Niagara At Large

“If PR (proportional representation) had been in place in Ontario, Doug Ford wouldn’t have had the power in the legislature to pass Bill 5.” – former federal NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and the Broadbent Institute of Canada

“The greatest way to defend democracy is to make it work”            – Tommy Douglas, Canada’s Father of Universal Health Care

A Column from Rick Smith, Executive Director of the Broadbent Institute

Posted August 15, 2018 on Niagara At Large

There was a time when all participants in the political process – whether from the left or right – disagreed about the best approach to issues, but did so with a respect for their opponents and our democratic process.

This is not one of those times.

Moments ago (this August 14^th), in the Ontario legislature, Doug Ford’s Conservatives rammed through Bill 5: an unprecedented new law that alters the City of Toronto’s election rules, gerrymandering ward boundaries and cutting the number of Council seats by almost half; over the strenuous objections of the city and in the middle of the election itself.

Make no mistake: We haven’t seen anything like Bill 5 before in recent Canadian history and this stealthy attack on municipal government will have national implications.

(A Note to Niagara At Large readers – Bill 5 is the same legislation Ford’s “Government for the People” is using to kill elections for regional chair in the Niagara, Peel, York and Muskoka regions.)

Doug Ford didn’t campaign on a promise to unilaterally change Toronto’s election rules.  He didn’t submit the hair-brained scheme to public consultation. And he refused to allow it to be studied – as is customary – by a legislative committee. Continue reading →

If There’s Nothing Wrong, You’d Think Niagara’s Region al Chair Would Want To Call In Ontario’s Ombudsman Himself To Clear The Air

“To ask for another meeting less than two weeks later is nothing less than disingenuous politicking by the same few characters who have contributed the least this term of council.” – Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin, in an August 12th, 2018 email to regional councillors

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 14^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara regional chair Al Caslin. He could have agreed to call the Ontario Ombudsman in four months ago in an effort to clear the air over the hiring of CAO Carmen D’Angelo.

More than four months have passed since The St. Catharines Standard published a story that took reporter Grant LaFleche and others at the newspaper months to investigate and fact check.

It was a  a story that raised serious questions and concerns about the  integrity of the process in place to  hire Carmen D’Angelo, in the fall of 2016, to the $230,000 a year job of chief administrative officer or CAO of a Niagara regional government responsible for services  costing more than $1 billion of our tax money to operate each year.

The April 6^th story, based on documents the newspaper obtained and sources it obviously could not name for fear of those people becoming targets of reprisals, alleged that D’Angelo, then CAO of a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) already facing intense public scrutiny, received information he should not have that  may have given him unfair advantage over other candidates for the Region’s CAO job. Continue reading →

Come this October 17th, Pot Smokers 19 Years of Age and Over Will Be Able To Purchase Weed Online

“We will be ready to put in place a safe, legal system for cannabis retail that will protect consumers.”                                                        – Doug Ford’s Ontario General Caroline Mulroney

News from Premier Doug Ford’s “Government for the People”

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Doug Ford moving ahead with plans for selling pot in Ontario

TORONTO, Ontario  — Following the federal legalization of cannabis on October 17, Ontario will immediately introduce an online retail channel for cannabis, to be followed by a private retail model by April 1, 2019.

Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney today shared details about how the province will manage cannabis retail following the federal government’s decision to legalize the drug effective October 17, 2018.

“We will be ready to put in place a safe, legal system for cannabis retail that will protect consumers,” said Mulroney. “We will also be ready to undermine the illegal market and protect Ontario’s roads.  Most importantly of all, we will be ready to protect our kids.” Continue reading →

News from Doug Draper & the Ontario’s Provincial Legislature

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

It didn’t take long.

Premier Doug Ford and his health minister, Christine Elliott, shelve plan for drug overdose prevention site in St. Catharines/Niagara despite spike in overdose deaths here.

Just  days after St.  Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens and the Niagara city’s mayor, Walter Sendzik, asked Ontario Premier Doug Ford if he “supports a safe injection site for St. Catharines,” and urged him to follow through on former Liberal government plans to set one up, Ford and his Health Minister, Christine Elliott, have announced that they are putting the plan on hold while they “review its merits”

The shelving of this site – the type of which has proven effective in other regions of North America for helping people with drug addictions – follows news from Niagara’s public health department this spring that there has been a 90 per cent spike in drug overdose deaths in Niagara over a one year period in 2016 and 2017. Continue reading →

Message Follows In Wake Of Retired Brock Prof’s “Abhorant” Tweets Against Indigenous People. University Is Moving To Strip Prof of                     Honorary Professor Emeritus Title

“I think of my two-year experience at Brock as more of a survival story than an educational experience.  … It got so bad I took a year off to heal and now as I prepare to return, I am yet again reminded about the “underneath”; the subtle mechanisms that perpetuate racial oppression in institutions.  I am tired of hearing about reconciliation when what we need is action.”          – Celeste Smith

Celeste Smith, speaking two years ago at a gathering of Indigenous people and other members of the Niagara community, to save Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls from urban development. File photo by Doug Draper

From  Celeste Smith, Oneida, Six Nations of the Grand River,  Undergrad Student/ Indigenous Human Rights Activist

Posted August 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Open Letter to Brock University in response to the recent anti-Indigenous social media activity of Professor Emeritus Garth Stevenson.

To the Brock University Community:

You have a racism problem. Unfortunately, what was exposed last Thursday (August 9th) on social media is not an isolated incident, but a large and underlying truth. I know this first hand as an Indigenous student who has been degraded and humiliated in the classroom and in other spaces at Brock in my short two years of academic study.

Now, before you raise your hand in protest and inundate me with stories of initiatives and strategies you are implementing and before you tell me the professor in question has been thoroughly humiliated and the issue resolved, let me stop you. Continue reading →

“Will the premier continue to bulldoze over evidence-based solutions to combating the opioids crisis, or will he support a provincially funded safe injection site for St Catharines and Niagara?” – St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted August 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – As communities in St. Catharines continue to have some of the highest opioid overdose deaths and as reports indicate that the riding saw a 300 per cent increase in overdoses in the last year, Jennie Stevens, Ontario NDP MPP for the riding, condemned the Conservative government’s backward priorities and urged the premier to commit to a provincially funded safe injection site for the region.

“Mayor Sendzik and St. Catharines city council unanimously called for a safe injection site for the city in January,” Stevens said. “The future of the site, like other sites in the province, is now in limbo. Does the premier support a safe injection site for St. Catharines?” Continue reading →

Ford’s Bill Threatens to Cancel Regional Chair Election in Niagara – a Move at least some call an “Assault on our Democracy”

“Doug Ford is cancelling public hearings on his vindictive law that determines the scope of municipal elections already underway, cuts representation for Torontonians in half, and ends elections for voters who used to decide on their regional chairs.”  – John Vanthof, Ontario NDP MPP. and Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted August 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Fighting Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cancel elections for regional chair, including the election for the regional chair position in Niagara, and to slash size of Toronto city council.

