Niagara At Large

The Future Survival of Every Species on this Planet – including our own –  depends on it

“The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lies upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the earth.”
― British broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough

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

Posted August 14^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Donald Trump has a hell of a lot of nerve pointing his fat little fingers at brown people and calling them “rapists.”

Trump should look in the mirror and ask the question; “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the biggest rapist of all?”

The orange-hair monster would probably not like the answer because he mirror would be reflecting those little fingers back at him.

And this is not just about the growing list of women who have accused Trump of groping or raping them. This is about the biggest rape of all on a victim that we all need to nurture and protect to survive on this planet.

That victim is Mother Nature, which Trump has proven time and time again that he could care less about going back to the earliest days of his nightmare presidency when he moved unilateral decision to pull out of a Paris Climate Accord that less than a year earlier – in 2016 – his country signed following negotiations with more than 190 other signature nations around the world. Continue reading →

Despite Overwhelming Public Opposition, Trump Administration Moves Forward on Plans to Roll Back Critical Endangered Species Protections

“We are in the midst of an unprecedented extinction crisis, yet the Trump Administration is steamrolling our most effective wildlife protection law. This Administration seems set on damaging fragile ecosystems by prioritizing industry interests over science. We intend to fight these regulatory rollbacks so that we can preserve the natural world for generations to come.”                                   — Rebecca Riley, Legal Director of the Nature Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

An Urgent Message from the Sierra Club, one of the world’s oldest, grassroots environmental organizations

Posted August 13^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(A Foreword Note from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –

If Canadians do not believe Trump’s ongoing war on our planet does not affect us, we are sorely mistaken.

Any significant decline or extinction of animal species on this continent as a result of his (I would call them criminally negligent) cutting and gutting of his country’s environmental protection programs and regulations will have a profoundly tragic impact on us all, and it is another act of hostility on our children and grandchildren, and their future.

And let’s not forget, Ontario’s Ford government is also moving to roll back endangered species protections in this province as a way of offering up welfare to its friends and supporters in the development industry. )

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This past August 12th, against a backdrop of recent reports of global mass extinction, the Trump administration released final regulations weakening the Endangered Species Act, the nation’s most effective tool in saving wildlife from extinction.

The Trump Extinction Plan would gut critical endangered species protections by making it much more difficult to extend protections to threatened species, delaying lifesaving action until a species’ population is potentially impossible to save; making it more difficult to protect polar bears, coral reefs, and other species that are impacted by the effects of climate change; allowing economic factors to be analyzed when deciding if a species should be saved; and making it easier for companies to build roads, pipelines, mines, and other industrial projects in critical habitat areas that are essential to imperiled species’ survival. Continue reading →

People across the country want our governments to do more to combat climate change,according to a new Abacus Data survey commissioned by former Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–BC Director Seth Klein

Earlier this year, countless thousands of young students across Canada went out on a one-day strike for climate action

“My overall conclusion is that our politicians have been underestimating the public. … When it comes to bold climate solutions, the Canadian public is ahead of our elected leaders”     – Seth Klein, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a not-for-profit, nation-wide research group

Posted August 13^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Vancouver, Canada —The results of an extensive nationwide survey released today suggest Canadians are increasingly anxious about the climate crisis, and have a stronger appetite for “systems-level” climate solutions than political leaders tend to assume.

Among the findings:

Continue reading →

Wetland-Rich Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario has been Targetted for Urban Sprawl

“It is our opinion that the PSWs (Provincially Significant Wetlands) on the (Thundering Waters) site, along with PSWs throughout our (Niagara) watershed should be protected and allowed to remain in a natural state.”                                               – from a letter sent to Ontario Natural Resources and Forestry Minister John Yakabuski from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Board of Directors

A look at some of the more than 280 acres of wetlands inside Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara, Falls, Ontario. The environmentally rich area is located near the Niagara River and within the Niagara watershed.

By Doug Draper, reporter and publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted August 12^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In a letter sent to Ontario Natural Resources and Forestry Minister John Yakabuski, the board of directors of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is asking the province not to remove any protective designations for significant wetlands located within the more than 190 hectares (280 acres) of Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls’ southwest end.

A computerized image of what urban development might look like on the Thunder Waters property

The letter, dated July 24^th and included in the agenda package for the NPCA board’s upcoming August 14^th, meeting, follows in the wake of concerns raised by some board members earlier last month that parties interested in building on parts of the Thundering Waters Forest property may be lobbying the province to have at least some protective boundaries for provincial significant wetlands (PSWs) on the property adjusted or removed completely to better accommodate plans for a multi-use urbanization project said to be worth more than $1.5 billion. Continue reading →

“Tackling things such as gender inequality, racism, heterosexism and environmental degradation in schools would contribute to the notion that we are an interconnected community of people who need to support and help each other.”                                           – Shauna Pomerantz, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies (CHYS), Brock University 

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario 

Posted August 12^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara, Ontario – With the United Nations marking this Monday, Aug. 12 as International Youth Day<https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/iyd2019.html>, two Brock University professors say today’s youth are taking matters into their own hands to solve the world’s problems. 

