Niagara At Large

You Are Invited to An Information Session – on Saturday, January 27th, 10 a.m. to noon – on East Fenwick Secondary Plan

News from Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted January 22^nd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Niagara, Ontario – Town of Pelham Staff recently issued a notice about an upcoming information session regarding the East Fenwick Secondary Plan this coming Saturday, January 27, from 10:00 AM to noon at Pelham Fire Station #2. (For those unable to make the session, I will ask Staff to post materials on the Town’s website.)

This will be the third time that Town staff and planning consultants will provide information and updates of the study’s process, objectives, and the input received to date.

East Fenwick’s Secondary Plan has been explored by staff, consultants, and residents since last June, beginning with a visioning workshop followed by a design workshop. During these workshops residents had an opportunity to have their say in the plan. Town Council also received a progress report in late-November. (Please check out my “on-line journal” for a link to this presentation.) Continue reading →

New research by Brock University shows adolescent bullies have a higher number of sexual partners than their non-bullying peers.

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 17th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Brock Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Tony Volk

Building on previous studies on the issue, Brock Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Tony Volk looked at what makes teens willing and able to use bullying as a strategy to meet their sexual needs.

 “Is it being really angry? Is it being really reckless? Is it being really low in empathy? These are all common ideas to explain this behaviour,” says Volk, whose research was published last month in the journal Evolutionary Psychology Science. Continue reading →

“The proposed duties would cause undue burden, destabilizing the (newspaper and rest of the print) industry, forcing increases in subscription rates for consumers and reducing jobs in an area already stretched thin.” – Buffalo, New York area Congressman Brian Higgins

A News Release from the Buffalo, New York office of U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins

Posted January 17th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Buffalo, New York area Democratic Party Congressman Brian Higgins fights to save net neutrality rules that will impact U.S. internet users and may also hit Canadian users in the pocketbook.

Congressmembers Brian Higgins (NY-26) and Elise Stefanik (NY-21) announced opposition to the January 9, 2018 preliminary decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose tariffs on paper commonly used in the print industry. 

Higgins and Stefanik are particularly concerned the measure will lead to added costs for consumers and potential job cuts for employees of large and small newspaper and book publishers across New York State and the nation. 

On August 9, 2017, North Pacific Paper Company brought a petition before the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) alleging paper manufactured in Canada is priced in a way that cuts into their business. Continue reading →

A Public Advisory from the Town of Lincoln in Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 13^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Temperatures expanded to plunge and stay very cold over weekend and well into week ahead.

Lincoln, Ontario  – The Town of Lincoln is reminding residents and agencies that Town facilities are available for warming centres during the extreme cold.

The following locations are available:

• Fleming Centre – open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (general concourse/lobby)
• ·        Amenities onsite include: Library (visit lincoln.library.on.ca for hours), Rinkside Café, free WiFi, uLinc transit hub
• Town of Lincoln Town Hall lobby – open daily from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• ·        Amenities include: free WiFi
• Jordan Arena – open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (general lobby or upstairs lobby)
• ·        Amenities include: free WiFi, concession stand (hours vary)

If you require assistance with paying your electricity, gas, oil or water bills, assistance may be available through Community Care of West Niagara or Village of Hope.

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

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

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

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

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted January 12^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

No, Donald Trump hasn’t included Canada on his list of “shithole countries” – at least not yet because maybe, just maybe, we Canadians still live in a country that is white enough.

A cover of the British tabloid The Daily Mirror sends a message out to Trump this past December

But that is no reason we shouldn’t do what our friends and allies in the United Kingdom have done and unwelcome this dangerous wing nut with his racist, homophobic, misogynous views and his ‘big button that works’ to our country.

It was reported on American cable news networks earlier this January 12^th that a trip Trump was planning to take to London, England  later this year has been cancelled in the wake of  an outpouring of protests from Brits who don’t want this clown setting one foot on their soil, let alone possibly standing anywhere near their beloved  Queen for any kind of official ceremony.

Following some of his most vile comments to date – ones that involve referring to nations populated mostly by people of colour as “shithole countries” – we Canadians should follow the British lead and rev up an unwelcoming campaign for Trump’s planned visit to a G7 summit in Quebec this June.

By the way, here – immediately below – is how the front page of the New York Daily News, a popular tabloid newspaper out of New York City portrayed the Tweeter-in-Chief this January 18^th.

