Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

As a die-hard reader of newspapers, one of the first places I like to go to in the few good newspapers we have left is the ‘Letter to the Editor’ section.

Harper and Putin glad-hand only two short years ago over deals they were negotiating over corporate interests for both countries. It was only a year earlier that Harper posted Putin and other G20 leaders in Toronto while police in the streets rounded up and jailed numerous Canadian citizen protesters, who were never ultimately charged with anything. One of the Toronto area cops supposedly protecting Harper, Putin and others told a Canadian citizen on the streets of our country – “You don’t live in Canada any more.” So where does Harper get off lecturing Putin on freedom and democracy?

There you can often find a letter or two from one of our fellow citizens , in as few as two or three paragraphs, can get to the core of a story or series of stories carried on the regular news pages on an issue of concern to people in our region of the world.

Here is one I read in The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, this March 29^th, 2014, focusing on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s saber-rattling rhetoric over Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s actions in and around Crimea and Ukraine that I think pins the tail on the donkey. It was punched out by Judith Ince of Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Stephen Harper rips into Vladimir Putin’s energy-based “one dimensional” economy, his pitiful failures in governance and transparency of information, his politics of division, his alienation of youth, and his failure to work together with his opponents.” 

“Doesn’t our PM realize that the same description applies to him? Continue reading →

From The Office of the Premier of Ontario, March 30^th, 2014

Premier Kathleen Wynne sent the attached open letter this morning to Mr. Tim Hudak, the Leader of the Official Opposition and Leader of the Ontario PC Party.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

In the letter, Premier Wynne asks the PC Leader, his caucus, and his party to stop making false and defamatory accusations regarding allegations that an individual came into the former Premier’s office to delete records.

Contrary to Mr. Hudak’s false statements, this did not happen after Premier Wynne was sworn in February 11th, 2013.  The allegations pertain entirely to activities in the former Premier’s Office.

Continue reading →

News From Niagara Action For Animals

Dear Friends of Animals -Two important events NAfA is hosting next week! 
Screening of Speciesism at Brock and Dr .Carol Teed speaking at our monthly Potluck.  For additional info on each event, go to www.niagaraactionforanimals.org and see the Events page.
 
1. Speciesism: The Movie

Click on the image of this poster to enlarge it for more information on this event.

When: Tuesday April 1st 2014, 6-9 pm – followed by discussion

Where: Thistle Hall (TH) 257, Brock University, St. Catharines (this event is free of charge)

Details: Niagara Action for Animals (NAfA) is hosting the premier screening of Speciesism: The Movie. Please join us to witness this brilliant film. We promise “you’ll never look at animals the same way again, especially humans!”  For film synopsis go to www.speciesismthemovie.com
2. Veterinarian, Dr. Carol Teed will be speaking as Niagara Action for Animals hosts the monthly vegan potluck at the Unitarian Church, 223 Church Street, St. Catharines (next door to the Delta Bingo).   Friday, April 4th from 7 p.m.  Continue reading →

A Niagara At Large Coming Events News Brief

Local historian John Bacher will be speaking on two critical figures in the protection of Ontario’s environment at Niagara area historical societies next week. The first talk, “Mel Swart: Guardian of Ontario’s Environment”, will be held at

The late Mel Swart, a Niagara, Ontario political leader, was a leading spokesperson for saving what is left of the region’s rural lands. File photo by Doug Draper

7:30 pm Monday, March 31st at Chestnut Hall, the home of the Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Society adjoining the Thorold Public Library at the corner of Ormond and Vine Street.

The second talk on “Edmund Zavitz: Rescuer of Ontario”, will be delivered at the Lundy’s Lane Historical Society The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 3^rd in the LaMarsh Room of the Niagara Falls Public Library at the corner of Morrison Street and Victoria Avenue. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Health Coalition 

Toronto, Ontario, March 25,2014 – Six university student researchers spent the last month working with the Ontario Health Coalition calling through 135 private clinics and hospitals in Ontario to find out whether they are charging patients unlawful fees on top of billing OHIP for medically necessary services. 

Their findings, released today in a report, “For Health or for Wealth?: The evidence regarding user fees and private clinics in Ontario” show that a significant number of private clinics are both billing OHIP and charging patients fees on top ranging from $50 – $3,500 or more.

The coalition warns that the Ontario government’s new plan to cut medical services from local public hospitals and contract them out to private clinics will result in more user fees for patients unless it is stopped. This is a threat to single-tier Medicare and the fundamental principle of the Canadian Health system that access to care should be based on medical need, not wealth. Continue reading →

A part of Niagara’s Porl Dalhousie heritage district that has been mostly gutted due to Ontario’s Liberal government’s unwillingness to fight for this community. File phot by Doug Draper

News from some of the citizens of Port Dalhousie in Niagara, Ontario

(A brief foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – In my view, the wrecking of the downtown district of a beautiful, historic old Port Dalhousie, once designated as a heritage district in the province of Ontario, is nothing short of corporate vandalism.

And shame on the Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty and St Catharines MPP Jim Bradley for never – never ever having the guts he once had to speak out publicly against a rotten Liberal premier at the time, Dalton McGuinty, and allowing McGuinty to bomb what was an Ontario designated heritage district within his riding, and in a Niagara that might be better off drawing visitors who might better enjoy the history of this community.

But no. It has already been busted down and municipal and provincial leaders, including the current mayor of St. Catharines, Brian McMullan and St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley, sat back, without putting up any kind of  a real public fight, and let it happen.)

PORT CONSERVANCY ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF PORT DALHOUSIE RENAISSANCE COMMITTEE – Charged with Developing a Commercially-Viable and Sustainable Vision for Downtown Port and Surrounding Area

St. Catharines, March 27, 2014 – Port Dalhousie Conservancy, the volunteer community organization, announced today the formation of the Port Dalhousie Renaissance Committee. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s RiverBrink Art Musuem

QUEENSTON (NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE), Ontario, March 27^th, 2014 –  2014 -. RiverBrink Art Museum will be extending the run of two of its popular 2013 exhibitions into April 2014. “Norval Morrisseau: Journey with a Genius” will be extended an extra week, closing on April 5, 2014. “Sam Weir, The Consummate Collector” will be extended an extra three weeks, closing on April 19.