Queen’s Park, Toronto – The NDP has successfully delayed Doug Ford’s draconian bill to slash the number of Toronto City Councillors in half and end regional chair elections already underway.

Fighting back on behalf of the people of Toronto, and the regions where Ford cancelled the election of regional chairs, New Democrat MPPs Gilles Bisson and John Vanthof moved amendments on Ford’s bill after the Ford government cancelled public consultations and cut off legislative debate on Ford’s election-meddling bill.

“We will continue fighting like hell to allow people to have their say in what happens to their local representation,” said Bisson, NDP House Leader who introduced one of two amendments this past Thursday, August 9th. Continue reading →

It’s Time for Regional Councillors to stand up for Niagara’s Taxpayers and Demand that the Ontario Ombudsman do an Independent Investigation – Now

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

If what The St. Catharines Standard is reporting in its Saturday, August 11th edition is true – and this journalist has no reason to believe it is anything but true – heads should already be rolling at Niagara regional headquarters. Never mind waiting for this October’s municipal elections.

Niagara Region’s chair Al Caslin with CAO Carmen D’Angelo to his right

And one of those heads should be that of Niagara Region’s Chair, Al Caslin.

For the past 22 months since Carmen D’Angelo, a former CAO at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, was hired to the CAO job at Niagara Region, virtually everyone – regional councillors included – believed (because of what they and the rest of us were told) that D’Angelo was hired under a contract that ran three years.

Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo. Should he have anything to do with investigating his own hiring? Why are a majority of regional councillors still letting that happen?

In other words, in 2019 – after a new Niagara regional council is elected this October and settled in – that council, preferably made up of many new players, would have the opportunity to decide whether or not to renew D’Angelo’s contract.

Now, after many weeks of being steeped in controversy over whether the process used to hire D’Angelo in October of 2016 was tainted or corrupted in some way, The Standard is reporting that some way or somehow, between the time D’Angelo was hired and now, the life of his contract was extended  to the year 2021.

More disturbingly than that, this extension was apparently made without the knowledge of most, if not all directly elected councillors and without the knowledge of the mayors of Niagara’s 12 local municipalities who also hold a seat on the regional council. Continue reading →

“Brock has no connection whatsoever with (former political science professor Garth Stevenson’s) views, and abhors comments that have been posted on his social media sites.” – Tom Dunk, Brock’s University’s Provost and Vice-President Academic

Reprehensible Comments Made in Wake of Victoria, B.C. Decision to Remove John A. Macdonald statue.

Brock University now looking to strip  Stevenson of his honorary Professor Emeritus title.

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted August 10^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper –

John A. Macdonald statue, scheduled to be removed from steps of Victoria, B.C.’s city hall this August 11th.

In the wake of a decision by the city council of Victoria, British Columbia this past August 9^th to remove a state of John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, also often identified as Canada’s ‘Father of Confederation’, emotions have been running high across the country.

Yet, few outbursts reported in the news so far have been received with as much objection as those posted on social media this August 9^th and linked to retired Brock University political science professor Garth Stevenson. Continue reading →

Watch for Ontario’s ‘Buck-A-Beer’ Ford Government to Sell LCBO Stores Off for Some Quick Cash

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 10th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the political playbook.

It was just last January that then Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the appointed of Edmund Clark, a CEO for the TD Bank Group for 12 years, to Chair of the LCBO. Now he has suddenly ‘stepped down’.

Make an announcement that could be controversial or provocative on a Friday before a weekend so that maybe they will forget or at least cool down by the time the switchboard opens up on Monday.

A couple of weeks ago Ford ‘s self-described “Government for the People” t made its sudden and shocking announcement to slash  the number of seats on Toronto’s city council in half and cancel elections for the position of regional government chair in Niagara and three other regional municipalities.

This Friday, August 10th, the two month-old Ford government announced that all of a sudden, Edmund Clark, who has been  chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) barely more than seven months after serving  as CEO of the TD Bank Group for 12 years, is stepping down. Continue reading →

“One of our key goals in undertaking campus redevelopment at Niagara College is to enhance the student experience in learning and connecting with the College community.”                                      – Niagara College’s VP Corporate Services Pam Skinner

News from Niagara College

Posted August 10th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Canadian Interiors magazine has selected the College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) Campus student commons as a winner in its 2018 Best of Canada Design Competition.

The NC space is among 22 projects – one of three in the institutional category – to be named winners of the magazine’s 21st annual competition, celebrating the best interior and product design across Canada.

Niagara College campus resign wins national  design recognition

According to Canadian Interiors editor Peter Sobchak, Best of Canada Design Competition winners were selected by a panel of four judges and professionals within the interior design industry. Continue reading →

“A quality beer cannot be brewed for $1 per unit. To meet this challenge, Niagara’s breweries would have to make enormous compromises on quality and abandon the reputation for outstanding beer which they have so painstakingly built.”           – Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

A Message from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Posted August 9^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario Premier Doug Ford holds up a cold one following his “buck-a-beer” announcement this past August 7th

Niagara, Ontario  – The Government of Ontario has recently announced its Buck a Beer policy. This program offers no direct financial incentives but lowers the price floor for beer to $1 and will offer LCBO shelf space and promotional advantages to breweries who lower their price to that floor.

Breweries in Niagara and across Ontario have assured both the GNCC (Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce) and the Province that a quality beer cannot be brewed for $1 per unit.

To meet this challenge, Niagara’s breweries would have to make enormous compromises on quality and abandon the reputation for outstanding beer which they have so painstakingly built. Continue reading →

“Somehow it is ok with the CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Savety Commission) that Pickering continues to produce close to 20,000 radioactive fuel bundles every year despite a lack of fully secure storage facilities onsite or any viable long-term plan for dealing with this deadly waste.” – Ontario Clean Air Alliance

News from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Posted August 9th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Unsurprisingly, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has approved a ten-year extension to the aging Pickering Nuclear Station’s operating licence, meaning the plant could potentially operate until 2028. 

The Pickering Nuclear Power Plant along the northern shores of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto

It took the CNSC less than five weeks to review – and dismiss – dozens of submissions pointing out the Pickering Station’s terrible location surrounded by millions of people, the lack of thorough emergency planning despite 50 years of operations, and the absence of plans for better dealing with the tonnes of radioactive waste stockpiled at the plant with nowhere to go. Continue reading →

“The discovery of two new non-native zooplankton in the Great Lakes is concerning news.” – Alliance for the Great Lakes Vice President of Policy Molly Flanagan

A Statement from the U.S.-based citizens group, Alliance for the Great Lakes

Posted August 9th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Our Great Lakes from space

Chicago, Illinois  – This August 8th, Cornell University Biological Field Station announced the discovery of two new non-native species of zooplankton – Diaphanosoma fluviatile and Mesocyclops pehpeiensis – in the Great Lakes. In reaction to the announcement, Alliance for the Great Lakes Vice President of Policy Molly Flanagan made the following statement.

