Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Special to Niagara At Large from Karl Dockstader

With the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls being in the spotlight this year the police have mobilized to start trying to address the mounting public concern over this under-addressed issue.

Click on this image to enlarge the faces of all of these missing and murdered Native girls and women, then ask your nearst Harper government MP why more hasn’t been done to get to the bottom of these crimes.

After the Native Womens Association of Canada released a report showing that over 500 Indigenous women and girls were victimized, and Maryanne Pearce released a report with a higher number of victims at 824, on May 16^th the RCMP issued a report with even more staggering numbers:

• Between 1980 and 2013 1181 Indigenous women or girls are missing, or in most cases, have been murdered
• Since 1980, homicide has decreased for non-aboriginal women and increased for indigenous women
• Solve rates are comparable for either Indigenous or non-Indigenous women
• Aboriginal women are 4 times more likely to be murdered than non-Aboriginal women

The report was conducted with the help of over 300 separate police agencies from across Canada, and confirms much of the information that has been made widely available over the past few months is just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

If the definition of good governance includes the sound management of public monies and resources, then Canada has very bad governance.

Dr. Danielle Martin

The manufactured health care crisis is a case in point. Solutions to challenges of cost, quality, and access are fairly straightforward but wilfully ignored, and current trajectories towards corporatization are leading us in the wrong direction.

If the challenges are responsibly addressed, every Canadian will have access to exemplary health care, based on need rather than ability to pay. Additionally, Canadians will save money, and the economy will be positively impacted.

Dr. Danielle Martin — family physician, V.P of Medical Affairs and Health Systems Solutions at Women’s College Hospital, and Assistant Professor in Medicine and Health Policy at the University of Toronto — is eminently qualified to offer solutions. Continue reading →

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Toronto, Ontario, May 20^th, 2014 – Andrea Horwath, Leader of Ontario’s New Democrats, says after ten years of Liberal government patients with complex needs still spend more than 10 hours in ERs to get care they need. The New Democrat Leader says it’s time to focus on the fundamentals and laid out her goal of cutting ER waits by half.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“Families waiting for hours in an ER are tired of seeing health dollars spent on CEO pay hikes and the multi-million dollars scandal at ORNGE. It’s time to focus on fundamentals to improve health care,” said Horwath. “Our plan provides targeted investments that will make sure ER beds are available for ER patients and they can be seen quickly and effectively. It’s a plan that makes sense.”

An NDP government will cut ER wait times in half by hiring 250 new nurse-practitioners, opening 50 new 24-hour family health clinics, creating 1,400 more long-term care beds, and implementing a 5 day home care guarantee. These steps will keep ERs moving and make sure that Ontarians are getting the right care they need, when and where they need it, to reduce pressure on ERs. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Shame on her!

Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne returns to site of Walkerton drinking water disaster

That was the response of Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak and many of his partisan supporters after the province’s Liberal leader and Premier Kathleen Wynne visited the rural community of Walkerton this past May 15^th and slammed Hudak’s promise to wipe out 100,000 public service jobs if his party wins this June’s election.

Walkerton, as every person eligible to vote in Ontario should know, is a town of 5,000 where, in May of 2000, seven people died and more than 2,000 others became sick when a deadly strain of fecal coliform linked to cattle droppings upstream contaminated a well of water used the local residents for drinking and preparing food.

At a Clean Water Centre the province established in Walkerton in the years following the disaster, Wynne warned an audience of supporters and town residents that Hudak’s public job cuts will affect public services.

“Decisions (to cut government services) have consequences – sometimes more than we could know, sometimes worse than we could fear,” Wynne said. Continue reading →

A Special to Niagara At Large by Karl Dockstader

So my oldest daughter Kathryne and I took my youngest daughter Amelia to Marineland today. We caught wind that Marineland Animal Defense had a parade/march planned for this Victoria Day weekend so we figured we would tag along on this nice day.

Kathryne Dockstader on her first trip to Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo courtesy of Karl Dockstader

What a fitting way to start the day as “Marineland Mom” told her simple and humble story. She had asked if her child could not be sent to Marineland for an “educational” field trip and that Stoney Creek school decided that there would be no more trips to Marineland.

That mom’s thoughtful act of objecting to her child’s class trip to Marineland caught the hearts and minds of the public and the debate resumed catapulting Marineland’s dated practice of using animals for the joy of spectators to wrangle cash back into the spotlight. Enslavement is not entertainment, which was a theme of this day, and it’s not education either, which was her important point. Continue reading →

 – Hudak Promises include draconian new powers to cancel projects and retroactively revoke approvals

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Mississauga, Ontario, May 18^th, 2014 – Tim Hudak has learned nothing from the gas plant cancellation decisions and is irresponsibly exposing the province to costs well over 20 times as large as the Mississauga and Oakville cancelations which were supported by all three parties.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak follws his former leader Mike Harris down the line. Gut everything to do with green energy or environmental protection and get back to 19th and 20th Century versions of coal, oil and nuclear.

The cornerstone of Tim Hudak’s reckless agenda includes new powers for the Minister of Energy and / or municipalities to retroactively violate terms of signed contracts.  Those powers include sections permitting the outright “reconsideration of contracts” and draconian powers allowing them to unilaterally: “alter the terms and conditions of a renewable energy approval after it is issued; impose new terms and conditions on a renewable energy approval; or suspend or revoke a renewable energy approval.”  (source: PC Million Jobs Act) Continue reading →

Submitted to Niagara At Large by Joanne McDonald 

Momentum Choir, a group of 50 singers with developmental disabilities is ready to shake some creative foundations with “Building Momentum,” two year-end concerts, Sunday, May 25 at 3 p.m. and Wednesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. at Bethany Community Church, 1388 Third Street Louth, St. Catharines.

The Momentum Choir in performance

Momentum Choir has packed numerous concert halls, sang on Parliament Hill and is ready to wow audiences once again with another profoundly emotional experience.

Now in its seventh season, Momentum continues to inspire and break new ground as a powerful and professional platform where disability takes a back seat as soon as the music begins. Continue reading →

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario Conservative Party Leader Tim Hudak

Mississauga, Ontario, May 18^th, 2014 – An Ontario PC Government will launch a judicial inquiry into Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne’s billion-dollar gas plant scandal. 

“It is time we had a government that puts your interests first – and not the jobs of the Liberal Party,” said Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today while visiting the planned site of the Mississauga gas plant.  “An Ontario PC Government will strike a judicial inquiry into the billion dollar gas plant scandal.  I expect both Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne will have to stand before a judge and testify about their actions.” Continue reading →

From the Campaign Office of the Ontario Liberal Party

(A Brief Foreword Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – A number of months back I read a column in The Globe and Mail or one of the other mainstream newspapers that dubbed Ontario Conservative leader TimHudak – notice I left the word ‘Progressive’ out of the Conservative title – Tea Party Tim.