One of the wonderful pieces, this one by Homer Watson, known as ‘The Lothian Hills’, featured in this exhibit. Image courtgesy of RiverBrink Art Museum

“Sam Weir, The Consummate Collector”

Since the death of Samuel E. Weir in 1981, the collection he left behind has been interpreted and displayed with attention to the founder’s tastes, interests, and passions for fine art and history. The current exhibition extends this focus to include the range of objects collected by Weir throughout his life. His interest was caught by fine and decorative art to be sure, but also rare books, silver, medals, coins, stamps, historic documents, bird decoys, horticultural specimens, furniture and even celebrity autographs. This diversity suggests Weir is best understood as an example of what historians Paula Rubel and Abraham Rosman describe as the “unruly” collector. Closing April 19. 2014. Continue reading →

 A Note from Doug Draper to our many Niagara At Large subscribers and visitors to this only true and independent news  and commentary oonline site for our Greater Niagara Region and beyond

Niagara At Large will be gearing down until April 4^th so we can do some necessary maintenance, which includes getting NAL more plugged in to social media tools with an aim at attracting more visitors to the site.

Hopefully, by the time we finally have something like spring and the daffodils bloom, Niagara At Large will bloom again.

This temporary fallow period does not mean we will ignore stories developing around us or will not post comments coming in on posts now on the site. So to all those out there already sharing news tips with us, please keep them coming in.

In the meantime, we thank you for your patience and hope that by the time we are back to full speed, the winter weather that has been chilling us over the past four months will finally give way to sunnier days that feel more like spring.

(Nagara 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 fron the Niagara Parks Commission

(A Brief Note from NAL – We should all turn out the lights for this Earth Hour and think about what we can do the rest of the year to save energy and reduce our carbon footprint as the impacts oof climate change grow ever more severe.)

Niagara Falls, Ontario, March 24^th, 2014 – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) in partnership with the Niagara Falls Illumination Board is pleased to once again announce its participation in the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) global Earth Hour initiative by switching off the evening illumination of Niagara Falls on Saturday, March 29 from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.

The normally illuminated Niagara Falls waters will go dark for one hour this Saturday, March 29th during international Earth Hour

During Earth Hour all non-essential lighting within the Parks will be turned off and as Chair Thomson explains, “we will also be ‘switching off’ our evening illumination of the Falls during this time – as a symbol to help raise awareness and support for action on the issue of climate change.”

Continue reading →

From Liz Smith, Animal Rights

Join a discussion on the question of ‘should animals have rights,’ with a talk by Gary Francione , an internationally renown animal activist. Check him out by clicking on http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/  

Now here is the poster for the coming Friday, March 28^th event at Brock University.

Friday March 28th, 4:00-7:00, TH 325, Brock U.

More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/264314813735072/

(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Nagara 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.)

A Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – the late American anthropologist Margaret Mead.

File photo by Doug Draper

I have said it before and I will say it again as a reporter going back to my days some three decades ago as an environment reporter with the late great St. Catharines Standard (as opposed to the festering pile of shit Sun Media has helped turn that newspaper in to today), never mind making villans out of the people who own and run places like Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario and SeaWorld in the United States.

Continue reading →

A Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

“Only little people pay taxes,” said the late U.S. billionaire and hotelier Leona Helmsley, who remains one of the very few North Americans in her economic strata to actually go to jail for tax evasion.

Helmsley was far from wrong and may very well have gotten away with her own transgressions had she not flaunted them so arrogantly. How else, to this day can you explain why a small business in Canada or the United States, or someone working for wages that barely puts them above the poverty line pays out as much as a third or more of their earnings in taxes while some of the wealthiest corporations on the continent pay no taxes at all – ZIPPO! 

Continue reading →

NAL regional battery collection

 News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

(A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Some 25 years ago, while I was working, fulltime, as an environment reporter for the then-independent, locally owned St. Catharines Standard in Niagara, Ontario, the newspaper sent me to Gernany. 

Germany, at that time was one of the most progressive countries in the world when it came to recycling or using waste that would normally go in to a garbage dump or be disposed of in some other way that can potentially contaminate the environment.

Continue reading →

News from the Ontario NDP and Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

(Niagara At Large contacted the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s new communications person this March 20^th to ask who would be the best person in the agency to do an interview around this – given the rapid liquidation of staff in the recent past – and has so far received no response.

Ontario’s Welland Riding NDP representiave Cindy Forster, continues demanding to now what has gone awry with our publicly paid for Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Whether this agency, which only exists because we, the taxpayers of Niagara and Ontario, pay for it, responds or not, Niagara At Large will continue to reveal more on allegations of cronyism in this organization and its bowing at the knees of developers over protecting our green spaces.) 

QUEEN’S PARK, March 20^th, 2014 – Welland MPP Cindy Forster says residents of the Niagara region are becoming increasing concerned about the dealings of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

“Conservation authorities have an important job preserving and protecting our land and waterways for Ontarians. Recently, the actions of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority have raised concerns,” explained Forster during question period. “Their strategic plan shows a shift toward land acquisition disposal and development, and my constituents and elected officials are telling me that property development seems more important than conservation by the NPCA.”

According to Forster, a recent land purchase made in Wainfleet by the authority was conditional on the municipality waiving developer fees amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for the town. Continue reading →

 STAY TUNE FOR MORE  ON THIS ISSUE AROUND AN AGENCY THAT IS  SUPPOSED TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT SOME OF THIS REGION’S MOST PRECIOUS GREEN LANDS

From the office of Cindy Forster, an NDP representative for the Welland Riding of Niagara, Ontario riding of Welland

Ontario’s Welland Riding NDP representiave Cindy Forster, who has more too come on the deconstruction of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Today, Cindy Forster made a statement in the house about concerns surrounding the recent action of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority: 

I stand in the Legislature today to echo the concerns of city councilors, regional councilors, conservationists, residents of the Niagara Region as well as past and present members of the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority over the recent actions of the NPCA.

Since January of 2012 the NPCA has fired 20% of their staff, including many long-serving senior positions. Continue reading →

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

March 19^th, 2014 – The Brock University African Heritage Recognition Committee will launch its Teaching Nelson Mandela initiative this Friday at a one-day community symposium happening at the University.

Nelson Mandela

What: Teaching Nelson Mandela Initiative symposium
 When: Friday, March 21, from 1 to 8:30 p.m.
 Where: Brock University, Plaza 600F and Academic South 201
 
The symposium marks the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and commemorates South Africa’s 1960 Sharpeville Massacre of March 21. Continue reading →

A Statement from  Karl Docktader

The Story of Our Community: the March 15th Rally at Montebello Park to support an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls.

Karl Dockstader, a representative of Canada’s First Nations, addresses a rally in St. Cathatrines, Ontario for murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls. Photo by Terry Nicholls.

The bile was still stinging in our throats about the federal government believing they had done enough to address to the tragedy of the disproportionate rates of violence inflicting itself on our First Nations communities.

