New Brock University policy brief reveals several municipalities experienced an over-50 per cent increase in food bank usage between 2022 and 2023. Photo credit: Pexels/Julia M Cameron In a trend that “does not show any signs of slowing down,” Niagara’s food banks are being stretched thin. According to a new policy brief from Brock […]
More money for primary care, increased GO service, and a big boost for local winemakers. Photo credit: LinkedIn/Doug Ford. Earlier this week, the Ford government released its 2024 budget. The plan, entitled Building a Better Ontario, represents the provincial government’s attempt to balance fiscal responsibility in uncertain economic times with the need to continue […]
Late last year, Niagara Parks announced two major restoration projects of landmark attractions in the region. The first, it was officially revealed on Nov. 27, is the historic Toronto Power Generating Station located in Niagara Falls. The second, as confirmed on Dec. 13, is the old Miller’s Creek Marina, located in Fort Erie. Photo Credit: […]
At the beginning of the meeting, Councillor Mat Siscoe moved that council remove Councillor Haley Bateman’s motion from the agenda entirely. Council voted to overwhelmingly support Siscoe’s proposal, leading to protests from many of Bateman’s supporters attending the meeting and forcing Regional Council Chair Jim Bradley to call for a recess. Photo Credit: Niagara Regional […]
The government of Ontario recently announced it is collaborating with three Niagara Region manufacturers to secure $65 million in economic investments by those companies. Photo Credit: Vic Fedeli/Twitter. The government of Ontario recently announced it is collaborating with three Niagara Region manufacturers to secure $65 million in economic investments by those companies. Ontario taxpayers […]
It was just six short weeks ago that the Bills were on the outside looking in. A five-game win streak to end the season changed all that and once again brought playoff hysteria to Western New York, Southern Ontario, and beyond. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bills/X. While most in Niagara, Buffalo fans or not, will […]
The Teaching Brewery continues to shine on the local, national, and international stage. Several of the school’s grads now head-up award-winning breweries across the province. Photo credit: Niagara College In many fields of practice, greatness is not defined by or as a single, spectacular moment. Rather, greatness is defined by consistent, exceptional output over […]
For decades now, Niagara Falls has been considered Canada’s place-to-be when the clock strikes midnight on January 1. Photo credit: Niagara Parks While revellers will go another year without a marquee outdoor concert along the waterfront in Niagara Falls, there’s still lots to do in the “Times Square of Canada” this New Year’s Eve. […]
The Premier promised to expand alcohol sales to convenience stores back in the 2018 election campaign. Move also includes all participating grocery stores, big box stores. Photo credit: X/Doug Ford Ontarians will soon be able to pick up a two-four at their local corner store. On Thursday, the province announced that beginning no later […]
The agency is pouring nearly $20 million into reviving the prime waterfront site over the next three years. Photo credit: Niagara Parks After nearly two decades of fits and starts, speculation, promises, and planning, Miller’s Creek Marina in Fort Erie is finally set for a revival. In a press release on Wednesday, the Niagara […]
2023’s AI breakthroughs set the stage for 2024’s focus on ethical governance, cybersecurity resilience, and workforce adaptability, highlighting the balance between AI’s benefits and potential risks. Photo Credit: Unsplash Artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the most influential and disruptive technologies of 2023, transforming every aspect of our lives, from work and entertainment to […]
AI’s integration will trigger a global shift in job landscapes by 2030, causing displacement and spawning new roles, emphasizing the urgent need for skill adaptation in the workforce. Photo Credit: Pexels In an era of technological innovation, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked widespread debate and concern about its impact on the […]
Google strikes $100 million deal with Canadian government, resolving dispute over Online News Act. Google has agreed to pay Canadian news publishers for their content, ending a months-long standoff over the Online News Act, a new law that requires tech giants to compensate media outlets for the use of their news. The deal, announced […]
The facility, located at Walker Industries’ site along the border of Niagara Falls and Thorold, will provide enough energy to power close to 9,000 homes. Pictured left to right: Enbridge’s Heidi Bredenholler-Prasad, Mayor of Thorold Terry Ugulini, Ontario Minister of Energy Todd Smith, Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation and Park Andrea Khanjin, Walker President and […]
Last week, regional councillors approved a 7.95 per cent increase to Niagara’s water and wastewater budget, rejecting several options to save taxpayers’ money. When times are really tough, many governments find cost savings and choose to cut or keep taxes level for struggling ratepayers. Niagara’s regional government? Not so. At its Budget Review Committee […]
Generative AI’s burgeoning presence in Canadian elections highlights a transformative potential to revolutionize voter engagement and decision-making processes. Photo Credit: Pexels Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands poised to revolutionize the landscape of Canadian elections, promising both transformative advancements and worrisome challenges. As this technology rapidly evolves, its potential impact on the democratic process demands […]
Matty Matheson opened Rizzo’s House of Parm one year ago. Photo credit: Facebook/Rizzo’s House of Parm Earlier this month, Air Canada’s enRoute magazine released its 2023 Best New Restaurants ranking, with one Niagara eatery making the top 10. Coming in at number four on the list was famed Fort Erie chef Matty Matheson’s hometown […]
King and Victoria Winery’s 2020 Cabernet and Watchful Eye Winery’s 2021 Chardonnay will be served at all of the Legislative Assembly’s formal functions throughout 2024. Pictured are Speaker Ted Arnott and Tracey and Joe Schenck from King and Victoria Winery. Photo credit: Legislative Assembly of Ontario/Nokomis O’Brien via The Grower MPPs, staff, and guests […]
One local commemoration this year includes a special visit from Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh. Pictured is Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum’s annual poppy display. Photo credit: Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum Poppy campaigns are underway and local Legions are gearing up in preparation of Remembrance Day. In addition to ceremonies, there are also local fundraisers for Legions and visual […]
Local, provincial, and federal officials, alongside industry stakeholders, gathered at Hipple Farms in Lincoln on Monday, October 30, to celebrate $8 million in provincial-federal funding. Photo credit: Twitter/Sam Oosterhoff On Monday, officials from the governments of Ontario and Canada, along with industry stakeholders, gathered at Hipple Farms in Lincoln to announce a joint provincial-federal […]
Photo Credit: Tsafrir Abayov, AP The impact of the recent terrorist attacks against Israel, which have resulted in a new war in the Middle East, is intense and far-reaching. Local Jewish communities around the world are enduring great pain and suffering, as they watch the horrific events unfold, and worry for the safety of […]
Vote to ratify agreement set to take place in the coming days. Vital waterway was shut down for a full week. Photo credit: Facebook/City of Port Colborne Ships are once again traversing the Welland Canal, after the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and Unifor reached a tentative agreement on Sunday. St. Lawrence Seaway workers […]
No vessels passing through multiple-billion-dollar shipping corridor. Photo credit: Marinas.com A growing number of ships are marooned at either side of the Welland Canal, as the vital passageway remains closed due to workers walking off the job this weekend. In a press release on Sunday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) – which […]
Local community clubs and leaders give collective $1,375,000 to new Niagara Falls hospital. Photo credit: Niagara Health The future of healthcare in Niagara got another major financial boost last week. On October 6, the Niagara Health Foundation announced that the It’s Our Future fundraising campaign in support of the new South Niagara Hospital received a collective […]
Over a dozen local donors have now contributed substantial gifts toward the community’s local share of the project. Artist rendering of the future hospital site. Photo credit: Niagara Health The local private sector has once again stood up tall for the public good. Last week, the Niagara Health Foundation announced yet another seven-figure gift […]
Niagara Falls launched the home decorating competition in 2020 in response to pandemic restrictions. Registration for this year’s contest opens Wednesday, October 4. Photo credit: City of Niagara Falls Halloween season is back, and so is Niagara Falls’ Spooky Awards. First held in October 2020 as a pandemic-friendly outdoor offering, the Spooky Awards is […]
Province introduced expanded treatment power to pharmacists in January 2023. Ontario pharmacists can now treat 19 common ailments. Photo credit: Facebook/Shoppers Drug Mart As part of its ongoing effort to address the healthcare crisis in Ontario, the provincial government has made it easier for people to receive treatment for common ailments by allowing pharmacists […]
Chris Bittle (left) has been named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey (right) given new secretarial role at Transport Canada. Photo credit: Government of Canada Following what many deemed to be an ineffective cabinet shuffle earlier this summer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shook up his […]
Along with students’ families and friends, a ‘small army’ of Brock employees and volunteers helped the university’s 2,700 eager arrivals move in over the weekend. Photo credit: Brock University Brock University’s St. Catharines campus was abuzz with new and return arrivals over the weekend. In preparation for the start of the fall semester on […]
First intake set for fall 2024. New program to build off of college’s existing two-year diploma in practical nursing. Photo credit: Niagara College This time next year, Niagara College will welcome its first cohort of 60 students into its brand-new, stand-alone Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program. On Wednesday, the college announced that […]
Investment will help create 30 new jobs. Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith (third from left) was on hand last Thursday with local officials and representatives from the company to announce the funding. Photo credit: Twitter/Graydon Smith Last week, the province announced it is investing $1.8 million to help Smithville’s Niagara Pallet […]
Minister Steve Clark (pictured) said the facilitator will be announced by September 11. Photo credit: Twitter/Steve Clark After months of waiting, Niagara will soon know who, exactly, will lead a long-anticipated review of the region’s governance system on behalf of the province. Speaking at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference earlier […]
Funding will help address regional labour shortage. Photo credit: Niagara College On Monday, the Ontario government announced it has invested $812,775 at Niagara College to boost pre-apprenticeship training for in-demand jobs in the skilled trades. The funding is part of the province’s record investment in nearly 100 free pre-apprenticeship programs around Ontario. “Ontario’s skilled trades […]
Over a dozen philanthropists have now contributed substantial gifts toward the community’s local share of the project. Artist rendering of the future hospital site. Photo credit: Niagara Health On Thursday, August 17, the Niagara Health Foundation announced the latest benefactor on its growing list of ‘Founding Donors’ supporting the South Niagara hospital project. Tony […]
Title determined based on online activity via Instagram hashtags and Tripadvisor reviews. Photo credit: Tourism Partnership of Niagara The magic and majesty of Niagara’s world-famous falls remains unrivaled across the country. According to a new report from BonusFinder, Niagara Falls is Canada’s “most magical” place. “Situated on the Niagara River, it is known for […]
Of the over 68,000 students enrolled in schools across the region, 14 per cent currently hold incomplete immunization records. Photo credit: Blue Cross Blue Shield With the 2023/24 school year set to start in exactly three weeks, Niagara Region Public Health (Public Health) is reminding parents and caregivers to get up to date on […]
West Lincoln, Lincoln, and Grimsby appear to be signalling that, should the province bring change to Niagara’s governance structure, they hope to stick together. Pictured is West Niagara Agricultural Centre and Fairgrounds, where representatives from the municipalities met on Wednesday. Photo credit: West Niagara Agricultural Centre and Fairgrounds. In a shared news release earlier […]
Though only very slightly, prices increased for a fifth consecutive month in July. After tumbling down for the better part of 2022 into early 2023, and then surging in the spring and remaining steady for the past few months, housing prices in Niagara effectively flatlined in July. According to the latest statistics from the […]
Cities of St. Catharines and Thorold sent letters to federal government demanding answers and change. Their pleas, according to the Conservative MP from Niagara Falls (pictured), went unanswered. Photo credit: Tony Baldinelli In a recent media release, Conservative Party MP for Niagara Falls Tony Baldinelli blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and local Liberal members […]
The agency’s iconic incline railway cars. Photo credit: Niagara Parks Niagara Parks is looking to revamp the way in which visitors get around its main tourist hub in Niagara Falls. In a press release Tuesday, Niagara Parks announced that it has officially launched a call for proposals for a new visitor transportation system “that […]
Funds will help send hundreds of local children to camp. President of the event’s title sponsor Mark Basciano (second from right) was on-hand for a reveal party earlier this week, pictured here alongside Thorold mayor Terry Ugulini (right), St. Catharines mayor Mat Siscoe (third from left), and members of the FACS team. Photo credit: Mountainview […]
Chief of Police Bryan MacCulloch and Deputy Chief Brett Flynn set to retire on Feb. 1, 2024. Photo credit: NRPS Over 73 years of experience: that’s what the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) will lose when both Chief of Police Bryan MacCulloch and Deputy Chief Brett Flynn simultaneously retire on Feb. 1, 2024. Chair […]
Ted Luciani served on the city’s council from 2000 to 2018. Photo credit: City of Thorold Former Thorold mayor Ted Luciani has passed away. The municipality announced Luciani’s passing in a press release on Friday, July 28. “On behalf of City Council, staff and residents of the City of Thorold, our heartfelt condolences, thoughts […]
Climate change, equity among priorities set to guide Niagara Region into 2026. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent At its special council meeting last Thursday, July 20, Niagara Regional Council unanimously approved four new strategic priorities that will help guide the municipality’s decision-making over the next four years. As outlined in “Growing Better Together: Council […]
The school’s Teaching Brewing was recently named Grand National Champion at the 2023 U.S. Open College Beer Championship, nabbing five medals in the process. Photo credit: Niagara College If you need any more evidence that Niagara College Teaching Brewery is one of the best post-secondary institutes in North America to study the art and […]
On Wednesday, July 19, the Conservative Party leader visited Niagara Falls, Port Colborne, and Thorold, before ending the day at a huge rally featuring some 1,600 supporters in St. Catharines (pictured). Photo credit: Pierre Poilievre As part of his coast-to-coast Bring It Home campaign tour this summer, Canada’s Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre […]
Pictured left to right are Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Chair and Lincoln Regional Councillor Rob Foster, Mayor of Lincoln Sandra Easton, MPP for Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff, and Coastal Science Coordinator for Niagara Coastal Community Collaborative Kiersten McCutcheon. Photo credit: Sam Oosterhoff The Ontario government is investing $6 million to support 30 multi-year projects […]
Average asking rents in Canada have increased 20 points in two years. St. Catharines saw a month-over-month increase above the national average, yet remains one of more affordable medium- to large-sized cities in Canada. With increased immigration and rising interest rates putting more and more pressure on investors and landlords, rental prices continue to […]
Website Rentola looked at the 34 largest census metropolitan areas in Canada. Photo credit: City of Welland The St. Catharines—Niagara census metropolitan area (CMA) is the eighth “safest” metro area in Canada, according to a new study by rental search engine website Rentola. The study ranked Canada’s 34 largest CMAs for “overall security and […]
Pace of price increase slows below one per cent. Average number of days houses on market remains steady at 30. After tumbling for the better part of 2022 into early 2023, the Niagara real estate market continues its slow and steady climb back up. For the fourth month in a row, home prices across […]
Starting this Wednesday, the urgent care centres in Fort Erie (pictured) and Port Colborne will shift from 24/7 operations to exclusively running from 10:00am to 8:00pm. The change is ultimately the result of a “human resources issue”, not inadequate funding. Photo credit: Google Maps Following a torrent of backlash from residents, municipal leaders, and […]
To accommodate growth and address existing housing shortage, school adding new living spaces for approximately 1,000 students at its Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake campuses. Photo credit: Niagara College Driven by its uber-successful, innovative programs in the food and beverage, horticultural, and advanced manufacturing industries, over the last decade or so Niagara College has quickly transformed from […]
Mike Delano (right) and Christian Gifford (left) were honoured with the Ontario Medal for Police Bravery at a ceremony in Toronto on Thursday, June 22. Pictured in-between Delano and Gifford is NRPS chief Bryan MacCulloch. Photo credit: Twitter/Bryan MacCulloch At a ceremony at Queen’s Park in Toronto last week, the Ontario government honoured 21 […]
The DSBN’s annual budget has increased nearly $100 million since the 2019-20 school year. Photo credit: VNIS Education Just in time for the start of summer break this week, Niagara’s public and Catholic school boards have approved of their respective 2023-24 budgets. For the fifth consecutive year, the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) […]
Peller Estates’ Katie Dickieson (pictured) awarded ‘Winemaker of the Year’. Domaine Queylus’ Brooke Husband named Paul Pender Memorial ‘Rising Star’ for 2023. Photo credit: ARTiculation Group/Joseph Chan Earlier this month, the winners of the 2023 Ontario Wine Awards were announced at a ceremony hosted by Niagara College. Katie Dickieson of Peller Estates was named […]
Left to right: Mayor of Grimsby Jeff Jordan, Mayor of West Lincoln Cheryl Ganann, Mayor of Lincoln Sandra Easton, MPP for Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff, McNally House Executive Director Pamela Blackwood, and McNally House President and Board Chair Murray Bain. Photo credit: Sam Oosterhoff The provincial government is providing funding to help McNally House […]
Put in place Monday in response to the threat, hold and secure order now lifted as of Tuesday morning. All schools back to normal. According to police, threat likely originated from outside of Canada. Photo credit: Google Maps A hold and secure order at all elementary and secondary schools across the Niagara Catholic District […]
Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim Diodati (centre) and Mayor of St. Catharines Mat Siscoe to be granted increased decision-making capabilities July 1. Photo credit: Twitter/Jim Diodati The heads of council for Niagara’s two largest cities have been granted ‘strong mayor powers’ by the province. In an announcement Friday morning, Minister of Municipal Affairs and […]
The Conservative MP for Niagara Falls (pictured) also put forward a unanimous consent motion on Monday to immediately return Bernardo back to a maximum-security prison. The Liberals rejected the motion. Local MP for Niagara Falls Tony Baldinelli has taken concrete steps to guarantee mass murderers like Paul Bernardo are kept in maximum-security for their […]
Back on May 9, Mayor Mat Siscoe outlined a “laundry list” of issues St. Catharines (pictured) is dealing with in relation to homelessness, drug abuse, and violence. Photo credit: City of St. Catharines Last month, Mayor of St. Catharines Mat Siscoe painted a bleak picture of a downtown core overrun by hard drug abuse, […]
Niagara Falls MP Tony Baldinelli (pictured, front) set to sponsor and introduce legislation this week that will return serial killer back to maximum-security prison and keep him there for life. Baldinelli and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre announced their plan to reverse the decision to transfer Bernardo at a press conference on Sunday, June 11. […]
Staff installed warning signs in front of four school safety zones earlier this week, officially kicking off the 90-day notice period required by law to allow for automated speed enforcement. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara Region Municipal staff were out in the field on Wednesday installing “coming soon” signs in anticipation of program launch for Niagara […]
Local MPP Sam Oosterhoff (pictured) sponsored the private members’ motion, which nabbed unanimous, all-party support earlier this week. Photo credit: Sam Oosterhoff On Monday, June 5, Ontario lawmakers from all parties unanimously passed a private members’ motion from Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff calling for the inclusion of multi-faith chaplaincy work on the province’s […]
Local housing prices rose another 1.3 per cent last month, with number of sales increasing 22 per cent from April to May. Photo credit: AP/Steven Senne For the third consecutive time, home prices across Niagara ticked up last month. According to the latest statistics from the Niagara Association of Realtors (NAR), the regional Home […]
Every Wednesday, seniors aged 60 and over get one free admission for every entry purchase at all of Niagara Parks’ attractions and heritage sites. Photo credit: Niagara Parks Along with National Indigenous History Month, Italian Heritage Month, and a bevy of other month-long observances, June represents Seniors Month in Ontario: “a time to honour […]
On Wednesday, May 31, it was announced that Niagara’s two urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne would shift from operating 24/7 to exclusively running 10:00am to 10:00pm. Pictured are mayors of Fort Erie and Port Colborne Wayne Redekop (left) and Bill Steele. Photo credit: Niagara Region Earlier this week, Niagara Health […]
Ambassador families, sponsors, community donors, dignitaries, and staff from Niagara Children’s Centre celebrated the 2023 fundraising campaign with a water illumination at Niagara Falls Wednesday night. Photo credit: Niagara Children’s Centre Niagara Children’s Centre is celebrating a historic fundraising campaign. Last month, the St. Catharines-based youth rehabilitation facility raised a record-breaking $325,487 as part […]
The Solicitor General’s office charged the Niagara Falls park with three counts of failure to comply with an order on Tuesday. Photo credit: Facebook/Marineland On Tuesday, May 30, Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General laid charges against Marineland Canada for three counts of allegedly failing to comply with an order related to the care […]
Fort Erie and Port Colborne urgent care centres to switch from remaining open 24 hours a day to operating exclusively from 10:00am to 10:00pm, seven days a week. Photo credit: Google Maps In the face of “unprecedented challenges relating to health human resources”, Niagara’s regional healthcare provider is set to halve operational hours at […]
E.S. Fox and Aecon revealed a new teaming agreement at the former’s Port Robinson facility on Tuesday, May 30. Pictured from left to right are E.S. Fox VP of Business Development Frank Pepers, Minister of Energy Todd Smith, Ontario Power Generation Chief Supply Officer Karen Fritz, Aecon VP Greg Thede, and E.S. Fox President Spencer […]
Trustees voted 5-2 to uphold a by-law that prevented board members from discussing the policy change at its May 23 meeting. The motion will be reviewed at the board’s June 20 meeting. Photo credit: Twitter/WRDSB A pair of Niagara Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) trustees recently tried to discuss development of a policy that […]
Business Link hosted its 20th annual 40 Under Forty awards in Niagara Falls on May 25. Pictured (left) is Fort Erie’s Katie Clarkson of R2G Construction, one of last week’s 40 winners from across Niagara. Photo credit: Business Link Media Group Last Thursday, May 25, Business Link Media Group hosted its 20th annual 40 […]
Niagara’s regional government finished tied for 20 out of 32 municipalities assessed by the C.D. Howe Institute. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent When it comes to fiscal accountability, the Niagara Region is one of the country’s poorest performing municipalities, new analysis from leading think tank C.D. Howe Institute suggests. In its annual study on […]
Deputy Chief of Diagnostic Imaging Dr. Amit Mehta. Photo credit: Niagara Health As part of its ongoing efforts to improve patient care and outcomes via implementation of an integrated, fully digital information system, Niagara Health has launched a new diagnostic imaging platform. The software system, called Sectra Enterprise Imaging Solutions, allows healthcare providers in […]
Despite protests and uncertainty surrounding the park’s future, site officials purportedly saw massive year-over-year increase in opening weekend attendance. Photo credit: Marineland Despite a crowd of “100 or so” protestors outside its park entrance in Niagara Falls on Saturday, Marineland said it had a “successful” opening weekend to kick off the 2023 tourist season. […]
Alongside local MPP Sam Oosterhoff, Minister Michael Kerzner met with firefighters and law enforcement in Niagara Falls on Tuesday. Photo credit: Twitter/Michael Kerzner Minister Michael Kerzner, the province’s Solicitor General, met with some of Niagara’s finest on a trip to the region Tuesday. Hosted by Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, Kerzner, whose ministry oversees […]