I don’t know about you, but the thought of any of our tax money being spent on extra security for this bozo when it could be used – just as one example – to to improve water treatment facilities for Indigenous communities in our country is enough to have me throwing up in one of his ‘Make America White Again’ hats. Continue reading →

The Power Of Photovoice Research Method The Focus Of Métis Scholar Robert Henry’s Talk At Brock

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 12^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Robert Henry, a Métis scholar from the University of Calgary, is speaking at Brock University Monday, Jan. 15.

A picture is worth a thousand words — especially if it gives a voice to someone who might not be heard otherwise.

Robert Henry, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary, is speaking at Brock University Monday, Jan. 15 to share his experience of how photography and photovoice methods have shaped his research on Indigenous street gangs.

Photovoice is becoming a frequently used research method that engages research participants by having them document their experiences from their own perspectives through photographs. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from St. Andrew’s United Church in Niagara Falls

Temperatures expanded to plunge and stay very cold over weekend and well into week ahead.

Posted January 12th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls, Ontario  – St. Andrew’s United Church in Niagara Falls will be hosting an emergency warming centre as temperatures are expected to drop this weekend. Continue reading →

“Nobody has oversight authority over the NPCA and they should. It’s disappointing that the Wynne Liberals (Premier Kathleen Wynne and other members of the current governing party in Ontario) continue to allow the actions of the NPCA to go unchecked.”  – Welland NDP MPP Cindy Forster

Forster To Introduce Legislation To Bring Transparency And Accountability To The NPCA

Niagara MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario Legislature. File Photo

A News Release from the Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted January 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto  — Welland NDP MPP Cindy Forster says she will table legislation to bring accountability to regional conservation authorities and ensure board members have the environmental expertise necessary to perform their role, starting with the embattled Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).

Forster’s announcement follows the Wynne Liberals voting down NDP amendments to Bill 139, Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act. Continue reading →

Linda Crabtree’s Inspiring Autobiography is Available Now!

Posted January 11th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Linda Crabtree writes inspiring autobiography

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Just as we are too often reminded that we have more than our fair share of problem issues and problem people to contend with across this greater Niagara region, it is also important to know that there are also a good number of extraordinary people out there working selflessly to make life in our communities better.

One of those extraordinary people is Linda Crabtree, a St. Catharines/Niagara resident and Order of Canada recipient who has overcome personal obstacles to fulfill goals that have helped enrich the lives of countless others.

For the purpose of full disclosure, I have known Linda Crabtree since I was hired to my first job in journalism almost 40 years ago at the St. Catharines Standard where  she was already working as a key member of the paper’s newsroom.. From the beginning, I could not help but be impressed with her decency as a person and her passion for doing things that benefited the lives of others around her.

So for everyone out there who may be looking for ways to restore your faith in humanity, or even if you are just looking for a reminder that there are good people out there, doing good things for the community, there is Linda Crabtree’s autobiography – CMT and Me – and the following outline and information on how you can get a copy.)

Linda Crabtree grew up in the Niagara, Ontario community of St. Catharines in the early 1940s when the future for a little kid with a disability wasn’t too promising.

Seventy-five years in, her autobiography – CMT and Me – chronicles her forays into education, journalism, running a charity, art, antiques, designing a home, her travels and becoming a member of the Order of Canada.  She also writes candidly about the emotional undercurrents of love, marriage, alcoholism, divorce and great loss as well as her love of dogs. Continue reading →

“A $15 minimum wage is the right thing to do, and I’m happy that we’re nearly there thanks to those activists that built a movement.”

A Statement from  Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath  attended a rally this past Wednesday, January 10th  in support of Tim Hortons workers who have faced retaliation from their employer in Cobourg. Horwath released the following statement:

“Millionaires are taking away minimum wage earners’ paid breaks, clawing back more of their paycheques for things like benefits that used to be covered, or calling workers contractors instead of employees to get out of providing some pay or benefits. There are workers, including staff at  some Tim Hortons stores, taking home less pay this month than they did in December because employers are punishing them for the minimum wage increase. That’s just wrong. And workers need us all to have their backs, and amplify their voices. Continue reading →

A New Year’s Message From Avaaz, an online citizens activist network with 44 million followers across the world

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Dear Avaazers,

This video recorded by Avaaz team members is going viral! It’s a shot of hope and love for 2018 — will you help share it and spread the joy across the world?

