Niagara At Large

A Call-Out to All of Us from the online  globe-wide advocacy group Avaaz

Dear friends,

The ivory trade is pushing elephants to the edge of extinction, and Yahoo is making a killing from trinket sales in Japan!

But right now we have a chance to end this corporate complicity.  Several big brands like Google and Amazon are refusing to sell ivory.

Yahoo is one of the few major online markets left. But we could influence that decision. Right now Yahoo is losing some of its best employees, and the CEO is offering millions to convince people to stay.

If we threaten to lift the lid on Yahoo’s bloody secret, she could lose staff even faster, and may reconsider the costs of this cruel trade. 100 elephants are being massacred a day, and their emotional intelligence means they understand the horror of what is happening to them. Continue reading →

–        How would it work?

Buffalo, New York – The Sierra Club Climate and Clean Energy Writers Group presents Ron Scott of the Citizens Climate Lobby discussing these questions.

Mr. Scott is one of the foremost local advocates fora Carbon Tax

When: Monday, February 1st, 2016 @  6:00-7:30 PM

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church  695 Elmwood at Ferry (Garden Entrance), 2nd Floor Alliance Room – in Buffalo, New York.

This meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information contact – billnowa@gmail.com

To learn more about the carbon tax idea before this session click on the following –

http://www.carbontax.org/states/

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/23/ny-state-carbon-tax-proposal-moving-closer-according-network-sustainable-financial-markets/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-komanoff/a-carbon-fee-can-cut_b_4339925.html

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

A Call Out to Canadians from the public advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting

Posted January 24th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Starting Monday, January 25th, the survival of local TV in Canada will be the focus of a public hearing convened by the CRTC, Canada’s broadcast regulator. 

This examination can’t come fast enough.  Even though local TV is highly valued by viewers, as a sector it is bleeding red ink and has been for years.   Since 2010, private conventional TV has seen revenues drop by approximately 25%.

A combination of factors has brought local TV to its knees including economic, technological and audience behavior changes affecting the industry as a whole, as well as removal of regulatory protections and public subsidies to support this valued and particularly vulnerable sector. Continue reading →

St. Catharines Regional Councillor Andy Petrowski resigns from Niagara Police Board.

By Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted January 22^nd, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Andy Petrowski, a two-term Niagara regional councillor for St. Catharines, has resigned his seat on the Niagara Police Services Board “to spend more time with his family and his father,” according to a statement posted on the Board’s website this January 22^nd by Niagara Falls regional councillor Bob Gale, who serves as the Board’s chair.

Gale’s statement on Petrowski, who has already been replaced on the Board by Niagara regional chair Al Caslin, offered nothing but praise for Petrowski’s year of service on the body. The statement made no reference to calls for Petrowski’s resignation following comments he made on a local radio phone-in program this past December about Syrian refugees coming into Canada. Continue reading →

An Invite to You from Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre

Posted January 22^nd, 2016 on Niagara At Large

ESRC Events

Science Café: ‘Electric Cars: Future Opportunities & Challenges’

Join the ESRC as we discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with electric vehicles. This event will feature guest speakers:

• Ron Goves, Manager of Education and Outreach, Plug’n Drive
• Josipa Petrunic, Executive Director & CEO, Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC)

Continue reading →

• The Ongoing Fight In Canada And The U.S. To Prevent Private Interests From Diverting Water From The Great Lakes Basin

News from the Canada-U.S. International Joint Commission

Posted January 22^st, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Preventing harm to the waters of the Great Lakes from diversion or shipment outside of the basin is a visceral issue for those who love the lakes.

Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and beyond from space. Click on the image to enlarge and you may see the Niagara River connecting the two lakes. These are our precious life-sustaining fresh waters to protect and preserve.

When a private (Canadian-based) firm received a permit in 1998 to take Lake Superior water and export it via tanker to overseas customers, the resulting public uproar not only halted the project, but prompted the U.S. and Canadian governments to ask the IJC to study and report on the issue.

The resulting IJC report to the governments, “Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes,” issued in 2000, provided a road map for assuring that consumptive uses, diversions and exports of the basin’s water did not injure the lakes. Continue reading →

“We need to balance what must be done to address climate change and protect our environment and the development of our energy resources.” – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

Statement on Meeting between Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley

Posted January 22nd, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Toronto-Ontario – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne met with Alberta  Premier Rachel Notley today in Toronto to discuss issues important to the future prosperity of both provinces. The meeting focused on climate change, the upcoming First Ministers’ Meeting and infrastructure, including Energy East.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley (left) makes a point while Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne looks on.

Following the meeting, Premier Wynne issued this statement:

“I have said all along that we need to balance what must be done to address climate change and protect our environment and the development of our energy resources. That is why the Canadian Energy Strategy is so important. Continue reading →

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted January 22^nd, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Nagara, Ontario – At the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, Jan. 20th, 2016, the Board of Directors elected Bruce Timms, Regional Councillor for St. Catharines as Chair of the Board of Directors. 

