Niagara At Large

Five  things you need to know about forests and the United Nations

“Despite the central role forests play in protecting the environment, only two per cent of funds available (globally) for climate change mitigation are available for efforts to reduce deforestation.”

News from the United Nations

Posted May 10th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Photo by Olga Lavrushko – My favorite place by Olga Lavrushko, Ukraine. One of the winners of the International Forest Photograph Contest.

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

Waverly Woods in Fort Erie. Now a possible target for developers unless citizens can save it.

While you are reading this  important, and for those of us who live in Niagara and Ontario, very timely report from environmental representatives for the United Nations, think locally as well as globally.

Those of us who care about protecting any kind of a healthy future on this planet, have got to get together and fight like hell to keep the Ford government in Ontario from cutting programs for planting trees, as it is now doing, and stop it from weakening planning and environmental rules to make it easy for developers to destroy vital areas like the Waverly Woods in Fort Erie and Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls.

More on all of that later on Niagara At Large.

Here is news from the United Nations on how vital trees and forests, and reforestation are to the health of our planet.)

Climate Change

Forests are vitally important for sustaining life on Earth, and play a major role in the fight against climate change. With the 2019 session of the United Nations Forum on Forests wrapping up on Friday in New York, we delve deeper into the subject, and find out what the UN is doing to safeguard and protect them.

1. Forests are the most cost-effective way to fight climate change

Arguably, protection and enhancing the world’s forests is one of the most cost-effective forms of climate action: forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing roughly 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.  Sustainable forest management can build resilience and help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Continue reading →

Ford, Ooosterhoff & Company Have Cut Provincial Funding for Flood Management in Niagara in Half

“Doug Ford has cut funding to flood management programs by half, and forced Conservation Authorities (including the NPCA in Niagara) to do more with so much less in the years to come. He cancelled a program to plant 50 million trees, a proven tactic to control soil erosion and reduce flooding.”                                             – NDP Environment Critic Ian Arthur

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP Party

Posted May 10^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Sandbags around buildings along Port Dalhousie Harbour in St. Catharines, as waters rise to near record levels in 2017. The waters are rising again this spring.

A Foreword from Doug Draper,  Niagara At Large –

The Ford government has just cut about $90,000 from the $180,000 the province gives the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) each year to do flood management across the entire Niagara watershed –this at a time when the province is now experiencing record flooding that is going to cost homeowners, businesses and the Ontario economy billions of dollars.

They are cutting a few million dollars for flood management and risking billions of dollars in destruction from flooding waters. Continue reading →

Plan Calls for  Cuttting OPP Budget and Raising Speed Limits on Some Highways, including QEW between     St. Catharines and Hamilton

A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper, followed by News Release from Ontario NDP

Posted May 10th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

START YOUR ENGINES!

As if drivers aren’t whipping along Ontario’s highways fast enough, with hardly a police cruiser in site.

In recent years, I have often had friends from the United States say; “Wow, I drove on your highways from Buffalo to Toronto, and it’s crazy the way you people drive. I don’t know whether I want to do that again.”

That is some of our wild and crazy American neighbours complaining about how fast we drive, to which I find myself agreeing and telling them that I would rather drive the full distance of the New York State Thruway from Buffalo to Albany, than drive for 30 or 40 kilometers on the QEW. It’s not only safer, but there are a hell of a lot more New York State Troopers patrolling the highway to make sure it stays that way. Continue reading →

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

This new natural gas station in Fort Erie “provides transport companies with cleaner options to move their goods – cutting costs, reducing pollution and improving productivity.                      – Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

News from Natural Resources Canada 

Posted May 10^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Canada’s climate plan is working for our planet, and it is working for Canadians. Electric and alternative fuel vehicles play a key role in our low-carbon future.

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey, at right and front, attends opening this May 10th of natural gas station on Ford Erie side of Ontario/New York border.

As Canadians continue to make greener choices, the Government of Canada is delivering more options for them to drive where they need to go, while reducing pollution. 

Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, Vance Badawey, on behalf of Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, today (this May 10th) announced the opening of a natural gas station in Fort Erie. Continue reading →

Meanwhile, Some of Ford’s MPPs were attending a “Pro-Life” Rally, Speaking Out for the Unborn.

“Boy, these conservatives are something, aren’t they? They’re all in favour of the unborn. They will do anything for the unborn. But once you’re born, you’re on your own.” – the late American comedian and social critic George Carlin

A News Release from Ontario’s Official Opposition Party

Posted May 9th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper –

Queen’s Park legislature in Toronto, Ontario

An interesting juxtaposition occurred in and outside the walls of Ontario’s Queen’s Park legislature this Thursday, May 9th.

Inside, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and other members of her Opposition Party caucus were going after Premier Doug Ford and his government for recent budget cuts to ambulances and other health care, and education and environmental protection – services that can mean the difference between life and death, or a quality life for many Ontarians.

Outside, a number of Ford’s government members were on the lawns of Queen’s Park supporting a rally staged by thousands of anti-abortion activists from across the province. Continue reading →

“Declaring a climate emergency is an opportunity for Queen’s Park to change direction, and take on the biggest challenge humankind has ever faced.”                   – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

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

Posted May 9^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –

Late this April, St. Catharines city council became the first in Niagara, Ontario to unanimously declare a climate emergency, encouraging the city to pursue actions to take steps to address climate change and take measures to protect the community against its impacts.

Congratulations to St. Catharines’ council in joining Kingston, Hamilton and other communities across the country and continent in making this declaration.) 

QUEEN’S PARK, May 9th, 2019 — The Ontario NDP has introduced a motion to declare a climate emergency in Ontario. Continue reading →

Long-time Council of Canadians sactivist and Order of Canada medal holder Maude Barlow

“We have urbanized rapidly, paving over water-retentive rural landscapes and destroying streams and watersheds in our cities. … We are also destroying wetlands and forests, both of which are crucial for watershed protection and flood prevention.”                  – Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians

By Maude Barlow, Honourary Chairperson, The Council of Canadians from an article posted on The Council’s website and originally published in The National Observer

Posted May 9^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

The floods that have devastated so much of Eastern Canada this spring have been cited as a “wake up call” that climate change is real.

Provincially significant wetlands in the Niagara River watershed, in Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls – now a target for sprawling urban development

Many reports of the flooding cite climate change as the cause. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself has named climate change as the culprit and several journalists noted that the flooding probably forced the federal Conservatives to take climate change seriously and promise to come up with a plan to tackle it.

