Niagara At Large

“This ruling is a victory for our democracy and for the people of this region.” – Ed Smith , executive director of A Better Niagara, a citizen’s watchdog group that brought a case for at least 12 NPCA board members for Niagara to court

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

Posted December 21^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Saying that the “chaos” at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has got to end, an Ontario Superior Court Justice rule in a Welland courtroom this December 21^st that the 12 new members Niagara’s Regional Council appointed to the NPCA’s board earlier this month “are members of the board” and the old members “are not.”

Ontario Superior Court Justice rules that  the members of the NPCA’s old board, shown here in 2017, are NPCA board members no more, and that Niagara Region’s appointment earlier this December of 12 new members is valid.

“I think that the court has to make some sort of order immediately. The present situation is intolerable,” said Justice James Ramsey in answer to a claim A Better Niagara, a region-wide citizen’s group, filed with court this December 18^th, supporting the Regional Council’s appointment of 12 members to the NPCA board and opposing a claim by some members of the past board that Niagara can only have five members.

“The constitutional order”needs to be restored,” added the judge of the questions and concerns swirling around who is responsible for decision-making at the NPCA.  “The governance of the Conservation Authority cannot remain in chaos.”

“Niagara Region has 12 constituent lower municipalities (and) it can appoint at least 12 members to the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority,” ruled Justice Ramsay before ending this way – Continue reading →

EMERGENCY ALERT: GOVERNMENT’S CORMORANT “ERADICATION” PLAN DANGEROUS, WASTEFUL AND REGRESSIVE Ontario government proposal is not a wildlife management

PLEASE SPEND 10 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME PROVIDING INPUT

A Call-Out to All from Zoocheck, a Canada-based international wildlife protection organization

Posted December 21, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Government of Ontario is proposing a “hunt” of double-crested cormorants that could easily eradicate this important, ecologically beneficial native waterbird from most of the province.

The Government is proposing to:

• designate double-crested cormorants as a “game” species,
• create a province-wide annual hunting season from March 15 until Dec 31,
• allow anyone holding a valid Ontario Outdoors Card and small game hunting license to kill up to 50 cormorants per day (1,500 per month or more than 14,000 per season),
• including nesting parents and,
  allow the carcasses to spoil (i.e., rot),
• designate double-crested cormorants as a “game” species,
• create a province-wide annual hunting season from March 15 until Dec 31,
• allow anyone holding a valid Ontario Outdoors Card and small game hunting license to kill up to 50 cormorants per day (1,500 per month or more than 14,000 per season),
• including nesting parents and,allow the carcasses to spoil (i.e., rot).
• 

Continue reading →

First phase of construction includes lower level retail and concourse areas, and Elements on the Falls restaurant

Table Rock will remain open during construction with temporary closures taking place of the north retail store and Elements

News from Ontario’s Niagara Parks Commission

Posted December 21^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – Niagara Parks is investing in its flagship Table Rock Centre through a multi-million-dollar redevelopment project to fully renew its retail, culinary and attraction offerings and better enhance the true sense of arrival and experience for the millions of guests who begin their travel journeys at Table Rock each year.

One of Niagara Parks’ most famous and well-known sites, the historic Table Rock Centre is perched atop the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, acting as an important gathering point and hub of activity for visitors from throughout the world. Continue reading →

Niagara’s 12 New NPCA Board Members Must Be Allowed To Get To Work – ASAP!

“We believe recent actions taken by the NPCA are not only interfering with a timely and orderly appointment of new Board members to the NPCA, but are undermining our democracy and are further jeopardizing Niagara’s green heritage,” – Ed Smith, a St. Catharines resident and executive director of the region-wide citizen’s group, A Better Niagara .

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

Posted December 20^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A whole week has gone by since Niagara’s recently sworn-in Regional Council directed 12 regional councillors it appointed to the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) to hold a special meeting of the board no later than this Thursday, December 20^th – all with an aim to addressing, as soon as possible, the many problems besieging and bogging down this agency in the very important role it is supposed to play in protecting and conserving what is left of our region’s natural heritage.

This doctored image of the building in Welland where the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has its headquarters seems fitting at a time when at least some of the old guard at the NPCA seem unwilling to make way for a new board of directors. The image was originally posted on a Facebook page by Peter gill, a retired Niagara Regional Police officer who regularly comments on municipal politics in Niagara.

Now here we are. It’s December 20^th at the time of this posting and as at least some of you who have been following the sad saga of the NPCA already know, what some have taken to calling an “emergency meeting” of Niagara’s 12 new board members has not taken, and possibly won’t through what remains of this holiday season.

Why no meeting when so many citizens across this region have been hoping and praying for such a thing to bring the NPCA back on track? Continue reading →

“If Doug Ford won’t do the right thing, when will someone in his government stand up to him and tell him that providing off-the-books perks to the premier is not the job of the Ontario Provincial Police?”

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposiion and NDP

Posted December 19th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — This past Tuesday (December 18th), Doug Ford confirmed that he, in fact, demanded the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) buy him a custom camper van, from his preferred source, built to his specifications, and hide the expense from Ontarians.

This Wednesday (December 19th), NDP MPP for Essex, Taras Natyshak, said Ford’s excuse — that a “used” camper would have been acceptable — does not make Ford’s secret order ok.

“Yesterday Doug Ford defended his office’s order that the OPP buy a custom camper van for him, and keep the costs of this vehicle off the books,” said Natyshak. “According to Mr. Ford, the OPP could have easily acquired a used recreational camper van, probably off of Kijiji or something. Continue reading →

A News Release from the Constituency Office of St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

Posted December 19^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

QUEEN’S PARK — The NDP MPP for St. Catharines, Jennie Stevens, has asked the Conservative Minister of Transportation for a response to her urgent request to fund a suicide prevention barrier on the Burgoyne Bridge, in her riding of St. Catharines.