“It’s an honour and a pleasure to be voted in by my Board colleagues as Chair of the NPCA Board for 2016,” stated Councillor Timms. “We had a very successful year, and I look forward to continuing our work, particularly with so many important projects currently in progress such as; exploring biodiversity offsetting, Welland River floodplain mapping, NPCA policy review and the Niagara River Remedial Action Plan.” Continue reading →

From Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

January 21st, 2016

The commentary by Nick Fillmore on Canada’s Postmedia Corp.’s newspaper has been resent due to typos in the headline for the first draft circulated. Please move past that one and open the second, redrafted version sent your way.

Thanks and Sorry for the foul-up. Doug Draper

A Commentary by Nick Fillmore

Posted January 21^st, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Another 90 dedicated journalists in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa lost their jobs Tuesday as cutthroat Publisher Paul Godfrey slashed away again in an effort to turn Postmedia into a profit-making business.  In a bizarre move, two competing papers will continue to be separate entities, but there will be one set of editors and most journalists will be shared.

Postmedia’s “cutrhroat” publisher and CEO Paul Godfrey

In Vancouver, the Sun and The Province will come under one roof. In Edmonton, the Journal and the Sun will come together; in Calgary, the Calgary Herald and the Sun; and in Ottawa, The Ottawa Citizen and the Sun. This latest maneuver, in effect, reduces the four cities to print media monopolies. Even as weak as the original Postmedia and Sun papers were, they still competed with each other. Now the same editors will assign reporters from both papers. Continue reading →

News from the Pen Centre, Niagara Furniture Bank and Niagara Refugee Assistance Committee

Posted January 21^st, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Region, Ontario – The Niagara Refugee Assistance Committee and Niagara Furniture Bank have announced a partnership to help avert 10,000 square feet of hotel furnishing from landfill and make it available to Syrian refugees and other families and individuals in need.

Syrian refugees arriving in Canada

Hotels are updating furnishings and instead of the furniture heading for landfill and a group of hotel owners in Niagara is donating the still very usable goods to the Niagara Furniture Bank who provides gently used home furnishings to families in need in the Niagara Region.

“With the influx of Syrian Refugees, there is more stress on already restricted resources of our organization, such as space, staffing and stock”, explains Niagara Furniture Bank Executive Director Gillian Kemp. “We are thrilled by the leadership and generosity of these local businesses”. Continue reading →

“In Canada

• This year, just 5 Canadians have the same wealth as the bottom 30% of Canadians – more than 11 million people. Canada’s top 5 billionaires own $55 billion, while the bottom 30% owns $54.97 billion. 

• The poorest 10% of Canadians only make about $2.30 more per day than they did 25 years ago.” 

News from Oxfam Canada on the Growing Wealth Gap in Canada and around the World

Posted January 21st, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. This figure has fallen from 388 just five years ago, according to an Oxfam report published today ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

An Economy for the 1%, shows that the wealth of the poorest half of the world’s  population has fallen by a trillion dollars since 2010, a drop of 41 per cent. This has occurred despite the global population increasing by around 400 million people during that period. Meanwhile the wealth of the richest 62 has increased by more than half a trillion dollars to $1.76 trillion. Continue reading →

“The biggest gap in many communities is private sponsorships.” – Jeff Burch,  Director,  Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 20^th on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Thousands of Syrians have died fleeing the Middle Eastern country plagued by war and terrorism.

Syrian refugees arriving recently in Canada.

For too many, turning to smugglers and deadly boat crossings on the Mediterranean Sea is the only option for escape.

It’s a grim reality that served as the catalyst for a group of 18 Brock University faculty and staff to come together to sponsor a family of Syrian refugees through Ryerson Lifeline Syria.

“We are providing a legal way for people to flee so they don’t have to risk their lives,” said Ebru Ustundag, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography. “For me, it’s an ethical and political responsibility. This is one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades.” Continue reading →

A Column from Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide public advocacy group

Posted January 20^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

We have raised it repeatedly for the last half-decade or more in legislative

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra

hearings on the Ontario Budget and the Local Health Integration Networks. Now, finally, the Ontario government is taking some modest action to roll back the worst of hospital parking fees.

In advance of the protests against hospital cuts that we are holding across the province this week at each pre-budget hearing, the government proclaimed early Monday morning that it will be requiring hospitals to roll back some parking fees.

But the announcement will not actually lower parking fees in many communities. This is the bottom line:

• Hospitals will still be able to charge $10 per day or more to visitors.
• For hospitals that charge $9.99 per day or less, nothing changes.
• But those hospitals that do charge $10 or more per day for visitors will be required to provide access to 5 -, 10 -, and 30 – day passes discounted by 50%. These discount passes must be transferable between patients and caregivers and must include in- and out- privileges.

Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted January 20th, 2016

I’m one Canadian who has always taken exception whenever I here one of my fellow citizens make the sweeping statement that “Americans are stupid.”

As I’ve mentioned several times in commentaries posted on Niagara At Large, many of my close friends are Americans and they are far from “stupid” when it comes to what is happening in and to their country.

Yet even I must admit that it is hard to remember that America has its share of smart people when you see cable news replays of U.S. Tea Party star Sarah Palin, spewing words (when she was not making a mash of them) like a mentally challenged out-paitent on crack,

Then along comes the following front-page of the New York Daily News, published this January 20th, to restore some of your faith that there may be enough people in America to keep Donald Trump out of White House where he would have his fingers near the missle button while he is inflicting his angry, hate-filled demagoguery on the people of his country, on his neighbours in Canada and on the rest of the world.