While no doubt climate change is a major factor in the floods that ravaged so many communities, it would be a mistake to lay all the blame there. Continue reading →

“I agree that things could have been handled     differently.”  – Sam Oosterhoff, MPP and Ford Government member for Niagara West

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

Posted May 9^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In the wake of a May 7th incident at Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s Beamsville constituency office involving members of a senior’s book club and Niagara Regional Police, I contacted Oosterhoff’s office via email this May 8th for the MPP’s take on what went down.

Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, a Christian concervative, seen here in April, 2018, sharing a few verses of a gospel song on TVO’s public affairs program, The Agenda, hosted by Steve Paikin.

The incident, which began when about 15 seniors from Niagara showed up at the office carrying books and determined to stage a “read-in” to protest recent Fort government funding cuts to public library, ended with three armed police officers showing up, and I wanted to know from the MPP why he and his office staff felt the call to police was necessary – especially given the fact that the officers on hand concluded that the seniors had done “nothing wrong.” Continue reading →

A Statement on the Ontario Government’s proposal to gut the Endangered Species Act

Caribou, one of the most majestic animals in the country, are listed as endangered in Ontairo. Environmental Defence photo

From Ontario Nature, Environmental Defence and the David Suzuki Foundation

Posted May 7th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

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

In the wake of an alarming report from the United Nations, released around the world this May 6th, about a possible global species extinction disaster on an unprecedented scale,  Ontario’s Ford government appears ready to do its part to help the extinction of all creatures great and small along by moving forward with plans to gut protections for endangered species at the behest of its supporters in the development industry.

We apparently can’t be “open for business” in Ontario unless we are prepared to pave what ever is left of our woodlands, wetlands and other habitat for wildlife over.

That is part of what being “open for business” in Ontario is all about – plundering what is left of our green places for low-density urban sprawl.

Shocking and outrageous, indeed!

Please people, for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of future generations, speak out against this war that Ford and his so-called “Government for the People” are  waging against our natural heritage and the life-sustaining resources of our region of the world before it is too late.

Continue reading →

“WE are destroying the planet. WE are a cancer.”

A Comment from Linda McKellar

Posted May 7th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper –

The following commentary by Linda McKellar, a Fort Erie, Ontario resident and retired nurse who spent her adult life doing her best to save peoples’ lives, is a what I regard as an understandable response to news from the United Nations (posted here this May 6th) that destructive human activities are leading more rapidly to the extinction of other species of life on this planet.

I am re-posting this commentary on Niagara At Large as a stand-alone piece because, I must confess, there are many times these days when I find myself coming to the conclusion that other life on this planet might be better off if humans were gone.

Sudan, the world’s last northern rhinoceros – a species that has lived on this planet at least as long as humans – died last year,but you may not have heard about it. Donald Trump’s moronic tweets and Doug Ford’s promises for cheaper gas and one-buck beet received more media attention than this  did.

Let’s face it, we humans are the most destructive species on the planet and members of my generation – the oh, so self-absorbed, all-consuming and wasteful baby boomers – have been among the worst.

A dispr0portionate number of people my age and older voted for Doug Ford in Ontario and Donald Trump in the United States, knowing full well that neither one of them take climate change or the need to protect our environment seriously. In fact, may offer cheers of support when these politicians and others like them tear environmental protection programs apart.

So maybe other life on this planet, if there is any by the time we get through, would be better off if we humans were gone.

Now here is Linda McKellar’s comment on it –

A video I saw of a starving, skeletal polar bear with its skin hanging, struggling to stand, made me physically ill. Humans need to become extinct.

WE are destroying the planet. WE are a cancer. We have skewed the balance of nature. Continue reading →

Brock U. Policy Brief Examines Ways to Help Niagara’s Bee Population

“Bee populations have been declining in Niagara, mainly because the places where they lived have been paved over or built upon.”

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted May 7^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Brock University biologist Miriam Richards monitors the bee population in the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site. Photo courtesy of Brock Univwersity

Niagara, Ontario – In the world of bee conservation, messy is beautiful. A slightly overgrown lawn, a garden with flowers native to the area, patches of soil, and scatterings of twigs and leaves are pure paradise for these tiny creatures.

“The recipe for bees is surprisingly straightforward — provide flowers and nesting habitat, avoid pesticide use and like magic, bees appear and thrive,” Brock University Professor of Biology Miriam Richards says in her policy brief “Promoting Pollinators: Niagara Bees and How to Help Them<https://brocku.ca/niagara-community-observatory/policy/>.”

The brief is the latest to come out of Brock’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO), and was presented in front of a packed house at the University on Tuesday, May 7. Continue reading →

New York State Officially Announced A Ban on Fracking in the State in 2014

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

Posted May 7th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — Peter Tabuns, Ontario NDP Energy and Climate Change critic, held a press conference this May 7th to re-introduce a private member’s bill proposing to ban fracking in Ontario.

The bill, which Tabuns first tabled in 2015, has only taken on increasing urgency as new evidence has emerged showing that fracking is even more problematic than anyone realized four years ago. Recent studies by NASA show a much greater role in global warming from methane leaks from oil and gas production. Other studies show fracking having much more significant methane leaks than conventional oil and gas production. Continue reading →

“Our government is keeping our promise to make mental health and addictions a priority.”                               – Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West

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

Posted May 7th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

NIAGARA- Ontario’s mental health care system is disconnected, making it difficult for patients and families to get the care and services they need. This leaves many vulnerable Ontarians to navigate a confusing system on their own and access timely mental health care only when in crisis.

Too many Ontarians wait too long for the mental health and addictions services they need. This fragmented approach to care is failing Ontario’s families and is simply not good enough.

In response, Ontario’s Government for the People is adding desperately needed mental health and addictions services on the ground, in schools, communities and health centres across the province. Continue reading →

Meanwhile, Ontario’s Ford Government Doing its Party to Push Extinction Along by Shredding Endangered Species Protection Rules for Friends in Development Industry

An Alarming New Report from the United Nations

“Following the adoption of this historic report, no one will be able to claim that they did not know,” Audrey Azoulay, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said. “We can no longer continue to destroy the diversity of life. This is our responsibility towards future generations.”

Posted May 6th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

World is ‘on notice’ as major UN report shows one million species face extinction

Splendid Leaf Frog, Ecuador. (19 January 2015)

A hard-hitting report into the impact of humans on nature shows that nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades, while current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action, UN biodiversity experts said on Monday (May 6th).