Brock University Associate Professor Shauna Pomerantz, left, and Professor Rebecca Raby from the Department of Child and Youth Studies say young people are speaking out about social issues at a younger age than ever before.

“Young people seem to be changing the world,” said Shauna Pomerantz, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies (CHYS). “I don’t recall living though a time where young people have been so vocal, active and heard.”

United Nations established International Youth Day to celebrate and encourage youth around the world. This year’s theme — transforming education — highlights efforts, including efforts by youth themselves, to make education more relevant, equitable and inclusive.

According to Pomerantz and her CHYS colleague, Professor Rebecca Raby, a key to transforming education would be to acknowledge inequality and confront ideology that values independence and self-reliance above compassion and community. Continue reading →

“I need my dad … mommy. My dad didn’t do nothing. He’s not a criminal.”

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 11^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Eleven-year-old Christina Peralta pleas for the release of her parents

Some of you may already have seen the heartbreaking video of an 11-year-old girl down in Mississippi, shaking with tears for her parents and begging for their release after they and hundreds of other allegedly undocumented workers were arrested in Gestapo-like raids under the jackboot of Trump’s cruelty and hate.

“Government, please put your heart — let my parents be free with everybody else, please,” pleads the girl that a shocked world is coming to know as Christina Peralta and a face for all of that rage and hate. “I need my dad … mommy,” the girl pleads. “My dad didn’t do nothing. He’s not a criminal.”

Christina was reportedly one of many children who headed off to their first day of a school year that begins early in that state, only to discover that their parents had been arrested during raids at food-processing plants where they were employed – all of this happening in the wake of the hate-filled mass murder of more than 20 people at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas.

If you haven’t already, I urge you to watch the brief video clip of this little girl by clicking on the screen below. Certainly every American should watch it –

.I watch this and I wonder what the hell has gone so terribly wrong in a country where I have many good friends – a country I once had a good deal of respect for? Continue reading →

Niagara Centre MPP Says Father and Grandfather’s  Life Hangs in the Balance while Doctors are Overwhelmed with other Patients

An Urgent Plea to Ontario Health Minister from Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted August 9th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

An Open Letter from  Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch to Christine Elliott, Ontario Minister of Heath , and toRob MacIsaac, President and CEO, Hamilton Health Sciences 

Dear Minister Elliott and Mr. MacIsaac: Re:  59 Year old Welland man fighting for his life with golf ball sized brain tumour

Welland, Ontario father and grandfather Dean Baker is desperately waiting for surgery to remove deadly brain tumour in a heath care system overwhelmed with patients.

 I am sending this urgent letter on behalf of Dean Baker appealing on compassionate grounds to expedite life saving surgery to remove this brain tumour.

He is a husband, father of two children and three grandchildren. His family physician says the tumour must be removed and if not he will die. He has been to see his Neurosurgeon at Hamilton General Hospital and given no specific date for surgery, leaving him and his life in limbo.  Continue reading →

John, Paul, George and Ringo took their iconic walk across Abbey Road on August 8^th, 1969

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” – from one of the very last songs The Beatles ever recorded together as a group, and from one of the very last tracks on one of the group’s finest albums, Abbey Road 

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Posted August 8^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

If you are a frequent follower of Niagara At Large, you know already that it is hard for me to ignore a milestone moment in the history of one of the world’s greatest pop music groups.

So let’s all ‘come together’ and remember the very last photo shoot The Beatles did for an album cover before the group dissolved the following year. Continue reading →

Grants Support Northern Border Security Measures

Brian Higgins

“The border between the United States and Canada represents the longest bi-national land boundary in the world and presents unique challenges.  This funding helps local and federal agencies coordinate protection and response measures.”                                    – U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, representing communities along the U.S. side of the Niagara River border

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

Posted August 8^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

The Peace Bridge between Niagara, Ontario and Erie County, New York – one of the major border crossings on the continent

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) has announced that Erie and Niagara Counties have each been awarded $325,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Higgins, who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, said, “the border between the United States and Canada represents the longest bi-national land boundary in the world and presents unique challenges.  This funding helps local and federal agencies coordinate protection and response measures.” Continue reading →

Flooding Along the Shores of Lake Ontario Closes Port Dalhousie’s Popular Carousel in Niagara, Ontario Again

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter Doug Draper, followed by a News Release from the City of St. Catharines

Posted August 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Climate change, scientists tell us, is quite a bit about the frequency and intensity of storms. So here we are again.

Just five days after the always so popular vintage carousel ride in St. Catharines/Niagara’s Lakeside Park was finally opened after what were record high Lake Ontario waters finally began to recede, the City of St. Catharines has been forced by another bought of flooding to close it again.

The carousel, which has been a hit of the season at 5 cents a ride for young at heart for decades now, usually opens in spring and rides on into the fall. Continue reading →

“Climate change is the issue of our lifetime, frankly.”     – New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo

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

Posted August 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

There once was a time when that I well remember as an environment reporter in this region that people in Ontario pointed accusing fingers across to the Niagara River to polluters on the New York side, and to government bodies in New York State that didn’t seem to be doing enough to keep those polluters from poisoning the water, fish and air that people on both sides of the border drank, ate and breathed.

