Niagara At Large

“I don’t need your war machines
I don’t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be.”

• Lyrics from American Woman, the number one, 1970 hit by the Canadian rock band, The Guess Who

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper, followed by a link to an epic live performance of ‘American Woman’ by The Guess Who

Posted July 4^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

By 1970, The Guess Who was already on a chart-busting streak like no other rock band from Canada had experienced up to that point with hits that had made America’s Top 40 Billboard list like ‘These Eyes’, ‘No Time’, ‘Laughing’ and ‘Undun’.

When ‘Americana Woman ‘, the title track for the band’s  third RCA album, was released as a single in March of 1970, protests against the ongoing War in Vietnam were in full tilt on campuses and in the streets of cities across the United States. And on May 4^th of that year, four students were shot and killed during anti-war demonstrations on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio.

‘American Woman’, which was not about a woman at all but about an America mired in a controversial war and looking for some support from its Canadian neighbour, soared up the Billboard charts to Number One and remained on the charts into the summer.

With the Lincoln Memorial in the background – for many Americans from days gone by, a symbol of freedom, equality and peace – Trump’s inner tin-pot dictator militarizes Washington, D.C. for the Fourth of July – possibly a message to the world that he is ready to kick ass with bullets and bombs if he feels like it.

With Trump in the White House and all of his reckless sabre rattling, his slams on Canada with damaging tariffs and the declaring of Canada (for reasons that possibly make sense only to him) as a “national security threat,” the song seems relevant again.

So on this Fourth of July in the U.S., with Trump militarizing Washington D.C.’s celebrations with tanks in the streets and fighter planes flying overhead, Niagara At Large is posting the following video of The Guess Who doing a very hot, lengthened version of ‘American Woman’ at a reunion concert it performed in the band’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba one stormy night in June, 2000.

Click on the screen immediately below to watch and to listen –

Also for this Fourth of July, here is a great commentary by Mchaal A. Cohen, a columnist for The Boston Globe (not to be confused with the former Trump lawyer now sitting in jail for crimes he engaged in allegedly with you-know-who), titled ‘A Fraught Forth’ –

“Today is July 4th and every year on America’s birthday, the National Park Service hosts a celebration on the National Mall that is purposely non-political, non-military and, above all, fun. Continue reading →

A Beacon to the World No More

A Brief commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 4^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In front of an audience of hardcore supporters, hugging (or could he be mugging?) the American flag.

I am posting this with apologies to my many good friends in the United States, although maybe I don’t have to apologize.

I know that many of them are feeling more depressed and alarmed about the evil monster in the White House than those of us who at least have the comfort of viewing what is now going down in the once-proud land of  Abe Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt from the relative safety of another country.

For all of the bad and ugly in its history – slavery and racial segregation, the bloody and costly wars fought in far-off places like Vietnam and Iraq, the alarming rates of domestic gun violence and so on – America is, or at least was a land that spawned bigger-than-life leaders like Lincoln and FDR, and people who became heroes in my lifetime like Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

And there were great testaments to the country and to what, at the best of times, its leaders and people worked collectively to strive for, like the one written by 19^th Century Jewish American poet and activist Emma Lazarus, and immortalized on a bronze plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

What would Emma Lazarus think now? What poem would she write about the plight of the migrants at the U.S./Mexico border?

“Give me you’re tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore,” Emma Lazarus wrote of those, often fleeing poverty or turmoil in their homeland, to start a new life in America. “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Now the monster in the White House has said these things about masses of poor and tired people fleeing hardship and violence in their own countries, and hoping to cross the border from Mexico for that same dream of a better life.

“They are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime, they are rapists,” he said at the start of his campaign for the U.S. presidency. Once in the Oval Office, he went on to dehumanize and tar them as an “infestation.”  He called them “bad hombres,” “terrorists,” “animals,” “trash” and worse, as the mobs at his rallies yelled things like; “F—k these dirty-beaners “and “Shoot them.” Continue reading →

This Precious  Green Area in Niagara is One More   Target of Developers. Join the Ongoing Effort by Citizens in our Region to Raise Funds to Save It!

A Call-Out to All of Us from Marcie Jacklin, Community Voices of Fort Erie

Posted July 3^rd, 2-19 on Niagara At Large

One of the residents of Waverly Woods. They need a home too.

Fort Erie, Canada — Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in Trivia Night this June to raise funds to Save Waverly Woods. I hope you helped fun as well as knowing that you were also supporting our efforts.

As mentioned last night ALL of the funds raised go towards our professional team – our lawyer, planner, ecologist, hydrogeologist, cultural heritage consultant. They are expensive but worth every penny. We need you to help us win the appeal.

Our next fundraising is called Moments in Time and will be a collection of reminiscences written by you! Details about this project can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/communityvoicesfe/documents/moments-in-time?authuser=0

Let’s save some places in Niagara for others we are fortunate enough to share some time on this beautiful planet with.

So find a quiet place to think about why Waverly Woods is so special to you and submit your story to waverlymoments@gmail.com

To donate visit our donation site at https://www.forterievoices.ca/donation

Questions/comments/offers of help, please email cvferie@gmail.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 Reminder That We Only Post Comments By Individuals Who Also Share Their First And Last Names.

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

A Percentage of proceeds from book sales between July 5^th & 7^th will go to funding low-cost legal services to people incarcerated in immigrant camps run by the U.S. Border Patrol

 A Call-Out for Support from Burning Books, an independent bookstore on 420 Connecticut Street in Buffalo, New York

Posted July 3^rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Burning Books has joined #BookstoresAgainstBorders – 10% of our proceeds from July 5-7 go to help separated families, detained families, unaccompanied minors, and others who are seeking asylum in the United States!

From Publisher’s Weekly:

Gretchen Treu, co-owner of A Room of One’s Own bookstore in Madison, is spearheading a fundraising campaign, #BookstoresAgainstBorders.

Treu is asking independent bookstores across the country to join A Room of One’s Own in donating a percentage of their sales during the July 5-7 holiday weekend to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services [RAICES], a Texas-based organization that provides low-to-no-cost legal services to the people who are incarcerated in the immigrant camps run by the U.S. Border Patrol. Continue reading →

In Recent Times, this Niagara Falls, New York Wastewater Treatment Plant Has Been a Source of Major Spills to Niagara River

A major spill of dark, inky looking waste effluent from Niagara Falls, New York wastewater treatment plant two summers ago, during the height of the tourist season and plainly visible to countless thousands of Falls visitors on both sides of Niagara River. Some witnesses complained of strong odors coming off the waters.

“Niagara Falls residents and waterways have paid the price for outdated and overloaded (wastewater treatment) systems. …. This federal funding will help with protections during the most extreme (weather-related) conditions.”                                                  – Brian Higgins, U.S. Congressman representing the Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York area.

By Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted July 2^nd, 2019

Here’s some news that will hopefully benefit residents on both sides of the Niagara River, and downstream around Lake Ontario/

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is finally providing more than $2.8 million funds in funds to upgrade the problem-plagued Niagara Falls, New York wastewater treatment plant, according to a news release circulated this July 1^st by the Buffalo constituency office of one of the area’s leading Democratic members of Congress, Brian Higgins. Continue reading →

What kind of Swine does the Ford Government have in mind for this Facility? 

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 2^nd,  2019 on Niagara At Large

In one of the latest releases pumped out by “Ontario News” – the Ford government’s equivalent of Trump’s Fox News propaganda machine-  we, the people of this province, were informed that the government is planning to invest an estimated $12 million of our tax dollars to build and operate what it is billing as a “state-of-the-art Swine Research Centre.”

I have to confess that I was still recovering from yesterday’s (July 1^st) Canada Day festivities and from a series of stories late this June about all of the relatives, friends and supporters now feeding from the trough after being appointed to one patronage post or another by Ford and company, so I had to read down a few lines of this news release to realize that it was about real pigs (as in the four-legged, hoofed mammal kind) and a facility intended to generate research that will assist the hog or pork farm industry.

It also didn’t help that the Ford P.R. flaks that produced this news release used the word  “swine” in place of “pig,” which is a name that I have always viewed as an insult to real pigs, which are much kinder, not to mention cleaner and smarter, animals than some people think.