Speaking in Paris at the launch of the Global Assessment study – the first such report since 2005 – UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said that its findings put the world “on notice”. Continue reading →

The NPCA’s New Board and Management Team has dropped a controversial lawsuit against former Conservation Authority employee Jocelyn Baker and is now partnering with her to pursue a key environmental designation for the Niagara River watershed

A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper, Niagara At Large, followed by statements from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted May 6^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

From Doug Draper –

Respected conservationalist and former NPCA employee is now free of the lawsuit the old NPCA filed against her and has been hired by the new NPCA to assist with a global wetland designation for the Niagara River watershed.

Well, hallelujah.

And thank God for this great news about a conservationist who is highly respected on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border and is an decent, honest principles person who never deserved the nightmare she was put through by managers and an old board of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) that are now mercifully gone.

Jocelyn Baker, a conservationist and watershed expert who was fired by NPCA managers three years ago for reasons that never made sense to those she worked with at the regional, provincial and federal government levels, then slapped with a lawsuit two years ago by those running the NPCA for emailing a Niagara area MPP about a “culture of harassment” rank-and-file employees inside the body were enduring at the hands of then senior managers.

“NPCA frontline staff and middle managers continue to work in unsafe and dangerous conditions. This will continue until (the province’s Minister of Natural Resources – then Liberal government minister Kathryn McGarry) steps in and stops it,” wrote Baker in a 2017 email that now retired Niagara Centre MPP Cindy Forster received her permission to read in the Ontario legislature. Continue reading →

‘Water levels in Lake Ontario are forcasted to continue to rise. The City is monitoring the impacts of the spring thaw, rain and other factors that contribute to rising water levels and ewill respond as needed to maintain public safety and protect public assets.’ –City of St. Catharines

A News Release from the City of St. Catharines

Posted My 6th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Looking across from the east pier to the west pier in Port Dalhousie in the spring of 2017 when rising Lake Ontario waters flooded much of the shoreline grounds. file photo by Doug Draper

The east pier in Port Dalhousie is temporarily closed to the public due to high water levels in Lake Ontario.

Temporary fencing is being installed this May 6th to ensure the safety of visitors to Port Dalhousie along the east pier in the area of the Dalhousie Yacht Club. The temporary closure is in effect as of Tuesday, May 7 and will remain until water levels return to a safe level. Continue reading →

Auditor General Of Ontario’s Special Audit Recommendations Initiated By NPCA

A News Release from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, following  a Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted May 3rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

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

At a time when there is more than enough bad news out there in the world today, here is what I think many of us can embrace as a bit of good news.

A meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors this past April – another day of work in getting the NPCA back on track as a serious conservation agency.

After five or six years of what I would describe as ‘a long, dark journey into night’ for a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) that this veteran environment writer long viewed as one of this region’s best and most important public agencies, I see it finally making a comeback at a time when we need an agency like this the most.

Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk issued a scorching report last year on the NPCA’s operations. The new NPCA board has been working to address the many concerns raised in the report.

I believe that I have been witnessing the re-birth of this agency for at a few months now, but it was particularly apparent this May 3^rd when members of the NPCA’s board of directors and senior staff held a special meeting at the Meridian Community Centre in Pelham to hear directly from Ontario’s Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk, outline the findings and recommendations of what turned out to be a very scorching audit she and her team completed on the NPCA’s operations over the past six or so years – an audit her office released while the agency was still in the ice cold grip of managers and board members who are mercifully not there anymore.

Continue reading →

Legislation would commit United States to carbon reduction goals detailed in 2015 Paris Climate Accord

‘Niagara Falls (New York) and Erie County are among more the 280 American states, cities, and countieswho have independently committed to support climate action and reduce emissions.’

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

Posted May 3rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

U.S. Congressman for the Buffalo, New York area, Brian Higgins, is a member of Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic Party caucus

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced House passage of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act.

H.R. 9 requires the United States to honor its commitment to cut carbon pollution outlined in the Paris Agreement<https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement>, the international climate accord signed by nearly 200 countries around the world in 2015.

It passed by a vote of 231-190, and was cosponsored by 224 Representatives, including Higgins. The bill is the culmination of more than 30 hearings in the House this year, which marked the first House of Representatives hearings on the critical issue in eight years. Continue reading →

Any Time one of our  Politicial Leader will Praise the Role of a Press in a Democracy, this Journalist will Take It

It sure beats all of the jabs about “Fake News” and journalists being “scum” and “enemies of the people”

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Posted this May 3^rd, World Press Freedom Day on Niagara At Large

Even after all of the criticism that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  has taken in recent months over his Liberal Party’s dealings with SNC-Lavalin, a giant, Quebec-based engineering firm, and the throwing of two high-profile members out of the party’s caucus, he released a statement for Word Press Freedom Day this May 3^rd, , praising the important role of the press plays in a democracy. Continue reading →

“We wanted to be involved in positive incentives for the community from day one (and) it only made sense to offer livable wages.” –  Niagara Herbalist co-owner Kevin Trethowan

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted May 3^rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

The reps of The Niagara Herbalist are recognized as one of the region’s latest businesses to provide their employees a livable wage.

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that The Niagara Herbalist has become a certified living wage employer.

The Niagara Herbalist is a family owned and operated recreational cannabis retail store located in St. Catharines. They opened on April 1, a few months after being selected as one of 25 new retailers in the Ontario retail cannabis store lottery. The Niagara Herbalist is currently the only fully operational retail cannabis store in Niagara region, employing nine full time and six part time staff.

“We wanted to be involved in positive incentives for the community from day one. The first step in doing so was to offer employment opportunities for locals that reflected this. It only made sense to offer livable wages. The employees are happy to come into work and to be part of our “work family,” says The Niagara Herbalist co-owner Kevin Trethowan. Continue reading →

Citizens in Niagara rally to save what is left of our wetlands in Niagara. File photo by Doug Draper

“What doesn’t help is the fact that people are building close to rivers and lakes. …  You remove wetlands and pave over other areas so with heavy rainfall, the water has to go somewhere else.” – Brock University Professor of Biology and UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability Liette Vasseur

“We need to start bringing more of the natural components that can help with these storms like recreating wetlands and marshes.” – Liette Vasseur

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted May 2^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Record-high lake levels led to devastating flood damage in Great Lakes coastal communities in 2017, but in the two years since, little has changed.