 “The discovery of two new non-native zooplankton in the Great Lakes is concerning news. The fact that these are the third and fourth non-native zooplankton found in Lake Erie in the past three years is an alarming trend. Continue reading →

Fundraising; Ontario Municipal Board Appeal; Endangered Species; the last Woodlands in Fort Erie along the Lake Erie Shoreline

News from the Niagara, Ontario-based citizens group Community Voices for Fort Erie

Posted August 8th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Inside Waverly Woods along the shores of Lake Erie in the Town of Fort Erie

Fort Erie, Ontario – For the past ten months, citizens in Fort Erie and tourists from around the world have expressed many concerns about the proposed Harbourtown Village development. Town Council voted to proceed with the development in March 2018.

A local group, called the Community Voices of Fort Erie, spent months researching the environmental, cultural and historic significance of this area.

This group realized that the Environmental Impact Study and the Archeological Assessment paid for by the development team were flawed.  Continue reading →

Premier Doug Ford Announces Return of ‘Buck-a-Beer’ to Ontario

Announces ‘Buck-a-Beer Challenge’ for brewers to lower prices just in time for Labour Day

“The days of the government putting its hand in your pocket each time you buy a two-four or six-pack are over.”                                  – Your Ontario Premier, Doug Ford

A News Release from the Office of the Premier of Ontario’s “Government for the People”

Posted August 8th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

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

Now here is something that is really important. Just what the people of Ontario need right now.

Who cares about funding for mental health services, keeping our public schools in repair, protecting the quality of our air and assisting people living below the poverty level when members of the beer drinking crowd that voted for Doug Ford can get cheaper suds.

Maybe they can use the beer to medicate themselves when their access to affordable health care services disappears.

In the meantime, I have an idea.

You don’t need Ford the Bartender slinging beer for you. Just get in your car and cross the border where you can go to a Wegmans or a Tops supermarket and buy 12 cans of it for about half the price that it costs in Ontario, even with the exchange. Continue reading →

All Niagara residents should take the necessary precautions to prevent WNV

News from Niagara Region’s Public Health Department

Posted August 8th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A close-up image of a Culex pipiens mosquito perched on a pin is shown. Photo Credit: Centre for Vector-Borne Disease, Brock University

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Region Public Health has received its first report of West Nile Virus (WNV) in mosquitoes in 2018. To date, Niagara has no human cases of WNV.

While the mosquitoes that tested positive were found in Pelham, all Niagara residents should take the necessary precautions to prevent WNV. To reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes and potentially exposed to WNV, residents are reminded to: Continue reading →

Key Players in 100-Year-Old Rescue Near Brink of Horseshoe Falls Honoured by Ontario’s Niagara Parks

One hundred years later, the rusted remains of the iron scow or barge remains locked on jagged rocks, where it was scuttled by its two-man crew in the roaring rapids above the Horseshoe Falls. Both men were rescued from the barge in the harrowing hours that followed. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 8th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

We don’t do it nearly enough in Niagara, Ontario…. celebrate our history.

Sadly, we often neglect or even destroy it. … something that seems to happen far less often on the American side of the Niagara River where places where momentous events occurred are, not always but more often, preserved and showcased for generations to come.

Niagara Parks Commission chair Janice Thomson, with the scow in the upper Niagara River behind her and Niagara Parks historian Sherman Zavitz standing off to her right, speaks to a gathering this August 6th, in commemoration of a dramatic rescue that took place there, 100 years ago. Photo by Doug Draper

There are too mamy examples in Niagara, Ontario of places where key people in our region’s history lived, or fields where battles that changed the course of our history were fought, or buildings that played host to people or events that played an important part in defining where we are today, have been paved over, knocked down or neglected to the point of falling down, or all too mysteriously, in more than a few cases, burned down. Continue reading →

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn, making a point in Niagara Region’s council chambers. File photo

“It doesn’t make sense that a Government that claims to be “for the People” removes your and other people’s right to vote and decide on our future together. And to erroneously claim that directly electing the Niagara Chair added an “additional level of government [that] competes with local municipalities” is misleading and insulting.”­                                                                        – Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

A Column by Dave Augustyn, Mayor of Pelham in Niagara Ontario

Posted August 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – In light of the Ontario Government’s unexpected and anti-democratic announcement a week-and-a-half ago to cancel the Niagara Chair election this Fall, I filed my nomination in Pelham to become a Regional Councillor.

I hope to win a seat on Council and to work together with other Councillors, residents and businesses across the peninsula to fix the Region’s integrity crisis and to create a better Niagara.

Dave Augustyn (centre) with former Niagara regional chair Debbie Zimmerman and former Port Colborne Mayor and regional councillor Bob Saracino after his announcement to run for Niagara Regional Chair this past July 12th. A few weeks later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancelled the regional chair election for this October 22nd. – Photo by Renate Hodges

In the Fall of 2016, the Province introduced legislation that included mandating the election of all Ontario’s Regional Chairs by the public-at-large, starting in 2018. While this push toward a more accountable and democratic election alarmed a few folks in Niagara, those watching the Municipal sector weren’t surprised. Continue reading →

Ceremony to include guest speakers, an historical address, rescue demonstration, special presentation and plaque and panel unveiling

An Invite to All from the Niagara Parks Commission

Re-Posted August 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – In celebration of the 100-year history of the iron scow, which to this day, remains remarkably lodged in the powerful upper rapids of the Niagara River and in recognition of the heroic rescue effort that took place, Niagara Parks will be hosting a commemorative event at Toronto Power Park on Monday, August 6 at 7 p.m.

One hundred years later, the rusted remains of the iron scow or barge remains locked on jagged rocks, where it was scuttled by its two-man crew in the roaring rapids above the Horseshoe Falls. Both men were rescued from the barge in the harrowing hours that followed. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks

 On August 6, 1918, while involved with a dredging operation above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on the American side of the Niagara River, a barge had broken loose from its tug boat, sending it drifting into the Niagara River’s midstream, eventually ending up grounded on rocks some 600 metres from the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Continue reading →

Joe and Anita Robertson, and daughter Laura, died in tragic plane crash this past July 30th

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted August 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Joe Robertson, who served for decades on Brock’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Anita, perished in the crash, along with their daughter Laura

Niagara, Ontario – The families of Joe and Anita Robertson knew they were dedicated members of the community, but it’s only now they’re beginning to realize just how much of an impact they had on the region.

The Niagara community was shocked and devastated this week to learn of the deaths of Joe and Anita, along with their 24-year-old daughter Laura. They were the sole occupants of a plane that crashed in Greenville, Maine on Monday, July 30. Continue reading →

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted August 4th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“My friends …. We are going to turn this province around so that our children and their children will feel proud to call Ontario their home.” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford, after his self-described “government for the people” was sworn in this past June 29th.

Ontario’s human wrecking ball of a premier, Doug Ford

Did we all catch that? He’s going to turn our province around in ways our children and their children can be proud of.