The premier made the remarks in response to a reporter’s question in St. Catharines on Friday last week. Niagara currently has 126 elected officials for a population of just 485,000. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford In a tandem announcement last week, the Ontario government revealed both that it will dissolve the Region of Peel by […]
High-quality employers know how to attract the best people and keep them feeling fulfilled throughout their tenure, all while driving growth and success for the entire enterprise. Selecting talent and helping ensure job satisfaction are, in large part, the role of an organization’s human resources team. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons In terms of hiring, […]
Applied Modern System Integration Inc. manufactures modular electrical houses, switchgear, protection and control cabinets, portable substations, and more. The company’s new facility will be located in the Town of Lincoln’s industrial park, pictured here just south of the QEW. Photo credit: Google Maps St. Catharines-based manufacturer Applied Modern System Integration Inc. (AMSI) is moving […]
In St. Catharines on Friday, Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, Associate Minister of Transportation Stan Cho, and other government officials announced that starting this weekend there will be three GO train roundtrips to and from Niagara every day of the week year-round. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent Just in time for […]
Letter comes only weeks after province significantly increased annual support and committed $62,314,200 over next three years to help address homelessness in Niagara. Pictured are co-signatories NDP MPP for St. Catharines Jennie Stevens (left) and Ward 4 city councillors Robin McPherson (top right) and Caleb Ratzlaff. Photo credit: Facebook/Jennie Stevens and City of St. Catharines […]
Ontario government set to name facilitator who will review whether Niagara Region ‘continues to be relevant’ and if its 12 lower-tier municipalities ‘are mature enough to pursue dissolution.’ Photo credit: The Niagara Independent It’s official: come Jan. 1, 2025 the Region of Peel will be no more and it’s three constituent communities of Mississauga, […]
Head Distiller David Dickson (left) and Assistant Distiller Ian Bickle hold up the college’s award-winning craft spirits. Photo credit: Niagara College Niagara College’s School of Wine, Beer and Spirits continues to haul in the hardware for its high-quality, innovative creations in the alcohol sphere. In its latest impressive showing on the international stage, the […]
Riders not paying their transit fare is a growing issue around Ontario. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons In an effort to reduce fare evasion across its network, Niagara Region Transit (NRT) is undertaking a regionwide proof-of-payment blitz. Agency officials started checking passengers’ NRT fare cards, student cards, prepaid fares, paper tickets, mobile tickets, and transfers […]
Second year in a row Jordan Station’s Restaurant Pearl Morissette has finished in the top five of Canada’s 100 Best annual restaurant ranking. Only Niagara eatery to make the list. Photo credit: Canada’s 100 Best/Sarah Annand Local residents looking to try one of the top restaurants in Canada this year don’t have to travel […]
Commissioner Bruce Zvaniga (pictured, left) set to leave next month. CAO Ron Tripp (right) putting forward former colleague from St. Catharines Dan Carnegie to ‘temporarily’ fill role. Photo credit: Niagara Region The Region’s current Commissioner of Public Works Bruce Zvaniga is leaving his $216,000-salary post for another municipality. According to sources familiar with the […]
Encampment in Centennial Gardens off Gale Crescent near downtown St. Catharines. Image from July 2021. Photo credit: Julia McLaren Downtown St. Catharines has become a hellscape of hard drug use, public defecation, and intercourse in open view, according to the city’s mayor. Speaking at Niagara Region’s public health and social services committee on Tuesday, […]
Due to excess bacterial pollution, the water quality at Queen’s Royal Beach in Niagara-on-the-Lake (pictured) was designated “impaired” and unsafe for swimming in 1993. Photo credit: NPCA It turns out that the Canadian side of the Niagara River didn’t need an ultra-stringent environmental designation that subjects local authorities to the whims of international regulators […]
Recent report from Point2 analyzed happiness in communities around Canada. Niagara’s three most populated municipalities all ended up in the bottom fifth of the country’s 100 largest cities. Pictured is St. Catharines, which ranked 87. Photo credit: Flickr/Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing A new study suggests Niagara’s Big Three municipalities are among some of […]
Arterra Wines Canada adds Angels Gate Winery and Kew Vineyards to portfolio that already includes top brands from Niagara Jackson-Triggs and Inniskillin. Photo credit: Facebook/Angels Gate Winery The country’s leading wine distributor and marketer has added two more Niagara brands to its growing portfolio. On Friday, May 5, Arterra Wines Canada announced its acquisition […]
April was the first month in over a year in which housing prices rose in every municipality within the Niagara Association of Realtors market area. Photo credit: The Globe and Mail/Matthew Sherwood Homes in Niagara are once again starting to sell for more, more quickly. After rising for the first time in exactly a […]
It’s the largest gift ever given to the Niagara Health Foundation. Pictured left to right at a celebration event at Two Sisters Vineyards last Thursday are Benny Marotta, Louise Marotta, Simona Marotta, Angela Marotta, Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli, Giuseppe Paolicelli, and Chiara Marotta. Photo credit: Niagara Health Foundation As residents, officials, and stakeholders of every kind […]
Held every other year, the Niagara Home Builders’ Association (NHBA) hosted its 2023 Awards of Excellence gala at Club Roma in St. Catharines on April 14. Pictured is the team at Mountain Building Group. Photo credit: Mountainview The Niagara Home Builders’ Association (NHBA) held its biannual Awards of Excellence gala in St. Catharines last […]
Warren Hoshizaki (pictured, right) spent almost half of his over 40-year career in education leading Niagara’s public school board. Photo credit: Twitter/DSBN After nearly two decades at the helm of the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN), Director of Education Warren Hoshizaki is calling it a career at the end of this calendar year. […]
Region selects current associate medical officer of health Dr. Azim Kasmani (pictured) to lead Niagara’s public health efforts moving forward. Photo credit: Niagara Region After an epic year and a half-long recruitment process, Niagara Region has finally landed a permanent medical officer of health and commissioner of Public Health and Emergency Services. And while […]
Students and faculty no longer have to wear masks in instructional settings on campus. Photo credit: Brock University In a move that brings it in line with the vast majority of post-secondary institutions across North America, Brock University has finally dropped its on-campus masking mandate. As of Monday, April 24, Brock students, faculty, and […]
The 68-kilometre infrastructure project, finished in December, brings broadband access to nearly 700 homes and businesses in south Pelham. SWIFT (Southwest Integrated Fibre Technology) is a non-profit municipally-led broadband expansion project created to improve internet connectivity in underserved communities and rural areas across Southwestern Ontario. Only weeks after the Town of Lincoln secured a […]
The hike is just the latest in a long line of price increases related to waste management in Niagara from recent years. Photo credit: Town of Pelham In October 2020, Niagara Region started collecting residents’ garbage every other week instead of once a week. The move to bi-weekly pickup was originally touted as a […]
The town will receive between six to 10 Level 2 charging stations through a program launched in partnership between Aviva and Earth Day Canada. In a media release earlier this week, insurance provider Aviva Canada announced that the Town of Pelham is one of the first seven communities that will receive Level 2 EV […]
Breakwall damage along the Niagara River in Fort Erie. Photo credit: Niagara Parks A number of unusually strong storms have wreaked havoc on Niagara Peninsula’s south shore in recent years, including the Christmas-cancelling blizzard that pounded Fort Erie, Port Colborne, and Wainfleet this past December. All that ice, water, and wind has taken its […]
Monitored by a “nurse navigator”, the app allows patients to give and receive real-time feedback on their post-surgical outcomes without the need for an appointment or hospital visit. Photo credit: Facebook/SeamlessMD Only months after Niagara Health announced its plan to replace all of its paper-based records and outdated electronic processes with a more modern, […]
The University of Niagara Falls Canada (UNFC) is set to launch its first two programs in data analytics and management in January 2024. Pictured are Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim Diodati (front-right), city councillors, and representatives from UNFC (including Cyndi McLeod, front-left) at a community social event hosted by WeinLokal this past Saturday, April 15, […]
It will be two decades before Canada sees another total solar eclipse, and no less than 82 years before Ontario experiences the phenomenon again. Multiple reasons, including the lengthy duration of totality on the peninsula, will likely coalesce to attract countless spectators to Niagara. Photo credit: AccuWeather/McKinley Museum In almost exactly one year’s time, […]
The local monthly HPI benchmark price increased more than two percentage points in March, following several months of deceleration in decreases. In January and February, prices effectively flatlined, decreasing a mere 0.4 and 0.25 per cent. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Cole Burston For the first time in exactly one year, local housing prices in Niagara went […]
Interior concept illustration of the new Niagara Falls hospital. Photo credit: Niagara Health Only a few months away from construction start, the South Niagara Hospital project has received yet another major private-sector donation. On Thursday, April 6, the Niagara Health Foundation announced that renowned philanthropist and business mogul Jim Pattison has pledged $5 million […]
The initiative now just needs full council approval. Installation of the new technology is part of Niagara Region’s broader Vision Zero traffic strategy and could come as soon as September. Pictured is a red light camera warning sign in Sudbury. Photo credit: CBC/Jonathan Migneault After a “wholesome discussion” on the matter Tuesday morning, members […]
Pictured from left to right are Bench Brewing president and founder Matt Giffen, Niagara Cider Company co-founder Rich Houghton, Bench director of brewing and beverage operations Kaitlin Vandenbosch, and Niagara Cider co-founder Matt Dixon. Photo credit: Facebook/Bench Brewing Two of the region’s most popular (non-wine) adult beverage makers are joining forces. In a social […]
MPP for Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff (left) tours the labs at Niagara College’s Rankin Technology Centre in Welland on Friday, March 31, 2023. MPP Oosterhoff is pictured alongside Mechanical Engineering Technology professor and program coordinator Rick Baldin. Photo credit: Niagara College The provincial government is investing in critical teaching technology at Niagara’s two postsecondary […]
The $17 million project, fully funded and executed by Bell Canada, will bring fast, reliable internet to 7,000 underserved homes and businesses in the West Niagara town. Photo credit: Bell Canada’s largest communications technology company is helping the Town of Lincoln get up to speed with its internet connectivity. On Monday, Bell announced a […]
Last December, Niagara Region’s wastewater facility in Crystal Beach failed, resulting in 30 million litres of raw sewage dumping into Lake Erie. The public was not informed. Regional Council was not informed. Pictured is the Crystal Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo credit: Google Maps The Region of Niagara is responsible for treating wastewater prior […]
Photo credit: Brock University If you want to study the science, practice, and administration of sports in Canada, or indeed the wider world, Niagara’s Brock University is one of the best places to do so. For the third year in a row, Brock finished in the top 100 universities globally for “Sports-Related” subjects – […]
Niagara’s Chief of Police Bryan MacCulloch earned over $675,000 in 2022 after receiving an early retirement payout following 35 years of service. Other big earners from the region were Niagara Health head Lynn Guerriero and Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mustafa Hirji. Photo credit: NRPS Cloaked by the budget it released the day […]
Mayor of Port Colborne Bill Steele (left) presents Captain Michael Rodaway (centre) with the 2023 ceremonial top hat. Captain Rodaway’s ship, the Florence Spirit, was the first downward vessel of the 65th navigation season to pass through the Welland Canal on Wednesday, March 22. Photo credit: Facebook/City of Port Colborne At its annual top […]
Game Development graduate (2019) Andres Coimbra Castedo worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which won the 2023 Oscar for Animated Feature Film. Photo credit: Niagara College and Netflix The work of Chippawa’s-own James Cameron was once again on display at the Oscar’s earlier this month, with Avatar: The Way of Water picking up four […]
Niagara’s largest non-governmental supporter of social services raised in excess of $5,000,000 in 2022. Photo credit: United Way Niagara United Way Niagara has set a new annual fundraising record. In 2022, the local charity raised an incredible $5,270,000, up 11 per cent from 2021 and its largest yearly sum yet. The organization celebrated the […]
Provincial legislation allows a municipality to appoint an independent Auditor General. The Auditor General is responsible for holding administrators accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds and for the achievement of value for money in municipal operations. Hamilton has one, Niagara does not. Pictured is the Burgoyne Bridge in St. Catharines – the […]
The near-$300,000 in funding will allow residents with complex medical needs receive appropriate care where they live, instead of at a hospital. Pictured left to right are Minister of Long-Term Care Paul Calandra, Mayor of Grimsby Jeff Jordan, and Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff. Photo credit: Twitter/Sam Oosterhoff Speaking at Deer Park Villa long-term […]
Pelham contributed two festivals to this year’s list. Photo credit: Pelham Summerfest Last week in Niagara Falls, Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) held its annual conference celebrating the work of organizers and municipalities around the province that hosted a wide range of live entertainment and activities this past year. Held at the Marriott on […]
Niagara Falls has taken in over 4,300 illegal border crossers since the federal government started transferring people from Quebec to Ontario last June. Having rose well above the initial 87 asked for in the summer, migrants now occupy over 2,000 of the city’s hotel rooms. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim […]
John McCall MacBain (pictured) grew up in Niagara Falls. Over the years, his family and foundation have given millions to a variety of projects and initiatives around the city. Photo credit: Niagara Health Foundation The South Niagara Hospital project has received yet another major donation. On Thursday, March 9, the Niagara Health Foundation revealed that John […]
Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg For the second month in a row, the month-over-month decrease in local housing prices continued its halt to near zero, as the Housing Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark for the Niagara Association of Realtors (NAR) catchment area fell a negligible 0.25 per cent from $629,100 in January to […]
The 2023 budget includes adding approximately $36 million to regional reserves. With families struggling to make mortgage payments and put food on the table, it appears that Regional Council would rather have money in its government bank accounts rather than in the bank accounts of residents and local businesses. Pictured is Niagara Regional Council Chair […]
The funds will help Stanpac purchase new equipment to make more sustainable food packaging, like its new paper-based bulk ice cream container. Photo credit: Facebook/Stanpac On Monday, government officials were on hand in West Niagara to announce a $5 million investment in local manufacturer Stanpac. The money, sourced from the FedDev Ontario fund, will […]
This isn’t the first time Democratic representative for New York’s 26th congressional district Brian Higgins has criticized the Trudeau government’s policies. Photo credit: Facebook/Brian Higgins Few American politicians were as critical of Justin Trudeau’s “draconian” COVID travel policies as Democratic Congressman for Buffalo and Niagara Falls Brian Higgins. Throughout the pandemic, Higgins, who co-chairs […]
Jones and many of the world’s best curlers converge on Niagara Falls this October for the Pinty’s Cup. Photo credit: Getty Images/NBC Sports Jennifer Jones, already regarded as the greatest female curler of all-time, just missed adding one more Canadian title to her resume on Sunday by dropping the Scott Tournament of Hearts Women’s […]
The multibillion-dollar Niagara Falls facility will be one of the single largest design, build, finance, and maintain investments for a new healthcare project in provincial history. Artist rendering of the new hospital’s ‘Oakes Family’ main entrance. Photo credit: Niagara Health Niagara residents south of St. Catharines are one step closer to finally realizing a […]
As initially proposed back in August 2022, Fort Erie would exit the current riding of Niagara Falls, while the newly formed district of ‘Niagara South’ would become the peninsula’s most populous riding. Photo credit: Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario Back in August 2022, the three-member Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario proposed a number of […]
The withdrawal ends a yearslong legal saga with developer Benny Marotta. Pictured is the entrance to the Randwood Estate property on John St. East in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Photo credit: Google Maps After over four years, untold energy and resources, and thousands of tax dollars wasted, it appears an ongoing legal saga between the Town-of-the-Lake and […]
At a time when just about everything costs more and people are already holding on by a thread. Get ready for your 2023 double-digit property tax bill. As recommended by regional staff last week, and approved by the budget review committee Thursday night, the 2023 property tax bill will be one of the […]
Brock University Kinesiology graduate student Carl Alano and his thesis supervisor, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Shawn Beaudette (standing), review video data being used to develop a telehealth screening tool for diagnosing back pain. Photo credit: Brock University Whether acute or chronic, many adult Canadians have experienced lower back pain at some point in their […]
Wet, cold weather to blame for quanity issue, but quality said to be ‘exceptional’. Low supply should mean increased demand for 2022 vintage in years ahead. Photo credit: VQA Ontario According to VQA Ontario’s latest Vintage Report, 2022 was a bad year for the province’s grape yields, and thus a bad year for Niagara […]
Niagara College culinary instructor Olaf Mertens accepts an Award of Excellence from Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop on Feb. 6, 2023. Photo credit: Niagara College Niagara College continues to have an outsized positive impact on the Niagara community and beyond. Earlier this week, college faculty and staff were presented with Minister’s Awards […]
Members of the collaborative team changing over foam mattresses and stretcher pads to gel alternatives at all five Niagara Health sites. Photo credit: Niagara Health It may seem like a small change, but it will no doubt make a big difference in the lives of many –if even for a short while. As announced […]
Prices actually slightly increased in six of the Niagara Association of Realtors’ 10 market areas. Only Fort Erie and Port Colborne/Wainfleet saw sizeable month-over-month reductions in property value. Photo credit: CBC/Francis Ferland Though Niagara’s housing market finished off 2022 on an overall low-note, statistics from the first month of 2023 may indicate prices have […]
Two-term Niagara Regional Councillor David Barrick served as CAO of the City of Brampton from 2019 until his termination in February 2022. He was accused of contravening municipal policies and procedures. Multiple “independent third party investigations” recently cleared Barrick of any wrongdoing. Earlier this week, former Deputy Mayor of Port Colborne, two-term Niagara Regional […]
Soberlicious launched in 2021. Currently online-based, the store plans to open a brick-and-mortar shopfront on Dominion Road in Fort Erie for the summer tourist season. In 2016, the Canadian Cancer Society launched Dry Feb, a fundraiser that challenges Canadians to go alcohol-free during the month of February. The purpose of the 28-day dry-out is two-fold: to […]
The 5.7 per cent bump from 2022 will allow an already-stretched service to hire and retain members, invest in mental health support, and contend with rising costs of operational necessities like fuel. Photo credit: Twitter/Bryan MacCulloch Despite continued calls to “defund the police” across North America, and the recent efforts of local activist groups, […]
One of the myriad measures that make a quality post-secondary institution is adequate research funding to help students and faculty inquire, innovate, explore and, ultimately, make a difference in the wider world. Pictured lab tech Brock Husak sets up a Fortus 900 3D print machine for an industry partner at Niagara College’s Walker Advanced Manufacturing […]
In an integrity commissioner application filed earlier this month, a lobbyist for the Niagara tourist attraction listed sale of the park and zoning changes to allow for development as items he intends to talk to the provincial government about. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Tara Walton What was only rumour for the last few years […]
Last Friday, Niagara Health and local NDP MPP Jeff Burch both posted threads to social media regarding the present and long-term fate of Welland hospital, as well as if proper information about the site has been circulated to date. Photo credit: Google Maps Niagara Health and NDP MPP for Niagara Centre Jeff Burch appear […]
According to the most recent monthly report from Rentals.ca, rent went up 10.9 per cent across the country last year. However, in relative terms, St. Catharines maintained the 13th cheapest rent of 35 medium to large-size Canadian cities in December 2022. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick Hot off a recent study that suggested […]
Winners will be announced during Home Building Week next month. Mountainview Building Group earned two nominations for the Penthouse Suite at its Port Dalhousie “The Beaches” development (pictured). Photo credit: Quartek Group Earlier this month, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) released its list of finalists for the 2023 National Awards for Housing Excellence. According to […]
In a seemingly desperate attempt to thwart pending provincial legislation aimed at building more homes, at the last Board of Directors meeting of the previous term’s tenure, the NPCA pre-approved a 17 per cent increase to the 2023 budget and tripled some of their permit fees. Pictured is NPCA headquarters at 250 Thorold Rd. in […]
Last Thursday, a St. Catharines court heard how the Niagara Falls girl and her older sister consumed several of their mother’s cannabis-infused edibles, thinking they were candy. Their story of severe sickness is only one of hundreds from across Canada since the legalization of recreational cannabis. Photo credit: CBC Children across Canada, including here […]
Over the next few years, the government will allow more procedures to occur in private community facilities. Local Opposition MPPs accused the premier of deliberately underfunding public healthcare in order to privatize Ontario’s system. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford In an effort to eliminate surgical backlogs and reduce wait times, the provincial government announced on Monday […]
Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey (centre-left) and Minister of Official Languages Ginette Petitpas Taylor (centre-right) were in Welland on Tuesday, January 10 to announce the funding. Photo credit: Twitter/Ginette Petitpas Taylor The Government of Canada is providing Foyer Richelieu Welland, a Francophone long-term care facility in central Niagara, an additional $2.7 million in support to […]
Federal and municipal officials were in town Wednesday for the announcement. Pictured (front) is Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra. Pictured in back from left to right are president and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation Terence Bowles, Mayor of Port Colborne Bill Steele, and Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey. Photo credit: Twitter/Omar Alghabra […]
The team of 16 Goodman School of Business MBA students fended off powerhouse teams from York, McMaster, and a dozen other universities to take home the Queen’s Cup for the first time since the competition started in 1988. Photo credit: Brock University It’s a time-honoured tradition among Canadian business schools: the annual MBA Games. […]
A recent report from Point2 indicates Niagara’s most populous municipality is one of the province’s, and country’s, cheapest places to own or rent. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons St. Catharines remains one of the most affordable cities in Canada to maintain housing, according to yet another third-party report. A recent study by Saskatoon-based online real estate […]
The program will leverage community supports, ensuring individuals receive the appropriate care they need outside of a hospital setting. It’s been the story of the last few years: hospitals struggling to stay afloat operating at or, more often than not, above capacity. Emergency departments are overwhelmed, and there simply aren’t enough inpatient beds to […]
When the small lakefront community was previously slammed by a destructive storm on Halloween in 2019, the municipality successfully secured $7.4 million in disaster recovery funding from the Ford government. Photo credit: Facebook/Town of Fort Erie The true extent of the damage done by the massive blizzard that tore across Niagara’s south coast in […]
The local Housing Price Index composite benchmark has dropped an overall 23.5 per cent from peak in March 2022. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Graeme Roy After making historic gains throughout the latter half of the pandemic, Niagara’s housing market has collapsed back down to early 2021 levels. On Tuesday, the Niagara Association of Realtors […]
