Category Archives: Uncategorized

By Pat Scholfield 

Kevin Smith, provincially appointed supervisor of the Niagara Health System has released his final report….and it is basically a bad joke.

Niagara, Ontario citizen health care advocate Pat Scholfield

He recommends we build a new hospital in south Niagara and close all our other aging hospitals.Smith decrees that the new hospital be built in Niagara Falls. People of Port Colborne, Wainfleet and Welland do not consider Niagara Falls to be in the south. Look at a map. Niagara is shaped like a rectangle. The top two quadrants are in the north and the bottom half, the south. Niagara Falls is clearly in the north, but I will concede the more rural southern portion might just touch the dividing line. 

But this is a moot argument…because the chances of that new “south” Niagara hospital being built are slim to none. I am not a gambler, but I would bet a considerable sum we will not see this new hospital in my lifetime…and I plan on living another 20 years. Continue reading →

A Submission from Brock University

Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario ushered in a new era of research and community development at the institution today with the official opening ceremony for the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex.

The newly opened, $112-million Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex. Photo courtesy of Brock University

 
The striking $112-million complex houses 76,000 square feet (more than four acres) of labs, purpose-built teaching and research space and cutting-edge facilities that have the potential to re-chart the future of the University and its surrounding communities.
 
The Cairns Complex is home to leading Brock researchers in biotechnology, green chemistry, plant pathology and health and wellness. It also houses BioLinc, a business incubator to support start-up businesses and capitalize on the innovative research happening within the walls of the facility. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

A year ago this September, Kevin Smith, assumed the role of supervisor of the Niagara Health System, the provincially created body (a body conceived by the Tim Hudak/Mike Harris Ontario Conservatives, by the way) that public opinion polls showed a majority of Niagara residents had little or no  confidence in any more.

Niagara Health System Supervisor Kevin Smith. File photo by Doug Draper

That made for one hell of a job for Kevin Smith and one could not help but wonder why he -the CEO of a far more highly respected St. Joseph’s Hospital system in the Hamilton region- would even agree to take it.

Smith was asked by the Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty, who was by then  beleaguered by tens of thousands of citizen complaints about the mess they felt Niagara’s health services were and still are in to take a critical, objective look at a highly criticized ‘hospital improvement plan’  – a plan whipped together in haste four years ago by fired NHS CEO Debbie Sevenpifer and her board of Leon, Suiter and other sychophants, for the restructuring of Niagara’s hospital services  – north, south, east and west. 

There is no reason to believe – at least in my view, given the mess Smith inherited, which was kind of like taking over the wheelhouse of the Titanic after the ship it the iceberg – that he or anyone else could have done much by then with a plan that already saw the literal groundbreaking for a new one-and-a-half-billion-dollar new hospital complex in McGuinty cabinet minister Jim Bradley’s St. Catharines riding. That new hospital, where Bradley and company seemed so happy to enjoy photo opportunities for the local daily papers as Niagara Regional Police had horse riders and SUVs to hold back about a dozen grey-haired ladies from south Niagara wearing yellow shirts, went forward anyway. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper 

According to the latest in a series of investigative stories The Toronto Star has published animals kept at the sprawling Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums – a self-regulatory zoo group Marineland is a dues-paying member of – has given the controversial park a ‘clean bill of health’.

One of Marineland’s ‘killer whales’ – more known as ‘orcas’ in the wild – up for a reward of food at entertainment time. File photo courtesy of Zoocheck Canada.

Inspectors for CAZA, adds this latest September 14 Star report – “only took a day for inspectors to give Marineland the thumbs up” – news that would likely not come as a surprise to anyone who has reported concerns about the condition of animals at this park for years to this group and to the Niagara Falls Humane Society and Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with little or no hint from them that their concerns have any merit. Continue reading →

 By Mark Taliano 

Harper’s Canada slides towards totalitarianism while most Canadians look the other way… 

Naomi Wolf’s The End Of America, Letter Of Warning To A Young Patriot might just as well be named The End of Canada, since the Government of Canada, now re-branded the “Harper Government”, is following many of the steps that governments follow (in varying degrees) to transition away from democracy and into the murky world of totalitarianism. 

These, then, are the ignoble steps that Harper’s Canada is embracing to suppress the flames of liberty: 

 Invoke an External and Internal Threat. 

Harper sees the world outside Canada as a threat, so it follows that he sees the necessity of keeping Canada on a permanent war footing. At the June, 2011 Conservative convention, when asked by Macleans editor Kenneth Whyte whether we were “in a great conflict or heading towards one,” Harper responded, “I think we always are.”  (Yves Engler, Militarism On Rise In Conservative Canada). This world-view is the foundation for war-mongering. Continue reading →

Submitted from the Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak (Ontario’s PC opposition leader Tim Hudak has been a long-time harsh critic of the Hamilton Niagara-Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network – known by many locally as the LHIN – and this provincial bureacracy’s support of the Niagara Health System and its controversial ‘Hospital Improvement Plan’ for hospital services across the Niagara, Ontario region. Here is the Hudak government’s latest stab at the LHIN.)

HUDAK ON LOCAL HAMILTON-NIAGARA LHIN: YOU CALL THIS PROGRESS?

GRIMSBY, September 12– Niagara Region residents can again have confidence in a world-class health care system, but only if we close down costly bureaucracies and use the money to directly serve local-patient needs, Ontario PC Leader and Niagara-West Glanbrook MPP Tim Hudak said today.

Ontario Tory Leader Tim Hudak

Hudak made the comments in front of the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN. On Monday Hudak released Paths to Prosperity: Patient-Centred Health Care – the PCs’ latest white paper on bold ideas to tackle the roots of the problems local residents face with their healthcare needs. Continue reading →

Submitted by Nancy Cardillo, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York

(Niagara At Large is pleased to post this one from our friends and neighbours in Buffalo, New York who are joining Niagara, Ontario in remembering the biccentenial of the War of 1812. This post invites all of us, on both sides of the border, to join hands across the border in a wreath-laying ceremony this September 14, on a Friday afternoon, at Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery for Commodore Stephen Champlin, a Buffalo area hero who served in the War of 1812. Here is the post.) 

Forest Lawn to Host Wreath-laying CeremonyAs Part of Navy Week Buffalo 

The grave in Buffalo, New York’s Forest Lawn Cemetary of prominent War of 1812 veteran Stephen Champlin. We are all invited in a public remberanance of this person of our shared history this Friday, September 14. Photo courtesy of Forest Lawn Cemetery.

WHAT:  Navy Week Buffalo Wreath-laying Ceremony

 Many important battles during the War of 1812 were fought right here on the Niagara Frontier, and several of Forest Lawn’s permanent residents – as well as the land on which Forest Lawn now sits – played an important role in this historic conflict.