Provincially significant wetlands in Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario where foreign investors are now looking to build a sprawling community. Citizen campaigns to save the area from development continue.

Brock University Professor of Biology and UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability Liette Vasseur said those communities are in for serious flooding this year and this may coming from frequently.

And she says despite knowing it was coming, our complacency as a society has meant that we’re not only ill-prepared, but we’ve made things worse on ourselves. Continue reading →

Ontario’s Ford Government is planning “new loopholes for developers and other proponents of harmful activities (that) will grease the wheels of destruction” for our province’s species at risk.

A Call-Out to All Ontario citizens from Ontario Nature, a citizen group advocating for our natural heritage

Posted May 2^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Barn owls are an endangered species in Ontario

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

The current Ford government, which did not receive a mandate in last year’s Ontario elections from a majority of the province’s voters, has proven time and time again that it is willing to weaken or eliminate environmental protection programs and safeguards for those in the development industry who would pave over the landscape at any cost to our natural heritage.

As a veteran environment reporter, I remember representatives of the development industry in Niagara and other regions of Ontario who believed in building and growing communities in ways that were environmentally sustainable and respectful of our valuable green places.

Where are those members of the development industry now? Why aren’t they speaking out against those who are giving their industry such a bad name in the eyes of the public?

Please read the Call-Out below from Ontario Nature to save endangered species rules in this province that not only protected wildlife at risks, but the natural habitat birds, animals and other wildlife need to survive.

And click on the link provided to lend your name to a message to Ford’s environment minister to act like an environment minister, and not like an agent  for those who would damage or destroy what is left of our natural spaces for their own, short-term interests.)

Now here is the Call-Out from Ontario Nature to All of Us to Speak Up  for our Natural Heritage in this Province –

Photo: Prothonotary warbler © Bill McDonald, Video: Spotted turtle © Noah Cole

Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is misleading the public by claiming that its recently proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act, 2007  (ESA) will “improve outcomes for species at risk.” Continue reading →

“We call on the Government of Ontario to postpone the implementation of these funding cuts to at least 2020, to allow for proper discussion with municipalities and local residents. We call on the Government of Ontario to be transparent about its intentions and engage with cities before downloading more services.” – from a Statement released by the Mayors of 28 of Ontario’s larger cities, including St. Catharines

Statement from Mayor Cam Guthrie (Guelph, Ontario), Chair of LUMCO and LUMCO Mayors

Posted May 2nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli presents the 2019 budget as Premier Doug Ford looks on at the legislature in Toronto on Thursday, April 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

(This past April 30th), Mayor Cam Guthrie, Chair of the Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO) released the following statement on behalf of Ontario’s big-city mayors:

“Big-city mayors from across Ontario are extremely concerned that the Government of Ontario is engaging in downloading by stealth – implementing funding and governance changes to municipalities without any consultation, after cities have already approved our budgets. Continue reading →

Spraying to be conducted at two identified locations to combat the damaging effects of the invasive insect species

A News Release from the Niagara Parks Commission in Niagara, Ontario

Posted May 2, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – In collaboration with Trees Unlimited and Zimmer Air Services Inc., Niagara Parks will be conducting an aerial spray program to protect foliage at Paradise Grove and Upper Whirlpool Woods, beginning on May 19 (weather permitting).

Cycling along the trails on Niagara Parks’ lands bordering the Niagara River. Niagara Parks Commission. file photo

These two locations were identified by Niagara Parks’ environment team as having the highest egg mass density of gypsy moths, a non-native invasive insect species that has spread into the central portion of Niagara, including patches in Niagara-on-the-Lake and along the Lake Erie shoreline. Continue reading →

“Ford promised that people of this province would never have to pay out of their pocket for health care, yet that’s exactly what he’s making people do if they leave this province even for a short day trip, and go to the United States.”                                                          – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gales

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

Posted May 1^st. 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates in Ontario legislature. file photo

QUEEN’S PARK –Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates rose in the legislature yesterday to speak out against recent plans from the Ford Government to cancel out-of-country OHIP coverage for residents.

“Ford promised that people of this province would never have to pay out of their pocket for health care, yet that’s exactly what he’s making people do if they leave this province even for a short day trip, and go to the United States,’ said Gates.

“Despite the fact that the Canada Health Act states that residents will be covered by OHIP when they leave this province-that’s in the act-this PC government is removing that vital OHIP coverage for people who leave the province. This isn’t a few people; this is literally thousands, including in my riding.” Continue reading →

We the People of Ontario Deserve That,  And We Should Demand It When It Comes to Protecting Our Environment!

A Commentary by Klara Young-Chin, a resident and a member of Friends of One Mile Creek in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Posted May 1st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

In a recent story from CTV, I read  in disbelief about this provincial government’s decision to eliminate a program that is aimed at planting 50 million trees in urban areas in Ontario.

Here are some key points from the the CTV story –

• “The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry told Forests Ontario the day after the Progressive Conservative government delivered its budget this month that the 50 Million Tree Program was being eliminated.”
• ” Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario, said since 2008 more than 27 million trees have been planted across Ontario through the program, which saved landowners up to 90 per cent of the costs of large-scale tree planting.”
• “About 40 per cent forest cover is needed to ensure forest sustainability, Keen said, and the average right now in southern Ontario is 26 per cent, with some areas as low as 5 per cent.”
• “ The program’s annual budget was about $4.7 million, Keen said, and Forests Ontario was told it was being cancelled as a way to cut provincial costs.”
• “ A spokeswoman for Natural Resources and Forestry Minister John Yakabuski said the government is committed to balancing the budget in a responsible manner.”
• “ Justine Lewkowicz said in a statement that the forestry industry, which depends on a sustainable supply of wood, is a responsible steward of the province’s forests.”
• “ On average, the forestry industry plants 68 million trees per year, creating jobs for foresters, nurseries, and tree planters,” she wrote. She did not say how many trees are harvested per year.”

I would like to point out that the 68 million trees (referred to in the CTV story) replanted in the forestry sector, is mandated by law up in Northern Ontario, after trees are harvested by the industry. There are no new forests being created. Continue reading →

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra addressing thousands attending April 30th rally at Queen’s Park

“Doug Ford’s government has no mandate to impose cuts and privatization of public health care. Not a word of this was breathed in the (Jume 2018) election.” – Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition

A News Release from Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition

Posted May 1st, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Toronto – They came from across Ontario in the middle of a work day by the
thousands with a message for the Doug Ford government.