By the way, if anyone really wants to get into the down and dirty business of doing a per capita comparison of how many stupid people there are in the U.S. versus Canada, one could begin by remembering that in Canada’s last federal election – held two months ago this mid-January, almost 32 per cent of the 17.5 million Canadians who bothered to go to the polls voted for the Stephen Harper Conservatives. Continue reading →

‘A Brief Comment from Doug Draper

Posted January 19^th, 2016 in Niagara At Large

“I’m afraid of Americans. I’m afraid of the world. I’m afraid I can’t help it.  … I’m afraid of Americans. …… God is an American. God is an American”

When David Bowie wrote those lyrics for an album called ‘Earthling’ in 1997, the inspiration for them apparently came while he was visiting the Indonesian island of Java and witnessed the first McDonald’s fast food restaurant going up there – an invasion of a base feature of Americana on that culture he found “depressing.”

With Bowie’s death this January and those lyrics swirling around in so many of the tributes, I could see them being reborn again as a perfect soundtrack as Donald Trump and Sarah Palin – two of America’s most ghoulish politicians and both such masters at playing to the darkest side of their fellow citizens – came together this January 19^th so that Palin could endorse Trump’s campaign for the presidency of the United States. All while praying for God’s blessing for them and the American nation they are fighting to save.

“I’m afraid of Americans. … God is an American.”

And God help the rest of the world.

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.

“Create a national pharmacare program to expand universal, comprehensive coverage to all Canadians for needed medications.”

New from the Ontario Health Coalition

Posted January 19^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Toronto/Vancouver – Urgent action must be taken to safeguard equal health care for all as a first priority as Health Ministers from across Canada gather in Vancouver this week, say advocates from the public health care watchdog the Ontario Health Coalition.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in user fees charged to patients in private clinics,” said Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “Cuts and privatization have resulted in patients being charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars for needed tests and surgeries, in violation of the Canada Health Act and provincial laws.

As the Health Ministers gather in British Columbia this week, we are calling on Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins to insist that the fundamental principle of equal health care for all, based on need not wealth, be upheld and enforced as a first priority; and funding be provided to meet population need for care.” Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

January 18^th, 2016

Each Martin Luther King Day – a day each January that Americans and others around the world are asked to remember one of the most stirring and courageous voices for human rights for the past 100 years – I like to share a fitting quotation from this great individual, who would have turned 87 this past January 15^th and who is being honoured in gatherings across North America this Monday, January 18^th.

Martin Luther King Jr.

This quotation is one I found in a blog posted by a young person named Kayle Lunde who lives and works in Washington D.C. It is a particularly relevant statement from the American civil rights leader given so many of the questions and concerns – along with some very ugly words and actions – expressed across North America as we contront a Syrian refugee crisis of historic proportions.

That quotation, followed by some reflections (in which you can just as well substitute the word Canadian for American if you live north of the border)on it by Kayle Lunde, goes like this –

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” – Martin Luther King

Continue reading →

Posted January 18^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

News from the Hamilton,Ontario-based Citizens At City Hall (CATCH)

In the few weeks since the Paris climate accord (this past December), there have been three pipeline occupations and there are promises of more civil disobedience as citizens, including Hamilton organizations, turn up the heat on the National Energy Board (NEB) and the fossil fuel sector it oversees.

A pipeline protest in Sarnia, Ontario area this past December resulted in arrests

Multiple groups including First Nations, the Council of Canadians, and 350.org are pushing the federal Liberals to implement their promised reform of the Board before the NEB makes further decisions on oil and bitumen pipelines.

The immediate focus is the controversial Kinder Morgan application to twin a pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver, but the promised reform of the NEB could also affect three Enbridge pipelines through Hamilton – Line 9 that was shut down twice by protests last month, Line 7 that was also briefly disrupted, and Line 10 whose expansion application is now before the NEB. Continue reading →

Putting Patients First By Reducing Fees for Frequent Visitors

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted January 18^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is making hospital parking more affordable for thousands of patients, their loved ones and caregivers. As of October 1, 2016, hospitals that charge more than $10 a day for parking will be required to provide 5-, 10- and 30-day passes that are:

The Niagara Health System’s Welland, Ontario hospital site. photo by Doug Draper

• Discounted by 50 per cent off their daily rate
• Transferable between patients and caregivers
• Equipped with in-and-out privileges throughout a 24-hour period
• Good for one year from the date of purchase.

Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper

Posted January 17th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Canada’s national media keeps reporting on what an economic blow it is for the people in the Province Of Canada with the work price for oil cratering the way it has.

But times can’t be that bad when billboards like the following are popping up in the province.

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.

With A Brief Foreword Note from Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted January 14^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

From Doug Draper

With all of the negativity we are fed by politicians, it was great to tune in one of the cable news channels this January 12^th and hear some truly positive and forward-thinking ideas coming from Barack Obama during his last State of the Union Address as President of the United States.

U.S. Barack Obama delivers State of the Union Address for last time in his presidency.

