Niagara At Large

Gates is the MPP for Niagara, Ontario Riding of Niagara Falls

“We are looking forward to the rest of Niagara’s MPPs ( St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley and Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster) acknowledging the significance and importance of this undertaking,” – NPCA Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brickell

News from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Posted December 12^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

NPCA board chair Sandy Annunziata with Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates who is embracing NPCA’s tree planting pledge. NPCA photo

Welland, Ontario. (December 4, 2017)—The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is pleased to announce Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Wayne Gates, New Democratic Party (NDP), has committed his support in helping the NPCA plant one million trees, and three million native species throughout the Niagara watershed.

“One million trees is an ambitious goal and we can’t do it alone. Having our elected officials on board, recognizing the significance of these bold plans sends a strong message to our community partners,” said NPCA Board Chair Sandy Annunziata. Continue reading →

You Are Invited To A Talk by Award-Winning Author Michel Chossudovsky, Hosted Monday, December 18th by the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War

News from the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, a citizen activist group based in Hamilton, Ontario

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

We are at a dangerous crossroads. Miscalculation could lead to the unthinkable. What distinguishes the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis from today’s crisis is that Kennedy and Khrushchev were acutely aware of the dangers of nuclear annihilation. Trump is not.

“Mistakes” often determine the course of world history.

Come to Prof. Chossudovsky’s rare appearance in Hamilton to hear what you can do to stop this war. Continue reading →

An Invite to All from the Sierra Club’s   Climate and Clean Energy Writer’s Group of Western New York

Posted December 12th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

1.The Climate and Clean Energy Writer’s Group will meet on Thursday, December 14th from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Crane Branch Library, 633 Elmwood at Highland Ave., 2nd Floor in Buffalo, New York. This month’s topic is on Sustainable Investing. Think about it… Are the savings you’ve invested (401k, IRA, etc.) supporting things you believe in or things you dread?

Come hear experts with vision explore how we can invest in a sustainable future. For 2018, you can make a plan to do well by doing good! Speakers include JD Hartman, Sister Jean Sliwinski, and John Stith. Invite your financial planner to attend! Continue reading →

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – How much of our municipal tax money did the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority spend in its unsuccessful attempt to sue St. Catharines community activist and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith?

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 St. Catharines city council wants to know how much those failed lawsuits cost area tax payers.

St. Catharines’ city councilors passed a motion at their December 11th council meeting demanding to know.

It is a question that Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority  (NPCA) administrators and board members have so far refused to answer since this past November 23rd  when Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay dismissed defamation suits filed against Smith by the NPCA and its former CAO and now CAO for Niagara’s regional government, Carmen D’Angelo. 

The motion, tabled by veteran St. Catharines city councillor Joe Kushner, calls on the NPCA’s board – a majority of who are made up of Niagara area mayors and directly elected regional councillors appointed to it by the regional government’s Al Caslin administration – to “disclose the total amounts spent on the lawsuits.”

Before his motion was passed this December 11th, Kushner argued that current operations at the NPCA continue “to be problematic” and he called the whole idea of a public body like the Conservation Authority suing a Niagara citizen “reprehensible.” Continue reading →

Brock University-led study confirms link between the number of older brothers and increased odds of being gay, and demonstrates the effect is womb-based

News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Posted December 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Groundbreaking research led by a team from Brock University has further confirmed that sexual orientation for men is likely determined in the womb.

Brock University health sciences researcher Tony Bogaert

In the first-ever laboratory study of mothers of gay men, the research was prompted by more than two decades of statistical data examining the ‘older brother effect’ which shows that biological older brothers — but not older sisters — increase the odds of homosexuality in later-born males.

The study, “Male Homosexuality and Maternal Immune Responsivity to the Y-Linked Protein NLGN4Y,” was published Monday, Dec. 11 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Continue reading →

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

“I had a call from the NPCA              (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) telling me that I wasn’t welcome to attend their kickoff party to talk about their $1-million tree planting —  I wasn’t welcome; it was only for friends and family, of which I was neither — and I wasn’t welcome to attend, even  though the event was being paid for on the taxpayers’  dime..”                                                         – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Veteran Ontario Liberal Party MPP for St. Catharines, Jim Bradley

“What essentially what essentially has happened is that people who are pro-development have been taking over the leadership of the Authority (NPCA), and those who are more environmentally inclined have been given the pink slip to head out the door, and have been silenced as well with agreements that compel them not to say anything about it.”                                                                         – St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

More Statements in the Ontario Legislature from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster and St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

Posted December 11^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large Continue reading →

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

Posted December 11th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Veteran St. Catharines city councilor Joe Kushner wants transparency from NPCA on court costs in failed lawsuit against Niagara citizen

Niagara, Ontario – Veteran St. Catharines city councilor Joe Kushner is tabling a motion for his council’s consideration that demands to know what the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and its band of administrators and regionally appointed board members are so far refusing to tell us – How much of our tax money was spent on its failed defamation suits against St. Catharines community activist and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith?

Kushner’s motion, to be tabled at St. Catharines’ meeting of city council this Monday, December 11th (available to watch on Cogeco Cable 10 or online beginning at 6p.m., calls for nothing less than disclosure of “the total amounts spent on the lawsuits,” on the grounds that municipal tax dollars are used to fund the annual multi-million-dollar budget of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). Continue reading →

A second community vigil in honour of Al-Hasnawi will be held at Hamilton City Hall Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.

 News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted December 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – The mother of slain Brock student Yosif Al-Hasnawi fought back tears and spoke in a hushed voice about her first-born son, as 150 people stood silently listening at a vigil at Brock University on Friday afternoon.

“Yosif had a beautiful soul,” said Amal Alzurufi, “and a smile that would light up any room. His smile was contagious. If he was smiling, you were smiling.

The mother of Yosif Al-Hasnawi, Amal Alzurufi, addressed the crowd alongside her sons Mahdi al-Hasnawi, left, and Ahmed al-Hasnawi, right, during a vigil at Brock University Friday

“He was a bright young man with dreams of becoming a doctor, he hoped one day to make a difference in the world.” Continue reading →

“The actions of Niagara Regional Council members and police are an outrageous assault on media rights, and evidence of a disturbing disregard for the role of the press in a democracy.”

A Statement from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression on the Niagara Regional Government’s Assault on the Rights of the News Media

Re-Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

CJFE is deeply concerned by an incident in the Niagara Regional Council meeting in which city clerk Frank Fabiano seized notes and a computer belonging to St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk, allegedly on the orders of Chief Administrative Officer Carmen D’Angelo.