The public is invited to join Forest Lawn, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy as part of Navy Week Buffalo, for a wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesite of Commodore Stephen Champlin, to honor all military personnel who served in the War of 1812. This event is free and open to the publi 

NOTE:  Stephen Champlin entered the U.S. Navy as a sailing master as the War of 1812 began. He commanded the schooner Scorpion in her capture of 
the British Little Belt during the Battle of Lake Erie and, later, was wounded when his ship was taken on Lake Huron. Retired in 1855, Captain Champlin was later promoted to Commodore on the retired list. He died in Buffalo in 1870 and is buried in Section F at Forest Lawn. Two ships have been named USS Champlin for him, as was Champlin, Minnesota. Commodore Champlin is the cousin of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Relatives of Commodore Champlin are expected to attend the ceremony. Continue reading →

Submitted by Gracia Janes

The public is invited to a free meeting in St. Catharines, Ontario this September 13 on one of the least talked about crimes in this region – human trafficking. 

The speaker for this meeting, to begin at 8 p.m. in the Mills Room of the St. Catharines Centennial Library on 54 Church Street in the city’s downtown, is Niagara Regional Police Detective Sergeant Craig Labaune , a passionate opponent of human trafficking, who  will remind us that    Niagara is not free from this world-wide  fast- growing blight,   and   expose human trafficking in Niagara   for what it is – “a crime against vulnerable victims!”.  Continue reading →

A  Commentary by Doug Draper

When Japan attacked a major American naval base at Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, then- U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was quick to call it “a day which will live in infamy.”

Indeed, anyone old enough to remember that day, which finally and fully launched both the United States and Canada into a Second World War that ultimately destroyed the lives of tens-of-millions of people, will ever forget where they were when they heard the news about the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Just as no one old enough will ever forget where they were 11 years ago this September 11 when they heard about the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and the Pentagon in New York, not to mention another planned attack on Washington, D.C. that was brought in a field in Pennsylvania when brave passengers crashed through a flight-deck door to thwart that jet’s hijackers. And we all know that we have been paying the price in weakened economies in the United States and Canada, a loss of freedom of movement and civil liberties, and in  fear – however real or fanned by fear-mongers – that we are no longer safe, wherever we go in our communities, from a possible terrorist attack. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Congratulations once again to The Toronto Star for its continued coverage of allegations of animal abuse at the giant Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario from a number of the park’s former employees. 

Visible growths on a deer at Marineland. Animal activists who have visited the park say this is not an uncommon site. So where are the Marineland vets, Ontario animal welfare inspectors and Canadian zoo group CAZA? Photo courtesy of the not-for-profit group Zoocheck Canada.

In the latest in a series of articles stretching back over the past month, Star reporter Linda Diebel, along with colleague Liam Casey, the newspaper focuses on charges of abusive conditions not just for the marine mammals at Marineland, but for land animals like deer and bears in the park.

Charges that conditions for deer and bears at Marineland are substandard  – to say the least –have been made by former employees, animal protection advocates and some who merely visited the park and expressed upset at what they saw have been made for many of the 51 years the park has been promoted by its owner as one of the most popular attraction next to the Falls themselves. That same owner – Marineland founder John Holer – has always countered those charges with an insistence that all the animals in the park are well treated and, as he has been known to add, are treated with no less care than he would extend to himself and his own family. 

The latest Star story, published this September 8, 2012, begins with an account by Jim Hammond, the former land animal care supervisor at Marineland who resigned last year following what he described to be a less than humane death of a deer at the park. An excerpt from The Star story continues with Hammond’s account like this; Continue reading →

By Doug Draper 

On June 13, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls and announced that officials from her country and Canada were finally going to get together in earnest and negotiate a new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. It would be one that is more responsive to the environmental threats facing the Great Lakes today, she promised.

U.S. Secrectary of State announces plans to negotiate new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement three years ago in Niagara Falls. Photo by Doug Draper

 Clinton’s announcement made for something else to celebrate aside from the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the Canada-U.S. Boundary Waters Treaty, which she had also come to the greater Niagara region to recognize. Environmentalists cheered the announcement that may only have been possible because the then-new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama, which Clinton is working for, punched through years of lethargy on the part of the former U.S. Bush administration, and federal and provincial Liberal and Conservative governments federally and provincially when it comes to addressing Great Lakes environmental concerns. 

And now here we are. It has taken more than three years, but this September 7 in Washington, D.C., Canadian and American officials signed a revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and environmental groups on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border are applauding, with a strong message of caution. “While we praise the signing of this new agreement,” said John Jackson, interim executive director of the two-country public interest group Great Lakes United based in Buffalo, New York, “this is only the first step. No matter what the words on the pages say, this agreement will only be effective if the U.S. and Canadian governments act to implement it.” Continue reading →

 A Brief Comment by Doug Draper 

Well, hallelujah. The sun rose over an Ontario this September 7 that is continuing to keep Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals in a minority government vice grip.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty fails to win back a majority to push his cost-cutting agenda forward.

Thanks to an NDP win in one of two September 6 by-elections in the ridings of Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan, McGuinty has been deprived of a majority government he claims he needs to push forward a cost-cutting agenda that is already putting the boots to funding for the homeless and is threatening to hurt more services for people on low and fixed incomes.

McGuinty needed to win both ridings to get back the majority he lost in last year’s general election and he has only managed to hold on to the seat in Vaughan. The blow to his majority ambitions came this September 6 in Kitchener-Waterloo with an NDP win that may be just as much of a blow to the Conservative Party leadership of Tim Hudak. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

A Brief Foreword to this Commentary – With a recent series of articles by Toronto Star reporter Linda Diebel bringing attention back to the questions and concerns over the conditions of whales and other mammals at the Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, many have asked if there are not better ways to get close to these great creatures without keeping them in captivity.

A humpback whale – one of nature’s gentle giants – off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. File photo courtesy of the Dolphin Fleet.

In the case of whales, dolphins and seals, one option is the many whale-watch excursions that are available on the east and west coasts at a price, quite often, that is less than what many families people who travel hundreds of miles pay at that at Marineland’s front gate.

I was about to write a piece encouraging people to consider whale watches as an alternative to places like Marineland when I looked through the old files of stories I wrote about Marineland when I was reporting on this park as an environment reporter at the late-great St. Catharines Standard two decades ago and thought; why don’t I just reprise this column from October 1996. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper 

Fifty years ago today – that’s right, all you aging baby boomers out there, a full half century ago this first week of September! – four young guys from Liverpool walked into a recording studio in London, England and laid down the first tracks for a musical revolution that would reverberate around the world, and would continue to influence pop music to this day. 

The four guys were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and the band was The Beatles, and among the few songs they recorded during those early September days was one that would be released in October of 1962 as their first single. It was a Lennon-McCartney composition called Love Me Do. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

On the days in and around this past Labour Day weekend, tens of thousands of rotting fish washed up along the Lake Erie shoreline.

Rotting fish along the shore. File photo

According to media reports,Ontario’s Ministry of Environment is still investigating the cause of the massive fish kill, which may or may not have something to do with sudden temperature changes in the waters or the lake and air sheds above it, or may be a result of a growing phosphorus contamination problem in Lake Erie which is robbing the lake waters of oxygen needed to support other aquatic life. Continue reading →

By Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians

(Niagara At Large has already carried a piece on this momentous announcement by Niagara College to ban bottled water on campus and talk to its students about the reasons for the ban and other, more environmentally and economically sustainable ways of protecting, preserving and consuming water. Now here is a follow up from the Ottawa-based public interest group Council of Canadians whose leader Maude Barlow was at the school earlier this 2012 to address this and other environmental issues.