Indeed, I found myself being rightly taken to task late this June by Catherine Ens, a leading member of Niagara’s animal welfare community, for insulting pigs by posting, along with a commentary I wrote on Ford’s “Government for the People” rewarding its partisan pals with various  public sector a picture of three real ones feeding from a trough. Continue reading →

Let’s Make A Pledge on this July 1st Canada Day, 2019 to Stand Together for a Sharing, Caring Canada

“Maybe I’ll be there to shake your hand
Maybe I’ll be there to share the land
That they’ll be givin’ away
When we all live together.”

– the chorus from the song ‘Share the Land’, written by Burton Cummings and recorded in 1970 by one of Canada’s all-time greatest groups, The Guess Who

From Doug Draper

Posted July 1st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Unlike our American neighbours, we Canadians don’t seem to have much in the way of anthems for our country outside of the official one.

South of the border (or east, depending on your perspective), there are rousing, flag-wavers like “America, The Beautiful,” or for what remains of the lefties in Trump-land, there are sing-alongs like Woody Guthrie’s a “This Land is Your Land.”

We have Gordon Lightfoot’s “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “Four Strong Winds” by Ian and Sylvia,” but they seem more to me like great songs about the country than straight-up, two or three versus and a chorus anthems for Canada Day. Continue reading →

Our Planet and Our Children’s Future Finally Gets a Win against Ford Government’s War on our Environment

“Parliament has determined that atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases causes climate changes that pose an existential threat to human civilization and the global ecosystem. … The need for a collective approach to a matter of national concern, and the risk of non-participation by one or more provinces permits Canada to adopt minimum national standards to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions.”                                                                                                     – Chief Justice George Strathy on behalf of the Ontario Court of Appeal

“Today’s (June 28^th) decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal again shows that all levels of government can and must act decisively to enact strong, enforceable laws to fight climate change.”                                                                                                               – a statement from the Canadian citizens group, Environmental Defence

“The courts are aligning with Parliament, Canadian municipalities and the public in confirming that national action is needed to tackle this climate emergency. There’s growing recognition throughout the country that Canada’s climate emergency must be met with national measures in line with the urgency and challenge of meeting our climate commitments.”       – David Suzuki Foundation science and policy director Ian Bruce

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

Posted June 28^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Finally, we have a win for our plant and our children’s future in an Ontario where Doug Ford and his Tories have done more to cut and gut environmental protection programs in its first 12 months than any other Ontario government has in 49 years since the first Earth Day.

This June 28^th, Ontario’s top court – the Ontario Court of Appeal – ruled against the Ford climate deniers’ efforts stop Canada’s federal government from imposing a price on carbon pollution at the gas pumps – what Ford choses to demonize as a “carbon tax” – as one of a number of actions aimed at addressing a global climate emergency.

“The need for a collective approach to a matter of national concern, and the risk of non-participation by one or more provinces, permits Canada to adopt minimum national standards to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions,” wrote Chief Justice George Strathy in a June 28^th statement circulated on behalf of the Ontario Court of Appeal. Continue reading →

“The LCHS welcomes the opportunity to provide leadership in continuing to protect animal in all of Niagara.”                                 – Kevin Strooband, Executive Director and Inspector, Lincoln County Humane Society.

News from the Lincoln Country Humane Society in Niagara, Ontario

Posted June 28^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In March 2019, the Ontario SPCA made a decision to withdraw from cruelty investigations within the province of Ontario, as of June 28, 2019. The LCHS, being one of its affiliates, was subject to this decision.

In keeping in line with its mandate to protect animals, the LCHS approached the Ontario government requesting to be part of the interim solution while a new system and legislation are being created.

The Ministry and the Solicitor General agreed and worked with LCHS and several other humane societies outside of Niagara to facilitate a working arrangement that would protect animals moving forward. Continue reading →

Ban Follows Decades of Animal Welfare Activists Lobbying for an end to Animal Circuses at City Arenas

“Niagara Action for Animals (NAfA) has been campaigning against animal-based circus in Niagara for as long as we have been in existence – 30 years plus.  It was one of our initial efforts. … THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to send an email to council on this. Your efforts paid off.”                                                   – from a statement circulated this June 25^th by Catherine Ens, director and founder of NAfA, one of Ontario’s longest lasting, citizen-based animal welfare groups

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 27^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines City Councillor Karrie Porter put a motion on the table to ban animal circuses on city properties, and it has passed. It’s a first for Niagara after decades of citizen protests over these animal entertainment shows.

At long last and most mercifully for the sake of humanity and all animals big and small, the show won’t go on.

Not if is an animal circus show and the ringmasters and their sponsors want to stage it in one of St. Catharines arenas or any other properties the city owns.

After literally decades of animal welfare groups like Niagara Action for Animals (NAfA) lobbying for an end to animal circuses in St. Catharines and other municipalities across the Niagara region, St. Catharines’ council passed a first-of-its-kind-in-Niagara motion, banning animal circuses on city properties.

And this ban, as the quote above from veteran animal welfare activist Catherine Ens noted in the quote above, has been a very long time coming. Continue reading →

Strategy places people living with dementia and caregivers at its core

“Dementia impacts the lives of our families, our friends, and our neighbours. This strategy is a critical step towards preventing dementia, strengthening available therapies, and improving the overall quality of life for our seniors.”                                                   – Vance Badawey, MP for Niagara Centre

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted June 27^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Welland, Ontario – Dementia is having a significant and growing impact in Canada, with more than 419,000 Canadians aged 65 years and older diagnosed with dementia.

Two thirds of those diagnosed are women, and as our population ages, the number of Canadians affected by dementia is expected to increase. Dementia affects not only the person living with dementia, but also their families, caregivers and communities.

This June 26th, on behalf of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, spoke about the release of A Dementia Strategy for Canada:

Together We Aspire<https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/dementia-strategy.html> during the Age Works – Art of Ageing Forum held at Niagara College in Welland, Ontario. Continue reading →

 “Over 20 employers across Niagara have now chosen to become living wage Certified.  We are very pleased to see so many local employers who recognize the value and benefits of paying at least a living wage.”                                                                                   – Glen Walker, Chair, Niagara Poverty Reduction Network  

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted June 27^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that Marmax Machine & Manufacturing <https://marmax-machine-mfg.business.site/> has become a certified living wage employer.

Living Wage Certified – Marmax Machine & Manufacturing in Thorold, Niagara

Marmax Machine & Manufacturing is a family owned and operated steel processing facility located in Thorold. They currently employ ten full time and one part time staff.

“We decided to become certified as a living wage employer because we have paid a living wage since we hired our first employee in 2007, who is still with us and is now our plant supervisor. We believe that all people go to work to earn a living wage and it has proven to be true that when employees earn a fair wage they put in a fair days work,” says Maura Blair, Office Administrator at Marmax Machine & Manufacturing.  Continue reading →

“We have seen this (Ontario) Liberal government make sure that they have taken care of their Liberal insider friends. … But we can tell you one thing my friends, we will make sure we bring government that respects the taxpayers. You know me. I’m for the little guy.”                                                                                              – then Ontario Conservative Party leader Doug Ford, campaigning in the June, 2018 provincial election.

Doug Ford

“Doug Ford has been making it rain first-class tickets on the gravy train for friends and family of his inner circle. This reeks of nepotism, with paycheques, power and favours for Ford’s inner circle, while everyday Ontarians get nothing but cuts.”                                                              – Ontario NDP MPP Taras Natyshak

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper, followed by news releases from Ontario’s Official Opposition (NDP) Party at Queen’s Park

Posted June 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

There was a time when the odd government out would actually try to hire what they believed to be the best individuals out there – regardless of party affiliations – to fill key posts.

More often than not, though, such posts – however important they are and however much skills and smarts are need to do the job well on behalf of the public – are gift wrapped and doled out like boxes of sugar candy to political friends and supporters, and even to relatives who apparently don’t have the wherewithal to make a go of it in the private sector or what some would call the “real world.” where most of us are doing our best to scrape by.

A poster that one of the province’s largest labour organizations, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), posted on social media earlier this year.

There is  no arguing here that Ontario’s former Liberal government, led first by Dalton McGuinty and finally by the ever so demonized Kathleen Wynne, rewarded its share of plum jobs and seats on agencies and commissions to its partisan pals on the taxpayer’s dime.

And Ontario’s current Premier, Doug Ford, sure didn’t shrink from raising hell fire over that when he was running in last year’s provincial election.

On at least one occasion, candidate Ford called Wynne and her Liberals “corrupt” as some supporters aped the same “lock her up” chant Trump’s rally crowds still use against Hillary Clinton. If his so-called “party for the people,” forms a government, Ford vowed during the election campaign, “the party with taxpayer’s money will be over.”