From a stage in front of the Ontario Legislature Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition called on the crowd of more than 10,000 to make enough noise that it would be heard by legislators inside the building –

More than 10,000 came from regions across Ontario, including Niagara, this April 30th to rally at Queen’s Park for Ford government to support quality public health care.Ontario Health Coalition file photos

“Doug Ford’s government has no mandate to impose cuts and privatization of public health care. Not a word of this was breathed in the election,” she said. Continue reading →

“Municipalities need a partner in the provincial government — not a government working against them.”

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch

Posted April 30^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

QUEEN’S PARK — Jeff Burch, Ontario NDP critic for Municipal Affairs, released the following statement as the mayors of more than two-dozen big cities speak up to fight Doug Ford’s cuts to municipalities. The Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO) says Ford’s cuts are forcing municipal taxes to go up, or services to be cut.

“With cuts to public health, ambulances services, library services, child care, policing and more, Doug Ford is putting unbearable financial pressure on municipalities. Ontario’s big city mayors have taken the unprecedented move of speaking out to make it clear just how much Doug Ford’s cuts will hurt everyday people, and this government needs to listen, then reverse the cuts.

Municipalities need a partner in the provincial government — not a government working against them. Doug Ford is trying to force municipalities to wear responsibility for the Conservatives’ callous cuts.”

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

“This cut comes at a time when we are experiencing more extreme weather events and we need to take action to fight climate change.” – Monteith-Farrell, the NDP’s Forestry critic

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

Posted April 30^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

QUEEN’S PARK – The 50 million trees program, a program that creates jobs and fights climate change, should not be scrapped by the Ford government, said NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell during question period Tuesday. 

“This government is cutting a program that aimed to plant 50 million trees across the province.  This program would have created good jobs and helped grow our forests,” said Monteith-Farrell, the NDP’s Forestry critic. 

“This cut comes at a time when we are experiencing more extreme weather events and we need to take action to fight climate change.”  Continue reading →

Ontario’s Education Minister Calls on Teachers’ Unions to Start Negotiations

“Our government wants to work co-operatively with the unions to address the real issues with our education system and we are prepared to immediately begin bargaining in good faith.”              – Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Education         

A News Release from the Ontario Government

Posted April 30th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson

TORONTO — Today (this April 30th), Lisa Thompson, Minister of Education, issued the following statement in response to the start of education sector labour negotiations:

“Our government took the unprecedented step this month of providing teachers’ unions with an opportunity to start early good faith bargaining to allow labour negotiations to conclude in time to ensure our students will be in classes, where they belong, in September.

The current education sector labour agreement negotiated by the previous government expires on August 31, 2019, which coincides with the start of the fall school year. Continue reading →

“A living wage reflects what earners need to be paid based on the actual costs of living and being included in the community.”

News from the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Posted April 30^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that Dun’ for You Contracting has become a certified living wage employer.

Representatives for Livable wage winner Dun for You LW in Niagara receive certification from Niagara Poverty Reduction Network

Dun’ for You Contracting has been providing superior renovations and home improvements in the Niagara Region since 2003. There are two principals owners and four full time employees and they are currently looking to add another two skilled carpenters and a labourer to their team. Continue reading →

Buses will be leaving Niagara at 9:00 a.m. at the Welland Market, 9:30 a.m.  at the St. Catharines Go Bus Station ( Fairview Mall) and at 10:00 a.m. Grimsby go station ( Casablanca and South Service Road).

To Reserve a Seat on a Niagara bus heading to the Queen’s Park Rally, please email niagarahealthcoalition@yahoo.ca

A Call-Out to Every Citizen Across Ontario from the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide citizens organization advocating for quality, public health care for all

Posted April 29^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Sixteen Reasons for You to be Part of the Rally

Continue reading →

If your care about the future of life on our planet, this one might bring a tear to your eyes

A poignant Earth Day  video and “reminder of the urgent need to protect our  planet” from the United Nations

A Brief Comment by Doug Draper

Posted April 29^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Since we began observing the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day this past Monday April 22^nd with events that ran in communities across Niagara and other regions of the world through the remainder of the week, there were reasons for hope, for anger, and for tears.

The hope came from watching children and their parents planting trees, cleaning trash from parks and roadsides, and engaging in other Earth Day activities in their communities. And it came from all of the mostly young people who are standing up for their future in their calls for action on climate change.

The anger came from watching political leaders like Premier Doug Ford in Ontario warring on over what he calls a “federal tax” on gasoline – a price the federal government is attempting to put on climate-altering carbon emissions in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon spewing in to the atmosphere.

A poster for a workshop Conservation Ontario and Conservation Authorities in the Toronto area held on flood management in 2018. This April, Ford government cut funding to the NPCA and the other 35 Conservation Authorities in Ontario for flood management, even as flood waters in some areas of the province rise to destructive levels that have rarely been experienced in the communities impacted.

The anger also came from Ford cutting funding for planting trees in Ontario and cutting funding for Conservation Authorities in the province, including ours in the Niagara region, to take measures to reduce damage to people and property from flooding – all of this cutting of environment protection programs and more while people along the Ottawa River and other areas of Ontario were (and still are) suffering catastrophic losses due to record flooding.

And the tears came from thoughts of all we have to lose by way of a beautiful and health planet – the only oasis we know we have for life in the entire universe – if we don’t take action.

I certainly found myself shedding a few tears when I watched a video circulated world-wide by the United Nations, which has been working with armies of scientists and climate experts around the world to convince government leaders to take climate change seriously enough to do what is necessary before it is too late.

“This video is a poignant reminder of the urgent need to protect the planet,” said a message from the United Nations that accompanied its release on Earth Day.

Please watch the video by clicking on the screen below, and share it with all of your friends –

Learn More by clicking on –  https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/

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

Remembering All Those Who Were Injured or Who Died From Their Work

“This year it’s important we mourn the dead, but also fight for the living,” – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates

A Call-Out from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted April 26^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates. File photo

Niagara Falls —Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates released a statement ahead of Niagara’s Day of Mourning Ceremonies this Sunday, April 28th.

“I spent my entire adult life working in an industrial plant and I’ve seen first-hand what can go wrong in the workplace. Not one person should go to work in the morning and not know if they’ll ever see their families again,” said Gates.