It sounded like a youngish new Canadian Prime Minister named Justin Trudeau who is already being sniped at with lines like ‘he can’t do that’ or ‘he’s trying to move too fast’ or (especially with reference to his ambitious promise to land 50,000 Syrians in Canada by early this year) ‘ah, you see, he’s going to miss his target’ by critics representing the narrow and dated interests – too often drenched in anger, phobia and cynicism – of old stock Canadians.

Let’s hope that for the sake of the future of younger generations of Canadians and Americans, Trudeau and Obama and whoever takes his place in the White House do not let the voices of negativity and entrenched interest discourage them from at least try pursuing a more progressive course.

In that spirit, what follows is one of the more instirational, forward-thinking excerpts – at least, in my view – from Obama’s January 12^th, 2016 State of the Union Address –

“Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn’t deny Sputnik was up there. We didn’t argue about the science, or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon.

Continue reading →

“The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network has become a strong and reliable voice on poverty issues within our region.”

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted January 13^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network (NPRN), which includes over 30 organizations and individuals working to raise awareness of poverty issues and solutions, welcomes new leadership starting in 2016. 

Glen Walker will become the Chair of the Network, while Melenie Neamtz steps in as Network Vice-Chair.  Walker is the Executive Director of Positive Living Niagara with an extensive background in community development and the health and developmental services sectors. 

Neamtz is the Community Connections Coordinator with the Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre working to improve opportunities for youth in Niagara. Continue reading →

News from Brock University

Posted January 12^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Young entrepreneurs in Niagara will reap the rewards of provincial funding for BioLinc, Brock University’s incubation facility run by the Goodman School of Business.

Support provided by the Government of Ontario’s Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships (YEP) program will allow BioLinc to launch the Niagara Youth Entrepreneurship Network (NYEN), which will bring various organizations in Niagara together to deliver a more focused approach to programming for entrepreneurs between the ages of 12 and 29.

“To ensure a strong, competitive and vibrant economy in the future, Ontario must act now to nurture the entrepreneurs and business leaders of tomorrow,” says Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. Continue reading →

• Pre-Budget Consultations Taking Place in Communities Across Province

News from Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa

Posted January 12^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is seeking input from individuals, organizations, and businesses, across the province to help shape Ontario’s upcoming budget.

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa

Today, Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance, was in Toronto to kick off provincewide pre-budget consultations, which include in-person sessions, telephone town halls and online idea-sharing.

Pre-budget consultations are an important way for Ontarians to have their say on how to grow the economy, create jobs and plan for the province’s future. Ideas gathered through these consultations will be considered as part of the budget development process. Continue reading →

• “The 2015 season closed on December 31^st with the passage of the vessel Mississagi through Welland Canal Lock 1.”

News from the St. Lawrence Seaway Corp.

Posted January 12^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Cornwall, Ontario – With water temperatures well above the 10-year average, the St. Lawrence Seaway closed its 2015 navigation season ice free on December

A big laker navigates its way through Lock 2 on the Welland Canal in Niagara, Ontario

31^st. Thirty-six million tonnes of cargo transited the waterway during the season, with grain, at volumes well above the five-year average, leading the way. The Seaway once again proved to be a key asset for farmers as they shipped their crops to markets at home and overseas.

Grain volumes on the Seaway amounted to 10.8 million tonnes, one of the strongest years in recent memory.  The Port of Thunder Bay, the principal point of entry for grain into the Great Lakes / Seaway System, reported its second-best season in 15 years. Combined with grain being loaded onto ships from other ports such as Hamilton, Duluth / Superior and Toledo, agricultural commodities have become increasingly important to the Great Lakes / Seaway System. Continue reading →

Another Column from Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted January 12^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

The Town of Pelham in Niagara, Ontario – You may recall that during the summer there were no grants available from the Provincial or Federal government for “quality of life investments” like recreational facilities.

Pelham, Ontario Mayor Dave Augustyn

In July, I informed you that “Since there are currently no Federal or Provincial grants available [for a potential new community centre], the Town will continue to lobby for a policy change and for funding.”

In August I asked that you assist the Town’s efforts; I wrote “So, during this National election, please ask your local candidates to ensure that the Canadian Government will also help fund improvements to our quality of life – like new recreational and cultural facilities.”

Since that time, Canadians elected a new Federal Government. During their election campaign, the Liberal Party promised: “Over the next decade, we will invest almost $20 billion more in Canada’s social infrastructure.” Continue reading →

An Invite to All Of Us from the Niagara Prosperity Initiative

Posted January 11^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Proposals are invited from the community for projects that will provide an effective service to address poverty at a neighbourhood level for residents of the Niagara region.

Information session on addressing poverty to be held at Niagara Regional Headquarters in Thorold.

The Niagara Prosperity Initiative (NPI) uses a neighbourhood-based approach to addressing poverty with the understanding that the nature and degree of poverty varies from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

NPI seeks to build strong communities to ease the enduring impacts of poverty and the stigma and stress associated with living in poverty. Stronger and healthier communities will provide individuals with social supports and access to the broader factors that affect health.

Applications will be available at www.unitedwayniagara.org  from February 1, 2016 – February 26, 2016

An information session will be held Tuesday, February 2, 2016

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Niagara Region Headquarters, Council Chambers, 2201 St. David’s Road, Thorold

For more information, please visit www.unitedwayniagara.org or email Natalie.Chaumont@unitedwayniagara.org

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.