TPH Academy currently has campuses across the U.S. from Phoenix to Fort Lauderdale. The company’s new Niagara branch will operate out of Port Colborne’s Vale Health and Wellness Centre (pictured). One of North America’s top dual athletic-academic sports development programs is coming to Niagara. This spring, U.S.-based TPH Academy is expanding operations in Canada […]
Events take place all across the region during the last three weekends of January. Photo credit: CNW Group/Wine Marketing Association of Ontario Niagara’s Icewine Festival is back in full force for the first time in three years. Marketed as the largest icewine festival in the world, the 2023 celebration will take place over three […]
Some residents were without power for a full week after a once-in-a-generation blizzard ripped through Niagara’s south coast last Friday and Saturday. Photo credit: Canadian Niagara Power It’s been a long week without power for many residents of Fort Erie and Port Colborne, but the tireless efforts of hydro crews across the region have […]
Pictured NRPS, OPP, and Niagara Parks Police officers take part in a joint spot check operation in Niagara Falls the night of December 3, 2022. In all, over 2,500 cars in six Niagara communities were stopped across four nights this past month. Only one driver was arrested for registering a Blood Alcohol Concentration above 0.08. […]
Wind gusts topped 120km/h in certain areas. Driving was virtually impossible in Fort Erie and Port Colborne for much of Friday and Saturday. Pictured is a Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) cruiser that slid off the road in Fort Erie, Dec. 24, 2022. Photo credit: Twitter/NRPS While perhaps not quite as destructive and widespread, […]
After only three years on the job, associate vice-president of advancement and external relations Gord Arbeau is leaving the St. Catharines university to become vice-president of advancement at Niagara College. He’s not the first top administrator in recent years to leave the large research university to take up effectively the same position at an applied […]
Josh Graham of Virgil’s Silversmith Brewing and Ken Woods of Etobicoke’s Black Oak Brewing share a beer. The two craft breweries recently joined forces under ownership of Silversmith. Photo credit: Silversmith One of Niagara’s most iconic craft breweries is expanding its business. Virgil’s Silversmith Brewing, located in an 1890s church on Niagara Stone Road […]
Project Plaid raised over $143,000 for youth mental health. This year’s campaign received support from several local organizations, including the Niagara IceDogs, who once again hosted ‘Plaid Night’ to help raise funds. Photo credit: Facebook/Meridian Credit Union After Shanta Rangaratnam lost her 18-year-old daughter Amelia Durocher to suicide in February 2019, the St. Catharines […]
Once contract details are finalized over the coming weeks, construction on the over-$1 billion project will begin. Photo credit: Niagara Health The South Niagara Hospital project officially has a builder. On Monday, Infrastructure Ontario and Niagara Health named EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare (EDIH) as the preferred proponent to design, build, finance, and maintain the brand-new […]
The industrial hub along the Welland Canal now boasts 400 acres of land and over 1 million square feet of indoor space. Photo credit: HOPA Ports Just days after one of its tenants received a joint-investment from the provincial and federal governments to the tune of $11.3 million, it was announced the Thorold Multimodal […]
Vineland Estates Winery Restaurant (pictured) was one of four Niagara establishments named to OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2022. Photo credit: Facebook/Vineland Estates Winery Earlier this month, online restaurant review and reservation website OpenTable released its 2022 list of Canada’s 100 “most beloved” restaurants, based on more than one million ratings. The website analyzed […]
CHAR Technologies’ first-of-its-kind Thorold facility will convert bark, shavings, and sawdust – largely viewed as waste in the forestry sector – into 10,000 tonnes of biocarbon fuel per year. Pictured from left are CHAR Technologies CEO Andrew White, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith, and MPP for Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff, Dec. […]
Lynn Guerriero, president and CEO of Niagara Health, signs a 10-year agreement with healthcare information system technology-provider Oracle Cerner. Photo credit: Niagara Health If one walks into a Niagara hospital today, he or she may experience a triage nurse fumbling about with paper-based forms or repeating questions one would think, given how many times […]
Premier Doug Ford with E.S. Fox employees announcing the start of early work on Canada’s first grid-scale small modular reactor at the Darlington nuclear site, Dec. 2, 2022. Niagara-based E.S. Fox is building the necessary infrastructure to prepare the site for deployment. Photo credit: OPG A Niagara-based company is literally laying the groundwork for […]
Though prices have now dropped a consecutive eight months in a row, October and November 2022 both saw decreases markedly tamer than the several months prior. Of note, only 335 housing units changed hands last month. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Evan Buhler With the Bank of Canada’s quixotic journey to bring inflation back down […]
Paz Bakery makes Brazilian-inspired cheese buns with local ingredients. Pictured is co-founder Paloma Lara. Photo credit: Facebook/Paz Bakery If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that global supply chains are fragile creatures, and the more we make at home the better. Homegrown products don’t only provide security in uncertain times, they […]
St. Catharines regional councillor Laura Ip (pictured) is one of three regional representatives who will sit on the seven-member board for the next four years. Photo credit: Niagara Region At Niagara Regional Council’s December 1 meeting, members selected representatives to serve on a number of local agencies, boards, commissions, and committees for the new […]
Niagara College winemaker Allison Findlay stands outside the school’s Wine Visitor + Education Centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake holding the institute’s latest award-winning ciders. Photo credit: Niagara College The name ‘Niagara College’ is rapidly becoming synonymous with award-winning beer, wine, and cider. In another spectacular display of the school’s alcohol-producing prowess, Niagara College took home no […]
According to the recently released value-for-money audit, when it came to selecting a new entity to run the region’s two casinos a few years back, the OLG chose the casino operator for Niagara that proposed the least amount of capital investment and “brought less economic and financial benefit to the province than if OLG had […]
One the strategy’s stated objectives is to increase both the consumption and production of food grown and prepared in Ontario by 30 per cent over the next 10 years – good news for a region that relies on food production as a major source of jobs and is a large contributor to local GDP. Photo […]
The municipal administrator previously served as CAO for Niagara Region and the Town of Fort Erie. Pictured is Grimsby town hall. Photo credit: Town of Grimsby The Town of Grimsby and its top bureaucrat have agreed to part ways. In an announcement Thursday, Grimsby revealed that as of Dec. 5, 2022, Harry Schlange will […]
It was the first time in school history two alumni were presented with the accolade in the same year. Pictured are award winners Murray Brewster and Erica Williams. The pair stand alongside school president Sean Kennedy (centre) at the Colleges Ontario Higher Education Summit awards gala in Toronto, Nov. 28, 2022. Photo credit: Niagara College […]
River Lions, IceDogs and Jackfish also giving back to charity. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara River Lions North America might have the Big 4 when it comes to professional sports, but here in Niagara we have the Big 3. And what happens when you bring together the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Baseball League […]
The Bulldogs took home OFSAA gold Saturday. Pictured is the team with their qualifying SOSSA banner. Photo credit: OFSAA If you’re looking for the best girls AA high school basketball team in Ontario, look no further than St. Catharines’ Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. At OFSAA’s three-day, 18-team tournament at Stratford District Secondary School […]
Niagara Health made the annual list for the fifth-straight year. DJB was named a Top Employer for the third time in four years. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara Health A total of eight of Niagara-based workplaces have made this year’s ‘Hamilton-Niagara Top Employers’ list. Published annually since 2008 by Mediacorp Canada, the competition is organized by […]
Pictured from left to right are trustees Larry Huibers, Doug Joyner, Jim Marino, Paul Turner, Chair Danny Di Lorenzo, Vice-Chair Rhianon Burkholder, student trustees Steffan Zylstra (back) and Charlotte Johnstone, trustee Joe Bruzzese and trustee Natalia Benoit. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara Catholic Niagara Catholic District School Board held its first inaugural of the 2022-2026 term […]
The near-$2 million grant will be used to upgrade the police force’s Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara Regional Police Service The Ontario government is providing the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) $1,956,419 to help combat auto theft in the region. The NRPS will use the funding to enhance existing Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) […]
The twice-weekly event offers “students who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC)” free tutoring, tailored resources, and snacks in an exclusive study space. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent As first reported by the Western Standard and True North Centre last week, St. Catharines-based Brock University recently introduced a racially segregated study […]
The funds will be used to address infrastructure renewal needs, such as roofing repairs or window replacements. Pictured is Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre, one of five Niagara Health sites around the region. Niagara Health received $1.3 million in funding for the 2022-23 fiscal year. Photo credit: City of Port Colborne The province is […]
Reappointed chair to provide “continuity and stability”, Bradley will work hand-in-hand with a provincially selected “facilitator” who will review the municipality’s two-tier governance system. Led by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark (pictured), the province wants to reduce duplication and cut red tape in order to, among other things, address the housing crisis. […]
Grade 3 and 6 DSBN students did particularly well in math, posting double-digit scores above the provincial standard at both levels. Photo credit: Pexels/Pixabay It’s been a few years since Niagara students took the EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) test – which was paused following the 2018-2019 academic year due to the pandemic […]
Professor and head brewmaster at Niagara College’s Teaching Brewery Jon Downing stands with the school’s two gold medal-winning creations. The Teaching Brewery was one of three local craft beer producers to take home hardware at last month’s competition, where Beamsville’s Bench Brewing landed on the overall Best-in-Show podium for its plum sour. Photo credit: Niagara […]
Niagara’s next head of council will be selected by members at their first meeting on Nov. 24, 2022. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent Intimidation and retribution. Those are the watch words from politicos in 2022 operating on the extreme left and on the extreme right. If you aren’t with us, you are against us! […]
The annual Niagara Falls lights show is Canada’s largest outdoor illumination festival. Photo credit: Facebook/Winter Festival of Lights The Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights officially kicked off the 2022 season on Saturday. The elaborate lights show, which runs a full 101 nights until February 20, is celebrating 40 seasons of dazzling displays this […]
St. Catharines City Council held its final regular meeting of the 2018-2022 term on Monday. Members narrowly passed a motion to once again display the nativity scene featuring baby Jesus outside of city hall this year, following a two-year hiatus. One of the more vocal opponents of the scene’s reinstitution was outgoing councillor Karrie Porter […]
The local Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark dipped 1.3 per cent between September and October. Photo credit: HouseLogic/Liz Foreman As the Bank of Canada continues on its campaign to crash the Canadian economy by aggressively raising interest rates in order to bring inflation back down into its arbitrary target range, local housing prices once […]
Last term’s head of council Jim Bradley only confirmed candidate to date, with several hopefuls speculated. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent While all seems quiet on the municipal front, there is currently a lot of noise going on behind-the-scenes amongst newly elected regional councillors. In less than three weeks, Niagara Regional Council will internally […]
Local developer Rainer Hummel (pictured) launched a lawsuit against the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake after the municipality froze all development across a large swathe of the community for the better part of two years. A lower court judge dismissed Hummel’s suit in 2021. However, in a historic ruling last week, Ontario’s Court of Appeal summarily rejected […]
Win or lose, Niagara residents appear to be on the hook for sizable sum. Pictured is former Regional Chair Alan Caslin. The Region of Niagara is suing former Regional Chair Alan Caslin for ‘public malfeasance’ related to the 2016 hiring of Carmen D’Angelo as CAO; a conclusion, to note, not reached by either the […]
On average, only 33.5 per cent of eligible voters showed up to the polls across Niagara’s 12 respective municipalities for this year’s municipal elections, down 8.7 per cent from 2018. As they did four years ago, St. Catharines, Thorold, and Welland led the pack in terms of lowest turnout. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent […]
A rundown of some of the top headlines and key results from around the region. Photo credit: Twitter/Jim Diodati NIAGARA FALLS – Diodati earns fourth term As expected, incumbent mayor of Canada’s Honeymoon Capital Jim Diodati once again swept into office with relative ease, securing nearly 70 per cent of the vote (his nearest […]
There are a few exceptions, however. Former St. Catharines regional councillor Bruce Timms is spearheading third-party efforts to push for double duty councillors. While Kevin Maves, former DSBN trustee and current regional council candidate in Niagara Falls, has put forward a proposal that would cut politicians in Niagara from 126 down to 66. Photo credit: […]
Infrastructure Ontario and Niagara Health will evaluate RFP submissions over the coming months and announce a successful proponent in early 2023, with construction expected to start shortly thereafter. Two teams are vying to design, build, finance, and maintain the over-$1 billion project. Photo credit: Niagara Health Last week, Infrastructure Ontario announced closure of the […]
Niagara Falls took home over $5.2 million for hosting Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino from July 1 to September 30, 2022. Over the first two quarters of this fiscal year, the city has received $11,542,491 from the OLG, already topping the $11,526,576 total it received for the entire 2021/22 fiscal year. Photo credit: Facebook/Casino […]
Lincoln’s Robert Foster (left) and Niagara Falls’ Barbara Greenwood (right) were among a small, select group of regional councillors in the ‘over-$8,000’ club this past term of government. Photo credit: Niagara Region Over the last term of Regional Council, January 2019 to October 2022, the council predominantly met by videoconference due initially to pandemic […]
Property taxes, service fees, and community improvement programs are all hot topics this election cycle. Pictured is mayoral candidate Mike Britton. Britton is one of three candidates vying to replace outgoing incumbent mayor Walter Sendzik, the other two being Mat Siscoe and Nick Petrucci. Photo credit: Mike Britton The three candidates for mayor in […]
Bringing a post-secondary institute to the Honeymoon Capital has been a goal of Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim Diodati (pictured, centre at podium) for several years. Photo credit: LinkedIn/Jim Diodati Following over a decade of hard work behind the scenes with multiple stakeholders and several levels of government, Mayor Jim Diodati’s dream of bringing […]
Through the generosity of local private sector donors like the Oakes family, the South Niagara hospital fundraising campaign has secured over $27 million of its $40 million community goal. Pictured right to left are board chair of the Niagara Health Foundation (NHF) Albert Iannantuono, Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim Diodati, president of HOCO Harry Oakes, and […]
The two-time Conservative MP previously served as Special Advisor on Tourism Recovery and Shadow Minister for Manufacturing and Export Promotion. Pictured are Baldinelli (left) and new Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Supplied photo. Earlier this week, Conservative MP for Niagara Falls Tony Baldinelli was named the Official Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Tourism by newly-elected […]
The decision was handed down by an Ontario Justice of the Peace last month and was recently made public. Pictured is the entrance to developer Benny Marotta’s Randwood Estate property on John St. in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Photo credit: Google Maps In the ongoing Randwood Estate legal saga being fought on the taxpayers’ dime between the […]
After the organization allegedly refused to return memorabilia, Fergie Jenkins “had no choice but to commence litigation” against the Fergie Jenkins Foundation, which, along with its accompanying museum, is headquartered in St. Catharines. Pictured is Jenkins at the MLB ‘Field of Dreams’ game, Aug. 11, 2022. Photo credit: Twitter/Chicago Cubs Legendary Canadian baseball hall-of-famer […]
Are the two Steeles running for Port Colborne mayor related? Yes. Is the Tony Baldinelli running for city council the same Tony Baldinelli who currently serves as MP for Niagara Falls? No. Confused yet? So are we. Niagara area voters can be forgiven this municipal election if they are a little confused by some […]
Minister of Energy Todd Smith made good use of his time in Niagara on Tuesday, visiting E.S. Fox Ltd. in Niagara Falls, launching the province’s Clean Home Heating Initiative in St. Catharines, speaking to the Women in Nuclear conference, and more. Pictured is Minister Smith (centre) at E.S. Fox’s Niagara Falls facility on Tuesday, […]
Emails seem to indicate that the St. Catharines regional councillor (left) sought and received assistance in filing an unfounded Integrity Commissioner complaint against fellow councillor Bob Gale (right) from Niagara Region CAO Ron Tripp. Photo credit: Niagara Region Last Thursday, at Niagara Region’s final regular council meeting before Ontario’s municipal elections, councillors reviewed the […]
While it is clear that Mother Nature has gifted Niagara with one of the most spectacular landmarks in the world, one wonders if the custodians of the area have kept pace to provide ancillary product for visitors. An international luggage storage company, Bounce, which serves tourists in over 1,000 locations in cities around the […]
The Parks is hoping to emulate the wild success of its adaptive reuse of the former Canadian Niagara Power Generating Station last year. Pictured is the interior of the Toronto Power Generating Station. Photo credit: Niagara Parks Commission Earlier this month, the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) concluded stage two in a three-stage proposal process […]
The innovate mode of transportation is set to launch next summer. A one-way ticket will cost approximately $25-$30. Photo credit: Hoverlink Ontario Inc. By this time next year, Toronto-bound commuters from Niagara could well be zipping across Lake Ontario on a hovercraft instead of idling on the QEW for hours. The brainchild of Niagara-on-the-Lake […]
Current regional councillor Gary Zalepa (pictured left) and retired businessman Vaughn Goettler (right) are challenging incumbent Betty Disero this October. With the municipal election to be held on October 24, three candidates have registered to become Lord Mayor for the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The three candidates include incumbent Betty Disero, current regional councillor Gary […]
The Niagara Falls MPP rose in the legislative assembly last week to blast the Ford government, and by extension Niagara EMS, for allegedly telling an injured resident she would have to wait six-hours for an ambulance. Per the Region, EMS informed medical alert service provider Lifeline of the worst-case scenario, but in the end a […]
The pair of regional councillors were entangled in a political controversy at the end of last year when Siscoe (left) was elevated to Niagara Regional Council over rightful appointee Britton (right) in direct contravention of St. Catharines municipal policy. Years prior to the controversy, the two were council colleagues from 2014 to 2018. As city […]
The last time the championship tournament was played in 2019, the Niagara Falls high school earned a silver medal. The young team will look to strike gold this Wednesday in London. Photo credit: Twitter/OFSAA Baseball Last week in Windsor, the A.N. Myer Marauders baseball team successfully advanced to the Final Four of the OFSAA […]
The Niagara Falls high school has now made it to OFSAA for boys baseball four out of the last five times the tournament’s been held. Supplied photo. The last full season of high school baseball occurred in 2019. That year, perennial powerhouse from Niagara Falls A.N. Myer won the SOSSA championship and then went […]
Several PC candidates across the province have decided to forgo the feckless election ritual of talking past their opponents for the better part of an hour, choosing instead to focus their efforts on talking directly to constituents. The legacy media machine wants you to believe that Ontario PC candidates refusing to participate in riding […]
The first-term St. Catharines regional councillor informed his colleagues by way of email late Wednesday, March 30. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent On Wednesday evening, St. Catharines regional councillor George Darte emailed the regional clerk and his fellow councillors with his immediate resignation from Niagara Regional Council as of March 30. In his message, […]
Though seemingly able to afford millions in salary increases year over year, Niagara Regional Council pushed off a proposal by Regional Councillor Bob Gale to give some money back to taxpayers in the form of a $240 rebate. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent The 2021 Sunshine List came out last week and Niagara Regional […]
What was important six months ago has been overwhelmed by international events. Photo credit: Global News Canadians like to believe they are doing the right thing. Since the 2015 election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government on an aggressive climate change platform, no democratic country with such massive undeveloped oil and gas resources […]
The region’s acting medical officer of health said that he still “encourages everyone to wear masks past March 21”. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent To the delight of many Ontarians late Wednesday morning, the province’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kiernan Moore announced that, effective Mar. 21, 2022, mandatory masking would no longer […]
After factoring in reserve payments and encumbrances, Niagara Regional Council approved a total of $61.4 million in overcharges to property taxes over a two-year period, as taxpayers struggled throughout the pandemic. All the while, the government’s top bureaucrats received large pay raises. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent This term of Niagara Regional Council has […]
The Biden administration recently announced $1 billion in U.S. federal government funding to help clean up the Great Lakes region, including the Niagara River (pictured) that bypasses Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Fort Erie urgent care centre reopens After remaining closed for the better part of the last two months, Fort Erie’s urgent care […]
Yousef Haj-Ahmad inside Norgen Biotek, the Thorold-based company he started in 1998 that now employs more than 80 people. Yesterday, it was announced that the Haj-Ahmad family donated $5 million to help build out Brock University’s new engineering department. Photo credit: Brock University Local biotech company owner donates $5 million to help Brock build out […]
Despite running multi-million-dollar surpluses and posting a fourth straight year of property tax increases, the Niagara Region wants to make it more expensive for local residents and businesses to take out the garbage. In 2020, according to Niagara Region’s financial documents, the waste management division generated $1.5 million in budget surplus. In other words, […]
High tea in the Drawing Room at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Prince of Wales Hotel. The Drawing Room is one of nine Niagara establishments to make this year’s list of Canada’s 100 most romantic restaurants. Photo credit: Vintage Hotels Canada’s population grows to 37 million, with Niagara gaining over 30,000 residents Statistics Canada released population data from the […]
Thorold drive-in movie theatre up for sale The 84-acre property off of Hwy. 20 in Thorold on which Can View Drive-In currently sits is up for sale for $10.8 million. Zoned a mix of highway commercial, agricultural, and protected wetlands, the real estate listing for the property labels it a “Generational, Commercial Investment Opportunity.” Niagara’s […]
DirtMarket co-founders and Brock University graduates Emma Kirwin (right) and Asad Jalib (left). Less than a year in operation, the start-up was recently named one of Canada’s top 10 tech companies to watch in 2022. Photo credit: Brock University Brock grads’ start-up one of Canada’s top tech companies to watch in 2022 After less than a year […]
In Jan. 2020, Niagara Regional Council launched $850,000 worth of civil lawsuits against former Chair Alan Caslin (pictured) and his two staff members for their role in the allegedly tainted recruitment and hiring of Carmen D’Angelo. The Niagara Independent has recently learned that all three are covered by the Region’s own corporate liability insurance, protecting […]
Region offering Fort Erie residents free transportation to Port Colborne urgent care centre A transportation option for Fort Erie residents seeking urgent medical care is now available via Niagara Region. Fort Erie residents who would have previously used public transit or other local transportation options to travel to the town’s urgent care centre will now […]