 Wouldn’t it be great if Brock University and other public educational institutions in the greater Niagara region followed Niagara College’s lead? Wouldn’t it?)

Niagara College has 8,000 full-students, including more than 500  international students from more than 60 countries, studying at its four  campuses in southern Ontario: the Welland Campus in Welland, the  Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Maid of the Mist Campus  in Niagara Falls, and the Ontario Street Site in St.  Catharines.

Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians, at Niagara College earlier this 2012. Photo courtesy of Council of Canadians

This past May, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow  addressed faculty and staff at the College’s ‘Day of Reflection’ held at its  Niagara-on-the-Lake campus. Inside NC reported at that time, “The event’s  keynote speaker was Maude Barlow, who spoke about the global water crisis.  Blasting the ‘myth of abundance’, she noted that there is a finite amount of  water in the world and a dire need to protect our precious water supplies.  … Continue reading →

By Michael Moore, The Daily Beast, August 31

 A not-so-short introduction  to this Micheal Moore piece from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper.

Don’t know how many of you on either side of the Niagara River border tuned in to the final hours of Republican National Convention this August 30, but if you did you might have witnessed an 82-year-old Clint Eastwood  behaving as if he is in the early stages of dementia, talking to a chair where he imaged U.S. President Barack Obama to be sitting so he could insult him in front millions of television viewers.

Aging actor Clint Eastwood tries talking to U.S. President Barack Obama in an empty chair at Republican National Convention this August 30. What is going on here?

As a long-time fan of Eastwood, going back to his earliest years in film as an avenging cowboy gunfighter through to more recent movie triumps like ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ and other more recent movie triumpths it was shocking to watch what lookcd like a full-blown meltdown. 

What is even more disturbing than this bizarre event is the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ rabbit hole many Americans seem to be following the ‘high plains drifter’ down. And have no illusions or delusions on either side of the Canada/U.S. border. As America slides down that hole, as I am becoming increasingly convinced it is because, let’s face it, many God-fearing, white suburban and working class Americans, who don’t or possibly can’t read a newspaper, want to get this  Black man or ‘negroe” or whatever they call him  s a ‘Muslim’, a European-style socialist who was probably born in Africa or some other foreign country – out of their  White House. As many a frightful ‘Tea Pary’ American screams, ‘we want our country back!’

Many Americans, and that came through loud and clear at the Republican National Convention where Clint Eastwood so sadly made an ass of himself, hate this president, and let’s have no illusions in Canada. We have a prime minister in Canada who can hardly wait for Obama to fall and his neo-con, Tea Party allies in the states to take over so he can shove his Keystone pipe through that country and not have to worry about any more progressive moves on energy, health care and other matters. Let the most vulturistic capitalists reign.

So here is Michael Moore’s piece. Take it in while you can because I am becoming increasingly convinced that the days of critical analysis in the area of news coverage on this continent are numbered. There are fewer and fewer news venues that have the guts to carry material like this and, unfortunately, most of the people who might support them are more interested in hockey and dancing with the stars or whatever other tabloid and reality television shit we are shoveled. 

Continue reading →

One Way We Can Do It Is By Giving Up The Big Chain Supermarkets –  As Often As We Can – For A Trip To Our Farmers’ Markets

By Doug Draper

People are often asking what they can do as individuals and families to make the world around us a little better.

Some of the homegrown bounty our local food producers have to offer at one of Niagara’s many farmers’ markets – this one in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

There is no one answer, obviously, but spending a little more time supporting the many farmers’ we are still blessed to have producing food locally is no small help. By supporting them through shopping for food at one or more of the many farmers’ markets across our region, we are helping to preserve the livelihood of our local farmers, reducing our dependency on food from other parts of the world, and keeping our money in our region’s economy.

Those were a few of the messages contained in the latest report released this August 30 by the Niagara Community Observatory, a Brock University-based organization that works with partners across the Niagara area to compile research on issues of interest and concern to those who make this region their home. Continue reading →

(One of the most community active student groups at Brock University is the Student Justice Centre which engages in many social justice issues, not just on campus, but across the province of Ontario and country. You might want to check out this Pow Wow and meet them, if not join their ranks. In the meantime, Niagara At Large is pleased to post this information from this dedicated group of campus activists.) 

Submitted by Tikvah Mindorff, a member of Brock University’s Social Justice Centre

Brock University will be hosting its first ever traditional Pow Wow demonstration.

This three hour event will give students an opportunity to witness what a traditional native gathering can be like. Although traditional gatherings can last for more than three days, the organizers wanted to start small and hopefully build in the upcoming years. 

Most universities across Canada have large Pow Wows each year that draw hundreds of people out to the event, some continuing the tradition for more than ten years. It is hoped that this year will be the start of a new tradition that will celebrate the strong native presence here in Niagara and also provide an opportunity for students to learn more about Canada`s First People. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting this piece from Niagara College for your information, and because this is no small news. When a college as large as Niagara is now, with two major campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake and a number of satellite campuses, decides to take a stand against bottled water, that is – at the risk of repeating – no small news As you may know, there has been a push by the Council of Canadians and other public interest groups for many years to get people away from buying bottled water for two key reasons – a) almost every set of tests that has been performed over the past two decades by municipal, provincial, state and federal governents in both Canada and the United States has shown no significant difference between the quality of bottled water and municipal tap water, and b) the cost of bottled water is at least thousands of times higher than filling the same container up with tap water.

So now let’s leave it go to Niagara College’s August 29 media release.)

A Submission from Niagara College

Niagara College is tapping into a new sustainability initiative by
implementing a new ban on the sale of plastic water bottles on campus.

The news was announced to staff and faculty today at the College’s
annual Niagara Day event. The initiative originally stemmed from staff
recommendations aimed at boosting the College’s sustainability
efforts.

“There was an overwhelming response from staff and faculty to ban the
sale of bottled water on campus,” said Taryn Wilkinson, the
College’s environmental project coordinator. “Banning bottled
water has the obvious benefit of reducing waste from plastic bottles and
supports the notion that everyone has the right – not the privilege – to
clean drinking water, and it should not be sold as a commodity.” Continue reading →

A Commentary Doug Draper, Niagara At Large publisher

This August 2012 may very well go down as the worst month Marineland has so far had in its 51-year history – at least from a marketing point of view.

Hundreds of protesters line in front of Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario this August, Photo by Doug Draper

There has been the ongoing series of articles in the Toronto Star, detailing charges of animal abuse at the giant Niagara Falls, Ontario amusement park by former employees. And this August 26, for the second weekend in a row, there were hundreds of picket-waving protesters in front of Marineland, enjoying honks of support from cars racing by and chanting slogans about the park’s owner, John Holer, having “blood on his hands” to tourists heading for the park’s ticket gates. Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

 If you have been following the series of articles The Toronto Star is running this August on Marineland and some of the posts that have appeared on this site on concerns of the conditions for animals at that Niagara Falls amusement park, you may be saying; ‘Well that’s disturbing but what can I do about it?

Bears begging for food from visitors at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Park owner John Holer was recently quoted saying in a Toronto Star story; “We taje care of the animals – better than I would take care of myself. File photo courtesy of the Toronto-based public interest group ZooCheck Canada.