With the possible exception of a few major discharges of waste from the Niagara Falls, New York wastewater treatment plant in recent years, pointing accusing fingers at our New York neighbours for environmental malfeasance carries very little weight any more. Continue reading →

“A recent survey with over 5,000 Niagara residents demonstrated that more than 76 per cent supported stronger restrictions around vaping and smoking tobacco or cannabis in outdoor settings.”

News from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted August 7th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

​Following public consultation and approval from both regional and municipal councils, an updated Smoke and Vape-Free Outdoor Spaces Bylaw is now in effect for the Niagara region.

“Public support for smoke-free outdoor spaces is strong, especially in areas where children play,” said Diana Teng, manager, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Niagara Region Public Health.

“A recent survey with over 5,000 Niagara residents demonstrated that more than 76 per cent supported stronger restrictions around vaping and smoking tobacco or cannabis in outdoor settings.” Continue reading →

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

“I have heard from constituents in my (Niagara, Ontario) riding that the closure (of the Hamilton Forensics Pathology Unit) will have a devastating impact on families dealing with the loss of a loved one who require an autopsy.”           – Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

And the Ontario Ford Government’s Cutting and Gutting of Vital Health Services for Niagara and Rest of Province Just Keep Coming, and Coming, and Coming

An Open Letter to Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones from Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted August 6^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Dear Minister:

I am writing to request that your Ministry conduct a review into the planned closure next year of the Hamilton Forensics Pathology Unit. I have heard from constituents in my riding that the unit’s closure will have a devastating impact on families dealing with the loss of a loved one who require an autopsy.

Rick Westlake, Funeral Director of the Bocchinfuso Funeral Home in Thorold, recently contacted my office to express concern regarding how the closure of the Forensics Pathology Unit will result in distressing delays in autopsy results for families already undergoing significant emotional distress. Continue reading →

“We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people.”                                                                                             – former U.S. President Barack Obama, in a statement he issued after a shooter poisoned with the same kind of white-supremacist hate Trump gins up at his rallies, murdered 22 people at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas

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

Posted August 6^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

I wasn’t planning to post something so soon on this again on a site where most of our focus should go to news and commentary on issues of interest and concern to our region of the world.

But I dare say that most of us have been focused on the horrific violence that unfolded on people in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio (yes, that is Dayton, not Toledo, Mr. President) over the past weekend in a country with a gun fetish that has, for decades, gone murderously out of control.

So when I read a copy of a statement former U.S. President Barack Obama issued this August 5^th, referring most specifically to the bloodbath in El Paso that now clearly looks like a hate crime committed by a young white man who issued an essay of his own, polluted throughout with the kind of garbage Trump spews at his rallies, I made up my mind to post Obama’s words here. Continue reading →

In Niagara region, Brock University researcher Meredith DeCock is working to determine just how much the Town of Lincoln’s Lake Ontario shoreline has changed, and what role climate change is playing in it. 

A Call-Out for Assistance from Brock University’s Biological Sciences Department 

Posted August 2^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Two years after storms and high water hammered the Town of Lincoln with flash floods and washed out roads, communities in the Great Lakes region continue to deal with record-breaking water levels.

This year, many of Lake Huron’s renowned beaches are reduced to shoreline footpaths. Commercial docks in the Thousand Islands are swamped and unusable. Residences along Lake Erie are threatened by eroding bluffs and shorelines.

Student researcher Meredith DeCock examines Lincoln’s Lake Ontario shoreline as part of her federally-funded research project. (Photo courtesy of Brian Jaworsky)

In Niagara region, Brock University researcher Meredith DeCock is working to determine just how much the Town of Lincoln’s Lake Ontario shoreline has changed, and what role climate change is playing in it. Continue reading →

No More Than Eight Cats Per Home in  Urban Areas of the City is Allowed

Too many cats can also be difficult to care for, cause property damage and may result in health problems for both animals and humans.

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

Posted August 2^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines, Ontario – A City by-law regulating the keeping of cats in St. Catharines aims to protect the health and safety of both residents and their feline companions.

Are you saying there are too many of us here?

The by-law allows residents to keep no more than eight cats at their homes in urban areas of St. Catharines. Generally, when cats live in large colonies many behavioural issues can arise, especially when there are too many cats in a home, said Kevin Strooband, president of Niagara Region Animal Services (NRAS). Continue reading →

Tell Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to Act Now for a Clean Lake Erie

A Call-Out from the Alliance for the Great Lakes

Posted August 1^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

“You’re telling people, don’t drink the water. Don’t even touch it,” said John C. Jones, community liaison for a Toledo health system, as he recalled the 2014 water crisis. “Just picture that – you can’t touch what’s coming out of your tap.”

Tomorrow (August 2^nd) marks five years since toxins from a harmful algal bloom contaminated the drinking water system in Toledo, Ohio. More than half a million people were ordered not to drink, or even touch their water. The order lasted for days.

No one living in a Great Lakes city should have to anxiously wonder if their tap water is safe to drink. You can help by speaking out today – sign the petition calling for real accountability for a clean Lake Erie.