Tea Party Tim Hudak. Raise a cup of tea to seeing services, from those for seniors, to young children, and many in between being gutted like a trout.

So to those who might find some sugar candy in Hudak’s simplistic promises to gut 100,000 public services jobs, slash corporate taxes in a province that already has among the lowest coporate taxes in the developed world, and cut Ontario’s deficit at the same time, heed what some of your parents said all those years ago. Be careful who you may take candy from.)

Toronto, Ontario, May 13, 2014 – Tim Hudak released his Paycheques-To-Pink-Slips Plan that was signed off by, and based on calculations from American “independent” economist Ben Zycher.

Zycher is a “resident scholar” at Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, funded by Tea Party billionaires the Koch Brothers.  (LINK) Continue reading →

News from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Niagara, Ontario, May 15^th, 2014 – With the approach of the annual Victoria Day long weekend kicking off the unofficial start of summer, the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce received support for a policy aimed at supporting Niagara’s quickly-expanding craft beer sector.

Regional brewed craft beer stocks retail shelves right across the border in Buffalo, New York.

At the recently concluded Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) Annual General Meeting and Policy Convention in Sault Ste. Marie, the Greater Niagara Chamber submitted a policy calling for the OCC to work with the Ontario government to reduce barriers and challenges for Ontario’s craft brewers. The policy was enthusiastically endorsed by the more than 120 Chamber representatives from across the province. Continue reading →

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Sarnia, Ontario, May 16^th, 2014 — Andrea Horwath, Leader of Ontario’s New Democrats, says  the facts that Ontario loses a billion dollars a year exporting discount electricity to neighboring jurisdictions is just another example of an electricity system that doesn’t make sense to middle class families. She laid out her plan to merge agencies, cap CEO pay and use direct trading to get a better price for Ontario’s electricity exports. Continue reading →

News from the Office of Welland Riding NDP federal representative Malcolm Allen 

Ottawa, May 15^th, 2014 – This May 15^th, Welland MP Malcolm Allen introduced a Private Member’s Bill to strengthen victims’ rights in relation to offences committed in Canada by a permanent resident or foreign national.

Malcolm Allen, NDP representative for the Welland Riding in Niagara, Ontario.

The bill is the result of Allen’s work with one of his constituents, Dawn Colson, who had several threats made against her and feared for her life when her ex-husband – a Cuban national with a violent criminal record in Canada – was arrested after subjecting Colson to repeated physical and sexual abuse.

“Ms. Colson suffered unbearable hardship due in large part to the lack of information she was able to receive from Canadian authorities about the status of her attacker,” said Allen. “It is our hope that this bill will help prevent others from suffering in the future.”  Continue reading →

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne

A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Hardcore Tim Hudak/Mike Harris Tories across Ontario may not welcome this, but Ontario’s longest-serving mayor and a respected municipal leader across Canada – 93-year-old Hazel McCallion, who is serving her last term as Mississauga’s mayor after 35 years in that office – today, this May 14^th, welcomed Ontario Liberal Premier to her city and endorsed her campaign to win a majority Liberal government in this spring’s provincial election.

Legendary Mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, endorses Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“I supported her (Kathleen Wynne) as leader of the Liberal Party and I still support her as leader of the province, McCallion was quoted by major Ontario media orgaizations saying this May 14^th as Wynne stood near her side.

“The last thing the province needs is a minority government. … A minority government leaves municipalities hanging out there, not knowing what legislation will get through the House,” said McCallino as she went on to slam Ontario Tory Leader Tim Hudak’s promise to gut public service jobs and services.”

“Yes we can look at the staffing and decide reductions, but you better look at the services as well,” said McCallion. “The people of Ontario have become accustomed to a quality of life that I think is sacred to them.”

Now Here is the News Release from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s office on her visit with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion this May 14^th.

SUPPORTING ONTARIO COMMUNITIES – Hudak PCs Would Slash Municipal Jobs 

Premier Kathleen Wynne met with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion today to talk about how the future success of Mississauga, and all of Ontario’s municipalities, will be shaped by the outcome of Ontario’s June 12 election. Continue reading →

NAL

 News from the Campaign Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Toronto, Ontario, May 14th, 2014 – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today released the full Million Jobs Plan.  The Million Jobs Plan is the Ontario PC action plan to create jobs, balance the budget and get Ontario working better.   The full Million Jobs Plan can be read at OntarioPC.com/millionjobsplan.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“In order to build a compassionate society and improve the services that matter most, like health and education, we have to take urgent action on a turnaround plan to balance the budget and create jobs,” Hudak told a packed town hall meeting at the launch of his platform. “This is why job creation is the sole focus of the Million Jobs Plan.”

The Million Jobs Plan contains 31 action items focussed on a single priority – creating one million new jobs over the next eight years.  The Million Jobs Plan divides these actions across three themes: Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission 

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) is pleased to offer free guided hiking tours of the Niagara Glen on Saturday, May 17, in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s (RASC) solar viewing exhibit. 

Guided hiking tours depart from the Niagara Glen Nature Centre at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and will take visitors on a search of rare and unique spring blooms, birds and other wildlife found within the magnificent Niagara Glen. From week to week, the variety of blooming wildflowers is constantly changing, and spring ephemerals (flowers) such as Red and White Trilliums, Wild Columbine and Dutchman’s Breeches only bloom for a short period of time each spring. Continue reading →

News from the Campaign Office of Ontario’s Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

This morning Premier Kathleen Wynne zeroed in on Tim Hudak’s reckless and radical approach that would cut jobs, reduce important services and plunge Ontario back into a recession.

Under the Hudak PCs vital services would be dramatically slashed, impacting all Ontarians. Jobs that would be lost and services that would be cut under the Hudak PCs include: Continue reading →

News from Marineland Animal Defense organizer Dylan Powell

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – As I have argued in column after column for more than two decades now, the inprisonment and degrading circus treatment of whales and other of this world’s most magnificent living beings will not end until we humans stop paying tickets at the gate of places like Marineland and Seaworld to support this kind of pornography.

For families out there who want their children to learn more about these wonderful creatures, go on a whale watch with your kids, sit down as a family and watch many of the great nature documentaries on them and, yes, as painful as it may seem in this day of 130 word tweets, read books about them for earth’s sake.

Read a book about them? I am confident you and your children or grandchildren will learn to respect these wondrous beings more – and not be a bad idea for a young to still read a book every now and then – from reading about them, viewing them in nature video documentaries, or viewing them in their natural habitat, than watching them be used as water skis by trainers or for balancing balls from their nose for a treats by way of fish tossed in their mouths by same said trainers.)