 Well other than not supporting places like this with your money, which is ultimately the best thing people can do to shut down this place down as an animal circus, there is a lot you can do actually – starting with contacting your  MPPs and MPs and urging them to support tougher regulations for commercial sites like Marineland that hold marine mammals and terrestrial animals like deer, bears and buffalo. Continue reading →

By Dan Wilson

In 2003, Marineland tried – unsuccessfully – to sue me personally, and Niagara Action for Animals as a non-profit organization (because I was doing volunteer work for them at the time) for $250,000 because I was trying to raise awareness of the conditions of the animals at Marineland.

Dr. David Suzuki, host of CBC’s Nature of Things, in Niagara six years ago to raise legal defence funding for Marineland protesters.

We held demonstrations, we handed out literature, we erected billboards around Niagara Falls, we did television, radio and newspaper interviews, and we met with city councillors, the police and anyone else we could think of to help these animals.

City Hall despised us, the police defended Marineland, even after John Holer threatened to kill me, and even after his employees assaulted us and tried stealing our protest signs, sometimes while they were still in our hands and in one case knocking an 82 year old protester to the ground in the process. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

There are at least two visions of Canada.  The better vision belongs to Jean Ralston Saul, author of A Fair Country, and to progressive, forward-looking Canadians. 

It is a vision that embraces and respects the three founding pillars of our society: the Aboriginal, the French, and the English.  It sees strength in each pillar, and recognizes that the three interconnected yet independent pillars make Canada a distinctive society that has been, in many ways, a model for the world.  We have Quebec, with its culture and language preserved, a bilingual federal government, as well as Inuit-governed Nunavut, Nunavik, and native reserves.

Self-government in Nunavut and Nunavik strengthens rather than weakens who we are as a people. Northern aboriginal communities reinforce our sovereignty as a nation, rather than weaken it, by asserting our permanent residency in the far north, and the respect is reciprocated.  Chief Joseph Gosnell: “Once Nunavut had been created, I heard people say, “Now we are Canadian.”  Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is pleased to share with you the following information around taking interesting journeys into our past as Canadian and American neighbours, for your information.)

Anthony S. Pitch Speaks at Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village August 27 at 7pm Award-winning author in town for War of 1812 Bicentennial

 Award-winning American history author and former international journalist Anthony S. Pitch (his photo is attached) brings his impassioned speaking style to Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village (3755 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst NY 14228) on August 27 at 7pm for his presentation, “The Burning of Washington and the Birth of the Anthem”.

Award-winning author, historian and journalist Anthony Pitch to speak on new War of 1812 book.

This event is part of the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park’s new Speaker Series, entitled “The War of 1812: A new look at America’s second war of independence.”  Admission is free and open to the public.  A book signing will follow his presentation.  For more information, the public may call the Park at 716-847-1773 ext. 10.

Pitch is a former international journalist who has authored books on American history for the past 30 years, including the award-winning The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814 and They Have Killed Papa Dead! about President Lincoln’s assassination.  Featured in PBS and History Channel documentaries on the War of 1812, among other projects, he is annually invited to speak at Fort McHenry on the anniversary of Francis Scott Key writing the national anthem. Continue reading →

A Niagara At Large Editorial by Doug Draper 

Ontario’s Community Safety and Corrections Minister Madeleine Meilleur says she “was in tears” when she read a series of stories in the Toronto Star this August, detailing charges of animal suffering by former employees at the popular Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

From an August 2012 protest rally in front of Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

That sounds touching and suggests the possibility that Meilleur is sincerely concerned about any living being , whether it be a whale, a dolphin, a sea lion or a bear, that may be struggling to survive in conditions that are less than humane. But tears, as we all know, can be wiped away with one brush of a hanky and are no compensation for taking effective action to address the circumstances that reportedly caused the Liberal government cabinet minister to cry in the first place. 

What Meilleur and the government of Dalton McGuinty ought to do right now, in the wake of a series of stories The Star has been publishing this August on the conditions of  animals at Marineland, is assemble a team of some of the best marine mammal and terrestrial animal experts on the continent to get to the bottom of what should be done to regulate the operations of facilities like this and whether keeping animals as exotic and complex as whales, dolphins and seals in captivity should be allowed at all. Continue reading →

Submitted to Niagara At Large from the Office of Andrea Horwath

“A year ago today we lost a great leader, a mentor, and dear friend in Jack Layton. As difficult as his passing was, and at times still is, I find comfort in knowing that his call for love, hope and optimism has inspired Canadians from coast to coast to coast. He set an example for us all. He brought us together.

The late leader of Canada’s NDP is being honoured across the country this August, a year following his untimely death.

This past year had some challenging moments for me as Leader of the NDP in Ontario’s first minority government in 25 years. There were times I would have picked up the phone and called Jack for some guidance and advice. He had always been a great listener, a relentless optimist and source of inspiration to me. I reflect on our many conversations as fond memories. I am very proud to have called him my leader and more importantly my friend. Continue reading →

By Dan Wilson

I’m still shaking my head at this one. Are they for real or what? 

So I have this friend who buys illegal smokes. Hmmm, let me rephrase that. I have a friend who has a friend who says he knows someone who buys illegal smokes. Much better.

Click on this image to move it to full screen. Photo by Dan Wilson

Anyways, the idea of driving an hour to an hour and a half (that’s approximately how long it takes to get from Niagara Falls to Caledonia) to save a few bucks on cigarettes always seemed a little… wasteful to me.

That was until I did a bit of research and found that you can purchase a bag of 200 illegal cigarettes for as little as $6 whereas the same amount of legal smokes costs between $70 and $100. Okay, that’s quite a savings. I learned something new today. Continue reading →

Conduct of Niagara Falls Humane Society And Ontario Society For Protection Of Cruelty To Animals Should  Be Investigated Too

 A Commentary by Doug Draper

Marineland owner John Holer was not as visible as he usually is this past Saturday, August 18.

There are children who don’t want to do Marineland. Here are a few at the August 18 rally in front of the Niagara Falls, Ontario park. Photo by Doug Draper

 While there were a few accounts of Holer sitting in his SUV, glaring at the protesters gathered along the shoulders of the road in front of his sprawling Niagara Falls, Ontario amusement park, he quickly retreated when approached by reporters. There was none of Holer’s usual driving back and forth repeatedly like a caged animal, doing his usual stare-down-the-protesters-as-if-to-intimidate-them thing. Continue reading →

A Submission from Niagara Land Trust executive director Natalie Kiers

(Niagara At Large is always pleased to post some good jnews like this when it comes our way.)

August 16, 2012 – The Niagara Land Trust, a not-for-profit organization that conserves the natural heritage of the Niagara Peninsula today for future generations, has secured the long-term protection of the Smiths’ Christmas Tree Farm in Pelham via a conservation agreement.

Thanks to generous landowners, a conservation agreement has been secured for generations for this verdant tract of land in the short hills of Pelham, Ontario

The property consists of mature upland and lowland Carolinian forests, a white pine plantation, and is located along a tributary of the Twelve Mile Creek. The property hosts a rich abundance of plant and wildlife species including several which are provincially and regionally rare.