Right now, another harmful algal bloom is forming on the surface of Lake Erie. These blooms are caused by runoff pollution from agricultural lands. Unfortunately, not enough action has been taken to address the root of the problem. We need to move quickly to stop pollution and reduce harmful algal blooms. Continue reading →

A Major Hydro Power Plant Along Lower Niagara River to be Modernized for the 21^st Century

News from the New York Power Authority

Posted August 1^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large reporter and  publisher Doug Draper – At a time of climate emergency this announcement from our New York neighbours is great news for all of us. Hydro power, while one of the oldest sources of energy), is still one of the cleanest and greenest, not to mention one of the safest, energy sources around.

So I say thank you to New York State for making this wise investment for our future.)

• One of the Largest Capital Projects in New York’s History Directly Supports 200,000 Jobs and $17 Billion in Capital Investments

• Modernizing New York’s Largest Clean Energy Producer to Help New York Achieve Carbon Neutrality and Clean Energy Goals

• Niagara Power Project Supplies 10 Percent of New York State’s Energy

  

  The Rpert Moses Power Plant in New York State, almost directly across the Niagara River from Ontario’s Sir Adam Beck Hydro Power Plant, is in for a major upgrade.

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today (this July 31st, 2019 announced that the New York Power Authority is launching a 15-year modernization and digitization program to significantly extend the operating life of the Niagara Power Project, the largest source of clean electricity in New York State and one of the country’s largest hydroelectric projects.  Continue reading →

The Ontario Health Coalition released a major new research report earlier this year revealing that resident-on-resident homicide rates are higher in Ontario’s long-term care homes than in any major cities in the province and that staff accident and injury rates are the highest of any sector in our economy.

A Statement  from the Ontario Health Coalition, a not-for-profit advocacy group for quality public health care in Ontario

Posted July 31^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – The Elizabeth Wettlaufer murders were terrible human tragedies and our heartfelt condolences go to the families of the victims, said the Ontario Health Coalition today on the occasion of the release of the report from Ontario’s public inquiry into long-term care.

The Coalition, which has advocated for improved access to care and improved regulated levels of care, released the following briefing note in response to the Inquiry’s report:

* *Briefing Note on Key Issues in Long-term Care + Public Inquiry Recommendations

“The report from the public inquiry into Ontario’s long-term care homes following the Elizabeth Wettlaufer murders highlights the need for systemic responses including improved staffing and care levels. Continue reading →

“She (Morufat Ogunkoya) is an ordained minister of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (and) religious persecution is the reason why she left Nigeria and that possibility cannot be ignored if she and her children are forced to go back.”                             – Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch, in an open letter to Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed D. Hussen

Niagara Centre MPP and Ontario NDP rep. Jeff Burch appeals to Trudeau government on behalf of family living in fear of deportation.

An Open Letter to Canadian Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed d. Hussen from Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Posted July 31^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Dear Minister Hussen: … URGENT

Re: Welland Family Facing Uncertain Future:

I am joining hundreds of people in the Welland community seeking assistance to stop the deportation of 46-year-old Morufat Ogunkoya and her three children Victor, Hephzibah and Rejoice to Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

The family’s legal counsel have submitted a Humanitarian and Compassionate application to request that the government give them permission to stay in Canada, but this does not prevent them from being deported. Continue reading →

“It is frankly outrageous that when we talk about the housing crisis, we don’t often talk about the crisis faced by Canadian renters.”                                                                                                           

David Macdonald, senior economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

– David Macdonald, senior economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

From David Macdonald, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted July 31st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

It’s frankly outrageous that when we talk about the housing crisis, we don’t often talk about the crisis faced by Canadian renters.

Recently, you may have seen or heard stories in the media about a new CCPA report on skyrocketing rental prices.

The fact that it is impossible, in all but a handful of Canadian neighbourhoods, to rent an average apartment if you’re paid the minimum wage really struck a nerve.

I was surprised myself when researching my paper—Unaccommodating: The Rental Wage in Canada (https://www.policyalternatives.ca/unaccommodating?mc_cid=033d0f2c81&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) —that for Canada’s 4.7 million households who rent their homes, you need to make an average of $22 an hour to be able to affordably pay your rent.

It is frankly outrageous that when we talk about the housing crisis, we don’t often talk about the crisis faced by Canadian renters. Continue reading →

NPCA is continuing to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as required

An Update on Lake Levels from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted July 31^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

From space, Lake Erie in the lower half of this image, flowing into Niagara River and Lake Ontario.

LAKE ONTARIO and LAKE ERIE – FLOOD WATCH *UPDATE* 

This notice is intended to update the public and local municipalities of the status of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario conditions within the Niagara Peninsula and the eastern portions of the City of Hamilton and Haldimand County. 

LAKE ERIE 

Currently Lake Erie water levels have started to slowly decline but remain at record levels for this time of year.  As of July 28th, Lake Erie’s static water level was 175.09m.  This water level is 79cm above average and 9cm above the record-high set during this week back in July of 1986.  This level does not account for any increase in water levels due to storm surge or wind driven waves.