When Jamie Bugg McGean called me last Saturday and said Shawn Brant and some supporters had been arrested for trying to defend the women, I was with my nephew Mark David Hupkowicz. We talked to Jeffrey B Hill, Justin Vigneux-Dockstader, Dylan Powell, Philip Davis, Ngo-madaas Paradis, Mitch Baird, and other community members right away. Continue reading →

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

March 18^th, 2014 – The government’s proposed changes to Canada’s election laws – in the form of the proposed Fair Elections Act (Bill C-23) – are a threat to Canada’s democratic traditions, say Brock University political scientists.
 
“What is particularly worrisome about the proposed Fair Elections Act, especially the new restrictions banning the practice of “vouching” for those voters without standard forms of identification, is the way that it disguises a partisan agenda behind seemingly neutral language,” says assistant professor Stefan Dolgert.

“Bill C-23 would make it harder for already marginalized Canadians to vote, gives the Conservatives an unfair advantage and disempowers Elections Canada from safeguarding our country’s democratic processes,” says assistant professor Janique Dubois. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Health System, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamation of hospital services

March 17^th, 2014 – Niagara Health System is pleased to announce Dr. Peter Kagoma is joining the organization as Vice President Academic, a new position offered in partnership with McMaster University.

Dr. Peter Kagoma takes on a new part-time position of Vice President Academic at the Niagara Health System. The position will be paid for by McMaster University in Hamilton.

 In this role, Dr. Kagoma will act as Niagara Health System’s liaison with the Niagara Regional Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University, and will have a key role in advancing our academic objectives in education and research.

Dr. Kagoma is an accomplished hematologist by trade, and as part of the Oncology department at the NHS, he will enhance and participate in the non-malignant hematology and thromboembolism care of patients in the Niagara region.

Previous to joining NHS, Dr. Kagoma held various leadership roles in Brantford, most recently acting as the McMaster Mac-CARE Regional Director of the Grand Erie Six Nations Clinical Education Campus — Brantford Centre since 2007 and the Physician Lead, Information and Communication Technology Strategy & Adoption at Brant Community Healthcare System since 2012. Continue reading →

News from Niagara College

March 14^th, 2014 – She’s known as the most successful marathon swimmer in the history of the sport, as the first person to ever swim across all five Great Lakes,

Iconic marathon swimmer Vicki Keith speaking at Niagara College

and as a coach and a fundraiser who works to make a difference in
people’s lives.On March 21st, Vicki Keith will bring her inspirational messages to
Niagara College. Keith speaks about her journey as a marathon swimmer
and as a coach to those who have been told that their dreams were
impossible. The event was organized by the College’s School of
Community Services, and Recreation and Leisure Services and Recreation
Therapy Programs. Continue reading →

– Join The BiNational Fight Against Pumping Tar Sands Crude Through The Line 9 Pipe

From Maude Barlow, National Chairperson for the Ottawa-based citizens advocacy group, Council of Canadians

March 17^th, 2014 – As governments approve tar sands oil and fracking projects around the Great Lakes, the Council of Canadians is warning that these extreme energy projects are putting the Great Lakes in peril. Council of Canadians Chairperson Maude Barlow outlines the web of pipelines, refineries and oil shipments that threaten the Lakes in her new report released today entitled, Liquid Pipeline: Extreme energy’s threat to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Council of Canadians Chairperson Maude Barlow calls on people across the Great Lakes basin to speak out on the Line 9 Tar Sands pipe.

“We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg and only just beginning to understand the grave impacts these extreme energy projects are going to have on the Great Lakes. We often see these projects approved piecemeal but we have to step back and think about how all these projects are going to affect the Lakes,” says Barlow in her report, which is available here. “Enbridge is asking that the Alberta Clipper pipeline transport 800,000 barrels of oil per day, Calumet Specialty Products wants to ship millions of barrels of oil across Lakes and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline cuts through the Great Lakes watershed. If governments continue to allow projects like this, what are our lakes going to look like in 20 or 50 years?” Continue reading →

This Submission courtesy of the Hamilton public interest group Citizens at City Hall

(A  Brief Note from Niagara At Large – We encourage you to regularly visit the website for this group, known as CATCH for short. We could use more ctizien watchdog groups on our municipal politics in the Niagara Region. You will find linkes for CATCH at the end of this post.)

How much of this Hamilton Airport poison is now lingering in the Welland River watershed and when are our government agencies going to get to the bottom of it?

More than four years after it was discovered, the world-record levels of a toxic flame-retardant chemical that have contaminated the Binbrook Conservation Area reservoir and the Welland River still await a cleanup plan being bandied back and forth between the provincial Ministry of the Environment and Tradeport International. The city agreed to cover half the costs of the plan which remains secret more than 20 months after its promised completion. Continue reading →

Submitted by Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission 

Niagara Falls, Ontario – In partnership with Tourism Ireland’s “Global Greening” campaign, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board will light Niagara Falls in green on March 17 for St. Patrick’s Day. Two 15-minute green illuminations will take place at 9 & 9:30 p.m.

Niagara Falls will be bathed in green lights, joining many other world icons such as the Egyptian Sphinx and Pyramids, London Eye, Empire State Building and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Established in 1925, The Niagara Falls Illumination Board is made up of representatives from the City of Niagara Falls Ontario, the City of Niagara Falls, New York, Ontario Power Generation Inc., The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and The Niagara Parks Commission.  It is the Illumination Board’s responsibility and mandate to finance and maintain the nightly illumination of both the Horseshoe and American Falls. Continue reading →

News from Brock University

St. Catharines, Ontario – The Brock University public panel discussion on the political crisis in Ukraine, which was cancelled on March 12 due to a snow storm that shut the campus down, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 19.

Citizens of Ukraine rally to keep their country independent and free

A group of professors will share their perspectives and historical contexts on the ongoing situation in the Eastern European country – from the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine to the March 16 Crimean autonomy referendum.

The rescheduled talk takes place Wednesday, March 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Thistle 325 at the University.

This community discussion is open to the public. Continue reading →

A Post from Karl Dockstader

St Catharines, Turtle Island – Niagara residents have organized a peaceful awareness rally for this Saturday, March 15^th at Noon at the Gazebo at Montebello Park on 64 Ontario Street in St Catharines.

From a rally last year on Canada’s Parliament Hill for proper, respectful inviestigations into murded and missing native women and girls. Why should they be treated like human garbage when they go missing?

Area residents of both First Nations citizenship and Canadian citizenship were appalled at the Federal government’s inaction at mounting pressure to launch an official inquiry into why First Nations women and girls go missing or are murdered at rates at least three times higher according to reporting from the Native Women’s Association of Canada. 

