Niagara At Large

For those of you who may be feeling a bit down about where Canada may be heading with this federal election, the following Open Letter to Harper from British Columbia resident Mary Cleaver should give  to all of us who know this morally bankrupt government has to go cause to move forward with optimism.

From Mary Cleaver, October 10^th, 2015

I live in British Columbia (Canada) with my husband and two little girls. I grew up in Calgary and have many friends and family members there. I’m white and in my early 40s.

This image didn’t come with Mary Cleaver’s letter. Blame its inclusion here on Niagara At Large.

One of us is a stay at home parent, so we benefit 100% from the direct deposits in lieu of a national childcare program. We also benefit 100% from income splitting. And we can afford to take advantage of the increased allowance in our TFSAs.

In other words, we’re the picture of the family who benefits the most from your economic policies.

But we’re not voting Conservative on October 19th.

You see, you’ve misjudged us. We enjoy our standard of living, we work hard for it but it’s not the only thing that matters to us. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

As this coming October 19^th – Voting Day across Canada – closes in on more than nine and a half years of Stephen Harper using and abusing the levers of power to (as he was once reported to have put a gathering of U.S. conservatives) change Canada in ways that we won’t recognize it, Harper seems to be taking steps to distance himself from the Conservative Party he played such a key role in shaping over the past few decades.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford during more up times for both during the 2011federal election. Fort and his brother Doug are out cheering Harper again during the last days of this election.

“This election is not about me,” Harper can be heard saying in ads his party’s campaign has been running in the final days of this federal election.

Not about Harper? Then who or what is this election about?

Is it about the millions of everyday Canadians out there who are left paying for services the wealthiest individuals and corporations aren’t paying their fair share for because the Harper government refuses to get rid of loopholes that allow them to export an estimated $200 billion a year to tax havens in other parts of the world? Continue reading →

We’ve seen enough of this across the Niagara region over the years. . Here’s a Summit focused on formulating plans  in Niagara for a stronger, more prosperous future

News from the Niagara, Ontario-based Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

October 9^th, 2015 – We are at a critical juncture in Niagara’s economic development. Our region continues to deal with cyclical, high unemployment, particularly amongst our youth. There is a shortage of skilled labour in key sectors. And yet, changes that would give our businesses and economy a competitive edge, have been slow in coming.

Building Niagara — our community — is a shared responsibility. On Friday, October 30, 2015 business and government leaders will gather at the Niagara Economic Summit, hosted by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, to formulate an ambitious plan for a stronger, more prosperous Niagara. Continue reading →

 A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

To paraphrase something posted this past September by Margaret Wente – a Globe and Mail columnist Harperites can hardly brand as a liberal or leftie, by the way – it is looking like Harper is “toast.”

That is especially so in the last couple weeks of this unusually long Canadian election where Harper and his minions are down to throwing gutter balls, not only at their political opponents, but at a couple of women who wear veils and almost anyone else who engages in “cultural practices” they deem to be “barbaric.”

Stephen Harper in the Toronto, Ontario area, using what looks to critics like a game show shtick to claim that a federal Liberal government would hike taxes to pick the pockets of average Canadians.

And now, with polls showing Justin Trudeau pulling ahead of both the Conservatives and the NDP, Harper and his puppets have resorted to stirring fear in the minds of average Canadians about how much they claim they will be ripped off financially if the Trudeau Liberals win enough seats to form a government.

At one of his most recent campaign rallies, Harper invited a member of what we are led to believe is a typical Canadian family from the crowd to join him in front of a big red sign reading; “The Cost of Liberal Tax Hikes.”

As Harper lists some of the pledges in the federal Liberal Party’s platform, like its vow to get rid of the Conservative’s income-splitting scheme, Canadian tender is spread out on a table in front of the sign and the dollar figures keep adding up – all suggesting that a family could stand to be fleeced for as much as $3,360 annually. Of course, Harper doesn’t mention the plans the Liberals have promised for putting more money in people’s pockets.

The whole bit looked like a Harper makeover of ‘The Price Is Right’ with the obligatory Tory fear-mongering mixed in. Only the set for the show – red sign included – looked like it was slapped together in a garage by that pair of nerds from ‘Wayne’s World’, making one wonder where did all that corporate funding for Harper and his campaign props go. And Harper played Bob Barker (if I were good ol’ Bob I’d sue) like the same soulless stiff he is when he sits down at a piano and mutilates a Beatles song which, for a Beatles fan, is one more reason to send him packing. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Health System

October 13^th, 2015 – The Niagara Health System is pleased to announce the launch of its first Thrombosis Service, which is aimed at improving patient safety in Niagara.  The official opening of the clinic was held in conjunction with World Thrombosis Day, which is marked annually on October 13^th.

