Niagara At Large

A Brief One from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

December 18^th, 2015

By some accounts from local NDP insiders, Malcolm Allen was feeling pretty depressed about his loss in last October’s federal election. And rightfully so given his own solid record as an MPP for the federal Riding of Welland, as a

Former MP for the federal riding of Welland, Ontario, Malcolm Allen.

parliamentarian for Canada, and as critic and deputy critic for everything from skills, training and apprenticeships to agriculture and food security in NDP leader Tom Mulcair’s shadow cabinet.

But the two-term New Democratic Party MP – and, until two months ago, the only member of the NDP in Niagara, Ontario to serve in government at the federal level – might take some solace from the fact that he received Canada-wide praise for his years of service on CBC TV’s National news program this past Thursday, December 18^th. Continue reading →

A Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

December 17^th, 2015

For more than four years now, decisions by the former Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty to scrap plans to build a gas-fired power plant in Oakville and walk away from another partially built power plant in Mississauga, before and during a hotly contested provincial election in the fall of 2011, have dogged McGuinty and his predecessor – the current Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Two of his former senior staff now face criminal charges in gas plant scandal.

Later news, that the McGuinty governments decision to abandon the Oakville and Mississauga sites because of the strong opposition plans to operate the power plants there drew from residents in those communities cost more than a billion dollars, understandably enraged Ontario taxpayers.

Then there were the allegations that thousands of pieces of emails and other records in the Premier’s office were destroyed that elevated the whole affair to a scandal that had members of the Conservative and New Democratic Parties calling for an Ontario Provincial Police investigation, which was launched two and a half years ago.

And now finally, on this December 17^th, 2015, two individuals who were about as senior as you can get in McGiuinty’s office when he was premier, have been charged with criminal offences that could get them up to 10 years in jail. Continue reading →

• “We are grateful for the generosity of the Niagara community, and deeply moved by their welcoming of refugees to their region.” – Rick Cober Bauman, Executive Director of MCC Ontario

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

December 17^th, 2015

Niagara Region – This December 17^th, Niagara Regional Chair Alan Caslin presented $25,000 to Mennonite Central Committee Ontario for the

From left to right at funding presentation, St. Catharines Regional Councillor Bruce Timms, Mayor of Pelham Dave Augustyn, Niagara Regional Chair Alan Caslin, Mennonite Central Committee Refugee Program Coordinator Moses Moini, Mennonite Central Committee Executive Director Rick Cober Bauman

resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Niagara.

This donation follows the unprecedented outpouring of support from Niagara residents, who raised the same amount now being matched by the Region.

“We are grateful for the generosity of the Niagara community, and deeply moved by their welcoming of refugees to their region,” said Rick Cober Bauman, Executive Director of MCC Ontario. “Collaboration of this kind makes an incredible difference, and inspires communities and municipalities across the province to play such a part in responding to the flight of Syrian refugees. Continue reading →

• Rallies to Stop the Devastating Hospital Cuts & Privatization of our Local Public Hospital Services

News from the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide advocacy group for quality public health care

You can help to save local public hospital services! We’re heading into the 9th year of real-dollar hospital cuts, the longest stretch in Ontario’s history. Funding for hospitals is now at the lowest rate of any province in the country. Local community hospitals are at risk of complete closure, while birthing, emergency departments and other services are constantly at threat. Thousands of hospital staff positions have been eliminated.

By every measure, Ontario’s hospital cuts are deeper than any other jurisdiction. Virtually every service cut from our local hospitals is being privatized.  Continue reading →

• Students and chef professors at Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute have a taste for holiday giving.

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

On Monday, Dec. 21, they will be cooking up a storm for hundreds of community residents in need. The festive holiday fare – including trays of turkey, stuffing, veggies and all the trimmings – will be served  at the 16^th annual Spirit of Christmas Dinner in St. Catharines on Christmas Day.

Preparing a feast for the Spirit of Christmas Dinner has become an annual tradition among staff and students at the College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute. While staff and students prepare the meal in advance of the event, Niagara College president Dan Patterson regularly volunteers on Christmas Day to help serve the meal.

The DeDivitiis family Spirit of Christmas Dinner will be held on Dec. 25 at Gord’s Place in St. Catharines. The event offers a free Christmas dinner to those who attend, which often includes the homeless, those facing financial challenges, those without families, and newcomers to Canada.

For a Google Map for locating Gord’s Place on 84 James Street in St. Catharines’ downtown area click on –  https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Gord’s+Place/@43.1594606,-79.2461119,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf2056d8ac4dbed62 .

Niagara College is the lead sponsor of this year’s event. Other sponsors include the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, Lancaster Brooks & Welch, and Brock University.

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

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

News from Brock University

December 17^th, 2015

Brock University, St. Catharines, is pleased to announce the appointment of renowned scholar and Brock alumna Wendy Cukier PhD, MBA, MA, BA, DU (hon) LLD (hon) M.S.C. as its sixth President and Vice-Chancellor. Cukier, currently Vice-President Research and Innovation at Ryerson University in Toronto, is an internationally respected researcher, expert in emerging technology and innovation and advocate for social justice.

Wendy Cukier to begin a new journey as Brock University’s 6th President and Vice Chancellor in September, 2016

She will join Brock as President and Vice-Chancellor on September 1^st, 2016.

The announcement was made today by John Suk, Chair of Brock’s Board of Trustees, and culminates a year-long search to select a successor for President Jack Lightstone. The search was overseen by an internal committee led by Joe Robertson, immediate past chair of the Board.

Cukier will be the first female President in Brock’s 51-year history, as well as the first Brock graduate to hold the University’s highest office. Today’s announcement comes two months after Brock installed First Nations filmmaker Shirley Cheechoo as its first-ever female Chancellor. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

December 17th, 2015

You had to know that sooner or later, with Donald Trump being the self-obsessed, circus ringmaster that he is, that America’s poster boy for all that is MAD – the one and only Alfred E. Neuman – would do a number on him.

And MAD’s number on Trump, whose slogan for his campaign for the U.S. presidency is ‘Make America Great Again’, is ONE – as in the magazine’s pic of the number one “dumbest person, event or thing” of 2015.

Inside the magazine’s covers, Alfred’s mad cap team of writers had this to say about the Donald under a heading that read ‘The Art Of The Heel’; “Donald Trump’s mouth is just like the hose that drain’s your septic tank – you never know what is going to come out of it, but you know it won’t be good. Whether insulting Mexicans, veterans and women or ridiculing Rand Paul, Roger Ailes and Jeb, candidate Trump takes delight in travelling around the country in his Trump logo-emblazoned helicopter, leaving voters waist-deep in his verbal diarrhea.” Continue reading →

An Open Letter from Ontario’s New Democratic Party To The Province’s Education Minister Liz Sandals

December 16^th, 2015

Dear Minister,

Students and families across Ontario were shocked by this month’s scathing Auditor General Report. Several sections of this report highlight serious shortcomings in your department and that of the Ministry of Transportation.