Is he now.

Less than six months after coming to power, Doug Ford and his Tories are swinging axes at schools, environmental protection, social assistance for people living in poverty and other services in ways that are already realizing the worst fears of millions of Ontarians – a majority of whom did not vote for him this past June and likely never will.

One of his targets within the last week alone was – believe it or not –mental health services at a time when studies across North America speak to great un-met need for assistance in this critical area. Continue reading →

 The Three Stooges Film Festival Is Back At Historic Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Saturday, August 4th at 7:30 p.m.

A Brief One from Doug Draper

Posted August 3rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

I know, I know. … You’ve been reading and hearing about stooges all spring and summer for weeks.

Some of you have probably even been unfortunate enough to go to a Niagara regional council meeting, if you live on the Ontario side of the border, or live stream some sessions of the U.S. Congress if you are on the American side and have seen more stooges in action than you would want to see in a lifetime there.

So why, you might rightly ask, would you want to spend precious hours of this mid-summer long weekend seeing even more? Continue reading →

“The response to this petition has confirmed what I’ve been hearing on the doorstep: residents want to directly elect their Regional Chair and they don’t like the provincial government meddling in municipal elections.” – Karrie Porter

News from the Campaign to Elect Karrie Porter to St. Catharines City Council

Posted August 3rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines City Council candidate Karrie Porter (centre) with her petition and names on it so far, with Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch and St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens

Niagara, Ontario – This Friday, August 3rd, Karrie Porter, a candidate for St. Catharines city council in Ward 4- St. Patrick’s submitted petitions signed by hundred of Niagara residents to local MPPs Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines) and Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre).

The petition calls on Queen’s Park to restore the election for Niagara Regional Chair that was abruptly cancelled last week by the provincial government, without notice or consultation.

Porter launched the petition campaign on the same day (Friday, July 27th) the provincial government announced it was cancelling the election. Continue reading →

An Invite  from the Campaign to Re-Elect Carlos Carcia to St. Catharines City Council

Posted August 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines City Councillor Carlos Garcia, running again for the Port Dalhousie ward. One of the very good ones. Give him your support

As many of you already know, Carlos Garcia has announced that he is running for a second term on City Council: Great news indeed!!!

Carlos has been both an effective leader and a rational voice on City Council.  We are privileged to have him representing both Port Dalhousie Ward and the people of St. Catharines.

Carlos brings commitment as well as great leadership and analytic skills to the position.  This was very clearly demonstrated in his determination and management ability as he previously led the community’s battle to preserve Port Dalhousie’s unique heritage and the village feel we all know and love.

Development proposals are reaching some very interesting junctions and the future of Port Dalhousie will depend on the next City Council.  We need Carlos there! Continue reading →

“Only the people of Niagara know what’s best for Niagara, not a government who keeps cooking up secret backroom deals. …When exactly and with whom did the government consult on their decision to cancel the Niagara regional chair election?”       – Wayne Gates

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

Posted August 2nd 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates. File photo

Niagara Falls, Ontario  – NDP MPP Wayne Gates continued to fight for the right of the residents of Niagara to be able to elect their Regional Chair after the race was cancelled by Premier Ford last week.

 “The people of the Niagara region want to have a say in who will represent them for the next four years. The government would have known that, if they had bothered to consult anyone before they decided they know what’s best for Niagara.”

“Well, I have news for this government. Only the people of Niagara know what’s best for Niagara, not a government who keeps cooking up secret backroom deals,” said Gates. “When exactly and with whom did the government consult on their decision to cancel the Niagara regional chair election?” Continue reading →

“The federal carbon tax will have its day in court. But it is already on trial among the families who will be forced to pay more for gas, home heating and everything else if the federal government gets its way.”                                                                         – Ontario Attorney General Caroline Mulroney

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

Posted August 2nd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword  from NAL reporter and publisher Doug Draper – Just by coincidence, the Trump administration south of Canada’s border has just announced plans to move forward with steps to weaken controls on emissions from gas and diesel  powered trucks and cars, which are also significant sources of climate changing carbon and of other pollutants that contribute to health-threatening concentrations of smog.

One key thing that should be considered in all of this is that when you control for carbon emissions you are also often or almost always controlling  other pollutants, including nitrogen oxides,  that cause the smog that, as numerous studies have shown over the past three or more decades, contribute to premature deaths in populations of people (especially older people) who  already suffer from respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

A typical chart, released over the years by professionals in the medical community, showing rates of smog related deaths in communities across Ontario, including Niagara.

 Ironically, a disproportionate number of older people who may suffer the most health impacts from these moves to weaken air quality protection programs on both sides of the border voted for Doug Ford in Ontario and Donald Trump across the United States.

But we may also see at least some short term savings at the gas pumps, even if the health impacts and the long-term impacts on the environment for generations that are younger or not yet born may be significant.

There are almost always  trade offs.)

Now here is the  Ford government’s news release – 

Toronto, Ontario – The Government of Ontario today announced the next step in its fight to defend the people of Ontario from the federal government’s plan to impose a punishing new carbon tax on Ontario families and businesses. 

Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Rod Phillips and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney today announced that the Government of Ontario will take immediate steps to challenge the constitutionality of the federal government’s carbon tax at the Ontario Court of Appeal. Continue reading →

“Stripping our right to vote for our Niagara Regional Chair in the middle of an election campaign, without notice or consultation, is an affront to                             local democracy.”

Find a Link for this Important Online Petition Below. Please Join In Signing It!

A Call-Out to All of Us from Karrie Porter, candidate for St. Catharines City Council in Ward 4

August, 2018 (This piece was originally posted on Niagara At Large on July 27th)

St. Catharines city council candidate launches petition to save election race for Niagara regional chair

Karrie Porter, a candidate for St. Catharines city council in Ward 4- St. Patrick’s has launched a petition calling on Queen’s park to restore the election for Niagara Regional Chair that was abruptly cancelled this morning by Premier Doug Ford.

“Stripping our right to vote for our Niagara Regional Chair in the middle of an election campaign, without notice or consultation, is an affront to local democracy” said Porter.

“I’m launching this petition campaign to demonstrate to the provincial government that the people of Niagara want to directly elect their Regional Chair,” she added.

The petition is available to be signed on Porter’s website at: https://www.karrieporter.ca/regional_election

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

Ceremony to include guest speakers, an historical address, rescue demonstration, special presentation and plaque and panel unveiling

An Invite to All from the Niagara Parks Commission

Posted August 2nd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario – In celebration of the 100-year history of the iron scow, which to this day, remains remarkably lodged in the powerful upper rapids of the Niagara River and in recognition of the heroic rescue effort that took place, Niagara Parks will be hosting a commemorative event at Toronto Power Park on Monday, August 6 at 7 p.m.