2017 was a rough year, but wow, is the resistance on fire! We’ve never been prouder of our movement — both Avaaz, and all those we stand with.

We’ve stopped the rise of the far-right in several countries, frustrated Trumpism in almost every major accomplishment it sought, opened our hearts to refugees, won major battles to protect our planet, and defeated toxic foes from Monsanto to Rupert Murdoch. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from the Organizers of the 16^th Annual Soup’s ON Fundraiser in Niagara, Ontario

Posted January 11^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Soup Sampling Serves Up Scholarship

Tickets are going fast for the hottest scholarship event this winter.

The 16^th annual Soup’s On luncheon, on Friday, Jan. 26 at St. Kevin’s Parish hall, will feature soup samplings from secondary school and Niagara College culinary programs as well as from Stephanie, The Lunch Lady. Continue reading →

In Official Statement, Conservation Authority “Stands By” Its Defeated Case Against St. Catharines/Niagara Citizen Ed Smith

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

Posted January 9^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. That hasn’t stopped attacks from the NPCA though.

Niagara, Ontario – In an official statement the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) posted late this past Monday, January 8^th on its website, it pushed backed against rulings by an Ontario Court Judge to dismiss its defamation case against Niagara area citizen Ed Smith and ordering it to pay Smith’s court costs – saying that it “stands by” the decision it made more than a year ago to sue the St. Catarines resident and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer.

The NPCA’s January 8^th statement – coming three days after Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay ordered it to pay Smith $131,000 to cover his costs of defending the lawsuit it slapped against him and more than a month after the same judge dismissed the suit itself – states that Conservation Authority “stands by its decision to defend its employees and the organization itself.” Continue reading →

Ruling Represents Another Victory for Cozens’ Democratic Right to Speak Out!

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

Posted January 6th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The same Ontario Court Judge who recently dismissed the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s defamation suit against Niagara citizen Ed Smith has followed up with an order to pay Smith $131,000 in legal costs.

Niagara citizen Ed Smith finally saw the lawsuits the NPCA and its former CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed against him dismissed by an Ontario court judge this past November. Now the courts have ordered the NPCA to pay  his legal costs..

The way the NPCA responded in the face of document Smith circulated more than a year ago, raising concerns about the way the Conservation Authority spends millions of mostly municipal tax dollars, and even in the face of Smith’s willingness to retract anything in the document that might be incorrect, was “over the top” and “got in the way of an early resolution of the controversy,” said Judge James Ramsay in a ruling he released late this January 5th, while ordering the NPCA to pay Smith’s legal costs.

The NPCA sued Ed Smith, a resident and community activist from St. Catharines and a retired Canadian Armed Forces officer, more than a year ago, claiming that a document he circulated, raising questions and concerns about the NPCA’s hiring and firing practices, its awarding of contracts to private consultants and other matters, contained erroneous and defamatory information. Continue reading →

 Forum Is On Wednesday,  January 10th   at 8p.m. St. Catharines Centennial Library on 54 Church Street In the City’s Downtown

An Invite from the Niagara District Council of Women

Posted January 5th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – In light of the stark contradiction between the promises of the 1987 Federal  Government  during the International l Year of Housing for the Homeless   and what  some local Niagara  agencies who serve  those living in poverty are currently calling  housing    “crisis”, it is very good news that  both Federal and Provincial governments are  planning  to invest extensively in  affordable  housing . But, is this  enough  given the severity of the  problem? Continue reading →

At Brock University In St. Catharines/Niagara on Thursday, January 25th at 7 P.M.

An Invite from Niagara Action For Animals

Posted January 5^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

friends of animals

Niagara, Ontario – You are invited to a  a free screening of ‘Cowspiracy’ scheduled for Thursday, January 25th – 7 p.m. at Brock University – Academic South, Room 215 sponsored by At War for Animals, Niagara & Brock Critical Animal Studies. 

This film is largely non-graphic and gives a lot of info about the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. Continue reading →

“CEOs are making 316 times more than someone who makes fifteen dollars an hour. If shareholders can afford this year’s CEO pay hike, they should absolutely be endorsing higher wages at the bottom as well.”

News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted January 4^th,  2018 on N iagara At Large 

Ottawa, Ontario  — For the first time, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs netted 209 times more than the average worker made in 2016, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

For many boss hogs, there is no end to their greed while millions of others see their income falling ever farther behind.