I am calling on you to take the recommendations of the Auditor General seriously and to immediately act in several key areas that will help ensure the safety of students as they travel to and from school.

Notably, the Auditor General is concerned that you have taken a “hands off approach,” to safety by not setting guidelines for collision and incidents reporting among transportation consortia. Approximately one in eight school buses, carrying 830,000 kids annually, was involved in a crash. Continue reading →

An Open Invite to You from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission and the City of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, Ontario, December 16^th, 2015  – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) and the City of Niagara Falls, along with its Niagara Falls New Year’s Eve event partners invite the public to join the celebrations and be part of one of Canada’s longest running New Year’s Eve festivities and concert series, taking place in Queen Victoria Park.

New Years fireworks over the Falls. A Niagara Parks Commission file photo

This year’s concert line-up will feature musical performances by Canadian rock artists Down with Webster, along with Alan Doyle, best known for his work as lead singer for Newfoundland’s beloved band Great Big Sea. The show continues with Dennis DeYoung, founding member of the famed rock group Styx, and concludes with Canadian rock icon Tom Cochrane and Red Rider. This highly anticipated free show will begin at 8:00 p.m., in Queen Victoria Park, overlooking the majestic American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Ministry of Labour

Welland, Ontario, December 16^th, 2015 – The City of Welland has pleaded guilty and has been fined $150,000 after a city worker died after being critically injured on the job and subsequently contracted an infection from the incident.

On December 9, 2013, the worker was part of a crew of municipal employees sent to a site located at 255 Willson Road in Welland to correct a sewer backup. The crew determined that the sewer/access cover had a blocked lateral pipe and attempted to clear the blockage using a Vactor truck equipped with a rodding system, a process where a vacuum hose sucks waste materials out of the sewer/pipes and into a storage tank and a pressure hose loosens the blockage to facilitate suction.

The crew could only empty approximately six feet of waste and the workers could not actually see the pipe or blockage. The crew then attempted to use the pressure hose to loosen the blockage in the pipe. Continue reading →

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

From the Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

December 16^th, 2015

Queen’s Park, Ontario – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling for the creation of an Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat. The NDP will introduce a motion calling for the creation of the secretariat in the next session.

“Ontario is at its best when we’re all included and nobody is left behind. That’s why I am calling for the government to create the Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat,” said Horwath. “Too many people in Ontario face racism in one form or another; by establishing the secretariat we can take positive steps to challenge inequality and make choices that focus on creating equality and fairness.” Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour

St. Catharines, Ontario, December 15^th, 2015 – Ingredion Canada Incorporated has pleaded guilty and has been fined $150,000 in the death of a worker who was crushed while riding a rail car.

Part of the Ingredion workplace in Port Colborne contains a rail spur owned by the company that allows rail cars access to the facility to be loaded with product (the company is a maker of fructose sweeteners).

Two workers are involved in the movement of rail cars at the facility. One worker operates the Trackmobile; the other ensures the path is clear for the moving cars, and is also responsible for engaging and disengaging the hand brake, located at the end of a rail car. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

The evisceration of news departments in this region and others across Canada and the United States just goes on and on and on and on.

So much so that we may not be far away from the day when there are no professional reporters left working in our communities at all – a circumstance that will surely tickle those politicians and others who’d feel a heck of a lot bolder doing whatever without any watchdogs from the fourth and fifth estates around.

Lauran Sabourin, a long-time reporter of affairs in Niagara for CHCH news

The latest news department to get run through the meat cutters was the one at CHCH TV in Hamilton/Niagara that began the morning of Friday, December 11^th with more than 150 full- and part-time staff and ended the day around a declaration of bankruptcy and a new corporate owner – something rather fittingly called Channel Zero – offering to hire back about 70 of them.

The rest – many of them veteran journalists with families and strong roots in the community – were herded out the door with no severance pay and low chances of finding another gig in a field where there are less than half as many jobs across the continent than there were two decades ago.

But no hard feelings and, while we’re at it, enjoy the rest of the holiday season.

Two members of the CHCH news staff who were among the casualties in this massacre were two people I had the pleasure to work beside on some of the same stories going back to my early years as the environment reporter at the once good St. Catharines Standard three decades ago. So I’m declaring my bias here as one of many of fellow journalists in this region who had a great deal of respect for these people – a respect, I would stress, that was well deserved because they earned it through years of good reporting on issues that mattered to our communities. Continue reading →

An Initial Analysis Of The COP21 Climate Agreement

“This agreement coming out of the Paris COP falls far short of what is needed to actually address our climate crisis.”

From Brent Patterson, Political Director, Council of Canadians, a nation-wide public advocacy group

December 2015 – A new draft climate agreement has been reached this past December 12^th, 2015 – the last day of the COP21 talks in Paris.

Unfortunately, despite the framing of this agreement as “ambitious and equitable”, it falls well short of what is needed in terms of real commitments to emission reductions, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, adequate financing for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, recognition of human rights, and protection from transnational corporate lawsuits. Continue reading →

“It is absolutely true that Canada announcing support for 1.5 degrees mid-way through the conference made a huge difference in keeping that target in the treaty.  I heard that from friends and contacts around the world.” – Elizabeth May  

A Statement from Paris from Canada’s Green Party Leader Elizabeth May on the morning of Sunday, December 13^th, 2015, after 13 days and 3 all-nighters

The Paris Agreement is accepted.  The COP21 decision is agreed.  What does it all mean?

Canada’s Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was in Paris for entire Climate Summit

I have been working on climate for the last 29 years.   In that time I have seen lip service from most politicians, courage from a few politicians, venality from some corporations (Exxon come to mind), leadership from others.

I have witnessed opportunity after opportunity squandered for political expediency.  Agreements signed and then ignored.   Overall we have procrastinated and lost decades when we could have averted the climate crisis nearly entirely.

Now we are in it.  With loss of life and devastating droughts and heat waves, extreme weather events, sea level rise and loss of Arctic ice and permafrost.  No longer are we arguing about a future problem.  We have already changed the climate, so the debate of 2015 is “can we avoid the very worst of the climate crisis?  Can we ensure the survival of human civilization?  Can we save millions of species?” To do so requires transitioning off fossil fuels.  Continue reading →

Statement By The Prime Minister Of Canada On Successful Conclusion Of Paris Climate Conference

• “Here at home I will meet with the Premiers within the next 90 days to work on a plan to meet our international commitments in tackling climate change and transitioning to a low carbon economy.” – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement this December 12^th, 2015 on the successful conclusion of the Paris Climate Conference:

Members of the Canadian Youth Climate Delegation work to make their views known in Paris. Visit the coalion’s website at http://www.ourclimate.ca

“The world gathered in Paris to fight climate change and its devastating impacts on our earth, our health, our economy, and our very way of life. We also gathered with a common vision to leave a sustainable planet for our children and grand children.

