The Ontario government is continuing to deliver on its plan to protect the province’s health-care system by investing $56.8 million to train 2,200 additional nurses.
“Honey bees in Ontario provide valuable pollination services to many of the crops we eat. High winter losses, new pests, and the threat of treatment resistance have made recent years challenging for Ontario’s beekeepers. The Honey Bee Health Initiative has been a valuable support for beekeepers who are having to change their practices or invest in new equipment to meet the emerging challenges. It is helping to enable beekeepers to continue to provide the critical pollination services to the broader agricultural and horticultural community here in Ontario.” – Stephen Moore, President, Ontario Beekeepers’ Association
TORONTO – The governments of Canada and Ontario have invested more than $1.7 million through the 
Niagara, Ontario – We have had some pretty terrible acts of animal cruelty take place in Niagara in recent times, from puppies left to die on the side of a road to a dog dying in an abandoned apartment after every scrap of food and water, including every drop it could lap up from a toilet bowl, was gone.
A Brief One from Doug Draper
This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of The Grateful Dead, one of the most popular bands that came out of the counterculture in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury neighbourhood in the mid-to-late 1960s, and the city is holding a festival in their honour.
Even more so now, with Trump increasing tariff’s on Canadian goods this August 1st from 25 to 35 per cent, I am getting sick and tired of Americans saying to us in so many words; “We’re sorry. It’s just him. We love you Canadians.”
Niagara At Large 