Stakeholders with interests along Lake Erie should pay close attention to any weather systems that generate strong sustained West to Southwest winds as the resulting storm surge could result in shoreline erosion due to damaging waves and localized flooding.  Continue reading →

A Call-Out for Your Ideas from Niagara’s Regional government

Posted July 30^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region is conducting a public opinion survey on Niagara Region Transit and is looking to hear from you! Whether you use Niagara Region Transit every day, once in a while or not at all, your opinion is important to us.

Niagara Region Transit buses at a stop in Welland. File photo by Doug Draper

By participating in this survey, you’ll have a hand in moving transit forward.

Niagara Region will be conducting the survey between July 29 and August 16. Continue reading →

 Join in a community gathering on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at                        noon for the raising the pan-African flag at                       St. Catharines City Hall in downtown St. Catharines

An Invite to All from the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association

Posted July 30^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

St. Catharines, Ontario – The City of St. Catharines celebrated Emancipation Day on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at noon by raising the pan-African flag at City Hall downtown.  

Emancipation Day is August 1 by statute in Ontario and marks the declaration of freedom for slaves of African descent in most of the British colonies. The flag raising request was made by the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said, “We are proud to celebrate Emancipation Day once again in St. Catharines. We have great history here and commemorating Emancipation Day is a reminder of the courage and tenacity of the ancestors of the Black communities here in St. Catharines and also in Niagara and throughout North America.”  Continue reading →

“Everybody needs help and support,” Dane said. “Friends can be that resource for you when you need it.” – Andrew Dane, Brock Associate Professor of Psychology 

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario 

Posted on Niagara At Large on International Day of Friendship, July 30^th, 2019 

Bullies are often seen as powerful, but Brock Associate Professor of Psychology Andrew Dane sees greater strength in being a good friend.

Andrew Dane, Associate Professor of Psychology at Brock University, says there’s a social power to friendship.

“There’s tremendous social power in developing good close friendships,” Dane said in advance of International Day of Friendship<https://www.un.org/en/events/friendshipday/index.shtml> on Tuesday, July 30.

“The thing about friendship is that it’s for mutual benefit. It’s about sticking together, loyalty, reciprocity, pro-social behaviour and helping one another, and there’s a lot of strength in that.” Continue reading →

Join the Day of Action this Tuesday, July 30th to reverse cuts to CELA

A Call-Out from the Canadian Environmental Law Association

Posted July 29th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Forward Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper-

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is moving to slash funding to the Canadian Environmental Law Association, a legal aid organization that helps everyday people fight polluters.

For almost 50 years, when individual citizens citizen groups have found themselves facing a David vs. Goliath battle with a large corporation operating in ways that is harmful or potentially harmful to the environment, the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) has been there to represent those citizens and help level the tables of power.

In my earlier years as an environment reporter, I covered cases where CELA represented citizens groups like Pollution Probe and Operation Clean Niagara in launching court battles against  companies discharging toxic chemicals to the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.

No wonder that  Ontario’s Ford government, so eager to pander to and please corporate donors,  has moved to slash CELA’s legal aid funding by as much as 17 per cent this year and 35 per cent next year. Continue reading →

One of the countless signs Ontario residents have held up over the past year in protest of Ford government cuts to autism program

Reversal may be bid to help Tory ally Andrew Scheer win seats in Ontario in coming federal election

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

Posted July 29^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Of all of the cold and callous cuts Ontario’s Ford government has made to public services over its first year in power, few have done more to show how low this government will go with cuts that impact the most vulnerable among us than those to services for assisting families with loved ones diagnosed with autism.

For the better part of a year now, the Ontario Autism Coalition, a non-profit organization representing families with children struggling with this disorder, have been begging the Ford government to reverse cuts it is making to services for assisting these families – all in the name of balancing the province’s books.

Yet month after month after month after month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with every single member of his Tory caucus, including Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, either defended the cuts, denied them, or remained complicit to the harm they are doing to families dealing with autism through their silence. Continue reading →

Paving Paradise – Gutting Planning Rules Sacrifices Natural Heritage to Urban Sprawl

“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot. …”

– Joni Mitchell, from Big Yellow Taxi, 1969 

How much more of our natural heritage are we going to cover over with low-density sprawl like this?

A Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Re-osted July 26th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

To repeat one of those mangled phrases made famous by the late New York Yankees baseball legend Yogi Berra; “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

It is a phrase that seems fitting in Ontario these days as the province’s current premier, Doug Ford, and his Tory government take us back a couple of decades to the dark years of Ford’s old friend and mentor, former Tory premier Mike Harris, when cutting and gutting policies and programs for protecting what is left of our natural heritage to unleashing low -density urban sprawl was the rule of the day. 