 On Wednesday, August 22, the NLT Directors, members and volunteers will recognize the donation of the conservation agreement by property owners Jim and Mary Smith in an announcement ceremony held on the property. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

As regular readers of Niagara At Large know, we honour the death of favourite artists here, and how can we leave out Phyllis Diller.

The one and only grand dame of stand-up comedy

Phyllis Diller, who rose from a young wife and mother in the 1950s to become a pioneer for women in the merciless field of stand-up comedy, died in her Lose Angeles home this August 20 at age 95. Her son Perry reportedly found her resting peacefully in her bed in the morning with what he described as a smile on her face, which seems only fitting for someone who, for more than half a century, brought so much laughter to a world where things are often not all that funny. Continue reading →

By Dan Wilson

“You can judge a nation, and it’s moral progress, by the way it treats its animals.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi

Ever since the St. Catharines Standard wrote a story about Baby Jane, a captive pilot whale with “suicidal tendencies” back in 1967, critics and animal rights advocates have been trying to dispel the myth that “Everyone Loves Marineland”.

An orca – popularly known as a ‘killer whaie’ – in captivity at Marineland. Photo by Dan Wilson

Baby Jane would apparently charge head-on into the metal bars of her holding tank, and then smash into the walls of it, “with blood gushing from a gash in her head,” writhing “wildly about” and trying to throw herself out of the water.

The paper had also reported that she’d been inactive since she “arrived” at Marineland (read: forcibly captured and put on display) and performers who swam with her regularly would swear she was crying.

A sad story. What’s even sadder is that, almost 50 years later, we still have places that keep animals captive for our amusement. Continue reading →

Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours focuses on increasing ridership with overseas tourism market

A Submission from Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

(As many may know, the jet boat rides in the lower Niagara River have been a subject of concern for many people who do not believe these rides respect the river and its as a unique natural resource. Niagara At Large has posted stories on these concerns and will continue to do so in the future. In the spirit of fair play, NAL is also posting the following piece on these rides, submitted to the media by Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours.) 

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont.– Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours’ reputation as one of Niagara’s premier attractions is building momentum in the overseas tourism market, drawing a growing number of international travellers to experience the one-of-a-kind adventure ride on the Niagara River.

Photo courtesy of Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

The Niagara-on-the-Lake tour boat operator owes a large part of its success over the past 20 seasons to its emphasis on forging relationships with international travel companies and investing in overseas marketing strategies, says Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours president John Kinney.

“We attract a steady ridership from our home markets in Canada and the U.S., but our international visitors make up an extremely important share of our businesses each year as well,” Kinney says. “They’re drawn to Niagara by the same thing as our domestic passengers — the opportunity to safely experience a thrilling whitewater adventure that they can’t find anywhere else in the world.” Continue reading →

 A  Commentary by Doug Draper

Okay so which is it? Is the job picture improving in Niagara, Ontario or is it still in the tank?

Rick Dykstra, federal Niagara area Conservative government member, says jobless rates are looking up.

And if it is improving – if we are actually seeing “a record number of jobs” being created in Niagara – who or what deserves credit for that? Should we credit the federal government, the provincial government or a combination of both, or should we just be thankful to global forces that have seen a general upturn in job opportunities (reflected in recent July job figures reported for the United States) across the continent? 

If the jobs picture remains bleak in Niagara and other regions of the province, who should we blame for that? Should we blame the federal government, the provincial government or the vagaries of a world where global, corporate forces now rule? 

The confusion around answering this question at the moment is compouded by recent media releases from  Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, a federal representative for the Harper government in Ottawa, boasting that a “record number of jobs” have been created in Niagara and, of course, the government Dykstra worked for had something to do with that. Then, on this same August 16 date, you get a media release from the Ontario Conservative Party of Tim Hudak, arguing that “reckless overspending” by the province’s Liberal government has cost jobs in the province.

At first blush, when you read these releases, you ask yourself; ‘Are these people – all members of the same political party – casting these messages from different planets or is there some kind of a split-brain thing happening here? Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Following the first of a three-part series in the Toronto Star this August 15 – a series investigating the conditions under which sea mammals at the popular Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario have no choice but to contend with – a provincial member of parliament is calling on the Ontario government to set tougher regulations for the treatment of these wondrous living beings in captivity.

Toronto Star does its number on Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

“Today’s (August 15) story about Marineland was truly heart wrenching,” said Cheri DiNovo, an NDP MPP for the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park of accounts by former Marineland employees of alleged lousy, life-threatening conditions for animals like ‘Larry’, a favourite harbour seal for park visitors who has reportedly gone blind due to skunky water conditions. “These allegations should be a wake-up call for the Ontario government to take the lead in regulating the treatment of sea mammals in Ontario. …

“How can we as a society put regulations on individual pet owners,” Di Novo asked, “but not on companies which use animals for entertainment?”

Allow this reporter who, two decades ago, wrote a series of stories for the St. Catharines Standard, chronicling concerns raised by former Marineland and employees ago, to take a stab at answering this rather naïve, however well-intentioned  question from the MPP.  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Kevin Smith calls it “the most contentious issues” he has yet to deal with before wrapping up his year-long stint as supervisor of the Niagara Health System with a set of recommendations to the provincial government on how and where the NHS should manage hospital services in this region for years to come.

Niagara, Ontario area doctors Chander Bhagirath and Ken Reddy, in foreground, urge Niagara Health System supervisor Kevin Smith and expert panel to keep maternity services at Niagara Falls and Welland hospital sites. Photo by Doug Draper

Where should maternity care services – pediatrics and obstetrics – be located in Niagara, Ontario in the years ahead?

Should they all be based at the new hospital complex the NHS is opening in west St. Catharines next year? Or should maternity care be split between the new hospital and two other hospitals the NHS operates in Welland and Niagara Falls. 

With medical staff in the NHS divided between “consolidating” the services at the the new hospital or splitting them between three sites, Smith has called on a panel of hospital experts to help him arrive at a decision where he warned during an initial meeting of the panel this August 14 that whatever decision is made, “someone is going to be unhappy” because there is no room for compromise between those two choices. Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

“Canada, formerly respected throughout the world as a nation of peacekeepers and diplomats, succumbs to jingoist overtures from a militant P.M who seems oblivious to the realities of illegal warfare …” 

Iraqi war veteran Mike Prysner is a prophet.  He explains that he was the terrorist in Iraq, that the real terrorism is the occupation of Iraq, and that the real enemies are not overseas, but at home.

U.S. Iraq War vetneran Mike Prysner joints in anti-war rally.

Those who seek profit from war, the armaments industry that make the weapons, the media conglomerates that black out protests, the generals who lobby the politicians, the politicians who launch illegal wars of aggression, and ultimately, the people who fight the wars,  are the enemies at home, to which Mike Prysner is referring. 

Without exception, each of these “enemies” profits, to some degree or another, from cataclysmic war.

Lockheed Martin, when it successfully lobbies Canada to buy sole-source, untendered F-35 war planes, designed for offensive bombing operations, profits from war.  According to Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page, the price of the planes will be $C29.3 billion over 30 years, not the $C16-18 billion that the government promised. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper 

What is wrong with Niagara, Ontario’s regional government? Why does it seem to almost always be afraid of its own shadow when it comes to taking a stand on issues that are no-brainers?