“I am very pleased that Canada and 194 other countries were able to reach a historic, ambitious, and balanced agreement to fight climate change. Together with our international partners, we agreed to strengthen the global response to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius as well as pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. Continue reading →

Canada, United States And All Other Nations Sign Agreement To Keep Global Warming Below 1.5 Degrees Celsius

From Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

News of the signing of an international climate change agreement just came out of Paris around 8 a.m. our time on this Saturday, December 12^th, and everyone interested is still scrambling to review to digest it and determine its implications.

Shoes from around the world in Paris to press for a solid climate agreement

Niagara At Large will have much in the way of analysis on this deal, at least parts of which (for the first time for a global climate change pact) are legally binding.

For now, we leave you with a link to the draft agreement and a list of a few of the key features of it.

Click on the following link to read the draft agreement –http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/da01.pdf . 

Here are some key points from the draft:

1. As expected, the agreement commits the world to limiting warming to well below 2C but to try to keep it below 1.5C.
2. Countries will be requested to revisit their existing pledges for emission cuts by 2020, and every five years thereafter.
3. On the thorny issue of money, the legally-binding part of the agreement requires that developed countries (as defined in 1992) shall continue to provide finance to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change and cut their emissions. The most contentious part – how much money – is in the non-legally binding ‘decision text’. Currently, developed countries are obliged to ‘mobilise’ $100bn a year of public and private finance to help developing countries by 2020. The decision says they “intend to continue their existing collective mobilization goal through 2025” and then by 2025 set a new goal “from a floor of $100 billion”.

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

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

“Canada is doing the right thing by providing refuge for those so desperately seeking safety.” – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Toronto, Ontario, December 11^th, 2015 – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement after welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada late last night:

“Today, we welcome many Syrian refugees who were forced to flee their homeland because of war and conflict. Canada is doing the right thing by providing refuge for those so desperately seeking safety.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets Syrian refugees arriving late this December 10th at Pearson International Airport in Toronto

“This is a significant step in fulfilling our plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada in the coming months. It also demonstrates our commitment to refugee resettlement, which is part of Canada’s proud humanitarian tradition.

“I know that, even for those facing extreme hardship, tragedy, and war in their country, leaving home is very difficult. The transition to a new life in a new country can be a very daunting process.

“Let me reassure those coming to our country that our communities and all orders of government will work closely, together, to make it easier for you to adjust to these changes and become full participants in Canadian society. While it might be much colder outside than back home, I am sure that you will find warm welcomes from your new neighbours.

“In the years to come, Canadians will look back with enormous pride on the contributions made by Syrian refugees and how they have made our country even better.”

For more information about the Government of Canada’s plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees, please visit the #WelcomeRefugees website.]

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

Click on www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary from Niagara At Large, an independent, progressive voice for our binational Niagara Region.

“The struggling Canadian currency, climate factors and consumer trends will all play important roles,” report says.

News from the University of Guelph’s Food Institute

Guelph, Ontario, December 2015 – Canadian consumers will have to pay more for food next year, according to the 2016 Food Price Report  from University of Guelph researchers.

After a year in which a lagging Canadian dollar led to substantial price jumps for many products, shoppers will face smaller increases in 2016, especially for meats, fruits and nuts, and vegetables.

Overall, the researchers expect prices increases averaging two to four per cent, above the general rate of inflation.

The struggling Canadian currency, climate factors and consumer trends will all play important roles in 2016, said Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the sixth annual report from the Food Institute of the University of Guelph. Continue reading →

From the Desk of Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the province-wide public interest group, the Ontario Health Coalition

December 2015 – This past December 8^th, a high-profile report tracking health care wait times was released from the Wait Times Alliance. Eliminating Code Gridlock in Canada’s Health Care System, is a credible summary and a useful addition to public policy decisions about health care planning. It is written by an alliance of physician specialists’ organizations to track progress in wait times and public reporting.

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra

Leeching off of the publicity for the day, the Fraser Institute — a pro-privatization think-tank (see Who Funds the Fraser Institute? here and here) — also released their annual wait times report. Releasing this report at the same time as the release of the Wait Times Alliance Report may garner extra media, but it is bound to cause confusion. 

Both reports are about wait times in health care. But the similarities stop there.

The methodology of the Fraser Institute is based on the subjective viewpoints of the small proportion of physician specialists who answer their surveys. If you read the methodology section of their report, you will find that their response rate is only 21%. That is, they received answers from just one in five of the physicians they surveyed. Continue reading →

From the Office of Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – We can say what we want about former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. I still can’t forgive him for stuffing the country’s Senate chambers with a rat pack of partisan hacks and cronies, shoving the regressive Goods & Services Tax (GST) down our gullets, and negotiating a North American Free Trade Agreement that provided rocket fuel for industries to leave our country for regions south of the U.S./Mexican border where labour and environmental laws were either weak or non-existent at the time and where wages were many times lower.

Nelson Mandela visits Canada in 1990 to thank the Mulroney government and Canadian people for pressing for his release from a prison in his native South Afica

And that’s just to name a few of the items on Mulroney’s I take issue with.

Yet on one key file – that of expressing public condemnation for South Africa’s now-abolished system of racial segregation (known in that country as apartheid) and the imprisonment of civil rights icon Nelson Mandela, Brian Mulroney shone above all of his closest political allies and friends, including then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. president Ronald Reagan who refused to say or do a thing to end the system or win Mandela’s freedom. Continue reading →

From Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

December 9th, 2015

There’s no possibility way he can win, his critics say. There isn’t?

He’s been running for half a year now and for most of that time, he’s been ahead in the polls.

Donald Trump, drawing cheers and high poll numbers for sweeping political correctness aside and telling it the way he sees it.

So consider the possibility that in little more than a year from now, we Canadians could have a major-league bigot with a record of trashing anyone who gets in his way running the country right next to us.

And won’t that be great for Canada/U.S. relations – unless we just tow the line and go along with him on everything from banning the immigration of all people Muslim to , as he’s put it, bombing the “sh–” out of ISIS and anyone else(most likely Muslim’s)  who happens to get in the way.

I’m talking about billionaire tycoon and U.S. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump and all his latest bluster about blocking every person of the Muslim faith from entry to his country – an idea that has him strengthening his lead in the polls has even been embraced by some Canadians, judging by letters to the editor and calls to radio talk shows.

Through the stench of all this, the New York Daily News, a newspaper tabloid that has also hitting hard on gun violence lately, published a front page this December 9th that gets two thumbs up from this Canadian, anyway. It pins the donkey tail right where it belongs so I share it below for all of you who may be wish all here it is below.

Trump also has England swinging at him for recently saying that police are afraid to go into some London neighbourhoods because of “radicalized” Muslims that have moved in their.

That claim prompted the following response from London’ England’s Mayor Boris Johnson;

London, England Mayor Boris Johnson rips into Trump

“As a city where more than 300 languages are spoken, London has a proud history of tolerance and diversity and to suggest there are areas where police officers cannot go because of radicalisation is simply ridiculous,” Johnson said.