The report shows the country’s highest paid 100 CEOs on the S&P/TSX Composite index now make, on average, $10.4 million — 209 times the average income of $49,738, up from 193 times more in 2015.

“Canada’s corporate executives were among the loudest critics of a new $15 minimum wage in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, meanwhile the highest paid among them were raking in record-breaking earnings,” says the report’s author, CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald. Continue reading →

Increased Paid Vacations and New Personal Emergency Days Also in Effect

News from the Ontario Government

Posted January 4^th,  2018 on Niagara At Large

Starting this January , people across Ontario began to see their wages rise $14 an hour as the new general minimum wage takes effect. This change will help workers and their families who are struggling to get ahead in a changing economy.

As part of Ontario’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, the minimum wage will increase again to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019, to be followed by annual increases at the rate of inflation.

Other provisions of the new provincial legislation that come into effect on January 1, 2018, include:

Ensuring workers are entitled to at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with the same employer, bringing Ontario’s vacation time in line with the national average.

Expanding the 10 days per calendar year for personal emergency leave to employees in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, with at least two paid days per year for employees who have been employed for at least a week. Continue reading →

“Today, I hope all Canadians reflect on, or learn more about, the Great Ice Storm, and how we were there for each other.”

A Statement by the Prime Minister on the 20th anniversary of the Great Ice Storm

Posted January 4th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark the 20th anniversary of the Great Ice Storm:

“On this day (January 4th), twenty years ago, freezing rain began to fall in Eastern Canada. For the next five days, the rain fell, coating cars, homes, trees, power lines – everything – in as much as 100 mm of ice.

“Power lines and hydro towers collapsed under the weight of the ice, leaving more than three million people in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia in the dark. Blackouts lasted for days, weeks, and, in some cases, even months. Continue reading →

A Statement from MPP Cindy Forster

Posted January 3^rd, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Welland, Ontario – Cindy Forster, the NDP MPP from the riding of Welland, announced Wednesday (January 3^rd, 2018)  that she will not seek re-election in 2018. She released the following statement:

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

“Over the last seven years, it has been an absolute honour to serve as the voice for the riding of Welland at Queen’s Park. With the support of my constituents, my staff and our riding teams, I have worked to create a healthier and a more just Ontario – not just in the Niagara Centre region, but across the province.

Together, we have accomplished so much: saving our local hospital and urgent care; building safer and more secure workplaces; and safeguarding our natural resources. We have done good work together. Continue reading →

And Here Is Hoping For Much Better Things For Our Niagara, Ontario Region. Creeps & Bullies Be Gone!

A New Year Message from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper, and from one of his Heroes

Posted December 31^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Hours away from turning the calendar on a year where Trump darkened and demeaned the landscape of America, and where something similar darkened the landscape on the Niagara, Ontario side of the border with a cabal of the of municipal politicians, the likes of which we have never seen,  I feel a growing resolve for something better in the air.

In 2018, American voters have mid-term elections that could wrestle the balance of power away from the cult of anti-science nihilists, neo-Nazis and greediest of the greedy that has become the once proud Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and could fast track the impeachment of the madman in the White House before – one way or the other – he destroys what’s left of life on our planet. Continue reading →

“Despite a tumultuous political landscape, Great Lakes champions like you accomplished some pretty amazing things.”

A 2017 Wrap-Up Message from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a citizens advocacy group with members across the Great Lakes region

Posted December 31st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

2017 is wrapping up and we’re spending the last few weeks of the year looking back on everything you accomplished for the Great Lakes. This week, we’re highlighting advocacy wins and all the ways our supporters championed the Great Lakes.

You, our constituents, sent tens of thousands of emails, letters and petition signatures to decision makers in 2017.  You told your stories and raised your voices to protect the Great Lakes, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have you on our team—check it out! Continue reading →

TVO’s Paikin, Premier Wynne Wynne & Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s Couillard discuss Quebec water power

A News Release from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a province-wide ctizens group

Posted December 30, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Why hasn’t Ontario signed a deal for power purchases from Quebec?

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne stubbornly stands by plans to spend billions refurbishing old nuclear reactors over simply buying clean water power from neighbouring Quebec. Why?

That was the question host Steve Paikin asked the premiers of Canada’s two most populous provinces during the Mowat Centre’s Confederation of Tomorrow 2.0 conference held just before the holidays.