Whether it is a lack of courage to do what the Region of Waterloo did more than five years ago – to build a real, viable regional transit system in a two-tier municipal system not all that different than Niagara’s or to at long last create an amalgamated economic development service for businesses that might want to locate and create jobs here – this regional council too often reacts like a deer caught in the headlights. And almost always, it is a paralyzing brand of parochialism – as in local fiefdoms refusing to work together because they view their interests as superseding the interests of the region as a whole – that get in the way. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

There’s an old line that goes; “They shoot horses, don’t they?”

It’s a line I don’t like that applies horses that have become so badly injured or infirmed in the eyes of their owners that they are no longer earning their oats. So out comes the gun and BANG! It’s over.

Well, I’ve been putting off saying this because of some age old reverence I have for a once-proud federal agency called Environment Canada, but perhaps it is time that the same line applied to it. I mean what is the point of Canada pretending that it still has a federal agency that plays some real role in environmental surveillance and protection when that agency has had all of the guts it needs to get the job done ripped out of it?

So let’s be honest. If Canadians support a federal government that has little or no use for environmental protection – a government that goes so far as to call any individual or group that places environmental protection above unfettered tar sands expansion an “extremist” or “adversary of Canada” – why bother having a federal environment department? Why not shut Environment Canada down now and save the taxpayers of the country however hundreds of millions of dollars it is costing to keep this ghost of a once vital voice for our natural heritage running? They shoot horses, don’t they? Continue reading →

A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper

Last year The Globe and Mail published a story about the difficulty new teachers, fresh out of teachers’ college, are having getting a foot in the classroom door.

One of the problems for newly minted teachers is demographics. There are simply fewer kids to teach in our elementary and secondary schools than there were a decade ago. Another key reason new teachers are having trouble getting hired, according to The Globe report, is that a goodly number of retired teachers aren’t really retiring.

Ontario Education Minister Laurel Broten

These retired teachers, some of whom were quoted saying that their retirement pensions were not adequately covering the cost of their retirement, were signing up with school boards in their areas for supply teacher positions. And with the backing of their unions and area school administrators who would rather take a chance with a veteran than a rookie, they are typically the first to be called when a staff teacher cuts out for days or weeks on end due to illness or some other reason. That has been leaving many new teachers missing out on what opportunities there are left these days to show their stuff.

For anyone who believes it is important to bring young people with new ideas and energy in to an area as important as the education of our children, a system that makes it hard for young teachers to get a foot in the classroom because teachers who have retired won’t retire enough to give new blood the right of way, ought to be a concern. Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper

“The past few years have been hard on our community.”

So stresses a note Elisabeth Zimmermann, executive direct of YMCA Niagara Region on the Ontario side of our greater region’s border sent to the regional government’s chairman, Gary Burroughs and his council late this July.

“Homelessness and poverty have increased 60 per cent, placing a greater strain on service providers and the government alike,” this note which every resident in this region goes on to say. “The latest reports indicate that Niagara continues to carry two to three percent higher-than-the-national average unemployment rate with plant closures and job losses reported on a seemingly daily basis.” 

“Niagara is also in the bottom five communities in Canada for lowest median Canada (and) with changes to federal unemployment rules, fewer Niagarians qualify for this insurance Previously in place safety nets have been removed by the federal government, causing a greater burden on provincial and municipal governments.

“This information is not new to you. We know that,” continues Zimmermann’s powerful note to our regional leaders and, indeed, it shouldn’t be. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large would like to preface this post with an apology to the Niagara Land Trust, a dedicated group of volunteers working with other bodies across our region on nature preservation projects.

The information in this post was circulated in late June and somehow it slipped by us. NAL contacted Natalie Kiers, the Land Trust’s executive director early this August, and she graciously informed us that it is not too late to run it and she would be pleased if we did so. 

So grab your camera and head outdoors to see if you can capture an award-winning image of some of Niagara’s “winged jewels” before the September 17 deadline. Here are the details for the photo contest below.)

NIAGARA LAND TRUST 1ST PHOTO CONTEST – WINGED JEWELS OF NIAGARA

The Niagara Land Trust is pleased to announce its 1^st ever photo contest. From June 25^th to September 17^th, amateur and professional photographers are invited to snap pictures of butterflies, caterpillars, dragonflies or moths – Winged Jewels of Niagara and send in their photos.

The goal of the contest is to not only showcase the beautiful winged creatures out there but to encourage people to get outdoors to enjoy and appreciate nature and all that it has to offer.

“Areas all around southern Ontario have been experiencing some of the biggest springtime butterfly migrations in history, experts say we can continue to expect high numbers throughout the summer season.” says Natalie Kiers, NLT Executive Director. Winners will be featured on a poster which will be sold to a handful of local retailers throughout the region just in time for Christmas. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

She is a Canadian heroine whose actions during the War of 1812 helped drive back an invading American army.

One of the last photos of the first home of Laura Ingersoll Secord in Great Barrington, Massachusetts before it was torn down a century ago. Image courtest of members of Great Barrington Historical Society.

These days though, Laura Secord seems to be doing more to bring Canadians and Americans closer together as a delegation of officials and historians from Great Barrington, Massachusetts – a picturesque New England town nestled in the Berkshire Hills where she was born Laura Ingersoll in 1775 – meet with members of the Niagara-based  ‘Friends of Laura Secord’ group at her Queenston, Ontario homestead  this August 10. Continue reading →

(A brief foreword by Niagara At Large – So what do you think. Should we stay with the government-run LCBOs and Beer Stores or should we do what New York State and many other jurisdictions on this continent do, and allow the sale of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages  in privately run stores?

Do you share the concerns some have that selling any beverage with an alcohol in it in a convenience store may make it easier for under age people or those with drinking problems to get their hands on alcohol? 

Do you believe the provincial government should continue to run LCBO and Beer Stores for the hundreds of millions they bring in each year for other services, like health care, or go for whatever immediate money it can get selling these outlets off to the private sector?

We invite you to share your views at the end of this post)

Submitted to Niagara At Large by Ontario’s opposition Progressive Conservative Party 

Submitted to Niagara At Large by the Niagara Parks Commission

(Niagara At Large is an independent news and commentary site which, among other things, is dedicated to promoting the historic and cultural heritage of our greater Niagara region. In that spirit, we are pleased to share advance news of the following event, commemorating the bincentennial of the War of 1812)

 26^thAnnual Siege of Old Fort Erie

War of 1812 Re-enactors at Old Fort Erie. File photo courtesy of Niagara Parks Commission

 Niagara Falls, Ontario – Staff at The Niagara Parks Commission’s (NPC) Old Fort Erie are preparing the final details for the 26^th Annual Siege Weekend at Old Fort Erie on August 11 -12, 2012. Canada’s largest battle re-enactment weekend portrays the excitement and drama of the War of 1812 with an action packed schedule of events planned for the entire weekend. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper 

Whenever I try to make sense out of some of the madness in this world we live in, or at least try to find some reason to laugh in or at it, I often find myself turning to the gospel according to George – the late, great U.S. satirist and winner of the 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, George Carlin.