“In October, two people died after jumping from the Burgoyne Bridge in St. Catharines. Today (this December 18th), we are mourning the loss of another life in our community,” wrote Stevens in an open letter to Minister Jeff Yurek. Continue reading →

How About As Many As 27 Board Members for Niagara and the same old Two for Hamilton and One for Halidmand?

City of Hamilton Representatives Are Now Claiming It Should Have Four Members, Haldimand Should Have Two, and Niagara Should Have As Few As Five

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 18^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Hamilton’s city council is perched to give final approval to a motion this coming Wednesday that would double the number of members it has on the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) from two to four, while allowing two members for Haldimand County, and only five for Niagara.

How many board members from Niagara, Hamilton and Haldimand will now get to sit around this table.

That would give members representing the eastern, rural areas of Hamilton and Haldimand a majority on the board if they chose to vote as a block of six, even though close to 80 per cent of the watershed that falls under the NPCA’s jurisdiction is located within the urban boundaries of Niagara.

It would also make for a major change in the makeup of an NPCA board that for more than two decades now has had two members from Hamilton, one from Haldimand, and 12 from each one of the local municipalities in Niagara where – again – most of the watershed the Conservation Authority is responsible for looking after is located. Continue reading →

“Funds raised at the Rankin Cancer Run are integral to the work being done here at Niagara Health. Over the years, critical patient care equipment like Vital Signs Monitors, Ultrasounds,  Beds, Treatment Chairs and upgrades to vital technology have been funded through the Rankin Cancer Run. The impact of the event on local healthcare through the years has been truly awe-inspiring.”                                                                                                     – Niagara Health Foundation President & CEO Roger Ali

News from Niagara Health (formerly known as the Niagara Health System)

Posted December 18th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – On May 26, 2018, more than 14,000 people participated in the 13th Annual Rankin Cancer Run, raising an extraordinary $1.15 million for cancer care in Niagara. Today, Niagara Health Foundation was presented with a remarkable $800,000 of those funds, which will be used to support cancer care at Niagara Health. Continue reading →

News from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour

Posted December 18th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – Convicted: Welded Tube of Canada Limited, 111 Rayette Road, Concord, Ontario (registered office), a multi-faceted cold formed carbon steel and high strength low alloy steel tubular producer.

Location: The company’s facility at 191 Ridge Road in Welland, Ontario.

Description of Offence: A worker was injured after a one-ton steel pipe came into contact with a worker. The injury was a result of the injured worker being unable to communicate with another worker due to the poor quality of the two-way radios being used. Continue reading →

“Effective immediately Chris Carter, General Manager; Peter Wadsworth, Director of Human Resources; Jason Tamming Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs and Domenic Ursini, Director of Economic Development, are no longer with Niagara Region.” – a statement released late this December 17^th by Niagara Region

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

Posted December 17^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

If it was change Niagara voters went to the polls for in this past October’s municipal elections, they are getting it – fast.

St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk, right) being ordered out of Niagara regional headequarters a year ago this December after his computer was wrongfully seized. Ontario’s Ombudsman Office eventually ruled the actions against the reporter to be unlawfully. The Region’s then general manager, Chris Carter, second from right, was one of five individuals who were let go at the Region this December 17th.  File photo by Emily Beth Spanton.

In a statement Niagara At Large received form the Region shortly before 5 p.m. this December 7^th, it was confirmed that earlier in the day five key staff members at Niagara’s regional headquarters saw their jobs disappear, “effective immediately,” while others have been appointed, in the interim, to serve in their place.

All five of the individuals let go were hired over the past four years and during a term of Niagara Regional Council, led by then chair Al Caslin, that became increasing controversial. Continue reading →

Niagara At Large Will Report More Details On This When We Receive Official Confirmation from the Region

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

Posted December 17^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Regional Headquarters

Less than two weeks after the swearing in of Niagara’s new Regional Chair Jim Bradley and Council, there are reports on social media this December 17^th that individuals in key senior positions in the regional government have been  let go.

At least five individuals have apparently been shown the door this December 17^th in what appears to be a major shake-up at the senior level. Due to the seriousness of an action  like this for peoples’ reputation and lives, Niagara At Large will not be identifying anyone who has reportedly been let go until we have received official confirmation from the Region. Continue reading →

“Enough is enough. … We need to get in there as soon as possible and start cleaning house.” – St. Catharines regional councillor and recently appointed NPCA board member Brian Heit

News by Doug Draper

Posted December 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Reports of former Port Colborne regional councillor and NPCA operations manager David Barrick suddenly being hire to serve as the next CAO of the Conservation Authority has triggered yet another wave of public outrage.

Niagara’s new Regional Council has approved steps to move as quickly as possible to end the turmoil at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

In a motion the council passed following a closed session this December 13^th, Niagara’s 12 recently appointed interim members of the NPCA’s boar have been directly to call on the board’s current co-chair, James Kaspersetz (a board member representing the City of Hamilton) to hold a special meeting no later than Thursday, December 20^th.

The Region’s Clerk has also been directed to send a letter to all of Niagara’s outgoing NPCA board members, including former regional councillors Sandy Annunziata of Fort Erie, Bruce Timms of St. Catharines, Brian Baty of Pelham, Tony Quirk of Grimsby and others, “that their term on the board is complete.”

Many hope that change will come to the NPCA, making protest rallies like this, outside one of the Conservation Authority’s monthly board meetings, far less common in the future. File photo by Doug Draper

Those steps and others approved by the Region’s council this December 13^th follow in the wake of news that David Barrick, a former Port Colborne regional councillor has reportedly been fired from his job as the NPCA’s operations administrator, then rehired as its chief administrative officer (CAO) by an outgoing board that may no longer have any legal authority to make such decisions. Continue reading →

Kelly Edgar is finally sworn in to serve another term on Niagara Region’s council

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

Posted December 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines Regional Councillor Kelly Edgar is back.