Paikin pointed out that the Ontario Clean Air Alliance continues to push Ontario to choose low-cost water power from Quebec over high cost nuclear rebuilds, and he pressed the Premiers for a response.

Premier Wynne waffled, acknowledging that Quebec has plenty of power to spare, yet defended her decision to spend tens of billions rebuilding old reactors as the “responsible” choice. Continue reading →

 “Day in and day out, we continued to train and educate thousands of progressive activists in every corner of the country, and embolden them to achieve even greater success in their own communities.” – Rick Smith, Broadbent Institute, Canada

A New Year’s Message from Rick Smith , Executive Director of the Canada-based Broadbent Institute

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This time last year, I will confess, I wasn’t feeling so hot.  A maniac had just taken over the White House, reverberations from Brexit were echoing around the globe, and neo-Nazis were building momentum throughout Europe.

As 2017 dawned, it felt like the forces of dangerous far-right bigotry were on the march everywhere.

Broadbent Institute executive director Rick Smtih, left, and the Institute’s namesake, former Canadian NDP Leader Ed Broadbent

But if the past twelve months showed that politics can get ugly in unexpected ways, it also showed that the majority of people won’t stand for hate.

In 2017, progressive politics came roaring back with a vengeance. Continue reading →

A Legendary Eyewitness News Anchor from Buffalo, New York Dies – December 26th, 2017 – at Age 87

A Commentary by Doug Draper, one of probably millions of people across Western New York and Southern Ontario who grew up watching Irv Weinstein on Eyewitness News

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“It’s 11 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”

“Topping tonight’s Eyewitness News, a three alarm fire guts a warehouse in Buffalo and another fatal shooting rocks the city’s west side. … Don’t touch your dial.”

They were the kind of lines that Irv Weinstein turn into clichés over his more than three decades long reign as the king of local television news anchors in Western New York and in a good part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe of Ontario, and, by sheer force and the snap, crackle and pop of his on-air persona, made the old (pre-Cable TV) Channel 7’s Eyewitness News the top-rated newscast in Buffalo, New York area right up to the time of his retirement in 1998. Continue reading →

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

Posted December 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL publisher Doug Draper – Niagara At Large is posting this important public service message from the City of St. Catharines, mindful of the sad probability that most of those who need these warming centres probably don’t have access to a computer to read this message either.

Finally, it is good that the city is providing these places for people to warm up during the day, but where do they go to keep warm overnight? If anyone has an answer to that question, please share it in the comment space below.)

Further to the times and locations for warming centres posted earlier on Niagara At Large, here is an update of times and locations for centres available this Monday, January 1st on New Years Day –

Warming centres at Market Square and Russell Avenue Community Centre will be open on New Year’s Day – Monday, Jan 1. Continue reading →

A Call-Out from Michael Moore, from Michael Moore’s Facebook Page

Posted December 29, 2017 on Niagara At Large

(A Brief Foreword Note from NAL – For  the sake of his country and for all of us living on this planet, we are posting this for our readers on the U.S. side of the border and we wish American filmmaker and activist Michael Moore the best of  luck with it. And yes, we’re sure a good number of  us on the Canadian side of the border would love to sign  this petition, but as hard as it is, please resist the temptation to do so. This is business for our American friends and neighbours, and we sure wouldn’t want to do anything that might invalidate such an important peitition.

Now here is Michael Moore’s call-out.)

Wow!

We’ve got 3,916,221 signatures to impeach Trump! C’mon everyone! This is historic.

Let’s get to 4 million signatures to Impeach Trump before the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve! We’re only a few thousand away! No petition to remove a president has ever had this many people sign it. Continue reading →

A Commentary by St. Catharines resident and community activist Ron Brydges

Posted December 29^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Having attended the public meeting St. Catharines’ city council held this past December 12^th on the so-called Port Fortress Project (a plan to build a 17-storey-high condo tower in the heritage district of Port Dalhousie), it seemed I was hearing a rehash of the pros and cons of the Port Tower proposal (an earlier plan for a high-rise condo at the same location) from ten years ago.

Port Dalhousie, now at left and with the proposed high-rise tower complex to the right

It did seem that the majority of people (more than 200 were in attendance) at December 12^th meeting opposed this latest development proposal just as they opposed the development ten years ago. Continue reading →

Make Them Game for a Show with more Life & Death Consequences than Celebrity Apprentice

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher and reporterDoug Draper

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Canadian TV show host Steve Echlund proudly displayes the cougar he blew away early this December 2017 in Alberta, where one tar sand-loving premier after another continues to let this killing be legal.

