Niagara At Large

“The lack of affordable housing (in our region) perpetuates societal inequalities because it disproportionately impacts Indigenous people, visible minorities, newcomers, youth, women, sole support parents, people living independently and people with a disability. … It’s unsustainable and the policy changes couldn’t change fast enough because we need immediate results. – Diana Huson, Niagara Regional Councillor for the Town of Pelham in Niagara, Ontario, and Chair off the Region’s Planning and Economic Development Committee

A Commentary by Niagara Regional Councillor Diana Huson, from her Online Website at http://dianahuson.ca/news/

Posted August 18^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Councillor for Pelham, Diana Huson

In our most recent Committee of the Whole meeting, (Niagara Regional) Council was tasked with evaluating a revised suite of development programs (ie. financial incentives) available to developers and property owners to encourage strategic investments. 

Nearly 20 years old, our current suite took a “shot gun” approach across Niagara, was misaligned with Council priorities, did not adequately collect data for reporting on or measuring results, and at times was short funded.

Importantly, this meant that over time these funds, often in the millions of dollars, would to be added to the tax levy to recuperate our financial commitments. 

Currently regional incentives are the largest discretionary item in the budget,  amounting to $14 million dollars (or 3.5% of the tax levy) in 2021.

Next year that amount is expected to increase to $17 million. It was dated, untargeted and expensive for tax payers, hence a review was long overdue and a responsible next step in ensuring taxpayer accountability.  Continue reading →

“It is both a humanitarian issue for families (on both sides of the Canada’U.S. border)  who have been separated for a year and a half and an economic issue for border communities like the Buffalo-Niagara region which rely on Canadian visitors to feed the economy.” – Buffalo, New area Congressman Brian Higgins

Congressman Higgins Also Calls for Funding to Support Adequate Staffing at U.S. – Canada Border

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York Office of Democratic U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted August 18^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York Area Congressman Brian Higgins, speaking at a news conference with the Niagara River and Peace Bridge in the background. file photo

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is pushing for the United States to lift border restrictions at the U.S.-Canada border and is urging adequate funding to support staffing levels that allow for efficient operations when the border reopens.

In 1986 user fee collection was put in place to help offset U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection costs at land, air and sea ports. Travel restrictions extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic decreased fee collection.

Last fall, Congress approved $840 million in emergency appropriations to fill custom fee revenue gaps created by pandemic border restrictions and to ensure adequate staffing levels at land ports of entry in Fiscal Year 2021. Continue reading →

‘By calling the election now, the Liberals hope to capitalize on a lull in COVID-19 cases with a shorter election where they can control the narrative and potentially avoid the fourth wave of the pandemic.’                                                                                                      –  Ibrahim Berrada, an instructor with Brock University’s Centre for Canadian Studies and a former Parliament Hill staffer

A News Release from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Canadians are preparing for a federal election campaign that will look significantly different from any other in the country’s history.

“Gone are the days of large convention hall-style rallies,” says Ibrahim Berrada, an instructor with Brock University’s Centre for Canadian Studies and a former Parliament Hill staffer. “Weather permitting, Canadians will likely see more outdoor events that abide by regional public health measures and social distancing policies.”

The leaders of the main parties in this federal election. If you don’t know there names by now, please do your duty as a Canadian citizen and find them out.

Berrada expects to see more online campaigning, including advertising and Zoom-style events, although party leaders are still likely to travel across the country targeting strategic ridings in the hopes of enticing undecided Canadian voters.

By calling the election now, the Liberals hope to capitalize on a lull in COVID-19 cases with a shorter election where they can control the narrative and potentially avoid the fourth wave of the pandemic, says Berrada. Continue reading →

“As a hospital, we need to do everything we can to protect our patients, their loved ones and our team. A mandatory vaccination program will also help us to maintain capacity in the hospital and continue to reintroduce services that were paused during previous waves of the pandemic.”                                               – Lynn Guerriero, President and CEO at Niagara Health

A News Release from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system of hospitals

Posted August 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Lynn Guerriero, President and CEO at Niagara Health in Niagara, Ontario

Niagara, Ontario – COVID-19 cases are increasing again in the Niagara community and in our hospital, consistent with the reports from experts that we are in the fourth wave of the pandemic. This wave is increasingly being described as the wave of the unvaccinated.

“The Delta variant accounts for most of Niagara’s current cases, and it is significantly more transmissible than anything we’ve experienced since the pandemic began,” says Lynn Guerriero, President and CEO at Niagara Health.

“As a hospital, we need to do everything we can to protect our patients, their loved ones and our team. A mandatory vaccination program will also help us to maintain capacity in the hospital and continue to reintroduce services that were paused during previous waves of the pandemic.” Continue reading →

Niagara Region Offering Covid Vaccine Services to Students, Starting September 7th

News from Niagara Region’s Public Health Department

Posted August 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Students can be fully vaccinated for the first day of school on Sept. 7 if they receive their second dose of vaccine by Aug 24. Full protection against COVID-19 infection comes two weeks after the second dose is received, so we are urging students 12 years and older to receive their vaccines as soon as possible.

Youth who have received their first Pfizer vaccine must wait at least 21 days before their second dose. That means teens need to get their first dose within the next week to be able to get their second dose by Aug 24 and have full protection by the time school resumes. #VaxToSchool planning starts now! Continue reading →

Ford Government’s half measures giving the fourth wave a chance to grow, Ontario NDP says

“(Ontario Premier Doug) Ford’s half measures show he’s catering to anti-vaccine sentiments within his party and supporters, and that he still doesn’t want to spend on COVID-fighting measures.” – Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

A Statement from Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted August 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Doug Ford’s half measures on vaccines are giving the fourth wave a chance to grow in Ontario.

Instead, she’s calling for a vaccine certificate program to cover all non-essential activities — like gyms, bars and personal services.

“We can crush this wave, and prevent more heartache, more loss and more shutdowns,” said Horwath.

“But to do that, this time Ford has to stop messing around with half measures. It’s already late, but today he can announce mandatory vaccines for health care and education workers, and a provincially-regulated vaccine certificate system for Ontario. Continue reading →

News from the City of St. Catharines in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario  — As Brock University moves to divest itself of Rodman Hall, the City of St. Catharines will ensure six outdoor sculptures that form part of the art gallery’s collection continue to remain on public display.