Here, in my view anyway, is one of the best pieces of news on the municipal scene in Niagara since the new Regional Council appointed Jim Bradley Chair this past December 6^th.

This December 13^th, at the first full meeting of Niagara Regional Council, Kelly Edgar was finally sworn in to serve a second term as a regional councillor for St. Catharines.

Kelly Edgar was one of a handful of regional councillors who had the backbone to stand up against what became commonly known as Al Caslin’s cabal during the last term of regional council. Continue reading →

New Morning and Evening Train Service Will Start Four Years Ahead of Schedule

“This is great news for people in Niagara Region.Weekday GO train service between Niagara Falls and Toronto will help connect the region and create new business opportunities.”            – Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

News from Ontario’s Ford Government and Ministry of Transportation

Posted December 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines, Ontario  — Ontario’s Government for the People continues to deliver on its promise to get people moving faster by adding regular weekday GO train service to Niagara Falls and St. Catharines for the first time.

Today (this December 14th), Jeff Yurek, Minister of Transportation, Kinga Surma, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP Niagara West, along with Leslie Woo, Chief Planning and Development Officer, Metrolinx, visited the rail station in St. Catharines to announce that the government will introduce long-asked-for weekday GO train service to Niagara Falls and St. Catharines on the Lakeshore West line. Continue reading →

A Statement from Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley

Posted December 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ron Tripp, Niagara Region’s Commissioner of Public Works, has been appointed the Region’s acting CAO

“At our meeting on Dec. 13, 2018 Niagara Regional Council appointed Ron Tripp to the position of acting Chief Administrative Officer for the Niagara Region while current CAO Carmen D’Angelo is on leave. This appointment is effective immediately.

While Ron Tripp is in the position of Acting CAO, Catherine Habermebl will assume the position of Acting Commissioner of Public Works.

On behalf of Niagara Regional Council I would like to thank both Mr. Tripp and Ms. Habermebl for accepting these positions and look forward to working with them on the continued delivery of the important programs and services provided by Niagara Region.”

– Jim Bradley, Niagara Regional Chair

Continue reading →

Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

December 13^th, 2018

David Barrick

Niagara’s new Regional Council was in session this December 13^th, discussing how appointments to the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) should be done in the future, when a few of us attending the session discovered a story that had just popped up on the internet.

“Barrick fired by NPCA, rehired, appointed as CAO – Former Port Colborne councillor’s hiring subject of Auditor General’s report earlier this year,” read the headline in the St. Catharines Standard story.

Fired, then rehired and appointed CAO?

Under whose authority?

Continue reading →

City of Hamilton Councillors Vote for Four Members on Board of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority – Up From Two

According to Province’s Conservation Act, Niagara Should Only Have Five Members, Not Twelve, says  Hamilton Councillor

News from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted December 12^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara’s new Regional Council and 12 local councils may have to take another look at how many representatives they can appoint to seats on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors.

For more than two decades now, the NPCA board has operated with a total of 15 members – 12 appointed by municipalities in Niagara, two appointed by the City of Hamilton and one appointed by Haldimand County.

There could soon be a big change in the number of members sitting around this NPCA board table, and in the number of representatives Niagara has sitting on the board. File photo by Doug Draper

A motion passed unanimously by Hamilton city councillors at a general issues committee meeting this December 12^th aims to force a huge change in those numbers.

The motion, tabled by Hamilton Councillor Brenda Johnson, calls for Hamilton to now appoint four members to the NPCA board – two councillors and two members of the public – and Johnson told Niagara At Large in a phone interview this December 12^th that she expects the motion to get final approval in the city’s council meets this coming December 19^th. Continue reading →

Niagara Region’s new Chair, Jim Bradley

“During the recent municipal campaign all of us received a clear message from the voters. A justified demand that council conduct its business with honesty, integrity, civility, fairness, openness and accountability. Without a doubt there is an expectation that elected officials must embraces these attributes at all times and in all circumstances is a profound message that all of us will heed I’m sure in the term ahead.”  – Niagara’s new Regional Chair Jim Bradley

The Full Text of Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley’s Inaugural Address to the Region’s Council, delivered Thursday, December 6^th, 2018

Posted December 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper – A number of Niagara residents who had the opportunity to attend the inaugural ceremonies for the new term of Niagara Region’s council this past December 6^th or watch the proceedings online, commented on how heartening it was to hear the words new Regional Chair Jim Bradley delivered in his inaugural address – particularly after all the controversy and turmoil we’ve been put through at the regional government level over the past four years.

Niagara’s new Regional Chair Jim Bradley shortly after his inauguration with Debbie Zimmerman, who was Niagara’s regional chair from 1997 to 2003. Photo used with permission from Debbie Zimmerman’s Facebook page

In that spirit, I decided that we would post the full text of Bradley’s inaugural address as soon as it became available electronically, which was this December 11^th.

So for those who heard it the first time, and for all those who did not get a chance to hear it, here it is with the promise Jim Bradley finishes with – that Niagara will finally get back to moving forward again with the kind of representation we expect and deserve.

Now here is Bradley’s full inaugural address.)

”I would like to begin this afternoon by extending to all who are in attendance in the Chamber and in Regional Headquarters a warm welcome as the Council of the Regional Municipality of Niagara begins a new four-year term which commences today that will be completed in the latter part of 2022. Continue reading →

The total facility investment and improvements are estimated at a value of $40 million and will create up to 100 new high-skilled jobs

“This announcement is exciting not just because of Steelcon’s investment, but also because of the industry-leading technology that the SIN beam brings to the North American market. We look forward to working together to open the facility and advancing the future of manufacturing right here, in St. Catharines.” Walter Sendzik, Mayor of St. Catharines, Ontario.