Of all the low lives among us, some of the lowest of the low, in my view, are affluent white men who dress up like Rambo and go out and kill some of the most majestic animals on the planet.

And not because they need to hunt down and kill the animal for food or for other reason that may have something to do with survival, but just because they think it’s fun! And they want a trophy hanging on the wall to shore up their fragile mail ego and to impress their affluent white friends.

The most recent example of one of these poor excuses for a human being – until the next one comes along, probably within a matter of weeks, if not days – is this host of a Canadian TV outdoor show called ‘The Edge’ who got all dressed up in khakis, like those crypto-fascist militia nuts that troll the backwoods of America somewhere – and shot himself a magnificent cougar somewhere in northern Alberta earlier this December.

Steve Ecklund is the name of this dirtbag,  and just to show the world he has no shame, he posted photos of himself with the cougar he blew away on Facebook this past December 3^rd with a caption that reads; What an unreal ending to a fun filled season.” Continue reading →

A Brief One by Doug Draper

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Legendary Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Johnny Bower

Way back in the 1960s, when the New York Yankees were a dominating force in the game of  baseball, here in Canada we had a team that was a dominating force in the game of hockey.

Believe it or not, that team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, and in the neighbourhood I grew up in in Niagara, Ontario and, I’m sure, in many other neighbourhoods across the country, almost every kid over the age of 10 knew every member of the Leafs by name. They were the heroes or villains of our time, depending on whether you were a Leaves fan or a fan of the Montreal Canadians or Chicago Black Hawks or one of the only other three teams that made up the National Hockey League at the time.

On the Leafs roster, that won not just one,  but four Stanley Cups during that time, there was Tim Horton and  Dave Keon and Red Kelly and Frank Mahovilich and George Armstrong and Bob Pulford and Eddie  Shack – and there was Johnny Bower, who died this past December 26th at the age of 93.

Johnny Bower played goalie at a time when goalies did not where masks and were much more of a human backboard for pucks flying their way at 100 or more kilometres an hour than they are today.

I remember NHL players like Eddie Shack and Johnny Bower visiting our town during the off-seasons for hockey to play in charity baseball games. We’d all line up for autographs and one of the things I recall the most is the web of scars on their faces where they had to be stitched up, which is why my mother would said no to my having anything to do with  minor hockey, and yes to baseball.

I still find it fascinating that America came up with a nice, pastural game like baseball, and Canada, which has so often prided itself as one of the pre-eminent peace-keeping nations in the world, came up with hockey, which is arguably more violent than American football and, in recent decades, can be  just as brutally violent as boxing when the inevitable fights break out.

I know it may make me seem much less a Canadian to some, but I turned off  hockey almost completely and never went back when the NHL expanded to a point where the talent pool for great players was so diluted that fighting  became the substitute for good plays. So much so that brawls on the ice rather than a video clip of a great goal would come to be what passed for news in the world of hockey on late-night sports casts.

There was a time though, when NHL hockey was more of a game than a fight, and the Toronto Maple Leafs won Stanley Cups with a roster of sports heroes like Johnny Bower.

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

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

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

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

Report identifies more than 2,000 “exempted” activities in at-risk species’ habitats, with no government oversight or public scrutiny

News from the public interest groups Ontario Nature, Ecojustice and the David Suzuki Foundation

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“MNRF (Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Foresty under the province’s current Liberal Government) has put the interests of industry first, and the recovery of Ontario’s most imperilled species second.”

The gypsy cuckoo bumblebee, a vital pollinator in Ontario is endangered, and needs the province’s help. What is Ontario’s Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry doing about this?

Toronto, Ontario  — Ontario’s 2007 Endangered Species Act (ESA) isn’t protecting at-risk species because the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is failing to effectively implement it, according to a report released today by the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice and Ontario Nature.

The report highlights broad exemptions granted to industry from prohibitions, major delays in the development of recovery strategies for at-risk species, and a complete lack of public transparency about harmful activities occurring in at-risk species’ habitats. Continue reading →

‘There are many community-based care options for people who don’t require emergency or urgent care.’