Doug Ford, then still leader of the opposition Ontario PC Party, in Niagara Falls, already pledging  to make Ontario “open for business” in the weeks leading up to the June, 2018 provincial election

Under a mantra of “open for business” (as if all our province and the regions in it are is venues for doing business), the Ford government has been changing rules and regulations in ways that make it easier for the greediest and most irresponsible and backward-thinking members of the development industry to have a hay day with lands that should otherwise be protected and preserved for farming and for supporting a health and rich diversity of life (including ours) on this planet. Continue reading →

MPP Wayne Gates and 7-Year-Old Maya Webster Collect Signatures on Petition, Calling on Ontario Government to Cover Costs of Glucose Monitors for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

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

Posted July 26^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates with Maya Webster and her mother Christi Webster with a petition full of signatures of support for children with type 1 diabetes

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara-on-the-Lake -Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates joined a 7 year old Niagara-on-the-Lake resident, Maya Webster, to knock on doors in her neighbourhood collecting signatures for a provincial petition calling on the government to cover the cost of continuous glucose monitors for children with type 1 diabetes like Maya.

“Maya and her mother came to my office and made a presentation about the work she’s done in Ottawa and locally on trying to help those with type 1 diabetes who can’t afford these devices,” said Gates. Continue reading →

You are Invited to North America’s Largest and Most Popular Urban Gardens Tour, Free and Self-Guided, Running                                                      for Two Beautiful Days                                                – Saturday, July 27^th & Sunday, July 28^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From the Organizers of Garden Walk Buffalo

Re-posted July 26th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A getaway in a corner of a lush backyard near Buffalo’s Elmwood Village area and Delaware Park. File photo by Doug Draper

Join us for our 25th anniversary! Tour is free and self-guided. No tickets required. Nearly 400 creative urban gardens. NEW in 2019–the Parkside neighborhood is part of Garden Walk Buffalo!

Garden Walk Buffalo celebrates its 25th anniversary as a garden tour this year! It is America’s largest garden tour, attracting garden lovers throughout Western New York, Southern Ontario and beyond.

Held annually on the last weekend of July, Garden Walk has become one of the most anticipated summer events locally — and even nationally. An estimated 65,000 visitors flock to Buffalo to tour more than 400 residential gardens as well as many community and public gardens. Continue reading →

Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley

“By joining the Built for Zero Canada Collaborative, I believe that our team at Niagara Region will be empowered to explore new strategies and projects that will help improve the quality of life of some of our most vulnerable community members.”                                      ~ Jim Bradley, Niagara Regional Chair

News from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted July 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – This July 23^rd, Niagara Region was announced as one of nine successful applicants to participate in the BFZ-C Collaborative and is currently in the signing  process of the Community Agreement. The nine successful communities of the  2019-2020 Collaborative will join 24 other communities linked to BFZ-C. Continue reading →

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce CEO Mishka Balsom

“The power of the beverage alcohol sector to be a force for economic growth extends beyond just the expected industries. The production, distribution, and sale of alcohol has a ripple effect that benefits agriculture, tourism and hospitality, and retail in all corners of the province.”                                                          – Mishka Balsom, President & CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce 

A News Release from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce 

Posted July 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara, Ontario – This July 24th, the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) and Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released a new report, Refreshing the Sale of Beverage Alcohol in Ontario.  

This report outlines how the Province could modernize the sale and distribution of beverage alcohol and responsibly promote growth across all four categories – wine, beer, spirits, and cider. Continue reading →

Veteran Conservationist Gayle Wood‘s Five-Month Contract at NPCA Now Extended Until End of This Year

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority with a Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

By Doug Draper

NPCA Interim CAO Gayle Wood receives well-deserved contract extention

Let me say right up front that in this veteran environment reporter’s view, what follows is news that everyone who cares about restoring, protecting and preserving our region’s natural heritage should greet with a cheer.

And here is why.

After a more than six-year-long, dark journey into night for a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) that had lost its way, Gayle Wood is one of the very best things that have happened in recent times to this vital voice of an agency for a Niagara watershed that enriches our communities and our lives. Continue reading →

‘Responding to increased demand by farmers interested in taking on projects to reduce phosphorus entering waterways connected to Lake Erie, (federal and provincial) governments (in Canada) have increased funding to support their efforts to improve farming methods and better protect the environment.’

A News Release from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Posted July 24th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Toronto, Ontario – The governments of Canada and Ontario are helping more farmers take action to make their operations more environmentally sustainable and to boost water quality in the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair watersheds. Continue reading →

Plan will connect up to 220,000 new homes and businesses 

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff 

Posted July 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara West MPP and Ford government member Sam Oosterhoff

Niagara, Ontario – Families and businesses in rural and remote communities can look forward to high-speed internet and better cellphone service as the province releases its first-ever, $315 million plan to improve and expand service. 

“Our government is committed to help businesses, families and farms stay connected, no matter where they live,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP Niagara West.

“Our investment will get shovels in the ground, get infrastructure built, and get people and business connected.” 

The plan includes a $150 million commitment for a new broadband fund, which will leverage private sector funding along with support from other levels of government, to drive investment and expansion to un-served and undeserved communities. Continue reading →

Niagara Citizens Committee Honoured for Decades of Work on Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site

A plaque on a bench unveiled near the entrance to the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site in St. Catharines, honouring those who helped make this special place a reality.

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 23^rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley speaks at unveiling ceremony. Photo by Doug Draper

It was a ceremony that seemed long overdue.