News from the City of St. Catharines

Posted December 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Steelcon Fabrication Inc. has announced a new $40 million manufacturing facility will open in St. Catharines to produce its leading SIN-beam product for the North American market.

From left, St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, Danny Bianco, Carmine Bianco, Director of Economic Development Brian York and Fabian Hoggard at SIN Structures new location on 87 Grantham Ave., St. Catharines

A family-owned company based in Brampton, Steelcon uses advanced technologies to produce construction beams that are lighter, use less steel, and have less of an impact on the environment while making construction more efficient. Continue reading →

Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

“While Doug Ford is telling everyday people the cupboards are bare, he is making sure that his friends, and the most wealthy Ontarians are more than taken care of.” – Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

A News Release from the Office of Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

(Andrea Horwath and her Ontario New Democrats released the following this past December 6^th, when the 2018 summer and fall session of the provincial legislature came to a close.)

Posted December 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park — Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says that Doug Ford and his Conservatives spent their first six months in the legislature making things worse for everyday people.

“The Liberal government let us down,” said Horwath. “But, in six months at Queen’s Park, Doug Ford has made things even worse for people. This is a government that makes decisions in back rooms, with and for their insiders.

“While Doug Ford is telling everyday people the cupboards are bare, he is making sure that his friends, and the most wealthy Ontarians are more than taken care of.” Continue reading →

Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff .

“Our Government is committed to providing high quality care for those who are ill and near the end-of-life. We will keep working so that everyone can access compassionate care that respects the wishes of the patient and their loved ones.”                                         – Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West

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

Posted December 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park – This December 10th, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Effie Triantafilopoulos, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister announced that our Government is investing nearly $33.6 million to build 193 new hospice beds across Ontario.  Continue reading →

All are Invited to George Bukator Park off  Chippawa Parkway and Stanley Avenue  in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Saturday, December 15^th at 7.am.

An Invite to All from Niagara’s Indigenous Community

Posted December 10^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –

The following invitation to to this special event is being circulated by members of the Indigenous community , including Karl Dockstader  who has been fighting passionately with many others across our region to save the provincially significant wetlands and other natural riches in the sprawling Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls from an urban development project that could and shoud be built somewhere else.

“Ceremony won’t bring back the Wetlands, but respecting water as living will bring us strength,” said Dockstader in a recent Facebook note about this Sunrise Ceremony event. Continue reading →

Niagara River is one of 15 ecosystems in the Great Lakes listed as particularly vulnerable to impacts of a crude oil spill.

“Existing crude oil transport infrastructure near or in the Great Lakes makes the ecosystem particularly vulnerable to spills, particularly in 15 areas the committee identified (including the Niagara River, Long  Point Bay along the shores of Lake Erie and the northern shores of Lakes Ontario) based on their level of biodiversity and as highly valued habitats for fish spawning, such as estuaries, rivers and bays.”

– from the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Science Advisory Board report, titled ‘Potential Ecological Impacts of Crude Oil Transport in the Great Lakes Basin

News from the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board

Posted December 12^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Oil production in central northern United States and western Canada has increased rapidly since 2010. Its transport near or through the Great Lakes region via pipelines and rail has expanded as a result.

What does this mean for the lakes in terms of the environmental threats posed by crude oil transport, and what are the potential ecological impacts from a spill in freshwater ecosystems like the Great Lakes? Continue reading →

You Are Invited to Join a Rally for Workers’ Comp in Downtown St. Catharines this Tuesday, December 11^th at Noon

A Call-Out from the Niagara Injured Worker Group

‎Posted December 10^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Niagara Injured Worker Group is looking forward to rallying together with our allies to send the message that Workers’ Comp is a Right.

We are joined by eight  other communities in Ontario to make our voices and our demands heard. Join us! Continue reading →

“We can only hope that with a clean slate of board members and a new Interim CAO the days of the NPCA trying to muzzle opposition by suing individuals who dare question its operation, management, hiring and firing practices is finally over.”               – Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

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

Posted December 7th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Former NPCA employee Jocelyn Baker still has a costly lawsuit hanging over her head after speaking out about alleged cases of workplace harassment inside the NPCA

With a new interim board of directors and CAO in place at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, one of Niagara’s Members of Provincial Parliament is calling on them to drop an ongoing lawsuit that the NPCA’s old board and managers  slapped against former employee Jocelyn Baker.

“I commend Niagara Regional Council for taking immediate action in replacing the former NPCA Board, which spearheaded the lawsuit against Ms. Baker,” Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch said in an open letter this December 7^th of the Region’s new council voting before adjourning its December 6^th inaugural ceremonies to immediately install an interim replacement board at an NPCA where the old board was threatening not to step down.

“We can only hope that with a clean slate of board members and a new Interim CAO the days of the NPCA trying to muzzle opposition by suing individuals who dare question its operation, management, hiring and firing practices is finally over,” added Burch in the letter, a copy of which was sent to all 12 Niagara regional councillors and mayors now sitting on the board, and to Niagara’s new Regional Chair Jim Bradley. Continue reading →

“We worked with community members to show the need for this, and I’m proud to see that the legislature agrees.” – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted December 7th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates in Ontario legislature. File photo

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates’s motion has won support of all of the parties in the Ontario legislature, moving Niagara closer to round-the-clock mental health services.

 “This is just another example of how, when we come together as a community, when we work together and when we raise our voices, we can get things done. We worked with community members to show the need for this, and I’m proud to see that the legislature agrees. Now, we’ll move forward to get a timeline on that funding and to get these facilities up and running.