The City of St. Catharines is preparing to enter into a lease agreement with Rodman Hall Art Centre Inc. to relocate and display six outdoor sculptures from the grounds of Rodman Hall, including Sorel Etrog’s Profile II pictured here, on City property. Photo courtesy of City of St. Catharines

(Earlier this August) St. Catharines City Council approved a $133,905 expenditure from the Civic Project Fund this week to remove, store and eventually relocate six sculptures from the grounds of Rodman Hall.

Brock University is currently finalizing sale of the property, while working with Rodman Hall Arts Centre Inc. (RHAC) for that organization to take ownership of the gallery’s art collection. Continue reading →

“For those who believe that the Earth is a living, breathing mother, COVID-19 is her way of telling us to stop walking around like we own the place. … We must not lose sight of looming and related dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.”           – Julee Boan, Ontario Nature

A Story from Julee Boan, a manager at Ontario Nature, one of Canada’s time-honoured citizen’s advocates for conserving our natural environment, (This article was originally published in The Walleye.)

Posted August 16^th on Niagara At Large

A walkway into one of Niagara’s natural gems. Enjoy them while you can because too many members of Niagara’s development and building industries, along with their enablers on municipal councils, are working to blow wonderful places like this away.

Like so many traumatic events in our shared history, everyone remembers exactly what they were doing in the days and hours before the world shut down last year.

I was in a meeting when everyone’s phones lit up with the news that the Government of Ontario was going to shut down the schools after March break. Within that instant, the seriousness of the novel coronavirus hit home. This was going to be bad.

I spent those first weeks glued to the livestreaming world map that tallied the rapidly growing numbers of infections and deaths. The combination of people’s limited social interactions, tensions within families in lockdown together, financial pressures, and fear of losing loved ones led to a despair that was overwhelming for many, and utterly devastating for some.

As the new normal of COVID-19 anxiety set in – when no one was talking about anything else – a shift started to occur. Continue reading →

“We are curious to learn about how children and teenagers spend their time alone, how they think and feel about other people and themselves as a young person.” – Sandra Bosacki, Professor of Educational Studies, Brock University

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted August 16^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – A Brock University research team is looking for youths aged 11 to 18 years old to participate in a new study on adolescents’ preferences for time spent alone and their thoughts and feelings as young people.

“We are curious to learn about how children and teenagers spend their time alone, how they think and feel about other people and themselves as a young person, and their life experiences and overall well-being,” says Sandra Bosacki, Professor of Educational Studies. Bosacki is leading the team of Brock students and recent graduates.

The online research sessions will take place on Microsoft Teams and include questionnaires and computerized tasks. The sessions will take approximately one hour and can be completed at home on participants’ personal computers with internet access. Continue reading →

One of the War of 1812’s Fiercest Battles Was Fought in the Waverly Woods Area – Now Targeted for Urban Development – Where Bodies of Soldiers May Still Be Buried In Unmarked Graves

A Message form Marcie Jacklin, a leading member of  Community Voices of Fort Erie

Posted August 15^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Tonight (this August 15^th) I am thinking about the Siege of Fort Erie.

On Sunday August 15th it will be the 207th anniversary of when the British soldiers along with Swiss and others attempted an attack on the American soldiers who held Fort Erie at that time.

A recent re-enactment in Fort Erie, Ontario, on the lawns outside Old Fort Erie near Waverly Woods, of one of the War of 1812’s bloodier battles. file photo, Niagara Parks Commission

It was a three-prong attack and one of the columns led by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fischer approached Towson’s Battery at Snake Hill during the night from the west marching through Waverly Woods/Erie Beach. Continue reading →

‘Every Policy Decision Made Needs To Have Climate At Its Core Because We’re Out Of Time!’

A Message from Ontario’s Green Party

Posted August 14^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

This August 9th, the (United Nation’s) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report predicting that we’re headed straight towards climate disaster if we continue with the status quo.

What’s the status quo?

It’s (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford subsidizing fossil fuels, cancelling renewable energy contracts and supercharging urban sprawl. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary from Niagara At Large publisher and reporter Doug Draper

Posted August 13^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Never mind quality health care or environmental protection, when it comes to vaccine passports, this Premier doesn’t want a “split society”

Over and over again, I am reading and hearing news reports that Ontario Premier Doug Ford doesn’t support the idea of a vaccine passport because that would result in a “split society.”

This is Ford’s position in the wake of growing support from individual citizens and businesses in Ontario and across the country that vaccine passport or vaccine certificate or whatever you choose to call it is a good idea as we face a possible “Fourth Wave” in this Coronavirus plague.

Normally, I don’t like to see a “split society” either. In this age of social media and hyper-partisan politics, there is too much division between us.

Yet you’ll have to excuse me in the case of vaccine passports, Mr. Premier. Continue reading →

Sign A Petition for Vaccine Passports in Ontario and Across all of Canada

A Call-Out for Vaccine Passports from Masks4Canada, a coalition of medical doctors, scientists and other groups of people across Canada

Posted August 13th, 2021 on Niagara at Large

Vaccine Passports are necessary in Canada to stop Covid-19

Masks4Canada started this petition to Federal and provincial leaders.

Dear Premiers of Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau, Dr. Theresa Tam, Hon. Patty Hajdu, Hon. provincial ministers of health, and municipal leaders across Canada,

As members of the medical science community in Canada, we would like to thank you for your ongoing guidance and leadership during this challenging chapter of our country’s history. There are so many difficult decisions to make, and we recognize your efforts in navigating all Canadians through these treacherous waters.

We wanted to take the opportunity to weigh in on the vaccine passport issue, which we understand has been a point of contention and a potentially divisive issue. Viewing with alarm the situation in Europe, the United States, and more recently, in Alberta and British Columbia, we wanted to offer our thoughts on the issue. Continue reading →

Are You Ready for This? Do You Want a Federal Election Now?

A Brief One Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

August 12^th, 2021

According to a breaking report from CBC News, issued at noon hour this August 12^th, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected, as soon as this coming weekend, to call a snap election, with voters going to the polls on September 20^th.