One hundred years later, the rusted remains of the iron scow or barge remains locked on jagged rocks, where it was scuttled by its two-man crew in the roaring rapids above the Horseshoe Falls. Both men were rescued from the barge in the harrowing hours that followed. Photo courtesy of Niagara Parks

 On August 6, 1918, while involved with a dredging operation above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on the American side of the Niagara River, a barge had broken loose from its tug boat, sending it drifting into the Niagara River’s midstream, eventually ending up grounded on rocks some 600 metres from the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Continue reading →

Letting The Region Do an Internal Investigation of this Serious Matter is like Letting the Fox look after the Hen House

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

Posted August 1^st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

I know we just had Ontario’s Ombudsman in Niagara to deal with all of the malodorous antics around a mainstream newspaper reporter having his notes and computer seized before being ordered out of Niagara’s regional headquarters as if he were – as Trump might put it – an enemy of the people.

We need Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of the CAO hiring controversy at Niagara Regional Headquarters. Anything less is to risk leaving the fox to look after  the hen house.

Yes, the Ombudsman, Paul Dubé, has come and gone over that one, and he has probably had more than his fill of the nonsense going on inside that headquarters building, just as many people who live in this Niagara region have.

But Mr. Dubé, we need you and your investigative team to come back – this time to get to the bottom of all of the unanswered questions around the hiring two years ago of Carmen D’Angelo who as CAO of Niagara’s regional government, holds nothing less than the highest and arguably most important municipal staff job in our region, at an annual cost to taxpayers of $230,000 plus benefits a year.

We need a responsible, independent party like the Ontario Ombudsman to get to the bottom of the serious question of whether or not the hiring process that was used in the fall of 2016 to hire a new CAO for the Region was tainted in D’Angelo’s favour.

This image was circulated on social media this August 1st by retired Niagara Regional Police officer and St. Catharines candidate for regional council, Peter Gill.

We need a party with no vested interests and nothing political at stake to do a thorough investigation or because – I’m sure that it is safe to say – a good number of taxpaying citizens in Niagara do not trust regional government employees, whose boss is D’Angelo, or a majority on the Region’s council to get to the bottom of that question themselves. Continue reading →

“Cuts that hurt the most vulnerable among us hurt our province, and it has to stop.”

A Message from Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted August 1st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontaro NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath has a voice but not enough seats in the provincial legislature to stop him.

Queen’s Park – Official Opposition leader Andrea Horwath says that Doug Ford’s first actions in government have targeted vulnerable Ontarians.

“Seeing where Mr. Ford’s axe has fallen first, I’m growing more and more concerned about how Mr. Ford’s cuts will impact people’s daily lives,” said Horwath. “He’s targeted kids, those with mental health challenges, and people struggling in poverty. He’s chosen to drag Ontario backwards when it comes to taking care of the most vulnerable among us.” Continue reading →

Dr. Ian Brown, a Urologist with Niagara Health since 1996, will assume the role effective September 1st

News from Niagara Health, Niagara’s amalgamated system of hospitals

Posted August 1st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dr. Ian Brown will be Niagara Health’s new chief of surgery

Niagara, Ontario – A long-time Niagara Falls urologist has been appointed Chief of Surgery at Niagara Health.

Dr. Ian Brown, a Urologist with Niagara Health since 1996, will assume the role effective Sept. 1, replacing Dr. Jeff Cranford, who is completing his second term in the position.

The selection of Dr. Brown followed a national search that featured a group of highly skilled candidates.

 “We are extremely fortunate to have a physician of Dr. Brown’s calibre in this leadership role,” says Dr. Johan Viljoen, Niagara Health’s Interim Chief of Staff. “Dr. Brown is a well-known and respected physician in Niagara, with extensive clinical leadership experience. His appointment is a reflection of the accomplished and committed team of physicians at Niagara Health.” Continue reading →

“One cannot understate the enormous contribution Joe Robertson made to Brock University both as Chair of the Board and a passionate supporter of the University at every turn,” – Gary Comerford, Chair of Brock’s current Board of Trustees

A News Release from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted July 31st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Joe Robertson

Brock University officials were saddened to learn of the death of former Board of Trustees Chair Joe Robertson, his wife Anita and their daughter Laura.

The Robertsons were the only occupants of a twin-engine private aircraft that crashed on approach to an airport in Greenville, Maine just before 11 a.m. Monday, July 30. Joe Robertson was the registered owner of the plane, which had taken off Monday morning from Pembroke, Ont., and was en route to Prince Edward Island.

The Greenville Police Department confirmed Tuesday that the three victims of the crash were Joe and Anita Robertson and their 24-year-old daughter Laura, who had just days earlier been hired to work in the University’s athletics and recreation department. Continue reading →

–         Put The Screws To Ontario’s Most Vulnerable

“Doug Ford’s decision to slash the meagre increases to social assistance is appalling, it drags Ontario backwards, and it pushes those already at a disadvantage even deeper into poverty.” Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

From the Office of Ontario’s NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted July 31st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

A Statement from Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath on cuts to social assistance

He has to make up for all those promised tax cuts. Could seniors assistance be next? Or will it be cuts to funding for our public schools?

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Official Opposition leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to Doug Ford’s plan to cut social assistance rates and cancel the basic income pilot program:

 “Doug Ford’s decision to slash the meagre increases to social assistance is appalling, it drags Ontario backwards, and it pushes those already at a disadvantage even deeper into poverty.

For Mr. Ford’s attack on low-income people is disgusting. And cancelling the unfinished and promising basic income pilot project is a waste and a shame.

Instead of dragging Ontario backwards, I want to move us forward. Let’s address Ontario’s homelessness and poverty problems — not let Mr. Ford make them worse. Let’s tackle homelessness in our cities, not allow Mr. Ford to force people onto the streets and into emergency rooms through his callous cuts. Continue reading →

Joe and Anita Robertson and daughter Laura

“This is a horrible tragedy for the family and a deep loss for our community.” – St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik

A News Release from the City of St. Catharines

Posted July 31st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Joe and Anita Robertson were key early supporters of St. Catharines’FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

The City of St. Catharines joins Niagara in mourning the loss of Joe and Anita Robertson, long-time supporters of the arts and community in St. Catharines and beyond, and their daughter Laura Robertson.

Joe and Anita Robertson were well known for supporting their community through funding and service to local boards, organizations and causes close to their hearts.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake family had strong connections to the arts and St. Catharines: Robertson Theatre was named in recognition of their $500,000 donation to the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in 2014. The Robertsons were also seat owners and patrons of performances at the City performing arts centre. Continue reading →

Ontario’s NDP MPPs fight back against Premier Ford’s move to rig municipal elections

Ford claims that slashing the number of municipal councillors will help “protect the environment, … protect trees.”

News from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted July 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Queen’s Park, Toronto – With municipal elections well under way, Doug Ford’s move to take revenge on his political enemies by interfering in races across the province is petty and mean-spirited, says Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath — who led Monday, July 30th’s question period with a sharp indictment of the move. 

 “Doug Ford cooked up his backroom plot to steal power from the people, and kept it hidden from 14 million Ontarians for an entire election campaign,” said Horwath.