This is an important piece, though just one part, of what we can do as a community to say to those struggling, ‘You’re not alone, you’re loved and we care,’” said Gates. Continue reading →

Niagara Region’s new Chair, Jim Bradley

“I am honoured to be appointed as Niagara’s Regional Chair for the upcoming term of Council. I look forward to working collaboratively with all members of our Council and Niagara’s dedicated public service to move our Region forward and provide the important services our community relies on. ”                            ~ Niagara’s new Regional Chair,  Jim Bradley

News from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted December 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – This December 6th, Niagara Region announces that Jim Bradley has been appointed to the position of Regional Chair by a unanimous vote of Regional Council for the 2018-2022 term. Bradley will be officially sworn in later today, making him the eighth Regional Chair for the Niagara Region.

Niagara’s new Regional Chair Jim Bradley, centre below the Region’s crest, takes the oath of office this December 6th. Photo by Doug Draper

Bradley began his political career as a St. Catharines City Councillor from 1970-77. He served as the Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines from 1977-2018. During this time, Bradley held roles as Provincial Minister of Environment, Transportation, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Tourism and Recreation, Community Safety and Correctional Services, and Seniors.

Bradley has contributed to the Niagara community as a hockey and baseball coach, manager and referee; as member of Grantham Optimist Club, as an active supporter of the Rankin Run, Gillian’s Place, Start Me Up Niagara, Community Care, Bethlehem Place and other volunteer organizations.

In Ontario, the Municipal Act sets out the responsibilities of the Regional Chair. The Regional Chair is both the head of council and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Region.

To watch the Inaugural Meeting of Niagara’s new Regional Council, click on the screen below –

To learn more, please visit www.niagararegion.ca

Niagara At Large will be posting more news and commentary on the dawn of a new era for regional government in Niagara on our online site soon. Stay tuned.

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

Jig is Up for Annunziata and other Niagara ex-councillors and mayors on outgoing NPCA Board

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

Posted December 6^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

If Sandy Annunziata or any others on a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) board of directors that has gone rogue think they are going to be the ones sitting around the table when the board is scheduled to hold its next meeting this December 12^th, they had better think again.

Shortly after Niagara’s new regional council, seen here, took the oath of office this December 6th, it voted to immediately appoint an interim NPCA board to replace an old one that has drawn a great deal of public controversy in recent years, and has continued to right up to this week.

Niagara Region’s new council, in its first official act business this December 6^th following its inauguration and selection of former St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley as Regional Chair, named a member of regional councillors from each of Niagara’s 12 local municipalities to form an interim NPCA board – “effective immediately,” says a motion the new council passed, “for a period of three months until it is determined how to proceed with the board composition.” Continue reading →

NPCA Appoints Lisa McManus As Interim CAO

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

Posted December 7^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Doug Draper’s Foreword –

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Mark Brickell has been replaced by interim CAO. Members of the public are already demanding more details about this.

There has been speculation from NPCA watchers all week that the shotgun meeting that the NPCA’s outgoing board chair and defeated Fort Erie regional councillor Sandy Annunziata and other lame duck members of the board held at a  Niagara-on-the-Lake hotel this past December 3^rd a may have had something to do with letting at least one senior manager at the problem-plagued Conservation Authority go.

And now we know, based on the NPCA news release below, that the speculation was fairly spot on.

We are now learning that Mark Brickell,  hired to the NPCA’s CAO post after Carmen D’Angelo left it two years ago for the CAO position at Niagara Region, has been replaced with an interim CAO, Lisa McManus, who has previously served in other administrative positions at the Conservation Authority.

As word of this news is getting around, some Niagara residents who have volunteered many years of their lives to conserving our region’s natural heritage are already circulating notes of their own, wondering what all this may cost Niagara residents and that portion of their tax dollars that go to the NPCA for  conservation projects. Continue reading →

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

Posted December 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“Sit down. … You are out of order. …. I said sit down! … If you don’t sit down, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. …Sit down. …  (to which, one speaker, at one time, responded: ‘I’m not finished.’) …. Yes you are…..  I don’t want to hear it. …. I told you to sit down. … Time’s up …. Sit down. You are out of order!” (word clips from numerous Niagara regional council meetings over the past four years).

Those were the days, weren’t they?

I can still hear these verbal missives – aimed over and over again by Niagara’s recently defeated regional chair Al Caslin at virtually any member of the Region’s council or delegation of citizens from the community who he and members of his cabal perceived to be a political opponent.

They are still  ringing in my ears.

This sign, still along a roadside in St. Catharines, the day after the October 22nd municipal elections in which Caslin was buried in the polls.

Thankfully, Caslin is now gone – buried in the polls in this past October’s municipal elections – and this Thursday, December 6^th marks the beginning of new Niagara regional council with a majority of members serving on the council for the first time. Continue reading →

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

Posted December 5th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Open Your Heart and Be Kind is the message on the joyful holiday drawing that will be the face of Niagara Health’s 2018 Holiday Greeting Card.

Niagara Health’s Grand Prize Holiday Card

Alexa Kirkwood, nine-year-old daughter of Service Desk Analyst David Kirkwood at our Data Centre in Thorold, is the brilliant artist behind the grand prize-winning entry of our 12th Annual Holiday Card Contest for kids.

The colourful drawing shows a nurse, an elf, along with Santa and his reindeer spreading this message of kindness. “Alexa’s drawing is meant to bring joy to sick children,” says her father David.  “Her drawing is about being kind and sharing with others, especially during this holiday season.”

Angela Zangari Niagara Health’s Executive Vice President Finance, Operations and Chief Financial Officer, presenting the Holiday Card Contest grand prize certificate to Alexa Kirkwood of Fonthill.

In addition to her love for drawing, Alexa is an avid dancer, and has a special interest in ballet. She practices dance four days a week and is proud to be performing in Niagara Ballet’s Nutcracker. Continue reading →

“With this appointment, Doug Ford is promoting a close friend and ally by several ranks, leapfrogging the OPP’s senior leadership team without an explanation.” – Ontario NDP critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services Kevin Yarde

Doug Ford and his pic for Ontario Provincial Police chief, Ron raverner, at a gala in the Toronto area in 2016

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition and New Democatic Party

Posted December 5th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Kevin Yarde, NDP critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services, released the following statement regarding the appointment of Ron Taverner as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP): Continue reading →

‘A living wage is not the same as the legislated minimum wage. It is a voluntary commitment that employers can make to compensate directly-employed and contract-employed full-time and parttime workers. The 2018 living wage for Niagara region has been calculated to be $17.99/hour.’