Thrombosis is the formation of potentially deadly blood clots in the artery (arterial thrombosis) or vein (venous thrombosis), and is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the hospital. Once formed, a clot can slow or block normal blood flow, and even break loose and travel to an organ. This can result in significant injury, including heart attack, stroke and venous thromboembolism (VTE) – the top three cardiovascular killers. Continue reading →

News from the Provincial and Federal NDP

Fort Erie, Ontario, October 13^th, 2015 – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath joined Niagara federal NDP candidates Carolyn Ioannoni (Niagara Falls) and Malcolm Allen (Niagara Centre) to talk about Stephen Harper’s secret TPP deal, and the damage that it could do to jobs and the cost of life-saving medication.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“During Stephen Harper’s lost decade, over 8,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs in Niagara have been lost. Now Stephen Harper’s secret TPP could kill more jobs, and make life-saving medication more expensive,” Horwath said. “This is a two-way race, and the only way to protect jobs, privacy and the cost of medication is to stop Stephen Harper by voting for Carolyn Ioannoni.”

During the past week, former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page, Blackberry co-founder Jim Balsillie and Hillary Clinton have all come out in opposition to the secretly negotiated deal. Senior members of the US congress have committed to reopening the TPP. Yet Liberal leader Justin Trudeau refuses to take a position against this secret deal. Only Tom Mulcair has committed that he will not be bound by Harper’s agreement. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

In all of the hate politics Harper and his Conservatives are fermenting in this federal election to gin up their base, it may do us well to remember that we have had leaders in this country who spoke for bringing people together in a spirit of building a better future.

One of Canada’s great prime minister and one of the world’s great peacekeepers, Lester Pearson.

If you doubt what I am saying, read this –

“Whether we can live together in confidence and cohesions with more faith and pride in ourselves and less self-doubt: strong in the conviction that the destiny of Canada is to unite, not divide, sharing in co-operation, not in separation or in conflict; respecting our past and welcoming our future.”

Those words were spoken back in 1966 by then Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson who was also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize back in the days when Canada was also more of a peacekeeper in the world than a warrior. Continue reading →

–      –  An Open Letter Regarding Conservative Party Campaign Tactics

Circulated a non-partisan, public affairs organization of Canadian academics called ‘In Due Course’

The following letter has been signed by 587 Canadian academics, condemning the tactics being employed by the Conservative Party of Canada in the current federal election campaign. It will appear in newspapers tomorrow, but there is no room in print to reproduce all of the signatures. So we are making the full list available here:

Harper’s Citizenship and Imigration Minister Chris Alexander preaches the Conservative gospel against ‘barbaric cultural practices’ and the threat the party believes they pose to Canadian values.

“We are a diverse group of academics with different political views and different political allegiances. We are united by a common interest in the integrity of democratic processes and a concern about the ugly and dangerous turn we have recently witnessed in the election campaign.

In democratic electoral politics there is an ethical line that distinguishes spirited partisan strategy from cynical tactics that betray the values of mutual respect and toleration that lie at the heart of civil democratic discourse.

Honourable politicians do not cross that line even when they think doing so will be politically advantageous. Disreputable politicians ignore the line when they find it convenient to do so. Continue reading →

A Message from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Unless you belong to one of those story book families whose members can cram themselves into the ‘little house on the prairie’ and have a nice warm time all weekend, Thanksgiving can be a trying time.

It is one of those mercifully few times of the year when families feel forced get together and are reminded why they are lucky that they can at least choose their friends.

So mixing a discussion about politics in with the turkey dressing could be all it takes to bust up the chairs and turn the table over. But it may be worth the chance if you are planning to vote for change in this federal election and can convince at least a few others in the family to join you.

Given what’s at stake in this election, give it a try and please don’t forget to pass the cranberry sauce.

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 Message from Niagara At Large

The advanced polls for the federal election have already opened in every riding across the country this Canadian  Thanksgiving weekend so if you don’t think you can make it to your polling station on election day  this coming October 19th, take advantage of them.

We have had some pretty unimpressive voter turnouts during the last few federal elections in this country. In 2011, the Harper government won a majority – enough to give it a free hand to do virtually anything it wanted to over the past four years – with only 61 per cent of those eligible to vote across the country actually casting a ballot and barely 40 per cent of them voting for Harper’s Conservatives.

Image courtesy of Niagara, Ontario artist Julia Blushak

Continue reading →

A Brief Note from Doug Draper

One of the first pages I almost always turn to in any newspaper I pick up is the one hosting letters to the editor.

The reason I’m so hot on letters to the editors that is on almost any given day in a newspaper like The Globe and Mail – one of a dwindling number of good newspapers we have left in Canada – you can find a least one letter that nails it on an issue.

Bodies of drowned Syrian refugees lined up along the Mediterranean shores. Some official estimates place the number of drownings so far this year at more than 2,300 men, women and children.

That was the case this October 9^th on an issue The Globe’s investigative staff broke a day earlier on Stephen Harper’s office getting directly involved in the vetting of Syrian refugees feeling from death and destruction in their homeland, and desperately seeking a new home in Canada.