“And that means, today, there’s absolutely no legitimate mandate for Ford to cancel regional elections and rip up Toronto’s wards.”

Ford’s changes to Toronto ward boundaries, and his cancellation of democratic regional elections, targets former political opponents at Toronto City Hall, where he was ostracized and rejected, as well as regional elections in Peel, Muskoka, York and Niagara, where other political enemies were running.  Continue reading →

Tell Us That & Come This October 22nd, Voters In Niagara May Give Your Political Pals Here The Boot Anyway

Ontario’s new Boss, Doug Ford

A Brief  Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 30th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

In the wake of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s sudden and shocking decision to slash the size of Toronto’s city council in about half and cancel elections for Regional Chair in Niagara and other regions of the province, Niagara citizen activist Linda Babb shared some Tweets her daughter found online in reaction to Ford’s dump-it-out-on-a-Friday, July 27th decision.

Here is one of those Tweets – and a good one that that might be of interest to residents across Niagara –

Can you tell which one of the three regional elections Tweeter Jim Calder lists here applies to Niagara?

Maybe Some Of These People Know The Answer

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 waste contains dangerous radioactive elements and enough plutonium to construct more than 11,000 nuclear warheads. Laid end-to-end, the radioactive fuel bundles stored at Pickering would stretch from Kingston to St. Catharines.”

Find a link below for a Petition to Close the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant

A Message and a Call-Out from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Posted July 30^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Pickering Nuclear Station has a deadly secret: The plant is a storehouse for 16 million kilograms of high-level radioactive waste sitting right on the edge of Lake Ontario.

The more than 760,000 spent fuel bundles stored at the Pickering plant are the legacy of 50 years of reactor operations with no long-term waste management solution in sight.

This waste contains dangerous radioactive elements and enough plutonium to construct more than 11,000 nuclear warheads.

Laid end-to-end, the radioactive fuel bundles stored at Pickering would stretch from Kingston to St. Catharines.

SOME DAY, SON, ALL THIS NUCEAR WASTE WILL BE YOURS!

More than half the waste that Ontario Power Generation has been quietly piling up at Pickering is kept in open water pools. One of the biggest concerns during the Fukushima nuclear disaster was the possibility of a “pool fire” if the zircaloy cladding on spent fuel bundles combusted. Continue reading →

D’Angela Launches Survey for Gathering Feedback  from  Thorold Residents

News from the Campaign to Elect Henry D’Angela Mayor of Thorold

Posted  July 30th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Thorold regional councillor and mayoralty Henry D’Angela

Thorold, Ontario — Thorold Mayoral Candidate Henry D’Angela wants to find out what is important to Thorold residents.  D’Angela has launched a survey so that Thorold residents can give him feedback on their hopes for their city.

“I talk to citizens at Thorold community events all the time,” said D’Angela, “but not everyone goes to events.  I want to make sure that every resident of Thorold has an opportunity to express their priorities and their concerns.”

“I want to reach the silent minority to make sure I can represent the entire population of Thorold.” Continue reading →

“The main function of government is the protection of the public interest. … Fewer elected representatives mean a greater workload on each politician, fewer to target with corporate lobbying and where it occurs, a smaller number of politicians to buy.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Sudden Hit on Municipal Governance s is “Tinpot Dictator Stuff”

A Message from CATCH – the public watchdog group Citizens at City Hall – in Hamilton, Ontario

Posted July 30th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Doug Ford – leader of Ontario’s self-described “Government for the People”

What would it be like to have just five city councillors in Hamilton? That’s effectively what is facing residents of Toronto in the wake of Premier Ford’s unilateral decision to slash its council numbers by nearly half, a move that is being described as “tinpot dictator stuff”.

The main function of government is the protection of the public interest, but that’s under constant pressure from corporations and other private interests. Fewer elected representatives mean a greater workload on each politician, fewer to target with corporate lobbying and where it occurs, a smaller number of politicians to buy.

How many of you voted for this guy?

The Ford formula being imposed on Toronto is one councillor for each provincial riding. Hamilton has five provincial ridings so the same formula applied here would eliminate ten council positions. Continue reading →

From Doug Draper

Posted July 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

It has been a wild and crazy last full week of July, ending with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to, among other things, pull the plug on what would have been the first time Niagara voters get a chance in a municipal election to choose who will serve as Niagara Region’s chair.

Can we ever get to the bottom of questions and concerns swirling around the hiring of Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo, sitting to the right here of the Region’s Chair, Al Caslin? And how? Niagara At Large will have more news and commentary on this and related matters in the new week.

That decision triggered waves of email, news releases and statements from parties all over the region, and we did not get around to preparing and posting commentary on other matters, including the ongoing controversy over the hiring of Niagara Region’s CAO, the Ontario Ombudsman’s report on an attack on Niagara’s media last December, and the highly anticipated results of a provincial audit of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s operations. Continue reading →

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

Posted July 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

As if the news earlier this July 27th that Ontario Premier Doug Ford – like a dictator in a banana republic – had pulled the plug on what would have been the first region-wide election for Niagara regional chair was bad enough. …

Niagara voters still have an opportunity with the coming muncipal elections to fill these Niagara Region chambers with a much better mix of councillors.

Later in the day, we were treated to more bad news that Al Caslin, Niagara’s current regional chair, had managed to file his papers before the 2 p.m. deadline to run for one of St. Catharines’ six seats on Niagara’s regional council in the upcoming October 22nd municipal elections.

That means that unless the dictator in the Premier’s office decides to cancel the municipal elections completely and Caslin manages to win one of those six seats, he could put his name in the hat for fellow regional councillors to appoint him to another four years as Niagara chair.

Just what our Niagara region needs. Another term of the divisive, unruly and mean-spirited conduct Caslin has presided over now for almost four years.

But the good news is this.

There are enough good to very good candidates running for the Region’s council in St. Catharines, including Haley Bateman, Mo Al Jumaily, Emily Beth Spanton, Peter Gill, former MPP Jim Bradley and regional council incumbents Brian Heit and Kelly Edgar, Tim Rigby and Debbie MacGregor, to knock Caslin off in the polls. Continue reading →

“It doesn’t make sense that a Government that claims to be ‘for the People’ removes your and other people’s right to vote and decide on our future together.”                            – Dave Augustyn

A Statement from Dave Augustyn’s Campaign regarding Premier Doug Ford’s Snap Cancellation of Niagara Chair Election

Posted July 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dave Augustyn, making a point in Niagara Region’s council chambers. File photo

Niagara, Ontario – In light of the Ontario Government’s unexpected and anti-democratic announcement this morning to cancel the Niagara Chair election this Fall, Chair Candidate Dave Augustyn filed his nomination in Pelham to become a Regional Councillor.

Augustyn, now Mayor of Pelham, hopes to win a seat on Regional Council and to work together with other Councillors, residents and businesses across the peninsula to create a better Niagara.