Niagara Falls, CANADA, May 12^th, 2014 – For the third straight year Marineland Animal Defense will be greeting the opening day at Marineland Canada on Saturday May 17 with a mass demonstration. This year, however, will be the first time in 40+ years of protest at the park that advocates will be marching through downtown Niagara Falls onto the facility. Continue reading →

Ontario Liberal MPP for the St. Catharines Riding, Jim Bradley

News from the Campaign Office of St. Catharines Liberal MPP Jim Bradley

 This May 9th, Jim Bradley officially opened his re-election campaign headquarters in St. Catharines’ Grantham Plaza.

 With over 80 supporters and volunteers, Bradley spoke of his unwavering commitment to our community and his proven record advocating on behalf of St. Catharines at every opportunity.

 “Elections are an important part of the democratic process and I am honoured to have the opportunity to build upon the results we have achieved together and our shared goals for the future. I will continue to provide the people of St. Catharines with an experienced, dedicated and committed choice to represent our community.” Continue reading →

News from the Campaign on Niagara Falls Riding NDP candidate and MPP incumbent Wayne Gates

Niagara Falls, Ontario – This Friday, May 9^th, Niagara Falls Ontario New Democrats nominated Wayne Gates again as their provincial candidate for the up-coming June election.

Wayne Gates, Niagara Falls Riding’s MPP. File photo, Doug Draper

“I’d like to thank you for nominating me as your candidate to run for re-election on June 12th,” Gates said to crowd of supporters. “I’m standing here tonight to tell you that I will continue to fight to create local jobs, make life more affordable and make sure people have access to local healthcare where they need and when they need it.”

In a speech to Niagara Falls ONDP members after his nomination, Gates outlined his main concerns for the region. Daily GO train service to Niagara Falls, a long-term sustainable plan for the Fort Erie Race Track and Buy Local policies to help support farmers and wineries in Niagara, are all priorities Gates has committed to. Continue reading →

News from the Campaign of Ontario’s Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne 

Math 10^th, 2014 –Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have released a “sneak preview” of a 30-second television ad that will start running on May 21.

The Ontario Liberal’s Finance Minister Charles Sousa

Today is the fourth day of a provincial election triggered by Andrea Horwath and the NDP when they rejected the 2014 Budget. Liberal Finance Minister and candidate for Mississauga South Charles Sousa showcased an ad in which Premier Kathleen Wynne questions the NDP’s decision to put her clear plan to support families and create jobs at risk. Continue reading →

NAL hudak latest on jobs

New from the Campaign of Ontario’s PC Leader Tim Hudak

Durham, Ontario, May 10^th, 2014 – Only the PC Party will create 120,000 new jobs by making Ontario the lowest tax jurisdiction in North America for job creation, said Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today, as he was joined by Durham Candidate Mike Patrick.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“High taxes are driving jobs out of Ontario,” said Hudak during a visit to a Durham-area manufacturing company.  “High taxes mean more jobs they won’t create or keep.  That’s why our Million Jobs Plan will replace corporate welfare with fair and lower taxes to create jobs and get Ontario working better.”

Hudak noted that the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals play favorites and hand out hundreds of millions of dollars to the biggest companies just because they have the best Liberal lobbyist. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

So they are job creators, are they?

Mike Harris leads his comrade in arms and Ontario’s Mike Harris lite, Tim Hudak

That’s all we have been hearing from the Conservative’s Mike Harris, Stephen Harper clone Tim Hudak.Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak announced during a campaign stop this May 9^th that some of his agenda would include eliminating about 100,000 public sector jobs in the province without, he insists, crippling “vital services.”

Excuse me for not having the memory of a fly, but I seem to remember a script like this back in the mid-1990s when Mike Harris, who was Hudak’s Tory boss at the time, promised that he would slash our taxes ant, at the same time, take a meat axe to the public sector. And everyone, from people working for the most minimum of wages to teachers and other public servants, thought that was just plain dandy until Harris ultimately came after their jobs, wages and benefits.

Now we have this privileged kid, who grew up with two teachers as parents, saying he is going to pup the boots to these people. Meanwhile, his Harper government friends at the federal friends have just presided over net job losses across Ontario and Canada totalling 29,000 – not too mention thousands more who have simply given up on finding a job and no longer show up on the unemployment lists.

Stephen Harper and frend Tim Hudak. Where are the jobs for Canadians this April? Have they gone to temporary foreign wokers? Where does that fit into Hudak’s job creation plan?

But then again, you never hear Hudak slamming his friends in the Harper government for losses of jobs in Ontario do you. It is always the fault of what he likes to define as the Mutiny/Wynne government, as if he is not a member of the Hudak/Harris government.

And while all of this is going on, the United States is booming ahead with reports of around 280,000 new jobs this April – one of the best monthly job reports since the crash of the ‘Great Recession’ in 2008.

What Ontario voters might want to study is the fact that the U.S. economy has done this with corporate tax cuts that are hardly as low as those Hudak’s federal buddy, Stephen Harper, has already allowed here in Canada. And Hudak is promising to cut corporate taxes in Ontario even lower, at the expense of revenue needed for services for seniors, health care, education and other things many normally expect a government to deliver.

Enough on this for now. I will have more to say on the topic of cutting corporate taxes and slashing public service resources in Ontario later.

(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.)

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

(A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper to the rest of us – We should also use this time to press Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper and defense minister and Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson to at long last provide our veterans with the support they need to cope with the physical and mental impacts of serving in combat.)

Photo of Falls by Doug Draper

Niagara Falls, Ontario – In commemoration of the contributions and sacrifices made by those members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board will light Niagara Falls in red and white, as part of the National Day of Honour.

The Illumination Board is proud to help pay tribute to those men and women of the Canadian Military, as well as to those of our American friends, who have served with distinction in the war against terrorism, by serving in Afghanistan,” stated Illumination Board Chair Jim Diodati. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

I can hardly hold back tears as I post this.

Canadian author and nature advocate Farley Mowat

Farley Mowat, who was about to see his 93^rd birthday and who was one of Canada’s most engaging voices for protecting and preserving the precious natural resources on this plane, left the woods and fields, and lake and seashores he loved so much this May 7^th, 2014.

And this man, for anyone who still gives a shit about nature and the wonderful species we humans have the privilege to share life with on this planet, was a natural treasure.

Through such books as ‘A Whale for the Killing’ and ‘Never Cry Wolf’, which were embraced as much by my fellow environmental reporters and activists in the United States as they were here in Canada, Farley Mowat left a profound mark. It was a mark that left us feeling as ashamed at what we as humans are collectively doing to other creatures on this earth as it did with how humbled we should feel to share an instant of time with all this other wonderful life here. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Now it is official.