The letter, from David Wood of Mildmay, Ontario is short and right to the point, and reads as follows –

“Stephen Harper and those in the PMO who want to personally conduct Canada’s screening process should be sent at once to the beaches of Turkey, where they’ll find a number of kids face down in the water patiently awaiting this country’s enlightened confirmation that, as refugees, they no longer pose a security threat.” Continue reading →

–        Support of Greenbelt Fund Will Encourage Consumption of Ontario-grown Food

News from the Office of the Ontario Premier

Queen’s Park, October 8^th, 2015 – Ontario is providing $6 million over three years to increase sales of local food by making it more widely available and building awareness of the variety of food grown and produced in Ontario.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced this investment today, during Ontario Agriculture Week, while visiting Fresh City Farms in Toronto’s Downsview Park. The government will provide the funding to the Greenbelt Fund, a non-profit organization that helps encourage consumption of local food in the Greenbelt and across Ontario.

The investment announced today will support: Continue reading →

News from the Campaign Office of Niagara Centre MPP Malcolm Allen

Thorold, Ontario, October 8^th, 2015 – NDP candidate Malcolm Allen and the Seafarers International Union of Canada (SIU) President James Given hosted a press conference today regarding SIU’s fight against the Harper government’s decision to give away more Canadian jobs.

Niagara Centre MPP Malcolm Allen speaks for protecting Seafarers jobs

“I’ve talked to a lot of folks this campaign—if there’s a primary concern among residents, it’s jobs and job security,” stated Allen, NDP candidate for the Niagara Centre riding. “ We’re against using the Temporary Foreign Worker to take away Canadian jobs and give them to low paid foreign workers.”

SIU launched two lawsuits last week challenging the issuing of temporary foreign work permits, as Canadian law states that domestic ships may only use foreign workers if no qualified Canadian workers are available. It is currently estimated that 25% of Canadian maritime workers are unemployed. Continue reading →

A Brief from NAL publisher Doug Draper

The headline on the top of the front-page of this October 8th edition of The Globe and Mail reads: ‘PMO ordered halt to refugee processing’.

This image, making the rounds on socialmedia,was taken during a pro-refugee rally in front of the St. Catharines campaign office of Harper Conservative Rick Dykstra

And yes, the story is referring to Syrian refugees and how Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government have been responding to what international aid workers have continued to call the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War in the 1940s.

A short memory refresher may be in order here given how artfully Harper and the high-priced Australian campaign consultant he hired have used the issues of a woman wearing a piece of cloth on her face and other so-called “barbaric cultural practices” to turn the national conversation away from questions about jobs and the economy, student debt, climate change and Canada’s place in the world when it comes to refugees and other global crises. Continue reading →

A Message from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

On October 19th, Go Out And Vote As If The Future Of Our Country Depends On It!

 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.)

– Province Probing Possible Violations under the Environmental Protection Act

News from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change

Queen’s Park, Ontario, October 7^th, 2015 – The action by Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada to sell cars to its dealers and consumers with software to bypass the vehicle’s emissions control is under investigation by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change for possible violations under the Environmental Protection Act.

Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act prohibits the sale of vehicles that do not meet emissions standards. Continue reading →

News from the Office of Niagara Falls, Ontario MPP Wayne Gates

TPP to put 20,000 jobs in auto industry at risk: NDP

Queen’s Park, Ontario, October 7^th, 2015 – NDP MPP for Niagara Falls and Transportation Critic Wayne Gates questioned Acting Premier Charles Sousa this morning in the legislature about the Ontario Government’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Niagara Falls, Ontario MPP Wayne Gates

The TPP is expected to have a devastating impact on jobs in the auto sector.“This week it was announced that the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement was signed. The agreement is going to be bad for our rural communities, bad for manufacturing, bad for healthcare costs, and very bad for the auto sector.

It’s good to see at least one Federal Leader is standing up and opposing the deal and hopefully your party will have the courage to do the same,” Gates said. “Acting Premier, with this deal looming on the horizon what is this government going to do to protect the good jobs in manufacturing and the auto sector that so many people in Niagara, Oshawa, the GTA, Brampton and Windsor rely on?” Gates asked. Continue reading →

News from the Government of Ontario

Queen’s Park, Ontario – This October 7th, 2015  Ontario passed the Great

A look at the world’s largest basin of fresh water from space

Lakes Protection Act which will strengthen the province’s ability to keep the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River clean, as well as to protect and restore the waterways that flow into them.

Passing the Act enables the province to address significant environmental challenges to the Great Lakes, including climate change, harmful pollutants and algal blooms. The Act will also: Continue reading →

Niagara At Large is posting the following from an October 6th, 2015  Brock University Media Release

“You can be for it, or against it, but just don’t call it a free trade agreement.”

So says Brock international relations expert Blayne Haggart on Monday’s signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Trade deal could mean “windfall” for producers and sellers of pharmaceutical drugs

The TPP would form the world’s largest trading bloc covering some 800 million consumers. Its members still need to ratify and sign the agreement.