Those same reports have identified hundreds more of our women are victimized by crime and violence, but after throwing papers on the parliament floor instead of addressing issues head on, it is clear that Justice Minister Peter MacKay has no intention of doing anything other than repeating his parties partisan rhetoric about already having done enough to discourage crime. The paper throwing incident was on Thursday, March 6th and foreshadowed the government’s statements the next day that no special inquiry would be launched. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Mark Taliano attended a conference organized by Raul Burbano of Common Frontiers.

Speakers included :  Pablo Vivanco from the Hugo Chavez peoples’ defense front, Maria Victor Paez from the Circulo Bolivariano – Louis Riel, Beatrice Santiago from the Latin American and Caribbean solidarity network  and Camilo Cahis from HOW campaign

The narrative of the speakers is that Venezuela is currently undergoing a foreign-orchestrated coup. 

What follows is an account of Venezuela’s current problems as seen through the lens of the assembled speakers and the lens history.

A refinery at work in oil-rich Venezuala.

 The United States and Canada have plenty of reasons to be afraid of the (oil rich) Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, so they are doing their utmost to address their perceived problem. 

The US, in particular, fears that Venezuela’s social democracy will set a dangerous precedent, and that, if allowed, other countries will follow suit.  They also fear the status quo, wherein they are denied control over Venezuela’s oil reserves (the world’s largest) Continue reading →

A Submission from Ontario’s Conservative Party 

(But before we post that submission below, here is a Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper.

This call by Ontario’s Tim Hudak Tories for the resignation of Hydro One CEO Carmine Marcello occurs in the wake of the province’s Ombudsman, Andre Marin, launching an investigation into countless complaints from residents and businesses about soaring rates and misbillings by Ontario’s major electricity supplier.

No doubt at all that Ontario residents have plenty to complain about when it comes to the way this utility has been administrated. Yet in fairness to Marcello, he has at least had the guts to answer media calls with promises to cooperate with the Ombudsman and address the concerns being raised.

As for Hudak’s Tories, they are hardly in the best position to throw stones. When Hudak and so many of his other caucus members were serving in the late 1990s and early 2000s in former Ontario Tory government of Mike Harris, they continued to defend a Hydro One CEO they appointed until they were finally forced, under pressure from the media opposition parties and public, to get rid of her around charges of excessive salaries, expenses, etc. Continue reading →

This Statement submitted to Niagara At Large by the Office of Niagara, Ontario area MP Malcolm Allen 

(A Brief Foreword from NAL – Olivia Chow, wife of Canada’s late NDP leader Jack Layton and a long-time political leader in her own right, has resigned her federal government seat and will be officially announcing her intentions this March 13^th to run for mayor of Toronto in this coming fall’s municipal elections. The current mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, has already announced his intentions to run for a second term as that city’s mayor, despite all of the controversy around his conduct in recent times. Ford has reportedly called Chow’s intention to run for mayor “the best news I’ve heard all day.”)

Olivia Chow, one of Canada’s leading NDP representatives running against Rob Ford in this fall’s Toronto mayoralty race

March 12^th, 2014 -“It is with mixed emotions that I mark the departure of the Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina today – my friend and colleague Olivia Chow. But our loss is Toronto’s gain. 

As a Member of Parliament, Olivia’s passion, competence and strength were evident as she defended the interests of Torontonians. As an NDP critic, she worked passionately on important files, including rail safety. A visionary, she has always been able to bring people together to get results – such as expanding Canadians’ powers of citizen’s arrest in the “Lucky Moose Bill”. Continue reading →

News from the Ottawa-based public interest group, The Council of Canadians

(This January 2014 marked  20 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its environmental side agreement, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) 

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 11^th, 2014 – A massive free trade deal went into effect 20 years ago and has had very harmful effects on communities and the environment in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, according to a report released today.

Pigs pressed together like cord wood in factory farms that continue to breed disease as the animals wallow in their own feces and are fattened up for the slaughter with unnatural diets. Meanile under NAFTA, the local family farm has struggled to hang on.

 January 1, 1994 marked the first day of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and nearly 20 years later, communities are still suffering from its consequences.

Among other conclusions, this report finds that NAFTA: Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

So Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli, according to some Toronto media reports, is already saying ‘no’ to Ontario applying a full and open environmental assessment review to plans by Alberta-based Enbridge Inc. to pipe tar sands crude through the heart f of our Great Lakes basin.

Ontario Environment Minister and St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley. Hey Jim, How about a full enviornmental review of a tar sands pipe snaking through our Great Lakes?

Let’s hope that citizens across the Great Lakes region – all of the many millions of us, Canadians and Americans,  who dependant on this world’s blessed natural resources  as a source of fresh, drinkable water – don’t take Chiarelli’s no as the final answer.

Nor should we roll over and play dead just because Canada’s a supposedly “independent” National Energy Board, with a board membership made up predominantly of individuals with backgrounds in steering through pipeline and other projects through to completion for petroleum and other energy interests, announced its approval this March 7^th of the Enbridge plan to reverse the flow of a decades-old ‘Line 9’ pipeline through our region to move diluted bitumen (or bitchumen, as I prefer to call that black, witch’s brew of a tar-like liquid)  from Alberta’s tar sands to refineries and Ontario and Quebec.

 What the citizens of this Great Lakes region should do, including our American neighbours,  who have just as much at stake if these vital waterbodies are polluted as millions of residents in Ontario do, is appeal to Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley NOW for a full environmental assessment review of this proposal. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

It’s as if ‘Tea Party Tim’ and his Tory gang still can’t believe, let alone respect the possibility that the NDP’s Wayne Gates beat his buddy Bart Maves in a by-election in Niagara Falls this past February.

Tea Party Tim Hudak sends this twit Rod Jackson , or whatever his name is, from a Greater Toronto Area mess called Barrie, to slam one of Niagara’s MPPs at a time when we should be working together for a better future here.

In the classic 1970s movie ‘Network’, the character Howard Beale – characterized as “the mad man of the airwaves” – began one f his broadcasts by saying he is “tired of all of the bullshit.” 

On that score, here is a little bullshit here that I am getting sick and tires of.

I am talking about the leader of the so-called Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (I would definitely leave out the word ‘progressive’, simply from a dictionary definition pint of view) … yes I am talking about Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak, or ‘Tea Party Tim’, as some in the Toronto media have taken to calling him, coming to Niagara, or sending his caucus minions to come here and try to smear mud on MPPs who don’t happen to be members of his  party. Continue reading →

A Submission from the Niagara Parks Commission 

Niagara Falls, Ontario, March 2014 – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) has put together a great lineup of activities for visitors and families this March Break holiday. Come out and enjoy all that Niagara Parks has to offer, including: 

Swamp Creatures Exhibit at the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory – 2405 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario

This new family-friendly educational exhibit features animals from the world’s wetlands. Zoo educators will be on site daily until May 11 (except Wednesdays) to lead captivating educational programs and interactive sessions for visitors.