So here we apparently go, even as COVID-19 case numbers ramp up across the country due to a highly infectious Delta variant of the virus.

More on this later. In the meantime, what do you think about a federal election now?

Here is a link to CBC’s breaking news report –https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/election-call-trudeau-1.6138794

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 Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

A Message from Marcie Jacklin and Community Voices of Fort Erie

Posted August 12^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

One of the many residents of Waverly Woods – now a target for urban development

Fort Erie, Canada – One of the most important things about the Waverley Woods/Erie Beach property (now a target for urban development in Fort Erie) is that it is host to a variety of species of birds, plants, and other wildlife.

It is essential that these species are documented, and there are several ways that you can help to build the natural science information database available for this special place.   One easy way is to use the app called “inaturalist.ca” .

This useful app (which you can download either to your phone or computer) will help you identify what you see, as well as record your sightings and add photos.  Another way of submitting data is by completing the form at https://www.sdc.gov.pn.ca/sites/MNRF-Public Docs/EN/ProvincialServices/NHIC Multiple Observation Reporting Form.zip ‘ Continue reading →

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Invites Community to Virtual Public Information Session on Thursday, August 19

A Call-Out of All of Us from the Niagara Peninsula Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted August 12^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) invites members of the community in Niagara, Haldimand, and Hamilton to its upcoming virtual information session on August 19. Residents of the watershed will have a first look at key components of the NPCA’s new 10-year Strategic Plan, developed through the recent involvement of the community and stakeholders.

Earlier in the spring, the NPCA engaged with the watershed community through a public survey to obtain input on broad strategic priorities and gather ideas toward a shared vision.

More than 500 surveys were received and considered while preparing the components of the draft strategic plan, led by staff under the direction of a Strategic Planning Committee of the NPCA Board of Directors and advice from the NPCA Public Advisory Committee.   Continue reading →

“Ontario Liberals have been fighting for this responsible public health measure for weeks while Doug Ford has pandered to his fringe anti-vaxxer supporters.” – Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca

‘This is about protecting our most vulnerable, stopping a fourth wave, and keeping Ontario open for good.’

A Statement from Ontaro’s Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca

Posted August 12^th , 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO – Ontario Liberal Leader, Steven Del Duca issued the following statement:

“On behalf of the Ontario Liberal Party and all Ontarians, I would like to thank Prime Minister Trudeau for stepping up (this August 11^th) and pledging a secure vaccination certification tool.

Ontario Liberals are calling on Doug Ford to immediately begin working with the federal Liberal Government to get this right. Continue reading →

“If these solutions sound drastic to you, it’s because they are. They have to be if we have any hope of keeping our planet habitable.”

By Robert Reich, from the the American economist’s and former Labour Secretary for U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Blog site

Posted August 12^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

American economist and former staffer for three U.S. presidents, Robert Reich

In light of the latest (United Nations) IPCC report on climate change, it’s crucial we remember these four steps to avoiding a climate catastrophe.

First, create green jobs. Investing in renewable energy could create millions of family sustaining, union jobs and build the infrastructure we need for marginalized communities to access clean water and air.

Second, stop dirty energy. A massive investment in renewable energy jobs isn’t enough to combat the climate crisis. If we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must tackle the problem at its source: Stop digging up and burning more oil, gas, and coal. Continue reading →

Fort Erie Mayor Asks Niagara Regional Police About Referring Investigation to RCMP As Over 100 Rally in Support of Fort Erie Black Woman Under Anonymous Threats

News from the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association

Posted August 11^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

FORT ERIE, Ontario  – Over 100 people rallied (recently) in support of Natalee Cole, a Black resident of Fort Erie, who has been receiving anonymous threatening letters complaining about her music which escalated to a terrorist threat, “your neighbours and I will burn your house down with you inside.”

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop, among those attending in support, has asked the Niagara Regional Police (NRP) about referring the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The threats are being investigated by the NRP as serious under incident# 21-78814. Ms. Cole’s family is one of only two Black households in the neighborhood. The rally was organized on July 31, 2021 by the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association (NRARA) which is supporting Ms. Cole.

Ms. Cole and her daughter moved to Fort Erie two years ago and are one of only two Black households in the neighborhood. Other neighbors play music at a comparable volume but only Ms. Cole has received threatening letters.

She has received several anonymous letters as have Fort Erie City Hall and the Niagara Regional Police, who saw no cause to take action against Ms. Cole over the volume of music. Continue reading →

“China’s conviction and sentencing of Michael Spavor is absolutely unacceptable and unjust.” – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

All Communist China Nationals should be barred from Canada and Have Any Asset They Own Here Frozen – Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

A Statement by the Prime Minister on the verdict of Michael Spavor

Posted August 11th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

Michael Spavor, jut one Canadian targetted for a sham trial and harsh sentencing in Communist China

It is at least heartening to see Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally issue some tough language after spending too much of the last six years pandering and genuflecting to China’s Communist government for crass business reasons.

Yet what is Trudeau going to do to put some fire behind his words?

Here are just a few ideas I have heard from foreign affairs experts over the past couple of days since this outrageous sentence was delivered by one of the Communist China kangaroo courts to one of Canada’s ‘two Michaels.’

First, immediately ban entrance to Canada of all Chinese students wanting to attend universities and colleges in our country. As has been said, many if not all of these students are members of elite China families who are in bed with that country’s brutal communist regime. They come here, reportedly,  because they prize a so-called English education, so let’s bar them of that.

 Canada should immediately urge our allies, including the United States and all free, democratic countries in Europe to do the same. Continue reading →

“The millions of Ontarians who did the right thing and got a vaccine deserve a certificate (passport) program that will help us return to normal life.”                                  – Ontario  Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

News from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted August 10^th on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Ontario, Canada – Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP support vaccine certificates — and say that the stubborn rise in COVID cases shows that a certificate program can’t wait.

“Doug Ford must follow the advice of the Science Table and bring in an Ontario Vaccine Certificate program. His choice to do nothing is harmful to public health, hurts our economic recovery and is a confusing burden for people and local businesses,” said Horwath.