George Carlin

This is Carlin’s take on it, which some of us north of the Canada/U.S. border might identify with as well, at least so far as the references to lawyers, judges and politicians are concerned. Continue reading →

A Brief by Doug Draper (and something a little lighter for a long holiday weekend)

Okay, I admit it. I have this  incurable thing for Marilyn.

 Earlier this year, I wrote a column mourning my lost chance, 60 years ago this June in Niagara Falls, to have my photo taken with Marilyn Monroe when I was a mere babe of one and she was in the Honeymoon City filming a movie called ‘Niagara’. And now I can’t let this August 5 go by without a mention of the 50^th anniversary of her death at age 36. Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is posting the following August 3 submission from Ontario’s opposition Conservative Party for our readers information.)

“The solar inverter plant in Toronto hasn’t opened… Samsung hasn’t signed a deal for its module plant in London… the blade plant in Tillsonburg was supposed to employ 300 people but there are fewer than 35 people at work there… While the (wind tower company) has been open since March of 2011, it hasn’t received a single order from Samsung, and that’s the whole reason it came here…” “Within the last eight months, the (Windsor-Essex) area has seen the sudden closure of new facilities run by Silken SA, Uni-Solar and Windtronics… resulting in the elimination of 190 real jobs and hundreds more prospective positions…”

 – from July 31 CTV and Windsor Star coverage of our “very strong” renewables sector

August 3, 2012

 “VERY STRONG” RENEWABLES SECTOR? NO, A COSTLY BUST; PC ENERGY CRITIC VIC FEDELI

NORTH BAY – Energy Minister Chris Bentley is sadly mistaken if he really believes his government’s wind and solar experiments on taxpayer life-support are “very strong”, as he recently claimed, Ontario PC Energy Critic Vic Fedeli said today.

 “Even when they’re up and running, these projects are kept afloat by massive subsidies which pay producers between double and 10 times the going rate for electricity,” Fedeli said. “They are driving energy costs to among the highest in North America, pushing manufacturers out of Ontario and leading to power surpluses that we must export at huge losses.” Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

A glimpse of our lower Great Lakes, with our greater Niagara region nestled between Lakes Erie and Ontario, from space.

Environmental Defense, a citizens group based in Toronto, is asking all of us toprovide feedback to Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley and theprovince’s Liberal government by this August 7 on anything we would like to see changed in the government’s milestone Great Lakes Protection Act.

“Generally we like the act and strategy, but there is always room for improvement,” said the group’s water program manager Claire Malcolmson in a recent news release. Among the things in the act, unveiled for public review this past June, the group would like to see ramped up is more concrete actions for protecting and improving water quality, wetlands, beaches and shorelines. It would also like to see First Nations and Metis people given more say in decision making around Great Lakes protection actions. 

While a number of Canadian and American Great Lakes group have praised the Ontario act since its unveiling this spring, Malcolmson says “we need to make sure the act is strong enough to protect the Great Lakes’ wild species and human inhabitians from current and future stresses.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper 

Yes, I know many of us don’t hold lawyers in very high regard unless one of them happens to be a beloved member of our family.

‘His Lordship’ Conrad Black’s 2005 mug shot

On just about any scale, in any survey or poll conducted on the least trusted professions in Canada and the United States over the past 20 or so years, lawyers are right down there, swimming through the bottom sludge with politicians, insurance  agents and, yes, journalists.

Yet this journalist – however trusted or untrusted I may be – is going to take a chance and say cheers to more than 80 Canadian lawyers – all specialists in immigration law – who have shown the courage and the moral fortitude to challenge Canada’s Stephen Harper government that it played no role in allowing Conrad Black, a conficted criminal, entry to Canada earlier this year on a residency permit. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Let me begin with a question. Who owns the Great Lakes?

Public is fenced off from many stretches of beach behind private homes along Lake Erie in Niagara, Ontario. File photo courtesy of Ontario Shorewalk Association.

You might respond by saying that the answer to that one is simple. We all do. Or if you want think about these waterbodies the way our Native North Americans friends might, you may say we don’t own them. We are just borrowing them from our children.

Well, on the Ontario side of the Great Lakes at least, and possibly in a number of U.S. states around the lakes, you would be wrong on both counts because these waterbodies – as in any access to them along most of their beaches –  are apparently the monopoly of people who own property along them. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper 

What if the regional council for Niagara, Ontario began talks on its yearly budget and hardly anyone from the taxpaying public showed any active interest?

Dave Augustyn, Pelham, Ontario’s mayor, regional councillor and chair of the regional government’s budget review committee, wants citizens across Niagara to get more involved in calling the shotes on region’s next budget..

That’s pretty well the way it’s been for most of the 42 years Niagara’s regional government has been in existence. And it has been so even though the regional government’s portion of taxes range somewhere around 40 and 50 per cent of the total property tax bill, compared to local municipalities that consume about a third of the property tax pie, and the province that takes about 15 per cent for education.

It is a sad comment on how little too many of us care about what our municipal governments are doing to our pocketbooks and the services they are mandated to deliver that year after year, it is not unusual to see only a half dozen Niagara residents – usually the same half dozen residents – participate in any way whatsoever in the regional council’s budget discussions. Continue reading →

“The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country – and we haven’t seen them since.” —  American writer Gore Vidal

From Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper 

Five years ago we lost Norman Mailer. Earlier this year we lost Christopher Hitchens, and now Gore Vidal.

American writer Gore Vidal

It may not matter to all of those people who can’t read or think past a tweet or a two-sentence note from a “friend” on Facebook, talking about the nice pair of shoes they bought, but it may mean something to any of you who are left out there who appreciate the value of having a few writers around who have some real thoughtful gravity to them, whether you agree with their views on not.

It is that kind of probing, searing, kick-out-the-jams-and-go-for-it gravity that our troubled world has lost once again with the death this July 31 of American writer Gore Vidal at age 86. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Ontario’s agriculture minister Ted McMeekin has called on his federal counterpart Gerry Ritz to provide funding support to farmers in Niagara and other regions of the province  who’ve been damaged by this summer’s extremely dry weather.

What are these milk-producing cows going to eat if this drought drags on?

A Commentary by Doug Draper

What if one of Niagara, Ontario’s provincial representatives went out of her way to mail out a survey on health care to close to 50,000 of her constituents and more than 97 per cent of them chose not to respond?

Welland, Ontario MPP Cindy Forster finds out hardly anyone in her constituency is willing to participate in a health care survey

Apparently it does. And at least some inside the administration of the Niagara Health System – the decade-old body responsible for the management of most hospital services in the region – may find comfort in the fact that barely more than two per cent of the constituents served by Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster bothered to respond to her request for information as she and her NDP colleagues continue to press the provincial government for more funding for hospitals.  Continue reading →

By Mark Taliano

 “The price of oil and quality of freedom”, writes New York Times columnist Thomas Freidman, “invariably travel in opposite directions. As the price of oil climbs higher in an oil-dominated country, poor or rich, secular of Muslim, the country’s citizens will, over time, experience less free speech, declining freedom of the press, and a steady erosion of the rule of law.  Neither Texans nor Canadians are exempt …. It is the ‘axiom of our age’.”