Niagara regional council in session. File photo by Doug Draper

Sawchuk regularly covers meetings and was in attendance when a regular session was moved in-camera to discuss a code of conduct violation by  Coun. Andy Petrowski. After leaving the chamber, Sawchuk was notified by staff that he was suspected of surreptitiously recording the closed session with his laptop and that his device and notes were being seized.

After the seizure of his device, the reporter was ordered to leave the city hall building and threatened with police action if he failed to comply.  After repeated inquiries by the Standard and their legal counsel, the laptop was eventually retrieved from the staff member’s office and returned.

The actions of Niagara Regional Council members and police are an outrageous assault on media rights, and evidence of a disturbing disregard for the role of the press in a democracy.

A reporter’s notes, sources and electronic devices should never be seized or searched except through enforcement of a court order, and only then under most narrow and rigorously scrutinized circumstances.

It remains unclear under what authority the Region believed it was authorized to seize the belongings of a journalist. Canada dropped to 22nd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 World Press Freedom Index.

CJFE calls on Mr. Fabiano and Mr. D’Angelo to provide an immediate and unconditional apology to Mr. Sawchuk.

We furthermore support MPP Cindy Forster’s request to Minister of Municipal Affairs to immediately investigate this attack on press freedom, and if necessary recommend policies to better protect the rights of media workers covering Niagara Regional Council.

About Canadian Journalists for Free Expression – Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world.

Our vision – To achieve universal respect for and protection of the right to free expression and access to information.

Our mission – CJFE monitors, defends and reports on free expression and access to information in Canada and abroad. Rooted in the field of journalism, we promote a free media as essential to a fair and open society. CJFE boldly champions the free expression rights of all people, and encourages and supports individuals and groups in the protection of their own and others’ free expression rights.

For more about the CJFE, visit its website at – http://www.cjfe.org/about-us .

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 News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

Niagara, Ontario – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster has called on Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro and the province’s Office of the Ombudsman to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surround the Niagara regional government’s seizure of notes and a lap-top computer belonging to a St. Catharines Standard reporter before ordering the reporter out of the regional headquarters this December 7^th. .

“Ms. Forster is asking the Minister of Municipal Affairs to investigate this unwarranted attack on the press by the Regional Municipality of Niagara last night,” says a statement emailed to Niagara At Large in the wake of the incident involving Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk. Continue reading →

An Apology from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted December 8th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

After everything St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill  Sawchuk has been through in the past 20 some odd hours with getting tossed out of the Niagara regional government headquarters, and having his notes and computer seized, the least I could have done is spell his last name properly.

I chalk it up to lack of sleep and my own outrage at being there and witnessing what happened. But at the end of the day, there is not excuse for screwing up a media colleague’s name.

Sorry Bill. It has been corrected.

Here is a link to the corrected article if you wish to click on it now – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/12/08/police-called-in-as-newspaper-report-has-his-notes-and-computer-seized-and-is-ordered-to-leave-niagaras-regional-headquarters-2/

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

Lest There Be Any Further Doubt, Fascism Is In Full Force At Niagara Region

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted December 8^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

It was bizarre and disturbing. And that is the least one can say about what unfolded at Niagara’s regional headquarters during a closed session of Al Caslin’s council this December 7^th.

I can and will go further and call it a brazen, reprehensible assault on the democratic values this Canada of ours likes to celebrate and cherish, and on rights and freedoms of news reporters to perform their responsibility as watchdogs for the public.

Veteran St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Suachuk, at right, being ordered out of Niagara’s regional government headquarters after his notes and computer were seized.

This December 7^th, while members of the public and media were asked to leave the regional council chambers so the council could go in to closed session to discuss what to do in the face of code of conduct complaints involving St. Catharines regional councillor Andy Petrowski, Bill Sawchuk, a reporter for The St. Catharines Standard, had his computer and notes seized, while uniformed Niagara Regional Police arrived to see that he complied with an order to leave the regional government headquarters. Continue reading →

Vigil scheduled for Friday, December 8th, at 3 p.m. at             Brock University

News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Yosif Al Hasnawi

Niagara, Ontario – A vigil will be held on the Brock University campus Friday, Dec. 8 to honour first-year Medical Sciences student Yosif Al-Hasnawi, who was killed in Hamilton on Saturday night while trying to stop an altercation.

A memorial fund is also being organized to create a scholarship in Al-Hasnawi’s name to remember the 19-year-old Hamilton resident.

“Yosif’s death devastated us, but we plan to look further into it and make sure his death is not forgotten,” said Brock Student Justice Centre Supervisor Zanab Jafry, a fourth-year Brock student who is organizing the vigil. Continue reading →

A Call-Out to Everyone from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper to View the Video of a Vote that has Raised the Stakes for Public Accountability at the NPCA

Posted December 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Motion calling for a supervisor to come in and clean up NPCA operations was tabled by Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters. It was the first of its kind to be passed by a municipal council in Niagara and possibly not the last.

Niagara, Ontario – This past Monday, November 27th, Port Colborne’s city council became the first municipal council in Niagara – and hopefully not the last – to call on the Ontario government to appoint a special supervisor to take over operations at an NPCA many across our region believe has lost its way as a voice for environmental conservation and has  gone rogue.

It took more than a week, but a video of the Port Colborne council session finally became available on the city’s website and Niagara At Large has cut it down to that segment that begins with Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters reading her motion, calling on the Ontario government to appoint a supervisor, and follows with presentations by Niagara citizen Ed Smith and other citizens, representatives for the NPCA, and finally a debate on the motion and vote by members of council.

Niagara At Large is posting the entire segment because we believe that watching it will give anyone still wondering what the controversy swirling around the NPCA all these many months is about, will get a much clearer understanding of what it is about through what unfolds at this Port Colborne council meeting.

So here it is to click on. Please give it a watch and feel free to share your comments on this issue in the space below.

 To read a previous Niagara At Large news commentary posted on what unfolded at this Port Colborne council meeting, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2017/11/29/port-colborne-council-is-first-in-niagara-to-call-for-provincially-appointed-supervsisor-to-take-over-embattled-npca/ .

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 News Release from Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released yet another scathing report this December 6th detailing numerous areas in which the government is not up to standards.

Palliative care was highlighted as one of the “pressing issues” that was “still not addressed”, despite her repeated calls on the government for action.  