And yet in a day and age when groups of citizens and governments don’t always do the best job of working together, it was great to have a reminder of what can be accomplished for a community when they do.

Such a time and reminder came this Monday, July 22^nd when surviving members of what began in 1984 as the Glenridge Landfill Citizens Committee and representatives of Niagara’s regional government and cities of St. Catharines and Thorold gathered together at what is now known as the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site to celebrate the decades-long transformation of a problem-plagued municipal landfill site into a popular setting for outdoor recreation and wildlife.

It was in the 1980s that operational troubles at an old quarry on top of the Niagara Escarpment near Brock University and by then in full use by the City of St. Catharines as a municipal landfill site, were surfacing in the form of putrid effluent from manholes on streets and in the basements of some of the homes in a neighbourhood below.

Sitting on the new bench unveiled at the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site during the ceremony, are from left in front row, Glenridge Landfill Liaison Committee members Mary Lorimer, Maureen Barker and Bryant Prosser, and standing from left to right are Thorold City Councillor John Kenny, St. Catharines Regional Councillor Tim Rigby and Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley, Photo by Doug Draper

Residents in that neighbourhood formed a group called the Glenridge Landfill Citizens Committee to fight for a cleanup and for closing the site down. And by the end of the decade, the group was renamed the Glenridge Landfill Liaison Committee and was working with the city and later Niagara’s regional government to close the site and turn it into the naturalization park it is today. Continue reading →

Police Investigation now Underway to Catch Alleged Imposters

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

Posted July 22^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

The Comfort Maple in Pelham/Niagara, estimated to be about 500 years old, making it one of the oldest maple trees in all of Canada, is one of the most valuable features of our region’s natural heritage that the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority cares for.

As if the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) has had enough problems over the past number of years under the direction of managers and board members  who, following last year’s municipal elections, are gone, now the agency has this bizarre and unwelcome situation to deal with – just as it has been doing a pretty good job of getting itself back on as a leading steward for our Niagara area watershed.

Why would anyone want to go around the region and even making phone calls and sending out email, as has been reported, posing as NPCA staff while they are doing it? Just this reporter’s speculation, but it seems like it would almost have to be people who know at least a little bit about the NPCA and the work it is doing. Continue reading →

Province Seeks Feedback on Proposed Changes to Provincial Policy Statement

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, then still a candidate for the provincial Tory Party’s top job, is caught on video tape early last year, telling developers he would open on “big chunks” of the province’s protected Greenbelt to build affordable housing

(The following News Release is being posted with a Footnote from Niagara At Large, raising concerns about possible plans by the Ford government to use a need for more affordable housing in Ontario as an excuse to pave over more agricultural land and “big chunks,” as Ford has described them, of the province’s protected Greenbelt lands.)

A News Release from the Ford Government and Ontario’s Ministry of Municpal Affairs and Housing

Posted July 22^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clarks says government is cutting “red tape” and changing planning rules to “speed up”housing construction

NIAGARA — The Ontario Government is cutting red tape that is slowing down the process of building more homes that people need and can afford.

As part of the More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan, the government is consulting on proposed changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) — which sets out direction for land use planning in the province.

“Seniors are looking to down-size and young families don’t see a path to home ownership. That’s why we are proposing changes to provincial policies that would spur and speed up the construction of more and different types of housing that can meet the needs of people in different stages of life,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

“I encourage Ontarians to provide their feedback directly to my ministry during this 90-day consultation period.” Continue reading →

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher           Doug Draper

Posted July 20^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

First steps on the moon, July 20th, 1969.

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”                                                          – from an address delivered by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in September of 1962

Kennedy spoke those bold words less than one year after his country sent the first American into space for a mere 15 minutes, and 59 years after the Wright Brothers were the first to successfully make a rickety contraption that passed for an airplane fly without crashing.

And 50 years ago this Saturday, July 20^th – a mere six years and 10 months after Kennedy spoke those words about humans walking on the surface of moon before the end of the decade – it actually happened, as more than 500 million people around the world, watched it in awe on our televisions some 230,000 miles (360,000 kilometres) away.

In the world we live in now, where it seems to take forever to upgrade an interchange on the QEW or 406 Highway, or fix a leaky tunnel under the Welland Canal, it is amazing to realize what an accomplish it was to go from the first humans in tiny capsules to barely kiss he heavens in the early 1960s to collecting moon rocks and bringing them back home safely in 1969. Continue reading →

Total Board Count Swells to 21 when Haldimand and Hamilton Reps are taken into account, with not one young person or millennial represented

Niagara Region’s Council has chosen West Lincoln’s Dave Bylsma, Lincoln’s Robert Foster and Port Colborne’s Bill Steele to sit on Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority  for remainder of this four year term

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

Posted July 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large (This is a corrected and updated version of this news commentary. Please delete any earlier version you may have.)

As of this July 18^th, the number of representatives Niagara will have sitting on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors jumps from 12 to 15.