A Malysian Blood Python, one of the most beautiful and smallest pythons in the world, is among the many swampt creatures on exhibit at at the Niagara Parks Butterly Conservatory, which already invites you to a tropical paradise of butterflies from around the world. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks.

 The Swamp Creatures exhibit will include species such as: Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman, Dumeril’s Monitor, Alligator Snapping Turtle, Stinkpot Turtle (indigenous), Pink Salmon Bird-eating Tarantula, Bullfrog, Budgett’s Frog, Norwegian Rats, Green Anaconda, Yellow Anaconda and the Malaysian Blood Python. 

For detailed information on the Conservatory, its hours of operation, admission and parking rates, as well as how to save on your admission with the purchase of a Niagara Falls Wonder Pass, please visit www.niagaraparks.com. Continue reading →

–         Where Was Our Ontario Government To Speak Up For Our Environment On This One?          

A Submission from Fiona McMurran, Council Of Canadians

(A Brief foreword note from Niagara At Large – Think of what a sad note this sends out to our American neighbours fighting the XL Keystone pipe, to see that Ontario and other provinces in this province have roled over and done nothing to fight this tar sands pipe moving through a Great Lakes basin that holds the largest reserve of fresh water in the world?) 

Welland, Ontaro. The Council of Canadians South Niagara Chapter condemns the National Energy Board (NEB) today for approving Enbridge’s Line 9 proposal to ship diluted bitumen in their forty-year-old pipeline between Sarnia and Montreal and it urges Premier Kathleen Wynne to prevent the controversial project from going forward.

Ontario is allowing this Line 9 Pipe to run tar sands toxics through the heart of our freshwater Great Lakes region.

 “Pipeline safety expert Richard Kuprewicz testified to the NEB that Line 9 has a high risk of rupture if the project goes ahead” says Chapter spokesperson, Fiona McMurran. “Line 9 passes though hundreds of communities and rivers that flow right into the Great Lakes and Enbridge still hasn’t finished cleaning up after their last massive diluted bitumen spill in the Kalamazoo River four years ago.”   

“How can the NEB allow an accident prone company to pump some of the dirtiest oil on the planet through an ancient pipeline across the drinking water supply of millions of people?” ” says McMurran. “The NEB is clearly just a rubber stamp for big oil. It has ignored the concerns of participants in the hearings, as well as documented evidence of Enbridge’s inadequate oversight of its pipeline”.  Continue reading →

A Commentary from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

What I am about to report on is just one more reason why I fear the  Ontario’s NDP has lost its voice of moral conscience and is moving so close to the positions and posturing of the province’s governing Liberal and opposition Conservative parties.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has a $100 hydro rebate for you.

It is one more reason why there is less and less of a reason to vote for the NDP in hope that it may be a refreshing, progressive alternative to so much of the crap we are already putting up with and paying far too much for under two decades of Conservative and Liberal governance in this province.

If you  wonder what I mean, look no further than the latest promise Ontario’s NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, has made to relieve those of us paying soaring hydro bills in this province of some of that pain. Continue reading →

A Submission from Ontario’s NDP

Queen’s Park – This past Wednesday, March 5^th, Wayne Gates made his inaugural speech to the Ontario Legislature as MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls where he thanked the people of the riding who elected him to take Niagara’s voice to Toronto.

Wayne Gates, the Niagara, Ontario Riding’s recently elected NDP member, delivers his inaugural speech at Queen’s Park. Photo courtesy of Ontario NDP

Gates outlined his commitment to the people of the Niagara Falls riding and each community.

“As MPP, I will work hard to make sure this government builds the new Niagara Falls hospital, keeps the Fort Erie Race Track open permanently by bringing back the slots, keeps Parliament Oak Public School open and brings regular Go Train service to Niagara Falls.”

Gates, the NDP’s new advocate  for Jobs, Small Business and Training, outlined the NDP’s plan for jobs in the Niagara region.  He said the government should make sure the construction of the new Niagara Falls hospital includes provisions to hire local workers and to buy local products. Continue reading →

From the Office of Niagara, Ontario area MP Malcolm Allen

Important information regarding internet scam.  Please see email below. 

(This office)  received this email at (our) work address.

It is a fraudulent attempt at “phishing” and where the sender has asked for personal information, including  Social Insurance Number. 

The website is a replica of the Revenue Canada site but is NOT the official sight.

Revenue Canada does not issue refunds via the internet and, normally, sends a letter to inform people of over/under payments.  Continue reading →

An Open Letter from Karl Dockstader

To: Honourable Member of Parliament and Minister of Justice Mr. Peter MacKay 

Dear Sir,

I am writing in support of the call for an inquiry into Missing or Murdered Indigenous Woman and Girls, and want to know what you and your colleagues plan to do about it as the Minister of Justice and the Canadian government respectively.

When you look at the history of these lands, if you go back far enough there was a period where First Nations were the sole human inhabitants. At the heart of these nations’ governments were the women in the communities. They were and are given leadership status that recognizes their unique ability to give life and nurture healthy communities.

Now this land is called Canada and is controlled by men. The Prime Minister, yourself, the leader of the opposition, most MP’s, CEO’s, most decision-makers in the modern culture of Canada are men. Modern Western society is rooted in this tradition and while no doubt strides have been made to improve the social and economic status of women in Canadian society there are still glaring discrepancies. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

Corporate media can’t be all things to all people, but its ability to set the agenda for self-serving interests shouldn’t be under-estimated, since it inflicts great harm on the world. Its selective coverage deliberately veils windows to the world that need to be exposed.

Canada’s Prime Minister Harper in Afghanistan. He is leader of perhaps the most military-minded government in Canada since the Second World War, even though he and hardly a one in his government ever volutarily served in Canada’s military forces.

For example, when Canada announces that it is ramping up its arms dealing to Colombia and Saudi Arabia, the media coverage is accurate in the details, but conspicuously absent in comprehensiveness . 

The corporate agenda, as reflected in media messaging, prefers to suppress the far-reaching consequences of Canada’s growing military-industrial complex.

Industrial warfare is fuelled by arms-dealing.  It’s a symbiotic relationship: war equals corporate profits.  If authoritarian countries such as Saudi Arabia need more weapons, it’s good for business.  This, however, creates a conflict of interest.  Since war is good for the armaments industry, the military-industrial complex is tacitly if not overtly supportive of war. Continue reading →

This Post submitted by Brck University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre

Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre will host two community Science Cafés this month on biodiversity and sustainability issues in Niagara.
 
Both of these interactive events are free and open to the public, and will take place at Mahtay Café, 241 St. Paul St. in downtown St. Catharines.
 