“While the deal commits its 12 member countries to reduce or eliminate tariffs across sectors of the economy, it reportedly includes many provisions that go far beyond traditional trade concerns,” says Haggart, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. Continue reading →

News from Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the citizens-based Ontario Health Coalition

The “most harmful trade pact ever for access to medications”

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) issued a statement today with a dire warning about the impact of the newest trade deal on the cost of drugs. The TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), is called a trade agreement by the media, but actually goes far beyond trade and includes many provisions that limit or stop the power of governments to regulate corporations.

The TPP is, “on track to become the most harmful trade pact ever for access to medicines in developing countries, unless damaging provisions are removed before the deal is sealed,” according to Doctors Without Borders. A humanitarian agency, Doctors Without Borders works in 70 countries, and often is a first-responder in disaster areas of the world. They are worried that the TPP will damage people’s ability to get needed medicines by driving up costs. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

‘Well, it seems to be working.’

That line has been spun out by a number of political pundits in the days since the 1^st of this October when the Harper Conservatives unleashed this idea of setting up a tip line to report what they are calling “barbaric cultural practices” to the RCMP.

The tip line is aimed mainly at Muslims in our midst who y engage in such practices as forced marriage or the wearing of the niqab and so on – conduct that may be seen as being in conflict with Canadian values, whatever those are these days.

Harper’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander stands up for ‘Canadian values’ and against what his party calls ‘barbaric cultural practicies’.

I responded this past October 3^rd with what admittedly was an angry commentary on this site, denouncing this promise of a tip line as divisive tactic by the Harperites, appealing to the darker side of our nature when it comes to showing tolerance for people who may look and behave differently than we do. And for my outburst, I’ve had a number of people call me things I’d rather not repeat here – suggesting to me that Harper, who has also seen his party rise in recent polls, has struck a winning chord with all too many Canadians.

Canada’s Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, was in Brampton, Ontario – one of the province’s more culturally diverse communities outside of Toronto – this past October 4^th, denouncing this ‘barbaric cultural practices’ business and the “fear” and “nastiness” it breeds as un-Canadian.

But is it? Continue reading →

A Message from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Four more years of Stephen Harper at the helm? Is that really what most of us want in this country?

I refuse to believe that.

If you agree with me that four more years of Harper running Canada like a dictator would be a disaster for our health and prosperity as a nation, and our standing as an environmental leader and peace maker in the world, don’t be complacent.

Remember that it only took 39 per cent of the popular vote, split the wrong way in key ridings across the country to deliver Harper a majority in the 2011 federal election, and some of the polls that have come out over the first few days of this October are scary.

Tom Muclair’s NDP – only a month ago looking like the frontrunner – has slipped behind, and the Liberals and Conservatives are leading in a statistical tie, with either party in a position to surge ahead. And if and when one of them does, there is practically no time left for any of the others to catch up.

Harper can probably count on most, if not all of his hardcore base of supporters turning out for the poll that counts the most – the one on election day. And if the past two or three federal elections serve as examples, it would also serve Harper well if significant numbers of the rest of us, including younger people, don’t go out to vote at all.

So do your best to find out which candidate in your riding is in the best position to beat the Harper Conservative and get out there on October 19^th (or find out when and where to can cast your ballot early in your riding) and vote!

Now here is another in a series of ‘Stop Harper’ images produced for us by Niagara, Ontario artist Julia Blushak.

Julia Blushak is a communications and community developer with interests that range from social change, creativity, recovery and mindfulness practices. Julia’s PaperFang editorial illustrations work in the corporate and not for profit sectors, as well as for newspapers such as The Globe and Mail, The Hamilton Spectator, and numerous magazines and journals. For more information visit |  www.paperfang.com    |    facebook – Julia Blushak

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 also  share their first and last name.)

• Province Recognizes Those Who Grow and Make Ontario’s Food

News from the Ontario Government

Queen’s Park, October 6^th, 2015 – In the lead up to Thanksgiving, Ontario is celebrating Agriculture Week which runs from October 5-11.

The province is encouraging the people of Ontario to mark this important week by visiting a local farmers market, buying VQA wine, craft beer and cider, and planning a meal with seasonal ingredients. 

Ontario’s agri-food industry is a significant driver of the province’s economy, contributing $34 billion annually, including $12.5 billion in exports, and employing more than 780,000 individuals. Those who work in the industry: Continue reading →

• Attend Niagara Public Meeting On October 15^th

By John Bacher

The Ontario government is currently undertaking a review of its policies to protect wetlands. In announcing its review the province released an informative document, “Wetland Conservation in Ontario: A Discussion Paper.”

It gives a valuable description of the benefits of wetlands and how in southern Ontario, a region identified as the Mixed Wood Plains Ecozone, over 85 per cent of them have been destroyed.