 “Ratepayers will benefit from the Darlington refurbishment.” – Ontario PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski 

From Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party

Posted January 11^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario – Today at the Legislative Assembly, Energy Critic for

The Ontario Conservative Party’s Energy Critic John Yakabuski says caucus supports refurbishing nuclear power reactors

the Official Opposition John Yakabuski gave his support for the announced refurbishment of four nuclear reactors at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington generating station.

The 12.8 billion dollar refurbishment is a major investment in Ontario’s nuclear industry and will help to stabilize electricity rates in the future. “The announcement today will ensure that the province retains its position as a centre of excellence for nuclear research and technology” said MPP Yakabuski. “Moreover, ratepayers will benefit from the Darlington refurbishment because it will result in the province continuing to use nuclear as a source of reliable, cost-effective, and emission free source of electricity.” Continue reading →

A Citizen Group’s’ Response To News From Ontario Government On Refurbishing Nuclear Plants

From Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director, Ontario Clean Air Allanice

Posted January 11^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Despite official hype that electricity from a re-built Darlington Nuclear Station will be a good deal, the truth is that the cost of power from Darlington is just going up and up while the cost of power from renewable and efficiency sources is going down, down, down.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) claims that electricity from a re-built Darlington Nuclear Station will cost 7.2 to 8.1 cents per kWh (before inevitable cost overruns).  That means power from a re-built Darlington will cost anywhere from 30% to 45% more than OPG’s average sales price for nuclear electricity in 2014 (5.6 cents per kWh).

The Darlington deal also explicitly recognizes that once you open up 30-year-old reactors, costs can – and almost certainly will – skyrocket.  Continue reading →

Statement by NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns

Posted January 11^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario – “The (Ontario) Liberal government shouldn’t keep the people of Ontario in the dark when it comes to the Darlington refurbishment. This government has not provided a proper business case that clearly and transparently examines the costs, benefits and risks of this project. This project needs a transparent and independent review.

Ontarians have good reason to be disappointed in the Liberal government’s handling of the energy file. From the gas plants scandal to the sell-off of Hydro One, time and time again the Liberals have shown they can’t be trusted to stand up for Ontarians. Continue reading →

“Projects will Boost Economic Activity, Create Jobs and Help Fight Climate Change” – Provincial Government

News from the Ontario Ministry of Energy

Posted January 11^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario – Ontario is moving forward with nuclear refurbishment at Darlington Generating Station, securing 3,500 megawatts of affordable, reliable, and emission free power.

Ontario’s giant Darlington Nuclear Plant off northern shores of Lake Ontario

Nuclear refurbishment at Darlington will contribute $15 billion to Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP) throughout the project and create up to 11,800 jobs annually. The refurbishment of all four units is expected to involve about 30 million hours of work over 10 years and will support Ontario’s globally recognized CANDU nuclear supply chain, with more than 180 companies employing thousands of highly skilled workers. Continue reading →

A  Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted January 10^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large in Niagara, Ontario

As I post this commentary, residents in the Buffalo, New York area are bracing themselves for another one of those lake effect storms that sometimes leaves the city and surrounding areas buried in enough snow to make headlines across the continent.

Buffalo’s City Hall, both outisee and in its great hallways and chambers, is a towering monument to the era of Art Deco design.

Now people from coast to coast are about to be introduce to a side of Buffalo that at least some of us who’ve taken time to get off the 190 beltway between the Peace Bridge and Walden Galleria and airport in Cheektowaga, and ventured into downtown Buffalo and the neighbourhoods in between and around Delaware Park have seen rising for the past five to 10 years. Continue reading →

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted January 9^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for the riding of Niagara Falls, said that the Liberal government has failed Niagara families once again as

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Statistics Canada released job numbers today that showed an increase in the unemployment rate in the Niagara region compared to the same time last year.

“In 2015, as families in Niagara faced rising unemployment, the Wynne Liberal government failed to create a jobs plan. Instead they plowed ahead with the sell-off of Hydro One, which will lead to higher hydro bills, making life harder for families and businesses, and hampering job creation,” said Gates.

Statistics Canada numbers released today show that the unemployment rate in the Niagara region rose to 8 per cent in December 2015.  Gates has been consistently calling on the Liberal government for a comprehensive jobs strategy and an end to the sell-off of Hydro One.
Continue reading →

An Urgent Call from Zoocheck Canada to act on behalf of Alberta, Canada’s wild horses

Posted January 8th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

It is expected that Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips will make a decision about whether to allow the capture of more of Alberta’s wild horses as early as next week.

Photo by Duane Starr posted with this call for urgent action on Zoocheck Canada website

Please take a few minutes to call or email her office and urge her NOT to approve any permits to remove free roaming wild horses from the Alberta landscape in 2016.

Please reference the following points: * there is NO evidence that free roaming wild horses are damaging the environment; * horses evolved in North America and co-evolved with the habitats they now live in; * the reintroduction of horses into Alberta more than 200 years ago should be viewed as a reintroduction of a native species and thus wild horses should be given native wildlife status; * the continued removal of wild horses threaten their survival as numbers are already low. Continue reading →

News from the animal advocacy group ZooCheck Canada

Posted January 8th, 2015 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario government received thousands of letters, including testimony from many world renowned experts, and a 115,000 person petition calling for substantive action to protect marine mammals in captivity in Ontario.