“Crime has been falling steadily both in London and in New York ,” he added, and “the only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump,”

That was quite a shot coming from the mayor of one of the world’s major cities. But none of that sort of criticism or editorial  punches from the media seems to matter to Americans who are so put off with establishment politicians and the mainstream media that growing numbers of them turn to Trump every time another politician or journalist takes a run at him.

Like Time magazine noted in a cover story Trump’s rhetoric, however repugnant it may seem to some, is tapping into a fear and anger that is out there and the rest of us are left to “deal with it.”

And that shouldn’t just mean how do we deal with the possibility of a President Donald Trump saying and doing things that may not only have a profound impact on his country, but on ours and othes around the world.

We also need to deal with whatever put all of that fear and anger there in the first place.

At least some of that fear and anger may have been caused by the same politicians and m media outlets that are now bashing Trump.

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

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

• “A number of municipalities want to pave over the province’s treasured Greenbelt, but this recent public polling reveals that residents are just not on board.” – Burkhard Mausberg, CEO, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation

 News from Andreea Nicoara and the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation

December, 2015 – Recent polling in Niagara Region shows that more than nine out of 10 respondents (91 per cent) believe it’s important to limit urban sprawl. Conducted between August 19 and September 8, 2015,

The green area on this map highlights the Niagara lands within Ontario’s protected Greenbelt circling Lake Ontario and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. In Niagara, low-density sprawl, sanctioned by municipal governments, is pressing right up against the boundaries of these protected lands.

Environics online polling also found that nine out of 10 respondents in rural communities agree that growth can be accommodated by making more efficient use of existing lands in urban areas.

Additionally, three out of four respondents overall convey that the boundaries of the Greenbelt should be preserved forever.

These polling results come on the heels of the release of 87 recommendations by an expert advisory panel chaired by David Crombie. The panel was tapped by the Ontario government to review the Greenbelt Plan and three other land use plans. Continue reading →

• It’s time for Niagara’s local municipalities and regional government to “get their act together” on public transit – Debbie Zimmeran, an Advisory Panel member, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario and former Grimsby regional council and chair of the Region of Niagara

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

December 8th, 2015

A six-person advisory panel, hosting former Toronto mayor David Crombie as its chair and Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario and a former Grimsby councillor and chair of Niagara’s regional government as one of

Advisory panel member and former Niagara Regional Chair Debbie Zimmerman

its members, tabled a lengthy report this December 7^th, listing 87 recommendations for updating provincial plans for protecting watersheds, greenspaces and farms, and for making communities in Niagara and other regions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe healthier, more prosperous places to live, work and play.  

“We must step up our efforts to curb sprawl, build complete communities, grow the Greenbelt, support agriculture and address traffic congestion,” states an executive summary of the report the panel drafted after more than 10 months of consultation and submissions received from thousands of individuals and groups across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).

“We owe it to current and future generations to ensure that the GGH supports healthy lifestyles, a high quality of life, a sustainable environment and a prosperous economy,” adds the panel which concludes its report by urging the government to act on its recommendations “in a comprehensive and timely fashion” to strengthenfour provincial plans it was instructed by the province to review. Continue reading →

• If That Happens, Maybe We Should Build A Wall Along The Border And Make Donald Trump Pay For It

A Commentary by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

December 8th, 2015

When billionaire real estate baron and realty show celebrity Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States last spring, many of that country’s political pundits wrote him off as a clown who would say or do something to blow his campaign up by the end of the summer.

The front page of the New York Daily News this past June, after Donald Trump announced he was running for U.S. president.

But the pundits turned out to be just as wrong about that as many of them were when a junior senator from Illinois named Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the nation’s top job in 2007 and their out-of-the gate prediction was that he, with his lack of political experience, his middle name ‘Hussein’ and his black skin, had little or no chance to win.

When Trump stood in his golden tower on New York City’s Fifth Avenue last June and announced his decision to run while Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ (appropriated for the occasion without the artist’s consent) was welling up in the background, he immediately drew fire from what liberals are left in the America by declaring that he was going to build a wall along the border his country shares with Mexico to keep what he described as all of the murderers, rapists and drug dealers out. Continue reading →

A Statement by the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after delivering a speech to the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly

Gatineau, Quebec, December 8^th, 2015 – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement after delivering a speech today to the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Quebec.

Years of lobbying Canada’s recently defeated Harper government for a public inquiry on murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls went nowhere. Now there may finally be action

“There is no relationship more important to me – and to Canada – than the one with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit.

“It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples: one that is based on the understanding that the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of First Nations are a sacred obligation that we carry forward. This obligation is based on respect, co-operation, and partnership; it is guided by the spirit and intent of the original treaty relationship; and it respects inherent rights, treaties and jurisdictions, and the decisions of our courts.

“Bringing about real change will take more than just individual people – or even individual governments. What is needed is nothing less than a total renewal of the relationship between Canada and the First Nations peoples.

“I am also proud to say that, as promised, we have begun the process to create a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

“A priority moving forward will be to make significant investments in First Nations education. We will deliver increased funding for First Nations education and we will work on education reforms for First Nations children that are led by First Nations.

“We will lift the two per cent cap on funding for First Nations programs. It is time for a new fiscal relationship with First Nations that gives these communities sufficient, predictable, and sustained funding.

“In partnership with Indigenous communities, the provinces, territories, and other vital partners, we will also fully implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, starting with the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  

“Finally, we will conduct a full review of the legislation unilaterally imposed on Indigenous peoples by earlier governments.

“Working together as partners, I am confident that we can make meaningful and immediate progress on the issues that matter most to First Nations communities.”

From the Prime Minister’s Web Site – available at http://www.pm.gc.ca/

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

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

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

When the Ontario government set up high-occupancy vehicle lanes – HOVs for short – to ease highway congestion around Greater Toronto Area during last summer’s Pan American Games, former Toronto mayor and city councillor Rob Ford boldly confessed that he violated the rules for using them.

HOT lanes for reducing highway congestion opeating in the Washington, D.C. area.

“These HOV lanes are a complete disaster,” said Ford of the province’s decision to dedicate one lane on some of the multi-lane, 400-series highways around the GTA to vehicles with at least three people in them. Fort admitted using them while driving alone and whenever he couldn’t spot “cops over (his) shoulder” because they were less congested and as he put it; “I have to get to where I have to go.”

One would expect that kind of brazen opposition to the concept of lanes dedicated to vehicles which (by virtue of carrying more than one person) place a lighter carbon footprint on the planet from a character like Rob Ford or from another guy last summer who apparently buckled manicans on his car seats in an attempt to get away with using them. Continue reading →

Province’s Pilot Project Offers New Option For Quicker Travel

News from the Government of Ontario

Queen’s Park, December 2015 – A High-Occupancy Toll, or HOT, lane pilot project will begin on a section of the QEW between Trafalgar Road in Oakville and Guelph Line in Burlington in summer 2016 to help manage congestion and add another option for travelers.