The discussion paper notes that one of wetlands most remarkable abilities, is to reduce pollution by filtering sediments, absorbing nutrients “and biologically convert many chemicals into less harmful forms.” Through such “natural factories”, some $40 billion accrues to the Ontario economy every year. Continue reading →

A Column by Niagara, Ontario’s Town of Pelahm Mayor Dave Augustyn

(A Brief Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper – As someone who lives on a residential road with two elementary schools on it and another in the immediate vicinity – a flat, straight road that is often used as a drag strip with hardly ever a police cruiser around to catch the drivers – I’ve often thought that speed bumps or some other traffic calming device may be the only answer.

Share any views you may have on this at the end of Mayor Augustyn’s column.)

A generic image of a ‘chicane’ or what some commonly refer to as a speed bump on a residential road.

October 5^th, 2015 – Last Friday, Town Staff installed a temporary traffic calming measure on Haist Street North (north of Regional Road 20). Shortly after, I drove through and posted a photo on my Facebook pages and other social media. The reactions were immediate and polarized. Continue reading →

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Ottawa, Ontario, October 5^th, 2015 —Today the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released The Harper Record 2008-2015, a detailed account of the Conservative government’s economic, environmental, social, foreign policy and democratic records through the 2008 crisis, Great Recession and ongoing economic recovery.

Has Stephen Harper help see that you better off job-wise and other wise than you were before the Great Recession of 2008? Here’s a book addresses that very question.

From the economy to the environment, social programs to foreign policy, health care to tax cuts, the tar sands to free trade deals, and many other areas, the 36 contributors to this book detail the facts and key moments of the 40th and 41st parliamentary sessions.

According to editors Teresa Healy and Stuart Trew, if there is a prominent crosscutting theme in The Harper Record it is how the 2008 global financial crisis acted as a cover of sorts for the government’s plans to restructure the public sector, cut public services, deregulate industry, dismantle environmental protections, reform Canada’s immigration system, and undermine parliamentary democratic processes. Continue reading →

News from the Ontario Health Coalition

The Ontario Health Coalition and its regional chapters across the province are hosting a series of federal candidates debates focusing on health care issues.

The Niagara Health System’s mega-hospital complex in west St. Catharines

Two are scheduled for Niagara, Ontario this Wednesday, October 7^th and Thursday October 8^th in the ridings of Niagara Falls and St. Catharines respectively.

Here are the details of where and when –

Niagara Falls: Candidates’ Debate on Health Care Issues – All are welcome!

Wednesday October 7, 6:30 p.m., Gale Centre Arena, 4171 4th Avenue, Niagara Falls.  Sponsored by: Niagara Health Coalition and the Retired Teachers of Ontario (RTO/ERO) District 14.

St. Catharines: Candidates’ Debate on Health Care – All are welcome!

Thursday October 8, 6:30 p.m., St. Catharines Library (Mills Room), 54 Church St. St. Catharines. Sponsored by: Niagara Health Coalition and the Retired Teachers of Ontario (RTO/ERO) District 14.

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from our greater binational 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.)

News to Niagara At Large readers from G20 Summit victim John Pruyn

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – Just a reminder that John Pruyn is a Niagara, Ontario residents and retired federal government employee who found himself making international headlines in June of 2010 when riot police grabbed him while he was sitting on the lawns of Queen’s Park, pulled off his artificial leg and, without ever stating a reason, arrested him and his daughter Sarah, along with more than 1,000 other people during a weekend of G20 Summit meetings in Toronto, Ontario.

John and Sarah Pruyn at Terry Fox statue in St John’s at the end of their cross-ountry  ride. ‘Terry Fox gave me courage and inspired me. When times were tough, when I was tired, aching and cold I thought about Terry Fox.” said John.

The police actions that weekend, committed under the federal government of Stephen Harper and provincial government of then Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, were summed up in reports and statements by the province’s official Ombudsman Andre Morin and civil liberties lawyers as one of the worst assaults on citizens rights in Canadian history.)

October 2015 – My daughter Sarah and I completed our 8,005 kilometre bike ride across Canada.

We started June 9^th from Victoria, British Columba and finished October 1^st in St John’s, Newfoundland.

I believe it was the greatest achievement by a disabled athlete from Niagara or from Canada this year. I am 62 years old and an above the knee amputee (aka) on the left side. It is difficult for a aka to ride a regular bicycle. About 85 per cent of the work is done by my right leg. Biking up hills is hard and even more difficult when you have four paniers loaded with 80 poundss of gear and food. Continue reading →

An Invite from the St. Catharines and District Council of Women

Dr. Jennifer Hubbard, associate professor of the history of science and technology , Ryerson University is the featured speaker at a public meeting on Thursday October 8^th at 8 p.m. at the St. Catharines Centennial Library in the city’s downtown.