The NPCA’s Conservation Centre at Balls Falls, Photo by Doug Draper

Thirteen days after the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors held a special April 24^th closed session to decide on a new chief administrative officer for the 45-year-old agency, and 12 days it released a scolding media release that a report in local newspapers that Carmen D’Angelo, a fellow former board member, had been chosen for the job, the agency has announced that the new CAO is indeed Carmen D’Angelo.

D’Angelo, who has served on NPCA’s board for the Hamilton area of a sprawling Niagara watershed the agency has some jurisdiction over, and who has also taken a leave from that board in recent times to function as a consultant for the NPCA’s strategic planning and restructuring efforts for yet-to-be-disclosed amounts of public money, has a management and working background in the field of paramedics. Continue reading →

(A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – In an era of ugly blog comments and knee-jerk contempt for almost anyone in government, I will fight this raging tide of contempt by saying there are still some very good and noble people in government. One f them is Lora Beckwith, someone I got to know as the director of Niagara Region’s partner agency, Niagara Regional Housing, and a true advocate for affordable housing for all of this region’s residents.

Niagara Regional Housing director Lora Beckwith

 She is truly one of the very good ones ,and I am sorry to hear she is resigning as we have already seen a number of other good ones recently leave Niagara’s regional government. But the imporant thing to remeber is that she did great things for people in need – the record is there for anyone willing to do some online searching or go to whatever archives are left in local libraries – across Niagara, and we who give a damn about affordable housing should whishLora Beckwith well. She is one great lady.)

NIAGARA REGION, May, 2014 – The Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) Board of Directors has announced the resignation of General Manager, Lora Beckwith, effective the end of July. Beckwith has served as General Manager of NRH since affordable housing was transferred from the Province in 2002. Continue reading →

Election News from the Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

(A Brief  Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper – The Ontario NDP, through the late Mel Swart and Peter Kormos have had a strong hold on this riding in Welland, Ontario for mre than 30 years, and MPP/NDP representative has so far  carried it on. Now it is left to see if Cindy Forster can carry it on against a profile, veteran Welland councillor Frank Campion.)

 May 4rth – Tim Hudak congratulated Frank Campion on his nomination as the Ontario PC candidate for Welland and applauded his commitment to making Ontario job-friendly.

Ontario Conservative candidate Frank Campion

 “As a successful businessman and community leader, Frank understands the priorities for a brighter future and the urgent need to create the private sector jobs that will lead Ontario back to prosperity,” said Hudak.  ““While the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals continue to deepen Ontario’s economic crisis, only the Ontario PC Party has a plan to create new jobs and rein in government spending.”

“I have been in business for more than 35 years and have been a part-time instructor at Niagara College in the business division.  I have a lesson for the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals: reduced government spending and lower debt boosts investor confidence and attracts new businesses and jobs to Ontario while enabling tax dollars to be spent on services instead of debt interest,” said Campion.  “But worse still, the NDP actually want to increase taxes on businesses.  The Liberals and the NDP continue to fail Ontario.” Continue reading →

From the Office of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Note that Wynne views, posted below, define this election as a fight between her minority Liberal government and Tim Hudak’s Conservatives. The third place NDP party of Andrea Horwath is so low in the polls at the moment, it hardly factors into the equation here.)

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

On June 12^th , the people of our province will have a choice – a choice between safe hands and risky tactics.
It’s a choice between the balanced approach of a Liberal government that will create jobs and nurture our economic recovery and the opposition parties, who would put that recovery in jeopardy with reckless schemes and irresponsible choices. Continue reading →

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

 The following is a statement from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Delivered this May 2^nd, 2014

Good Afternoon.

I have just met with the Lieutenant Governor and he has agreed to dissolve the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

On June 12, the people of our province will have a choice – a choice between the balanced approach of a Liberal government that will create jobs and nurture our economic recovery… 

And the opposition parties, who would put that recovery in jeopardy with reckless schemes and irresponsible choices. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

“Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.
Here comes the sun. …”

–         from a song by George Harrison    

One might say that this past winter has been a long and brutal one, and as much as many of us across Ontario might just want to enjoy the unfolding of spring, it is now obvious that we face a provincial election.

Ontario’s minority Liberal Kathleen Wynne government tabled a budget this May 1^st and it was clear, before the budget was fully unveiled, that the opposition Tory party of Tim Hudak would vote against it.

That left Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath and her caucus in the position of pulling the trigger on Wynne’s government and this May 2^nd she did. Continue reading →

News from the Friends of the Greenbelts Foundation

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large – As much as the more influential stakeholders in the farming and development community for the Niagara Peninsula Coonservation Authority would like to get rid of a Greenbelt zone that has won international congratulations, there is support for it in Ontario. Check out the following piece.)

The green on the map is Ontario’s internationally honoured Greenbelt area. You can cllck on the image of this map to view it full screen.

After nine years, support for Ontario’s Greenbelt remains strong. Ontarians want to see more land included in the land protection policy according to a recent poll conducted by Environics Research Group.

According to the survey, three-quarters of Ontarians (74%) feel it is very important to continue to grow Ontario’s Greenbelt. Polling results align with Mississauga, Oakville, and Toronto taking the necessary steps to grow the Greenbelt. These cities have begun work to include areas along Fourteen Mile Creek, Credit River and Etobicoke Creek river valleys, and the Don, Humber and Etobicoke Creeks as part of Ontario’s Greenbelt. This is in addition to the recent inclusion of Glenorchy Conservation Area to Greenbelt protected land. Continue reading →

By Joanne McDonald

(A Brief Foreword from NAL publisher Doug Draper – For those of you in the rural regions of Niagara and other parts of Ontario, if you have not yet heard the term ‘fracking’ – short for hydraulic fracturing for extracting oil in layers of shale rock below ground – you may want to key the word ‘fracking’ into Google or whatever search engine you may have and do a little research.

Why? Because this deep-well method of extracting oil from deep layers of shale below ground may very well be coming to a tract of land near you – especially if you live in a rural area.

The current Liberal government of Ontario has hardly said no to the petro-chemical companies that would like to do this kind of oil drilling here and I’m just willing to bet that if Ontario Conservative opposition leader Tim Hudak becomes the next premier of Ontario – which he could if, according to most polls, a provincial election was called any time in the next few weeks or days – he will be more of a champion for letting “special interests” into rural communities to do fracking than he has been to do wind or solar energy farms. All the potential risks to groundwater quality and health to humans and other lifeforms not withstanding.