The Government knew about the large, high profile, protests taking place outside of Marineland in Niagara Falls and of the hundreds of media stories, including a lengthy front page series in The Toronto Star (which generated a number of SLAPP suits against former Marineland employees as well as the TO Star) that were featured in print, radio, television and online media everywhere.

The Government had numerous meetings with various stakeholders, Canadian and international experts, and organizations (including Zoocheck), on captive marine mammal issues and expended a great deal of staff time and taxpayer dollars developing new captive marine mammal regulations. During that time Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi repeatedly promised decisive action to protect marine mammals in captivity.

So after all this, what was the result? Continue reading →

Statement from PC Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure Critic Monte McNaughton on December Job Numbers

Posted December 8^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Progressive Conservative Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure Critic Monte McNaughton today issued the following statement on December Job Numbers:

“The job numbers released today show that for the month of December, Ontario’s unemployment rate did not exceed the national average.

Ontario Conservative Party’s economic development critic Monte McNaughton

While we are hopeful that these positive job trends continue, the volatility we’ve seen in the global economy, stock and commodity markets in the past weeks has people worried. Our province was devastated by the financial downturn of 2008 and economists see echoes of that in what’s happening today.

That is why it’s vitally important that the Liberal government finally start heeding the calls of the Auditor General, the Financial Accountability Officer, and the Ontario PC Caucus to create a real economic plan for Ontario. Continue reading →

Niagara, Ontario’s Jobless Rate Goes Up AGAIN! – Almost A Full Percentage Point Higher Than The Average For All Of Canada

News from the Government of Ontario with a Foreword by  Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Posted January 8^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Foreword by Doug Draper –

While the job figures released by Statistics Canada this January 8^th, 2016 show a drop in the average unemployment rate this past December 2015 for regions across Ontario compared to the month before, the unemployment rate for Niagara, Ontario has gone up during the same time period.

The latest Stats Can numbers show that unemployment in St. Catharines/Niagara rose from 7.8 per cent in November of last year to 8 per cent in December – almost a full  point higher than the 7.1 per cent unemployment rate averaged out for all of Canada and more than a point higher than the 6.7 per cent rate for Ontario during the same time period. Continue reading →

Some Community News from Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted January 8^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

The Town of Pelham in Niagara, Ontario – Members of the Maple Acre Advisory Committee and I want your feedback on the design of the renewed Pelham Library Branch in Downtown Fenwick.

We invite you to an Open House on Wednesday, January 13 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at Pelham Fire Station #2 (766 Welland Road) where the architect and builder will display the latest designs.

Maple Acre Library Branch in Pelham community of Fenwick

Council and the Library Board recognized years ago that the aged Maple Acre Library branch required renewal; we struck a joint committee back in 2008 to make recommendations. While that committee looked at many ideas – building a joint Library / Firehall (prior to the new Fires Station #2), constructing a new library either in Centennial Park or at the former Fire Station (Welland Road at Canboro) – it got a bit bogged down. Continue reading →

From the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, A Toronto-based citizens advocacy group

Posted January 7^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

While Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli crows about what a great deal the new contract with Bruce Power is, his government is simultaneously refusing to make public the key clauses in the deal that will determine the real price that we will pay for the next 49 years for power from Bruce’s reactors.

Bruce Nuclear Power Plant along the Ontario shores of Lake Huron

What’s clear is that there are clauses in the contract that compensate Bruce Power for any decision to not proceed with re-building reactors in the face of falling electricity demand, and falling costs for faster-to-deploy and more flexible renewable power sources.

And there are clauses that set out just how high the Bruce Re-Build’s capital costs can soar above $13 billion before the government can trigger an “off ramp” and end all or part of the Re-Build project. Continue reading →

An ‘Expert Advisory’ from Brock University

Posted January 7^th, 2015 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines, Ontario – If you’re still looking for an achievable New Year’s resolution, a Brock University professor has a nutritious suggestion: eat more fruits and vegetables.

Wendy Ward, Professor in Brock’s Department of Kinesiology, says eating a well-balanced diet based on Canada’s Food Guide is an excellent goal for 2016.

“With New Year’s resolutions fresh in our minds ­— likely many for improving health – we can start by increasing our intakes of fruits and vegetables, as well as being more mindful of our food choices,” says Ward, the Canada Research Chair in Bone and Muscle Development. Continue reading →

• Ontario is a major hub for human trafficking in Canada

From Ontario’s  Conservative Party

Posted January 7, 2016 on Niagara At large

WHITBY-OSHAWA, Ontario – In Durham Region today, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Critic for Women’s Issues, Laurie Scott (MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock) and Lorne Coe, Progressive Conservative candidate for Whitby-Oshawa, held a press conference calling for the Liberal Government to take immediate action to create a province-wide taskforce to combat human trafficking. Canadian law states that human trafficking –a form of modern day slavery – involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or control of a person for sexual exploitation or forced labour. Continue reading →

You Are Invited To Join Rallies “To Stop Devastating Hospital Cuts”

A Call-Out To We, The People, from the Ontario Health Coalition, A Toronto-based citizens advocacy group

Posted January 5^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

The Ontario Provincial Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs has chosen Hamilton, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa and Toronto to hold pre-budget consultations. 