Nidhi Punyarthi replaces acting city solicitor Ed Lustig. The City of Niagara Falls continues to build out its senior administration and management team with another top-tier hire. Last week, the city announced that Ms. Nidhi Punyarthi will be joining the municipality as city solicitor and director of legal services. Punyarthi joins the city after […]
Artist rendering of the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital site. West Lincoln Memorial Hospital rebuild project one step closer to commencement On Monday, the Request for Proposals (RFP) stage closed for teams to submit their bids to design, build and finance the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital redevelopment project. Following the Request for Qualifications process, three […]
In addition to burying a report of homelessness, staff at Niagara Region continue to cancel scheduled Audit Committees. The Niagara Independent has learned another audit report, this time on garbage collection, was also withheld from the Audit Committee and the public. Photo credit: North Middlesex In November, The Niagara Independent reported that regional staff […]
Only six regional councillors voted to oppose the recommendation from the City of St. Catharines to appoint Mat Siscoe (left): Leanna Villella from Welland, Bob Gale from Niagara Falls, Marvin Junkin from Pelham, Dave Bylsma from West Lincoln, Barbara Butters from Port Colborne, and Tim Whalen from Thorold. Based on policy and precedent, Mike Britton […]
Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie. The urgent care centre is temporarily closing to redeploy personnel to the region’s emergency departments. Photo credit: Google Maps Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre temporarily closing Effective Thursday, Jan. 6 at 11 p.m. the Urgent Care Centre in Fort Erie will temporarily shut its doors in order for Niagara Health […]
The decision from the City of St. Catharines to recommend Mat Siscoe (left) over “next place finisher” Mike Britton (right) to fill a government vacancy has come under immense scrutiny in recent weeks, leading to a petition, community pushback, a legal challenge, and now formal conflict of interest complaints. As reported by The Niagara […]
Photo credit: Pexels/Mikhail Nilov The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released its annual New Year’s Tax Changes report on Monday. The report highlights the major tax changes set to come into force in 2022. “If you’re making more than $40,000, you’ll see your federal income tax bill go up thanks to rising payroll taxes,” said Franco Terrazzano, […]
Former broadcaster Duff Roman on air on CHUM-FM in the 1960s. Roman was one of two Niagara residents named to the Order of Canada on Wednesday. Photo credit: FYI Music News Two Niagara residents named to Order of Canada On Wednesday, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, announced 135 appointments to […]
Niagara Health facility in St. Catharines. Photo credit: Infrastructure Ontario On Dec. 28, Niagara Health implemented a series of restrictions at its facilities. Visitors are no longer permitted at hospitals. All Essential Care Partners (ECPs) must be fully vaccinated and will only be permitted at the bedside with patients with a length of stay […]
Niagara’s post-secondary institutions move to online for start of winter term To accommodate ever-shifting restrictions and the recent rise in COVID-19 case numbers, Brock University and Niagara College announced that the schools will both start the winter term online. Should a reassessment of the situation in a few weeks’ time prove favourable, Brock hopes to […]
Mayor of St. Catharines Walter Sendzik (right) broke a council tie on Dec. 13 that ultimately led to current councillor Mat Siscoe (right) being recommended to fill a regional vacancy. The move went against policy and precedent, initiating a petition and a legal challenge from the staff-advised candidate. As previously reported by The Niagara […]
Still image from livestream of St. Catharines council’s most recent meeting. Mayor Walter Sendzik listens to Councillor Karrie Porter argue in favour of selecting her ward colleague Mat Siscoe to fill the vacant seat at Regional Council. Sendzik broke the initial tie that denied staff’s recommendation to select the appropriate candidate based on established city […]
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce was in town on Wednesday for a number of funding announcements. Pictured from left to right: Adrian Ferro, Student, St. Mark Catholic Elementary School; Fr. Krzysztof Szczepanik, Pastor, St. Helen Church; Hon. Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education; Sam Oosterhoff, MPP Niagara West and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education; […]
Niagara residents already pay among the highest property levies and water rates in southern Ontario. Last week, Niagara Region Council voted to increase property taxes and water rates, shouldering the costs of a bigger regional government on both residents and businesses. This is the fourth consecutive year of property tax increases, placing Niagara amongst […]
Niagara College winemaker Gavin Robertson holds up a bottle of Les Marmitons Gastronomy Cider. The cider recently won silver at the U.S. Open Cider Championship, while the school’s signature Cider 101 won gold. Photo credit: Niagara College Average home price in Niagara to jump nearly $100,000 from 2021 to 2022 According to RE/MAX’s recently released ‘2022 […]
This term of Niagara Regional Council is poised to continue with its consecutive increases in property taxes and fees and, as a result, will be pocketing millions in surpluses. For 2020, Niagara Region reported a budget surplus of $96 million. After removing budget adjustments related to Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS), the regional government […]
Exterior concept illustration of Clifton Hill’s newest tourist attraction, set to open next summer. Photo credit: Triotech Niagara Falls to be home to first ‘Hyper Ride’ in North America At the 2021 IAAPA Expo two weeks ago in Orlando, Fla., industry-leading tourist attraction developer Triotech revealed Clifton Hill will soon be home to the company’s latest […]
Photo credit: Pexels/Harrison Haines As reported to the Region’s Public Health and Social Services Committee on Jun. 15, 2021, regional staff identified 665 people experiencing homelessness in Niagara. Of that number, 18% were children (aged 0-15 years), over 10% were youth (16-24 years) and 5% were seniors (greater than 65 years). Yet, despite the […]
St. Catharines Collegiate. All public high schools in Niagara will return to a regular schedule starting Monday, Nov. 30 DSBN secondary schools moving to regular semester model next week Starting Monday, Nov. 29, all DSBN high schools will transition from the current two course per-day, alternating week model, to a four course per-day, regular school day. […]
A general disinterest in maintaining financial accountability amongst top administrators is the message being delivered by professional and experienced internal auditors who were once with but have recently left Niagara Region. With multiple project failures and associated lawsuits, the previous 2014-2018 Niagara Region Council approved a management plan to increase accountability and transparency in […]
This is the first in a three-part series on the 2022 Niagara Region Budget. Part one focuses on tax surpluses, part two concentrates on water rates and capital budget, while part three reports on the general levy and the impact on property taxes. The $96 Million Surplus The Region of Niagara continues to collect […]
Former Pelham mayor Dave Augustyn with leader of the Ontario NDP Andrea Horwath in Fenwick, Nov. 12, 2021. Photo credit: Don Rickers Like the mythical phoenix, former Pelham mayor David Augustyn is attempting to rise from the electoral ashes and return to public office. At a media event held last Friday in front of […]
Host of CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Leonard Chan (left) and Program Coordinator of Niagara College’s Commercial Cannabis Production program, Bill Macdonald, in the Cannabunker at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. CBC filmed a segment on cannabis innovation at the college last week. Photo credit: Niagara College Providing relief to taxpayers, Lincoln approves […]
The Burgoyne Bridge in St. Catharines. Photo credit: Canam-Bridges A decade later, the Burgoyne Bridge costs continue to escalate at regional taxpayers’ expense. Back in 2010, the price tag to build the new Burgoyne Bridge in St. Catharines was $59 million. The cost was to be split three ways between the federal, provincial, and […]
Niagara Parks takes first step in redevelopment of remaining power stations Following the successful adaptive reuse and opening of the Niagara Parks Power Station earlier this year, the Niagara Parks is ready to engage the private sector for proposals for the adaptive reuse of the other two decommissioned power stations on its property in Niagara […]
Niagara Falls History Museum adorned with thousands of hand-knit poppies as part of the city’s Remembrance Day ‘Poppy Project’. Photo credit: Niagara Falls Museums After a year of hosting virtual and private invite-only ceremonies, many of Niagara’s municipalities and veteran organizations are back offering in-person, open-to-the-public events this Remembrance Day. From West Lincoln to […]
President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Rocco Rossi. Rossi was one of several officials representing the province’s business community to recently ask the Ford government to reconsider its expedited introduction of a $15 per hour minimum wage. Photo credit: Flickr While some have complained that Ontario’s new $15 per hour minimum […]
Fallsview Casino Resort. The venue will play host to the live-audience tapings of ‘Canada’s Got Talent’ next week. Region seeking input from business community to help plan economic future In addition to taking part in Niagara Economic Development’s ongoing stakeholder survey, local businesses can help inform the creation of Niagara’s new 10-year economic development strategy […]
The new hospital location at the corner of Montrose and Biggar roads in Niagara Falls. From left to right: Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, president and CEO of Niagara Health Lynn Guerriero, Ontario’s deputy premier and minister of health Christine Elliott, and provincial minister of infrastructure Kinga Surma. On Oct. 28, Infrastructure Ontario and […]
Niagara Falls expected to lead country in hotel occupancy next year After two difficult years – with hotel occupancy at 25 and 33 per cent in 2020 and 2021, respectively – Niagara Falls’ tourism sector is projected to see a significantly improved year next year. According to a recent report from real estate intelligence firm […]
While the Niagara Region is often plagued with policies that have more loopholes than a fisherman’s knot, in the case of filling a vacant seat on Regional Council, the legislation and policy on the books is straightforward. With the death of beloved St. Catharines Regional Councillor Sandie Bellows, regional and city officials will be […]
Niagara Parks’ Floral Showhouse. The showhouse is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary. Right now until Nov. 14, visitors can experience the site’s annual chrysanthemum display in all its orange, purple, peach and pink splendor. Photo credit: Niagara Parks Pair of Niagara MPs call on Regional Council to declare mental health state of emergency On Tuesday, Conservative MP […]
The provincial government is taking tangible steps to reduce the significant backlog of drivers trying to complete licencing requirements by opening additional road test locations. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced it was opening three temporary test centres in Ottawa, Sarnia, and Niagara Falls. “Opening a temporary road test centre in Niagara Falls […]
Diners enjoy a meal inside one of Trius Winery’s unique outdoor domes. Trius was one of 13 Niagara establishments to make OpenTable’s 2021 list of 100 best restaurants to dine outside in Canada. Photo credit: Trius Winery U.S. reopening land border to fully vaccinated Canadians After 20 months of being barred from entering the […]
Sandie Bellows (seated in center) cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the grand opening of the Niagara Parks Power Station, July 28, 2021. Bellows died of cancer late Sunday evening. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent On Sunday, Oct. 10, Niagara lost one of its leading citizens in Sandie Bellows. Bellows, who at the time of […]
An artist’s rendering of the new WLMH site in Grimsby. Photo credit: Hamilton Health Sciences On Wednesday, the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH) held a virtual launch for the final leg of its ‘Take it to the Finish, Building a Healthy Community’ campaign. The campaign, which began five months ago, was launched with […]
Jeffery and Lynn Henderson stand in front of a plaque dedicated to their mothers in the CT Simulator Suite at Niagara Health. The Henderson family recently committed $500,000 to upgrading the suite in the Walker Family Cancer Centre, which will soon house a brand-new CT scanner provided by the province. NRPS concludes six-month blitz […]
Niagara College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus. The college will welcome more in-person students back in January, as all programs are slated to have an on-campus learning option starting in the winter term. Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara College Niagara College to offer more in-person options next term Starting with the winter 2022 term in January, Niagara College will offer […]
Officials cut the ceremonial ribbon at the recent grand opening of the Meridian Volunteer Centre at the Pen Centre shopping mall in St. Catharines. The venue will serve as a central recruitment and training hub for volunteers set to work the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games next August. Photo credit: Canada Summer Games Province provides […]
On Wednesday morning, Corporate Services Committee chair Rob Foster committed to conducting a “thorough investigation” into the issues recently raised by Niagara Falls regional councillor Bob Gale regarding the Region’s multi-million-dollar biosolids program. The move came after Gale revealed a 2016 provincial investigation concluded that an employee from Thomas Nutrient Solutions had fabricated environmental data […]
Fort Erie Race Track holds successful Prince of Wales Stakes With some 5,000 fans back in the stands, Fort Erie’s famous horseracing track played host to the 86th installment of the Prince of Wales Stakes on Tuesday. Trained by Kevin Attard and piloted by Gary Boulanger, Al and Bill Ulwelling’s Haddassah staved off Harlan Estate […]
St. Catharines Conservative Party candidate Krystina Waler. According to the political prediction site 338Canada, Waler is one of four Conservative candidates in Niagara currently in the lead or tied for the lead in their respective riding. According to the latest projections from the popular political forecasting website 338Canada, Conservative Party candidates currently lead or […]
After a year and a half of distant learning, Niagara College and Brock University students returned to campus this week. Photo credit: Twitter/Niagara College Post-secondary students return to campus locally Wednesday marked the first day of the fall semester for students attending Niagara College and Brock University. After many months of online learning, both institutions […]
International passengers arrive at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Photo credit: CTV News Tuesday, September 7 marks the first day non-American international travellers can enter Canada for discretionary purposes without having to self-isolate for 14 days, given they meet certain criteria. All entrants must be fully inoculated against COVID-19 with government-approved vaccines two weeks before arrival, […]
Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) technician Lisa Dowling analyzes the grapes collected for the institute’s Preharvest Monitoring Program. Each year, the program looks for key indicators of ripeness and fruit health in Niagara grapes to inform and estimate the success of local wine production. Photo credit: Brock University Over $16 million […]
Biosolids are the “end product” of a sewage treatment plant that are transported to landfills or lagoons. The contractor the Region most recently selected to transport the product was under investigation by the province for alleged offences under multiple Acts while the tendering process was underway. At least some of regional staff were aware of […]
Local dignitaries and company executives attend the ceremonial groundbreaking of Abatement Technologies’ new state-of-the-art 100,000 sq. ft. facility in Fort Erie. From left to right: MP for Niagara Falls Tony Baldinelli, MPP for Niagara Falls Wayne Gates, Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley, CEO of Abatement Technologies Andrew Harber, President Blair Harber, and Mayor of Fort Erie […]
Eager children file into the Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre’s school house. The museum recently received joint funding from the provincial and federal governments to design and build a new indoor/outdoor educational children’s gallery. Photo credit: Facebook/Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre Niagara College joins Brock in mandating vaccination for all on-campus staff, students On Monday, Niagara […]
With the recent completion of the Tokyo Olympics, Canada’s top summer athletes now set their sights on the next big competition now exactly a year away: Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. Niagara’s international land crossings reopen to Americans After some 18 months of closure, fully vaccinated Americans travelling to Canada for discretionary reasons were once again […]
The splash pad at Bogart Street Park in St. Catharines. The park is one of four Niagara recreation infrastructure projects to recently receive substantial funding from the federal and provincial governments for upgrades. Photo credit: City of St. Catharines Tragedy on the Niagara River A woman is dead, and a man is still missing after a […]
Photo credit: Facebook/Niagara Regional Police Service Last week, Statistics Canada published its annual survey of police-reported crime, as measured by the Crime Severity Index (CSI), for the year 2020. Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on crime rates across the country, ushering in the first year of decreases in both violent and non-violent […]
St. Catharines mass vaccination site to close The mass vaccination site at the Seymour Hannah Arena will close come mid-August. Niagara Health announced that it would be replacing that vaccination site with a smaller one located at the St. Catharines Hospital. Executive Vice President of Niagara Health Linda Boich said that they are at the […]
Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery in St. Davids. Ravine was one of about a dozen Niagara wineries to earn multiple medals at this year’s All Canadian Wine Championships. Photo credit: Facebook/Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery Two weeks ago, the All Canadian Wine Championships held its annual competition in Picton, Ontario. The 2021 installment saw 217 wineries from […]
Temporary House of Commons Chamber in West Block. Federal parliamentarians will meet in the space until at least 2030, as Centre Block undergoes $5 billion worth of renovations. While a long way away, the renovations will be complete some four decades before the federal government is projected to achieve fiscal balance. Photo credit: Parliament of […]
Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff is joined by Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson and Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod at Leaning Post Winery in Stoney Creek on Monday, July 19. The trio announced $10 million in funding for Ontario’s hard hit agri-tourism industry. Scammers spoof Niagara […]
Just four weeks after an excellent performance at the U.S. Open, Mackenzie Hughes was still playing great golf last weekend entering the final round of the storied British Open. Hughes was seven under-par after three days and entered the tournament’s fourth round tied for fifth.
On Thursday, Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Lecce joined his Parliamentary Assistant and MPP for Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff in Lincoln to announce that the provincial government has given the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) approval to award the tender for the new West Niagara Secondary School in Beamsville.
Niagara College announces students staying in on-campus residence must be vaccinated After ongoing consultation with public health and close monitoring of COVID-19 trends, Niagara College determined that students living in on-campus residence this fall will be required to be vaccinated. This decision allows for the prioritization of safety as students in residence are in congregate […]
Canada begins to relax travel measures On July 5, Canada partially eased travel restrictions for citizens and permanent residents. Fully vaccinated Canadians re-entering the country are no longer required to self-quarantine, given that they show proof of appropriate vaccination and receive a negative COVID-19 test no more than three days prior to arrival. At a […]
Niagara local starts postpartum depression conversation with new book At a virtual launch on June 30, former nurse and local businesswoman, Jessica Gale Friesen, released her debut title This Will Not Break Me. Published by Niagara-based Ownera Media, the book tracks Friesen’s personal experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her son, as well […]
Niagara Region commits funds to support development of South Niagara Hospital The Niagara Region commits $44.5 million in principle to support the development of the South Niagara Hospital. These funds will be included in the local share funding portion. While the province is covering the majority of the cost for the hospital, the local government […]
Just after 4 p.m. EST on Sunday the retiring CEO of the USGA (United States Golf Association), Mike Davis, stepped up to the 1st tee announcer’s microphone at Torrey Pines Golf Course in California and said, “from Canada, Mackenzie Hughes”.
Big opening day for Fort Erie Racetrack Fort Erie Racetrack kicked off the 2021 season with two big cup races on Tuesday. The opening card saw a healthy $1.2 million in wagering. There are 39 more racing days in the season. Races take place Mondays at 1 p.m. and Tuesdays at 4 p.m. until Labour […]
Friday marks the start of Ontario’s first step in the COVID-19 roadmap to reopening With 60 percent of adults having at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, outdoor activities will be the first to open on June 11 at 12:01am, with limited, well-managed crowding and permitted restricted retail. This includes larger outdoor gatherings up […]
Online learning will continue for students for the remainder of the academic year Premier Doug Ford announced yesterday that schools will remain closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year to best protect Ontario families from variants of COVID-19. This decision was made to continue focusing on decreasing COVID-19 cases and increasing […]
Niagara residents experience some historic heat Tuesday, May 25 will go down in history as temperatures hit 30°C, while feeling more like 35°C. The previous record was 27.7°C set in 1978. NOTL’s Ryerson Park launches pilot program After weeks of debate and delegations regarding issues in the Chautauqua area due to visitors at Ryerson […]
On Monday, Niagara Region Public Health reported just 33 new active cases of COVID-19 across the region. This was the lowest single day number of new cases since March 25, when just 24 new cases were reported.
Niagara is down to 992 total active cases, the lowest number since April 12 (946 cases).
Port Colborne’s public boat launch at H.H. Knoll Lakeview Park reopened May 19, and it is the first of several outdoor facilities the city plans to reopen.
The launch is available for all seasonal boat launch pass holders, and those who purchase daily passes at the launch. Boat staff will be onsite from 6am to 4pm monitoring boating activity, answering questions, and directing boat launch and haul-out traffic.
Provincial governments of every political stripe continue to detect COVID-19 variants arriving in their provinces via loopholes in the federal screening and quarantining systems at their airports and land borders. On multiple occasions the premiers have asked the prime minister to clamp down on these loopholes.
COVID-19 financial damage done to Niagara businesses reported A recent Business Impact Survey conducted by Niagara’s Economic Rapid Response Team outlining the damage done to Niagara businesses this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic was released this week. The study found that 81 per cent of businesses reported a loss of revenue in 2020, […]
Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, the newly installed Senate Majority Leader and highest-ranking federal politician in the State of New York, held a press conference at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York on Wednesday.
Niagara-on-the-Lake hosts sailing and tennis events for the Canada Summer Games 2022 Adding to the list of Niagara facilities being used for the 2022 Canada Summer Games, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Tennis Club at Memorial Park and the Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club have been chosen as official venues. There are now less than 500 days until the beginning […]
Former President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed accelerated not just the development of vaccines by companies like Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson, it also assured that when ready the U.S. would be able to acquire vaccine in huge amounts at a rapid pace.
Last week, Niagara’s Regional Council once again had to discuss the ongoing issue of confidential information being leaked to local media.
As per corporate policy and proper governance, organizations must go in-camera to discuss certain matters like personnel issues or real estate business, among others. Leaks from such closed sessions were a big problem for regional council last term and have continued into this term.
After immense pressure put on by the provincial premiers, on April 22 the federal government finally announced a ban on direct commercial and private flights from India and Pakistan. The federal government belatedly moved on the ban after dozens of cases of B.1.617, the dominant strain of COVID-19 in India, showed up in B.C., Quebec, and Alberta.
St. Catharines makes adjustments to parking fees The St. Catharines council has agreed to extend the waiver of parking fees for both on-street parking and parking in municipal lots and garages until at least May 20th. This waiver is in place to encourage residents to support local businesses through both curbside pick-up and in-person essential […]
Despite last Monday issuing a press release and a widely circulated social media warning about the St. Catharines critical care units being over capacity, as late as Friday St. Catharines hospital was still accepting COVID-19 patients from other overwhelmed regions.