“The millions of Ontarians who did the right thing and got a vaccine deserve a certificate program that will help us return to normal life.” Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 10^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

New York State was flying so high in the eyes of the world before suddenly crashing down.

One short year ago, he was riding so high as one of the  world-wide leaders in fighting COVID-19.

Many of us on both sides of the New York, Ontario border were tuning into his daily press briefings back then, impressed with the way he was addressing the COVID crisis and rallying people in his state to work together to beat this killer virus down.

Then it all came crashing down.

This August 10th, after serving close to three full terms as New York’s governor, he announced that he would be resigning in 14 days. The gravity of the harassment allegations against him, followed by a virtually complete lack of support among fellow Democrats, up to and including U.S. President Joe Biden, left him little or no room to hold on. Continue reading →

“Pop-up clinics are designed to reduce vaccination barriers for people by eliminating the need to book an appointment or trek across the region to a mass vaccination site.”                                     –  Wayne Redekop, Mayor of the Town of Fort Erie, Ontario

News from Niagara Region’s Public Health Department

Posted August 10^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Residents who need a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are invited to pop in to an upcoming Niagara Region Public Health clinic at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre in Fort Erie.

As mass immunization efforts continue, pop-up clinics like this will hopefully give even more opportunity for people in Niagara to get vaccinated. This pop-up clinic will be available for walk-ins only, and both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be offered. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Liz Benneian, a Niagara, Ontario resident and leader of a large coalition of conservation groups across the Niagara region called the Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee – Niagara

Posted August 9^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

This brief commentary by Liz Benneian follows in the wake of a United Nations report, released this August 9^th, that concludes that we may have reached the point of no return, globally, on dealing with a climate crisis that is responsible for devastating wildlfires, floods, wind storms and other disaster know playing out in Canada, the United States and many other countries around the world.

This comment from Liz Benneian is just a first take and I am sure that she and many others, including this reporter, will have much more to say about this in the days ahead.

In the meantime, where in hell is the leadership from our governments?

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Now here is Liz Benneian’s comment – 

What could our Federal, Provincial and Local governments be doing that they are not?

Here’s just a couple of things they should do.

Too many discussions by our federal, provincial and municipal leaders sound like this. Where is the Climate Action Plan we need to save any kind of quality life for our children?

Federally: Stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry; support green energy; increase rebates green vehicles; create a Climate Corps that would provide jobs for people focusing on reforesting and other climate change mitigation and adaption actions.

Provincially: Restart a Green Energy Program; reinstate electric vehicle rebates; change the building code to require more fuel efficient building; change the PPS and the Planning Act to protect agricultural land and natural areas, and focus development within current urban boundaries. Stop building highways and build fast efficient public transportation networks; expand the Greenbelt; re-empower Conservation Authorities.

Locally: stop expansions on green fields; protect natural areas and farmlands and cancel plans to destroy those things with new Regional roads; make all decisions with Climate impacts in mind (budgeting/staffing/planning/ purchasing/contracting and ensure that this happens through all departments being accountable to a body which ensures compliance; green communities; alleviate floods risks through tree planting, rain gardens, downspout disconnections, rain barrels, protecting wetlands and runoff areas.

And that’s just a start.

• Liz Benneian, a resident of Niagara, Ontario and a long-time advocate for saving our environment

To read news Niagara At Large posted earlier this August 9^th on the United Nation’s ‘Code Red’ warning on the climate crisis, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2021/08/09/united-nations-sends-a-code-red-warning-to-the-world-on-climate-crisis/

To visit the online site of Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee – Niagara, click on – https://www.facebook.com/Biodiversity-and-Climate-Action-Committee-Niagara-114688909983836/ .

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 Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

“Ontarians are already suffering the disastrous affects of climate change, each year we’re seeing more intense and frequent wildfires, tornadoes and floods that destroy people’s homes and communities.” – Peter Tabuns, NDP critic for the Climate Crisis.

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted August 9^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK – The startling new United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report shows that the urgent actions to cut emissions and transition to a clean economy proposed in the NDP’s climate plan (https://www.ontariondp.ca/sites/default/files/gndd_-_en_-_sm1.pdf) , Climate. Jobs. Justice. A Green New Democratic Deal, are critical and cannot wait.

“Ontarians are already suffering the disastrous affects of climate change, each year we’re seeing more intense and frequent wildfires, tornadoes and floods that destroy people’s homes and communities,” said Peter Tabuns, NDP critic for the Climate Crisis.

“The IPCC report is a call to action. This is our opportunity to shift to a cleaner, more sustainable economy, and ensure that our province – and our planet – is liveable for our children and grandchildren.” Continue reading →

All We Can Do Now is Hope for the Best

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted August 9^th, 2021

The Peace Bridge crossing between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York is busy with Americans crossing for the first time in a year and a half

For the first time in a year and a half, border bridges between the Canada and United States are open to fully vaccinated Americans.

Despite rising daily case counts of COVID-19 in both countries – thanks in large part to a highly infectious Delta variant of the virus and far too many people who resist getting vaccinated – Canada’s Liberal government has followed through on its announced plans a few weeks back to open the border to fully vaccinated Americans.

Those Americans crossing the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge and other points of entry must also get a COVID-19 test, showing that they are not infected, before they arrive. Continue reading →

“It has been clear for decades that the Earth’s climate is changing, and the role of human influence on the climate system is undisputed” – the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I Co-Chair, Valérie Masson-Delmotte.

News from the United Nations

Posted August 9^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible, at least during the present time frame, according to the latest much-anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released on Monday.

Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Scientists are also observing changes across the whole of Earth’s climate system; in the atmosphere, in the oceans, ice floes, and on land.

Many of these changes are unprecedented, and some of the shifts are in motion now, while some – such as continued sea level rise – are already ‘irreversible’ for centuries to millennia, ahead, the report warns.

But there is still time to limit climate change, IPCC experts say. Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, could quickly make air quality better, and in 20 to 30 years global temperatures could stabilize. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 9^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Former Ontario Premier Bill Davis, as he looked in his heyday.

I can hardly believe, given what we have experience in this province for leadership in recent decades, and especially now, that I once thought Bill Davis was too conservative.