“All 21 recommended actions in our 2014 Annual Report on Palliative Care were still in the process of being implemented, including one calling for a review of the way nurse practitioners are deployed in order to provide patients with 24/7 access to palliative care at home; and another recommending consideration of new options such as creating additional physicians who deliver home-based palliative care,” the report reads.      Continue reading →

“We’ve seen this play out. Before an election, the Liberals make promises about auto insurance, and, right after the election, they let people down. Why would people believe them this time?”         – Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large 

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Queen’s Park, Ontario — In question period this December 5th, Ontario NDP Consumer Affairs critic and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates said that the latest Liberal auto insurance scheme does nothing to substantially lower auto insurance rates for families and abandons the long promised 15 per cent rate reduction.

“Since 2013, this government committed to lowering auto insurance rates by 15 per cent – which never happened,” said Gates. “The government then tried to bury a report which showed that, even though Ontario has one of the lowest levels of collisions, we pay some of the highest rates. Today, we heard about a new auto insurance scheme, and it doesn’t even target rate reduction.  Continue reading →

Ontario PC response to the 2017 Auditor General report

A News Release from Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party

Posted December 7th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Statement from Ontario PC Treasury Board critic Lisa MacLeod on the release of the 2017 Auditor General Report:

“There is a culture of waste at Queen’s Park that has festered under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals for 14 years. This has crowded out the key government services everyone depends on, and left Ontario families working harder, paying more, and getting less.

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk tables her 2017 audit on Wynne government this December 6th

“In the energy sector, we again see the politically corrupt Wynne Liberals putting well-connected insiders first, while driving up hydro bills for families, seniors, and mom and pop shops across the province.

“Under the Wynne Liberals’ watch, senior citizens saw their power disconnected in the dead of the winter, meanwhile wealthy executives expensed hundreds of thousands of dollars on egregious items such as raccoon traps, scuba gear, parkas, and carpet cleaning to your hydro bill. Continue reading →

“This funding is a first-step in restoring the Great Lakes so that all stakeholders – economic, environment, and recreational – may utilize this resource in successful cooperation with one another.”                                                                                                       – Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament, Niagara Centre

News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted December 7^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Earlier this week, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna announced that the Government of Canada will be investing $44.84 million for the Great Lakes Protection Initiative.  This funding is part of the $70.5 million of new funding that was earmarked in Budget 2017 for freshwater protection. Continue reading →

“There is a forensic audit (of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) that is needed. Critics would say there’s drastic action that is needed now.”-  St. Catharines Riding MPP Jim Bradley

Some Introductory Comments from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper followed by Excerpts from Bradley’s Statement in Legislature

 Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley. File photo

Niagara, Ontario – On the same day – this past Tuesday, December 5th – that Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster stood in the Ontario legislature to say, among other things, that many constituents she represents in the Niagara region are fed up with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) and the “petty politics” of its regionally appointed board of directors, another Niagara area MPP – veteran St. Catharines Riding Liberal government member Jim Bradley – stood up to raise concerns about the Conservation Authority as well.

Bradley was hardly as direct as Forster was this December 5th in calling on the Ontario Liberal government he is part of to take firm action – as in appoint a special supervisor to take over NPCA operations – possibly because, as he noted during his comments in the legislature, Forster “has a little more leeway than I have as a member of government.” Continue reading →

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

Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

Queen’s Park, Toronto  — In question period this Wednesday, December 6^th, Ontario NDP Consumer Affairs critic Wayne Gates called on the Wynne government to end its practice of forcing local distribution companies to print Liberal political spin on energy bills.

Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) Hydro is speaking out, saying that forcing local distribution companies to publish details of the Liberal’s Fair Hydro Plan and other political messages on hydro bills is simply wrong and makes bills more confusing for ratepayers. Continue reading →

A Brief One from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper, followed by a Statement from Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Posted December 6^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

One hundred years ago – on the morning of December 6^th, 1917 – five-year-old Kaye McLeod was playing with her dolls inside her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia when a monstrous explosion slammed her to the floor.

The explosion was triggered by the collision two ships, one of them loaded with munitions on their way the First World War killing fields of Europe, in the nearby waters of Halifax Harbour.. Kaye McLeod died this past October at age 105, the last living survivor of what remains, to this day, one of the most destructive man-made disasters in recorded history.

Barely anything left but rubble in whole neighbourhoods near Halifax Harbour following explosion 100 years ago

Up to the time of her death, Kaye McLeod’s long life was a reminder that even though this horrific event, that killed close to 2,000 people and injured 9,000 , occurred a century ago, the sight, sound and burnt and rotting smell of it still loomed in the memory of someone living and breathing among us – a reminder that in the larger scheme of things, “the great Halifax explosion,” as it has been called, didn’t really happen all that long ago at all. Continue reading →

MPP Cindy Forster Repeats Her Call To Ontario Government To Appoint Supervisor to Take Over NPCA Operations

“The people of Niagara are fed up with the petty politics embraced by the NPCA board members.” – Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A Statement to the Ontario Legislature from Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The following is from the Hansard for Tuesday, December 5th, 2017 from the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park, Toronto

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Ms. Cindy Forster: “I want to commend the town of Pelham, Mayor Dave Augustyn and town council, whose reputations have been under attack by a group of regional politicians. Throughout, Mayor Augustyn has been honest, transparent and has displayed the very best of what we ask of our public servants.

KPMG recently released an audit clearing the town, council and mayor of any wrongdoing. Despite this, Grimsby (regional) councillor Tony Quirk, chair of the Niagara region’s audit committee, questioned the accounting expertise and said he will continue to pursue his concerns.

Grimsby regional councillor and NPCA board member Tony Quirk

Now, Mr. Quirk is also on the NPCA board, who I talk about quite often, and recently launched a verbal attack against a Superior Court judge, who dismissed the conservation authority’s lawsuit against decorated military veteran Ed Smith. As the justice noted, there are many places in the world one might expect such a crackdown on free speech and criticism to happen, but now in our beloved dominion of Canada. Thus Mr. Quirk’s attacks on Pelham are highly hypocritical. He should release the legal costs for the NPCA’s suing of a private citizen if he’s on a mission of transparency and accountability.

The people of Niagara are fed up with the petty politics embraced by the NPCA board members. The all-party provincial public accounts committee has appointed the Auditor General.

Port Colborne is now calling for a supervisor, and I will continue to work on this file and encourage other municipalities in the NPCA watershed, paying millions of tax dollars, to do the same, because that is how democracy works.”

Niagara At Large will be posting more on this issue later. Please stay tuned!

This display of the NPCA board reps and NPCA exec David Barrick was produced by a new Niagara citizen activist group called Better Niagara. More about that group on Niagara At Large later.