“We have seen this (Ontario) Liberal government make sure that they have taken care of their Liberal insider friends,” Ford so smugly and self-righteously said. “But we can tell you one thing my friends, we will make sure we bring government that respects the taxpayers. You know me. I’m for the little guy.”

Oink, oink.

Over the last 12 months since Ford and his phony “Government for the People” have been in power, we’ve had one report after another about Tory Party friends and supporters  receiving, as some opposition critics put it, tickets to board Ford’s gravy train.

So much for Ford’s pledge to put an end to a political party’s “insider friends” having “a “party with taxpayer’s money.” So much for making appointments that put the interests of “the little guy” first! Continue reading →

(Niagara At Large is pleased to to post the following article – one that contains messages that NAL believes everyone in this Province of Ontario needs to read and give careful thought to given what has been unfolding in recent months at Queen’s Park – from Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario Nature, one of the most dedicated and well-respected conservation organizations in North America.

This article is posted in Niagara At Large this June 26th, 2019  with the permission of Ontario Nature. It  was originally published and is now featured in the current summer, 2019 issue of the organization’s award-winning magazine, ON Nature.)

Humanity’s Legacy

By Caroline Schultz

“We are at a fork in the road for where we stand as a species.”      -Al Gore

Caroline Schulz, Executive Director, Ontario Nature

Earth is in the midst of the Anthropocene epoch. Human activities are changing the planet at an unprecedented rate in ways that affect every sector of society.

We have gone from being one of many thriving species to an increasingly dominant and destructive one. But our health, our moods and our survival remain inextricably linked to the health of our world.

Despite the broad awareness of the impact we are having on our environment, on May 2, the Government of Ontario tabled an omnibus bill that, under the guise of increasing housing supply, would eliminate crucial protections for the province’s most vulnerable species and their habitats. Continue reading →

Buffalo/Niagara Falls Area Congressman Brian Higgins Announces $450,000 in Federal Funding for Niagara Falls International Airport Grants will Support Runway/Taxiway Improvements 

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

Posted June 26^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

U.S. Congressman (serving the Buffalo, Niagara, New York area) Brian Higgins

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced two federal grants to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority<http://www.nfta.com/> (NFTA) for improvements at the Niagara Falls International Airport<http://www.niagarafallsairport.com/>.

The grants were awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration, under the US Department of Transportation. The first grant is in the amount of $135,000 and will go to removing trees that obstruct two of the airport’s runways and approach surfaces.

The second grant for $315,000 will support the design phase for reconstruction of portions of taxiway pavement that have reached the end of its useful life.  Continue reading →

It is extremely important that the governor join the attorney general in her lawsuit to bring the strongest possible case against this misguided Canadian (Enbridge) oil pipeline tunnel that is risking our Great Lakes water and economy.

One of many protests against this Enbridge pipeline in Michigan. Citizens there are concerned that a leak from this pipe, carrying crude from the Alberta tar sands, could do major damage to the Great Lakes from Lake Huron on down.

A Call-Out to all Great Lakes residents form Jim Lively, program director for the Groundwork Center, a Michigan-based citizens group

Posted June 26^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

URGENT: ASK MICHIGAN GOVERNOR  WHITMER TO JOIN ATTORNEY GENERAL NESSEL’S LITIGATION TO DECOMISSION LINE 5

The Line 5 pipeline issue has arrived at a critical juncture: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has boldly announced her intention to keep her campaign promise and file legal action to decommission Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline later this week.

However, (Michigan) Governor Gretchen Whitmer has not yet indicated that she’ll join Nessel’s legal filing, and is continuing to leave open negotiations with Enbridge for a dubious oil pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. Continue reading →

A Report on Ombudsman’s Findings from  Investigation into circumstances surrounding hiring  of former Niagara Region CEO Carmen D’Angelo and his contract with Region is now being prepared for public release

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé is close to releasing his report on the Niagara Region CEO hiring affair

‘Complaints about municipalities – which were added to the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction in 2015-2016, along with school boards and universities – increased 20%, to 3,002. As in previous years, almost all were resolved without formal investigation (the sole new investigation launched, into the controversial hiring of Niagara Region’s chief administrative officer, is ongoing) – but the report cites several cases that resulted in improvements to local administration.’                                                                                        – from a June 25th, 2019 news release from the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman

A Brief Foreword e from Doug Draper, followed by a news release from the Office of  Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé on the Office’s 2018-2019 Annual Report

Posted June 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Almost 10 months have passed since Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé agreed to launch an independent investigation into the 2016 hiring of Carmen D’Angelo, then the CEO of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), to the top municipal job in Niagara – chief executive officer of Niagara’s regional government.

A team from the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office has spent the past 10 months investigating questions circulating around the hiring of former Niagara Region CAO Carmen D’Angelo, and ongoing questions around his t contract with the Region. The findings of that investigation are now close to being  released.

With the release of his annual report this June 25^th – outlining one of the busiest caseloads of complaints the Ombudsman’s Office has invested in its 43 history – Dubé also let it be known that a report on the findings of that investigation into the D’Angelo affair is now being worked on for public release.

Dubé’s investigation into this highly controversial matter may never have been launched without the following:  

• an outpouring of questions and concerns raised by citizens across Niagara – at least some of whom  who questioned D’Angelo’s hiring from the moment they learned his name was on the list for the job;
• a handful and, unfortunately, largely outnumbered group of Niagara regional councillors who demonstrated the wisdom and the courage to vote against the hiring of D’Angelo in the first place;
• and without dogged digging by the news media, most particularly by the St. Catharines Standard, its lead investigative reporter Grant LaFleche and by reporter Bill Sawchuk, who regularly covers regional council.

Continue reading →

‘A Better Niagara hopes (Fort Erie councillor Nick Dubanow’s motion) itstarts a wave of similar motions across Niagara. We can’t let what happened during the last term of Regional Council ever happen again.’

News from A Better Niagara, a region-wide citizens group

Posted June 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

This June 23rd was International Whistleblowers Day.

“The purpose of whistleblowing is to expose secret and wrongful acts by those in power in order to enable reform”                                   — Glenn Greenwald (American journalist and author).

Town of Fort Erie cCouncillor Nick Dubanow plans to table motion for municipal whistleblower protection for the first time in Niagara

Fort Erie Councillor Nick Dubanow’s motion to create the first municipal Whistleblower protection in Niagara will be discussed by his Council on July 15 2019. We hope Fort Erie residents will let their councillors know how important this issue is to them and will also turn out to support the motion on July 15th.

Think about all the secret contracts, the corruption of hiring practices, the tainted behaviour of certain Councillors, Board members and senior managers, at the Region and NPCA, during the last term of Council. It is likely that much of it could have been prevented if people within the system felt free to raise those issues without fear of losing their jobs. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Continue reading →

“It’s wrong to punish students who are speaking up for themselves and their future by speaking out against Doug Ford’s education cuts. The NDP is calling for the $1,500 sidewalk chalk cleanup bill sent to high school students to be cancelled.”                 – Ontario NDP House Leader Gilles Bison

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

This Ontario premier is apparently out to teach some teenage chalk drawers a lesson or two about democracy in Ford’s Ontario

Do you know what happens to anything you draw with chalk on the surface of a sidewalk or parking lot when we have the kind of rainstorms we’ve been having across Ontario now for the past three months?

The chalk washes way and whatever message or masterpiece you have drawn for all passers-by to see is gone with the rain.

Apparently, Ontario Doug Ford and those in his so-called “Government for the People” don’t know that, or  don’t want to know that or don’t care, because now they are billing a group of high school students a total of $1,444 for cleaning some words they chalked on the sidewalks of Queen’s Park during a recent demonstration against ongoing education cuts.

There are reports that the kids – and stories on this matter say they were kids between about the ages of 10 and 18 – did not follow all of the rules around holding protests on the lawns of Queen’s Park, and some even chalked things on the sidewalks that were deemed by some to be “profane,” including the image of a hand giving the middle finger above Ford’s name. Continue reading →

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

“When you look at your priorities, your priority is to give a billion dollars to a corporation so he can sell booze in corner stores. Wouldn’t it make more sense to invest in our kids and grand kids so that they can get a post-secondary education so they can take care of themselves, their family and their community. Let’s invest in their future.”                                                                   – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates.

From Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates’ Facebook Page

Posted June 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from NAL reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

In its continued war on services and opportunities for young people in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford’s self-described “Government for the People” is cutting assistance for young people struggling to pay for a post-secondary education in the province as one more way to put money back in the pockets of his wealthy bakers.

These cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program – a program that has been in place for decades to help young people from lower-income families pay the costs of a college or university education – prompted Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates to recently produce and post the following video message, which speaks for itself.

Click on the screen below to listen and watch –

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

 A Reminder That We Only Post Comments By Individuals Who Also Share Their First And Last Names.

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

Ontario Student Assistance Program Cuts Hit College and University Students Hard

“Doug Ford is dragging Ontario backwards with his callous cuts to OSAP. Instead of investing in young people, he is ripping away financial assistance, ensuring that only the wealthiest Ontarians are guaranteed the bright future promised by post-secondary education.”                                                                                                       – Chris Glover, Ontario NDP critic for Colleges and Universities

News from Ontario’s Official Opposition and New Democracy Party

Posted June 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

NDP calls for OSAP grants to be reinstated

QUEEN’S PARK — Chris Glover, Ontario NDP critic for Colleges and Universities, said it’s simply wrong for Doug Ford to plow ahead with cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) — especially now, as students share their stories of the devastating consequences. Some of the many students who have learned just how much financial assistance Ford is ripping away from them joined Glover at Queen’s Park on Monday.

When Daniel Mutton found out his OSAP had been reassessed, his first thought was that he would have to drop out. He had already used $6,000 of the $13,500 he was promised for his final term at Niagara College, where he is training to become a mechanic.

Now, because his mom’s pension is just $2,000 higher than originally calculated, he is losing roughly $5,500. Now his parents are considering using their line of credit to help Mutton complete the term. Continue reading →

Ontario’s Unpopular Premier Cancels Annual Canada Day Festivities at Queen’s Park, claiming that the event has turned into a costly bust anyway.

At Queen’s Park on Canada Day’s gone by

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose popularity numbers in the polls have already tanked lower than Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne’s during her last year in office, has cancelled this year’s Canada Day festivities on the lawns of Queen’s Park.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford decides to give this year’s Canada Day festivities at Queen’s Park a pass

And this time, I find myself in the rare position of wholeheartedly agreeing with Ford’s decision to cancel or cut something.

Pulling the plug on the festivities at Queen’s Park, means that Ontarians don’t have to spend a Canada Day that should be an occasion for celebrating what makes this country great – our natural and built heritage, and our public health care, education and other services we have for our young, our old and our most vulnerable – with a premier who, with the help of his party hacks, has been working at warp speed over the past 12 months to shred so much of that.

And Ford doesn’t have to face yet another gathering of Ontarians where loud, sustained choruses of boos become a story on the news. Continue reading →

‘It’s summer
Summer time is here
Yes it’s summer
My time of year.’

-lyrics from the song ‘Summer’ by the great funk band War

A Brief Summer Solstice Note  from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted June 21st, 2019, the first day of summer

This spring turned out to be  kind of a drag, and was downright depressing at times with all of the rain and unseasonably cold temperatures. Almost the whole month of May and most of this June were so unspring like, I am looking across my backyard now at neighours who are finally able to get out in their gardens and put their tomato plants in.

Cheer up though. Or at least try to.

This Friday, June 21st at 11:54 a.m., it officially turned from spring to summer, and all over our region of Niagara, and across the border for our friends and neighbours in Buffalo, New York,  the sun has been shining oh so brightly as we entered the new season and it  has been warm enough to  sit outside.

Or how about a nice long walk along a favourite beach?

Then there are all of those great summer songs, like one of my favourites by one of the  best of the best old funk  band called War. The song is called “Summer” and you can listen to it as we celebrate the first day of summer by clicking on the screen below.

Have a great summer and keep on visiting Niagara At Large, and encourage your friends get online with NAL too –

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

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

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

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

Applications are now being accepted for the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Anti-Racism Advisory Committee and LGBTQ2+ Advisory Committee

“Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and we are hopeful to see more people and new volunteers on these committees as we work together to become one of the most dynamic, innovative, livable and sustainable cities.”                                                                                                    – St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

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

Posted June 21^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines City Hall

Niagara, Ontario – The City of St. Catharines is recruiting members for three new advisory committees focused on making the city a more inclusive and equitable place for everyone to live.

Applications are now being accepted for the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Anti-Racism Advisory Committee and LGBTQ2+ Advisory Committee.

Applications can be submitted online at www.stcatharines.ca/committees<http://www.stcatharines.ca/committees> and are due by Friday, July 5, by 4 p.m.

The three new committees will report to council through the City’s Social Sustainability Committee. Continue reading →

“While It’s True That The Words ‘Homo’ And ‘Fag’ Are Hurtful And Unacceptable, I Think What The LGBTQIA+ Community Needs To Hear Doug Ford Say That These Words Are Homophobic.”

“I Don’t Know Why Mr. Ford Agreed To Give A Golden Ticket On His Gravy Train To A Man Whose Social Media Feed Was Homophobic.”                                                   – Ontario NDP LGBTQ Issues Critic Terence Kernaghan

An image from an Ontario NDP website

A Statement from Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Party

Posted June 21^st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP LGBTQ Issues Critic Terence Kernaghan Released The Following Statement In Reaction To Doug Ford’s Media Comment On Tyler Albrecht’s Social Media:

“I Understand Doug Ford Has Quietly Called The Slurs Used By His Agent-General Appointee To New York ‘Hurtful And Unacceptable.’ While It’s True That The Words ‘Homo’ And ‘Fag’ Are Hurtful And Unacceptable, I Think What The LGBTQIA+ Community Needs To Hear Doug Ford Say That These Words Are Homophobic. Continue reading →

“Minnie is a tremendously lucky cat, and now, with 8 lives left, this sweet cat will be happy to be reunited with her family soon.” – Kevin Strooband,  Lincoln County Humane Society.

A Report from Kevin Strooband, Executive Director, Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines

Minnie road 50 kilometres on a truck before jumping off, onto the QEW where she was spotted by passersby

Niagara, Ontario – This past Thursday, June 21^st, in a heroic effort to save a cat on the QEW, two passersby stopped and corralled a loose, fearful, domestic short haired, black and white cat.

They had just watched her jump from a moving truck. Fearing injuries, they brought her to a local veterinarian and were advised to attend the Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines. They did so. Continue reading →

Canada’s first cannabis grads make history at Niagara College

Spring Convocation Guest speakers Carolyne Watts and Mike Crawley receive special honours on day four of ceremonies

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

Posted June 21st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – On June 20, the first cohort of 23 students from the Niagara College’s trailblazing Commercial Cannabis Production graduate certificate program were among 600 graduates to cross the stage on day four of NC’s 2019 Spring Convocation ceremonies.

Niagara College’s first ever Cannabis grads. June 2019. All photos courtesy of Niagara College in Welland, Ontario

The first of its kind in Canada, the program was launched in the fall of 2018 to meet a significant demand for qualified, professional workers in Canada’s pioneering cannabis industry. Continue reading →

With Doug Ford in the wheelhouse, no amount of cabinet shuffling will make a difference. The iceberg is out there, looming just over the horizon, with the words; ‘Three More Years and You’re Sunk’ written on the place were you are going to collide and go down.

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 20^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

With recent polls showing Doug Ford scoring popularity numbers lower than those of almost any other Ontario Premier at this early stage of their tenure, he has shuffled and even swelled the number of seats on his cabinet from 21 to 28.

Let me repeat the last part of the above sentence so that it has a little more time to sink in.

The same Doug Ford who has spent the past 12 months cutting and gutting a host of public services, including health care, education and environmental protection, and who has chopped Toronto’s city council in half and is not threatening to shrink the number of municipal councils and councillors in Niagara and other regions of the province, has just increased the size of his cabinet from 21 to 28! Continue reading →

Ford changes cabinet, doesn’t change direction

Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

“Make no mistake: It was Doug Ford that ordered supports to be ripped away from children with autism. It was Doug Ford that decided that thousands of teachers and education workers would be fired. And it was Doug Ford that ordered the cuts to OSAP, legal aid and so much more.”                                                                  – Ontario Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

A News Release from the Office of Ontario Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted June 20^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said with Thursday’s cabinet shuffle, Doug Ford is attempting to throw his own cabinet under the bus for executing cuts that he ordered.