On this count, Thomas Freidman couldn’t be more correct.  Prime Minister Harper’s assaults on Canadian freedoms have been devastating. His assaults on free speech started quietly, first by muzzling, and then by firing federal scientists.

 Apparently, that wasn’t enough though, so he put the world renown Environmental Lakes Area, a base for 745 peer-reviewed scientific articles, on the chopping block. Continue reading →

Just a short note from Niagara At Large  on Canal Days -. This is one of the great get togethers in Niagara during the summer –  Canal Days in Port Colborne, Ontario is. All kinds of fun – craft shows, music, etc. in a fabulous canal, lakefront setting hosted by a community in Niagara, Ontario that had the presence of mind to celebrate its canal heritage rather than bury it. If you are in to just digging the best of the Welland Candal and our Great Lakes waters, and if want to top that off with a whole lot of fun, join the countless thousands who will groove out on this one. Now here is a media release and a link for additional information below.

The Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival offers activities and attractions that will enliven the senses. The Tall Ships gather in Port Colborne each Civic holiday weekend, for a four-day celebration of history and heritage. Explore the decks, try your hand at the wheel, or feel the spray as you cruise a Tall Ship on Lake Erie.  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Let the discussions over possible changes to the way Niagara, Ontario residents are governed at the municipal level begin – and let them begin NOW!

David Siegel speaks to Niagara, Ontario regional council about governance reform. Photo by Doug Draper

“You have over two years until the next municipal election, which may seem like a long time, but it is not,” David Siegel told Niagara’s regional councillors on July 26. “I think the timeline is to get started tomorrow.

Siegel is a longtime political science professor at Brock University, a respected expert on municipal governance across Ontario and is now the director of the Niagara Community Observatory that functions as a think tank for issues of concern to our greater Niagara region and is based at Brock. He has been invited by the regional government to provide them with some guidance as they navigate through what some consider treacherous waters – municipal governance reform that might to anything up to more amalgamation of services like public transit, and might even involve a fulsome debate on the amalgamation of local municipalities into fewer corporate entities or even one Region of Niagara.  Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

The decade-long drive for a full-fledged transit system for all of Niagara, Ontario has finally been put in the fast lane.

Niagara Regional chairman Gary Burroughs celebrates launch of pilot transit service in September, 2011. File photo by Doug Draper

“I have heard enough from residents of Niagara that we need a regional transit system,” Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey told fellow councillors at a meeting of the regional council this July 26 before tabling a motion asking for a report and recommendations to be produced by this spring of next year for launching one Niagara transit system for the region.

“We need an action plan for this,” said Badawey, adding that the three-year pilot project the regional government launched last year for a limited run of buses between Welland, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines “is not fully representative of what a regional transit system can be. … This is 2012. Look around at most, if not all municipal jurisidictions with populations over 400,000. They have regional transit.”  Continue reading →

By Michael Moore, Open Mike Blog, July 25, 2012

(NAL publisher Doug Draper – I have been thinking about making a few comments about guns and the tyranny of the National Rifle Association in America for days now, and still might. But you have got to stand back for a commentary by Michael Moore, who probed the gun culture in America in his Academy Award-winning film ‘Bowling for Columbine a decade ago. I don’t mind saying at all that I regard Michael Moore as one of the true voices left with a resonance that reaches back to the revolutionary call of the 1960s for a more just, and peaceful and loving world.

This provocative commentary by Michael Moore was posted this July 25 on the wonderful online news and commentary site  Reader Supported News. Please check out that site at https://secure.readersupportednews.org , become a regular subscriber and support it with a donation.)

Since Cain went nuts and whacked Abel, there have always been those humans who, for one reason or another, go temporarily or permanently insane and commit unspeakable acts of violence.

Michael Moore

There was the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who during the first century A.D. enjoyed throwing victims off a cliff on the Mediterranean island of Capri. Gilles de Rais, a French knight and ally of Joan of Arc during the middle ages, went cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs one day and ended up murdering hundreds of children. Just a few decades later Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula, was killing people in Transylvania in numberless horrifying ways.

In modern times, nearly every nation has had a psychopath or two commit a mass murder, regardless of how strict their gun laws are – the crazed white supremacist in Norway one year ago Sunday, the schoolyard butcher in Dunblane, Scotland, the École Polytechnique killer in Montreal, the mass murderer in Erfurt, Germany … the list seems endless. Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

For those of us who love visiting Niagara Falls and the Niagara River, and sometimes want a change from all of the casinos, high-rise hotels, gift shops, Marineland and other hyper-glitzy venues, you can’t do much better than a trip to the Niagara Glen.

The Niagara Glen overlooking the rapids of the lower Niagara River

A few miles downstream from the Horseshoe and American Falls on the Canadian side, the Niagara Glen and adjoining Whirlpool Forest is about as far away from the frazzle dazzle of Clifton Hill as you can get. If you are up to some on-foot physical exertion, take a walk down the open-air staircase. Take a walk down at the gorge face, and journey into a world of rock piles shaped by thousands of years of rushing water and erosion, and vegetation – some of which is growing out of faces in the rock – that is hundreds of years old. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper 

If you are into historic neighbourhoods and beautifully landscaped lawns and gardens, then you have got to try to be in Buffalo, New York for one of the greatest garden walk experiences in North America.

This classic Victorian home on West Delavan Avenue is a popular stop during Garden Walk Buffalo. It’s front and backyard gardens, along with a fish pond and brick paths leading to a ‘hidden garden’, has been featured in internationally circulated gardening magazines. File Photo by Doug Draper

Garden Walk Buffalo, scheduled for Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, is also the largest event of its kind on the continent, featuring more than 340 private and publicly owned gardens.

And the whole event, complete with a detailed garden-walk map and shuttle buses from neighbhourood to neighborhood where gardens are located, is absolutely free! Continue reading →

An Open Letter To Niagara, Ontario Regional Councillors

From Neil Switzer, Chairman of the West Lincoln Glanbrook Wind Action Group

Honourable Chairman and Councillors

Before Niagara officially brands itself as the “Green Capital of Canada” Regional Council should ask itself “Would Kitchener/Waterloo today initiate  their “Tech Triangle” branding with RIM’s  current state of financial affairs?”  Likely not without looking rather stupid or totally out of touch so why then would the Niagara Region want to hitch their reputation to an industry with an even worse financial outlook?

If you think RIM is in bad financial straights check out Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer and proposed supplier to the West Lincoln and Wainfleet wind projects. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

Welland, Ontario Riding MP Malcolm Allen, the federal New Democratic Party’s agriculture  critic, says it is time for Canada’s governing Conservatives to do something to address what is turning into a crisis for farmers in the Niagara region.

Many of these corn stocks in a parched field in Thorold, Ontario are barely a foot high, and it is late July! Photo by Doug Draper

The federal government should be prepared to provide economic assistance to due to this summer’s unusually dry conditions, not cut funds, Allen said.

In a July 24 media release, the federal representative noted that “in Ontario alone, the warm and dry weather has caused one of the worst droughts in history. In parts of Niagara,” Allen added, “there has only been 40 to 60 per cent of normal rainfall since April 1, and despite some rain last week, many crops are already irreparably damaged.”  Continue reading →