The pilot is the first step of Ontario’s plan to implement HOT lanes throughout the region. In this pilot project, existing High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on the QEW will be converted to HOT lanes.

Carpools of two or more occupants will still be able to use the QEW HOT lanes for free, while single occupant drivers will now have the option to purchase a permit to use them. A limited number of permits will be available to allow single occupant drivers to use the HOT lanes during the pilot. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Health System, an amalgamation of hospital services in Niagara, Ontario

Niagara, Ontario, December 4^th, 2015 – Niagara Health System is pleased to announce that we’ve been named a National Best Practice Hospital for Biomedical Engineering.

Some of the membes of the Niagara Health System’s award-winning biomedical engineering team. Photo courtesy of Niagara Health System.

The designation was achieved following our Biomedical Engineering department participating in a week-long Peer Review directed by the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society (CMBES) in September. The NHS is one of few hospitals in Canada to achieve this National Best Practice status.

Jean Ngoie, Regional Manager of Biomedical Engineering, formally requested a CMBES Peer Review to assess the department’s performance and to meet our requirements for Accreditation. The survey took place over five days in September. In addition to interviewing members of the NHS team, surveyors met with customers and stakeholders to ascertain the level of satisfaction with the services provided. Continue reading →

• Full Text Of Speech from the Throne to Open the First Session of the Forty-second Parliament of Canada

“Honourable Senators, Members of the House of Commons, Ladies and gentlemen,

As the representative of Her Majesty The Queen, I am pleased to be here to deliver the Speech from the Throne.

A warm welcome to those of you who are returning to your duties as parliamentarians, including those who are returning after an absence.  Know that your experience is valued.

Cover of the hard copy of Canada’s Liberal Government’s first Throne Speech

Welcome also to the 197 members who are newly elected.  Your enthusiasm and fresh ideas will serve your country well.

I call on all parliamentarians to work together, with a renewed spirit of innovation, openness and collaboration.

As governor general, I have seen first-hand what a great country Canada is—from coast to coast to coast.

And I also know this: We can be even better.

How?

By being smart, and caring—on a scale as never before.

The times we live in demand nothing less.

Canada succeeds in large part because here, diverse perspectives and different opinions are celebrated, not silenced. Continue reading →

Canada’s New Democrat Party’s Reaction To Liberal Throne Speech

Ottawa, Ontario, December 2015 – New Democrats greeted this December 4th’s first Liberal Speech from the Throne with encouragement in the change of tone and with a willingness to help turn today’s broad commitments into action.

Canada’s NDP Leader Tom Mulcair

 “We are pleased to see the Liberal government take the crisis of climate change and Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples seriously, but the speech was thin and it is unfortunate to see that reinstating home mail delivery and returning the age of retirement to 65 were both overlooked in today’s Throne Speech,” said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair (Outremont). “We hope the Liberals will accept the NDP suggestion to fix their tax cut proposal so that it doesn’t leave two thirds of Canadians behind. Canadians can trust the NDP to fight for their jobs, their family and their community.” Continue reading →

• Sets Country On Path To Higher Deficits, Says Conservative’s Interim Leader Rona Ambrose

Canada’s Conservative Party’s Reaction To Throne Speech

Ottawa, Ontario, December 4^th, 2015 – The Liberal government’s Speech from the Throne sets Canada on a path to higher deficits and debt; and higher taxes including a carbon tax; while ignoring Canadian farmers, businesses, and free trade and turning Canada’s back on the threat of Islamic State terror, said the Leader of the Official Opposition, Rona Ambrose.

Canadian Conservative Opposition Leader Rona Ambrose

“The Speech from the Throne is a loud and clear warning to Canadians that the Liberals are about to take us down a fiscally reckless path. It’s short on detail, but full of big spending commitments,” said Ambrose.

“The Throne Speech just formalizes the dismal fiscal approach the Liberals have already begun to take. A 30-day Liberal spending spree has blown the surplus they inherited. The Finance Minister has taken an eraser to any time or money limit on the deficits he’s planning to run,” said Ambrose. Continue reading →

Statement from Progressive Conservative Party  Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure Critic Monte McNaughton

(A Brief Foreword to McNaughton’s statement from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Niagara, Ontario readers of this post should know that Statistics Canada figures released this December 4th show that Niagara’s unemployment rate was 7.8 per cent for this past November, higher than the national average of 7.1 per cent and also higher than the Ocober jobless rate for Niagara of 7.3 per cent.)

The latest jobless figures from Statistics Canada are bleak for Niagara, for Ontario and for the country.

Queen’s Park, December 4th, 2015 – “The job numbers released today unfortunately show that Ontario’s unemployment rate increased in November.

The Auditor General’s report this week highlighted that Ontario has had the third worst record of private sector job creation in Canada since 2000. It appears the Liberals intend to continue this trend, as our economy lost a further 36,400 private sector jobs this month.

Today’s job losses report confirms what the Ontario PC Caucus has said all along: the Liberal Government is incapable of developing a long-term plan to grow the economy and create jobs.  The Auditor General’s review of Ontario’s Economic Development and Employment Programs confirmed this. Continue reading →

• “Ontario is a beacon of hope to those who are fleeing war and desperation. We’re working hard to give Syrian refugees new hope and new opportunity.” – Michael Chan, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade

News from the Government of Ontario

Queen’s Park, December 4^th, 2015 – Ontario is preparing to welcome refugees to the province by allocating funding to sponsorship efforts, establishing a Special Advisory Table on Refugees, and encouraging people and organizations in the province to volunteer.

Syrian refugees wait in overseas camps for chance for a new home.

Earlier this year, Ontario committed $8.5 million over two and a half years to deliver both settlement and integration supports to refugees, as well as to help organizations and groups that are privately sponsoring refugees. Since then, Ontario has allocated a total of $1.8 million to Lifeline Syria, Refugee 613, Catholic Crosscultural Services, Catholic Centre for Immigrants, Ottawa and the University of Ottawa Refugee Sponsorship Support Program. These funds will: Continue reading →

• Bill Would Set Tougher Penalties For Anyone Who Strikes A Motorcycle, Bike Or Pedestrian

News from  Ontario’s New Democratic Party 

Queen’s Park, December 2015 – Ontario NDP MPP Wayne Gates’ (Niagara Falls) Private Members Bill 154 – Contraventions Causing Death or Serious Bodily Harm passed second reading on Thursday, bringing it one step closer to being law. The bill introduces a new section to the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) that will strengthen penalties for drivers who cause, or contribute to causing, death or serious injury while violating the Act.

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Gates noted that his proposed additions to the HTA will “help ensure that anyone who strikes a motorcycle, bike, or a pedestrian, causing death or serious injury, is subject to penalties that fit the crime.”

Between 1993 and 2011, 275 motorcyclists were killed in accidents through no fault of their own. In some instances, a driver who hit a motorcycle, killing the riders, was subject only to a $500 fine for an illegal left turn under the Highway Traffic Act. Continue reading →

News from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government 

Niagara Region, December 2015 – This December 3^rd, Niagara Regional Council approved its 2016 tax supported operating budget of $510.4 million, of which $159 million is supported by Regional property taxes.