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

“This situation has literally torn this family apart. Remi’s mom has six other children who have had to be moved out of the house so that they can be safe. Remi and his mother live in a space where everything is locked. She calls it autism jail.”              – Ontario NPD Critic Monique Taylor

A News Release from the Ontario New Democratic Party

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

NPD MPP Monique Taylor speaking in Ontario legislature with Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates looking on. File photo

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Monique Taylor, the NDP critic for Children and Youth brought the case of 10-year-old Remi Ranger and his family all the way to the legislature, and called on the government to step in and help the family, which is in crisis waiting for treatment for Remi.

Remi has severe autism and other complex needs that cause him to be very violent with himself and others. Due to a seizure at school, he ended up in the hospital where spent 24 days. During that time, he had no treatment – the family was told that’s because the symptoms were all related to his autism. Continue reading →

Province Introduces Fair Auto Insurance Plan to Promote Better Care for Victims and Affordable Rates for Drivers

A News Release from Ontario’s Liberal Government

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is taking action to make auto insurance more affordable for the province’s nearly 10 million drivers by introducing the Fair Auto Insurance Plan. The plan includes significant reforms that will address fraud in the system, put victims first by providing better access to care for those injured in auto collisions and strengthen consumer protection.

Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance, along with Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General made the announcement this December 5^th  in Toronto. Continue reading →

‘Community Care, St. Catharines & Thorold has been meeting the needs of the less advantaged in our community since 1919.’

A News Release from Niagara College

Posted December 5^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Community Care of St. Catharines & Thorold has been selected as the 21st recipient of Niagara College’s Many Hands project. The annual project sees Niagara College students support a local community non-profit organization with fundraising, marketing and public awareness of the agency.

In the Spring of 2018, students in NC’s Event Management (Graduate Certificate) program will plan, manage and host a fundraising event to help Community Care. Continue reading →

“Other countries shouldn’t want to be like us right now.”

By John Kiriakou, former senior investigator with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former CIA counterterrorism officer, from a column circulated on Reader Supported News

Posted December 5th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

A front page that went viral earlier this year from the New York Daily News

(A Brief Foreword Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – NAL is posting this commentary by a distinguished American expert in the field of forieign affairs because in our view, it does an excellent job of summing up the dangerous state of affairs facing his country and the rest of the world with Trump in the White House. Canada’s political leaders are hopefully taking note and guarding against being sucked down the same dark hole Trump is working to take our American neighbours down.

Please take a few minutes to read this commentary then share your views in the space below.)

Good governance is a form of power. It serves as an example, and in some cases a beacon, for the rest of the world. It says, “Look at what you can achieve. You can be like us. You should want to be like us.”

The United States under Donald Trump is not that beacon. Other countries shouldn’t want to be like us right now. We don’t have good governance in this country. We used to, with a few exceptions, and it didn’t matter whether a Democrat or a Republican was in the White House. But Donald Trump is different. He’s dangerous. Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

Posted December 4^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario  – This Monday, December 4^th, Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for Niagara Falls, continued to press the Liberal government to protect the Great Lakes and Ontario water ways, and stop the dumping of raw sewage into the Niagara River.

“Last week, the International Joint Commission released its first assessment on the progress by both US and Canadian governments on the protection of our Great Lakes and rivers,” said Gates. “There certainly has been a lack of action by the premier to address the dumping of sewage into the Niagara River this past summer.”

A massive blob of inky pollution floating in the Niagara River below the American and Horseshoe Falls, with tourist boats floating through it this past summer.

This week, a report commissioned by the International Joint Commission criticized the government for their lack of action on addressing sewage spills and monitoring of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes. Continue reading →

Call this Development Plan ‘Paradise’ or ‘Riverfront’,  or whatever you want – It threatens valuable wetlands in the Niagara River Watershed just the same!

A Commentary by Niagara conservationist John Bacher

Posted December 4^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario conservationist inside Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls. File photo

One of the more dramatic moments I’ve experienced in recent times took place this past November at information event for the ‘Riverfront Community development’ proposed for Thundering Waters Forest in the south west end of Niagara Falls, Ontario and facilitated by proposed Amendment 130 to the Niagara Falls Official Plan.

I went to the meeting upset that contrary to recent statements made in an November 17th, 2017 Niagara Falls Review article by Helen Chang, that GR Canada Investments (a China-government backed corporation Chang is a part of) is proposing that protected  provincially wetlands be down rated in their status.

I walked towards the display board in the meeting room that showed basic concept plan.  As I began to explain that protected wetlands are located within the lands proposed for development, I heard a male voice telling me to stop. I then walked to the back of the room and was told by a security guard that I was now under orders to leave. These orders were later revoked after Niagara Falls City Councilor, Caroyln Ioanonni, appealed to the guard’s supervisor. Continue reading →

“Instead of unthinkingly stumbling into this change, let’s start the work now to look at potential solutions to reform (regional) council.” – Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

A Commentary by Town of Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn

Posted December 4th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – This coming Thursday, December 7th, Niagara’s Regional Council will host a public meeting and consider a bylaw to add an additional member to the council.

Niagara regional council in session. File photo by Doug Draper

This would bring the council to a total of 31 members, plus the Regional Chair. In addition to the 12 Mayors, our regional governing body currently includes 18 directly elected Regional Councillors – six from St. Catharines, three from Niagara Falls, two from Welland and one each from Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara on the Lake, Thorold, Pelham, Port Colborne, and Fort Erie.

West Lincoln Township Council initiated the process to add another member a few months ago by asking the Region to petition the province’s Minister of Municipal Affairs to allow the discussion. The Minister got back to the Region this Fall with his consent – and that debate will occur at the Region this week. Continue reading →

At The Very Least, An Official Letter of Apology to the Town of Pelham Is  In Order

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

Posted December 1^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

I was driving along Lafayette Street in Buffalo, New York a few weeks ago – past some of the most beautiful homes you could ever imagine being built during the early decades of the last century – when I notice the car in front of me sporting a bumper sticker that read; ‘If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention!”

Yes, that’s what it read – “If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention!” – a message that seemed completely out of place in this idyllic old neighbourhood where it seemed to me, there was little, if anything, to be outraged about.

Sad to say, it is a message that rings all too loudly in certain settings back here in Niagara, Ontario, including one I attended this past November 29^th in Pelham, where the town’s council held a “special meeting” in a high school cafeteria packed with some 300 people. Continue reading →

A News Release from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system for hospital services

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Health is pleased to share that the latest health system report measuring hospital performance across Canada shows we are a top performer in several areas.