A shocking number of Canada’s federal libraries have been closed over the past few years and   key scientific information has been discarded. Scientists have raised alarm bells as they, and others needing key scientific data – and very crucially, the political policy makers- have less and less key data to inform their work and in the case of the government , their decisions. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

If you need another example of the ‘divide-and-rule’, ‘pit-one-group-of-Canadians-against-another’ strategy the Harper government uses in its rancid bid to keep a rancid grip on power, look no further than RCMP tip line Harper now promises to set up to go after those engaging in “barbaric cultural practices.”

It’s not enough that any one of us in this country can already call the police if we think way are witnessing someone committing an offence of any kind. Now we have to have a tip line.

And notice that the Harper government is not setting up a tip line for white collar criminals rob Canada’s economy of billions of dollars a year or for corporate polluters or politicians and their appointees who steal from the public trough. Why not a tip line for turning in those responsible for the unsolved disappearances and murders of more than a thousand aboriginal girls and women? Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large

In Canada’s 2011 federal election, it only took 39 per cent of the popular vote – less than half of votes what the NDP, Liberals and Green Party received together – to make it possible for Stephen Harper and his goblins to win enough seats to run Canada like a dictatorship over the past four years.

Unless you enjoy watching this Harper regime systematically dismantle our democratic rights and freedoms as it slowly but surely turns Canada into a totalitarian state, this coming October 19^th is your chance to get rid of (never mind foreign-inspired terrorists) this threat to our country’s health and security. Continue reading →

A Brief Foreword from NAL publisher Doug Draper

From the  point of view of this Canadian and, I would imagine, many others, it is hardly shocking any more when you turn on a cable news station, and there is more “breaking news” about a mass shooting in neighbouring America.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to nation on another mass shooting

This October 1^st it happened again – for the 45^th time at a school and for almost the 300^th time in movie theatres, shopping malls, places of worship and elsewhere – at a college campus in the state of Oregon. Ten people were killed and seven injured by a young man who entered the campus grounds armed to the teeth.

I have many close friends in the United States and I may know the character of that country and its people as much as any Canadian for that reason. Americans, from my experience, can often be among the warmest and most generous people you could ever meet. But the one thing I’ve always found impossible to comprehend is the obsessive attachment so many Americans have with guns.

You can have a reasonable debate with people in that country about almost anything. But a discussion on any form of gun control is a non-starter. Continue reading →

Cue Those Blue And White Balloons. You Can Almost Hear The Cheers From Harper’s Flock Now – “FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!”

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

The sunny, warm days of summer are behind us, the clouds in the sky are looking steely grey and cold, and the Begonias in the pots on my back patio are getting ready to wither and die.

Is another four years of Stephen Harper in charge of Canada possible? Look at the most recent polls.

It is a setting fit for the recent round of polls I’m reading on where this federal election is going across Canada.

If you share my nightmare of Stephen Harper and his Tory gang managing to pull off another four more years of majority government – aka dictatorship – with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote, start bracing yourself for the worst.

A number of polls released in these late days of September, now generally show the three-way Conservative, NDP, Liberal tie of the last three or four weeks (with some counts looking like the NDP was perched to pull ahead) giving way to Harper’s Conservatives in the lead, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals either tied or running second, and Tom Mulcair’s NDP almost always coming in third. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

What if Hydro One customers – however hundreds of thousands of us there are across Ontario – all stopped paying our hydro bills until the province’s Liberal government finally agreed to drop its crazy to privatize up to 60 per cent of the utility?

I am not sure how you would organize boycott on that scale. Maybe someone who knows how to use social media to rally large numbers of people could figure that out.

But something needs to be done to stop Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Liberals from moving forward with a privatization scheme you’d normally expect to come from a Conservative government tempered in the anti-government, free market ideology of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her most ardent Ontario disciple, Mike Harris. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Falls, Ontario, September, 2015 – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) has launched a new public awareness campaign designed to educate visitors and local residents on the impacts created by the feeding of waterfowl and wildlife within the Dufferin Islands Nature Area.

With the arrival of fall, new informative signs have been placed within Dufferin Islands, in order to help educate and reduce the frequency of feeding before the onset of winter. This is being done now, with the hope that the waterfowl and other migratory birds will begin to undertake natural migration patterns to their traditional winter habitat locations. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

“This guy sounds like a Marxist. … He doesn’t even disguise it folks in this encyclical. …”

“Every other word seems to be about how unfettered capitalism is destroying the world. …. (According to him), the U.S. is guilty. Western nations are rich. They’re polluting the world, they’re destroying the climate, and they’ve got a duty to stop and give more money to the poor and so forth.”

“If the left can get to a Pope and corrupt an encyclical, they’re gonna be inspired to keep going and try to corrupt the whole thing.”

• From a burst of rants this past June 2015 by American right-wing radio show host Rush Limbaugh around the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change.

Sure is one tarrying picture Rush is painting for us, isn’t it?

Lefties corrupting the words of a Pope? And dare we ask, who or what will these devilish hordes try corrupting next?