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network- a collective of over 30 agencies and individuals working to wipe out poverty in Niagara, Ontario

Posted December 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Matt Bonanno, Owner, Iron Will Raw, left, and Glen Walker, Chair, Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that St. Catharines-based Iron Will Raw Inc. has become Niagara’s 8th certified Living Wage Employer.

Iron Will Raw Inc.TM was purchased in June 2013 by Matt Bonanno. For many years Matt had worked with and trained protection and police dogs. His experience and love for these canine athletes lead to his recognition of the need for quality, raw pet food, free from additives and preservatives that could be available to all households.

In just five short years the company has advanced to become a leader in the raw pet food market in Ontario and has big plans for continued growth. Iron Will Raw currently sells product through retailers across Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and Newfoundland. Iron Will Raw is dedicated to making a premium quality, safe and nutritious raw diet for dogs and cats.  Continue reading →

“In almost all scenarios. employers also see net savings as their contributions to private drug plans decrease by more than their taxes increase. In options where pharmacare savings are  shared with households, employers  still save between $1 billion and $3 billion a year.” – CCPA/C4TF Research Report

A Report from the Canadian Centre for Public Alternatives and Canadians for Tax Fairness

Posted December 5th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario —A federally funded universal national pharmacare plan could create large net savings for Canadians, up to $600 per household a year, but just who benefits depends on how the funding is designed, says new research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and Canadians for Tax Fairness (C4TF).

A range of policy options have been proposed to finance a national pharmacare program. A Prescription for Savings analyses various options to determine which are the most fair and equitable, and how Canadians can best share and distribute the considerable savings that would be generated by the introduction of pharmacare .

CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald

“There is a right and a wrong way to pay for pharmacare. Pick the wrong way and you can completely eliminate pharmacare’s net savings for low and middle income families. Pick the right way and you can fairly distribute those savings between low-income families, the middle-class, businesses and governments,” says CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald, co-author of the report. 

The report analyses seven tax-based scenarios the federal government could consider if  additional fiscal capacity is needed to raise the estimated $10.4 billion required to finance a  pharmacare program based on the Quebec drug formulary. Continue reading →

 “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” – the recently adopted motto of The Washington Post 

Let the sun shine in!

“Government ought to be all outside and no inside. . . . Everybody knows that corruption thrives in secret places, and avoids public places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety.” – from an address by late American president Woodrow Wilson

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher  Doug Draper

Posted December 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Every new group of regional councillors,  going back almost 50 years now to the creation of regional government in Niagara, has started their term of office with a list of goals in mind.

The group of regional councillors to be sworn in this December 6^th faces at least one goal that is so huge, it supersedes virtually anything else on the list.

Waiting for Niagara’s newly sworn in regional council. At least for some Niagara residents, this December 6th’s inauguration ceremonies could not come soon enough. Photo by Doug Draper

That goal is restoring the trust of the public in regional government.

Can it be done?

There is one old school of thought that once you lose people’s trust it is very difficult or nearly impossible to win it back. I don’t think that is true in this case. Continue reading →

What Was This “Special Meeting” At A Niagara-on-the-Lake Holiday Inn All About?

A Brief News Commentary from Niagara At Large reporter Doug Draper

Posted December 3rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Just when many Niagara residents may have been thinking that the outgoing board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) may at long last be going away, it whipped together a “special meeting” – almost all of it held in “closed session,” according to an agenda that popped up sometime in the past few days on the NPCA’s website – in the Staybridge Suites at a Holiday Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Niagara At Large learned of this meeting late this Monday, December 3rd afternoon, and we fired off a quick email to NPCA staff, asking for more information, including a copy of any  announcement or statement that might come out of the meeting. At the time of this posting, NAL was still waiting for a response. Continue reading →

There Were Some Good People Serving Over the Past Four Years Too. In These All-Too Angry & Cynical Times, It Is Important To Remember That

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 19^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

More than a month has passed since October’s municipal elections, and some may be wondering why on earth I would be bringing them up again.

I can hardly blame anyone for wondering after all of the controversy we suffered through during the last four years of municipal governance in Niagara.

A special meeting of Niagara Region’s council, called by a majority of councillors this past Augustl, to discuss what to do about controversies surrounding the hiring and job contract of the Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo. The Region’s chair, Al Caslin, did not attend this meeting. It was chaired instead by St. Catharines regional councillor Kelly Edgar, who fell just short of winning a seat on the incoming regional council.

When it comes to the Region’s council, I’ve heard more than a few people say, in so many words; ’We (at least those of us who bothered to vote) kicked most of the bums out, and let’s just leave it like that. Time to move on.”

Niagara Regional Headquarters

This chronicler of what was too often bad and ugly during the last term of regional council is all for moving on, but not until I pay tribute to some of the good people on the Region’s council who either ran for another term and lost or decided not to run again.

Here is my list of outgoing councillors that I believe tried to stand up to what I saw as the darker forces at work at the regional council level, and on certain bodies like the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) and Niagara Regional Police Services Board. Continue reading →

Filing Factum Detailing Constitutional Case Against Federal Government’s Carbon Tax Plan

“Ontario is already doing its part (to address climate changing carbon emissions) and our families, workers and businesses have already sacrificed a lot. There is no justification to punish them further with a carbon tax.”

News from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his “Government for the People”

Posted November 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

This Ontario premier has declared war on what he vilifies as a “carbon tax” and what others in the environmental field call placing a price on emitting climate altering carbon emissions to the atmosphere.