Some Helpful Tips from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamation of hospital services

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Trends in healthcare can be very unpredictable. But one thing that is easy to predict is during the holiday season and winter months, flu and other illnesses spread in our community

Niagara Health, Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Niagara Region Public Health and the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network are working together to help the public better understand the options available for healthcare. Continue reading →

“The enthusiasm Bernie Sanders has generated has carried over to young people here in Canada and around the world.”                  – Former Canadian NDP Leader Ed Broadbent

First Posted by Ed Broadbent on November 23^rd, 2017 on the Broadbent Blog, Broadbent Institute

Posted December 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Changing the Game with Bernie Sanders

Posted by Ed Broadbent

Last (October) I got to spend some quality time with my fellow social democrat, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.As you may know, for decades, Bernie has been leading the fight for a universal healthcare system in the U.S. – a fight that was at the core of his inspiring campaign to be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

In October the Broadbent Institute, along with our partners, arranged for Bernie to come to Canada. During his trip he spoke to a capacity crowd at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall about what the U.S. can learn from Canadian health care.  Over 250,000 people viewed the livestream online, with a further 1.4 million people reached by the social media surrounding the event. Continue reading →

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

Posted December 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Following the antics of politicians and others in Niagara, Ontario and outside of what I would call the sane zones of Buffalo, New York where one enters ‘Trumpland’  left me feeling so disheartened  over the past 12 months, I sometimes wondered if I had it in me to keep Niagara At Large going until the end of the year.

I would sit there at a meeting of Niagara’s regional council or of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors, watching bullies eviscerate any other member of the body or the public they viewed as a threat, or you turned on the cable news to the multi-ring circus from hell that is the Trump presidency, and wonder if there would ever be enough people out there, ready and willing to stand up and stop this.

Yet here we are. We’ve made it to the end of the year and there are some signs out there that growing numbers of people on both sides of the border are ready to stand up against the bullies and when they get a chance to vote (on the Ontario side of the border there are provincial and municipal elections in 2018, and on the U.S. side there are congressional elections), more of us than possibly ever before in the past three or four decades, will vote for positive, progressive change

So on that note of hope (and with much more to come that front on Niagara At Large later), here is wishing all of our many readers and supporter on both sides of the border in our greater Niagara region, a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Here at Niagara at Large, we could not have made it through the year as well as we have without the unqualified love and support of some of our favourite furry friends, including one of Niagara, Ontario’s most beloved celebrities in the cat world, Tigger, pictured immediately below, who you can find greeting customers (when he’s not busy napping) at the Pet Valu store at the plaza on Pine Street in Thorold. If you are lucky, they may even have a copy of Tigger’s 2018 calendar left. It is full of purrfect pictures of him, taken by his friend Joe Krawchuk, and that you can have for $20 in cash that goes to non-profit animal assistance organizations.

Seasons Greetings from Tigger

Photo by Joe Krawchuk, courtesy of Pet Valu at Pne Street plaza in Thorold/Niagara where you can go say hi to Tigger

Dylan, the white guy, and Dexter, Photo by Doug Draper

Now Tigger may enjoy more celebrity across the region, but we at Niagara At Large also want to share our best wishes for the end-of-year holidays with our home friends, Dylan, the one in white, and Dexter, who is in rub-my-belly mode here. There is not enough we can say about the support  we have enjoyed from them when they have not been caught walking across the keyboards of our computers.

Last but not lease, there is Pinky, our trusted mascot from afar  who spends most of her time living in Florida with the snowbirds and is the first canine we know who declared support for Bernie Sanders when he ran for U.S. president in 2016.

Our mascot Pinky, still ‘Feelin’ the Bern’ down in Florida.

Pinky turned down a chance to do Taco Bell commercials to help us in our ongoing efforts to build Niagara At Large as a vital alternative news and commentary voice for our greater Niagara region.

So from all of us, we wish you and your loved ones some peace and joy during this Holiday Season.

Catch you all on the flip side where – at long last and here’s hoping – some change for the better is in the air.