“From day one, my campaign has been about fixing the integrity crisis at the Region, and bringing prosperity and compassion to the people of Niagara. Backroom deals have held our community back for years,” Augustyn stated. Continue reading →

“Residents across the Niagara region already have long-standing and serious concerns about transparency and accountability at the regional level.”                             – MPPs Jeff Burch, Jennie Stevens and Wayne Gates

From the Niagara Centre, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls Constituency Offices of Jeff Burch, Jennie Stevens and Wayne Gates

Posted July 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines new MPP, Jennie Stevens

Niagara, Ontario — Niagara-area NDP MPPs, Jeff Burch, Jennie Stevens and Wayne Gates issued the following statement regarding news that Doug Ford will use his power to meddle in municipal and regional elections:

“Doug Ford’s latest backroom scheme to meddle in municipal elections and eliminate the election of regional chair in numerous areas including Niagara region is disturbing.

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch

Ford didn’t campaign on this decision. He didn’t consult a single person. Not letting Niagara-area residents weigh in to a dictator-like decision that has such far-reaching impacts is chilling.

 Residents across the Niagara region already have long-standing and serious concerns about transparency and accountability at the regional level. Ford’s latest decision means even less transparency and even less accountability which is extremely  troubling.”

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

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

News from Brock University in Niagara, Ontario

Posted July 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Brock University has appointed its first Director of Human Rights and Equity (HRE) to further advance diversity, equity and inclusion, and to promote a welcoming and collegial environment across the University community.

Leela MadhavaRau has been named Brock University’s first Director of Human Rights and Equity.

Leela MadhavaRau will take on the new role, effective Sept. 5.

She joins Brock from California’s University of Redlands, where she most recently served as Associate Dean and Advisor to the President for Campus Diversity and Inclusion. She has extensive leadership experience in both the Canadian and American university setting.

The new Director of the Office of Human Rights and Equity will report directly to President Gervan Fearon. Continue reading →

Post July 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Thanks to Canada’s long debated, yet still firmly in place first-past-the-post system of electing governments, a party can get significantly less than half the popular vote in a federal or provincial election, and yet form a majority government’.

Then –  should the leader of the first-past-the-post party be a populist or demagogue with  an autocratic or totalitarian bent – that leader can run the province or country like a dictatorship for the next four years.

America has its  Donald Trump.

NOW Ontario has Doug Ford

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

“Stripping our right to vote for our Niagara Regional Chair in the middle of an election campaign, without notice or consultation, is an affront to                             local democracy.”

Find a Link for this Important Online Petition Below. Please Join In Signing It!

A Call-Out to All of Us from Karrie Porter, candidate for St. Catharines City Council in Ward 4

Posted July 27^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines city council candidate launches petition to save election race for Niagara regional chair

Karrie Porter, a candidate for St. Catharines city council in Ward 4- St. Patrick’s has launched a petition calling on Queen’s park to restore the election for Niagara Regional Chair that was abruptly cancelled this morning by Premier Doug Ford.

“Stripping our right to vote for our Niagara Regional Chair in the middle of an election campaign, without notice or consultation, is an affront to local democracy” said Porter.

“I’m launching this petition campaign to demonstrate to the provincial government that the people of Niagara want to directly elect their Regional Chair,” she added.

The petition is available to be signed on Porter’s website at: https://www.karrieporter.ca/regional_election

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

Campaingns for the Region’s Top Office by Candidates like Dave Augustyn and Damian Goulbourne May Now Be Over!

So It’s Back To The Old System of Councilliors Choosing  A Regional Chair And Possibly Four More Years of        Al Caslin

Posted by Doug Draper on Niagara At Large

July 27^th, 2018

I didn’t tell you I was going to do this before you elected me, did I. And I’m just getting started suckers!

This is a moving development so Niagara At Large will have more on this unexcpected and shocking news and the implications it may have for municipal government in our Niagara region later.

What we know from a news release Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his so-called “Government for the People” circulated this Friday, July 27^th morning is this.

Ford’s sudden and shocking announcement may be very good news for this man. Al Caslin was facing a region-wide race for his job as Niagara regional chair

A new Ontario government that received less than 40 per cent of the popular vote in this past June’s provincial election, yet thanks to an old and highly flawed “first-past-the-post” election system, managed to secure a majority government, is moving – right now – to slash the City of Toronto’s council in half and cancel region-wide elections for the position of Regional Chair, in four Ontario regions, including Niagara.

If Ford is successful in making those changes stick now, the race for Niagara regional chair in Niagara is now over. That means there will not be one, and it means that candidates like Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn and former Welland Mayor Damian Goulbourne will not be running for a Regional Chair seat now occupied by Al Caslin.

It also means that Niagara will go back to the old system of the Regional Chair being chosen by secret ballots cast by other members of regional council. Continue reading →

The Compassionate Care Act passes Second Reading Unanimously

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted July 27th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff i

Queen’s Park, Toronto – For the second time, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, was successful in getting unanimous support for the Compassionate Care Act in the Ontario Legislature.

Oosterhoff tabled this Private Member’s Bill again last week and this July 26th  it passed Second Reading unanimously.

Once it passes Third Reading, Bill 3 will establish a hospice palliative care framework for the province of Ontario.

Hospice palliative care helps people who are living with or dying from a serious, life-limiting illness, as well as their family and caregivers. The goal is to relieve pain and suffering, and to improve a person’s quality of life, regardless of the setting. Continue reading →

 As A Key Player Identified In The Report, Doesn’t Chair Caslin Have A Conflict Of Interest?

A Brief News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 26th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara regional chair Al Caslin

Niagara, Ontario – A full week has now passed since the release of a 60-page report by Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé – a report that documents, in detail, the singular role that our Niagara regional government played last December 7^th in seizing the electronic equipment and notes from a St. Catharines Standard reporter and citizen blogger, then ordering them off municipal  property, was unwarranted, illegal and a violation of the constitutional rights of news representatives to perform their role as a watchdog for the public in a democracy.

Among many other findings, the Ombudsman’s lengthy investigation determined that Niagara Regional Chair Al Caslin and the Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo were among those who played lead roles in causing this unconscionable and unjust episode to unfold. Continue reading →

Former Welland Mayor Damian Goulborne running for Niagara regional chair

“The allegations that have been made demonstrate, if proven, a level of dishonour and dishonesty that is unparalleled in our Region, and the people of Niagara deserve nothing less than a full investigation into these matters and accountability for those who violated their trust. … The Office of the Chair has broken the faith placed in it by the people of Niagara and there is no other path available     to restore it.”

– Damian Goulbourne, former Welland Mayor and a candidate for Niagara Regional Chair in the coming October 22nd municipal elections

A Statement from Damian Goulbourne, Candidate For Niagara Regional Chair

Posted July 26th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – “The reports that have surfaced in the past 24-hours regarding the conduct of behaviour of the Regional Chair’s office are disturbing, and if proven to be true, inexcusable.   Continue reading →

It Could Be The Most Disturbing Report Yet On the State of Governance In Our Niagara Region

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

Posted July 26th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – When I arrived at the Ball’s Falls Centre for Conservation this July 25^th for the monthly Board of Directors meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), wouldn’t you know it.