So please check this post, by Joanne McDonald, out and stay tune for more on this issue.)

The drilling equipment is primed, favourable policy has been written, pockets of shale gas have been mapped down to the cubic foot across Ontario, oil companies are staking their claims and the wheels of investment are turning. Continue reading →

News from the South Niagara Chapter of the Council of Canadians

Welland, Ontario – All those interested in the future of healthcare in our community are invited to a free forum the coming Sunday, May 4^th from, 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Atrium at the Welland Community Wellness Complex, 145 Lincoln Street, in the Niagara municipality of Welland, Ontario.

The Council of Canadians, South Niagara Chapter, is organizing the event, open to all who would like to learn more about the changing face of health care in the Niagara Region, and especially to those who might have ideas about better ways of utilizing and integrating the services that may already be in place. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

 Canadians are forever being informed, explicitly or implicitly, that the solution to the crisis of the day, or decade, is a freedom-sounding word called “privatization”. This, the free-marketeers tell us, will solve our problems.

The reality is invariably the opposite. “Privatization” — also known as bailed-out, highly subsidized corporatism – is in fact the problem, not the solution.

Furthermore, the crises being addressed are often manufactured for the express purpose of rolling out a parasitical regime of corporatization that profits from calamity, even as its “host”, the public, is fleeced. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Let me begin this short sermon by saying that when it comes to religion, I fall into the George Carlin and Bill Maher camp.

Pope Francis

I never was a Catholic and whatever other religious church teaching I received as a child was ended, quite voluntarily, by me a few years after I got passed the Sunday school colouring book stage and reached the age of reason.

Yet I have always felt that there some important things we can learn from religious leaders and theologians, even though so many of the modern-day, right-wing, evangelical Christian leaders dominating the big-box church scene today deliver messages around the idea that you get closer and closer to God by accumulating more and more personal wealth in terms of money. Don’t know what ever happened to those warnings about the money lenders and that line I remember from my old King James version of the Bible that read; “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

In all due respect to popular North American evangelicals like Joel Osteen, who reportedly has accumulated enough worldly wealth from the faithful to live in a three-storey home with elevators, I guess the ‘eye in the needle’ line and warnings about money leaders might, to channel George Carlin, might be the kind of stuff Jesus would say.  Continue reading →

 By Doug Draper

Some of you may know that Herb Gray – a former Canadian cabinet minister and deputy prime minister from an era when politics was less partisan and mean-spirited than it seems to be now – died this past April 21^st in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario at age 82.

Herb Gray, speaking at one of many events as Canada’s International Joint Commission co-chair. Photo courtesy oof the IJC

 What many may not know is that in recent years, Herb Gray was still working very actively as the Canadian co-chair on the International Joint Commission – the official Canada-U.S. watchdog body for caring for the country’s shared waters, including our precious Great Lakes. 

Five years ago this coming June, Gray joined a gathering of Canadian and U.S. signatories, and environmentally minded groups from all around the Great Lakes basin in our Niagara area to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Canada-U.S. Boundary Waters Treaty – a treaty that created the International Joint Commission and the first binational agreement of its kind in the world for protecting the environmental health of shared waters.

While Gray and the IJC were here, they hosted a whole afternoon and evening of town hall sessions where environmental groups from here and around the Great Lakes could raise their concerns and what they felt should be done to address some of the more pressing threats facing these largest of all fresh bodies of water in the world. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”

This line, from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the great Columbian novelist who died earlier this April, was sent to me by a good Niagara At Large supporter in the form of a poster I’m posting below. It was sent to me by someone who I’m sure had no knowledge that I was facing another 60-something birthday and the dread losing whatever is left of the mojo and youthful ideals that have fueled my work as a journalist.

 I plan on hanging this poster above my desk and I recommend that any aging person out there in danger of burying their dreams in a mud pile of grumpy, cynical, negative name-calling jabs, hang this poster up, somewhere close to the computer they use to fire off those jabs, too. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

While many Canadians were planting trees, cleaning trash from roadside ditches and streams, and engaging in other green activities this past April 22^nd Earth Day, Canada’s tar sands prime minister and his government dishonoured the day with an announcement that they are removing one of the world’s most magnificent and threatened mammals from this country’s “threatened species” list.

Humpback whales. one of the world’s largest and most magnificent and mysteries mammals, are still fighting back from near extinction.

The North Pacific Humpback whale and its counterpart along North America’s Atlantic coast were hunted almost to the brink of extinction by the first decades of the 20^th century and it was only the call of wildlife advocates that placed them on threatened species list in Canada and the United States, sparing them from any more harpoons and allowing them to make a comeback.

But now, at a time when Canada’s tar sands prime minister is doing everything possible to crash any roadblocks to transporting this tar crud from his native Alberta to the west coast through a proposed Northern Gateway pipeline for shipment to smog-choked China, his government suddenly decides it is a good idea to take the Humpback whale off its protected threatened list. And here’s why the rest of us who give a damn about a healthy earth should be outraged about this. Continue reading →

Wayne Gates, Niagara Falls Riding’s MPP. File photo, Doug Draper

News from the Office of Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

(As of this posting, Wayne Gates gathered with Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster, Niagara Region’s Chair Gary Burroughs and others this April 24^th at a Niagara Falls transit terminal to call on the province to bring daily Go Train services to Niagara.)

 Queen’s Park, April, 2014 –Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls, Ontario, is calling on the people of the riding to visit his offices in Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the Lake to sign an online petition to bring daily GO train service to Niagara.

“I am inviting people in the riding of Niagara Falls to come out to one of my local offices to get on board to bring daily GO train service to Niagara.” Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Falls, Ontario, April 24, 2014 – Over the past eight years, The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) has successfully carried out numerous prescribed burns (PBs) on lands within its jurisdiction. 2014 dates have been tentatively scheduled, and PBs could begin as early as Thursday, April 24 and continue until mid-May.

All PBs are weather dependent and NPC will be monitoring an on-site weather station and tracking Environment Canada weather forecasts. The decision to proceed with the PBs is made on an hourly basis, as weather and wind conditions can change quickly.

The following Prescribed Burns have been planned for the 2014 season: Continue reading →

News from the South Niagara Chapter of the Council of Canadians and the Social Justice and Equity Studies Program at Brock University

On Monday, April 28^th , at 7 p.m. in the South Block, Room 201 at Brock University’s St. Catharines, Ontario campus, investigative journalist Amy MacPherson comes to the university with a presentation that’s sure to prompt questions and raise eyebrows.

A gas fracking operation at work in rural Pennsylvania. Do we want this in rural Ontario?

Amy will share candid insights about the impacts of secret government, energy and media relationships on the development of the fossil fuel industry in Canada. 