Gates was the president of Unifor Local 199 when GM employee Joel Murray died on the job who is honoured every year in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the Day of Mourning ceremonies. Continue reading →

“Eliminating (Ontario’s) 50 million trees program weakens the province’s ability to fight climate change and absorb the impact of extreme weather events. This move is yet another signal that the Ford government is getting out of the business of land stewardship, something past PC governments supported.”            – Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner

Ford’s self-described “Government for the People” has axed funding for this valuable environmental program

A Statement from the Green Party of Ontario with a Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted April 26th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Earth Day 2019 may have come and gone, but the slash and burn job Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the MPPs in his so-called “Government for the People” is doing to environmental protection policies and programs continues.

This time, the target of what the eyes of non-partisan people who care about the environment can only view as an all-out war on environmental protection programs in Ontario by the government that now runs the province is a program that costs an annual $4.7 million to plant trees that help prevent erosion and help purify our water and our air, including absorb some of the carbon from the atmosphere that contributes to climate change.

It should come as no surprise that the Ford government would not value the carbon-absorbing benefits of trees given a costly propaganda and court battle it is already waging against what it calls a “carbon tax.”

This “carbon tax” is a price that the federal government is placing on man-made carbon emissions from the burning of gasoline and other sources as a way of discouraging the use of carbon-based fuels in favour of green alternatives, and ultimately reducing what has already become a dangerous load of climate-altering carbon in the earth’s atmosphere. Continue reading →

St. Catharines MPP Jennie  Stevens Follows Up with Call on Ford Government to help fund barriers and Mental Health Services in Niagara

The Burgoyne Bridge over the Twelve Mile Creek valley and a stretch of Hwy. 406 swinging through St. Catharines/Niagara. Tragically, the bridge has recently become what some Niagara regional councillors have called a “magnet” for victims of suicide and the Region’s council voted this April 25 to install suicide prevention barriers on the bridge.

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

First, here is a  brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

Following lengthy discussions and debate, Niagara Region’s council voted this April 25^th to spend $4 million from its 2019 capital budget on barriers that will hopefully prevent any further deaths by suicide – including three in the past three months alone – from the recently rebuilt Burgoyne Bridge in St. Catharines.

Approval of the funding came after heartfelt calls for the barriers from friends and family members of suicide victims, along with a message from them and from some regional councillors, that if the barriers save even one life, they are worth it. Continue reading →

Niagara Citizens are urged to hop on the bus and  join Ontarians travelling in from dozens of communities  across the province to let the Ford government know that enough is enough!

Buses will be leaving Niagara at 9:00 a.m. at the Welland Market, 9:30 a.m.  at the St. Catharines Go Bus Station ( Fairview Mall) and at 10:00 a.m. Grimsby go station ( Casablanca and South Service Road).

To Reserve a Seat on a Niagara bus heading to the Queen’s Park Rally, please email niagarahealthcoalition@yahoo.ca

A Call-Out from the Ontario Health Coalition and the Niagara Health Coalition, a citizens advocacy network fighting to save quality public health care in Ontario

Posted April 26th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Toronto – It is shaping up to be one of the largest public rallies at Queen’s Park since the Ford government took power.

It will be held next Tuesday, April 30 at Queen’s Park.

Ontarians from towns and cities across the province are heading to the Ontario Legislature to stop health care cuts, privatization and mega-mergers that threaten care. Continue reading →

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra

“Doug Ford has shown the most contempt for parliamentary democracy that we have ever seen. All of his radical health reform plans have been forged in secret and steamrolled through with the least notice, the least amount of public hearings and the fastest timelines ever.”                                       – Natalie Mehra, executive director,  Ontario Health Coalition.

News from the Ontario Health Coalition 

Posted April 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Toronto – Usually a change in a regulation under an Ontario law is posted in the Ontario Gazette and the public is given 60-days notice to give input, reported the Ontario Health Coalition today in response to new cuts to OHIP coverage that were posted online at:https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=29390&language=en

But the public has only been given until Tuesday to provide feedback on the latest OHIP cuts revealed today.

In the online posting, the Ford government reports that it met with private insurance corporations to consult about the changes, but not with patients and their advocates, seniors’organizations, public interest groups or the public. The Coalition warns this is only the latest in terribly undemocratic changes to our public health care. Continue reading →

A Call-Out to All from the City of St. Catharines

Posted April 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Earth Day Celebration at Market Square

Meet the City of St. Catharines to learn about water quality, take the tap-water taste test, discuss reducing single-use plastics and enjoy other environmental activities at the Links for Greener Learning’s annual Earth Day Celebration at Market Square on Friday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Continue reading →

“Students voted last year to give the project, and its initial $6.8-million price tag, the green light. It will be funded through a $17-per-credit fee for all full- and part-time undergraduate students over a period of five years, starting in September 2020, when the expansion is completed.” 

A News Release from Brock University in St. Catharines 

Posted April 25^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara, Ontario – As shovels hit the ground Wednesday, the next chapter officially began for Brock University’s expanded fitness centre.

Karen McAllister-Kenny, Brock’s Director of Recreation Services, Aidan Hibma, outgoing President of the Brock University Students’ Union, Brock student and current Zone user Paige Phillips and Brock President Gervan Fearon break ground at the Zone Fitness Centre expansion on Wednesday, April 24.

 The Brock community came together April 24 to mark the groundbreaking of the Zone Fitness Centre project that will see the popular campus facility triple in size.  Continue reading →

Autumn Peltier speaking last year to United Nations General Assembly on water issues

“We all have a right to this water as we need it. Not just rich people, all people. No one should have to worry if the water is clean or if they will run out of water.”                                                   – Autumn Peltier, from an address the young Indigenous girl from Canada delivered to the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 on World Water Day

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted April 24th, 2019, during a week of  Earth Day events and observances, on Niagara At Large

As communities around the world continue celebrating Earth Day through this week, I want to offer yet another example of a young person talking to adults about action they know, or at least should know they should be taking for the sake of everyone’s future.

The last young person we featured on Niagara At Large in a post this April 23rd – the day after the official anniversary date of Earth Day – was Greta Thunberg, who delivered passionate addresses to representatives of the European Union earlier this April, and to a United Nations summit last December to act now to prevent a climate catastrophe that might spare no one. Continue reading →

Any Government out there that would Cut Funding to Public Libraries has Absolutely No Concept of  the Common Good

“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”                             — the legendary television and radio news broadcaster Walter Cronkite

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted April 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

And Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Tory Party lapdogs out there call themselves a “Government for the People”?