Federal budget released, first since 2019 On Monday, the 2021 Federal Budget: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience was released. The spending announced focuses on the transition from emergency response to recovery, with particular attention given to the environment, the workforce, equality in the economy, and childcare. There will be more than $101 […]
Photo credit: The Niagara Independent The week of April 13 to 19 saw a total of 1,176 new cases of COVID-19 in the region, an average of 168 per day for the week, compared to an average of 116 new cases per day last week. Monday, April 19 saw an active daily total case count […]
Generous donation helps Niagara Health Foundation in search of third MRI machine The Niagara Health Foundation and Tom Rankin have striven to raise $2,770,000 for the installation of Niagara Health’s third MRI machine. The current wait times for an MRI in Niagara are 27% longer than the provincial average. Barbara Cornelius and her family recently […]
Somewhat expectedly, the Easter long weekend proved to be a Covid-19 breeding ground in Niagara. April 6 to 12 saw a total of 813 new cases of the virus in the region, an average of 116 per day for the week. Monday, April 12 saw an active daily case count of 1,062. This represents the […]
Ontario confirms ‘stay-at-home’ order for the next month Yesterday, Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario will be in a ‘stay-at-home’ order starting April 8 at 12:01am. The order will last until May 6. The precaution was put in place in an attempt to slow the third wave of COVID-19 transmission. For much of the province, […]
The Easter weekend was not good to Niagara when it comes to new covid-19 cases.
As of yesterday, Monday April 5th, there are now 858 active cases of people with covid-19. This is the highest number of current active cases since January 16th when there was a 2020 high of 1,168. Active cases declined from that point to a low of 123 on February 25th. They have gone up virtually every day since then. The month of April has seen an average of 100 new cases per day.
Ontario invests in expansion of Community Paramedicine Program for Long-Term Care in Niagara Niagara will receive $8.2 million from the Ontario government to expand the Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care program. This program assists seniors waiting for placement in a long-term care home, or those who will soon be eligible for long-term care to stay […]
On the heels of releasing the 2021 provincial budget last week at Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford along with Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Tourism Minister Lisa MacLeod provided new details around support for the tourism industry in Niagara.
Who gets vaccinated next was a unifying topic at Niagara Regional Council last night.
During discussion of the Public Health Committee minutes, St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik asked chief medical officer of Health Dr. Mustafa Hirji if personal caregivers of the elderly could get moved up the vaccination priority list.
Despite 2020 being an extremely difficult year for most in Niagara, local chief administrative officers (CAOs) across Niagara appeared to be exempt from any financial distress.
Particularly, Fort Erie and Port Colborne CAOs Tom Kuchyt and Scott Luey who both saw large double digit increases to their compensation last year versus 2019.
Ontario to spend billions in COVID-19 recovery efforts Ontario has revealed a $186.1 billion budget, with a projected deficit of $33.1 billion. This deficit has a predicted return to balanced budgets in 2029. $6.7 billion has been allocated to COVID-19 recovery, including $2.3 billion for testing and contact tracing, and $1 billion for public health […]
Normally, March is that time of year where the residents of Niagara come together to see which local public servants had made it into the prestigious Ontario Sunshine List: The $100k+ club.
The Ford government is taking major steps towards eliminating human trafficking in Niagara and Ontario while investing in support programs to help victims heal from the heinous crime.
Last week, $1.4 million was announced over the next five years to create a new community-based program to provide more young victims and survivors of human trafficking in Niagara with access to the supports they need.
The devastating implications of COVID-19 have affected the Niagara Region more than the rest of Ontario when it comes to employment rates.
While Canada’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.2% in February from 9.4% in January, Niagara’s unemployment rate is sitting at 12.8%.
This February there were 19,200 fewer full-time jobs and 5,000 fewer part-time jobs in Niagara than last year. As well, statistics show that from February 2020 to February 2021, 8,200 males lost their jobs, while 15,800 women lost theirs. Before the pandemic, women and men in full-time employment were a 50-50 split.
Niagara has been greatly impacted as accommodation and food services employ a significant number of individuals in the area, and this industry has been hit the hardest. Nonetheless, Niagara’s manufacturing sector has gained about 800 jobs in February.
Niagara’s 12 mayors joined together to pen an open-letter to all Niagara citizens to mark the one-year anniversary of the first case of Covid-19 in Niagara. The letter comes at a time when societies around the globe are starting to feel very good about the slowing of the devastation of the pandemic because of more effective treatments but especially due to the dissemination of vaccines worldwide.
After multiple attempts by Niagara Falls Councillor Bob Gale to get some answers over the procurement of turbo blowers at the Port Dalhousie wastewater treatment plant, Gale got right to the heart of the matter this week at Public Works Committee.
Walter Gretzky, the ultimate farewell In Brantford, Ontario, Canada’s proudest hockey dad, Walter Gretzky, was laid to rest on Saturday, March 6th. “The Hockey Theme” from “Hockey Night In Canada” played while the casket was led out of the church. As the hearse passed by, hundreds of individuals, young and old, slapped their sticks on […]
Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley was unequivocal in his praise to the Ford government’s announcement last week providing Niagara’s municipalities an additional $16.5 million in COVID-19 support.
In total, Niagara is slated to receive $16,486,587 and of the funding announced, the top three recipients were the Niagara Region, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls having received $6.6 million, $2.9 million, and $1.9 million respectively.
A new private sector relief fund is being launched this week to help support as many Ontario food and beverage establishments as possible in reopening and recovering from the financial setbacks of the pandemic. Hockey legend Darryl Sittler has laced up his skates to endorse the Restaurant & Bar Support Fund, which looks to raise as much as $5 million for Ontario restaurants, bars, pubs, pool halls and sports bars.
Niagara-on-the-Lake’s leading diverging diamond interchange on the cusp of commencing The Niagara Region and Ontario Ministry of Transportation have been working together on a $53.8 million major road construction project to replace the QEW overpass on Glendale Avenue. The Niagara-on-the-Lake Glendale area will completely change its look, as construction is soon to begin on the […]
Niagara’s Regional Chair Jim Bradley flexed his procedural might on Thursday over a call for an Integrity Commissioner investigation into the source of recently leaked confidential information to the local media. Lack of professionalism in this regard has plagued regional council for years as councillors often go into ‘in-camera’ meetings to discuss sensitive information that is supposed to remain confidential, only to have some of that conversation leaked just moments after the meeting has ended. Under the Municipal Act, items like real-estate, legal issues and human resources are supposed to be dealt with in ‘closed-session’ or ‘’in-camera.
It’s undeniable: Canadian post-secondary students are suffering.
According to the latest available statistics from the National College Health Assessment survey, 52 per cent of students enrolled at Canadian colleges and universities in 2019 reported feeling so depressed that, at some point in the 12 months preceding the study, “it was difficult to function.”
Niagara’s COVID active cases don’t add up A number of Niagara business owners and residents have been questioning the discrepancy between the provincial and regional public health numbers when it comes to Niagara’s active cases. As of yesterday the provincial COVID-19 data site had Niagara at just 109 active cases but the Region’s site has […]
When the Perseverance rover landed on Mars yesterday, Mariek Schmidt will be ready to search for signs of ancient life — albeit from millions of miles away.
Niagara’s COVID-19 update As Niagara continues to remain in the Grey lockdown zone its COVID-19 positive cases continue to decline. Yesterday, there were just 14 new cases. Tuesday of this week also saw 14 new cases while Monday’s number was 23. According to Niagara Region Public Health’s COVID stats website, St. Catharines continues to have […]
Niagara’s COVID-19 update Niagara’s COVID case count continues to improve with the overall trend of newly reported cases heading downwards. Yesterday, there were 26 new cases. Tuesday of this week saw a low of 13 new cases while Monday’s number was 28. According to Niagara Region Public Health’s COVID stats website, St. Catharines continues to […]
Niagara schools reopening on Monday It’s back to school time, again, for kids in Niagara. Elementary and high school students will be heading back to class this coming Monday, Feb. 8. Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, was joined by Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, to make the announcement yesterday. Three of […]
Niagara’s COVID situation Niagara’s COVID case count continues to show signs of improvements. While the number fluctuates up and down slightly day-to-day they have been trending in the right direction. Yesterday, there were 104 new cases. There were 92 cases on Tuesday and 66 on Monday. According to Niagara Region Public Health’s COVID stats website, […]
The Ontario government is investing $2 million from the Ontario Together Fund to support Ophardt Hygiene in Beamsville as the local manufacturer of soap and sanitizer dispensers expands, creating 75 new jobs and retaining 96 positions while producing vital products to support the fight against COVID-19.
Niagara’s COVID situation Yesterday’s 89 new active cases in Niagara was the lowest number since Jan. 5 when the region recorded 86 cases. But in general, it continues to be a difficult time containing the spread of COVID-19 in Niagara. The past week has seen Niagara average 130 new cases per day. In all, there […]
Province declares second provincial emergency In response to a doubling in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, the potential collapse of the province’s hospital system and alarming risks posed to long-term care homes as a result of high COVID-19 transmission rates, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and […]
Niagara residents have been waiting for the arrival of the vaccine. That wait is supposed to end today.
Billed by Niagara Health and Niagara Public Health as a “turning point in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara” the Pfizer vaccine will be administered shortly after arrival. “We expect delivery of the Pfizer vaccine in Niagara on Tuesday or Wednesday, and we are prepared to get doses into arms as soon as the shipment arrives,” said Niagara health officials in a statement released yesterday.
The once shining star of the Canadian tech sector Blackberry saw its stock price on a whirlwind tour over the past few months.
Following a late 2020 rally of 37 per cent on the news of an inked deal between Blackberry and Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com, its price has since fell by 23 per cent following underwhelming third quarter fiscal 2020 numbers.
Niagara Health CEO in hot water after southern vacation Dr. Tom Stewart is out as CEO of Niagara Health after he admitted to vacationing with family at his private home in the Dominican Republic from Dec. 18 to Jan. 5. Yesterday evening Niagara Health’s Board of Directors issued a statement notifying the public that Stewart […]
There’s no doubt pretty much every human being living on this planet is anxious to put 2020 behind them and then quickly walk, no flat out sprint, through the door to 2021. We’ve asked our regular Niagara Independent contributors to tell us some of their predictions for what the New Year might bring.
Happy New Year! All of us at The Niagara Independent wish our loyal readers and all Niagara residents a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. We look forward to bringing you the news that matters by our talented team of writers who are experts in the areas they write about. As we navigate along what […]
New visitor restrictions at Niagara Health for Emergency and Urgent Care Centres Niagara Health has implemented new restrictions for visitors at our Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centre. Niagara Health says they regularly review and update their safety measures based on COVID-19 activity to ensure the hospital remains a safe environment. Due to Emergency Departments […]
High COVID-19 cases could have Niagara seeing red With Niagara’s COVID-19 numbers continuing to remain high, as daily case counts have consistently been in the 50s and 60s over the past week, many residents are bracing for the province to move the region into the Red-Control zone. If this happens Niagara would face the most […]
The popular and omnipresent social media platform Facebook is facing two anti-trust lawsuits for allegedly eliminating any competition that may threaten Facebook’s overwhelming supremacy within the social media environment.
Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine In a matter of weeks Canada is expected to receive nearly 250,000 doses of the vaccine in what is the first sign of a light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel. Just yesterday Health Canada approved the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech paving the way for the biggest […]
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), and BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB, TSX: BB), a worldwide leader in intelligent security software and services, announced a multi-year, global agreement to develop and market BlackBerry’s Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform, known as IVY. BlackBerry IVY is a scalable, cloud-connected software platform that will allow automakers to provide a consistent and secure way to read vehicle sensor data, normalize it, and create actionable insights from that data both locally in the vehicle and in the cloud.
One of the consistent themes of Niagara’s regional council this term has been to veer off course from their mandate and weigh in on issues that are beyond their scope. From national child care strategies to de-fund the police to a national affordable housing strategy, there’s been a fairly regular stream of correspondence providing direction to MPPs and MPs.
One of the areas both local municipal councils and regional council weighed in on recently was that of decriminalization of drug possession. The original motion put before Council by St. Catharines Regional Councillor Laura Ip, urged the federal government to “decriminalize the possession of all drugs for personal use” while scaling up preventative and treatment services. It also urged the federal government to convene a taskforce to explore the “legal regulation of all drugs in Canada, based on a public health approach.”
Return to Sender – Region addresses funding request to Minister who resigned One out of two ain’t bad. Niagara Regional Council had the best intentions when they requested a letter be drafted to both the Federal and Provincial Finance Ministers asking for financial support for Niagara’s hospitality, food services and tourism sectors. The problem is […]
Survey says… The Niagara Independent recently did a reader’s survey covering a number of important local issues. Well over 500 readers completed the survey that asked Niagara resident’s their thoughts on things like: defunding the police; local property tax rates; changes to waste management; decriminalization of drug possession; Region contract procurement issues’ and the Region […]
Dr.Hirji on hot seat over additional order imposed to restaurants and bars In a special meeting lasting more than four hours regional councillor after regional councillor queued up to ask Niagara’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji about his decision to layer on more restrictions to Niagara’s food and drink establishments. The pot […]
Just like last week’s positive COVID-19 vaccine news out of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which brought worldwide gains to stock markets, yesterday’s positive news from Moderna also moved stock markets higher.
Pre-opening of the North American stock markets, Moderna and its vaccine partner the National Institutes of Health, announced that early Stage 3 results showed their in-trial vaccine prevented over 94.5% of infections. Moderna has 30,000 people enrolled in their Stage 3 trials which started in July. They reported that of 95 participants who got COVID-19, 90 had the placebo and only five had the vaccine.
Today marks the latest chapter in Niagara Falls’ ever-expanding economic success story, with the grand opening of Costco Niagara Falls at 7500 Pin Oak Dr.
The new store, located on the former Niagara Square site, will bring 200 new jobs to the city and anchor adjacent businesses currently in operation or under redevelopment around the Montrose Rd. retail node.
Lancaster Bomber flies over Niagara on Remembrance Day The Avro Lancaster bomber flew over Niagara on Remembrance Day in a beautiful tribute to Canadian veterans. The iconic aircraft took off from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in the morning and flew over Hamilton, Burlington and Ancaster before making its way over West Niagara and down […]
While alarm bells sounded over the significant spike in Niagara’s daily COVID-19 case count hitting 63 today the Town of Lincoln has released a statement saying that the vast majority of those cases – 45 – are “related to a workplace outbreak on an agricultural operation in the Town of Lincoln.” Mayor Sandra Easton and […]
Yesterday’s positive news from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on the Covid-19 vaccine front, brought worldwide gains to stock markets. Pre-opening of the North American stock markets, Pfizer and its vaccine partner BioNTech announced that early results showed their in-trial vaccine prevented over 90% of infections.
Niagara Falls hotels face double whammy Hotel owners in Niagara Falls are looking for some temporary tax relief from the city. In a recent letter to council the group laid out how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic has been to those operating hotels in Canada’s biggest tourist destination. Local hotels carry a very high property tax […]
Book your COVID test on-line Niagara Health launched an on-line COVID-19 test booking system Wednesday. The platform is intended to make the process of booking an appointment quicker for those meeting the provincial eligibility criteria for testing at a COVID-19 Assessment Centre. The online booking platform is available at niagarahealth.on.ca/centres. Patients will fill out their […]
Like all recreational activities, especially those played indoors, Niagara’s curling clubs have had to make several modifications in order to have their dedicated members return to the ice this season.
While membership at local clubs is not surprisingly down, club managers have gone above and beyond to ensure a safe and fun return to play.
Though it may look different this year, Sleep Cheap will take place in 2020.
The annual fundraising event officially called Sleep Cheap Charities Reap, is now in its 17th year and has become a long standing community tradition. Since its inception in 2004 the event has raised over $2,150,000 for local charities.
Yesterday, a new report published by Kitchener-Waterloo’s BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) linked a known cyberespionage group, BAHAMUT, to an increasing amount of attacks targeting government officials and industry titans and also shed light on broad disinformation campaigns designed to further particular political issues and hamper the efforts of non-governmental organizations. While high ranking […]
With the high cost of post-secondary education, many parents, grandparents and other family members recognize the need to save for a child’s education well before the expenses become a reality. That’s why the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is such a popular saving vehicle. Not only is the tax on the income accumulating in the plan deferred until funds are paid out, the federal government will also contribute to the plan through providing the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), which may be available to modest-income families. Some provinces offer additional RESP incentives for their residents.
Despite the acronym RESP being fairly common there are still many misconceptions and misunderstandings about what it really is and how it works.
The Niagara Parks Commission did their due diligence on a proposal to affix a Ramsar designation to the Niagara River and in the end withdrew as a potential nominator of the designation.
A Ramsar designation is acquired when advocates are successful at having property owners, agencies, and local and provincial governments agree to designate a wetland, lake, river, bog or some other water-based ecosystem as a Ramsar site. The proposed sites only need to meet one of nine defining criteria. The name and regime behind the designation stem from the Ramsar Convention signed by number of countries in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.
“It’s unreal. It’s unacceptable. The money, what you could do with a quarter million dollars – you could build a homeless shelter on city property right now for that.”
That’s what Niagara Falls Councillor Mike Strange had to say when presented with a report outlining the fact that nine integrity commissioner complaints and two workplace harassment investigations since 2015 have cost the city $273,000.
Located only a stone’s throw west of the town’s famous horse racing track, Fort Erie’s Fleet — in one corporate incarnation or another — has been manufacturing aerospace structures and components along Gilmore Rd. for the better part of a century.
From its humble beginnings at the outset of the Great Depression up to the present day, Fleet has employed thousands of Niagara residents and done a great deal to help buttress the local economy. Throughout the years, the company has weathered numerous labour strikes, changes in ownership, and out-and-out closure.
From elementary schools to high schools, Niagara College to Brock University, Niagara’s students are gearing up to return to the classroom next week amidst significant COVID-19 related changes.
The District School Board of Niagara announced on Tuesday its decision to allocate an additional 1%, or $4.5 million, to hire 60 to 70 additional teachers so that elementary school class sizes can be reduced for the upcoming school year.
Labour Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer for most Canadians. While this year may be a little different, many will still pack up the family vehicle and head out for some late-season fun in the sun.
Naturally, some trips will necessitate a stop at the gas station: today, a fairly banal experience at an undistinguished row of pumps.
As summer comes to a close, it’s interesting to note where Niagara and Ontario stand with regard to Covid-19 cases. It’s especially worth looking at now because the province sends teachers and students back to school next Tuesday. At the same time, more workplaces will have employees returning.
Will we see a spike in cases in two to three weeks hence?
Online bullying, particularly against local elected officials, has been in the news recently as politicians at all levels, including many here in Niagara, continue to be personally attacked on social media. Several are speaking out now, citing a number of negative, insulting and sexist messages they have received during their time in office.
Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati even released a brief video expressing his frustration over the same issue and declaring he has established a social media “neutral zone” that will be home to respectful dialogue.
For Niagara’s largest home builder working through a global pandemic has been challenging. But with their latest project in full swing and others on the horizon, Mountainview Building Group is glad to be launching new projects.
The award-winning home builder has now broken ground on one of their most anticipated communities – One Fonthill. The group recently joined together with future residents to celebrate the beginning of construction on the first condo building called One Twenty.
Dried and packaged cannabis at an undisclosed location. OPP PHOTO A large-scale illegal cannabis production and distribution network has been shut down by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and partners after a 12-month investigation. Several residents of the Niagara Region and GTA are facing numerous charges, according to an OPP statement released Friday, August 21. […]
The position of hockey goalie has changed dramatically over the years from the modernization of the equipment making it lighter and sleeker, to the physical style of play. Now, thanks to research conducted at Brock University, hockey goaltenders could have another new competitive advantage in stopping the puck thanks.
The Alberta government says it plans to join three other provinces in exploring small-scale nuclear technology.
In early December the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to develop SMR technology. In addition, the federal government has developed the Canadian Small Modular Reactor Roadmap that states using small modular nuclear reactors can help meet Canada’s climate change commitments.
Moores Clothing for Men, which has locations in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, is the latest retail chain to file for bankruptcy protection amid the pandemic.
Tailored Brands, which also owns Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank stores, announced it will continue to operate most stores during restructuring and expected to reduce its funded debt by $630 million.
With the passing of July 31, we now have several months of data to look at to see the progress of COVID-19 in Ontario. Compared to many states and countries, Ontario has fared quite well. Thankfully, many of the early disaster scenarios laid out by epidemiologists and public health officials have not come to pass.
Logan Thompson’s time with the Brock Badgers may have been brief, but he credits the University with playing a pivotal role in him landing a contract with the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights.
The 23-year-old Calgary native signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL franchise July 13.
The lobbying and threat of closures and reduced services by many of Ontario’s municipal politicians has paid off – to the tune of $4 billion.
The funding includes $777 million from the federal government and $1.22 billion from the province in support for municipalities.
The Trudeau government’s energy policies have contributed to substantial job loss and a 35 per cent decline in oil and gas investment over the last five years—and that’s just the beginning of the bad news.
According to a new Statistics Canada report, investment in the energy sector could shrink by an additional 40 per cent this year and see up to 220,000 more jobs lost. The report also noted the obvious—that the “oil and gas industry is an important contributor to the Canadian economy.”
The new Ontario Performance Centre officially has a home as Row Ontario announced on Friday that the City of Welland submitted a winning bid to become the host.
Welland will become the home of all Row Ontario proprietary events, as well as the Ontario Performance Centre, which includes the new Ontario Academy of Rowing. According to a statement Welland had all the facilities and benefits Row Ontario was looking for in a host.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced yesterday that beginning Friday, the majority of the province’s businesses will be permitted to reopen as the province transitions to Stage 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan.
Unfortunately Niagara and the Greater Golden Horseshoe were not included in the announcement and will remain at Stage 2 at this time. No doubt Niagara business owners will be frustrated with another delay in proceeding to the next stage. Lambton and the Windsor-Essex public health units are also remaining in Stage 2
Premier Ford joined Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) president Dan Kelly recently to launch the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s (CFIB’s) new #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign in Ontario to encourage local shopping and amplify the actions of other organizations supporting local businesses through COVID-19 recovery.
The Premier and Dan Kelly were joined for the Ontario campaign launch at Tre Rose Bakery in Etobicoke by Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Toronto councillor Michael Ford.
Enbridge Inc. says 800 employees have voluntarily left the company, allowing it to avoid layoffs as it cuts costs to counter impacts from COVID-19 and lower global oil prices.