Today (this November 30^th), Ontario’s Government for the People is taking its next step in opposing the federal government’s unconstitutional carbon tax, which threatens Ontario jobs and would make life less affordable for families each time they leave home.

“Most of Canada’s progress towards meeting its greenhouse gas emission targets is due to action Ontario has taken without having to resort to a job-killing carbon tax,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “Ontario is already doing its part and our families, workers and businesses have already sacrificed a lot. There is no justification to punish them further with a carbon tax.” Continue reading →

‘General Motors has justified its decision to close its Oshawa assembly plant by saying it needs to quickly shift to electric and self-driving vehicles. Premier Ford should be pressing GM and other automakers to make these cars of the future here.’

If You Agree, Please Sign the – Petition

A Call-Out from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Posted November 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Premier Doug Ford loves to say that Ontario is “open for business.”

But if that business is building electric vehicles (EVs), his government has not provided much encouragement. Cancelling the province’s cap and trade system and, with it, incentives for electric vehicles, did not exactly communicate a strong desire to support this fast-growing sector.

General Motors has justified its decision to close its Oshawa assembly plant by saying it needs to quickly shift to electric and self-driving vehicles. Premier Ford should be pressing GM and other automakers to make these cars of the future here. Continue reading →

“Auto manufacturing has been the cornerstone of the Niagara region’s economy for over half a century. The news that the GM plant in Oshawa could be closed by the end of next year is causing anxiety for all those who rely on the auto sector for their livelihood.” – Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition and New Democratic Party

Posted November 30th,  2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park – As workers and families continue to reel from the news that General Motors will close its Oshawa plant next year, NDP MPPs Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) and Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) said the province’s refusal to create an auto and manufacturing strategy is a big failure that has their communities worried.

“Auto manufacturing has been the cornerstone of the Niagara region’s economy for over half a century,” Burch said during question period Thursday. “The news that the GM plant in Oshawa could be closed by the end of next year is causing anxiety for all those who rely on the auto sector for their livelihood. Before and after the last election, we wanted to see an auto and manufacturing sector strategy in place. Ontario has been a world leader in the auto industry, and we can do it again — but it won’t happen by accident.” Continue reading →

Ford government to spend $400 million paying polluters while setting some of the worst emissions targets in the world

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition and New Democratic Party

Posted  November 28^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“This Conservative scheme puts us on the road to disaster. At the end of the day, Doug Ford’s insiders win, the environment loses and Ontario families pay for it.” – NDP Energy and Climate Change critic Peter Tabuns

Queen’s Park — Ontario NDP MPPs Ian Arthur (Kingston and the Islands) and Peter Tabuns (Toronto–Danforth) called out the Ford government’s climate change announcement as a dangerous scheme, and a favour to the province’s biggest polluters.

Arthur, who is the Official Opposition critic for Environment and Sustainability, addressed the government’s policy announcement in a press conference at Queen’s Park on Thursday.

This Ontario premier has declared war on our province’s programs and institutions for protecting our environment.

“This so-called climate plan is Doug Ford’s gift to big polluters,” Arthur said. “Instead of having polluters pay for the damage they are doing, Doug Ford wants to use your money to line their pockets. Continue reading →

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 • 3 – 5 p.m. EST

How Do We Reverse the Trends to Achieve
Net Habitat Gain for Great Lakes coastal Wetlands?

Join the International Joint Commission’s Water Quality Board Emerging Issues Work Group and the Great Lakes Coastal Assembly to discuss the challenges and opportunities to achieving net habitat gain for Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

Niagara area citizens have been fighting to save wetlands like this provincially significant one – on lands targeted for development – in Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The lands fall within the Niagara River watershed in the Great Lakes basin. File photo

Brief presentations will focus on the status and need to assess coastal wetlands, how to advance practices that enhance and expand them, and pilot efforts to set and track ecological targets. We also look forward to hearing your views on what actions are needed to reverse the trend in wetland loss and achieve net habitat gain in the Great Lakes. Continue reading →

“I believe there is an ethical and moral responsibility to step down.” – Welland Mayor Frank Campion

A News Report from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted November 28th, 2018

In a firestorm of anger over recent moves by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, Welland Mayor Frank Campion is resigning his board seat.

In the wake of growing public anger over members of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) current board ‘apparent refusal to give up their seats, one board member – Welland Mayor Frank Campion – has tendered his letter of resignation.

In a brief, November 28th letter to the NPCA board’s chair and recently defeated Fort Erie regional Councillor Sandy Annunziata, Campion wrote the following:

“Chair Annunziata – 

“This correspondence is to advice you that I am resigning from the board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) effective November 30. 2018. Continue reading →

‘Government for the People’ Taking “Immediate Action” With Health Infrastructure Investments in West Niagara

News from Ontario’s “Government for the People”

Posted November 28th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Grimsby, Niagara — Ontario’s Government for the People is supporting infrastructure investments that will ensure patients and families have access to the health care they need in West Niagara.

Premier Doug Ford, accompanied by Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Monte McNaughton, Minister of Infrastructure, and Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, were at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital today to announce the government’s intention to rebuild the site. To begin this work, the Premier announced a $500,000 grant to fund early planning. Continue reading →

A Call-Out to All – Urgent Attendance Needed!

From Marcie Jacklin, Fort Erie, Canada

Posted November 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Pre-Hearing Conference for the appeal to save Waverly Woods is tomorrow, Wednesday November 28th at 10 am.

The location is the Council Chambers, Town of Fort Erie on 1 Municipal Centre Drive.

It is critical that you attend and very important that you ask to be a Participant at this meeting.