By today’s standards, he was a progressive liberal. The only leadership in Ontario that matched him on the more  progressive were the 10 years (from 1985 to 1995) we had with Liberal Party Premier David Peterson and then NDP Premier Bob Rae (and for a couple of years, a coalition of both) at the helm.

Bill Davis, who led a Conservative Party as the province’s Premier from 1971 to 1985, worked to modernize and generously fund Ontario’s public schools, including its colleges and university – making it possible for virtually any young person to attend college or university without graduating under the burden of massive debts. Continue reading →

A Statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted August 8^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, this August 8^th, 2021) issued the following statement on the closing of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan:

“From July 23 to August 8, 2021, Canadian athletes participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games alongside athletes from around the world. As the Games officially come to a close, I congratulate, on behalf of the whole country, our Canadian athletes on their achievements throughout the past two weeks.

“Over the course of the Games, our athletes made us proud and showed us why Canadians are some of the best athletes in the world. While seven gold medals, six silver medals, and 11 bronze medals are impressive, all of our athletes gave their best and should take pride in their performances. Continue reading →

“The housing situation has been getting further and further out of control in this region. We want our sons and daughters to be able to move out of the basement, and not be forced to move out of the city” – Ontario NDP MPP Jennie Stevens, St. Catharines Riding

News from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted August 6^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

ST. CATHARINES/Niagara  — Finding an affordable place to live in St. Catharines and throughout the Niagara region has gotten much harder — but Leader of the Official Opposition New Democrats Andrea Horwath says her housing platform will help young workers and families afford the life they’re working for.

“Parents are worried their kids won’t be able to afford to stay in St. Catharines, buy a home and settle in, like they did,” said Horwath. “There are young people putting off growing their family because they can’t afford a bigger place. There are born-and-raised Niagara-region workers leaving because they can’t find a home in their price-range. It’s heartbreaking.

“The NDP has a plan that offers concrete solutions. It’ll help you afford the life you’re working hard for.” Continue reading →

With More Deadly Variants of COVID-19 in the Air, Why Should Fully Vaccinated People Have to Sit in the Same Restaurant or Movie Theatre as Vaccine Resisters?

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 5^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

In the wake of what looks like a coming fourth wave – thanks in no small part to a more highly infectious Delta variant in the air and far too many people still resisting the vaccines – we had to know vaccine passports would be coming.

This August 5^th, Quebec Premier François Legault announced that his province would be the first in Canada to implement a vaccine passport system, and you can bet all the money you’ve got in the bank that other provinces, like Ontario, won’t be very far behind.

“The system will allow the province to avoid the widespread closures that have marked its pandemic response to date,’ CBC News quoted the Quebec premier saying.

“People who made the effort to get their two doses should be able to live a somewhat normal life.” Legault said.

And let’s share some full-throated cheers for that.

Continue reading →

Just When So Many of Us Thought We Found a True Hero in Politics, What a Letdown

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 5th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Yes I know. At least some of you may be asking why is a news site that should be focused on issues in Niagara, Ontario posting a commentary on the Governor of New York State for.

Well here is the reason why?

Just one year ago, there were people across the United States and around the world, hoping that New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo would run against Trump for the U.S. presidency. Now almost everybody, it seems, wants him gone.

Back last year, when a COVID-19 pandemic that would ultimately take the lives of more than 600,000 Americans and Canadians – more that died in two World Wars combined – New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo held daily public briefings that were so inspiring, they went viral across his country, and across Canada and other countries around the world.

At these briefings, Cuomo soared to prominence as one political leader who inspired us to do whatever we could to fight this killer plague in the name of the common good, and who was putting into practice plans to turn around the health and economic damage.

Those briefings were so well received that I remember many in Niagara, Ontario saying they wished we had more of that kind of leadership in Canada and I have to admit, I often felt that way too. Continue reading →

“I hoped we’d hear more of a plan (this August 4rth), not more excuses. Our kids, teachers and education workers deserve better. They deserve a robust gap-free strategy that lowers the risk as much as we possibly can.”                                                                                 – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP Opposition Party

Posted August 4^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

Wow.

Niagara West MPP and Ford government education ministry assistant Sam Oosterhoff. He was home schooled. And would he wear a mask in a public school if he wouldn’t wear one during a mask bylaw mandate in a Niagara Falls, Ontario restaurant? This is who we’ve got planning for our children, folks.

Did we just hear that Ontario’s Ford government is finally throwing out a bit of money to improve ventilation systems in schools across the province, just about four or five weeks before children are supposed to return to school as a Delta variant that hits younger people is raging on.

But never mind that. Let’s stuff our kids back in those schools. I am sure that Ontario’s assistant to the Education Minister – Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff – would have no problem with that.

After all, Oosterhoff was home schooled and so, I suspect, are many of his constituents out there in Niagara’s right-wing Christian Bible belt.

To hell with the rest of us .

•  Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Now here is the Ontario NDP Leader’s News Release –

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s Wednesday (August 4rth) press conference provided no comfort to parents, teachers or education workers worried that the Ford government is taking big risks with safety to avoid investing in safer schools. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 3^rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

One of the leading headlines from Canada’s National News network, CBC, this August 3^rd said this –

“Line 5 pipeline between U.S. and Canada could cause ‘devastating damage’ to Great Lakes, say environmentalists”

Of course, what do environmentalists know?

They were wrong about the poisonous effects of DDT, PCBs and other toxic chemicals on humans and wildlife weren’t they?

Weren’t they also wrong some 40 or more years ago in predicting the further catastrophic effects of climate change? There would be no ever so frequent disastrous floods, droughts, wind storm and wildfires, would there?

And now, never mind any possible rupture of a gas or oil pipe in the Great Lakes, a source of drinking water and a whole host of economic benefits for tens-of-millions of Canadians and Americans living around them. Continue reading →

Questions Remain About Testing Capacity & Costs, Border Staffing & Logistics

“If the Government of Canada – representing a country with a population one-tenth of ours – can devise a plan to safely admit millions of fully vaccinated Americans to their country, then surely so can the United States of America.”                                           – Buffalo, New York Area Congressman Brian Higgins

News from the Buffalo, New York office of Democratic U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted August 3^rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area  Congressman Brian Higgins, seen in this file photo, speaking at a news conference with Peace Bridge crossing in background

With Canada’s plan to reopen the border to United States citizens less than a week away, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is raising serious concerns about the lack of information and planning coming from the United States government.