Her recent article resulted in controversy and consequence, for exposing potential conflicts of interest and officials who misled the public.

MacPherson promises to name names and provide dates. She will also explain some shocking developments for journalists who tried to cover the energy file. Continue reading →

News from Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority 

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority invites the public to join us on Saturday April 26, 2014 at St. Johns Conservation Area for the opening of Trout Season. The first cast will take place at 12:00 noon. A valid Fishing Licence is required and conservation limits will apply. Check the Ontario Fishing Regulations for further information.

Having fun fishing at St. Johns Conservation Area pond, File photo courtesy of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Tony D’Amario, CAO/Secretary-Treasurer of the Conservation Authority comments “fishing is a popular activity and St. Johns Conservation Area offers a perfect setting for this sport. Each year, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority stocks the pond with Rainbow Trout, in an effort to provide anglers of all ages an opportunity to fish in Niagara’s own coldwater stream, while enjoying the scenic beauty of St. Johns.”

D’Amario adds “the Conservation Authority has provided this opportunity for the public to enjoy since 1963. Continue reading →

A Few Notes On This Earth Day, April 22^nd, 2014, from Doug Draper

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I first learned of this wise old line in 1979, when I began a more than decade-and-a-half long odyssey as a full-time environment reporter for the then great, independently owned St. Catharines Standard in Niagara, Ontario.

This photo of earth from the moon, taken by U.S. space travellers in the late 1960s, inspired the first Eath Day. It taught us, or should have taught us that this wondrous planet in our solar system and beyond, remains the only place that is an oasis for life as we know it. We must have the vision to look after it, or we may lose it all.

The line was recited to me in an interview I did that year – a full nine years after the first Earth Day – with Sister Margeen Hoffman, a Catholic nun in Niagara Falls, New York. Sister Margeen, who was a member of the proud St. Franciscan Order of her church, reprised the line from Proverbs and from St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic frier from more than eight centuries ago who made a mark as one of the world’s first environmentalists. 

The line meant all the more to Sister Margeen, who was a leader of an ecumenical group in Niagara County, New York that was helping families who found themselves living in homes built on top of a notorious chemical dump that became known around the world, by the time I started my environmental reporting, as the Love Canal.

There was no vision, only blindness brought on by the greed of land speculators and other profiteers, before those families unwittingly bought homes in Love Canal neighbourhood, and as a witch’s brew of dioxins and other poisons surfaced in their yards and basements, they were forced to flee and what was a seemingly typical suburban neighbourhood perished. Continue reading →

If only we had a few Jane Goodalls in government.

 (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.)

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Bert Miller Nature Club

Jim Bradley the Environment Minister will be celebrating Earth Day this Tuesday, April 22th at an event with the Bert Miller Nature Club. This club has been awarded $24,791 through the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund to help protect globally rare ecosystems along Lake Erie‘s coast.

A stretch of beautiful Lake Erie shoreline in the Point Abino area. Photo couresy of the Bert Miller Nature Club

 Lake Erie’s coast is a hot spot for biodiversity and home to globally rare ecosystems like the northern shore that boasts sand dunes that can exceed 100 feet in height. It’s also a critical migration stop-over area for waterfowl and shorebirds such as the Tundra Swan and habitat for the provincially endangered Fowler’s Toad. Continue reading →

An Important Messsage To All Niagara Citziens from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

(A brief foreword to this post from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – This spring, Niagara’s regional government and 12 local municipalities are making a concerted effort to press Ontario’s provincial government to expand Go Transit services in Niagara, and that is a good thing.

One of a handful of regional buses now on the road for an inter-municipal transit project.

There are a couple of very important points to keep in mind, however. 

The provincial agency Metrolinx and Go Transit  have repeatedly made it clear  that if they going to apprve and provided an expanded service here, Niagara needs to get its act together and provide a more comprehensive regional transit service. Ater all, you can’t simply drop Go passengers off somewhere in Niagara if they can’t then find easily find local transit connections to get from one location to another across the region. Continue reading →

A Brief Bit of Breaking News and a Commentary from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Here is some good news on this Good Friday and just a few days before this coming Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22^nd, 2014.

One of many protests near White House in past year over Tar Sands pipeline

The U.S. State Department announced this April 18^th that it is now delaying a final decision on construction of the Keystone and KL pipeline from Calgary’s tar sands through the U.S. Midwest to Gulf area where it would be refined until the end of this year.

U.S. environmental groups and citizens who are opposing the pipeline are greeting this as good news because it pushes a final decision by President Barack Obama and his Democratic administration past mid-term to take place across America this coming fall – elections in which any rejection of the Keystone pipe beforehand might be used by Republican candidates funded by the petro-chemical industry to go after their Democratic rivals. Continue reading →

By Nick Fillmore – A Special To Niagara At Large

The unexpected, shocking death of Jim Flaherty, the Conservative Party’s only Finance Minister until his retirement less than a month ago, has resulted in hundreds of warm tributes for his commitment to public life and praise from those in business and conservative circles who approved of his financial and economic policies.

Jim Flaherty and Stephen Harper delivering federal budgets during their thumb-up days.

Flaherty, who was only 64, died of a heart attack on April 10. He was devoted to his family and was one of the most popular Members of Parliament. Friends indicated that Flaherty was headed for a high-paying job on Bay Street, so he could make a better income after he had sacrificed by taking a lower paying government job.

While Jim Flaherty’s life achievements and humanity should be praised, it also needs to be said that his neo-liberal, conservative policies when he was part of the federal government did not benefit the majority of Canadians. Continue reading →

A Brief by Doug Draper

To paraphrase Dan Aykroyd in his introduction on the first Blues Brothers album called ‘Briefcase Full Of Blues,’ I suggest you buy as much of your music at record stores while you can. 

At a time when people are cherry picking more music and books online, too many of the real, organic record and book stores – especially the classic independent ones, with a more diverse and eclectic collection of titles that you can actually walk in to – are falling by the wayside. Continue reading →

An Introduction by Doug Draper, Publisher. Niagara At Large

In my humble opinion, Jimmy Carter may just be the most decent person who ever lived in the White House across the border in my lifetime. I was just a kid when John Kennedy was blown away, and who knows if he might have been the president who would have drawn an early end to America’s involvement in  Vietnam, or done more to fight for the civil rights of his own country’s people.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is highest American citizen yet to speak out against Canada’s Harper government Keystone tar sands pipe

What is sad about Carter is that so many Americans seem to dump on him for being the guy who tried to rescue the American hostages in Iran in a mission that failed and who just happened to be running his country when gas prices, no fault to him, went through the rough. 