“The problem over the last year wasn’t who was executing Doug Ford’s cuts — it was Doug Ford’s cuts. Today, he had a chance to change direction. Instead, he’s throwing his team under the bus for decisions he made, and changing the roles people will play in executing his failed agenda. Continue reading →

Can you imagine how big a deal it would be if an entire continent announced a plan to abandon the filthy fossil fuels that are choking our skies with carbon? It could really happen — and soon! But we urgently need a massive show of public support from the whole world for the plan,”                                                       – from a Call-Out to all of us from Avaaz, a global campaign network made of of citizens from around the world

A Call for support from the global ciitizens network,  Avaaz

Posted June 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Dear friends,

This is HUGE — Europe’s leaders are about to decide whether to END carbon pollution completely!

If they do it, it’ll be a giant leap towards a safer climate for all. But dirty energy blockers, like Poland, are already trying to derail the plan — and it’s up to us to defend it.

We urgently need a massive show of public support from the whole world for the plan — so let’s build one, and we’ll deliver it to all the key governments before EU leaders meet in days. Add your name now to join the call for 100% clean energy to meet the climate emergency! Continue reading →

“For the Trudeau government to approve this pipeline after declaring a climate emergency makes about as much sense as pouring gasoline on a burning fire.”

A Brief Statement from Greenpeace Canada

Posted June 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In response to the federal Cabinet approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion Greenpeace Canada Climate & Energy campaigner Mike Hudema said:

“For the Trudeau government to approve this pipeline after declaring a climate emergency makes about as much sense as pouring gasoline on a burning fire.

“The climate crisis demands an all-hands-on-deck response to meet the demands of science and justice, not another multi-billion dollar subsidy to the oil industry to make the problem worse. Continue reading →

Close to 60  Members of the United States Congress have joined the call for launching an impeachment inquiry into the allegations of obstruction detailed in the Mueller Report against President Donald Trump

A Statement from  Buffalo, New York Area Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted June 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

“Obstruction of justice is an impeachable offense. The multiple instances of obstruction laid out in the Mueller report necessitate that the House launch an impeachment inquiry.”

“It is our responsibility, as Representatives of the people, to seek out the facts. Beyond the verified instances of obstruction detailed by the Special Counsel, over the past several months, the President has stonewalled every Congressional request and forbid government employees from complying with congressional subpoenas.”

“These actions further seek to obstruct the transparent and lawful government Americans deserve, representing a deliberate irreverence for the Constitution that forces the House to exercise its impeachment responsibility as set forth in Article 1.” Continue reading →

Niagara Falls NDP candidate Brian Barker is running in the Niagara Falls riding in this October’s federal election.

“If you want to create good jobs in Niagara and across our country, you do it by investing in clean, renewable energy to create permanent, high-paying employment opportunities.,”       – Niagara Falls federal NDP candidate Brian Barker

A News Release from the Campaign to Elect Niagara Falls NDP candidate Brian Barker

Posted June 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

NIAGARA FALLS – Niagara Falls NDP candidate Brian Barker affirmed his opposition to the building of the Trans Mountain pipeline and criticized the Trudeau government for their “hypocrisy” following the federal government’s announcement of the Cabinet’s approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project. Continue reading →

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Trans Mountain Expansion will fund Canada’s future clean economy, Trudeau government says

“We have a responsibility to ensure that the decisions we make today move us toward a cleaner, sustainable economy. Major resource projects can move forward, but only if we do so in a way that protects the environment and respects Indigenous rights.”                                                                                                           – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, June 18th, 2019 

A News Release from the Office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted June 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(A Foreword from Niagara At Large – NAL will have much more news and commentary on the federal Liberal government’s decision to support this controversial tar pipe expansion and what it may mean for the future of Canada’s economy, environment and efforts to address the climate crisis in the days and weeks ahead, as we approach this fall’s federal election.

Stay tuned.)

Discussion and debate around this pipeline is bound to figure prominently in the outcome of this October’s federal election.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today (this June 18th, 2019) announced that the Government of Canada has approved the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) and that every dollar the federal government earns from this project will be invested in Canada’s clean energy transition.

The environment and the economy go hand-in-hand. When we create prosperity today, we can invest in the clean jobs, technologies, and infrastructure of the future — and help Canadians benefit from opportunities presented by a rapidly changing economy.

The key to creating prosperity is finding new markets for our businesses to sell their products and services. Nowhere is the need to diversify greater than for our energy sector, where 99 per cent of our conventional resources are sold to one market — and often at large discounts. Continue reading →

Join Us this Wednesday, June 19^th at 6:30 p.m. at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre

An Invite to all from The Friends of One Mile Creek, a group of citizen volunteers working to  revitalize the water, wildlife and natural environment of the One Mile Creek watershed in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Posted June 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Veteran conservationist and environmental consultant Jocelyn Baker is featured speaker

At the June 19 meeting of Friends of One Mile Creek (FOMC), special guest speaker Jocelyn Baker will talk about building sustainable communities, using the One Mile Creek watershed plan as an example.

This is our first FOMC public meeting in several years. We’ve invited speakers to talk about the success of past conservation activities in Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) as well as building sustainable communities and current stewardship opportunities.

We’re pleased to invite Old Town residents and others interested in natural conservation to the meeting in the Mori Nursery Room at the NOTL Community Centre at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, June 19. (Speaker starts at 7 pm). Continue reading →

Walk  takes place on Saturday, June 22^nd, 2019 in Niagara, Ontario

“This is an appropriate way to honour Laura Secord’s legacy and bravery. This year, let’s follow in her footsteps to raise awareness and opportunities for women and children who are victims of war.”                                                                                                              – Valerie Pringle, FLS Honourary Chair / Ontario Chair, Trans Canada Trail Foundation Board

An Invite to You from Friends of Laura Secord

Posted June 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Each year in June, the Friends of Laura Secord host the Laura Secord Walk along the Laura Secord Legacy Trail from Queenston to Thorold (in Niagara, Ontario).

It’s an annual event that recreates her heroic 32 km journey to warn the British of an impending American invasion. Since its inception, thousands of people have walked all or part of the trail to commemorate her legacy. 

his year, we plan to make Laura’s walk even more meaningful. The Laura Secord Walk 2019 will support War Child Canada in their efforts to help thousands of women and children in war-affected areas, through the generational impacts of education, training, and justice. Continue reading →

Burlington’s mayor (Marianne Meed Ward) describes it as “welfare for developers” and an analysis by Environmental Defence found it largely aligns with the requests made to the province by the Ontario Home Builders Association”

This Ford Government legislation also guts protections for Ontario’s heritage sites and endangered species

A News Commentary from Citizens at City Hall (CATCH), based in Hamilton, Ontario

Posted June 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s ‘More Homes, More Choices’ Act gets raked over the coals in the Hamilton/Burlington area. Are there no critics of this legislation at the municipal level in Niagara?

It “came out of nowhere”, changed thirteen statutes, and was pushed through the provincial legislature so fast that city staff could only tell councillors after the fact about the multiple problems it imposes.

Dubbed by the Ford government “the more homes, more choice act”, Bill 108 upends Hamilton’s downtown secondary plan, imposes severe challenges for municipal efforts to rationally plan and pay for growth, and makes it more difficult for citizens to challenge new development.

The winners appear to be land developers and speculators who can avoid the current comprehensive land planning process and have been given new rights to push for urban boundary expansions. Continue reading →

Universal Pharamacre, Dental, Mental Health Care, Affordable Housing are among Top Items on List

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

“Trudeau’s actions don’t match his sales pitch. He could have chosen to help people, but he chose to help his wealthy friends and big corporations instead. And we know Scheer’s Conservatives are no better – they’re only offering more cuts to services.” – Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

A Message from Canada’s federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

Posted June 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

This June 16^th, we unveiled our vision for Canada that will make life better – and more affordable – for people. This is our roadmap to what’s possible – it’s our commitment to Canadians about the kind of choices we’d make.

We’re committed to taking on the health care crisis. Instead of letting our health care get slowly stripped away, we’re fighting for a historic expansion to services – starting with pharmacare that covers everyone, but with a vision to expand further – dental care, vision care, mental health care, addictions and substance abuse care. I know the impact these services can have on families – and what happens when people can’t access them, or have to pay out of pocket. Continue reading →

“Doug Ford continues his attacks on injured workers in Ontario, this time by slashing funding specifically for legal aid offices helping workers injured on the job.”      – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

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

Posted June 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

Queen’s Park — After hurting injured workers in Ontario by cutting employer contributions and opening WSIB to privatization, Doug Ford’s legal aid cuts are another painful attack on workers hurt on the job, said MPP Wayne Gates, the NDP’s WSIB critic.