Niagara, Ontario’s regional council headquarters

This budget is focused on maintaining existing services and reinvesting in strategic areas that will enable a more prosperous Niagara, with no overall cost increase for residents.

Residents will see a zero per cent budget related increase on the Regional portion of their property tax bill.  For the average household with a home assessed at $240,500, the Regional portion of your tax bill will remain unchanged from 2015, at $1,402.

“Our Council is keeping regional taxes low by approving zero per cent property tax increases which ensures affordability for Niagara residents, while making sure that we are focused on delivering the services and programs that will build a more prosperous Niagara,” said Regional Chair Alan Caslin.  “This budget enables us to advance transportation initiatives across our region, and foster an attractive and collaborative environment for the private sector to bring profitable investment and new jobs to Niagara.” Continue reading →

• Government offers “no evidence that re-building Bruce reactors can keep our lights on at a lower cost.”

A Message of Concern from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance – a citizens activist group on energy issues

Toronto, Ontario – This December 3^rd, 2015, Ontario’s Energy Minister, Bob Chiarelli, announced that the Government of Ontario is signing a contract with Bruce Power to pay for the re-building of six of its aging, outdated nuclear reactors.

Ontario’s Liberal government determined to keep Bruce nuclear plant, seen here on Lake Huron shores, going for decades to come

According to Minister Chiarelli’s preliminary estimate, the project will cost $13 billion. However, according to the actual wording of the Government’s contract with Bruce Power, the final capital cost and price of electricity from the re-built reactors of the project is still to be determined.

In other words, this deal continues the long tradition of leaving ratepayers on the hook for capital cost overruns, whether it is through absorbing debt or paying a fat premium for power or both. Continue reading →

• Jonathan Morrison “was a great guy and the students loved him.”

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

December 2015 – Students from Niagara College’s Recreation and Leisure Services program are going through hoops in memory of a former student.

Jonathan Morrison

The students are not only organizing the Jonathan Morrison Memorial Award Wheelchair Basketball Fundraiser, some of them are revving up to participate in the game. As part of the Jonathan Morrison Memorial Award Wheelchair Basketball Fundraiser to take place on Saturday, December 5, a team of students from the program will take on the Brock Niagara Penguins – a wheelchair basketball team for people with special needs – on Saturday, Dec. 5. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Some of you on the Ontario side of the Niagara River might be saying to yourselves; ‘There he goes again. Why is he posting yet another commentary on the gun culture in the United States?’

Ted Cruz, a Canadian-born Senator for Texas and Republican running for his country’s presidential nomination, has tweeted a call for prayer for the California mass shooting victims but is totally opposed to background checks or any other rules for better controlling who can purchase a gun in America.

Well first, Niagara At Large, I am proud to say, has subscribers on the American side of the Niagara River, in the Buffalo and other cities and towns in Erie and Niagara Counties, New York that we include in a binational community of communities we call the Greater Niagara Region.

Second, I know I am not the only one on the Canadian side of the river who has close friends and relatives living in the United States, at least some of whom are far more disturbed by the mass circulation of guns and death toll from gun-related assaults in their country than the rest of the world is.

And finally, for those who believe America’s gun culture is not a Canadian problem, investigations by police and other bodies have repeatedly shown that more than have the guns used in violent crimes in Canada were smuggled across the border from the gun-drenched United States.

So in the wake of one of the most recent shoot-ups in the U.S. – at, of all places, a health centre dedicated to helping people with developmental disabilities, and where 14 people were slaughtered and many more wounded in what is being called one of the worst massing shooting episodes in the country so far – I want to join some others in celebrating the courage of the editors of the New York Daily News. Continue reading →

• “I challenge readers to see the similarities and the differences among human and animal work-lives.” – Book’s author Kendra Coulter

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

December 3^rd, 2015 – From courthouse dogs supporting child witnesses to rats sniffing out landmines, the work animals do is diverse and fascinating.

Brock University professor and book author Kendra Coulter. Photo courtesy of Brock University

Yet we often underestimate their role in the workplace and even put them in degrading and dangerous situations, says Brock University labour expert Kendra Coulter.

Coulter’s new book, Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity, is a unique look at the contributions, problems, and possibilities of work involving animals.

“Animals use their minds, bodies, and abilities in so many different ways,” says Coulter. “But despite its effects on literally billions of lives, work involving animals has not been well-studied in work and labour studies, or in animal studies.” Continue reading →

• Conservative Opposition Leader Calls For Energy Minister’s Resignation

News from Ontario’s Conservative Party

Queen’s Park, December 2015  – This December 3^rd in the Legislature, Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown grilled the Premier on how the Liberal Government’s mishandling of the electricity sector is costing ratepayers billions of dollars.

Ontario Opposition Leader Patrick Brown calls for resignation of this guy – Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli – after Auditor General’s report reveals billions of dollars of mismanagement in energy field.

The Auditor General’s report highlighted that as a result of Liberal mismanagement, between 2006 and 2014, the people of Ontario have been overcharged $37 billion for electricity.  What’s more, ratepayers will continue to be overcharged another $133 billion dollars over the next 18 years – resulting in a total of $170 billion in unnecessary costs to ratepayers.

“After yesterday’s scathing report from the Auditor General many people on that side of the aisle have questions to answer,” stated Leader Patrick Brown to the Ontario Liberal Caucus. Continue reading →

• Agreement Secures Low-Cost, Clean Electricity Supply and Supports 23,000 Jobs Across Province

News from Ontario’s Liberal Government and Ministry of Energy

Queen’s Park, December 3^rd, 2015 – Ontario has updated its contract with Bruce Power and will proceed with the refurbishment of six nuclear units at the Tiverton-based nuclear generation station.

Ontario government driving for expansion of massive Bruce nuclear power plant on shores of Lake Huron

Nuclear refurbishment will boost economic activity across Ontario, create jobs, ensure savings for ratepayers and secure a clean supply of reliable electricity. The Bruce Power refurbishment project will make up to 23,000 jobs possible and generate about $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province. Ontario is home to a globally recognized CANDU nuclear supply chain with more than 180 companies employing thousands of highly skilled workers.

The government was further able to optimize the nuclear refurbishment schedule in order to maximize the value of existing nuclear units. The revised timeline will mean construction commences in 2020, rather than the previously estimated start date of 2016. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from Niagara Action For Animals for a Home for Buddy

Another stray looking for home!  This is not a NAfA cat per say, but we are happy to advertise, in hopes of finding Buddy a permanent home.

NAFA friend Ed writes in part:

Buddy needs a warm home

Can you help find a home for Buddy? A stray just showed up, must have been dumped, so very friendly and desperate for a home. Young, under 1 Year, I think. I am taking care of him in the barn.  Buddy is lovable and loves to be held and purrs like crazy.

I would keep him, but already have 4 rescues.  

Please contact Ed at 289 820 5611 or by email edgarnis@gmail.com  if you can help.