“Sustainability in our Region: Why is Biodiversity Important?”
Wednesday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m., Mahtay Café, St. Catharines
This café is a coached discussion between local radio host Larry Fedoruk, AM 610 CKTB, and Brock graduate student Shawn Geniole; Deanna Linbalnd, natural heritage systems co-ordinator for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority; and Pete Birrell, environmental officer with General Motors. They will be discussing the importance of biodiversity in Niagara and the opportunities and challenges that exist to protect or restore it. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

It still doesn’t seem all that long ago that a school crossing guard in my neighbourhood told me about an episode where he and a small group of children he was helping across the street were almost mowed over by a car coming at them.

In fact, they would have been hit, he said, if he had not pushed the children off the road and ran to the side himself as a car, with a driver on a cellphone and apparently not paying attention, continued to speed by. 

At that time, Ontario still had no laws against people using cellphones while driving, even though other provinces and states across the border had them. And even when the province finally came in with a ban on using hand-held cellphones while driving some five years ago, it was already far behind other provinces and many states across the border in combating this dangerous activity.

Even now, as Ontario’s government announced higher fines late this February for using a cellphone or texting behind the wheel, the penalties fall pitifully short of those in other jurisdictions, and that is outrageous given the fact that statistics show this behaviour is killing and maiming more people on our roads than people driving while drunk behind the wheel. Continue reading →

NAL Higgins peace bridge

A Submission from the Office of Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

(A Brief Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper – Plans for the Peace Bridge move forward in the wake of concerns continuously expressed by a Buffalo west-side neighbourhood group about the quality of air people in the neighbourhood breath with all the idling cars and trucks stopped for inspection at the border, and the destruction of heritage buildings in the neighbourhood to make way for a larger plaza for Duty Free venues, etc.)

Buffalo area Congressman Brian Higgins addresses Peace Bridge challenges. File photo

This February 28^th, the Peace Bridge Authority (PBA) approved a contract to begin Phase II of a project to widen the approach to the Peace Bridge plaza in Buffalo, NY. 

“The Peace Bridge traffic bottleneck leads to frustration and unpredictability that keeps people away from the border and closes off economic opportunity,” said Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Congressional Northern Border Caucus.  “The widening effort is another component in an overall strategy to reduce congestion and improve the bridge to better support a robust cross border relationship.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

If the United States won’t take the raw crap mined from Canada’s tar sands, China will.

Chinese wade through our out-sourced industrial air pollution. Let them have the tar sands too.

This has been the line from the Tar Sands Government of Stephen Harper for more than a year now as U.S. President Barack Obama stalls a decision on constructing a Keystone pipeline that would ooze some of the world’s filthiest crude through America’s heartland, from Alberta’s tar sands abomination to refineries in Texas.

And let’s just hope, for the sake of North America’s environment, and for a U.S. president who claimed so eloquently in a speech last year to be concerned about climate change, that Obama shows the courage and vision for our collective future to say ‘no’ to the Keystone pipe. If Harper and the climate change deniers in his government then turns around and sells this dirty goo to China, let them – since China has a record of not giving a damn about environmental protection anyway. Continue reading →

Submitted to NAL by Niagara, Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority 

(A very brief foreward note from Niagara At Large– This is a great opportunity to enjoy some of our most majestic wild birds at a beautiful green place atop of the Niagara Escarpment, with a spectacular view of Lake Ontario and the lands below.)

Hawkwatch Activities at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area

A Red-Tailed Hawk soars over the Niagara Escarpment and Niagara, Ontario’s Beamers Conservation Area. Come join the majest of the great birds migrating over this scenic site this March. Photo courtesy of NPCA

It’s been a long cold winter, and now it’s time to grab your binoculars and head to Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby to witness the spectacular spring migration phenomenon of migratory birds of prey as they make their spring flights from South and Central America, the Caribbean and the United States to their nesting territories in Canada. The winter weather this year saw more raptors migrating further south. 

For the period of March 1^st  to May 15th, 2014 during good weather/viewing conditions, members of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch group will be on site at Beamer from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM recording the sightings as part of a global environmental watch. This year marks the 25th year that the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch group has partnered with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority on this endeavour. Continue reading →

A Submission from Avaaz, a global web movement calling on people around the world to speak out on issues that affect us all 

Right now, the US government is about to make the defining climate decision of Obama’s presidency — whether to approve a monstrous pipeline that will transport up to 830,000 barrels a day of the world’s dirtiest oil from Canada across the US.

One of many Tar Sands protests that continue to take place in Washington, D.C. A major one is planned for this March 1st and 2nd. You can find out mre by clicking on http://xldissent.org/  .

If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline will help pump billions of dollars into the pockets of a few companies… but also millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. It’s been called “a fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the planet”. Bold public action has delayed it once, and a court ruling last week has dealt a serious blow to the project. Now, if we act fast and in massive numbers, we can help kill it for good. Continue reading →

Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding MPP Malcolm Allen

An Editorial Comment from Niagara, Ontario area MP Malcolm Allen 

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have a bad record when it comes to respecting our election laws. Now they want to skew the next election in their favour with voter suppression tactics straight out of the U.S. Republican playbook.

The so-called “Fair Elections act” will block tens of thousands of Canadians from proving their right to vote by eliminating the long-standing practice of vouching and the use of voter ID cards. Continue reading →

A Public Advisory from Niagara’s regional government

NIAGARA REGION, Feb. 27^th , 2014 – With temperatures expected to drop below -15C, an Extreme Cold Weather Alert has been called by Niagara Region Public Health.

 The Extreme Cold Weather Alert is intended to mobilize outreach workers and community agencies, recommend precautions for the general public during extreme cold weather, and offer information on the location of shelters and additional resources.

During extreme cold, those most at risk include: infants under one year of age, individuals 65 years of age or older, the homeless, outdoor workers, sport enthusiasts (skiers, ice skaters), people living in homes that are poorly insulated or without heat, and people living in homes without power (usually due to other weather-related events such as a winter storm). Continue reading →

A Submission from one of Canada’s foremost animal activist groups, Zoocheck Canada

Legendary TV star and animal protection advocate, Bob Barker and his colleagues at Zoocheck are appealing to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and members of provincial parliament to stop the proposed spring bear hunt. The hunt will result in new cubs starving to death when their mothers are killed.

American TV icon Bab Barker strikes out against Ontario spring bear hunt

The Ontario spring bear hunt was cancelled in 1999.  The Ontario government at that time indicated that the unethical orphaning of young cubs in spring, when they would slowly starve to death, was the reason for the cancellation. 