What people are they talking about?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his “Government for the People” are now aiming their budget-slashing sites at the province’s public libraries

It’s bad enough that they have been slashing funding for municipal transit services, environmental protection, health care and public education, and rolling back social assistance for people living in poverty, along with plans by the previous government to increase the minimum wage so that people at the lowest end of the salary ladder can one day have a livable wage.

Now they are cutting funding for public libraries across the province, for God’s sake.

They can’t even leave our public libraries alone. Continue reading →

“Ford’s proposed change to OHIP coverage for Ontarians traveling out of country fits a disturbing pattern of this government bypassing public consultation as it tries to force through rapid changes to our health care system,”                             – from an April 24th  statement by France Gélinas, the Ontario NDP’s Health Care critic

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

Posted April 24^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

QUEEN’S PARK — The NDP’s Health Care critic, France Gélinas, said the Ford government proposing to cancel Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) coverage for out-of-country Ontario travelers is alarming. Continue reading →

Hosted by Niagara’s Regional Government this Wednesday, April 24th  from 5 to 7 p.m. at the St. Catharines Public Library, 54 Church Street, in downtown St. Catharines

News from the Niagara Region

Posted April 24th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

About Niagara Region’s Specialized Transit Study – 

The Specialized Transit Study is one of the key studies in Moving Transit Forward in Niagara.

To best meet the transportation and mobility needs of our aging population and residents requiring accommodation, the Linking Niagara Transit Committee is reviewing specialized transit in Niagara. IBI Group will lead this review.

The review will determine how we can meet the short- and long-term needs of regional and municipal specialized transit clients. Continue reading →

Author and Historian Sarah King Head Explores the Evolution of Beaverdam’s Unique Cultural Landscape

News from Heritage Thorold LACAC, a volunteer heritage group based in Thorold, Ontario

Posed April 23^rd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Author and historian Sarah King Head. Proceeds from the sale of her award-winning book about Niagara’s Beaverdams area supports the good work of one of the area’s great heritage groups,  Heritage Thorold LACAC

Into its fourth printing, sales of the book Where Beavers Built Their Dams: The Evolution of a Unique Cultural Heritage Landscape in Thorold, Ontario continue to support the work of Heritage Thorold LACAC.

The history of Beaverdams is a good story; something author and historian Sarah King Head has successfully been able to tell by putting the island community’s extant heritage gems within the context of the island village’s rich, less tangible history.

She notes that what most people don’t always appreciate is how entirely Beaverdams’ “cottage country” illusion today is a creation of the past two centuries. Indeed, creation of the Welland Canals to the east and Lake Gibson to the west, south and north has transformed the landscape. Continue reading →

‘Don’t Worry Though. The Planet Will Be Fine. It will   be here for a Long, Long Time. We’re Going Away’ – from a routine by the late George Carlin called ‘The Planet is Fine’

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted on Earth Day, April 22^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

We all have those days in our lives where we will never forget where we were and what we were doing at the time.

One of mine was April 22^nd, 1970 – the very first Earth Day observed anywhere around the world – and my high school principal in Welland, Ontario allowed me and about four or five of my classmates to hold a demonstration in front of a Union Carbide plant that was infamous for belching clouds of filth from this stacks that could be seen from one end of the Niagara region to another.

As we stood outside the chain-link fence of that plant – me wearing a gas mask I borrowed from my arts teacher, and holding a sign reading; “If You Aren’t Part of the SOLUTION, You are Part of the POLLUTION” – cars raced by with horn honks of support, and workers from the plant, out on their break, threw empty pop cans at the chain-link fence behind us and yelled; “Beat it. Go back to school.”

Our April 22nd, 1970 demonstration on the very first Earth Day, with the author of this post out front wearing a gas mask.

We remained undaunted. Continue reading →

All Ontario’s Ford Government can do is blow hot air about a four-to-five cents per litre “Carbon Tax” on gasoline.

Is That All Our Future is Worth?

Posted this Earth Day, April 22^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large –

Could this be ‘Ford Nation’ in the year 2014? Wonder how much this Ford supporter would be willing to pay for gas now?

A few weeks ago, after Niagara At Large posted another in a series of news commentaries on the Ford government’s obsession with spending large sums of our money fighting efforts by Canada’s federal government to put a price on climate-altering carbon pollution – what Ford and his allies like federal Tory leader Andrew Sheer, and newly elected Alberta premier Jason Kenny strategically call a “carbon tax” to make it sound like some poison pill the feds are trying to get us to swallow – one Niagara resident and NAL reader, Linda McKellar, shared the following comment.

We posted this comment on Niagara At Large at the time, but feel it is well worth repeating on Earth Day, along with the dramatic video message from the late great Carl Sagan that it refers to. Here it is.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford seen here, slamming the four-to-five cent “carbon tax” the feds are adding to a litre on gasoline as one way of reducing climate-altering carbon pollution. Here is a question you might want to ask Ford and his Tory MPPs. How about killing the more than 20 cents a litre in provincial taxes on gas while you are at it? Or does that go to pay for the salaries and expenses of Ford and his cabinet?

A Comment from Niagara, Ontario resident Linda McKellar on reports from a global team of scientists that we may only have 11 or 12 years left to avert a world-wide climate catastrophe –

So what does Ford do?

Open for business.

I don’t mind paying more for gas or a carbon tax if it enables me to breathe.
Somehow people think we’re immune from extinction. We’re not. Neither are the animals and pollinators we need to keep us alive in the chain of life.

It’s like (former U.S. senator and vice-president, and climate change fighting advocate) Al Gore’s frog analogy.

Put a frog in hot water and it jumps out…if it can. Put it in water and heat it gradually and it adapts up to a point and won’t jump out until the damage is done and it’s too late.

More people need to read Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” to realize how insignificant and stupid humans are and how lucky we are to have a liveable place called earth.

Maybe eons from now, some species will look back at our fossils and say, wow, were those extinct creatures ever stupid!