Niagara Action for Animals is a non-profit, all volunteer charity devoted to ending all forms of animal cruelty through education, direct action and legitimate protest.  Nothing contained in this email is intended to encourage or incite illicit acts.  Please let us know (by return email) if you no longer wish to receive these email alerts. 

 Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

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

Comments on the Ontario’s Auditor General’s Report from the Office of the province’s Conservative Opposition Leader Patrick Brown

Queen’s Park, December 2015 – The 2015 Annual Report by Ontario’s Auditor General is a devastating indictment of 12 years of Liberal waste and mismanagement, Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown said this December 2^nd.

Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown

The Auditor General’s report highlighted that Ontario’s growing debt burden continues to take money away from the funding of key government programs, such as desperately needed health and social services.

“The Auditor General’s report confirms what the Progressive Conservative Caucus has been saying all along – the Wynne Liberals have no real plan to either balance the budget or reduce the province’s growing debt burden,” stated Leader Patrick Brown. “The Auditor General highlights that by 2018, the net debt owed by every Ontario resident will be approximately $23,000 per person.” Continue reading →

Comments on the Ontario Auditor’s Report from the Office of the province’s NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, December 2015 – This December 2^nd, Ontario’s Auditor-

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

General released a scathing Annual Report, showing that the choices made by Premier Wynne and her Liberal government are increasingly out of touch with the priorities of Ontario families.

“Today’s report shows that the Liberals are out of touch with what Ontarians need and are failing at the fundamentals like, caring for our most vulnerable, caring for seniors, and delivering affordable electricity” said Horwath. “Ontarians deserve a government that gets it right and works for all Ontarians.” Continue reading →

• “There are numerous areas where improvements are needed to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of government.” – Report

News from the Office of Ontario’s Auditor General

Toronto, Ontario – This December 2^nd, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s 2015 Annual Report was tabled in the Ontario Legislature.

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk releases critical annual report on cost and effectiveness of government services.

It covered results from a wide range of value-for-money audits, including energy planning, health-care services, long-term-care homes, child welfare, infrastructure planning, and electricity transmission and distribution.

“This year’s report shows there are numerous areas where improvements are needed to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of government and broader-public-sector services,” Lysyk said.

There are 14 value-for-money audits contained in the Report, as well as a chapter on annual reports of government agencies and a section on government debt. Continue reading →

• Less Than One Week After Mass Shooting At Planned Parenthood Clinic, 14 More Gunned To Death In America

A Brief Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

It’s December 2^nd, 2015 – less than a week after a gun-wielding wacko blew away three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado – and here we already have another mass shooting in America.

On CNN and the other U.S. cable channels, there are the obligatory ‘BREAKING NEWS’ banners at the bottom of screens lit up with now all-to-familiar live footage of heavily armed police surrounding a building and people being wheeled out on stretchers among onlookers with hands partly cupped over shocked expressions on their faces – this time in San Bernardino California, at a government operated regional facility for assisting people with developmental disabilities. Continue reading →

A Media Release from Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Government

Niagara Region, Nov. 27, 2015 – Earlier this year, a May 13 meeting of the Region’s Long-Term Care Task Force unintentionally contravened the open meeting provision of the Municipal Act and the Region’s procedural bylaw. This breach can be directly attributed to the ratio of elected officials to staff and members of the public present at the meeting.

Niagara, Ontario’s regional council headquarters

A Message to Canadians from Federal New Democrat Party Leader Tom Mulcair

Ottawa, Ontario, December 2015 – This December 1^st, I arrived home from the international climate change summit in Paris where I met with people from around the world about how we can tackle climate change.

Canada’s NDP Leader Tom Mulcair

The task at hand is critical, and it can’t wait any longer to be addressed.

We owe it to the world and future generations to do better. We owe it to them to make this international summit a success because climate change is a threat to humanity.

I welcome the new government’s tone on climate change but words must be backed by a plan and real action, and Canada still does not have that. Continue reading →

• Robust New Tools Will Provide Consumers With a Stronger Voice

News from the Government of Ontario

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Having had individuals at my door, trying to push an energy contract on me around some vague promise that my hydro costs would go down and it would cost me less if the electrical parts of my furnace and water heater conked out, the Ontario government has done us a favour, even if this legislation went no further than to ban these individuals form knocking at the doors of unsuspecting energy consumers.

I have read and heard horror stories from people who signed these contracts and I almost did it myself once when I answered the door while I was suffering from a bad head cold and had my guard down. Good riddance to these door knocking scam artists, although I suspect we will now find ourselves confronting them via email and robo calls.)

Queen’s Park, December 2015 – This December 1^st, Ontario passed legislation to protect consumers by strengthening the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and improving its ability to ensure continuity of service. Continue reading →

• Greenbelt “not quite big enough to contain poorly-planned, low density, urban sprawl” – Ontario Greenbelt Alliance

A Message from the citizen watchdog group Ontario Greenbelt Alliance

November 2015 – When the Greenbelt was created in 2005, many observers warned that it was not quite big enough to contain poorly-planned, low density, urban sprawl.

Grape vines in Ontario’s Greenbeilt stretching from the Niagara River and Niagara-on-the-Lake, around Hamilton and north of Lake Ontario and outside the urban boundaries of the Greater Toronto Area.

Over the past 10 years we’ve seen that the Greenbelt is effective at limiting sprawl but leapfrog development beyond its boundaries threatens to undermine the Greenbelt Plan.

Over the past 10 years, local citizens’ groups and municipal councils have been working to expand the Greenbelt into their communities and build a tangible connection to local farmland and the greenspace that help to clean our air and water.

Today, over 115 community groups across the region support growing the Greenbelt and shaping future growth patterns to protect critical drinking water sources, healthy watersheds and rivers, and an abundant supply of clean water for agriculture and other businesses. Three quarters of residents in the Greater Golden Horseshoe feel it’s important to continue to grow the Greenbelt and nearly all agree that protecting our water resource systems and agricultural land is important to them. Continue reading →

• “A strong economy and healthy environment go hand-in-hand, and we are committed to leaving our children and grandchildren with a more sustainable and prosperous country.” – Justin Trudeau

News from the Office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Paris France, November 30^th, 2015 – The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, joined (this November 30^th) French President François Hollande, U.S. President Barack Obama and Bill Gates to announce the launch of Mission Innovation, an ambitious clean technology initiative that partners Canada with the United States, 18 other countries, and leading representatives from the private sector.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

This global partnership, announced during the first day of the 21^st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), seeks to double government investment over the next five years in clean energy research and development, and to spur private sector investment in clean technology.

The Government of Canada fully supports this goal and clean technology research and development. Investing in clean technology can deliver real benefits for the environment and the economy, including more good-paying, middle class jobs for Canadians. Continue reading →

An Invite To You from Niagara Action for Animals, a region-wide group of volunteers advocating for the welfare of animals

(A Brief Foreword from NAL publisher Doug Draper – I will start by declaring a bias here. I spent time during my childhood with some wonderful dogs. But many, many years ago, a great cat walked into my life and ever since then, I have been a card-carrying cat lover.