In separate letters to the White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Higgins is pressing for the U.S. government to address unanswered questions related to testing in border communities and logistics at Land Ports of Entry.

In a letter to the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, Higgins asks what the U.S. is doing to ensure border communities have the testing capacity to meet the new Canadian requirement for proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

Higgins points out the need to make sure tests are available to meet the demand and the need for results to be delivered swiftly to allow for compliance with Canada’s 72-hour requirement. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted August 1^st, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Here we are, observing the 1^st day of August with the summer too rapidly racing away.

And here is a question.

With Canada-U.S. border communities like Niagara now little more a week away from that August 9^th date Canada’s federal government said it would open our border bridges to fully vaccinated Americans, the question is – will that August 9^th re-opening date hold or will Canada’s Trudeau government have to walk it back?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – as indecisive as he so often is – will likely have to answer that question in the hours and days following this long weekend, if not sooner.

The reasons are pretty plain for anyone who follows legitimate venues for news, as opposed to those that peddle garbage that has little or nothing to do with facts. Continue reading →

“Climate change education in Canadian schools, limited as it is, focuses on environmental science. There’s practically nothing in the curricula that addresses the question of what I can do as an individual and how much of a difference each of my actions and inactions make to climate mitigation.” ­                        – Research leader Gary Pickering, Brock Professor of Biological Sciences and Psychology

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted July 29^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Although young Canadians are taking steps to address climate change, they don’t plan on adopting the three lifestyle changes that are most effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says new research from Brock University.

In a cross-Canada survey of 17- and 18-year-olds, many youth identified recycling, using public transport and conserving energy in the home as actions they had adopted to mitigate climate change.

But they were less open to eating a reduced amount of red meat, purchasing an electric car, or having one fewer child or no children, says the study, “Lifestyle decisions and climate mitigation: current action and behavioural intent of youth<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11027-021-09963-4>.” Continue reading →

“We’re pleased to see local employers recognizing the value and benefits of paying at least a living wage. Paying a living wage is direct action to address poverty, and helps people afford the cost of living.”                                                                                                        – Aidan Johnson, Chair, Niagara Poverty Reduction Network.

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted July 27^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Flavour Art North America is Niagara’s* *Latest Certified Living Wage Employer 

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that Flavour Art North America <https://us.flavourart.com/> has become a certified living wage employer at the Champion level.

Flavour Art North America is an international synthetic flavouring and aroma manufacturer located in Niagara region. They currently employ 15 full time employees.

“Making a commitment to a living wage is a natural progression for Flavour Art as we have long prioritized and advocated for our employees. After all, our dedication to Quality, Research, Testing, and Safety begins with our employees. Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 25^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Enough is enough!

We’ve tried reasoning with these folks, and one thing has become abundantly clear.

When it comes to the hard-core anti-vaxxers, you can’t.

Indeed, when it comes to those who have dug themselves in to the idea that there is some vast, orchestrated conspiracy made up of infectious disease experts, nurses and doctors, drug manufacturers, political leaders and others who they are convinced are out there to make money off this pandemic and interrupt their freedom of movement and fun, there is little to nothing more that  the rest of us can say or do.

It is like trying to talk to members of a cult. They are going to drink the Kool-Aid of conspiracy theories and mis-information whether we like it or not. Continue reading →

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

MPP Wayne Gates demands province resume enforcement of trades certifications

“By choosing not to invest in enforcing certifications, the government is devaluing the work of skilled tradespeople, undermining consumer confidence.”                                                     – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from the Constituence Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Posted July 23^rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword Note from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

I was not aware of this until a good reader of our news site sent me a CBC story a few days ago. But reportedly, Ontario’s ‘get-back-the-province-back-to-business-at-almost-any-cost’ Ford Government, decided three years ago, shortly after it was sworn into power, to let just about anyone who thinks they know what they are doing to tinker around with your home.

Thanks to Ontario’s Doug Ford and his Ontario Conservatives, you can now have this guy doing your plumbing.

In other words, if you need the electrical wiring repaired or replace in your home, or you need plumbing done (just to mention a few examples), why have a fully trained, certified trades person do it when you can hire an uncertified freelancer for a cheaper price.

Is that what Doug Ford and his Conservatives mean when they boast about growing business in Ontario and putting more people back to work. Continue reading →

Susan Venditti named 2021 T. Roy Adams Humanitarian Award Recipient

A News Release from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted July 23^rd, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara’s Susan Venditti receives annual humanitarian award

Niagara, Ontario – Susan Venditti has been named the 2021 recipient of the T. Roy Adams Humanitarian Award in recognition of her lifelong dedication to caring for those less fortunate in our community.

Venditti recently retired as CEO of Start Me Up Niagara, an organization she founded and has overseen since 1998.

Her leadership and limitless energy has provided new opportunities for countless individuals experiencing poverty, homelessness, disabilities, addictions and mental health issues to increase their level of self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life.

Venditti has also been an inspiration to other volunteers in Niagara, identifying each individual’s unique gifts, and encouraging them to find ways to give back to their community. She has built a community of support for those in need while at the same partnering with other agencies and organizations to fill in the gaps. Continue reading →

“Ontario has seen a total of 724 fires this season as compared to 414 last year. The 10-year average is 458 fires by July 18 annually. This increase is extremely troubling.”

An Open Letter from Members of Ontario’s NDP Caucus

Posted July 22^nd on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword Note from Doug Draper At Niagara At Large –

Yes, the young climate activist Greta Thunberg is right. “Our house – the only place we have to live in this universe – is on fire.”

While these raging wildfires are occurring in northern Ontario and not here in the Niagara area, don’t think for a minute that they don’t significantly impact us.

We will all – and that means every single one one of us who have property or car insurance – end up paying higher premiums to cover the countless billions of dollars’ worth of damage caused by these fires. And  fire-fighting resources across southern regions of the province are being deployed to help combat these blazes, making for less resources in the event of emergencies here. .