We are now entering the 9th consecutive year of hospital cuts – the longest stretch of hospital cuts in Ontario’s history. Every service cut is privatized, subject to user fees or moved far from our home towns.

Every year, the Ontario Health Coalition and local coalitions across the province have presented at the hearings. Continue reading →

 “Heritage preservation has been a difficult walk uphill (in Ontario) and has been a neglected part of our culture.” –  Heritage Thorold (LACAC) Committee 

A Submission To Ontario’s Liberal Government from Pamela Minns and Heritage Thorold LACAC

Posted on Niagara At Large, January 5th, 2016

A Submission To Ontario’s Liberal Government from Pamela Minns and Heritage Thorold LACAC

(A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large – Pamela Minns and the other volunteers on Heritage Thorold LACAC (LACAC is an acronym for Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee) deserve a good deal of credit for caring enough about protrecting and preserving heritage sites in our communities to put together such a well-thought-out and detailed submission to the Ontario government.

The Port Mansion, once located in Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines and in a provincially designated heritage district, was demolished a few years ago for a high-rise condo that still isn’t there and seems to be in perpetual limbo. File Photo by Doug Draper

The submission is a response to the Liberal Government of Premier Kathleen Wynne call for public input on what shape a strategy for embracing the arts, culture and heritage across Ontario should take for the future. The question is will the government take the input seriously since, as Pamela Minns has stressed for years, heritage issues have hardly ever been given the priority they deserve at the provincial level.

If you have any doubts about the correctness of Minns’ concern over how little respect heritage sites – even ones that have been designated as such by the province – get in Ontario, look no further than the community of Port Dalhousie in the Niagara, Ontario City of St. Catharines.

Continue reading →

“My new vision is to make this the most dynamic, innovative, sustainable and livable city in North America.” St. Catharines Mayor Water Sendzik

News from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Posted January 4^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines, Ontario – Walter Sendzik, Mayor of St. Catharines, will address his community at the 2016 State of the City event, the second of its kind, presented by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC).

St. Catharines, Ontario Mayor Walter Sendzik

At this annual event, the Mayor shares his civic vision for the future of the city, and the means by which it is to be realized. Since his election in October 2014, Mayor Sendzik has been a force for change in St. Catharines and Niagara. With so many new developments on the horizon, 2016 is sure to be a remarkable year.

“These addresses provide unique insight into what our municipal leaders have in store for the future,” said Ian Kowalchuk, Chair of the GNCC’s Board of Directors and Partner at Merit Contractors Niagara. “We’ve already had great discussions and progress on issues like updated infrastructure, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the Mayor plans for 2016.” Continue reading →

“What we’ve learned is that the average pay of the top 100 CEOs in Canada has proven to be extraordinarily resilient, in good times and bad.”

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted January 4^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

Toronto, Ontario – On the first working day of the New Year, Canada’s highest paid 100 CEOs are seriously power lunching: by 12:18 pm today, their average

While everyday Canadians, like their American counterparts, see the income gab between them and the upper one per cent widen ever more, CEOs continue to party at the trough

pay is already $48,636 — what it takes the average full-time, full-year worker all of 2016 to earn.

In the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ (CCPA) annual examination of CEO pay in Canada, the country’s top 100 CEOs pocketed, on average, $8.96 million in 2014 — 184 times more than the average wage in Canada. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the citizens advocacy group Niagara Action For Animals

January 2016

Dear Friends of Animals -This is an urgent call to action!!

Many controversial government announcements are released when no one is watching, so too was the announcement by Ontario’s Wynne government to begin a wolf cull in Northern Ontario.

Posted on Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights Registry on December 17^th, right when most are busy with the holidays, the Ontario government. is proposing to remove the previous requirements for hunters to purchase a special hunting ‘seal’ to kill wolves and remove the restriction to kill only one wolf per season.

The limit on killing coyotes will be lifted and hunters can kill as many coyotes as they want. Unlike targeted culls where a specific number of wolves are killed, the Ontario cull allows for thousands of wolves to be killed each year. Continue reading →

A Brief Comment from Doug Draper

Posted January 4^th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Yee Haw! Bang! Bang! Bang! We sure in hell showed those gun control varmints the way out of this state, didn’t we! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Minus the shooting, that’s pretty much the way it reportedly was across Texas this first day of January, 2016 as large numbers of Texans celebrated a state law that now allows them to openly have guns hanging out of their belts in public.

This right-in-everyone’s-face show of lethal force is in keeping with what many Americans interpret to be their 2^nd Amendment right to own and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution to own and bear arms, and with a position advanced by the National Rifle Association – one of the lobby groups that runs the United States government – that the more people who carry guns on school campuses, in shopping malls and just about everywhere else, the safer they will be. Continue reading →

In The Meantime, Don’t Stop Visiting And Commenting On The Posts On Our NAL Site Now

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

January 1^st, 2016

Well, here we are just barely into another new year (as this note is posted) and not that many hours past the final minutes of 2015 and the ritualistic countdown to midnight where many of us find ourselves feeling a renewed sense of hope for better times to come.