This will enable you to speak to the Tribunal about your concerns at the Hearing. The date of the Hearing will be determined tomorrow. You won’t get a second chance to ask to be a Participant so tomorrow critical. Continue reading →

“I think that it’s very important that the old board just go away.” – St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“If you step on people in this life, you’re going to come back as a cockroach.” – former American NFL player Willie Davis

I know this may sound a little odd, but something about the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) and its ‘when-in-hell-are-the-going-to-go-away’ board of directors reminds me of an apartment my wife and I rented many years ago while we were graduate students at the University of Windsor.

It was a nice apartment or at least it would have been, except for one thing other than the landlord. It was infested with cockroaches.

Have you ever tried to get rid of cockroaches?

You can swat hem with enough force to knock out a horse and, like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going.

Short of spraying them with something as deadly as Strychnine or Agent Orange, it hardly seems to matter what eradication plan you put in play. They are right back the next night, mocking you with their presence.

When is the NPCA board of the past four years going to go away?

And so it was this past November 21^st – almost five weeks to the day that municipal elections swept a number of key members of the NPCA’s board out of their regional council seats – that this board had the audacity to meet again, less than a month before a newly sworn in Niagara regional council, in partnership with local councils across the region, finally gets the chance to green light what we hope will be a brand new board that gets back to what our Conservation Authority used to do – place conservation and environmental protection front and centre. Continue reading →

The public made it “very clear” in October municipal elections that it wants the Conservation Authority’s current board to “just go away.” – St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

By Doug Draper

Posted November 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority needs a brand new board “as soon as possible,” said St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik as the NPCA’s  CAO, Mark Brickell, sat in the city’s council chambers this November 26^th, shaking his head ‘no’.

“I’m sorry Mark, but that old board has got to go,” added the mayor as he looked back and saw Brickell shaking his head with the recently defeated St. Catharines regional councillor and NPCA board member Bruce Timms sitting beside him.

The public made it “very clear” during this October’s municipal elections that it wants to see things change at an NPCA, Sendzik said.

 “I think that it is very important that the old board just go away.” Continue reading →

Province’s NDP Leader  says Ford is Wrong to throw in the Towel

Ontario Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“We know that electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles will be at the heart of the auto industry moving forward. … Let’s be on the leading edge of the evolution. Let’s make the investments that need to be made. Let’s convince GM now that the vehicles of tomorrow will be built right here, in Oshawa and in Ontario.” Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

A Statement from the Office of Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted November 26th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A shocking announcement for auto manufacturing jobs in Oshawa. Could St. Catharines/Niagara be next?

Queen’s Park — “Thousands of workers and their families have been devastated by the news that GM is leaving Oshawa, and my heart is with them on this difficult day. But I believe the Province of Ontario can, and must, do much more than extend sympathy.

The province needs to fight like hell to protect the roughly 5,000 jobs at GM’s Oshawa operations, and the 5,000 families that count on them.

We know that electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles will be at the heart of the auto industry moving forward. So instead of sitting back and letting other jurisdictions lead while waving goodbye to thousands of good jobs, let’s be on the leading edge of the evolution. Continue reading →

Niagara Regional Headquarters

A Public Service Message from Niagara’s Regional Government

Posted November 26^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – ​Ontario Works clients will be able to pick up their social assistance payments at Niagara Region Community Services offices.

The decision not to mail the monthly payments was made earlier this week due to the current labour disruption at Canada Post, which could have delayed payments. Continue reading →

Citizens Raise More Concerns about Fate of these Biodiverse Lands in our Region

A photo taken of what citizens say is a mud road recently cut in to the Thundering Waters property in Niagara Falls

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 23^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Calls and email were being fired back and forth rather furiously for the past few days leading up to this post – between citizens in the Niagara area, and between them and elected representatives, and municipal and provincial staffers – over what is happening to trees and other natural features inside Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls?

This close to 500 acres of trees, provincially significant wetlands and meadows hosting a diversity of wildlife in the Niagara River watershed – is now owned by a China-based corporation called GR (CAN) Investment Ltd. Inc. that is still waiting for final permits to build a massive, billion-dollar-plus, what it calls “Riverfront Community” on pieces of the land in the southwest end of the city.

Many citizens in Niagara Falls and other parts of the region and province and been pressing for more than three years now to save this rich green area from development while the mayor of the city, Jim Diodati, Niagara Region’s outgoing chair, Al Caslin, and others have been arguing for urban development to go in this place in the name of economic growth and jobs.

One of many citizen demonstrations over the last three years – this one in front of Niagara Falls City Hall – for saving Thundering Waters Forest from urban development. File photo by Doug Draper

On top of all that, there are recurring rumours that GR and its China-based investors are losing patience, so when citizens in the area hear or see any activity involving heavy machinery in Thundering Waters they grow very concerned. Continue reading →

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted November 23rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

As a life-long student of music, I have come to believe that a well-crafted song can be as mighty a force as any in the struggle against deception, corruption, social  injustice and tyranny.

I think that such a song, written, produced and performed by American singer Barbra Streisand, and released at the beginning of this November, along with an equally mighty video, on her latest album called Walls.

The song is called Don’t Lie to Me and Streisand has launched it, like a bunker-busting, multi-megaton, smoke-and-mirrors seeking missile, right at the monster in her country’s Oval Office,

I included the song and the video at the end of a plea I posted to our American neighbours on the eve of this November’s U.S. mid-term elections to vote for any candidates they could to resist Trump and his dangerous, hate-drenched agenda, and I also sent it in separate emails to a number of my American friends in New York State, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

I quickly got back notes from them, after they experienced the song and video, containing words like “wow”, “powerful”, and “I’m going to share this with as many people as I can.”

So before this November comes to an end, I thought I would post the song and the video on Niagara At Large again, higher up this time so it doesn’t possibly get lost above everything else.

Here it is. Play it and share it with your friends –

To read Doug Draper’s commentary, urging our American neighbours earlier this November, to vote for anyone who will resist Trump, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2018/11/06/a-plea-to-our-american-neighbours/ 

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