After emerging from the winter den, cubs are very small and unable to travel quickly.  Nursing females often cache their cubs in sanctuary trees while they go off in search of food.  As a result, nursing females often approach hunter’s bait sites alone and are killed.  History has shown that simply prohibiting the harvest of cubs or females accompanied by cubs isn’t enough to ensure that cubs are not orphaned and left to starve to death.  The only way to stop the orphaning is to not allow spring hunting.

“I’m shocked that Ontario would return to the barbaric, unethical practice of hunting bears in the spring, a move that will almost certainly result in tiny cubs starving to death,” Bob Barker said in a statement today. “These so-called sportsmen set out bait when the bears are coming out of hibernation and are hungry.  The bears don’t stand a chance. It’s not sport, it’s legislated cruelty.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara Conservationist John Bacher

At a February 19^th, 2014 meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, there was a significant victory for conservationists.

One oof many wooded, wetland areas in the Niagara watershed that could be open season for developers if the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority loses its decades-old resolve too defend them as an important piece of a health environment for all of us. Photo courtesy of John Bacher

Despite its persistence in a revised draft, by a unanimous vote, the NPCA’s board voted to remove references to the possible “disposal” of its properties in the final Strategic Plan. The board pledged never to sell any of its 36 conservation areas in a Niagara watershed that takes in all of the Niagara Region in Ontario and eastern portions of Hamilton and Haldimand County. 

However, the board’s discussion was not without debate. Continue reading →

A Submission from Ontario New Democratic Party and Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

(A Brief NAL Note – Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynnes has set an increase in a minimum wage, frozen for the past four years, from $10.25 t0 $11.00, effective this spring. The province’s NDP is now calling for an increase of $12.00, combined with a tax reduction for small businesses to offset higher wage costs to them.)

Queen’s Park, February 25^th, 2014 – Today Wayne Gates, MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls, challenged the Premier to support the NDP’s proposal to provide a small business tax reduction to offset the cost of raising the minimum wage.

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

 “An increase in the minimum wage to $12 will ensure that families get a raise while tax relief for small businesses, that are the backbone of our economy, ensures they can grow and create jobs,” Gates said.  “Does the Premier agree families need an increase in the minimum wage to $12 by 2016, and that small businesses deserve a break?”

The NDP’s newly appointed Critic for Jobs, Small Business and Training said the NDP’s plan is a balanced approach for small businesses that will help them sustain the proposed increase to the minimum wage with a reduction in the Small Business Corporate Tax.  The NDP’s plan would cut the small business tax rate from 4.5 per cent to 4 per cent this June, followed by a cut to 3.5 per cent in 2015 and 3 per cent in 2016.  Gates said that cutting the small business tax rate by 0.5 per cent each year will provide small business owners with an estimated $90 million in tax relief annually to offset the increase to the minimum wage. Continue reading →

A Brief from Niagara At Large Publisher and an Out-Of-The-Closet Stooges Fan Doug Draper

Hey all you knuckleheads out there. Yes, I might very well be talking to you. 

The most famous knuckleheads of all time – The Three Stooges – are back for a ‘Winter Stoogefest’ this coming Saturday, March 1^st at the historic Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, New York.

This latest edition of the Riviera’s always-popular Three Stooges Film Festival – featuring seven to eight of the legendary trio’s short films from the first half of the 20^th century, an array of Stooge merchandise in the theatre’s back lobby, and master of ceremonies and Western New York’s numero uno Stooge fan Lenny Potwora, replete in a tux to distinguish himself from the hoi polloi , introducing each flic – begins at 7 p.m. with a brief warm-up concert on the 67 Webster Street theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

I know that at least some of you Niagara At Large readers may be wondering why a news and commentary site that mostly delves into issues seriously impacting on our lives today would turn around and promote at Stoogefest. I’ve already had some friends and family members say; ‘You like the Stooges? Why? They are so stupid? Continue reading →

Submitted from the Office of the Ontario New Demotratic Party 

Queen’s Park, Ontario, February 24^th, 2014 – Wayne Gates was sworn in today at Queen’s Park as the MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls and was given his new portfolio as the NDP’s Critic for Jobs, Small Business and Training.  The newly elected MPP started work today during Question Period by demanding the Premier prioritize local job creation in Niagara.

Wayne Gates joins his family and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, at far upper right, join him a few weeks after a hotly contested contest involving Ontario Tory Tim Hudak’s old pary buddy Bart Maves.

“I’m standing up for jobs in Niagara,” Gates said.  “Is the Premier ready to admit the status quo isn’t working and it’s time for a plan that rewards job creators and gets people in Niagara and across Ontario working?”

Gates referred to the record high unemployment rate Niagara families are facing and called on the government to make sure the construction of the promised new Niagara Falls hospital creates as many local jobs and opportunities as possible. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

We Canadians have been shoveling our way through one of the most brutal winters on record – We have the likes of the Rob Ford clown show sullying the international image of our country’s economic driver of a city, and we have former Senate hacks like Mike Duffy, and the costly outfall of the Dalton McGuinty administration here in Ontario. 

Closer to home, we have a mostly dysfunctional, mean-spirited Niagara regional council.

It’s enough to drape the winter blues over the proudest of Canadians.

Then there was that glorious team of young Canadians that competed at these 2014 Winter Olympics Games, capping all the extraordinary medal winning performances with Canada’s men’s hockey team winning the Gold this past Sunday, February 23, just a few hours before the Olympic flame over Sochi was extinguished. Later that Sunday, I went out to pick up a few groceries and I could not help but notice how almost everyone around me walked with a prouder step, as did I. 

There were questions in the weeks leading up to these Olympics whether Canada should participate in them at all, given Russia strongman Putin’s horrific record on human rights and advancing the quality of life, including the aspirations for freer speech and more democracy,  of his own people. As little as it may have mattered, I was on the verge of writing a commentary saying let’s boycott these Olympics. Continue reading →

A Flood Warning from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

To:   All School Boards. All Municipalities, Police Services, MNR, Area, District and Provincial Response Centre, Hamilton Region, Grand River, & Long Point Conservation Authorities .

Thursday, February 20^th – This notice is intended to advise the public and local municipalities of the status of the watercourse conditions within the Niagara Peninsula and the eastern portions of the City of Hamilton and Haldimand County.

Rain is expected to begin early this afternoon and continue into Friday night. Rainfall totals exceeding 50mm are predicted to fall by Friday evening. This, combined with temperatures reaching up to 7 degrees Celsius will help melt the existing snowpack. Continue reading →

Submitted by the Office of Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding MP Malcolm Allen

OTTAWA, February 18th – A new study by Statistics Canada revealed that the Conservatives and Liberals are letting family farms die a slow death.