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

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

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

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

Higgins Votes No on GOP Tax Bill

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

Posted December 22, 2017 on Niagara At Large

U.S Congressman Brian Higgins

Buffalo, New York – Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), Vice Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement following his vote against H.R. 1, the GOP tax bill:

“This GOP tax bill provides a heartbreaking catapult to income inequality in America that will serve to grow the gaping wedge between hardworking Americans and wealthy corporate bosses.  This is policy not motivated by bettering the lives of families, students and retirees and certainly not founded in genuine public interest; it is driven by greed and corporate influencers in a callous move to please stockholders and increase the bottom line of big business. Continue reading →

‘The decision (by  Ontario’s Wynne government to restrict personal emergency leave days for autoworkers across the province) appears to have been made at a Wynne Liberal cabinet meeting held behind closed doors shortly before Kathleen Wynne went to Japan and met with major auto manufacturers.’ – Niagara area MPP Cindy Forster

A News Release from the Constituency Office of Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted December 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

Welland – Ontario NDP Labour critic MPP Cindy Forster is calling on the Liberal government to reverse its secretive decision to give auto workers in Ontario fewer personal emergency leave days than everyone else.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government are cracking down on auto workers,” said Forster. “These people work hard, often in physically demanding roles, and they certainly deserve treatment that’s equal to what everyone else in the province is getting.”  Continue reading →

A News Release from Democracy Watch Canada, anon-partisan citizens watchdog group based in Ottawa, Ontario

Posted December 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Paying only 22% of all income taxes, at near lowest rate of G7 countries, and loopholes legalize tax evasion

New national petition calls for Finance Minister Morneau to make key changes to make them pay their fair share of taxes

Key changes also needed to stop Big Bank gouging and abuse – Canada’s Big 6 Banks made a record profit of $42.3 billion in 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December  2017

OTTAWA – This December , Democracy Watch launched its new national petition on Change.org calling for key changes to make Canada’s big businesses and Big Banks pay their fair share of taxes.

A special report recently published in the Toronto Star details how Canadian big businesses, especially the Big Banks, have higher profits but pay a lower rate of taxes than ever before. Continue reading →

Province Helping Ontario Families Stay Healthy with Free Prescription Medication for Everyone Age 24 and Under

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted December 21st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“We believe all families in Ontario deserve the same access to medication they need to protect the health and lives of their children.” – Dr. Eric Hoskins , Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins

Ontario is helping families afford the care they need to stay healthy by making prescription medications free for everyone age 24 and under.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, met with young mothers at Massey Centre in Toronto today, where he launched OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare. In just under two weeks, children and youth will be able to get their medications at no cost by simply showing their Ontario health card number and a prescription at a pharmacy. Coverage will be automatic, with no upfront costs. Continue reading →

Some End-of-the-Year News from the Chamber of Marine Commerce on the Great Lakes

Posted December 21^st,  2017 on Niagara At Large

With just two weeks left of the season, St. Lawrence Seaway cargo volumes are expected to finish ahead of 2016 after a year marked by economic recovery and new business wins.

According to The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, total cargo tonnage from March 20 to November 30 reached 33.6 million metric tons – up 8.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. As of Monday, there was still a steady number of ocean-going and domestic ships travelling through the waterway to pick up or unload cargo. This is expected to continue for the balance of the season. Continue reading →

“We are desperate to have some action on this (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) front. … All four (Niagara, Ontario area) MPPs have expressed concern about the Conservation Authority, so that’s why I’ll be supporting this.” – St. Catharines city councillor Bruce Williamson

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – After disappointing many citizens across the Niagara region last October by putting the matter on hold, St. Catharines’ city council has finally supported a motion to call on Ontario’s Wynne government to appoint a special supervisor to both clean house at and clean up a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority that has lost a good deal of public trust in recent years.

St. Catharines city councilor Jennie Stevens gets council approval for motion calling on province’s government to appoint a supervisor to take over NPCA>

A motion to call for a special supervisor – similar in spirit to one put forward this past October by St. Catharines city councillor Bruce Williamson – was tabled at the city council’s December 18^th meeting by another city councillor Jennie Stevens.

The motion also reads that is a supervisor is not appointed by the Ontario government within 60 days,  the NPCA’s current board of directors – many of them members of and appointed by the Al Caslin cabal dominating Niagara’s regional council – “be dissolved and be replaced by directors appointed by the members of the lower tier municipalities, based on skill set, not politics or political ties, and that Niagara Region develop the process with stakeholders, to be in place after 2018 Municipal Election.”

Stevens’ December 18^th motion follows a motion passed by Port Colborne city council this November, calling for a supervisor to take charge of the NPCA, and a more recent one, tabled by St. Catharines city councillor Joe Kushner and passed by a majority on the council, demanding that the NPCA disclose how much its failed lawsuits against St. Catharines citizen and NPCA critic Ed Smith cost taxpayers across the region. Continue reading →