Sounds like a scene right out of the original 1950s version of the horror flick ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ – a film set right in the thick of the Cold War and communist scare, and one that had the communist boogeyman very much in mind.

In the middle of his rant, Limbaugh also noted in so many words that the Pope should stay away from “politics” and get back to praying on his beads and citing passages from the Bible – a sentiment I heard and read numerous times during Pope Francis’ recent American visit from individuals on the far right of the political and religious spectrum. Continue reading →

A Brief One  from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

On this last passing Sunday of September, I found the following message from Canada’s NDP Leader Tom Mulcair in my inbox.

Canada’s NDP Leader Tom Mulcair (right) says there’s no way he’d go for any post-election propping up of Stephen Harper

“There are no circumstances in which I would support Stephen Harper remaining prime minister,” declared Mulcair in September 27th note. “For ten years, he’s had the privilege of leading this great country, and he’s failed Canadian families every step of the way.”

“It’s time for change, and ours is the team that can get the job done.” Continue reading →

New from the Niagara Regional Native Centre

Organizers hope the entire southern Ontario community will join in on Oct 3 when the annual Pow Wow takes place at the Niagara Regional Native Centre, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

The event will feature aboriginal dancers in traditional regalia as well as traditional food and craft vendors and educational opportunities.

This year’s theme is “Honouring our Sisters in Spirit,” to raise awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. We also want to Honour our Women in our community who stand strong in supporting and empowering others.

The event begins at noon with the Grand Entry, which involves elders carrying the eagle staff and veterans, as well as flag carriers and dancers from tiny tots to senior citizens, dressed in full traditional regalia. There will also be native drum groups from across Ontario. Continue reading →

Excerpts from Pope Francis’ Addresses To U.S. Congress And To The United Nations General Assembly

To U.S. Congress, September 23^rd, 2015

“I call for a courageous and responsible effort to redirect our steps and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity.”

Pope Francis stays true to his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi who preached about the duty of humans to protect nature.

“I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a culture of care and “an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature”

To the U.N. General Assembly, September 25^th, 2015

“It must be stated that a true right of the environment does exist, for two reasons.” Continue reading →

A Call Out For Support from Zoocheck Canada’s director Rob Laidlaw On October 3rd, I will be leaving on a 700 km bike ride across New York State to raise funds to help Yupi, the Polar Bear, who has spent most of her life in the Mexican heat. This fundraiser of a ride is about helping Yupi the polar bear My last ride was dubbed the Big Bike for Ben and it succeeded in raising more than $7,000 for Zoocheck’s roadside zoo campaign. This ride is a bit shorter, and my smaller fundraising goal reflects that. I’d like to generate at least $3,000 for our efforts to help Yupi. We have raised $2000 thus far and need you to help us to meet our goal. If you can make a contribution, no matter how small, we would be extremely grateful. To support the Ride for the Wild, head over to Zoocheck’s website. To put the Ride for the Wild into perspective, I thought I’d let everyone know that I’m not someone who can effortlessly cover hundreds of kilometers in just a few hours of time. I’m a recreational cyclist with a 15 year old hybrid bicycle. I don’t have an elite road bike made out of space shuttle material, nor do I have special shoes that clip into the pedals and I certainly don’t have any sleek, skin-tight cycling gear. I admit some of it does look cool, but it’s not for me. I’m riding for the cause. I’m doing this for Yupi. I have no idea how long the ride will take, but I hope to do it as quickly as I can. The weather, state of the roads and trails, and my often quirky ankle will impact the ride’s duration. I’ll be making posts on Zoocheck’s Facebook page along the way to let everyone know how the ride is going (positively or negatively, but hopefully more of the former). I hope you’ll support my Ride for the Wild and contribute to Zoocheck’s important work. We’re one of the most effective wildlife protection groups in Canada and have a long track record of success, including rescuing animals, closing zoos, changing laws and policies, arguing in the courts and helping other individuals and organizations develop capacity. To support Yupi please head over to our donation page today or give us a call at the office (416.285.1744) to donate over the phone. For more information on the campaign to help Yupi the polar bear click on http://www.saveyupi.com/ . Thank you for your help. Cheers, Rob Laidlaw Director, Zoocheck

Zoocheck is a Canadian-based international wildlife protection charity (#13150 2072 RR0001) established in 1984 to promote and protect the interests and well-being of wild animals. Zoocheck works with a broad range of collaborating partners around the world.

Zoocheck endeavors to promote animal protection in specific situations and strive to bring about a new respect for all living things and the world in which they live.

For more information on Zoocheck Canada, visit its website at www.zoocheck.com .

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 from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Niagara Regional Government Chair Al Caslin’s endorsement of Rick Dykstra, a Conservative candidate running for a fourth term in the Niagara riding of St. Catharines, has raised at least a little ire in regional circles.

Niagara, Ontariio’s Regional government chair Al Caslin called out for endorsing federal Conservative candidate.

