Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP wants to see details on Ford government’s     Ontario Student Assistant Plan changes

“Reports reveal that the Ford government is not going to fund a two-year tuition freeze it’s imposing, forcing colleges and universities to accept what is estimated to be a $250-million revenue loss.”

A Message from Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Party

Posted January 21^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park — Ontario NDP Colleges and Universities critic Chris Glover released the following statement regarding news that tuition will drop for 2019-2020, and be frozen for 2020-2021:

“Doug Ford’s … tuition announcement is going to turn out to be a smoke and mirrors exercise. Ontario’s college and university students know that they are not going to benefit from a Doug Ford government.

Reports reveal that the Ford government is not going to fund a two-year tuition freeze it’s imposing, forcing colleges and universities to accept what is estimated to be a $250-million revenue loss. That means cancelled courses, larger class sizes and laid-off faculty. Students will likely pay for the freeze with two years of a lower quality education — followed by skyrocketing tuition in 2021 to make up for the shortfall.

Ontario already has the lowest per-student funding in Canada, the highest levels of student debt, the largest class sizes and the most precariously employed professors.  

We are also growing deeply concerned that Ontario Student Assistant Plan (OSAP) grants will be cut by Ford, hurting low and middle income students. Students counting on OSAP to give them a shot at university or college know that OSAP needs to be improved, not hacked apart.

The NDP has proposed a new system that would see provincial student loans converted to grants. That would means schools and students would both win, and new graduates wouldn’t saddled with a debt load that weighs them down just as they’re starting out.

The Ontario NDP will be paying very close attention to this announcement.”

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space following the Bernie Sanders quote below.

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For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

 “A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Need for Universal Drug Plan should be one of the most pressing issues facing Canadians in this federal election year

A New Report from the Broadbent Institute

Posted January 21st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

This January the Broadbent Institute released a significant new report, ‘Charting the Path to National Pharmacare in Canada‘, concerning what we expect will be one of the most pressing issues facing Canadians in this election year.

Right now, about 7.5 million Canadians are not taking the medications they need because they can’t afford them, and it’s been estimated that around 700,000 Canadians skip buying groceries to pay for their medications that currently aren’t covered. Continue reading →

This Event is Free and Open to the Public

An Invite from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted January 21^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – After inclement weather put Demystifying Dementia on hold last fall, the much-anticipated Brock event has been rescheduled for later this month.

The much-anticipated Brock panel has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.

Co-hosted by Brock University’s Centre for Lifespan Development Research and the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Demystifying Dementia will help raise awareness about the increasing prevalence of dementia in Niagara and the many agencies and partners across the region that have taken on the roles of education, prevention, intervention and research targeting memory-related issues.

The event will see Lynn McCleary, Associate Professor of Nursing, explain what dementia is, why we shouldn’t assume that it is a normal part of aging, and how, through education, stigmas may be broken down.

“I hope this panel will become a platform for people to be able to talk with each other about their symptoms and how to have a good life with dementia,” McCleary says. “Unfortunately, many are afraid to tell someone they are having difficulty. We hope to shift this perspective.”

McCleary and Recreation and Leisure Studies Associate Professor Colleen Whyte will join a panel of representatives from the community to provide an overview of recent and ongoing Brock research as well as resources available in Niagara.

Topics will include the prevalence of dementia and how the likelihood of it developing increases with age, diagnosis and transitions in care. Findings from research will also highlight how friendships are sustained for people living with dementia, as well as the role of music among older adults with dementia.

Panel members will also include: Melanie Elliott (MA ’17), Research Associate with Methologica Inc.; Naomi O’Brien, Respite Services Manager with Niagara Region’s Community Programs for Seniors; and Jessica Pace, Education Co-ordinator with the Alzheimer Society of Niagara Region.

The event is free and open to the public, but online RSVP through brockdementiapanel2019.eventbrite.ca is required as space is limited. Free parking is available in Lot D.

What: Demystifying Dementia — Lessons from research and community programming
Who: The event is open to anyone interested in learning more about dementia, including the general public, policy-makers, organizations, educators and practitioners
When: Thursday, Jan. 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Brock University, Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines.

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space following the Bernie Sanders quote below.

A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

 “A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

 “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Posted January 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

This Monday, January 21^st is Martin Luther King Day across the United States – a day set aside to mark the all-too-short life of one of the most passion voice of the past hundreds years for social justice and peace around the world.

One can only wonder what great civil rights leader, who would have turned 90 this January had he not been cut down 50 years ago this past spring by an American-born white man who no doubt would have voted for Trump had he been alive today, would think about his country today.

What would Martin Luther King have to say about all of the yelling and screaming for wall to keep people out by millions of Americans who feel emboldened by the character now occupying the highest office of the land to say the most vile and vulgar things they want about people of colour or about women or about members of the LGBQ community, or about Canadians and their prime minister?

 “Brick by brick they built them but it seems to me
Brick by brick they built them where they shouldn’t be
We should be building bridges to a better day
Where no walls would stand in the way.”

• Lyrics from a song called ‘Walls’ from a great new Barbra Streisand album by the same name – an album that is a call out for truth and justice in the age of Trump.

To hear and watch, Martin Luthuer King’s iconic ‘I Have A Dream’ speech from 1962, click on the screen below.

.NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space following the Bernie Sanders quote below.

A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

 “A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

A Brief Note from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted January 19th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Do you notice yet how Doug Ford – – Ontario’s college drop-out, buck-a-beer guzzling premier – and his self-described “Government for the People” don’t seem to my pandering to aging baby boomers and other more senior supporters out there, all while they  relentlessly go on cutting and gutting  programs for younger people and for whatever may be left of a quality future for young people on on this plane.

Cheaper gas and beer sure seem to hit the spot for Ford’s aging supporters across the province – far more so than an affordable education and a clean environment for young people.

Ford is all for cutting taxes on carbon fuels that are wreaking havoc on our atmosphere, oceans and climate – all so that Bob and Bonnie Baby Boomer, who seemed to forget about saving for their retirement while they were buying plastic toys all their adult lives, can save a few pennies on a litre of gas while they driving their four-wheel monster mobile to the shopping mall.

But to hell with younger people and any opportunity they have for an affordable education, secure jobs with a living wage, and a planet that is liveable, long after Bob and Bonnie are no longer over-burdening our health care system and have made their final exit. Continue reading →

“Thorold has moved from an industrial city to one where families want to live and visit. We have a new downtown – a busy one. There is much building going on and now we have this latest decision (by Thorold’s City Council to say ‘yes’ to Cannabis stores) which does not quite fit in.”

A Commentary by Pamela Minns, a Thorold resident and award-winning heritage advocate

Posted January 18th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In 2017, the revitalization of downtown Thorold  has begun to receive national attention. It  has been a project done in partnership with local heritage advocates like Pamela Minns, local businesses, Thorold’s city council and the provincial and federal governments.

Niagara, Ontario – I am disappointed, but not surprised, that our new Thorold Council voted unanimously this past January 15th to have Cannabis stores in Thorold/Niagara.

I noted there were only two “letters to the editor” on this subject in the local newspaper.

I would have thought, with the keen interest in sports in Thorold, that we have families with children, and that members of our community would express their thoughts on this important subject offering some objection to Council, but as I understand it, only 1,600 responded to the City (with a total population of more than 18,000) on this subject, and a decision was made on that very low response where 65% “opted in” – that is 1,040 residents said “yes.” Continue reading →