Niagara Health’s St. Catharines area hospital site. File photo by Doug Draper

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Your Health System 2016/17 report shows Niagara Health is a top performer – in the top 10 percent in Canada for at least the last three consecutive years – in four performance indicators:

• Obstetrical injury to the mother during instrument-assisted vaginal deliveries
• Readmissions to hospital for all patient types (medical, surgical, obstetrical and pediatrics)
• Percentage of residents whose condition did not worsen related to assistance with walking and other movement
• Number of long-term care residents whose mood from symptoms of depression worsened

Continue reading →

 “If you’re one of 13 million Americans to lose your healthcare coverage, and the millions more who will see their premiums explode because Congressional Republicans needed another $300 billion for their deficit-exploding corporate tax cuts, you’ll be taking a big hit on top of a big tax cut.” – U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, representing Buffalo and other regions of Western New York

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

Posted November 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

As GOP leaders speed closer to passing tax legislation, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) warned of the impact the bill will have on higher education and healthcare in America:

To access video of Higgins, speaking on the bill,  click on:

From Democratic Congressman Higgin’s address in Congress on the Republican Brian Higgins – Continue reading →

Find Out More In A Special Talk At Brock University – Wednesday, December 6th at Noon

An Invite from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara

Posted November 30th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Dec. 6, 1989 École Polytechnique massacre changed the conversation around violence against women, and led to the creation of Brock University’s Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies.

Brock University Assistant Professor Robyn Bourgeois, Robyn Bourgeois, an indigenous woman who was a victim of violence as a teenager, will deliver the Talk. Photo courtesy of Brock University

But Brock Assistant Professor Robyn Bourgeois, an indigenous woman who was a victim of violence as a teenager, says that despite nearly three decades of activism, violence against women is still very much a reality.

“While we certainly have more social awareness and, more importantly, more resources for those experiencing violence than we did in 1989, we still have a long way to go in Canada to achieve the goal of ending violence against women and girls,” says Bourgeois, also known by her indigenous spirit name Laughing Otter Caring Woman.

Two years after the mass shooting that killed 14 women, Dec. 6 was named the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Continue reading →

Plan Says Greenfield Can House 80,000!

“Most of the lands (targeted for sprawling development)  are drained by Twenty Mile Creek which flows through Smithville and Balls Falls to Jordan Harbour.”

News from Citizens At City Hall, a Hamilton Watchdog Group

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The city’s newest expansion onto rural lands will accommodate three times the population of Dundas and consume more area than the aerotropolis. The next step in the controversial Elfrida Growth Plan is to gather public views on how much natural area should be protected for the headwaters of four streams.

Three options for watershed management will be presented at a public meeting on Wednesday December 6 at Valley Park recreation centre starting at 6:30pm. The 3100 acre L-shaped block lies east and south of the intersection of Upper Centennial and Rymal Road. It extends from Trinity Church Road to Second Road East and from Mud Street to Golf Club Road in upper Stoney Creek. Altogether it&rsquo ;s equal to about half of the built-up area on Hamilton Mountain.

Most of the lands are drained by Twenty Mile Creek which flows through Smithville and Balls Falls to Jordan Harbour. There’s also a substantial block of headwaters for Stoney Creek and smaller portions of the upper reaches of Hannon Creek and Davis Creek that both feed Red Hill Creek. Continue reading →

Patrick Brown and the Ontario PCs will make life more affordable for families by lowering hydro bills by an additional 12 per cent

A News Release from Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party

Posted November 30^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This November 29^th, in neighbouring Burlington, Ontario, the Province’s PC Leader Patrick Brown  laid out the Ontario PC plan to lower the average hydro bill by an additional 12%. This would save the average household $173 a year on their hydro bill.

“Under Kathleen Wynne’s watch, families are struggling to pay their hydro bills,” said Brown. “We need to do better on hydro. Ontario families need a hydro bill they can afford. The Ontario PCs will deliver much-needed hydro relief to families by lowering the average hydro bill by an additional 12%.”

Hydro rates have tripled under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals. Families pay $1,000 more today than they did when the Liberals took office. Continue reading →

So what was all  the condemnation of the Pelham mayor and his council at Niagara’s regional government level all about?

A Brief News Commentary from Doug Draper, reporter/publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted November 29th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – To listen to David Barrick and other members of the Caslin cabal on Niagara’s regional council all these months, you would think that the Town of Pelham was a fiscal time bomb ready to go off with such force, it might take the rest of Niagara – and most surely the credit rating it needs to carry on healthy business – with it.

Looking for this in the Town of Pelham’s books? The Canadian accounting firm KPMG’s independent audit of those books says it isn’t there. What does that say for those at Niagara’s regional council who spent months charging that it very likely is?

So you better believe I went out to the special meeting Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn and his council held on the evening of this November 29th, where representatives for the Canada-wide financial firm KPMG were unveiling the results of an independent audit they were hired to do on the town’s books, to find out how big this fiscal bomb might be and when it might go off.

The only thing is that by the end of the KPMG presentation and a follow-up report by Pelham’s treasurer, there is no bomb – no unreported $17-million dollar debt, no legal hanky panky around a parkland dedication or anything else about dollars spent on development in the east end of the Pelham community of Fonthill that justified alarms going off over in Caslin land. Continue reading →

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

Posted November 28th,  2017  on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario  – There’s a new role at St. Catharines City Hall to help guide large investments and major developments all the way from blueprints to ribbon cuttings. 

The City hired Margaret Josipovic as project expeditor to support businesses and investors with expansions, new developments and other investments in St. Catharines.

A few blocks of St. Catharines’ downtown streetscape, under construction and made more pedestrian friendly this past summer.

  “We’ve made great strides to improve our processes to support the building community and move developments along,” said Jim Riddell, the City’s director of planning and building services. “Adding the project expeditor to our staff further enhances our service and supports the good work our builders and investors are doing in our city.” Continue reading →

“I’m inviting the other leaders to get on the same page as Ontario families who don’t support the privatization scheme in hydro. It’s not too late.” – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

News from the Office of Ontario  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted November 29^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Ontario  — This November 29th, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath initiated debate on a motion that forces all three parties to vote on whether Ontario will keep Kathleen Wynne’s privatized hydro scheme in place – or start reversing course and bringing Hydro One back into public hands. Continue reading →

“The City of Port Colborne respectfully requests the Premier of Ontario to immediately appoint a Supervisor to take over the operations of the NPCA.” – from the motion passed this November 27th by Port Colborne City Council

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

Posted November 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Three tries this October and November, and finally we have a municipal council in the region that voted in favour of calling on the Ontario government to appoint a supervisor to take control of operations at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

Motion calling for a supervisor to come in and clean up NPCA operations was tabled by Port Colborne city councilor Barbara Butters. It was the first of its kind to be passed by a municipal council in Niagara and possibly not the last.