Gates released the following statement:

“Doug Ford continues his attacks on injured workers in Ontario, this time by slashing funding specifically for legal aid offices helping workers injured on the job. Continue reading →

Stewardson Gregory to receive 2019 Governor General’s Academic Medal at 3 p.m. Convocation Ceremony this June 18^th, 2019

“All my life I’ve known that I want to use my career to help people facing significant life challenges, and support them in making positive life changes.” – Emily Stewardson Gregory, Top Grad for Spring, 2019, Niagara College’s Child and Youth Care program

Top Graduate Emily Stewardson Gregory

News from Niagara College in Niagara, Ontario

Posted June 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

What most defines Emily Stewardson Gregory is her life-long passion for helping those most in need. When the 26 year-old Mississauga native completed her honours Bachelor degree in Sociology from Brock University, she was looking for a way to put that passion, alongside the theoretical knowledge she had gained, to work.

She found that opportunity in Niagara College’s Child and Youth Care<https://www.niagaracollege.ca/community-services-studies/programs/child-youth-care/> program, where she excelled academically. On the afternoon of June 18, Stewardson Gregory will cross the stage at the College’s Spring 2019 Convocation ceremonies as the college’s top grad with an astounding 98.43 per cent grade point average. Continue reading →

The waters of the Niagara Rivers and Great Lakes are cleaner today because of the legal assistance CELA provided citizens groups in Niagara and other regions of the province over the decades. And now Ford and his Tories are slashing CELA’s legal aid funding.

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 14^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Tories are making heads spin with all of the cuts they are making to environmental protection programs in the province.

What if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it? Does it still make a sound?

What if Ontario’s Ford‘s government just kept on cutting and gutting environmental protection services, and too few of us out here raised a voice of protest?

Come on people! 

I know there are at least some of you out there raising hell over the wrecking ball that Doug Ford and his party of right-wing, open-for-business-at-any-cost extremists are taking to up to 50 years worth of environmental programs in this province.

But where are all the rest of you? Do you care about the future? What about your kids or grand-kids? Continue reading →

“Many governments (across Canada) have failed to follow through on earlier promises and some have backtracked on climate policies already put in place.”     – Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, senior researcher, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

A Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a non-profit, public policy think tank 

Posted June 13th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa—As Canadians from coast to coast to coast grapple with record-breaking wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events, a new report (https://t.e2ma.net/click/hnnkpb/5tge1g/xn20dh) finds that many Canadian governments—at both the federal and provincial level—are moving in the wrong direction on climate policy.

Melting habitat leaves polar bears starving and dying

The study, co-published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change research program (ACW), assesses the climate policy progress of Canadian governments over the past two years with respect to long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions.

“Overall, Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate are less comprehensive and less ambitious than even two years ago,” says report author and CCPA senior researcher Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood. “Many governments have failed to follow through on earlier promises and some have backtracked on climate policies already put in place.” Continue reading →

Failing to display gas pump stickers is equal to         ammo buying ID fraud, according to Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford (right) with pro anti-carbon tax, pro tar sands ally and federal Tory leader Andrew Scheer. Ford is ordering gas stations in Ontario to put anti-carbon tax stickers on their pumps weeks before this October’s federal election.

“Ford is blowing public money on partisan stickers to help his buddy (federal Tory leader) Andrew Scheer get elected, and putting business owners at risk of conviction and fines just to make sure he gets his way.” – Ontario’s New Democratic Party 

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition/NDP Party

Posted June 13^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, railing against feds putting a price on climate-changing carbon pollution

QUEEN’S PARK — With Doug Ford’s new law, gas stations that fail to display Ford’s anti-carbon-price stickers on every pump face prosecution under the Provincial Offenses Act, matching the punishment for using a fake ID to stock up on gun ammunition.

“According to Ford, failing to display his Conservative propaganda on gas pumps is as bad as using a fake ID to stock up on gun ammunition, or selling cigarettes in child care centres and schools – offences prosecuted under the Provincial Offenses Act that also carry a $10,000 fine,” said Marit Stiles, NDP MPP for Davenport.

“It’s outrageous, and it’s chilling for everyone in Ontario – especially business owners.”

Continue reading →

This June is Seniors’ Month in Ontario

“Most recently, our government announced the launch of a government-wide seniors strategy to help improve the lives of seniors. We are moving forward with our commitment to do what’s right by Ontario’s aging population, while growing jobs and the economy.”                                                                                      – Niagara West MPP and Ford Government member Sam Oosterhoff

A Message form Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted June 13^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West MPP and Ford government member Sam Oosterhoff

Seniors built our home, our community, our Niagara, and June is a time to celebrate them-recognizing the contributions they have made and the lives they have impacted across generations.

I am truly grateful for the seniors who contribute so much to the vibrant community that is Niagara West. Without them, our home would not be home. Seniors are the fastest growing demographic across the province.

At the current rate of growth, by 2023, this population will grow by 700,000 to 3 million seniors. This fundamental change in Ontario’s demographics means new challenges and new opportunities for the province. 

We know that seniors want to remain active, live independently at home for as long as they can, work, volunteer, learn, shop or travel. Yet many seniors face challenges accessing programs and services that support their safety, mental and physical health, and overall well-being.  Continue reading →

“I have heard from our businesses, community and union partners across Niagara, as have my colleagues in this House, that there is an immediate and severe lack of skilled tradespeople. It is critical that Canada develops a national skilled trades strategy and works with our partners to identify labour shortages across the country.”                                                                – Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

News from the Niagara Centre Constituency Office of Federal MP Vance Badawey

Posted June 13^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – This June 12th, Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, introduced his Private Member’s Motion M-227, which states:

That the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) be instructed to undertake a study of the creation of a federal trades strategy, to consider, amongst other things: Continue reading →

Reminder about Trivia Night- Saturday, June 22^nd – to Save Waverly Woods

One of the many residents of Waverly Woods in Fort Erie, Ontario, now a target for urban sprawl

A Call–Out from Marcie Jacklin, Fort Erie, Canada

Posted June 13th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Hello everyone.

Just a reminder about Trivia Night on June 22. Book your table now and join the fun. The poster can be found here https://sites.google.com/view/communityvoicesfe/home/trivia-night?authuser=0

A path through Waverly Woods

Doors open at 6 and Trivia starts at 7. The cost is $15 with a maximum of 8 on a team. There will be a cash prize for the winning table and a silent auction and 50/50 draw. The location is the Royal Canadian Legion on 130 Garrison Road in Fort Erie.

Tickets can be purchased via triviacv@gmail.com .

Come out and test your trivia skills and help to raise money to Save Waverly Woods.

If anyone has a suitable prize for the silent auction please email c .

See you there!

Click on the following link to sign a petition to Save Waverly Woods – https://www.change.org/p/ten-story-condo-going-up-in-waverly-woods .

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

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

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

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

“I simply can’t imagine the world will ever be normal for us again. I do talk about “after the war,” but it’s as if I were talking about a castle in the air – something that can never come true.”   – from the diary of Anne Frank, written November 8^th, 1943.

A Commentary by  Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted June 12^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

I was informed late this June 12^th by a radio broadcaster I was listening to that, Anne Frank, the 14 year old Jewish girl who left the world such moving and insightful diary notes before being taken to a Nazi concentration camp where she died before the end of the Second World War, would have turned 90 years old on this day.

In other words, Anne Frank might very well still be alive today, with children and grandchildren celebrating her birthday with her, and given her obvious gift for writing, possibly with a stack of best-selling, award-winning books to her name, like a Margaret Atwood if she wrote fiction, or a Doris Kearns Goodwin or Barbara Tuchman if she chose to be a chronicler of history or people’s lives.

And speaking of people’s lives, it is heart-wrenching to think of how much life Anne Frank and so many millions of others were robbed of by the dark forces of those times.

Anne Frank at her writing desk.

The words from Anne Frank’s diary, posted above, were quoted by Lawrence O’Donnell, a lawyer, author and former U.S. senatorial aide, and now host of a current affairs program on the cable news channel MSNBC, in a commentary he  delivered late this past April about shades of those dark forces at work in his own country, the United States, with Trump at the helm.

I am posting a video of Lawrence O’Donnell’s must-see commentary for you to click on below.