They papered the doors to the NPCA’s board of directors meeting again. No transparency here.

The glass doors to the meeting room were shut and papered over as has so often been the case in recent years when members of the public have gone to all the time and trouble on a weekday morning to drive through the back roads on Lincoln to attend these meetings.

NPCA CAO Mark Brickell may be facing times that are not funny at all

There isn’t much one can do to take advantage of the NPCA’s munch flaunted policy of openness and transparency when the doors to the meeting room are papered over, so being the annoying reporter that I am, I walked down a corridor to another set of doors that weren’t papered over and that led to a gallery area in the meeting room.

At that point, the NPCA’s current chief administrative officer (CAO), Mark Brickell, followed me down the corridor and told  me, as politely as he could, that I could not stand anywhere near those doors because the board was having a closed session inside with Ontario’s Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk, and several members of her investigative team.

“Alright Mark, so how are you doing?” I asked him. “Okay,” he replied. “These are funny times.”

“These are funny times, alright,” was my response to him as I made my way back to the front lobby of the building to wait for Lysyk and her team to emerge. Continue reading →

Could The Same Warning Hold True Right Here in Niagara, Ontario – for Niagara’s Regional Government?

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted July 26^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

He reportedly doesn’t have the mental capacity to read much more than the scroll lines flashing across the bottom of the screen on Fox News – you know, lines with words and phrases in them like “hoax”, “witch hunt”, “no collusion”, “lock her up” and “Canada and E.U. countries are foes and freeloaders”.

Yet something inside Donald Trump’s reptilian brain has him channeling 1984, George Orwell’s nightmare novel about ‘big brother” and a totalitarian state on steroids. Continue reading →

Niagara Regional Councillors Must Finally Stand Up For Region’s People And Fire CAO Now!

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

Posted July 25, 2018 on Niagara At Large

New investigative story in St. Catharines Standard offers more information, raises more questions about the hiring, in the fall of 2016, of Niagara Region’s CAO Carmen D’Angelo

Three weeks ago this Thursday, July 26th – at a Niagara regional council meeting on July 5th – a majority of those elected to sit on the council voted to close the books on serious questions swirling around the hiring of the most powerful and highest paid administrative officer we have in municipal government in this Niagara region.

A majority of the directly elected regional councillors and mayors sitting on that Niagara Region council voted to close the book on the matter.

They did so despite the fact that Marvin Huberman – a Toronto lawyer, handpicked for hire by senior parties at the Region – acknowledged under questioning that he did not resort to using all of the powers he had under the Ontario Ombudsman’s Act to get to the bottom of concerns raised about the possible tainting of a process used to hire Carmen D’Angelo, a former CAO for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, to a three-year-contract in October of 2016 to serve as the Region’s CAO. Continue reading →

Kim Craitor will take on incumbent Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati in Election scheduled for this coming October 22nd

“I am confident that as Mayor I can bring about changes in an open, transparent and responsible manner. I value public input and consultation and listen to all voices.” – Kim Craitor

New from the Campaign to Elect Kim Crator Mayor of Niagara Falls

Posted June 25th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls City Councillor and former MPP Kim Craitor is running for Mayor of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, Ontario – Friends and supporters of Kim Craitor are pleased to announce his decision to run for mayor of Niagara Falls in the upcoming (October 22nd) municipal election.

Craitor said he made his decision after much reflection and with the support of his wife Helen. The current member of city council and former member of provincial parliament filed his nomination papers at City Hall earlier today.

“Hopefully, my commitment to the residents of Niagara Falls is well known” said Craitor. “I have served 17 years as a City Councillor and was the M.P.P. for the Niagara Falls riding for 10 years.”

“ I have contemplated running (for mayor) before,” he added, “but now seemed like the appropriate time.” Continue reading →

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

Posted July 25^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Health and community partners are hosting a World Hepatitis Day educational event on Friday, July 27 at Montebello Park in St. Catharines from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A previous Hepatitis awareness event at Montebello Park in St. Catharines/Niagara. Photo courtesy of Niagara Health

The event will raise awareness about hepatitis C and liver health. It will also educate the community about services the Niagara Health Hepatitis C Care Clinic and other community agencies provide residents. The event will feature a community health and social services fair in the park’s pavilion, with close to 50 community organizations and programs represented. Continue reading →

Huson will be Contesting  the Seat of  Pelham regional council incumbent and NPCA board member Brian Baty

“I’m running for Pelham’s regional seat because I’m passionate about our beautiful community and, like many people, I’m disappointed with our Regional Council.” – Diana Huson

News from the Campaign to Elect Diana Huson

Posted July 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Diana Huson running to represent Town of Pelham on Niagara regional council

Pelham, Ontario – Pointing out that it’s “time for change,” Fenwick resident Diana Huson announced Tuesday, July 24 that she is running to become the Regional Council member for the Town of Pelham in October’s municipal elections. 

If elected, she would be the first woman to hold the position (for the Town of Pelham). Of the 31 current Regional Council members, only four are women.

“I’m running for Pelham’s regional seat because I’m passionate about our beautiful community and, like many people, I’m disappointed with our Regional Council,” said Huson, 41.

“We’ve seen out-of-control spending on councillor expenses, a council that voted themselves a pay raise, and a divide-and-conquer mentality that undermines our ability to attain the things that our community needs the most.” Continue reading →

From a brand new Tweet from the Donald

Posted July 24th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

“Donald J. Trump

✔ @realDonaldTrump

Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It’s as simple as that – and everybody’s talking! Remember, we are the “piggy bank” that’s being robbed. All will be Great!”

That’s right folks. … As simple as that.

At least the deplorables understand  him. Wonder when they are going to get their jobs in the coal mines and steel mills  back?

Who has been paying for their health care lately?

And how about those Trump-voting farmers in America’s mid-west? Have they been selling more soybeans and port to foreign markets, lately?

Tariffs are the greatest, aren’t they? It’s as simple as that.

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

The Creator of the Niagara Falls, Ontario Amusement Park Is Remembered This July 23rd in an Obituary in The Globe and Mail

A Brief Foreword to the Globe Obit from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted July 23rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

For the past two or three decades, Marineland became a magnet for protests by animal activists from across the region and beyond. File photo by Doug Draper

Niagara, Ontario – A full month after Marineland creator and owner John Holer died this past June 23rd at age 83, it is still hard to believe that this person who loomed so large for so long in the history of Niagara, Ontario is gone.

Going back to my years as an environment reporter at The St. Catharines Standard, I had my share of encounters and run-ins with John Holer over his park’s history of keeping whales, dolphins and other animals in captivity for people’s amusement.

Notwithstanding John Holer’s repeated insistence that he must be giving people what they want because many hundreds of thousands of them pay money each year to visit Marineland, I remain just as insistent that these animals do not belong in places like this. Continue reading →