A Footnote from Niagara At Large –

Please click on the following screen, for a message from the late great scientist and environmentalist Carl Sagan –

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

Umbrella Group for NPCA and 35 other CAs  across Province Responds to “Deep Cuts” in Ford Budget to Core Services           like Flood Management 

A Message from Conservation Ontario

Posted April 22^nd, 2019 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword by Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

One of the more frequent pieces of news I heard on CBC Radio coming into this rain-soaked Easter weekend was broadcast with the heading; “Ontario’s Conservation Authorities on flood alert.”

Flooding waters from near-record rainfalls in the spring of 2017 covered swampedf Lakeside Park and the outer Port Dalhousie Harbour area in St. Catharines, Ontario, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage and cleanup costs. File photo by Doug Draper

This news came just days after reports circulated across the province that the budget Ontario’s Ford government tabled this past April 11^th included up to 50 per cent cuts in transfer payments to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and 35 other Conservation Authorities in Ontario for delivering core services that include, at or near the top of the list, flood management.

One finds it hard to imagine what logic – economic or otherwise – Premier Doug Ford, his cabinet and his caucus of MPPs that includes Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, used to make this cut. Continue reading →

“This move is regressive and dangerous. The world is in a biodiversity crisis, and the Ontario government has proposed to gut one of the most comprehensive endangered species laws in the world.” – from a statement by three of Canada’s leading environmental organizations

Ontario Nature file photo

A Statement from Ontario Nature , Environmental Defence of Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation

Posted April 19^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Nature file photo

Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario government’s shocking and irresponsible proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act will effectively remove all safety nets for species at risk in this province. The proposal will give industry a free pass to exterminate species in Ontario.

This move is regressive and dangerous. The world is in a biodiversity crisis, and the Ontario government has proposed to gut one of the most comprehensive endangered species laws in the world. The province is bending to pressure from industry and sprawl developers when they should be working to restore and protect vulnerable habitats. Continue reading →

“Many of us are aware of how wonderful the Niagara River ecosystem is, but to be honored on a global scale would be an incredible boost both ecologically and economically. These are world-renowned wetlands in our own backyard.”              – Professor Kim Diana Connolly, director of the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at the University at Buffalo School of Law

Provincially significant wetlands under the canopy of the Thundering Waters Forest, in the Niagara River watershed in Niagara Falls, Ontario. file photo

News from the Niagara River Ramsar Binational Steering Committee

Posted April 18th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

(Niagara At Large will be posting more information on this important development for our Niagara River corridor in the days ahead, including comments from key players on both sides of the Ontario/New York State border. Stay Tuned.)

Now here is news released this April 18 by Canadian Chair Jocelyn Baker, U.S. Chair Jajean Rose-Burney and the rest of the Niagara River Ramsar Binational Steering Committee

Niagara Falls New York  – The Niagara River is one step closer to being recognized under an international Convention as a Wetland of International Importance.

The listing of a site under the Ramsar Convention is a source of pride for the site’s community and a major draw for ecotourism.

“This is an exciting advancement for the region. The Ramsar honor will put the Niagara River on par with other Ramsar sites like the Everglades and the Galapagos Islands” said Greg Stevens, Executive Director of the Niagara River Greenway Commission.

The Niagara River Ramsar Binational Steering Committee, made up of local environmental experts and advocates, has been working on this nomination for six years. Continue reading →

On the Eve of Earth Day, 2019, Ford and his Tory MPPs continue their Rlentloess War on our Environment

An Urgent Outcry from Ontario Nature, a not-for-profit citizens advocacy group for protecting what is left of Ontario’s natural heritage

Posted April 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Ontario’s Environment Minister Rod Phillips shamelessly outlines plans to let developers do end run around endangered species laws, while his boss, Doug Ford, looks on.

When the government holds a press conference in the afternoon before a long weekend, the news is unlikely to be good.

Indeed, today Minister Rod Phillips (Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks) announced proposed changes to Ontario’s Endangered species Act.

As we feared, these changes would effectively allow the government to ignore the pressing need to save Ontario’s most vulnerable plants and animals.

Niagara citizens rally o save Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario and wildlife in it from plans by developers to build there. file photo

If the changes go through –

• * Species listed as threatened or endangered may no longer be automatically protected.
• * The Minister will have discretion to interfere with the listing of at-risk species at his convenience, bringing politics into the listing process.
• * Developers and other proponents of harmful activities will be able to “pay-to-slay” by paying into a fund to compensate for harming species at risk and their habitats (rather than providing an on-the-ground overall benefit to species).
• * Southern Ontario species at the northern limit of their range may receive less or no protection, depending on their status outside Ontario.

These moves are regressive and dangerous.

Continue reading →

St. Catharines’ Acting Fire Chief says ‘it is dangerous for restaurants, bars and nightclubs to have more people than they can accommodate’.

A News Release from the City of St. Catharines

Posted April 18^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

Acting St. Catharines, Ontario Fire Chief Jeff McCormick

Niagara, Ontario – The operator of the Mansion House Hotel in Downtown St. Catharines has been fined by the Ontario Court of Justice for overcrowding at the bar.

1602128 Ontario Ltd. pled guilty on Friday, April 12 to Ontario Fire Code charges of exceeding the occupant load for the number of persons occupying a room or floor space in an assembly occupancy. The establishment had more occupants in its main floor bar area and in its lounge area than the authorized capacity.

The court imposed a $7,500 fine against the operators as well as court costs and victim fine surcharges.

Acting Fire Chief Jeff McCormick said it is dangerous for restaurants, bars and nightclubs to have more people than they can accommodate. Continue reading →

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted April 17^th, 2019 on Niagara At Large

At a meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors this April 17th, Interim CAO for the NPCA, Gayle Wood, seated to the left of the board’s Vice Chair and Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson, talks to board about funding cut from the Ontario government.

On top of other deep cuts to Ontario’s environmental protection programs, the Ford government has also taken an axe to the funding the province transfers to Conservation Authorities for protecting people and their properties from climate-related hazards like flooding.

NPCA’s Interim CAO Gayle Wood

At a meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors this April 17^th, Gayle Wood, the NPCA’s Interim CAO, told board members that concerns that last April 11^th’s provincial budget would mean significant cuts in funding from the province to Conservation Authorities across Ontario have been confirmed.

Wood said annual funds the province transfers to the NPCA will be cut from about $174,000 to $90,000 – almost half of the money the province gives to the Conservation Authority each year for core services like flood management.

The cut may not be much of a blow to the NPCA’s budget this year, she said, because some money is being saved “due to a number of (recent) staffing gaps,” but next year they could prove “extremely challenging.” Continue reading →