St. Catharines’ City Council entertained a motion first a provincially appointed supervisor for the NPCA, but this October put it off in favour of asking its staff to study questions and concerns many Niagara citizens have raised about the way the run-amok Conservation Authority does business first.

Earlier this November, the Council for the Township of Wainfleet considered a similar motion and chose to put off giving it any further consideration until Ontario’s auditor general takes a look at the NPCA’s books.

Then this November 27^th, the Council for the City of Port Colborne voted five to three in approval of a motion for a provincially appointed supervisor tabled by Port Councilor and a former NPCA  board of directors member Barbara Butters and seconded by Councillor Angie Desmaris with some strong words of support from other councilors, most notably Yvon Ducet and Dave Elliott, who (in Elliott’s case) scolded representatives of  the NPCA for – to this day – failing to answer questions and concerns Niagara citizen Ed Smith, with the backing of many other area citizens, MPPs and area councilors, put to them more than a year ago! Continue reading →

Governments Also Called On To Accelerate Efforts To Protect Drinking Water And Eliminate Releases Of Untreated Sewage

A Call-Out from the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission

Posted November 28^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

In its First Triennial Assessment of Progress under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement), the International Joint Commission (IJC) calls on Canada and the United States to set specific timelines and targets for making critical improvements to wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, reducing nutrient runoff and eliminating releases of chemicals of mutual concern.

The IJC commends the two federal governments for considerable progress they have made to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated Areas of Concern, set new loading targets for the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Erie to reduce harmful algal blooms, and establish the work groups and processes needed to implement the Agreement. However, the IJC finds that work needs to be increased in several key areas. Continue reading →

 Campaign raised $3,000 more than last year

A News Release from Niagara Health, an amalgamation of Niagara, Ontario’s hospital services

Posted November 28th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontario – Compassion, optimism and a commitment to achieving ambitious results. All of these things haven proven to be key components of another successful employee-giving campaign. 

Niagara Health employees proudly raised $78,714 during our United Way Workplace campaign in October.

Niagara Health team members, from left to right, Jackie Moore, Avia Whitehorne, Lisa Pepperall, Anna Cobian and Alicia Azzarello at the St. Catharines Site wearing blue T-shirts in support of the United Way Workplace Campaign which raised $78,714. Photo courtesy of Niagara Health

In addition to the generous one-time donations and payroll deductions, staff placed change jars on their units and purchased “A Healthier Niagara Starts Here” T-shirts to wear on Dress Down Fridays to show their support. Continue reading →

Audit Follows In Wake of Regional Government Charges of Financial Mismanagement by Town

Posted November 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

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

Okay, so let’s hope that this Wednesday, November 29^th, the people of Pelham and the rest of us across the Niagara region finally get the answers to some very serious questions that have been raised about Pelham’s financial health and whether or not economic decisions it has made around land transactions and the building of a new community centre in the town could harm municipal tax payers and the credit rating of the whole Niagara region.

Port Colborne regional councilor and Niagara Region’s corporate services committee chair David Barrick led call this spring for audit of Pelham’s books

Questions and concerns about all of this have been swirling since at least as early as last spring when David Barrick, chair of the regional government’s corporate services committee and a Port Colborne regional councillor, won regional council support for a motion calling for an independent audit of Pelham’s books.

The issue has been raised a number of times at the regional government level, including again earlier this November during a heated session attended by a full gallery of Pelham residents demanding answers.

So let me repeat a hope that all of this will come to a head with answers to the outstanding questions and concerns this coming November 29^th at a special session of Pelham council scheduled for 6: p.m. at E.L. Crossley Secondary School in the Pelham community of Fonthill. Continue reading →

“People working in the Niagara media are our friends and neighbors and involved members of our region. Their work keeps us informed on local events and issues impacted our daily lives.” – Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates

From the Niagara Falls Riding Constituency Office of MPP Wayne Gates

Posted November 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Falls Riding MPP Wayne Gates

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates released the following statement responding to the announcement this November 27^th that TorStar and Postmedia (two of Canada’s largest corporate media chains) will close several local media outlets in the Niagara region:

“Niagara families have long been fortunate to benefit from a diverse media landscape with dedicated and talented professionals. Today, many of these journalists, editors, web designers and other media professionals received the heartbreaking news that their organizations will close and jobs will be lost—my thoughts go out to these professionals and their families as they cope with this difficult news. Continue reading →

NDP says Libs, PCs trying to out-privatize each other when it comes to hydro

 “Families deserve help with hydro bills. What the Liberals are offering is help for Hydro One to collect people’s money.” – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

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

Posted November 27th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

Queen’s Park, Toronto  – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is demanding that Ontario ban the use of pre-pay hydro meters that force families to feed the meter to turn the electricity on. Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals are defending a proposal to start installing the meters on Ontario homes.

The proposal is to spend $9.1 billion to install the meters on Ontario homes. The meters would skirt rules that prevent the privatized Hydro One from disconnecting people’s electricity in the winter. 

“With the pre-pay meters, Hydro One won’t have to disconnect anyone. The power will get cut off automatically if the customer doesn’t feed the meter,” said Horwath. “Imagine a family struggling to keep up with their skyrocketing hydro bills. There will be no option to come up with a payment plan, and no protection against a winter-time disconnection – the meter just runs out, and the home goes dark.”  Continue reading →

News from the Niagara West-Glanbrook Riding Constituency Office of MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Posted November 27^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook today introduces his first Private Member’s Bill, the Compassionate Care Act. The Act would establish a hospice palliative care framework and begin to address the critical need for increased care in 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.

“I have been encouraged to see the genuine and meaningful care that is currently offered to those who are in hospice palliative care,” said Oosterhoff. “We need to spread the word about palliative care and to make it more accessible.”  Continue reading →

“Canada and the United States have a long history of maintaining successful bilateral relations, and I look forward to working towards strengthen those ties.”- Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament, Niagara

A News Release from Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Posted November 27th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey

Ottawa, Ontario  – Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, will be returning to Washington D.C., this week to meet with his American counterparts to discuss issues of trade and the current negotiations for changes to NAFTA.