The Calgary-based pipeline company announced in May it would defer $1 billion in capital spending this year and reduce costs by $300 million through measures including salary cuts and voluntary staff reductions.
With Niagara residents enduring weeks of COVID-19 related lockdowns and isolation, many are wondering if they will see their favourite hockey player shoot a puck or watch their team raise the beloved Stanley Cup over their heads.
Since March 12, the NHL placed its season on hold just as leagues across the world began to respond to the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic. So far, no return date has been announced by governmental authorities or the NHL.
The Niagara Independent has learned that the Region’s Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mustafa Hirji has recommended to the Provincial Medial Officer of Health Dr. David Williams that Niagara proceed to Stage 2 reopening.
In his letter Dr. Hirji says, “I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had to speak with you and understand the data and process with which the province is using to make evidence-informed decisions on moving public health regions to Stage 2 of reopening, as well as the opportunity to provide my contextual, local perspective. In follow up to those conversations, I’d like to restate the local data and context, and articulate why I believe it indicates that Niagara is ready to proceed to Stage 2.”
There will be no fall season for Brock Badgers student-athletes to compete in this year.
Earlier this week, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the cancellation of its sport programming and championships up until Dec. 31, 2020 based on provincial public health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar announcements were made by other provincial governing bodies across the country Monday, and U SPORTS announced that all fall national championships were also cancelled.
Innovate Niagara has been selected to help deliver Digital Main Street programming across the province. As part of a $57-million investment announced today by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) and the Province of Ontario, Innovate Niagara will work with its regional innovation partners Communitech, WEtech Alliance, TechAlliance, Innovation Guelph, Innovation Factory, […]
For the last three months, parents of school age children have been patiently awaiting details and instructions on what a return to school in September will look like. Understanding that many government agencies, health professionals and private sector companies have been working around the clock in order to cobble together a plan that balances the safety of families with continuing education, formalizing a vision for what a regular school day will look like, one with working parents, that addresses school bus pickup, classroom learning and a return home from school, is what parents are really counting on.
Saturday marked the 76th anniversary of D-Day, when over 150,000 Allied troops — including 14,000 Canadians — successfully stormed the beaches of Normandy and kicked off Operation Overlord. Often considered “the beginning of the end” of the war in Europe, the battle earned Allied forces an all-important foothold on the continent and eventually culminated in the liberation of France. The capture of Juno Beach — and the subsequent push inland that saw the 3rd Infantry Division seize more territory than any other landing force at Normandy — is one of the shining moments in Canadian military history.
St. Catharines City Councillor Mat Siscoe introduced a motion at its Wednesday Council meeting calling on the Niagara Region and the Police Services Board to immediately begin implementing body cameras for Niagara’s front line police officers.
Hilary Pearson, a recognized Canadian leader in philanthropy and community engagement, will become Brock University’s new Chancellor this fall the University announced yesterday.
University President and Vice-Chancellor Gervan Fearon, said Pearson accepted the invitation to serve a three-year term after her nomination was unanimously endorsed by Brock’s Senate, following a comprehensive nominating process.
While Niagara and the rest of Ontario look to return to normal, signs that the general public must continue to deal with the effects of COVID-19 remain apparent.
On Monday, Niagara Region’s Public Health department confirmed a COVID-19 workplace outbreak at Pioneer Flower Farms in St. Catharines. 20 employees are confirmed to have the novel coronavirus and like other outbreaks discovered in Niagara, the Public Health department is facilitating testing of other employees who have symptoms or are at increased risk. It is unknown where the original employee was infected. The greenhouse was devastated back in August 2019 by a fire that ripped through the facility.
The Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal said earlier this week that their fiscal quarter profit was cut in half. Both banks were forced to set aside huge amounts of money to possible loan losses due to COVID-19’s impact on the Canadian economy.
The Ontario government is quickly moving forward with innovative research to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19. These projects, part of the government’s $20 million Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund, focus on areas of research such as vaccine development, diagnostics, drug trials and development, and social sciences. Additionally, Ontario is leading the country with 22 clinical trials investigating COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Softball Canada, in consultation with the 2021 Canada Games Host Society and the Provincial/Territorial Softball Organizations, has made the decision to cancel both the U14 and U16 Boys Canadian Fast Pitch Championships that were scheduled to take place from August 5 to 9, 2020 at Southward Park in Grimsby and at Jordan Lions Park in Lincoln.
Niagara’s elementary and high school students won’t be heading back to the classroom. On Tuesday, the provincial government confirmed that Ontario’s schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year.
The closures include public and private schools, licensed child care centres and EarlyON programs. The province said it is expecting a gradual reopening of child care services once public health indicators permit Ontario to transition to Stage 2 of its overall reopening framework. Emergency child care will continue to operate and provide support for health care and other frontline workers.
Congratulating a colleague, sealing a business deal, or concluding a round of golf: we have all shaken hands at some point in our lives.
But why — with a world of possible gestures and forms of physical contact — do we, particularly in the West, feel the need to clasp palms with everyone from close companions to strangers on the street?
Throughout the last few months, doctors, epidemiologists, mathematicians and everyone in between have started to advance graphs and formulas to try to explain where COIVD-19 spread has been, is currently and where it’s going. There have been thousands of online debates about which measure is the best measure to determine which country has had the most success or the least success in dealing with COVID-19.
COVID-19 has hit hard. Businesses shutdown, people have lost their jobs and are sitting at home waiting for the day they can restart their business and/or go back to work. Starting just last weekend across Niagara and the province, hardware and safety supply stores were allowed to open to the general public to shop, with safety measures laid out by the Government of Ontario.
Lynn Wells, an accomplished scholar and academic leader, will be Brock University’s new Provost and Vice-President Academic, effective July 1, 2020.
Brock President Gervan Fearon made the announcement Monday, May 11, welcoming the scholar and researcher to Niagara. Wells is currently the Associate Vice-President, Students and Teaching at MacEwan University in Edmonton, and previously served as the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and Acting President at the First Nations University of Canada, in Regina. She has many years experience as a professor, teacher and researcher in the Department of English, including scholarly work in contemporary British fiction.
On Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that all retail stores with a street entrance will be permitted to provide curbside pickup and delivery, as well as in-store payment and purchases at garden centres, nurseries, hardware stores and safety supply stores.
On Wednesday and in response to an emergency order issued by the provincial government, Niagara Health is taking new action to further support Niagara’s long-term care and retirement homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New measures include clinical consultation, supporting retirement and long-term care home staffing needs and assistance in managing outbreaks to help stabilize care and the environment for residents and staff.
Instead of a hard date many had expected, Premier Ford along with several key ministers outlined criteria that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts will use as a basis to begin a staged reopening of Ontario.
Despite lacking a first round pick (thanks to a blockbuster trade up for top-tier receiver Stefon Diggs), the Buffalo Bills managed to turn in a solid scorecard for this year’s NFL draft.
With the 54th overall selection, Buffalo nabbed 21-year-old defensive end out of Iowa, A.J. Epenesa. Standing 6’ 5”, weighing 280 lb., the former Hawkeye is massive. What he lacks in flash and burst, he makes up for in power and rush versatility.
Businesses have been particularly hard hit from the widespread COVID-19 pandemic and are continuing to work closely with various levels of government to address the challenges of today and what an economic recovery could look like.
The Brock Badgers didn’t let the cancellation of their annual awards gala stop them from celebrating their student-athletes.
The Badgers took to social media to hold a virtual gala, hosted by Matt Bonomi of Brock TV, in order to recognize and pay tribute to Brock’s outstanding 2019-20 season.
Niagara Health declared an outbreak of COVID-19 on inpatient Unit 4A at the St. Catharines Hospital Site on Tuesday after one of their healthcare workers tested positive for the virus.
The outbreak, which is on the unit that is dedicated for caring for COVID-19 patients, was declared after an investigation determined the case was healthcare-associated. The involved staff member is at home and currently self-isolating. Niagara Health along with Niagara Regional Public Health has said they will continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust their measures as required to ensure everyone’s safety.
The Niagara region continues to try and flatten the curve of the rising number of cases of COVID-19. As of last night there were a total of 189 cases in Niagara with 10 new cases reported on Thursday and 18 new cases reported on Wednesday. A total of 66 cases have been resolved and 10 people have died in Niagara as a result of the virus according to Niagara’s Public Health Department. There are more than 5,200 cases across Ontario and 174 deaths.
At the end of last month, a Twitter thread about a locally invented snack went viral.
The series of tweets, posted by former Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon staff writer Sage Boggs, revealed the fascinating history of the word “Triscuit”.
In early March, Ontario’s Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Prabmeet Sarkaria, formally announced the launch of a province-wide consultation to determine how the government can best help small businesses thrive and compete, both now and into the future.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect residents in Hamilton and Niagara, the Niagara Independent is committing to sharing up to date local information.
As of midnight Monday there were a total of 149 confirmed cases in Niagara with 33 of those cases being resolved and six deaths. Niagara Health has tested more than 2,200 people for the COVID-19 virus. There were 13 new cases on Monday.
Athletic events have all but disappeared amidst the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, leaving fans, players, coaches, and multi-billion dollar operations in limbo.
Will there be a return to relative normalcy any time soon? Or will sporting in Canada and the United States remain on indefinite hiatus for the foreseeable future?
Niagara continues to wrestle with escalating cases of COVID-19 including outbreaks being declared at four Niagara long-term care homes. As of midnight yesterday, there were 21 new cases reported bringing the total number of infected Niagara residents to 82 (67 active cases). Four Niagara residents have died as a result of the virus.
While the City of St. Catharines tops Niagara’s list of highest paid chief administrative officers, the 2019 Ontario Sunshine List no longer includes its former CAO, Dan Carnegie who had continued to be paid despite his retirement in June of 2017.
The 2017 Ontario Sunshine List shows Carnegie collected $239,388 that year and $214,978 in 2018. Both the 2017 and 2018 records indicate that Carnegie was employed by St. Catharines as its chief administrative officer.
As the number of Niagara residents testing positive for COVID-19 continues to rise (as of last night there were 34 cases in Niagara with six resolved) local businesses and organizations have been stepping up to help in the fight of flattening the curve of transmissions. While on-campus classes have shut down at Niagara’s two post-secondary institutions, Brock and Niagara College, have joined others in refocusing their efforts to make critically needed supplies and help in other aspects as well.
Brock has made available supplies of gloves, masks and chemicals to Niagara Public Health, and researchers are also discussing ways to use the University’s Level 3 containment laboratory (CL3).
Both leaders and front-line workers employed in Niagara’s emergency services sector were well represented on this year’s Ontario Sunshine list.
The Niagara Independent would like to give a heart-felt thank you to all those serving in Niagara’s emergency services. The Independent recognizes your heroic contributions to the Niagara community in keeping our communities safe, particularly during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the dark times in Ontario, the province’s Sunshine List was recently released. The annual list of public sector employees making more than $100,000 per year is normally a topic of interest.
The top five earners in Niagara were all from Niagara’s post-secondary institutions and Niagara Health collectively earning $1,748,194.65.
In the last few weeks, an understandable, yet strange, crossing of political divides has more and more frequently appeared in Canadian politics. This has taken the form of partisans on both sides of the political aisle handing out praise to otherwise mortal political enemies.
Looking to build on last year’s 10-6 playoff-worthy season, the Buffalo Bills made some major moves recently.
Perhaps the most notable acquisition saw the Bills trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings. The Bills gave up their 2020 first, fifth and sixth round draft picks and a fourth in 2021 in the exchange. Diggs, who boasts 30 career touchdowns and is coming off of two consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, will help beef up a lacklustre Bills receiving corps that ranked 26th in passing last season.
Effective today at 11:59 p.m. all Ontario businesses not deemed to be essential are being ordered to close up shop. The Ontario Government announced the decision yesterday in order to help further contain the spread of COVID-19.
Janice Thomson has stopped using the word “unprecedented”. The CEO of Niagara Falls Tourism has heard it too many times but she admits it’s hard to find another word to describe what has happened in Niagara, across Canada and around the world as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomson herself is in day six of self-quarantine after returning to Canada from a vacation abroad. She continues to work from home, speaking with tourism leaders and monitoring the situation on a daily basis. “The world has changed. Who would have ever expected something like this?”
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, so does the actions taken by local health agencies and organizations across Niagara and Hamilton.
Niagara Health has indicated they will no longer be accepting patient visitors as part of their ongoing efforts to maintain a safe environment. To assist the public’s ability to keep in contact with loved ones, Niagara Health has provided all patients with free Wi-Fi, telephone and television service. Though case-by-case exceptions may be made, Niagara Health expects these restrictions to be in place for the next several weeks.
Ontario Hockey League Commissioner David Branch announced on Wednesday that the 2019-20 OHL regular season is done.
Following a meeting with the OHL Board of Governors and consultation with medical professionals, it was determined that the remaining 56 games of the 2019-20 OHL Regular Season schedule will not played.
A number of municipalities across Niagara have closed public facilities and/or limiting or stopping services. This information will be updated regularly.
The City of Niagara Falls has made the decision to activate a full closure of all City facilities to the public, including City Hall. Effective at 4:30 pm yesterday, all City buildings are closed and remain closed to the public until further notice. The city said it anticipates the closures to last for at least two weeks.
Information regarding the global pandemic of COVID-19 changes hourly. Traditional news articles are out of date as fast as the media can produce them. As such, this ‘article’ will provide some of the more prevalent recent news and notes at a glance from around Ontario and Canada.
Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Services are investigating a third confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region. A 47-year-old male with a travel history to Europe tested positive yesterday.
According to Niagara’s Public Health Department, the patient is recovering at home in self-isolation and has interacted only with his immediate family during the time he may have been contagious, and has not exposed anyone in the community. Officials said all protocols were followed by health care providers resulting in no exposure of themselves nor other patients.
The last several days has seen a flurry of activity with local health and community agencies responding to the developing COVID-19 situation.
Niagara Health announced Monday that they are postponing elective procedures as part of that response. To protect patient safety and to increase capacity for healthcare workers, the Ontario government has requested that all hospitals ramp down elective surgeries and other non-emergent clinical activity.
While there’s no doubt things are changing around the world at a rapid pace as a result of the continuing spread of COVID-19 things remain business as usual at Niagara’s hospitals.
In an interview with The Niagara Independent Dr. Johan Viljoen Niagara Health’s Chief of Staff said they’ve been meeting and planning around the infectious disease since January. “We started in mid-to-late January when it was obvious it was going to be a when and not if situation,” explained Dr. Viljoen.
With few exceptions, Niagara homeowners didn’t fare that well in 2020 when it came to property tax increases.
As a benchmark, the rate of inflation over the past year was approximately 2.2%.
Grimsby’s final 2020 budget is set after Town Council approved a 13.4% tax increase for Grimsby homeowners on Monday, after being reduced from a proposed 16.7%.
The increase will result in an additional $137 in local taxes and when combined with the regional and education levies, an average Grimsby home valued at $443,686 will see an increase of $317.
Recent events demonstrate that Canada must urgently find common ground on how to balance climate policy with a commitment to support economic growth. Canadian businesses understand the serious need to address climate change and we urge you to use the upcoming federal budget as an opportunity to find a balance with our economic development.
The role of business is greater than just creating and providing the goods and services that people use. Business matters for other reasons: We invent. We innovate. We invest. We build wealth and, yes, we create the jobs that allow us to provide for ourselves and our families. We contribute to building strong communities and to addressing social problems, including climate change.
It has been a turbulent two weeks or so for Niagara Falls City Councillor Carolynn Ioannoni.
City Council has stripped Ioannoni of 90 days pay and she’s been removed from the boards and committees for the duration of this term after the City’s Integrity Commissioner had found she had broken the confidentiality provisions of the Councillor Code of Conduct. This is the maximum penalty a Council is permitted to place on a Councillor.
Ioannoni now wants a public apology from City Council and a reversal of punishment.
The past week has highlighted a significant divide on Grimsby’s Town Council over their support of their CAO, Harry Schlange. Schlange has been with the Town for just 5 months.
Last week, Mayor Jeff Jordan placed Schlange on administrative leave and scheduled a special council meeting to deal with the matter. A majority of councillors did not attend the meeting despite confirming their availability earlier that day. It is not known what prompted the Mayor to place Schlange on leave.
The Brock Badgers wrestling team will be aiming for its seventh-straight national title as it hosts the U SPORTS Wrestling Championships at Brock University Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22.
Both the men’s and women’s teams head into the championships ranked No. 1 in the country, having recently won their fifth and sixth-consecutive provincial titles, respectively, in dominating fashion.
On Monday, the provincial and federal governments announced $2.0 million for the new Marketing and Vineyard Improvement Program (MVIP) that will help vineyards across Ontario face new and emerging industry challenges. The announcement was made by Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Sam Oosterhoff, Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara West and Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines.
The program, which will begin accepting applications on March 5, 2020 and delivered through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, will provide industry support to grape growers by helping vineyards in Ontario adapt to ongoing and emerging growing challenges. Through a cost-sharing funding, the program will assist vineyards in implementing new technologies to supply high-quality grapes to Ontario’s wine producers.
At the end of last month, Niagara’s NDP MPPs held a press conference in Niagara Falls to address the shortage of long-term care beds in the city and region at large.
According to The Standard, “…the Ontario NDP reported no new long-term care beds were created in Niagara Falls from 2014 through 2019.” While accurate, the irony of the statement seemingly escaped the representative from Niagara Falls: Wayne Gates.
There will be a Brock Badger on the field when 20 international soccer teams clash at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic from Feb. 22 to March 8.
Brock midfielder Arnelle Douglas, a second-year Humanities student from Bowmanville, was recently named to the Trinidad & Tobago U20 squad that will compete for a chance to qualify for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in August.
The essence of family was on full display during Seniors Night at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Brock men’s and women’s basketball teams celebrated their senior players with a pair of wins. The men beat the York Lions 94-81 in front of a sold-out crowd while the women defeated York 73-55..
The Badgers men honoured senior players Tyler Brown and Mitch Saunders, including Operations Coordinator William Gatchalian, during a pre-game ceremony prior to tip off.
Bayshore Groups arrived in St. Catharines in 2014 to great fanfare. They purchased the former General Motors plant on Ontario Street for $12.5 million. Residents and local politicians at the time were thrilled thinking the plant would finally be demolished, cleaned up and sold to a developer who would bring the property back to life. It didn’t quite turn out that way.
At this week’s St. Catharines city council meeting, Coun. Karrie Porter brought forward a motion to take action on cleaning up the site after residents told council loud and clear that they’ve had enough of the eyesore and safety hazard.
The Monday, January 20 meeting of Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council saw an increase in municipal taxes of 8.62% representing $92 more for the average NOTL urban homeowner.
According to the Town, the significant increase was largely due to legal fees, staff salaries, a transfer to the capital reserve and flood mitigation. Council opted to transfer $650,000 from the parking reserve to the operating expenses on a one-time basis to mitigate the increase in taxes. This transfer is not expected to continue in future years and will need to be accommodated for in next year’s budget.
A number of Niagara’s cities and towns recently received a financial shot in the arm from the province. Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff announced nearly $10 million in funding for 11 of the region’s municipalities.
The Ontario government has allocated $200 million through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) to 424 small, rural and northern communities across the province. The funding is designated for core infrastructure projects, including building and repairing roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure.
Last night before the Region’s monthly council meeting, a special meeting was held to discuss a few items, one of which was the selection of Niagara’s next Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). While many councillors were eager to get on with the process they also had many questions and suggestions for the CAO recruitment policy that was tabled for their review.
In the end council voted to send it back to staff stalling the search for the Region’s next CAO.
Brock University Business students now have the opportunity to study and work in the United Kingdom thanks to a new partnership with Lancaster University.
The agreement allows students from the Goodman School of Business to study at the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) as part of Goodman’s Bachelor of Business Administration Co-op International Double Degree program.
Niagara College has tapped one of its own to become just the sixth President since post secondary institution was founded in Welland more than half a century ago.
The College’s Board of Governors announced late last week the selection of Sean Kennedy as Niagara College’s new president after beginning its search back in July 2019.
When word got out last week that drumming legend Neil Peart passed away at age 67, fans across Canada — and indeed the world — were equally surprised and saddened.
Peart kept news of his terminal brain cancer under wraps for the better part of three and a half years. Most people had no idea he was even ill.
Despite almost being snipped from the budget by Niagara Regional Council, the Niagara Region’s Smarter Niagara Investment Program (SNIP) was maintained thanks to passionate please from regional councillors whose communities have benefited greatly from the incentive.
The Smarter Niagara Investment Program at its core supports local municipalities in offering incentives to local businesses in order to attract new development or significant improvements to existing buildings. Investments made into façade improvements in downtown communities for example have brought public benefit via improved streetscaping and rising property values. The program also helps entice new developments that in the long run increase tax revenues.
Tuesday, February 18 will be the first day on the job for Niagara Health’s new president Lynn Guerriero. Following a national search, Guerriero’s appointment was unanimous by the board that in a media release citied her, “unique set of skills, passion and vision for high-quality healthcare in Niagara” as making her the right choice.
Guerriero has more than three decades of leadership, management and clinical experience within a variety of healthcare settings, including multi-site acute care, rehabilitation and community care. She also has extensive senior leadership experience providing hands-on implementation and oversight of provincial programs, agencies and sectors of the health system.
When the Brock Badgers women’s basketball team return from the holiday break to start the 2020 portion of their season, their first home game of the new year will be the latest edition of the Paint the Meridian Red game back at the Meridian Centre on Saturday, Jan. 11.
The team has come a long way in the past two years. Brock’s women’s basketball team headed into the holiday break riding a six-game winning streak. Their 9-1 record has them ranked first in the OUA Central division and No. 9 in the nation.
Good news over the holidays for the residents of west Niagara as the province has approved stage two functional program funding for the redevelopment of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH) in Grimsby.
Local MPP Sam Oosterhoff announced the Ford government has issued approval for Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) to proceed to stage two of the Functional Program for the local West Niagara hospital.
With the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve and Christmas day now in the rear view mirror, the world’s most famous address gears up for its annual New Year ’s Eve bash.