Some may care to remember that when Jimmy Carter was president, way back in the late 1970s, he was the first president of the United States t – and the last to this date – to honestly try to plot an agenda for energy independence based moving toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. 

Some may remember that when Carter lost a second term in office in or around 1980, the new U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, made a point of ripping the solar panels Carter had placed off the roof of the White House. The rest – hail the petro-chemical industrial complex in the U.S. and now Canada – is history. Continue reading →

News from Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli

(A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper – Thank God that these coal messes are finally gone in Ontario. Nanticoke coal-burning energy plant in full flight, toxic emissions and all. Ontario has finally shut coal energy plants off.l I remember, when I was still working as a full-time environment reporter at the late great, independent St. Catharines Standard, going across the border to Buffalo, New York, for a meda conference held by the then-attorney general of that state and environmental groups in New York State. They used the occasion to rightfully slam Ontario for emissions they could pick up on air-monitoring systems coming into western New York from Ontario’s coal-fired plant in Nanticoke, which is ne of those finally shut down. I sure don’t recall Ontario Tory (Tea Party) leader Tim Hudak or any of his friends out there in Wainfleet or West Lincoln, who have bought into the petro-chemical propaganda that wind and other renewable energy are a ‘health hazard’ ever once complain about the mercury and other toxins they were breathing from these coal-fired plants. Perhaps they would prefer to have a coal-burning plant in their backyard rather than a wind or solar system. Now here is the announcement around Ontario going coal free in the energy department from the province’s energy minister.) Queen’s Park, Ontario, April 15th, 2014 – Ontario is now the first jurisdiction in North America to fully eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. The Thunder Bay Generating Station, Ontario’s last remaining coal-fired facility, has burned its last supply of coal. Operated by Ontario Power Generation, Thunder Bay Generating Station was the oldest coal-fired station in the province.  The plant is scheduled to be converted to burn advanced biomass, a renewable fuel source. The province has replaced coal generation with a mix of emission-free electricity sources like nuclear, waterpower, wind and solar, along with lower-emission electricity sources like natural gas and biomass.   Ontario has fulfilled its commitment to end coal generation in advance of its target of the end of 2014. A coal-free electricity supply mix has led to a significant reduction in harmful emissions, as well as cleaner air and a healthier environment. Providing clean, reliable and affordable power is part of the government’s economic plan that is creating jobs for today and tomorrow. The comprehensive plan and its six priorities focus on Ontario’s greatest strengths – its people and strategic partnerships.

Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

NIAGARA REGION, April 16, 2014 – Niagara residents can swap out their damaged or broken Blue Box, Grey Box or Green Bin for new ones, free of charge, at a special event in recognition of Earth Week.

When: Friday, April 25, 2014, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Where: Regional Headquarters, Campbell East Building, 2201 St. David’s Rd., Thorold Continue reading →

News frthe Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Falls, ON, April 15^th, 2014 – In commemoration of the passing of former Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board will light Niagara Falls in green throughout the evening of April 16, the date of the official State Funeral being held in his honour.

The Niagara Parks Commission and its partners usually only turn great lights on the great Falls of Niagara for St. Patrick’s Day. This Wednesday, April 16th marks a special exeption for Jim Flaherity on the occasion of his state funeral. in Canada.

“The Illumination Board is proud to pay tribute to a great Canadian that dedicated his life for the betterment of his country,” stated Jim Diodati, Mayor of the City of Niagara Falls and Chair of the Illumination Board. In recognition of Mr. Flaherty’s years of public service, three 15 minute tribute illuminations will take place at 8:45 p.m., 9:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. (15 minute duration each) that evening. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Health System and Hamilton Health Sciences

Tuesday, April 15th, 2014 – Niagara Health System’s regional Cardiac Care Program has begun providing a vital service for the first time in the region: Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). The program’s Heart Investigation Unit (HIU) has evolved over the past year to now provide interventional care, or the insertion of stents, in addition to diagnostic care, or cardiac catheterization.

New cardiac service for Niagara will be introduced at west St. Catharines hospital site.l

The specialized team in the HIU is projecting to complete more than 540 PCI cases in 2014/2015. Prior to April 1, patients requiring this type of procedure had to travel outside of the region for care. The introduction of interventional care is a large step forward as the NHS continues to build its program and develop comprehensive cardiac services for the residents of Niagara. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary rom Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

What is wrong with this picture, indeed?

We got a Stephen Harper government in Canada willing to do anyting … and I mean anything, including gutting some of this country’s leading environmental regulations and muzzling Environmen Canada scientists to pipe tar sands crud from Harper’s home province of Alberta to natorious carbon gas emitters like China in other parts of the world.

And at the same time Harper will do  anything, however much it compromises the health of or planet, to get this tar sands shit piped to countries like China, where people are already choking from the emissons of tar-reloated poison like this, his same  government wants to cut our country’s delivery of door-to-door mail delivery service.

Let me suggest that the cost of continuing with door-to-door mail delivery is one hell of a lot cheaper than the cost of climate change, already nailing us around te cost of our home insurance, food costs, damage to our property, damage to infrastrurcture around roads, etc. in  our communities, etc., etc. ….  Any of you out there who still support this Harper Tar Sands  Party, I urge you to please thing about it.

The foollowing image just about sums it all up for the priorities of this Harper government, doesn’t it? 

 (Now It Is Your Turn – Share your comments on this  commentary. But just remember, we demand that you share your real name with your comment for reaons of accountability around everything that is posted on Niagara At Large.)

A Brief Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

The late Tory stalwart Jim Flaherty was respected by all parties – Conservative, Liberal and NDP alike – for his dedication to public service.

In the hours following the death of former federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, I learned that Flaherty, who was just a few years older than this baby boomer who came of age in the 1960s, got his inspiration to do something that involved engaging in politics and public life from the late U.S. Senator Bobby Kennedy, who was assassinated while running for president of his country in 1968.

So here I am, now trying to come to terms with the fact that Flaherty – a cabinet minister for both the federal Stephen Harper and former Ontario Mike Harris governments, whose policies I almost always have found to result in destructive and sometimes even tragic consequences for many Ontarians and Canadians – shared the same hero when we were in our formative years. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s regional government

(A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper -Finally gone are the days when our elected representatives on Niagara’s regional council met with their backs turned to people sitting in the public gallery.

Newly renovated reginoal council chamber from the public gallery. Photo courtesy of Niagara Region

It was one of the things that always bothered me about the old council chamber setup at Niagara’s regional headquarters. You’d go in there and find the councillors sitting with their backs turned to a gallery full of citizens who had come to talk to the council about an issue of concern to them. And this sitting arrangement may have contributed to the reasons so many Niagara citiens over the years have reported feeling alienated or disconnected from regional government.