And as you watch the video, as I hope you do, don’t think that shades of those dark forces could not appear here in Canada too because, to make a play n the title of Sinclair Lewis’s 1935, recently reprized political novel, we in Canada are approaching our ‘it can happen here’ moment. Continue reading →

Ontario NDP MPPs call on Ford to reverse legal aid cuts as details of devastating impact emerge

‘Doug Ford’s cuts to Legal Aid Ontario will have a devastating an impact on low-income people who need legal help.’

News from Ontario’s Offical Opposition NDP Party

Posted June 12^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

As the cuts to services for people keep coming, now Ontario’s Ford government takes aim at legal aid services so often needed by people on lower incomes.

QUEEN’S PARK — Sara Singh, Ontario NDP Attorney General critic, and Bhutila Karpoche, NDP MPP for Parkdale-High Park, said news today of where Doug Ford’s cuts to Legal Aid Ontario will fall show just how devastating an impact the cuts will have for low-income people who need legal help.

The cuts will rip away $15 million in funding from community legal clinics across the province. Of that total, $2 million is being clawed back from 14 community legal clinics in Toronto. Parkdale Community Legal Services alone is losing $1 million in funding.

“I am devastated to think about the low-income residents in Parkdale who will be unable to access justice as a result of these callous cuts,” said Karpoche. Continue reading →

“This Accord is a call to action, challenging organizations to support and promote greater gender diversity and equity in the workplace.” – City of St. Catharines CAO Shelley Chemnitz

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

Posted June 12^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – St. Catharines is one of the first Canadian municipalities to sign the Leadership Accord on Gender Diversity. 

At St. Catharines City Council on Monday night, City officials joined Kathy Lerette, senior vice-president of Business Transformation at Alectra Utilities to demonstrate a public commitment to support gender diversity in the workplace.

St. Catharines is one of the first municipalities to sign the Leadership Accord on Gender Diversity, an initiative launched by Electricity Human Resources Canada to demonstrate a public commitment to support gender diversity in the workplace. Pictured are, from left, Kathy Lerette, senior vice-president of Business Transformation at Alectra Utilities and vice-chair of the board of directors for Electricity Human Resources Canada; St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik and City of St. Catharines CAO Shelley Chemnitz. Photo courtesy of the City of St. Catharines

The City was asked by Electricity Human Resources Canada to be one of the first municipal signatories to the initiative, joining more than 60 organizations which have signed. St. Catharines joins Vaughan, becoming the second municipal partner in the province to sign the Accord. Continue reading →

Ban Comes After More Than 30 Years of Public Protest at Amusement Parks like Marineland in Niagara Falls

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted June 11th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Animal welfare activists demonstrating this May 18th, on opening day in front of Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario

When I first heard the news earlier this June 11^th that Bill S-203 – known as the “Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act” or more commonly as the “Free Willy Act” after the whale that was freed from a marine aquarium in a 1990s Hollywood movie – was passed by a majority in Canada’s parliament this June 10^th, I was tempted to begin this commentary with a play on words from the last line of the late Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

“Free at last. Free at last Thank God Almighty, Willy is free at last.”

But then that seems far too trite for such a milestone moment in the long and sorry history of keeping marine mammals in captivity in Canada, and it isn’t even completely correct.

It is true that if this newly passed ban is not overturned if Andrew Scheer’s Tories get elected in this October’s federal election, amusement parks like Marineland in Niagara Falls and the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia will no longer be able to breed marine mammals that they have or to take any more in that have been plucked from their ocean homes.

Large numbers of protesters from across Ontario gather in front of Marineland on Labour Day weekend last year.

However, they will be able to keep the animals they now have, unless they ship them off to other countries like Spain, where captivity is still allowed, and Marineland still reportedly has quite a few beluga whales and the only remaining orca (improperly called “killer whales”) in their Niagara Falls display facilities. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the  Niagara Folk Arts and Multicultural Centre

Posted June 11th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

We hope you will join us as we stand in solidarity with our community brothers and sisters and if you are unable to join, please share with your networks.

The agenda will be as follows:

•    – Opening remarks from Tamer Abdalla, Sudanese Association of          Niagara
•    – Chris Bittle, MP
•    – Regional or municipal representative (TBC)
•    – Karrie Porter, St. Catharines
•    – Emily Kovacs, NFAMC
•    – Poem and closing remarks

The Sudanese Association will be handing out flyers with information, a petition to sign, candles and a book to include messages of encouragement for the community.

Regards,

*Claudia Rothman Gonzalez, She/Her/Hers*, Community Connections Coordinator, Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre <http://www.folk-arts.ca/>

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

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

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

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

A “Main Street Ontario” segment on The Standard will appear on TVO’s public affairs program ‘The Agenda’, this Wednesday, June 12th at 8:50 p.m.

A News Commentary  by Doug Draper, a former reporter at The St. Catharines Standard, now publisher of Niagara At Large

Posted June 11^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Henry Burgoyne, a member of the Burgoyne family that founded The St. Catharines Standard in the late 1800s and the best publisher I think a journalist could hope to work for. The Burgoyne family sold the paper in 1996,and, to put it mildy, things were never the same.

Twenty-one years ago this spring, most of the reporters, photographers and copy editors at The St. Catharines Standard, including this journalist, were out on a first ever strike against the new owner of the more than century old newspaper that, for many of us, was not about wages or benefits.

It was about to protect were left of the resources we needed to cover news in the region well, and it was about saving the very heart and soul of the newspaper itself.

In my view the strike was mostly a failure in that successive owners of the paper over the past two decades, beginning with the now former media baron Conrad Black, took a newsroom that once employed more than 40 full-time people and cut it down to less than 10. 

A culling of that magnitude made it  it virtually impossible to give areas of coverage  like education, labour, health care, police and courts, the environment and even municipal governance the every-day-of-the week, every-week-of-the-year the attention they require to let the powers-that-be know that they are being well watched, and to give residents across the region the information they deserve and that they need to more effectively participate in a democracy. Continue reading →

A Citizens Group is Raising Concerns that the plan could lead to contaminating groundwater in Port Colborne and Surrounding Communities

Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

June 11^th, 2019

Niagara At Large is posting the following notice from a Port Colborne area citizens group about a public meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, June 11^th starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Brebeuf Hall on 300 Killaly St., East in Port Colborne.

The company proposing to deposit what it insists will be “clean fill” in open pits off Highway 140 is Port Colborne Quarries’ owner, Rankin Construction, that has arguably had a long-time record of being one of the better or best companies of its kind around when it comes to carrying out its operations in a responsible manner.

And in this case, the company insists that the fill it brings in will be tested before it is dumped in the quarries to make sure it is not contaminated with anything that is harmful to the surrounding environment including, water.

The problem the company has is that many citizens do not necessarily buy these assurances. Continue reading →

Canada to ban harmful single-use plastics and hold companies responsible for plastic waste

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing his Liberal government’s plan to phase out single-use plastics

“We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to com     – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

“We’ve all seen the disturbing images of fish, sea turtles, whales, and other wildlife being injured or dying because of plastic garbage in our oceans. Canadians expect us to act. That’s why our government intends to ban harmful single-use plastic products where science warrants it,”                                                                   – Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna

Plastic waste washing up along the shores of our Great Lakes

   “The health of our oceans is vital to the economic, cultural, and social well-being of Canada’s coastal communities. We know plastic pollution harms Canada’s oceans, wildlife communities and economy. It’s a problem we simply can’t afford to ignore.”     – Canada’s Minister of Fisheries & Ocieans, Johnathan Wilkinson

A News Release from Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau,  Canada’s Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, and Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Jonathan Wilkinson

Posted June 10^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Plastic pollution is a global challenge that requires immediate action.Plastic waste ends up in our landfills and incinerators, litters our parks and beaches, and pollutes our rivers, lakes, and oceans, entangling and killing turtles, fish, and marine mammals.

Less than 10 per cent of plastic used in Canada gets recycled. Without a change in course, Canadians will throw away an estimated $11 billion worth of plastic materials each year by 2030.

We’ve reached a defining moment, and this is a problem we simply can’t afford to ignore.

That is why the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the Government of Canada is taking additional steps to reduce Canada’s plastic waste, support innovation, and promote the use of affordable and safe alternatives. Continue reading →

“This Conservative government has taken Ontario back in time. It’s reversed progress on education and the environment. It’s made the lives of working people worse.” – Riley Peterson, the Broadbent Institute

News from The Broadbent Institute of Canada, a leading independent organization championing progressive change

Posted June 10, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford. A year later, are you better off than you were a year ago

One year ago this June 7th, Premier Doug Ford was elected on a false majority. 58% of voters chose a decidedly different course of action than the direction this government has gone.