“Canada’s agricultural sector has undergone profound change in the last 20 years. The number of family farms has fallen sharply because they do not have enough money to survive. It is easy to understand why. The Conservatives’ and Liberals’ lack of commitment toward our rural farming communities will lead to the disappearance of our family farms,” said NDP Agriculture critic Malcom Allen and MPP for Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding.

Family farms have decreased by more than 20% according to the latest statistics. In addition, less than a tenth of farms are operated by an owner under the age of 40. The next generation of farmers is threatened as well as the security of the country’s food supply. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment By Doug Draper 

I’ll admit that as much as I am not much of a sports fan, I have always enjoyed the Winter Olympics.

This North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-on, has been condemned as a Hitler-style psycho for the 21st centunry by the United Nations. Not that the Haper government, that has no regard for the UN, cares. Yet why are we supporting hm by purchasing ‘Made In China’ goods. China remains on this murdering leader’s side.

I am okay on skates – meaning that I can stand up and do a few circles around the arena on them – and I almost collapsed many years ago trying to follow some friends on a cross-country ski thing covering less than half a dozen kilometers in Niagara. 

But I’m right in there, cheering on our best skaters, skiers, hockey players, etc., going back to Winter Olympics hosted in Lake Placid, New York and onward to the current Sochi, Russia games, as much as I have problems with them being held there around the Putin Russian governments oppression of gay people and its support for Syria and some of the other worst regimes around the world  Continue reading →

Submitted by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Jordan, Onatario – Ball’s Falls Conservation Area is the place to be this Family Day Activities – this Monday, February 17^th – are planned for the whole day 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. *Regular Admission Fee will apply. 

The NPCA’s Conversation Centre at Ball’s Falls

The day will be jam-packed with activities for guests of all ages including complimentary popcorn, marshmallow roasting and a hot dog barbecue from 11:00 to 1:00 pm.(or while supplies last). Play bird themed games, go on a bird watching walk, see the amazing birds of Bird Kingdom, participate in crafts and visit our newest exhibit “Canary in the Coalmine: Birds of Ontario”. Visitors can even try out our snowshoes on the hiking trails! 

So bring your family and friends and come out to celebrate with us. All this and the beauty of Ball’s Falls on the Niagara Escarpment awaits you.

For more information call: Ball’s Falls-905-562-5235 or visit the website at: www. ballsfalls.ca .  

(Niagara At Large invites 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.)

Submitted by the Buffalo History Museum 

Congressman Brian Higgins and The Buffalo History Museum Executive Director, Melissa Brown, announced plans to relocate the “Inside Tim Russert’s Office: If It’s Sunday, It’s ‘Meet the Press'” exhibit currently at the Newseum in Washington, DC to The Buffalo History Museum in Western New York.

The late U.S. national news reporter and Buffalo favourite son celebrated at Buffalo History Museum

“I am honored to be a part of the effort to bring a very personal piece of Tim Russert’s life and work home to Buffalo,” said Congressman Brian Higgins.  “We are thankful to the Russert family and commend the great cooperation between The Buffalo History Museum and Newseum to make this all happen.  Tim and the Buffalo community always shared a unique love and respect for one another, and with this move that bond lives on.” Continue reading →

Submitted by the Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

ONTARIO PCs CALL ON WORKING FAMILIES COALITION TO COME CLEAN

QUEEN’S PARK, Feburary 14^th, 2014 – “What we have here is a coalition of Ontario’s biggest unions masquerading as a grassroots movement,” said Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today (this February 14^th, 2014) in Toronto.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, looking like he is not enjoying his best moment in the provincial legislature. NAL predicts there will be fewer joyous moments for him from here on.

“These folks are misleading the people of Ontario. They’re not telling them what they’re actually after.” (Audio Clip #1)

Hudak made his remarks following last night’s byelections in Thornhill and Niagara Falls. Ontario PC Candidate Gila Martow won the contest in Thornhill, while Candidate Bart Maves finished a close second at the end of a tight race in Niagara Falls.

Throughout the campaign, paid union activists worked hard to ensure the election of either a Liberal or NDP candidate who would divert tax dollars to union members

Today, Hudak announced the launch of WorkingFamiliesExposed.ca, a website to provide information about the Working Families Coalition’s true motives and membership. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

As the polls closed for two Ontario by-elections this February 13^th and ballroom in a Niagara Falls hotel was filling up with NDP supporters, a few party insiders told me they heard that the province’s Conservative leader, Tim Hudak, had already positioned himself in the Toronto are riding of Thornhill this night.

Tim Hudak’s old Tory boss from the ‘Common Sense ‘ Days, Mike Harris, leads him on in this file photo.

 That just about said it all for any chance that Hudak’s old Mike Harris ‘Common Sense’ manifesto comrade Bart Maves had of winning a Niagara Falls Riding – a riding that includes Hudak’s native town of Fort Erie. 

Why would Hudak want to be seen in the media, licking his wounds over a loss in his own backyard, when he could strategically locate himself in a riding his Conservatives were expected to win, given demographics, etc. that favour his party there. 

The winner in the Niagara Falls Riding, you might very well know by now, is the NDP candidate Wayne Gates, who was a target of some pretty ugly attacks by the Hudak/Maves camp. Continue reading →

Submitted by the Campaign for Wayne Gates

(A Brief Note from Niagara At Large – NAL is posting this, followed by a statement from Conservative Opposition Leader Tim Hudak on the results of this February 13^th by-election in Riding of Niagara Falls, as well as the Thornhill Riding in the Toronto area where the Conservatives were expected to win.

NAL will post its own commentary on the fallout from these by-elections later this February 14^th.)

Niagara Falls, Ontario, February 14^th, 2014 – New Democrat Leader

Wayne Gates made good on his promise. The Niagara Falls NDP candidate stopped Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak from winning a seat in the riding – defeating Hudak’s candidate Bart Maves, a former MPP colleague from the Mike Harris era.

Andrea Horwath congratulated Wayne Gates, the newly elected NDP MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls.

“The people of Niagara Falls riding have chosen a strong leader in Wayne Gates to put their priorities at the top of the agenda at Queen’s Park.   Wayne is the strong voice we need to join our NDP team to deliver results for the Niagara region,” Horwath said.

Wayne Gates said he is grateful to the people of the riding of Niagara Falls for electing him and looks forward to joining Andrea Horwath’s NDP team to deliver results.

“Thank you to the people of Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and the surrounding communities for putting your trust in me. It’s time to take Niagara’s voice to Toronto.  I look forward to joining Andrea Horwath and the NDP who have delivered results for the people of Ontario, and I am proud to join a team committed to the priorities of the people who live in the riding of Niagara Falls.” Continue reading →