This is Badawey’s second visit to the American capital this year. Badawey travelled as a member of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group in March where he participated in over 35 meetings over the course of three days.  Meetings covered a range of topics, including: the Great Lakes, transportation, economy, and cross-border commerce. Continue reading →

Patrick Brown and the Ontario PCs release the People’s Guarantee

PCs release plan to bring change to Ontario a full six months before the election

Posted November 27th, 2017 at Niagara At Large

Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown releases a pre-2018 election platform, making tax cuts a major priority

Etobicoke, Ontario  – This past November 25^th,  in a speech delivered at the Ontario PC Party’s policy convention, Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown unveiled the Party’s platform, called the People’s Guarantee.

“The People’s Guarantee lays out our vision and our plan to bring change that works for Ontario,” said Brown. “At its core it’s very simple. It’s a recognition of the need for change that works for you:  the people, not the insiders.”

The People’s Guarantee is the product of the most exhaustive and inclusive policy development process in the history of the Ontario PC Party. The process began in March 2016, and culminated in over 130 policy resolutions that were voted on and supported by party membership to form the basis of the plan. Continue reading →

“A democracy can’t exist without freedom of expression.” – from the ruling of Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay

NPCA, says Judge in his ruling, looks like “a body that has had trouble finding its way.”

A News Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted November 24^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara citizen and retired Canadian Armed Forces officer Ed Smith, faced with an NPCA lawsuit, gets some justice in an Ontario court. File photo by Doug Draper

A pair of lawsuits filed against St. Catharines resident and community activist Ed Smith with heavy punitive costs attached to them – one filed by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and former NPCA CAO Carmen D’Angelo (now the CAO for Niagara’s regional government) and the other filed by Niagara, Ontario businessman William Montgomery – have h been dismissed by Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay.

Dismissal of the defamation suits, outlined in a written ruling signed by Judge Ramsay this November 23^rd,  follows arguments for and against the lawsuits, heard in a Welland court this past November 20^th and 21^st by lawyers for both parties.

They also follow a year-long odyssey that began a year ago this fall, after Smith, a 25-year, retired Canadian Armed Forces officer, shared a document he produced with St. Catharines regional councillor Brian Heit prior to a snap meeting called by Niagara Region chair, Al Caslin, for a council vote on hiring D’Angelo to the regional government’s top job as CAO – a position he was awarded by a majority of councillors following the vote. Continue reading →

“He was never comfortable being in the limelight and taking acknowledgement for all that he achieved and what he put forward. He was a very understated individual.” – Debbie Inglis, Director of Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI)

A Message from Brock University in St. Catharines

Posted November 24^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara, Ontari winemaker extraordinaire Karl Kaiser. Photo courtesy of Brock University

Niagara, Ontario – The Brock University community is mourning the death of a national figure and longtime associate who helped forge Brock’s leading role in grape and wine research, while also turning Niagara into a world-renowned wine region.

Inniskillin Winery co-founder Karl J. Kaiser, an industry pioneer and a key figure behind Brock’s oenology and viticulture programs, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 22. He was 76 years old.

Kaiser’s impact on the Niagara and Canadian wine industry is unmatched, and it was through his guidance and drive that Brock created the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) and the Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI) undergraduate program in the 1990s, said CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis. Continue reading →

Please read and Act on this Information, and share this information widely with your friends and associates

A Call to Action from the Ontario Health Coalition, a province-wide citizen advocacy group

Posted November 24^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

The Ontario government is moving forward with legislation that lifts the ban on private hospitals, rolls private hospitals in with private clinics and renames them, offensively, Community Health Facilities, and makes it easier for private hospitals and clinics to expand and more difficult for the Minister to stop them.

This legislation was brought in with no prior public consultation. It is a massive omnibus bill that repeals or enacts 7 entire Acts, and amends more than 30 Acts. We were given 5 minutes to present to the Standing Committee on this massive piece of legislation. Now we have only four days to try to get the worst part of it withdrawn. Without due consideration of the consequences, the government is making a grave mistake that could easily usher in very significant new privatization and threats to our local public hospitals.

Please email or call your MPP and ask them to help withdraw Schedule 9 of Bill 160. They need to act by early next week. Continue reading →

A Brief from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 23^rd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Niagara resident and community activist Ed Smith cleared of lawsuits filed against him by Conservation Authority and others.

Niagara, Ontario – Niagara At Large has learned from sources that two lawsuits launched within the past year against St. Catharines resident and community activist Ed Smith – one filed by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and former NPCA CAO Carmen D’Angelo (now the CAO for Niagara’s regional government) and the other filed by Niagara, Ontario businessman William Montgomery – have both been dismissed by Ontario Court Judge James Ramsay.

Dismissal of the defamation suits against Smith follow two days of arguments heard in a Welland court this past November 20^th and 21^st by lawyers for both parties.

Niagara At Large has also learned that Judge Ramsay’s written ruling will not be publicly released until late morning this Friday, November 24^th, and NAL will be sure to obtain a copy and a post a detailed report on the ruling, SO STAY TUNED!

What one can say at this point, is that this is good news for all citizens who engage in the democratic process across Ontario and Canada, and for the right we all have as citizens to hold our governments accountable.

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 binational 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

From Niagara At Larger reporter and publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 23^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

It is the Thursday of the last full week of November and that only means one thing for our friends and neighbours in Buffalo and Western New York and for millions of others across the United States of America.

An exact replica of the Mayflower – a gift some 60 years ago from England to the U.S, – docked in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where, as so many of us were taught as children, the Pilgrims  settled and celebrated the first Thanksgiving feast. File photo by Doug Draper

It is Thanksgiving, and for anyone on the American side of the border who visits our Niagara At Large site and for what few of you may check in to it today – because most Americans put aside any and all work on this day and, yes, even their computers and other digital devices to spend some quality time with their friends and family – I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Along with my wife Mary and daughter Sarah, we share this day with fond memories of Thanksgivings we spent for many years with friends who gathered at Old Sea Pines, a wonderful Inn in the Town of Brewster on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Continue reading →

Wynne has already lent her signature to plans by China-base developers to encroach on a sizable amount of what’s left of Niagara’s provincially significant wetlands. What is she going to sign away next?

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

Posted November 22nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

It’s  bad enough we’ve got the regional government we have in Niagara and a Conservation Authority that, in many area citizens’ view, isn’t worth a hoot.

In November 2015, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, second from left at table, joins Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati, just to the right of her, in Beijing, China for signing of ‘memorandum of understanding’ for China-based development proposal in Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls.

Now we’ve got Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne heading off on another “business mission” to, among other places, China.