This Conservative government has taken Ontario back in time. It’s reversed progress on education and the environment. It’s made the lives of working people worse.

To mark this one year anniversary, we’ve indexed some of the worst statistics of Premier Ford and his Conservative government.

See the full index here <http://broadbentinstitute.ca/one-year-of-ford>. If you find it helpful,  please share it on social media using the hashtags #FordIndex and #ONpoli . Continue reading →

Working for you to make life more affordable and protect front-line services

‘Over the past year, the government has kept the promises it made to the people of Ontario. They include restoring trust, accountability, and transparency; putting more money in people’s pockets; cleaning up the hydro mess; cutting hospital wait times; and making Ontario open for business and open for jobs.’

A News Release from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Posted June 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

TORONTO — Today (this past June 7^th) , Premier Doug Ford renewed the government’s commitment to respect taxpayers, encourage job creation, and put people first on the one-year anniversary since taking office.

Over the past year, the government has kept the promises it made to the people of Ontario. They include restoring trust, accountability, and transparency; putting more money in people’s pockets; cleaning up the hydro mess; cutting hospital wait times; and making Ontario open for business and open for jobs. Continue reading →

“The best argument against democracy is five-minute conversation with the average (Doug Ford) voter.” – a play on a quote from Winston Churchill, with apologies to the iconic British statesman

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted June 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

“Wow! I’ll tell you. … Wow!

“Thank you so much my friends. … I will never forget the trust you have placed in me. …. This victory belongs to the people and tonight the people of Ontario have sent a clear message. … a message of hope and prosperity and a vision of a government that works for the people.”

Those were Doug Ford’s opening words to a hall full of cheering supporters a year ago this June 7^th, when his Ontario Conservatives won enough seats in the 2018 provincial election to be sworn in as a majority government – what he and his members continue to call a “Government for the People” – on June 29^th of last year.

So okay then friends (If I may be so bold as to use the same word he does to address us all), how are you feeling a year after an election that made Doug Ford Ontario’s premier?

One of Doug Ford’s supporters, overcome with tears of joy on the night of June 7th, 2018, after the results came in, showing that Ford had won a majority government

Are you feeling more hopeful and prosperous now? Are you feeling like you’ve finally got yourself a government you can trust? … A true “government for the people”?

And what “people” is Ford’s government is really working for?

Maybe it is working for the shareholders of corporations who were among the first to experience a little more prosperity from the government’s corporate tax cuts> Then there are all of the land speculators and developers who may benefit from the all of the environmental and planning rules and regulations that the Ford government is gutting so that they don’t get in the way of bulldozing and paving over just about any green area they want. Continue reading →

Niagara communities of Fenwick and Wellandport identified in expansion of choice and convenience

“By opening up more alcohol retail outlets across the province, we are not only making life easier for people, we are enabling growth and job creation.” – Niagara West MPP and Ford government member Sam Oosterhoff

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted June 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

FENWICK – The Government of Ontario is putting people first and improving

Niagara West MPP and Ford government member Sam Oosterhoff

choice and convenience by expanding sales of beverage alcohol to nearly 300 new retail outlets across Ontario – many opening this summer.

Today, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West announced that Fenwick and Wellandport are among communities eligible to host some of the new stores.

“These stores will provide consumers with greater choice and convenience, while offering craft brewers and wineries with greater reach and visibility,” said Oosterhoff.

“By opening up more alcohol retail outlets across the province, we are not only making life easier for people, we are enabling growth and job creation. Our government’s Open for Business, Open for Jobs approach is about promoting competition, and establishing fairness for everyone, from small craft brewers, cider and wine producers to the large beer producers.” Continue reading →

Ford Government’s “More Homes, More Choice Act” Guts Protections for Ontario’s Most Vulnerable Plants and Animals

Passed by Ford’s MPPs June 6^th – One Day after World Environment Day – the Act allows “those with a vested, short-term economic interest in sprawl development now have free rein to bulldoze, dig up and pave over the habitats of our most vulnerable plants and animals.” – Kelsey Scarfone, program manager, Environmental Defence.

A News Release from four of Canada’s major environmental groups – Ontario Nature, the David Suzuki Foundation and Environmental Defence and Earth Roots

Posted June 6, 2019 on Niagara At Large

ONTARIO — Today (this June 6^th) the Government of Ontario passed the More Homes, More Choice Act, a law that opens significant wildlife habitat to sprawl development through amendments to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA).

The amendments give new powers to the Minister to delay, limit and remove protections for at-risk species. Further, it creates numerous, overlapping pathways for developers and industrialists to dodge critical requirements.

These images are making the rounds on social media as the Ford government moved forward with plans to pull the teeth out of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act on behalf of developers bent on paving over what is left of our natural heritage. For Ford MPPs and supporters, it was mission accomplished this June 6th with passage of Ford’s “More Homes, More Choices Act.”

“The Endangered Species Act has been torn to shreds,” says Kelsey Scarfone, program manager with Environmental Defence. “Those with a vested, short-term economic interest in sprawl development now have free rein to bulldoze, dig up and pave over the habitats of our most vulnerable plants and animals.” Continue reading →

Now it up to the rest of us – today, tomorrow and onward into the future – to stand ready to protect and preserve the democratic freedoms that they stormed those blood-washed beaches for

The bloody battle unfolds for Canadians on the shores of Normandy, France on June 6th, 1944

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

Posted June 6th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

“You are about to embark on the Great Crusade. … The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower, General  and Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe to the roughly 150,000 Canadian, British and American soldiers, sailors and airmen fighting on and above the beaches of Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6th, 1944

Seventy-five years ago this June 6th, roughly 21, 400 young Canadians joined many tens-of-thousands of their British and American counterparts in storming the beaches of Normandy, France in what many knew at the time was a do or die campaign against the forces of fascism and the murderous evil embodied in Hitler’s  Nazi regime.

At a cemetary in Normandy, France, some of the graves of Canadian soldiers who fell on D-Day, June 6th, 1944

Before that “longest day” was over, 359 Canadian soldiers would be killed along with thousands of their counterparts on five beaches – Juno, Sword, Gold, Omaha and Utah – stretching along Normandy’s Atlantic shore.

More than 5,000 Canadians would die before the Battle of Normandy would be over in mid-July, setting the stage for allied troops to push on to Germany and finally put an end to the Hitler holocaust the following spring.

One of the many good books written about D-Day.

Seventy-fifth anniversary commemorations of that do-or die campaign for freedom against fascism – originally dubbed ‘Operation Overlord’  by its allied planners and known to most of us as D-Day – have been taking place this June 6^th along the beaches of Normandy, France ,and in numerous cities and towns across Canada ,the United States, Great Britain and other parts of the world.

And compared to the earlier milestone anniversaries for what the Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower also called ‘the Great Crusade’ – those held 25, 30, 40, 50 or even 70 years later – it is strikingly sad to see how few of the veterans who fought on those beaches or on any of the other battlefields of the Second World War are left to join in the ceremonies.

Most of them are gone now and as a veteran newspaper reporter in Niagara who covered many Remembrance Days and Second World War commemorations over the year, almost every single one of the residents of this region who were veterans of those campaigns, and who I came to know and respect over the years, are here no more.

Some of the young Canadians taking a brief rest as they fight their way inland during the Battle of Normandy, 75 years ago this June and July. More than 5,000 Canadians died before the campaign was over.

So it is up to the rest of us, and to younger generations of Canadians to stand on guard for the democratic freedoms they so bravely fought for.

I will admit that I  found myself thinking  of the selfless and heroic service of so many of these courageous men and women – members of what American journalist has called ‘the Greatest Generation’ –  many times over the last four or five years as I watched some of our politicians in Niagara  and some of those holding key administrative positions in government conduct themselves in ways that were an insult and an affront to the values of democracy and selfless public service that those great people fought and died for.

It often filled me with feelings of anger and disgust to watch this, and it is a reminder that we cannot take the democratic freedoms that were fought for on the beaches of Normandy for granted.

The best way of honouring those brave veterans is to promise ourselves and promise each other that we will pick up the torch and continue the fight to protect and preserve those democratic freedoms. 

If we truly value, as we should the democratic freedoms that we are fortunate to have, we dare not let these brave heroes who were willing to risk everything to preserve them down.

It is our duty to them to stand up for those values every single day.

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

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

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

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