Meanwhile, we have a Ford government that has never taken the climate crisis that is leading to more frequent and severe episodes of wildfires, floods, life-threatening winds and other costly climate –related disasters seriously and probably never will.

It is simply NOT in the DNA of today’s Conservative partisans in Canada – provincial or federal – to take environmental threats like this seriously. Continue reading →

“Even if the Welland House Hotel is rebuilt, we can never truly bring it back,” Vlossak says. “Now that the building is gone, it becomes even more important that we capture, record and preserve its stories and memories.”                                                        – Brock University Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak

A Report from Brock News at Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara, Ontario

Posted on July 21^st, 2021 on Niagara At Large

The historic Welland House Hotel in St. Catharines burned down Monday, July 12. The loss of the building is about more than bricks and mortar, says Brock Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak.

When the Welland House Hotel burned down Monday, July 12th, a significant witness to St. Catharines history was lost.

Elizabeth Vlossak. (Image courtesy of Woodruff Family Fonds from the Brock University Archives)

“Its value to our cultural heritage lay not so much in its bricks and mortar, or the artifacts within it, but in its role as a ‘witness’ to the historical events that have shaped our community over the past 170 years, and in the stories of the people who worked, stayed, played and organized there,” says Brock Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak. Continue reading →

Canada Has Said ‘Yes’ To Americans Crossing Starting August 9th, While U.S. Continues to Say ‘No’ to Canadians

Buffalo, New York area Democratic U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

“While the United States does nothing, loved ones (from Canada) remain separated and communities whose economies rely on the cross-border exchange continue to suffer economically. Continuation of this shutdown is illogical.”                                     – Brian Higgins,  U.S. Democratic Congressman representing people in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York area

A Statement by Buffalo, New York-Area Congressman Brian Higgins in Response to U.S. Extension of Border Restrictions between the United States and Canada

Posted July 21st, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Uncle Sam continues to tell “non-essential” Canadian travellers to stay out of the United States.

Infuriated by today’s (July 21^st, 2021) announcement<https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-15573.pdf> that the United States government will extend restrictions on non-essential travel at the border between the United States and Canada for another month, (Buffalo, New York area) Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) released the following statement:

“For months now people and businesses along the border have been strung along month after month holding out hope for the border to reopen. Today’s decision by the Biden administration harms economic recovery and hurts families all across America’s northern border; this is completely unnecessary. Continue reading →

Canada is Soon Opening Border Bridges to Fully Vaccinated Americans. When Is the U.S. Going to Do the Same for Fully Vaccinated Candians?

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York Office of U.S. Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted July 20th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Pre-pandemic lines of cars crossing the Peace Bridge to Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York – Following an announcement by the Canadian government of plans to reopen the border between the United States and Canada to vaccinated Americans on August 9th, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is pushing the United States government to act.  Higgins expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of response by the U.S. in remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Higgins said in part, “This week the Canadian Government announced plans to reopen the border to fully vaccinated Americans on August 9th. On January 21st of this year, we were promised a plan would be developed by the United States to address travel to Canada within 14 days. 180 days have now passed.  We are still waiting for that plan.” Continue reading →

When Are We Going To Shut These God-Awful Marine Mammal Prisons Down?

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 20^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Another one of the many demonstrations, staged by all too few of us, outside the gates of the Marineland Park in Niagara, Ontario. file photo by Doug Draper

How damn sad the latest Canadian Press news story is  about the conditions aquatic animals are reportedly enduring at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Then again, I feel just as sad as I wonder.. How many of you out there  give a damn? Let’s be honest after all of these almost seven decades this amusement park has been in operation, with all the concerns raised, over and over again, about the condition of marine mammals there.

How many of you really do?

Much to the many reasons that lead to my demise in journalism at Niagara newspapers, I started writing about questions and concerns around the Marineland park in Niagara Falls and the ethics around keeping mammals like whales, dolphins and seals there for our amusement, in cement ponds filed with chlorinated water, going back to at least the late 1980s, when I was still working as an environment reporter at The St. Catharines Standard. Continue reading →

Congressman Brian Higgins, Chair of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Grou and Northern Border Caucus, Calls on U.S. Government to do Same for Canadians

Fully-Vaccinated Americans Can Begin Crossing August 9th

The Peace Bridge crossing between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York will probably not be anywhere near this empty of traffic by the middle of this coming August

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York Office of U.S. Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted July 19^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Democratic U.S. Congressman has had an ongoing record of speaking out for our shared Great Lakes, with no apparent support from his Liberal MP counterparts on the Canadian side.

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) who serves as co-chair of the Canada – U.S. Interparliamentary Group and the Northern Border Caucus released the following statement in response to an announcement by the Canadian government<https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/07/government-of-canada-announces-easing-of-border-measures-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers.html> detailing plans to lift border restrictions for fully vaccinated Americans effective August 9, 2021.

“We have missed you Canada and we are thrilled at the opportunity to return soon. Today’s announcement by the Canadian government puts policy in line with science. This will allow fully vaccinated Americans separated from their families and property in Canada for a year and a half, to be re-united in three weeks. “

This measure can’t come soon enough.

Continue reading →

44 local projects receive funding through the new Great Lakes Local Action Fund

Recipients of Provincial Funding Include Niagara Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada and Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

A News Release from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks

Posted July 19^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — The Ontario government has selected 44 community-based projects to receive $1.9 million in funding through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, which supports local projects that protect and restore the Great Lakes.

“The health of the Great Lakes is closely connected to our province’s health and prosperity – supplying water to our communities, sustaining traditional activities of Indigenous peoples and providing healthy ecosystems for recreation and tourism,” said David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

“This funding allows local organizations and groups to take environmental actions in their own communities – building a better future with clean, green growth.” Continue reading →

A Brief Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher    Doug Draper

Posted July 17^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

At the risk of losing a good number of followers, Niagara At Large will soon stop posting our content on Facebook. I always saw Facebook – an out-of-control, global corporate monster that, among other things, has torn the guts out of community newsrooms across this continent – as a necessary evil for drawing more readers to online news sites like Niagara At Large.