This past Thursday, April 10^th, the doors were opened to a newly renovated council chambers with a sitting plan that makes it far more likely that Niagara’s directly elected regional councillors and the mayors of the Region’s 12 local municipalities will meet eyes with visiting delegations of citizens they represent.

The old regional council chambers. Photo by Doug Draper

Citizens with mobility challenges will be happy to know that this renovated chamber will be far more friendly to them too. Now here is the media release from the Region on this renovated facility.)

Niagara Region, April 10, 2014 – After undergoing extensive renovations and upgrades, Niagara Region’s Council Chamber opened and hosted its first Council meeting Thursday night. Continue reading →

News from the Ottawa-based citizens group, Council of Canadians

(A brief foreword note from Council of Canadians, South Niagara Chapter representative Fiona McMurran – TUESDAY APRIL 22 is EARTH DAY Do take advantage of this opportunity to find out why Council of Canadians National Chairperson, Maude Barlow, and other leading water warriors, are doing to help protect our Great Lakes. Email Water Campaigner, Emma Lui, (contact information below) to register for this free webinar.)

Council of Canadians Chairperson Maude Barlow hosts Earth Day online Town Hall

Hello friend of the Great Lakes!

On Earth Day (April 22), Maude Barlow and other speakers will kick off a discussion on strategies to fight extreme energy around the Great Lakes on the Protect the Great Lakes Forever Townhall series.

Extreme energy projects such as fracking, tar sands oil pipelines and shipments and nuclear waste dumps are putting the Great Lakes in peril. Join us to discuss strategies that have been used to protect the Lakes on this online webinar. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is pleased to post this commentary by Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati, as the push is on from Niagara, Ontario’s regional government and local municipalities to persuade the Ontario government of Premier Kathleen Wynne to expand Go Transit Services into and through the Niagara region.)

By Jim Diodati

It was disappointing to see a Twitter exchange last week with (Ontario) Transportation Minister Glen Murray, where he cited the outdated and erroneous argument that a crossing of the Welland Canal is a problem that needs to be resolved before GO Transit can expand daily commuter trains into the Niagara Region.

Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati

Put simply, the Canal is not a barrier to running two trains to Niagara Falls in the morning, and two more in the evening.

We have proven it.

First, some background. While the Liberal government and Metrolinx has been rolling out GO Transit announcements across Southern and Central Ontario, Niagara remains on the outside of the conversation. When prompted about this on Twitter, Murray responded, “Because buying the track & solving the bridge problem is not complete & ridership is low. Working on it.” Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

As I rose at the crack of dawn this Tuesday, April 8 to retrieve the morning newspaper and feed two hungry cats, the skies were grey and rain was pelting down. Yet even through the dark clouds and rain I felt I could see a bright sun, promising better days, rising over Canada.

Ding, Dong, Marois’ drive to rip apart Canada is dead.

The headline featured at the top of the paper’s front page read; ‘PQ Crushed’, and went on to say that its leader, Pauline Marois – hell-bent on possibly dragging Quebec and the rest of the country through another referendum on separation – had lost her own seat in a provincial election the night before and had, mercifully, tendered her resignation.

As an Anglophone from Ontario, I have long embraced the slogan; ‘My Canada includes Quebec’, and it is heartening to see that in this April 7^th election, a significant number of Quebeckers, especially younger voters, prefer to see their province remain apart of Canada. Continue reading →

News from the Toronto-based, citizen advocacy group, the Ontario Health Coalition

Toronto, Ontario, April 7^th – Ontarians are “passionate” about stopping the contracting out of their local public hospital services to private clinics.

The Welland Hosptial in Niagara, Ontario, already on the block for public to private services guting. File photo by Doug Draper

 Over the last two and a half weeks, hundreds of volunteers with the Ontario Health Coalition have opened public voting stations to collect opinions about the government’s plan to cut services from local community hospitals and contract them out to high-volume private clinics. Ontario residents were invited to vote for one of the following statements:

• I support our local public hospitals. I do not want the government to cut our services or contract them out to private clinics.
• I support cutting services from our local public hospitals and contracting them out to private clinics.

 On Saturday, April 5, more than 100 voting stations were staffed by volunteers in stores and local businesses in towns and cities across Ontario. Ballot boxes were taken to churches and faith institutions, legions, and service clubs. In the two weeks leading into the street votes on April 5, more than 200 workplace votes were held in auto plants, manufacturing companies, hospitals, pharmacies, schools and many more. Over the last month, thousands of volunteers have taken leaflets door-to-door in towns and cities in every region of Ontario. Continue reading →

More News About An Upcoming Event In Our Greater Niagara Region

Please join the Community Art Gallery Advisory Committee for Malcolm Allen and Cindy Forster for the Grand Opening of the Community Art Gallery and their first show – START SMALL

Click on this image to blow it up to a more readable size.

Artists have submitted works that are within a square foot to highlight the theme of the show which reflects the fact that the initiative was started by a small group of people who have a passionate interest in the arts.   A fantastic diversity of art from youths, students, amateur and established artists will be included in the START SMALL show.                                                   

The Opening night for START SMALL will be on Friday, April 4th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Office of Malcolm Allen, M.P. and Cindy Forster, M.P.P. 60 King St. Unit 102, Welland. FREE Admission.

Light snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments will be provided. Can good donations in support of Gillian’s Place are encouraged

(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.)

Wayne Gates, Niagara Falls NDP member of Ontario’s provincial parliament.

News from the Office of the Ontario New Democratic Party

Queen’s Park – This April 2^nd   Wayne Gates, Niagara Falls MPP and the NDP’s Jobs, Small Business and Training Critic, stood up for families being hit with skyrocketing gas bills and demanded government fix badly flawed rules that allowed a 40 per cent increase in natural gas bills to be rammed through. 

“Families cannot afford a 40 per cent increase in their  natural gas bills. An extra bill for $400 for gas will take a big bite out of already tight household budgets,” Gates said. Continue reading →

A News Brief by Doug Draper

When the mayor of the largest of Niagara, Ontario’s 12 local municipalities announces that he won’t run again, it is a big deal for people across the greater Niagara region.

St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan announces he will not run again.

The announcement was circulated this April 1^st by St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, who is mayor for a city that includes the largest block of representatives on Niagara’s regional council and – among other things – served during part of his two-year term as a key representative for a coalition of Canada/U.S. mayors for challenges affecting the health and welfare of the waters of our Great Lakes.

I may say that I have not always agreed with McMullan in his positions on issues of concern in St. Catharines and the larger Niagara region. But I almost must say that I found him to be a sincere person in politics at a time when politics has become too much of a pie-throwing contest. Continue reading →