Niagara Falls will once again countdown to the New Year at Queen Victoria Park in style as thousands are expected to fill the grounds in front of the large stage that will see Canadian rocker Bryan Adams headline with opening acts Juno Award winning, multi-platinum musical phenomenon Walk Off the Earth and rising pop-star, Niagara Falls’ own Valerie .
Christmas came early to Niagara College’s School of Business as a gift from RBC Foundation will enhance opportunities for students while helping small- and medium-sized enterprises increase productivity.
RBC Foundation announced earlier this week a $150,000 – pledged over a three-year period – to support NC’s Productivity Innovation Lab (PiLab). The gift was funded through RBC’s Future Launch, a 10-year $500-million commitment to help Canadian youth prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.
Residents in Niagara will see a sharp increase in the amount of taxes they will be paying next year as the Regional government passed its 2020 budget last Thursday night. The increases include a 5.92 per cent overall property tax increase, a 5.15 per cent hike on the water and waste water tax bill as well as a 9.9 per cent increase for waste management services despite a reduction in waste management services. It’s the largest tax increase in at least a decade.
For the average property assessed at $277,044, the Regional portion of the tax bill will increase by $86, totalling $1,602 in 2020 according to staff. This does not include local municipal taxes which will increase as well with the exception of Welland which is looking at a tax decrease for 2020.
After learning they’ll soon be hit with the highest tax increase in a decade from the Region, residents of the Rose City got welcome financial relief from their own municipality recently as Welland City Council has approved a tax rate decrease.
In fact, Welland council lead by Mayor Frank Campion has managed a decrease in city taxes while at the same time budgeting for a record $62 million in capital spending for 2020. Welland City Council approved the municipal 2020 tax-supported Capital and Operating Budgets on Dec. 10, 2019. The budget process took two-months and included budget deliberations and a public engagement campaign.
Around midday yesterday Andrew Scheer shocked many around the country when he resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
“This was the most difficult decision I have ever had to make”, Scheer said. “I have announced my intention to step down as the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada once a new Leader is elected. I am putting my party first and my family first.”
Those renting their apartments, condos or homes in Niagara could be in for a rude awakening given the sharp tax increase by the Region coupled with their local municipal tax increase (with the exception of Welland whose council passed a tax decrease this week). Region and municipal property tax increases should be a concern for renters because any tax increase more than 3.3 % allows the landlord to appeal for a rent increase above and beyond the 2.2% provincial guideline.
The Region has raised property taxes 5.85% on 44% of the tax bill, St. Catharines for example looks like its taxes will increase 3.65% on 44% of your tax bill (St. Catharines is set to vote on its budget Monday Dec. 16). The school boards make up the remaining 12%.
Niagara Region’s waste collection woes just keep getting worse.
Earlier this fall, the Region decided to reduce services to the public by moving to every other week garbage pickup, reducing some bag limits and discontinuing some services. Despite a reduction in service – under the guise of ‘cost-saving’ efforts – waste management costs are actually set to increase by 10% each year for the next three years.
The Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games announced yesterday that Ontario-based Aquicon Construction has been awarded the contract to build two of the key legacy projects for the Games – Canada Games Park and the Henley Rowing Centre. Construction will begin immediately for the Canada Games Park project that will host a number of different athletic events for the Games in 2021.
“This is yet another significant milestone in our preparation for the Games,” explained Doug Hamilton, Chair of the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society. “We look forward to working with Aquicon to develop facilities that will not only greatly enhance the 2021 Canada Games, but will also leave a critical legacy for many years after the Games.”
Yesterday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that they will work collaboratively to develop new energy producing technology. Canada’s provincial leaders are currently gathered in Mississauga for meetings.
“Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick agreed today to work together to explore new, cutting-edge technology in nuclear power generation to provide carbon-free, affordable, reliable, and safe energy, while helping us unlock economic potential across Canada, including rural and remote regions,” read the statement released by the three premiers.
The long awaited report into the hiring of former Niagara Region CAO Carmen D’Angelo was released late last week by the Ontario Ombudsman, Paul Dube. The 74-page report provides detailed information on the Ombudsman’s investigative process, background information and 16 recommendations to council moving forward.
“The Regional Municipality of Niagara’s 2016 CAO hiring process was an inside job, tainted by the improper disclosure of confidential information to a candidate – a candidate who was ultimately successful and became the region’s most senior administrator,” said Mr. Dubé in his report.
On paper the Brock Badgers men’s rugby team were the No. 8 seed coming into the national finals tournament but they played like a much higher ranked team on the field. After dropping the first game to No. 1 ranked UBC, the Badgers powered their way past Guelph in the consolation semifinals and then flexed their durability against McGill.
“This win means a lot to us, we play as a family, we are brothers win or lose,” said senior Victory Eichie, about the McGill victory. Eichie was named the Man of the Match. “Coming from one of our worst seasons last year to one of our best this year is surreal, we owe it all the coaching staff, the athletic therapists holding us together and the strength and conditioning staff. We play a game with 15 players on the field, but our success this year took more than 50 individuals.”
The curling season has begun in Niagara and local curlers have had some early success in provincial competitions.
Last weekend the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club hosted one of two regional playoffs for the Under 21 Ontario Curling Championships. At stake were three men’s and three women’s spots in the Provincial U21 championships to be held just after Christmas in Guelph. Those championships will see just eight men’s and eight women’s teams qualify for a four-day championship bonspiel.
The Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games has announced that local athletic wear company RegattaSport, will be the official licensed merchandising partner. Founded in 1988 and located in St. Catharines, RegattaSport is well known to the local rowing community for providing athletic wear and regatta merchandise.
In a statement, Games’ Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Steve Katzman said, “The RFP process canvassed previous Games’ suppliers, in addition to suppliers from across Canada and Niagara. In the end, the proposal from RegattaSport embodied the logistics as well as the spirit we were looking for; they checked all the boxes. RegattaSport has an outstanding reputation for providing quality athletic merchandise, as evidenced by the fact that their founders are former world class rowers; and so they have a clear understanding of the importance of athletics and what these Games will mean to Niagara.”
The billion dollar development project planned for south Niagara Falls that has faced tiresome opposition from a loud handful of environmentalists, is still moving forward said that city’s mayor Jim Diodati.
Niagara College (NC) is celebrating two decades of applied research activity this year. To add to the milestone celebrations a recent report put the college atop a list of 50 other colleges across Canada when it comes to research.
In its annual report “Top 50 Research Colleges,” Research Infosource Inc. announced that Niagara College has secured the number one ranking in the country, based on total research funding numbers for 2018. In fact, this represents the fifth year in a row the College has made the Top 10.
With any national or international sporting event one of the highlights leading up to the opening ceremonies and competition is the unveiling of the event’s mascot. This past Sunday the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games had a national stage to show the country who will be the fun face of the Games. Meet Shelly.
Shelly took the stage of Rogers Hometown Hockey with boundless energy and was greeted by smiles and thunderous applause. The giant green turtle decked out in white Games athletic wear immediately began to energize the crowd.
Rob Nicholson has served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Niagara Falls for nearly a quarter of a century. Nicholson decided to retire this year and did not seek re-election paving the way for his former aide Tony Baldnelli to run in the riding which now encompasses Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie. Baldinelli held onto the seat for the Conservatives and was one of many speakers at a retirement dinner held last Saturday to honour Nicholson’s long and distinguished career in federal politics.
Debi Pratt started keeping a scrapbook during her first days with Inniskillin Wines, then Vincor and Constellation Brands. It will come in handy as reference material for when Pratt writes her acceptance speech, one she will deliver this Friday night when she is presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for her four decades of leading public relations and marketing not only for the winery that employed her but Niagara’s wine industry as a whole.
A fifth generation member of the Walker family has been appointed to take over the helm of Walker Industries, a company that has operated in the Niagara region for more than 130 years.
Walker’s board of directors has named Geordie Walker as President and CEO of the Niagara-based company, effective immediately. He takes over the position from John Fisher, who will remain with the firm through the end of 2019 to provide support and continuity. The leadership transition comes as a result of Mr. Fisher’s long-planned retirement.
The two semi-final senior boys’ football matchups couldn’t have played out any differently. The end result however is a one game showdown for the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 championship this Friday between powerhouse A.N. Myer Marauders of Niagara Falls and the determined, hard working Winston Churchill Bulldogs of St. Catharines.
There’s no question the Bulldogs are the underdogs heading into Friday night’s game under the lights at Myer. Head-to-head the Marauders have outscored the Bulldogs 76-12 in the two games the teams played against each other this season. The Bulldogs went 2-4 on the season while the Marauders went a perfect 6-0.
The high winds that battered Niagara communities did some significant damage over the weekend. In fact, at time of publication there were still about 30 homes without power in south Niagara. Port Colborne and Fort Erie were hardest hit by the storm and many properties suffered significant damage.
Larry Vaughan, president of Ground Aerial Maintenance Services Ltd. said his crews have been working around the clock with other utility companies to restore power as fast as possible. Vaughan’s team were first called out around 10 p.m. Thursday night. He said there were a large number of uprooted trees, broken hydro lines and hydro poles snapped in half. Between the various crews there have been about 80 workers running around the clock. By law, in an emergency situation crews can only work a maximum of 16 hours in a row before having to take eight hours off.
Distracted drivers speeding past stopped school buses is becoming an increasing concern for parents of school-aged children across Niagara and cameras attached to the stop sign arm on the bus is what they recommend.
The Ontario School Bus Association estimates approximately 18,000 school buses travel two million kilometers in Ontario every school day.
There were some shocking upsets of long-time MPs in last night’s federal election, like Conservative Lisa Raitt and Liberal Ralph Goodale but here in Niagara nothing changed.
While there is a new face in the riding of Niagara Falls (includes Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie) in Conservative Tony Baldinelli who ran and won in place of retired MP Rob Nicholson, the rest of the federal faces stayed the same. Liberals Chris Bittle and Vance Badawey will return to Ottawa along with Conservative Dean Allison. For those keeping score Niagara is split with two Liberals and two Conservatives representing the region on parliament hill.
With a week to go in the federal election, the top news surrounds the national surge in the standing of the NDP. A look at the major pollsters shows that this is a trend occurring in Ontario too.
Looking at the CBC Poll tracker, an aggregation of polling results of the major Canadian pollsters, it showed that the NDP stood at 12.5% nationally on October 1st, ahead of the only English language leaders debate and the French language debate. In those debates, most pundits believed that NDP leader Jagmeet Singh won the day appearing more genuine, relaxed and reasonable to many Canadian onlookers. As of October 14, the NDP on the poll tracker had climbed to 16.7% with the Liberals at 31.7% and the Conservatives at 32.4%.
Earlier this week the province announced an additional investment of up to $2 million to support Hamilton Health Sciences with upgrades and renovations at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby so that all services can return to full capacity as quickly as possible. This investment is in addition to the $8.5 million in provincial funding provided to the hospital in November of last year. The government says it is committed to the redevelopment of the west Niagara hospital.
“This is a very important day for patients and families in the West Niagara region,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West. “Once renovations are completed, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital will have greater capacity to provide patients and families with access to care in a space that can better meet the needs of a growing community, until the new hospital is built.”
More than 170 unique artisans, crafters, local farmers, and talented musicians from across the country will once again descend upon Ball’s Falls Conservation Area this long weekend, for the 45th Annual Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival.
“We are thrilled to offer this family tradition for the 45th year in a row, where guests can experience culture, history, and fall harvest fun all in one unique place,” says Alicia Powell, Acting Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. “The Festival has something for everyone; from live entertainment and local craft beer and wine, to family-friendly activities, historical tours, a farmers market, and unique craft vendors with one-of-a-kind products.”
Niagara’s hoteliers and tourism operators are once again giving back to the community as reservations for the always hotly anticipated annual Sleep Cheap Charities Reap event can be made starting tomorrow, Oct. 9 beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Sleep Cheap will once again run for five nights this year beginning Sunday Nov. 10 running up to and including Thursday Nov. 14, 2019. Many of Niagara’s finest hotels will offer rooms only to Niagara residents during the event. Minimum donations for rooms remain the same as last year: $35 per night for a standard room, $45 for a Fallsview room, $65 for a whirlpool room, and $85 for a room with access to a waterpark. The new Municipal Accommodation Tax of $2 per night will apply. 2019 Sleep Cheap hotels are listed online at sleepcheapcharitiesreap.com.
Niagara Falls will host the nation’s hockey leaders next summer.
The Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf is heading to the most famous address in the world to host the 17th edition of the annual event, June 15-16, 2020 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre and Legends on the Niagara golf course. Doug Goss, chair of the Hockey Canada Foundation, announced the organization’s single largest annual fundraiser was returning to Ontario at a news conference Tuesday at Fallsview Casino Resort.
It’s a sure sign that the holiday season is fast approaching. During a visit to Niagara Parks yesterday, the Honourable Lisa MacLeod, the province’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport announced $250,000 in funding for the OPG Winter Festival of Lights through the Celebrate Ontario program administered by the Government of Ontario.
The announcement was made overlooking the Canadian Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Parks’ Table Rock Centre and featured remarks by Niagara Parks Chair Sandie Bellows, Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff and Minister MacLeod.
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) recently announced the launch of the Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) in Niagara. Winner of the 2018 Ontario Export Award for Export Excellence, TAP will debut locally on November 18th with an intensive two-day workshop to orient participating companies to the program.
Operated in partnership with the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s World Trade Centre Toronto, TAP is an innovative, dynamic workshop that provides companies with access to Canada’s top exporting advisors, resources and contacts, giving them the training and support they need to scale up, develop and execute an export plan.
What was supposed to be the wrap up to another festival celebrating Niagara’s grape growing and wine making industry turned tragic as six people, four males and two females were shot in downtown St. Catharines early Sunday morning. All six were transported to a local hospital. Two of the victims sustained more serious injuries and were later transported to an out of town trauma centre.
The incident has rocked the downtown core as police try and get answers to numerous questions. Niagara Regional Police (NRP) believe that the violence occurred following an argument between the two suspects outside of Karma Lounge located at 55 St. Paul Street at William Street.
Clearly both Liberal and Conservative party strategists think Niagara’s seats are in play at least at this point of the 2019 federal election campaign. Both parties sent their respective Leaders Justin Trudeau for the Liberals and Andrew Scheer for the Conservatives to Niagara ridings yesterday. The response from supporters however was drastically different.
In St. Catharines, Scheer visited supporters at the Cat’s Caboose restaurant at the bottom of Glendridge Avenue. It’s the second time that the party leader has been in St. Catharines to support local candidate Krystina Waler, a clear sign that the Conservatives have marked the St. Catharines riding as winnable. The riding is currently held by Liberal MP Chris Bittle. While many Liberal candidates have tried to distance themselves from Trudeau, Bittle has been a staunch supporter of his Leader.
The City of Welland, population 52,000, recently opened its fifth Industrial Park. It is located in the north end of the city on River Road and Downs Drive and has quick and easy access to Highways 406 and 140. In 2018, Welland City Council declared the 38 acres of property as surplus land, had it rezoned to fall under the Gateway Economic Zone and Centre Community Improvement Plan, and began servicing the land to make it shovel-ready for investors.
In order to attract more development and help boost the local economy, Welland staff have created a more efficient development process by streamlining and expediting planning approvals. The city claims that this more efficient process is building successful relationships between the city’s Economic Development team and current investors and developers.
The Brock men’s soccer team defeated the nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders to remain undefeated on Saturday. Unfortunately for Brock they had to turn around and play the No. 4-ranked York Lions (3-0-1) on Sunday, a game they lost 3-0.
Brock upended No. 8 McMaster by a score of 4-2 at Brock Alumni Field, on Saturday improving to 2-0-2.
Niagara IceDogs’ General Manager Joey Burke pulled the trigger yesterday on what many fans speculate won’t be the only trade of the season that sees the Dogs in a rebuild mode.
Burke acquired four draft picks from the Peterborough Petes, three in 2021, in exchange for defenceman Jacob Paquette.
The Brock Badgers are once again set to hit the ice for the legendary Steel Blade Classic in downtown St. Catharines Friday, Sept. 13.
The 21st annual event returns to the Meridian Centre as the Badgers men’s hockey team takes on the Guelph Gryphons in a 7 p.m. start.
Niagara College is calling it a beginning of a new era for research and innovation in region’s agri-food industry, with the opening of their latest addition to its Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus.
Earlier this week, federal, provincial and regional representatives, community donors and industry partners joined staff and students to mark the official grand opening of the new Marotta Family Innovation Complex, which will not only enhance student learning opportunities, but will support the region’s agri-food and agri-business sector.
Niagara is on a roll when it comes to securing high-end sport competition. On the heels of hosting the Women’s U18 World Hockey Championships, the Scotties national women’s curling championships, Pan Am Games events, the U18 Americas Basketball Championships and of course the upcoming 2021 Canada Summer Games, St. Catharines can also add the World Rowing Championships to the impressive list.
The FISA Congress, held annually after the World Rowing Championships, voted yesterday to decide what cities will host upcoming World Rowing Championships. Delegates at the FISA Congress voted overwhelmingly in support of the St. Catharines bid which was competing with Linz, Austria – which just completed hosting the 2019 World Rowing Championships this past week.
There are plenty of things to see and do this long weekend in Niagara. While the Labour Day weekend use to signal the end of tourist season, the so-called “shoulder seasons” have become a thing of the past as tourist visit Niagara year-round. While those visiting Niagara from elsewhere will no doubt be taking in the sights and sounds of the more heavily marketed tourist attractions here are some unique events being held across the region that locals can enjoy.
Despite recent revelations of deep ties to biker gangs and a rare case of torture and abuse last year, St. Catharines—Niagara remains one of the safest urban areas to live in Canada, according to the latest data.
Last month, Statistics Canada released the results of its annual Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
It’s been a season of firsts for the Niagara River Lions.
After being the first team to register a Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) win, they were the first team to clinch a playoff spot. Now, they’re the first #1 seed in CEBL history, finishing the regular season with a 15-5 record.
For the first time in franchise history the Welland Jackfish have eliminated a team in the post season. Tuesday night saw the London Majors come to the rose city for the fifth and as it turned out final game of the opening series. Welland defeated London by a final score of 11-7 taking the series four games to one.
“It feels great, to win a series in our first year is terrific, however we’re not done yet,” said Jackfish manager Brian Essery. “We just have to continue to play our game. Pitching, defence and team speed. It is certainly positive the way our bats have come around at the right time.”
Niagara’s tiniest patients will have care closer to home thanks to the addition of five new beds in Niagara Health’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
According to Niagara Health officials the NICU can now care for sicker babies after the organization received provincial government support for the beds, supporting resources and equipment. The unit, at Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site, will be able to provide care to infants with more complex health problems, including: premature babies born at 30 weeks gestation or more (previously it was 32 weeks or more); babies requiring ventilation; and babies needing advanced intravenous therapy.
Premier Doug Ford was in Niagara this afternoon making an announcement at a Home Hardware store in Pelham. While the announcement, a road improvement project, is no doubt important to local residents, it was Ford’s comments in response to a question by The Niagara Independent regarding Canada Summer Games funding that perked up many ears.
The numbers are staggering. According to a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, the average Canadian family spent more than 44 per cent of its income on taxes in 2018, more than housing, food and clothing costs combined. “Taxes—not life’s basic necessities—remain the largest household expense for families […]
Martin Danahay has led many classroom discussions in his career, but nothing quite like this.
The Brock University English professor will soon take his Life Writing course into a recently-completed online 3D space at the start of the winter term.
Students wearing virtual reality gear will gather in an experimental 3D classroom to discuss memoires, diaries and biographies, and interact with one another as their custom avatars.
He’s known affectionately by his staff as Mr. D.
Vincenzo DiCosimo arrived in Canada on July 12, 1955 to join his older brother who was already in Niagara Falls. He was just 19 years-old, had no money and didn’t speak a word of English. “I thought it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I wanted to go back right away.” History would show that it’s a good thing he stayed.
The Brock Badgers have reached into the powerhouse Carleton University basketball program to find the new head coach for the Brock men’s basketball team.
Willy Manigat, who has won three national university basketball titles as a player and two as a coach, will become the ninth coach in the history of the Brock men’s program. His appointment takes effect July 5.
Manigat spent the past four years with the Carleton Ravens, who have won 14 of the last 17 national championships. He served as lead assistant coach for the 2018-19 season.
L3 WESCAM announced this week at an official groundbreaking ceremony the construction of a brand-new, state-of-the-art headquarters facility, which will include 330,000 square feet of research and development, engineering, assembly and office space in Hamilton. By the expected move-in date in 2021, the new facility will be home to 1,200 employees.
“We are pleased to announce that L3 will continue to be a part of this region’s economic renaissance and has selected a location that embodies our mission to be the very best of the best in our industry,” said Jacques Comtois, Vice President and General Manager of L3 WESCAM. “Hamilton has a rich business legacy of transforming ideas into high-technology products and offers a skilled talent base with a deep knowledge of advanced manufacturing and applied research. We are thrilled to establish our new operations in Hamilton and continue moving forward with our growth plans.”
Several months ago The Niagara Independent started publishing articles from time-to-time about a piece of legislation that was getting little attention in Ontario but a lot of attention in Western Canada. Some readers thanked us for shedding light on the issue while others wondered why we cared so much about an “Alberta issue”.
Well, that Alberta issue has now become a Canadian issue which means it’s an Ontario issue. And people in this province should pay attention.
After an impeccable regular season and divisional playoffs, soaring through SOSSA, and overcoming a gauntlet of Ontario’s 18 best high school teams at OFSAA regionals, the A.N. Myer Marauders baseball squad fell just one run short of provincial gold at the final four OFSAA tournament in London on Wednesday.
“I’m really proud of the boys and their ability to grind out many moments that allowed us to achieve something very rare in an OFSSA silver medal,” said coach Dave Buchanan. “There were many players that contributed to the process. We as a program work very hard in the off-season and I believe it allowed us to get through those tough tense moments.”
A.N. Myer’s baseball team spent the weekend in Whitby competing for a chance to play for a medal in the provincial championships later this week.