The endorsement, which was recently posted on Dykstra’s campaign Facebook site, has raised at least a few eyebrows in regional circles since it was raised by Pelham Mayor and Regional Councillor Dave Augustyn at a meeting of the Region’s Corporate Services Committee this September 23^rd and reported in a story in the St. Catharines Standard this September 24^th.

“Unfortunately,” said Augustyn (as he argued for a later-to-be-defeatedmotion he tabled to consider allowing residents across Niagara the opportunity to elect regional chairs rather than have chairs voted in by members of regional council) “party politics” has already become a part of governance at the municipal level. To further his point, Augustyn noted that Caslin “has blatantly endorsed a candidate running in this federal election.” Continue reading →

• Health Coalition Calls for Streamlined Public Home Care System. Raises Questions About Lack of Transparency in Contracted Home Care Companies

News from the Ontario Health Coalition – a not-for-profit citizens advocacy group

Toronto, Ontario, September 23^rd 2015 – Ontario’s Auditor General released a thorough and thoughtful review of the Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) that reveals in detail how impossibly complex the home care system in Ontario has become.

Ontario Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk

In the preamble to her report, Ontario’s Auditor calls for a full review of home care that addresses the structural problems in the system. This recommendation has been repeatedly made by Ontario Auditors over the last decade. The Ontario Health Coalition agrees with this urgent need, and calls on the Minister to protect the public interest by ensuring that there are full public hearings and a process that limits the disproportionate power that provider companies have in policy reform for home care. Continue reading →

• Grocery Stores Can Now Submit Bids to Sell Beer

News from Ontario’s Liberal Government

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large – Niagara, Ontario residents can cross the border to a Wegmans or Top’s grocery store in the Buffalo, New York area where they are free to buy a 12-pack of beer – and buy it for about half the price a 12 pack costs in Ontario for that matter.

How do you feel about the move to sell beer in grocery stores in Ontario? Share your comments on this issue at the end of this post.)

Queen’s Park, Ontario, September 23rd, 2015 – In a move that offers consumers more convenience and choice while maintaining a strong commitment to social responsibility, the Ontario government is now accepting bids from grocery retailers interested in carrying beer.

Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement today with Ed Clark, Chair of the Premier’s Advisory Council on Government Assets. This is a key step forward in the biggest change to alcohol retailing in Ontario since Prohibition was repealed nearly 90 years ago. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Earlier this September, on the CBC Radio program ‘The Current’, a conversation between campaign strategists for Canada’s three mainstream parties turned to the topic of NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and how much time they are spending during this election taking shots at each other.

A message to Justin Trudeau and Tom Muclair. How about spending less time tearing each other apart and more time talking about your vision for Canada’s future. Inspire us. Fire us up.

At one point during the discussion, the Conservative Party strategist said the ongoing flare-ups between Mulcair and Trudeau are just fine with him and, he’d be willing to ‘pour gas on the fire’.

And so it was at this past September 17^th Leaders’ Debate with Trudeau) and Mulcair ripping away at each other while Stephen Harper stood there looking on with no gasoline can in hand.

Harper’s strategy seemed to be not to do anything to interrupt his opponents while they are tearing each other’s plans and policies apart. And it was a good policy because it left Harper looking like the guy in charge and the others  looking like they are desperately fighting over the spoils. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from NAL publisher Doug Draper

Shortly after this past August 2^nd’s federal election call, I made it clear that Niagara At Large was not going to do what most mainstream media outlets do.

I made it clear that NAL was not going to wait until the final days before people go to the polls to state a final position on the leader and party running for another chance to deconstruct all of the good things this Canada of ours has achieved and has yet to achieve as it approaches its 150^th birthday of its confederation two years from now.

Some readers of this site have argued (and some no doubt will continue to argue) that I hear out everything Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have to say during this election before writing them off.

To that I can only respond that I have seen and heard enough during the last nine years of this Harper government eroding our rights and running our country like a dictatorship to write it off forever. In almost every way – economic, social, cultural, environmental, you name it – this regime has been a disaster at home and abroad where, over and over again, it has sullied Canada’s longstanding reputation as a voice for peace and compassion around the world. Continue reading →

Commentary from Gary Screaton Page

I never thought I would see the day when Stephen Harper would admit that the Conservative Party does not have what it takes to run an election. So why do we think that if his party is re-elected they will run the country any better than they have run their campaign?

Is Stephan HJarper an ‘old stock’ Canadian?

If, you don’t think Harper has admitted his party doesn’t have the right stuff consider that he recently brought in Lynton Crosby, an Australian, to take charge of the campaign. Is doing so not an admission that no one in his party, at least in Mr. Harper’s mind, has what it takes to keep the election campaign on track?

So how does Mr. Harper expect he will do better picking his next cabinet, if Canadians are daft enough to re-elect his party to lead the country again? Surely, running a campaign is easier than running a nation as diverse as Canada! Continue reading →