Trump and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg – working together to spread dangerous misinformation, and to kill truth and democracy

Now,  far more often than not, I view it and Mark  Zuckerberg,  the multi-billionaire creator of this Frankenstein monster – as a force for dangerous misinformation that is, in fact, waging war against fact-based debate and democracy, and is, through the garbage it is peddling on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination, literally killing people. In fact, that is exactly what current U.S. President Joe Biden said about Facebook on the White House lawn this July 16^th, and he is right.

To watch Biden saying it, click on the screen below –

 I urge as many of us as possible to dump Facebook and to take a little more time to search out and key in information they might find of interest on sites like ours – Niagara At large, which you can go to directly by keying in www.niagaraatlarge.com.

Please visit and even subscribe to Niagara At Large by clicking in www.niagaraatlarge.com  to check out the news and commentary we feature here. And do the same with other media outlets struggling to deliver fair and accurate news, even as Facebook continues to work to destroy everything that a dedicated free press in a democracy is all about.

I will leave one of the last words here to American humorist and political/social critic Bill Maher, which you can hear by clicking on the screen immediately below –

I beg you all folks. Tear yourself away from poison like Facebook and seek out other ways of staying in touch with your friends and community. FACEBOOK IS NOT OUR FRIEND.

And if severing ties with it means the end for Niagara At Large, well then what can I say. Enjoy your Facebook “friends” and have a good life.

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com

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 Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Continuing Improvements in Key Indicators Allowing Province to Safely Expand Indoor Settings and Capacity Limits

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted July 16, 2021 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — With key public health and health care indicators continuing to improve and the provincewide vaccination rate surpassing the targets outlined in the province’s Roadmap to Reopen, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health the Ontario government is moving the province into Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our frontline heroes, and the ongoing commitment of Ontarians to get vaccinated, we have surpassed the targets we set in order to enter Step Three of our Roadmap,” said Premier Doug Ford.

“While this is welcome news for everyone who wants a return to normal, we will not slow down our efforts to fully vaccinate everyone who wants to be and put this pandemic behind us once and for all.” Continue reading →

U.S. Congressman and Northern Border Caucus Co-Chair Brian Higgins Calls Action Long Overdue

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York Office of Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted July 16th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo-area Congressman Brian Higgins seen speaking about the Canada-U.S. border crossings in this file photo

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) responded to positive developments toward lifting restrictions for vaccinated travelers wishing to cross at Land Ports of Entry between the United States and Canada.

Higgins said, “The finish line is finally in sight for people who have been separated from their families and properties for way too long.

“For Americans and Canadians who live along the border and frequently cross as a way-of-life, action lifting restrictions for those vaccinated can’t come soon enough. This progress, following month after month of disappointing inaction, is welcome and long-overdue.” Continue reading →

It is a Welcome Idea that Certainly Beats Publicly Flogging the Region’s Acting Medical Health Officer 

A Brief Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 15^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Thank You St. Catharines Regional Councillor Laura Ip. We certainly needed something out of this Niagara Region after the recent slap down that our acting Medical Officer of Health received at an earlier Regional Council meeting.

Well here are two thumbs up for St. Catharines Regional Councillor Laura Ip

While so many of us across Niagara are still trying to wash from our mouths the foul after-taste of the Regional Council’s dumping all over the Region’s acting Medical Health Chief Dr. Mustafa Hirji for daring to publicly air his concerns about opening the Canada/U.S. border too soon, it was a relief to hear a Niagara Regional Councillor express a positive idea

That Regional Councillor was Laura Ip and the idea, as she outlined it at a meeting of the Region’s Public Health  and Social Services Committee this past July 13^th, is to create a community memorial for us to go to remember the more than 425 Niagara residents who have so far died from a killer COVID-19 pandemic that, going by the shameful garbage Dr. Hirji had to endure at that June 8^th Regional Council meetings, too many of our elected politician across this region, still do not take as seriously as they should.

Ip’s idea, first to create a temporary memorial, possibly on the property of Niagara’s Regional Headquarters in Thorold, then a permanent one at a site deemed to be accessible to all, received enough support to have the Region’s staff prepare a report for Regional Councillors in the weeks ahead. Continue reading →

NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is committed to launch Ontario’s first zero-emissions vehicles strategy.

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition New Democrats

Posted July 15^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition New Democrats, has committed to launch Ontario’s first zero-emissions vehicles strategy, ramping up electric vehicle sales to 100 per cent of all new auto sales in Ontario by 2035.

“We’re going to make Ontario a global leader in electric auto engineering and manufacturing, we’re going to create new jobs in the auto industry of the future, and we’re going to make it easy and affordable for everyone to buy, charge and ride electric,” said Horwath.

“The climate crisis is the greatest threat our world faces. But with how we respond to that crisis, we can create an incredible opportunity when it comes to the auto industry in Ontario.” Continue reading →

Niagara’s Regional Council Throws Our Medical Heath Officer – Dr. Mustafa Hirji – Under The Bus While It Pushes For Quick Re-Opening Canada/U.S. Border Crossings

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 12^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Niagara’s acting Medical Officer of Health Mustafa Hirji  showed immeasurable class and kept his cool during a hammering from Niagara Regional Councillors this past July 8th over his views on re-opening the border crossings.

Whatever Dr. Mustafa Hirji is getting paid to serve as Niagara Region’s acting medical officer of health, it isn’t enough.

If I were him, after the drubbing he got from Niagara Regional Councillors at a meeting of the council this past July 8^th, I would seriously consider quitting and saying – ‘To hell with you. If you want to send out messages to the public about the risks around this virus based on politics rather than science, why don’t you appoint Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati or Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop or St. Catharines Regional Councillor Tim Rigby to be Niagara’s Medical Health Officer?

“Obviously they know so much more about risks involved in opening our economy and re-opening the Canada/U.S. cross-border bridges than I do.”

I watched this disgraceful Niagara Regional Council on July 8^th on-line, which is all we can do because they still won’t let us in to the Niagara Regional Headquarters or the council chambers there-in, and I left it with the feeling the feeling that, come next year’s municipal elections, do we ever need a cleaning of the house. Continue reading →