2016 sees us entering the second half of the second decade of the 21^st century and we at NAL believe that it will take a lot more than hope to drag our politicians – particularly those at the municipal level in Niagara, Ontario – out of the 1950s and into a present and future that gets away from costly, low-density sprawl and paving over what is left of the countryside, and embraces greener, more sustainable communities.

Moving forward to a healthier, more prosperous future will require more of us getting involved in the affairs of our communities, especially at the regional government level where a relatively small but highly fractious group of councillors have assumed positions of dominance on the council and under Al Caslin, who has served as the council’s chair for the past year, appears comfortable to let civility – even toward leaders of Niagara, Ontario’s business and academic communities – sink to levels unprecedented in the 46 year history of this municipal body.

But we will focus more on that dysfunctional mess in the days and weeks ahead.

For now and for the first few days of this New Year, we are taking a bit of a break, and that includes our canine mascot Pinky who, as you can see in the photo below, needs some down time to recover from a wild New Year’s Eve party that saw her hollowing at the moon after the clock struck twelve.

One again, we at NAL wish you a Happy Harper-less New Year and we encourage you to join us in the discussion as we continue our efforts as an online voice for progressive change in our greater 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.

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

 From Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Final Days of December, 2015

We at Niagara At Large are thrilled to have our mascot Pinky – one tiny but might chiwawa – here for a holiday visit and joining us in wishing you the best in 2016.

Our mascot Pinky may look a little too bundled up given how mild it has been so far this winter. But she’s up for a visit from Florida, and by Sunshine State standards it’s a bit ch-, ch-, chilly in these climes for a pint-size chiwawa.

If you are a regular follower of news and commentary on Niagara At Large, you may remember Pinky’s last visit to NAL headquarters during Canada’s 2015 federal election. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for her, as it was for many of us.

She was accused by Stephen Harper supporters of showing some of the tell-tale symptoms of what they called “Harper Derangement Syndrome”, with her muffled growls and flashes of tongue and teeth at almost every mention of Harper’s name and when it looked, during the early days of the race, like his Conservatives still had a chance of winning another term of government.

Some Harperites even accused her of being a partisan for the NDP or Liberals, depending on which party they loathed the most and despite the fact that on that score, her belief in a universal pharma care program that would make prescription drugs affordable for all Canadians and in closing down the tar sands had her tilting, on principle, in the direction of the Green Party. Continue reading →

From Ontario’s Opposition Conservative Party

Posted on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com

December 29^th, 2015

Queen’s Park, Toronto – As a result of poor (Ontario) Liberal government policies, January 1st represents another unaffordable hydro increase for Ontarians.

“Starting on the first day of the new year, residents of Ontario will see their hydro bills on average increase by almost $100 dollars,” said PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski. “This further ingrains Ontario as one of the most expensive and uncompetitive energy jurisdictions in North America.”

On January 1st, the Wynne Liberal Government is terminating the Clean Energy Benefit. This represented a 10 per cent reduction on total electricity charges for residential consumers, small business and farms. Continue reading →

Announcement from the White House

December 28^th, 2015

President Obama and the First Lady will welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, to the White House for an Official Visit with a State Dinner on Thursday, March 10, 2016.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and their wives have a March date at the White House

 The visit will be an opportunity for the United States and Canada to deepen their bilateral relationship, which is one of the closest and most extensive in the world and is based on a shared history, common values, and a vast and intricate network of cultural, familial, and commercial ties.

The visit also is intended to advance cooperation on important bilateral and multilateral issues, such as energy and climate change, security, and the economy. Continue reading →

A Year-End Win For The Great Lakes

Posted December 28th, 2015 on Niagara At Large

A Message from the U.S.-based Alliance for the Great Lakes to its many American and Canadian supporters.

President Obama just signed legislation (this Monday, December 28th) that will phase out the manufacture and sale of plastic microbeads in personal-care products.

Plastic microbeads wash up along Lake Erie shores. These beads can literally choke the life out of fish populations in lake waters.

This couldn’t have happened without you. When research showed these tiny plastic pieces were flowing down the drain and into the Great Lakes, we asked for your help. And you responded. Thousands of you spoke out, sending action alerts to elected officials and telling them how much the Great Lakes matter.

A Great Lakes state — Illinois — became the first in the nation to ban this unnecessary form of plastic pollution. Indiana and Wisconsin followed, along with 3 Great Lakes counties in New York. The wave of action spread from California to Maine. And now a national ban will protect the Great Lakes and all our nation’s waters. Continue reading →

Come Hear From Some Buffalo, New York Area Citizens Who Were There

An Invite to You from the Sierra Club’s Climate and Clean Energy Writers Group in Western New York

Posted on Niagara At Large, December 28^th, 2015

This is your chance to learn all about the Paris Climate Talks from three Western New Yorkers who were there!

The Sierra Club Climate and Clean Energy Writers Group presents UB Law School students Andrea DiNapoli and Alyssa Erazo, along with local climate activist and interfaith minister Sandy Chelnov, for an interactive talk about this important conference.

When: Monday, January 4th, 2016 from  6:00 to7:30 PM

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church  695 Elmwood at Ferry (Garden Entrance), 2nd Floor Alliance Room Continue reading →