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors at a meeting earlier this year. They are now going to need a bigger table . File photo by Doug Draper

It makes for a total board membership 21 on a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) that is just beginning to get back on a positive track after six or seven years of bad when the two representatives from Haldimand County and four from Hamilton are taken into account. Continue reading →

Scorching Temperatures Expected to Last Through Saturday and into Sunday Morning

A Message from Niagara Region’s Public Health and Emergency Services 

Posted July 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

An Excessive Heat Alert will be issued tomorrow, July 19, 2019 by Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Services, as temperatures are expected to reach 31 Celsius with the humidex approaching 40 Celsius.

The alert will continue until Sunday morning when temperatures are expected to return to normal. Niagara residents are advised to take extra precautions during episodes of extreme heat and humidity. Continue reading →

Signs like this, held by citizens protesting development plans at Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, became common over the past three years.

-Rich Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario is Target of $1.5-Billion Urban Development Proposal

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

Posted July 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

What a difference a new board of directors at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority can make.

Three years after a former Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) board was so agreeable to a developer using something called “biodiversity offsetting” to potentially build over provincially significant wetlands (PSWs) in Niagara Falls’ Thundering Waters Forest, the Conservation Authority’s current board is taking quite a different tact.

A look at wetlands inside Thundering Waters Forest.in Niagara Falls, Ontario

Not only is there no mention of biodiversity offsetting in any discussion of these wetlands, the NPCA’s current board has decided to express its support for the PSW designations the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) now has on them. Continue reading →

“Declaring a climate emergency clearly states the NPCA’s intention to address this urgent issue.”

By Doug Draper 

Posted July 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

In the wake of what clearly now looks like a higher frequency of damaging rain, wind, wildfires and other climate-related episodes, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) has joined the cities of St. Catharines and Hamilton, and growing numbers of other public bodies across Canada and around the world in declaring a “climate emergency.”

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) joins a growing number of public bodies around the world in passing a climate emergency declaration.

A motion to make the declaration, tabled by Ed Smith, a community activist recently appointed to the NPCA board by St. Catharines’ city council with the blessing of Niagara’s regional council, received approval at a full meeting of the board this July 17^th. 

In a separate motion this July 17th, the board also approved working with municipal bodies and other parties in Niagara, Hamilton and Haldimand (the three regions sharing a Niagara watershed the NPCA has jurisdiction over, on developing and implementing a “Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan over the remainder of this year and next.  Continue reading →

God Bless America. Someone Has To!

A Commentary by Linda McKellar

Posted July 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Christian Evangelists rest their hands on Saint Donald’s shoulders during a prayer breakfast in the White House.

I will never understand how people can claim to be “Christian Evangelicals”  while at the same time be so racist and so full of hate.

That does not reflect the god that most people believe in. Since Trump’s mother was born in Scotland, the Isle of Lewis, should he go back there? Poor Scotland!!!!!!

He is no further removed from a foreign land than three of these women. Since his current and past wife were immigrants, (the current one working without documentation before her citizenship) should HIS wives go back to where they came from and take Trump’s spawn with them?

He also managed to get Melania’s parents into the country….so much for his hatred of and pledge to stop chain immigration. Of course both were essential to the economy….elderly… the father a car salesman and the mother a factory seamstress. Continue reading →

Third-term MPP Michael Coteau takes questions about building a better Province of Ontario

Ontario Liberal Party MPP and leadership hopeful Michael Coteau

“The biggest waste we face in Ontario is the waste of human potential. Doug Ford is in it for tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations—and cuts for everyone else. I’m in it for children and families, our future.”                                                                           – Ontario Liberal MPP Michael Coteau

News from Ontario Liberal MPP Michael Coteau’s Leadership Campaign

Posted July 17^th, 2019

St. Catharines, Ontario – Michael Coteau, a third-term Liberal MPP and former cabinet minister, visited St. Catharines (this July 16^th) for a full-house neighbourhood meeting with local residents

“Doug Ford says kids today aren’t worth the cost. That’s his message—Ontario doesn’t value you. I was that kid who was told someone like you doesn’t matter,” said Coteau. “And now, someone like me is taking a stand. Continue reading →

If Trump and his Angry Republican Mob Want to Throw them out, we Canadians can let them know they are Always Welcome Here

From left to right, U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ihan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Occasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. All American citizens. All women of colour. And all told by Trump to get out of America if they don’t like it, and “go back” to where they came from.

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

Posted July 16^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

They are young, well-educated, intelligent, progressive minded women – all passionate advocates for universal health care, for access to quality education, for good jobs and living wages, and for protecting our planet for present and future generations – and Donald Trump and his many Republican supporters are treating them like human garbage.

All four are American citizens (three of them born in the United States, and the fourth arrived in the U.S. from Somalia with her family when she was barely 10 years old) and duly elected members of U.S. Congress.

Yet much to the delight of millions of his Republican and Christian Evangelical supporters, Trump has tossed more meat to feed their cruel, hate-filled under belly by tweeting out one of the oldest racist tropes in the white supremacist playbook.

Trump tweeted out that the four U.S. Congresswomen – all women of colour, which is all that it seems to take these days to gin up the once-proud, and now disgraced “Party of Lincoln” – should get out of the United States and “go back” to where they came from because, according to Trump, they “hate” America anyway, apparently because they criticize its dear leader, meaning him. Continue reading →