Marshall is waiting for a friendly home

So when the volunteers at NAFA sent me a gallery of pictures of some of the kittens and cats up for adoption at a Welland Pet Valu store this coming Saturday, the first thought that crossed my mind was that if I had enough room and time for them, I’d take them all home. But I’m not so sure Dexter and Dylan – the two cats who already front and centre in our home – would care to share their favourite snoozin places with other felines.

So if you have the heart and place for the kind of friend who will always play it straight and never let you don’t, with plenty of purrs thrown in, this coming Saturday, December 5^th and Sunday, December 5^th, between the hours each day of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. you may that friend at the Pet Valu store on Fitch Street in the Niagara city of Welland, Ontario.

Zuki is looking for a life-long pal

It is Niagara Action for Animals’ – more commonly known as NAFA – annual Holiday season adoption event and this dedicated group of volunteers has done a wonderful job over their years of looking after and finding good homes for animals.

So here are the details, immediately below, that NAFA members asked me to post for this event.)

What:  Niagara Action for Animals Home for the holidays Adoption Event and Vegan Bake Sale!

Details: Adoptathon featuring lots of adorable adoptable cats and kittens. Adoption fees are $100 for kittens and $50 for cats 6 months +, which includes spay/neuter, age appropriate vaccines, and microchip. Proceeds from vegan bake sale benefit NAfA’s outreach and spay/neuter programs. Also, your last chance to order NAfA’s 2016 “Cat-lendar”

Byron is purring for the right person to settle down with.

When: December 5th & 6th 2015, 10am-5pm Where: Pet Valu, Fitch St, Welland

1. If you would like to support our event, vegan baked goods can be dropped off to Pet Valu on the Friday or Saturday morning of the event!

Niagara Action for Animals is a non-profit, all volunteer charity devoted to ending all forms of animal cruelty through education, direct action and legitimate protest.

Find out more about NAFA by visiting http://www.niagaraactionforanimals.org/ .

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

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

• It’s Time To Turn The Channel On This Gun Murder Mess And Move On To Something Else

A Commentary by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Want one more example of a U.S. president who doesn’t have the finger on the pulse of his own country? Then check out this statement, released this November 28^th, by President Barack Obama in the wake of another mass shooting in America.

“This is not mornal,” said Obama. “We can’t let it become normal.”

“If we truly care about this — if we’re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period,” Obama concluded. “Enough is enough.”

Enough is enough? In all due respect, no it isn’t, Mr. President. At the current rate of occurrance in your country, there will likely be one more mass shooting before Christmas, all to receive 24/7 coverage, like a reality TV show, as other issues from climate change to your nation’s crumbling infrastructure and lack of health care and education opportunities for poor and lower income people get the bum’s rush on CNN and the other major American cable networks. Continue reading →

• “Corporate income tax cuts could go down as one of the great Canadian public policy blunders of recent times.”

From the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Ottawa, Ontario, November 30^th, 2015 —Corporate income tax (CIT) cuts have not only failed to lead to faster growth, there is evidence to suggest that CIT rate reductions contributed to slower growth, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The study, by Unifor economist and CCPA research associate Jordan Brennan, examines the relationship between the Canadian CIT regime and various dimensions of growth and finds there is no empirical or statistically significant relationship between corporate tax cuts and growth.’

“Corporate income tax cuts could go down as one of the great Canadian public policy blunders of recent times,” says Brennan. “The problem is the facts stubbornly refuse to support the notion that corporate tax cuts accelerate growth.” Continue reading →

A Call-Out to All of Us from the Green Party of Canada

November 2015 – Severe storms, rising grocery bills, flooded basements, unaffordable disaster insurance, and water shortages. These are the realities of climate change.

They don’t have to be the realities of our future. It’s not too late — but we have to take climate action now. Tomorrow, Elizabeth May will join world leaders for the start of the Paris Climate Conference.

This is our last and best chance to sign an international agreement that will allow us to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. We are running out of time — act now.

We are the only party that has consistently made climate action a priority, and the only party that will push Prime Minister Trudeau to go fast enough and far enough on the environment.

Say you are with us, add your name today. Here’s the link: secure.greenparty.ca/climate-action

Thanks for your support,

Emily McMillan,  Executive Director, Green Party of Canada

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.

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

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

November 2015 – If Niagara At Large was in the practice of featuring a ‘quote of the week’ on this site, then one by French President Francois Hollande – on the scale of the danger climate change poses to the planet – would most certainly top our list for the last full week of November 2015.

French President Francois Hollande

The quote is from a news conference in Malta this November 27^th and it goes as follows –

“Man is the worst enemy of man,” said the French president. “We can say it with terrorism but we can say the same when it comes to climate. Human beings are betraying nature, damaging the environment. It is therefore up to human beings to face up to their responsibilities.”

Continue reading →

A Commentary by Nick Fillmore

November 27^th, 2015 – In the early-1950s, when it became widely known that smoking caused cancer, giant tobacco companies formed the Tobacco Industry Research Council (TIRC). Its main goal was to deny the harmful effects of tobacco and confuse the public.

The tobacco lobby wormed its way into the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO), wreaking havoc and slowing the WHO’s efforts to reduce the growing number of cancer deaths.

Realizing that the tobacco corporations were obstructing progress, the WHO finally built a firewall between public health officials and industry lobbyists. Only then was it possible to better control tobacco.

Flash forward to Paris and the 21st annual UN Climate Conference, November 30 to December 11   The 190 participating countries are charged with trying to hold carbon emissions to liveable limits between the years 2020 and 2030.

But – just like when the tobacco lobby was powerful – the fossil fuel lobby is strongly influencing decisions to be made in Paris.

Pointing to the struggling world economic situation, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) says climate change is important, but it should not jeopardize economic growth. Continue reading →

The Christmas Bird Count is North America’s longest-running citizen science project and a crucial part of Canada’s biodiversity monitoring database

News from Ontario Nature & The Many Niagara Volunteers who have joined in these annual counts

Toronto, November 23, 2015 – This holiday season, you can help our feathered friends by joining a Christmas Bird Count. These daylong, volunteer-run bird surveys are organized locally by naturalist groups. They are free and open to everyone – regardless of age or skill level.

Snowy Owl, photo by Ashley Hockenberry, Ontario Nature

This year’s counts will run from December 14, 2015 to January 5, 2016. Visit the Ontario Nature (www.ontarionature.org/cbc) and Bird Studies Canada (www.bsc-eoc.org/volunteer/cbc) websites to find a count near you. Ontario Nature member groups are coordinating more than 70 counts.

The Christmas Bird Count is North America’s longest-running citizen science project and a crucial part of Canada’s biodiversity monitoring database. Every volunteer who takes part in a count contributes to the study and conservation of birds. Scientists use these data to monitor the status of resident and migratory birds across the Western Hemisphere. Continue reading →