All of which begs the question – what more of our natural heritage in Niagara is she going to sign away next? Continue reading →

 “The privatized Hydro One is seeking a 20 per cent increase (in hydro rates).” – Ontario NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns

A News Release from Ontario’s New Democratic Party

Posted November 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto —In question period this November 21^st,, Ontario NDP Energy critic Peter Tabuns called on the Wynne Liberals to stand up for Ontario families and direct the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to stop the privatized Hydro One’s plan to require pre-payment for power.

Hidden in Hydro One’s distribution rate application for 2018-2022 are plans to replace recently installed smart meters with pre-payment meters, requiring customers to pay for electricity before they use it and creating a loophole to new rules banning winter disconnections. 

“Instead of reducing its rates, as the government promised would happen, the privatized Hydro One is seeking a 20 per cent increase,” said Tabuns. “But there’s more. On page 2,038 of the application, we learn that Hydro One wants to install pre-payment meters, which require the customer to pay first before they get any electricity. Continue reading →

November 22^nd, 1963 – The Day They Shot Kennedy

A Brief Commentary by NAL publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 22nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

“Murder will out,” says a line that goes back more than years to Shakespeare and more than three hundred years before that to Chancer’s ‘Cantebury Tales’.

Yet for countless millions of us who were around and old enough to remember where we were on November 22^nd, 1963 when he heard the news that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, the truth of that line with respect to that crime has never been – and may never be – fully realized.

A frame from a film produced in Dealey Plaza by bystander  Abraham Zapruder, showing U.S. President John F. Kennedy already hit with his wife Jackie holding him, just before another shot blows the top of his head off.

Lyndon B. Johnson, sworn in as president following Kennedy’s assassination, assembled what would come to be known as the Warren Commission to conduct an investigation and report on its findings which would boil down to the murderous deed being committed by a lone shooter named Lee Harvey Oswald. Continue reading →

“Bell calls it restructuring due to challenges in the media industry, yet only workers pay the price, while executive salaries and retention bonuses increase unchallenged.” Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

A Statement delivered by Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster this November 21^st in the Ontario Legislature

Posted November 22^nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster in Ontario legislature. File photo

Ms. Cindy Forster: ”I was deeply troubled to hear of yet more layoffs by Bell Media across Canada, with jobs being cut at TV and radio stations, including HTZ-FM in St. Catharines.

It is heartbreaking for employees and their families to be put through this so close to Christmas. Bell Media did exactly the same thing a year ago, affecting nearly 400 employees across the country. 

Now, Bell calls it restructuring due to challenges in the media industry, yet only workers pay the price, while executive salaries and retention bonuses increase unchallenged. One that was actually reported: a $900,000 bonus last year in addition to a $1-million salary. Continue reading →

Stay Tune To News On The Ruling And Our Analysis Of What It Means For The Future Of Citizen Participation And Grassroots Democracy In This Region

A Brief Update from Niagara At Larger reporter/publisher Doug Draper

Posted November 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

This sign held up by an area citizen outside a meeting of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s board of directors earlier this year.

Niagara, Ontario – It is all over now save for the ruling of an Ontario judge in a court case that could send out some pretty powerful messages on how far citizens can go in questioning what government bodies do with our tax dollars in this region.

That is how significant this case involving back and forth lawsuits involving one of the region’s most controversial public bodies, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and its former CAO and now Niagara regional government CAO Carmen D’Angelo, Niagara community activist Ed Smith, who has raised serious questions about the NPCA’s operations, and a Niagara area marketing consultant Bill Montgomery, who has filed his own libel and slander suit against Smith and two St. Catharines regional councillors, Brian Heit and Kelly Edgar. Continue reading →

“When you consider the cost of student housing, penalties for cancelling or moving flights home for the holidays, and the other costs students have paid for out-of-pocket while Wynne let this strike drag on, $500 is an obvious disappointment to struggling students.”

A Statement from Ontario NDP Advanced Education Critic MPP Peggy Sattler

Posted November 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

One of countless makeshift signs college students across Ontario held up during a province-wide teacher strike this fall that kept them out of class for five whole weeks. They paid their tuition at the beginning of the academic year. Will they be paid back for the academic time lost?

Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario NDP Advanced Education critic Peggy Sattler issued the following statement regarding the Liberal government’s failure to adequately help students returning to classes after the five-week long college faculty strike:

“Students worried about their ability to successfully cram five-weeks of missed coursework into a condensed two-week extension deserve a full tuition refund. New Democrats are extremely concerned that the government may be forcing students to drop out entirely if they want their tuition refunded. Continue reading →

“Workplace pensions play an important role in Canada’s retirement security system, but the country’s biggest companies are not making up shortfalls as fast as they could be. That increases risk for plan members and retirees, and could mean extra costs to the public.”

A Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Posted November 21^st, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Ottawa, Ontario —Last year, Canada’s largest publicly-traded companies paid out four times more to shareholders than it would have cost to fully fund their defined benefit (DB) pension plans, according to new research released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

Thirty-nine companies on the S&P/TSX 60 maintain DB pension plans, amounting to one-third of all private sector pension plan assets in Canada. However, only nine plans were fully funded in 2016.

Together, the 39 companies oversaw a $10.8 billion deficit in their pension plans in 2016, while increasing shareholder payouts from $31.9 billion in 2011 to $46.9 billion last year. Continue reading →

A Call–Out to the Niagara community from the St. Catharines and Welland Canals Centre

Posted November 21st, 2017 on Niagara At  Large

Niagara, Ontario – The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is calling on the community to join in its woolly stand against the cold.

Help keep everyone in our Niagara community out of the cold this coming winter

From Saturday, Nov. 25 to Sunday, Jan. 7 the museum will collect warm woolly mittens, hats, scarves, socks and other gently used winter clothing for families and children in need through its annual Mitten Tree. All winter clothing donations will go to local families through Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold and Out of the Cold.

“Our winters can be harsh,” said Kathleen Powell, museum curator. “There’s always a tremendous need for hats, mitts and other winter wear and we want to help keep children and families warm so they can enjoy the season.” Continue reading →

A Brief One from Doug Draper, reporter, publisher, Niagara At Large

Posted November 20^th, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Day of decision now near for legal suits involving NPCA and Ed Smith, shown in photo above, in Ontario court

Niagara, Ontario – A case involving a $200,000 defamation suit the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and its former CAO and now Niagara Regional government CAO Carmen D’Angelo filed a year ago against St. Catharines resident and community activist Ed Smith finally began getting its day in an Ontario court in Welland this Monday, November 20^th.

And in the same courtroom, presided over by  Judge James Ramsay, arguments are also going back and forth over a counter suit for damages that Smith filed against the NPCA and D’Angelo earlier this year. Continue reading →