The team, coached by Dave Buchanan, was successful in their quest to play for a medal in London on Wednesday after going 4-1 this past weekend with their only loss coming to Mount Carmel in their second game which extended over two days. Tied 4-4 the game was called due to rain and play started again the following day. Mount Carmel ended up winning 6-4 to hand Myer their only loss of the tournament.
On June 4 at Cardinal Lakes Golf Course in Welland, the South Niagara Chambers of Commerce will be hosting a breakfast seminar featuring Peter Aceto, CEO of CannTrust, a federally licensed and regulated global cannabis market leader. For Aceto, a noted speaker, this will be his inaugural speaking engagement in Niagara.
CannTrust is a publicly traded company that operates its approximately 450,000 square foot Niagara Perpetual Harvest Facility in Pelham and has been approved to construct an additional 390,000 square feet. of cannabis cultivation space. The company has garnered success as the 2018 Licensed Producer of the Year. The award criteria include commitment to customer service, positive feedback from employees and high standards of production.
Onex Corp. has signed a friendly deal to buy WestJet Airlines Ltd. in a transaction that’s being valued at $5 billion, including assumed debt.
Under the agreement announced this past Monday, Onex will pay $31 per share for WestJet, which will continue to operate as a privately held company.
Shares in the airline jumped from $18.52 last Friday to $30.03 after the announcement.
The Guelph Storm defeated the Ottawa 67s 8-3 to capture the Ontario Hockey League championship, the Memorial Cup, Sunday in game six of the best of seven series. For the third series in a row the Storm found themselves down two games to none and found a way to claw back and win the series. It’s the fourth time in franchise history that Guelph has won the Memorial Cup.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Nick Suzuki earned the Wayne Gretzky ’99’ Award as OHL Playoff MVP, leading all players with a Storm franchise record 42 points (16-26–42) in 24 games.
With the OHL season just barely wrapping up, teams from across the league are already preparing for next season, including the Niagara IceDogs who yesterday announced the team will be opening their home exhibition schedule at the Vale Health and Wellness Centre in Port Colborne.
Brock University has shown their confidence in women’s basketball head coach Mike Rao by signing him to a three-year deal. Rao guided the lady Badgers to their first playoff berth since 2012.
This year, Rao and the Badgers improved their win total to 11 victories and reached the OUA Critelli Cup quarter-finals.
In a statement released earlier this week, Brock’s Associate Director of Sports Emily Allan said, “Mike has done a phenomenal job with the program. He has worked tirelessly from day one to improve and build a culture of excellence.” Allan went on to add, “He is continually recruiting talented student-athletes to elevate this team, and he is producing results.”
Wayne Gretzky Estates announced the launch of No. 99 Rye Lager, its first craft beer. The brew will be for sale across Ontario beginning this month at LCBO stores, Wayne Gretzky Estates, as well as select Ontario restaurants. The lager will be available more broadly across Ontario this fall.
“Our goal at the outset was to give hockey fans and beer fans something new to cheer about,” said John Peller. “As the name promises, No. 99 Rye Lager, brewed with rye grain delivers the crisp, clean taste of a classic lager with an extra layer of depth, zest and freshness. There’s nothing like it on the market.”
“It feels awesome to be back in the craft beer business” said Peller. Although the Peller family may be most known for their Canadian wines, Company founder Andrew Peller got his start in the beer industry. “My grandpa started his career in the 1930’s as a brewmaster at E.P. Taylor Canadian brewing, which led him to open his own brewery, Peller Brewing Company in 1947, in Hamilton, Ontario,” Peller explained.
It was a good news announcement for Ontario’s auto sector yesterday. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) announced they will begin producing their luxury SUV at its Cambridge plant moving production from Japan to Ontario. The plant will supply all of the North American market.
“Building on our recent Toyota RAV4 announcement and our recent facility modernization investments, we are excited to announce that TMMC has been selected to produce the popular Lexus NX and Lexus NX Hybrid models for the entire North American market,” TMMC President Fred Volf told Team Members and dignitaries.
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, federal Minister of Science and Sport was in St. Catharines yesterday to announce the inclusion of Lacrosse as part of the upcoming 2021 Canada Games which will take place in Niagara. While there was some hope, given the federal government was sending a cabinet minister to Niagara, the announcement would include the feds portion for infrastructure funding for the Games it nonetheless was good news for sport and in particular the lacrosse community. The federal government is kicking in $1.7 million in order to add lacrosse as a sport to the Games.
With the Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a backdrop, Minister Duncan said that the lacrosse competition, a pilot project for the 2021 Games, will be box lacrosse format, and will feature both male and female teams. Lacrosse last participated in the Canada Summer Games in 1985. Lacrosse was named Canada’s National Game by Parliament in 1859. In 1994 Parliament passed the National Sports of Canada Act which declared lacrosse to be “Canada’s National Summer Sport” and hockey became the nation’s national winter sport.
Horizon North Logistics Inc. (TSX: HNL.TO) recently announced that they have entered into a binding purchase and sale agreement with respect to the acquisition of NRB Inc. (Canada), a full-service modular construction provider based in Grimsby.
Horizon North has agreed to purchase all of the outstanding shares of NRB Canada for $16.5 million, payable in a mix of common shares of Horizon North and cash. The Binding Purchase Agreement is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of all necessary and required consents, including those from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The transaction is scheduled to close in early April 2019.
It’s not often that a company from one of Niagara’s quaint municipalities gets featured on a national
news program, but last week saw one of those inauspicious occasions.
Bloomberg’s “Business News Network”, Canada’s renowned 24-hour business news program, featured a Niagara company from Pelham last Monday. The network runs a one hour stock pickers program twice a day. A stockbroker, or other qualified guest, takes phone calls from the public and gives his or her informed opinion about the future of each stock.
Last Monday, an Edmonton caller asked guest Robert McWhirter, president of Selective Asset Management, about Leviathan (CSE: EPIC-CN), a local cannabis company currently endeavouring to begin construction on Foss Road in Pelham.
The Niagara River Lions recently announced their thirteen selections in the 2019 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Entry Draft, including Canadian National Team member, Kaza Kajami- Keane as first regional round pick, followed by Kassius Robertson, Guillaume Payen Boucard and Tyrone Watson.
“I’m excited for the Niagara region to watch Kaza Kajami-Keane and Kassius Robertson play,” said Head Coach and General Manager, Victor Raso. “They are two young professionals with a lot of potential who will make our country proud.”
Niagara Falls native Mac Hollowell has done what many budding young Niagara hockey players dream about, sign a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 20-year-old, the 5.10, 163-lb defenceman who currently leads all Ontario Hockey League defencemen in goals (23) and points (73) with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, signed a three-year future entry-level contract. In 254 regular season games over five OHL seasons with the Greyhounds, Hollowell has collected 178 points (41 goals, 137 assists) while recording 23 points (three goals, 20 assists) in 47 playoff games.
As part of its ongoing work to streamline government operations and reduce red tape, the Ford government recently shut down a little-known government entity called the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre (LPASC). This office was set up in April 2018 by the previous Liberal government, ostensibly to help the average Ontarian fight development projects that were “inappropriate, unreasonable, misplaced or designed without considering various planning guidelines”. One person’s “inappropriate” or “unreasonable” could very well be someone else’s perfectly “appropriate” or “reasonable”, and having such subjective goals could be seen to create problems for such an agency from the outset. Basically, the LPASC was intended to provide financial and other resources to enable Ontarians to sue their own government over development projects someone decided they didn’t like. As the office was established at a time when the Liberals had to be pretty sure they were going to voted out of office in a mere couple of months, it is tempting to think of this as just another poison pill planted by the Liberals for their likely Conservative successors, as so many other things the Liberals rushed into being late in their tenure have turned out to be.
Probably the greatest Canadian university sports program continues its roll, this time right over the Brock Badgers.
The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team nearly doubled up on the Badgers Wednesday night in the nation’s capital with a 86-44 victory in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals. The Badgers, who had a strong season with an overall record of 18-9 were simply no match for the powerhouse program at Carleton. Brock could only manage 25 first half points while the Ravens poured in 44. Carleton never let up outscoring the Badgers 24 to nine in the final quarter. The Badgers shot 27.8 per cent from the field compared to Carleton’s 46 per cent.
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and New York Power Authority (NYPA) have launched a detection and alerting system that will help add a layer of safety for boaters around the vicinity of the International Niagara Control Works in Niagara Falls.
Boaters can at times fail to stay clear of marked exclusion zones and therefore end up exposing themselves to a real risk because of the high turbulence and very strong currents in the waters near the International Control Dam. “While this additional tool will help ensure the public’s safety, it’s important to remind boaters that they are responsible for their own navigation safety and must obey warning signs and buoys,” said Mike Martelli, OPG President, Renewable Generation.
Swimming isn’t just what Gokhan Bozyigit does for fun, or for the thrill of competing. It’s who he is.
Swimming is what brought Bozyigit to Canada, and specifically to Brock University, from his native Turkey. The sport is also what has given him clear career goals, both as an athlete and as a coach.
“Without swimming I am pretty sure I would have never thought about coming to Canada,” he said. “All I can say is swimming is my whole life. It is a part of who I am and without it I would be lost.”
Doug Hamilton, Chair of the 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society has announced a number of staff appointments as the organization begins to ramp up planning for the national amateur sporting event to be held in Niagara. Chief among the recent hiring’s is Brock University associate business professor Barry Wright as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Wright will join the summer games organization as a secondment from the university.
In this role, Barry will oversee organization of the 2021 Games including human resources, volunteer programming, finance, and sport & athlete services. As the former Dean of the Goodman School, Barry brings a wealth of experience and research focused on leadership, planning, and organizational performance. Barry will join the 2021 Canada Games on May 1, 2019.
After new government regulations commercialized medical marijuana in 2013, federally licensed cannabis cultivators, processors, and sellers began cropping up all across Canada.
Prairie Plant Systems Inc. in Saskatoon led the way as the first certified producer. Tweed Farms in Niagara-on-the-Lake followed closely behind.
Since that time, some 150 applicants have successfully received a federal license to grow, prepare, and/or sell cannabis.
Regional CAO Carmelo D’Angelo’s Statement of Claim, filed in a Hamilton court, outlines a concerning timeline of events that add to the intrigue surrounding his wrongly assumed departure. The statement claims that after a summer of leaks of his personal and confidential information and a multitude of media reports of this information, D’Angelo was advised by his physician on Dec. 11, 2018 to take a medical leave from work. The claim states, “It was envisaged that Carmelo would return to work approximately eight (8) weeks later.”
The claim continues that just three days later the “Region replaced the acting CAO that Carmelo had arranged to act in his place during his medical leave.” And then, “On or about Dec. 14, 2018, the region cut off Carmelo’s access to his work email account, his work voicemail and his corporate credit card.”
Another week, another Ford government policy announcement, another virulent public sector union-backed protest. This week the subject was autism funding. The announcement was made by Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod, and the essence of the new policy is to alter the funding model so that funds go directly to the parents of autistic children and not to the regional service providers as was previously the case. Another key – and hugely controversial – change was that funds will in future be distributed to all Ontario parents with autistic children. Currently, only about 25 per cent of affected families are receiving government funds, while the other 75 per cent – representing 23,000 children – sit on waiting lists. Overall funding would actually be slightly increased in the new policy.
Niagara College (NC) is set to host the 2019 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Volleyball Championship.
The event will see the top eight women’s volleyball teams from colleges across Canada face off at NC’s Welland Campus Athletic Centre next month from March 6th to the 9th.
Fred Batley, CCAA Women’s Volleyball Convenor said, “With world-class athletic facilities and the Niagara area hospitality and attractions, the student-athletes, coaches and spectators will be in for an amazing and exciting National Championship.”
The province’s, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Michael Tibollo, has appointed St. Catharines resident Sandie Bellows as the new Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission. Bellows will begin her four-year term immediately.
Bellows is in her first term as a Regional Councilor, after representing Grantham Ward as a St. Catharines city councilor during the past four years (2014-18). “I am very excited and honoured to be appointed Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission,” said Bellows. “I am looking forward to working with my fellow board members and all the amazing staff at this great organization.”
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) recently released its figures for the past year and it was a busy one. The total tonnage on the waterway during the 2018 navigation season was 40.9 million. That’s the highest result in more than a decade. The Corporation said much of the credit for the increase can be given to healthy movements of grain which was the best on record since the turn of the century. They also pointed to the continued marketing of the seaway as “Highway H2O” as helping to serve as a catalyst to spur increased movements of a broad range of cargoes including grain, road salt, stone, cement, gypsum and refined fuels.
“We are very pleased with the results recorded over the past year” said the SLSMC’s President and CEO, Terence Bowles. “After completing the first year with Hands Free Mooring installed at all of our high-lift locks, it is gratifying to see that our efforts to boost system efficiency and heighten our competitive position are bearing strong results. This new mooring technology eliminates the need for special vessel fittings, enabling the St. Lawrence Seaway to welcome a broader range of ships from the world fleet.”
In a region known primarily for its wines, Niagara-made beverages such as craft beer and spirits are gaining national and international recognition. In fact, the best whisky in Canada is an all-rye whisky, distilled 22 years ago in Grimsby at Forty Creek Distillery.
Ten independent whisky experts blind taste tested more than 100 whiskies and declared Forty Creek 22-year-old Rye as Canadian Whisky of the Year in the ninth annual Canadian Whisky Awards recently held at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, BC. The Canadian Whisky Awards recognize the very best whiskies produced in Canada.
Two of Brock University’s curlers, women’s varsity team third Jessica Humphries and freshman men’s varsity team skip Sam Steep, have won the junior provincial championships and are currently competing for their respective teams at the New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Prince Albert, SK.
Steep, a first-year recreation student at Brock, spent his holidays leading his hometown rink to the Ontario U21 championships title in Ajax.
Niagara will be hosting another national sporting event. This time the sport is wrestling.
Wrestling Canada Lutte, the 2021 Canada Games Host Society, and the Brock Wrestling Club will host the Canadian Wrestling Trials in December of 2019.
The trials will serve as a selection event for the opportunity to represent Canada at international qualifying events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Niagara has a strong history of wrestling and has developed significant wrestling talent that has gone on to represent Canada successfully in numerous competitions around the world.
Some of the top female curlers in Ontario put their skills on display at the Niagara Falls Curling Club this past weekend. Up for grabs was the two remaining spots to compete in the provincial finals and a chance to play in the Scottie’s national women’s championship.
Six teams from around the province have already secured a berth to the provincial championships. In total, eight teams play in the Ontario final, leaving just two spots remaining. “It was very high calibre curling,” said Niagara Falls Curling Club general manager Bob Garvin.
The province’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Michael Tibollo, was in Niagara yesterday meeting with Niagara’s tourism leaders to get their feedback on the government’s tourism strategy.
Minister Tibollo was seeking the advice and input on issues affecting the tourism industry. Some of the key points discussed were the role of government in the sector, the industry workforce challenges and regulatory burdens. Ontario’s tourism sector has an economic impact of about $34 billion.
The Brock Badgers men’s and women’s hockey programs enjoyed a strong first half to the OUA season and have begun the second half equally as impressive.
The men’s hockey team climbed into the national rankings a handful of times during the first half of the campaign. They roared out of the gate with four consecutive wins and currently sit with one of the lowest goals against in the league.
This past Saturday Brock was back in action as Ayden MacDonald scored the game-winning goal and the Brock Badgers slipped by the York Lions 4-3 on the road. The Badgers have now won four consecutive games.
“We had a great third period to find a way to win.” said head coach Marty Williamson.
For over forty years now, Niagara’s curling clubs have banded together to put on an annual Niagara Region bonspiel. For many years it was known as the Labatt’s Standard; then the Winmar but is now sponsored by Young’s Insurance and so aptly named, ‘The Youngs’.
In January teams from around the region enter the week-long bonspiel that lets curlers experience playing in the Niagara Falls Curling Club, the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club, the Welland Curling Club and the St. Catharines Curling Club in Grantham.
While the spiel used to have 64 teams and a waiting list, attendance has suffered a bit in the last few years as it competes against other competitive curling events and club nights. But the event, which also used to require that each team have on it one new curler, is a great way for curlers all around the region to play in each other’s clubs and meet other curlers. Kelly Hopkins, an organizer, sponsor and participant said this year the numbers are up. “We are at full capacity with 48 teams and a waiting list so next year I think you will see us expand the number of teams.”
While some media outlets prefer to look at the past and compile a list of what’s already happened, writers at The Niagara Independent decided to play prognosticators. In no particular order, here is our Top 10 list of what we think is likely to happen in Niagara, Ontario, Canada and beyond in 2019.
Gold medal defenders usually get a good draw in the following years tournament and this year in Vancouver proved no different for Team Canada. Canada started the tournament with an overwhelming defeat of an overmatched Denmark squad. In the 14-0 affair, 18 of Canada’s 20 skaters hit the scoresheet.
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds centre Morgan Frost led early on with a quick hat trick. He ended the game with 3 goals and two assists. Max Comtois, expected to lead this team in all aspects, didn’t disappoint as he followed up Frost’s hot start with four goals of his own. His linemate, the very slick centre Cody Glass, had four helpers. Evan Bouchard led the backend with three assists of his own.
While he didn’t face many shots, just 14 in all, starting goalie Mike DiPietro was perfect throughout the night pitching the shutout. “It was a game where I made as many saves as our team had goals, it was crazy”, said DiPietro.
As usual, this year Canada is expected to face its stiffest competition from Russia in Group A. Group B has three teams that are all highly competitive; Sweden, Finland and the U.S.A. Here’s a look at each of these four teams.
It’s a Christmas she won’t soon forget. Brock University Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo, an award-winning actress, artist, playwright and filmmaker, has been awarded the Order of Canada. The announcement came on Boxing Day from Governor-General Julie Payette.
One of the country’s highest honours, the Order of Canada recognizes Canadians whose service shapes society, whose innovations ignite imaginations and whose compassion unites communities.
Cheechoo said she was shocked when she received the call notifying her she was to receive the honour. “I didn’t know what to say, it was a very moving moment,” she said earlier this week. “It’s absolutely a tremendous honour to be given the Order of Canada.”
The Niagara Parks Commission and the City of Niagara Falls, along with its Niagara Falls New Year’s Eve event partners, will once again host Canada’s longest running New Year’s Eve festivities and concert series, taking place in Queen Victoria Park.
“New Year’s Eve in Niagara Falls is an amazing tradition. We are thrilled to offer an exciting show again this year and we want you to come and enjoy it with us,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “We look forward to celebrating the traditions of the season, like the Winter Festival of Lights, and the true Canadian experience of a New Year’s Eve outdoor concert, complete with outstanding entertainment and ringing in the New Year.”
This year’s concert features an all-star line-up of Canadian talent and will open with Niagara Falls-based band and winner of band of the year at the Niagara Music Awards, Avenue Inn. Avenue Inn has carved a unique space in the Canadian music scene since their formation in 2012 and have carefully crafted their own alternative rock approach, with their brand-new album “Tonight”.
Since opening their doors in 2016, Georges Greek Village Restaurant in St. Catharines has been dedicated to bringing the highest quality and freshest authentic Greek cuisine to diners in the Niagara Region.
The journey for owner and chef George Kountourogiannis to this point has been a long but rewarding one. One full of uncompromising hard work, a passion for food passed down through his family and now the satisfaction of owning a successful restaurant that bears his namesake.
It all started in 1975 at the Pine Centre Restaurant in Thorold, where his mom and dad owned a family restaurant.
While the new crop of Niagara regional councillors jumped into the NPCA debate with both feet at their inaugural meeting last week, passing a motion to appoint 12 regional councillors to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) Board, their counterparts in Hamilton and Haldimand have said not so fast.
Haldimand passed a motion on Tuesday stating they would be appointing two members to the NPCA Board. Current NPCA board member Rob Shirton was reappointed. He will be joined by Bernie Corbert. Their neighbouring counterparts in Hamilton stated they will be appointing four members – two councillors and two citizens. Hamilton selected city Councillors Brenda Johnson and former MPP Brad Clark. Hamilton council will ratify that recommendation at their Dec. 19 meeting.
Johnson told Hamilton media after she was recommended for appointment at committee meeting; “If anything else there will be some sort of equalization in voting,” said Johnson. “Any time they (Niagara) wanted to approve something, against the City of Hamilton, there were 12 voters saying too bad to be you.”
Another private company has decided to invest in Niagara, this time in St. Catharines. After Welland recently announced that insurance giant, Kanetix Ltd. would be opening a new office and creating up to 100 jobs within a year, Steelcon Fabrication Inc. announced the company plans on opening a new $40 million manufacturing facility in the Garden City. The plant will produce its leading SIN-beam product for the North American market.
A family-owned company based in Brampton, Steelcon uses advanced technologies to produce construction beams that are lighter, use less steel, and have less of an impact on the environment while making construction more efficient.
“The decision on the site was an extremely smooth one. St. Catharines brims with manufacturing facilities and when you can infill a location that fits so well for Steelcon, it makes for a great transaction,” said Ralph Roselli, Partner and Sales Representative at Colliers Niagara.
The Brock men’s hockey team had an experience so heartwarming Wednesday it could melt the ice they normally play on.
The Badgers paid a visit to the Children’s Health Unit at Niagara Health’s St. Catharines site, on a mission to bring holiday cheer to the little ones inside.
Head coach Marty Williamson accompanied forwards Jared Marino (Niagara Falls), Ryan Burton (Thunder Bay), Frankie Pucci (Sault Ste. Marie), Ayden MacDonald (Langley, B.C.) and defenceman Connor Walters (Welland) as they went room to room while handing out high-fives, Brock apparel and water bottles, but more importantly, spending time visiting with children.
No one.
Not a single person could have predicted this.
From worst to first, started from the bottom – however you want to word it – the Buffalo Sabres are for real.
In fact, according to the Elias Sports Bureau the Sabres are the first team ever to finish the previous season with the worst record and then lead the National Hockey League outright in points after 25 games.
Impressive to say the least.
So what’s been the difference?
First and foremost, it starts in goal with Carter Hutton. Hutton has played like a number one goaltender, and his leadership off the ice has definitely made a difference in the Buffalo dressing room.
Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli released their first formal economic statement at Queen’s Park Thursday. Dubbed “A Plan for the People”, the statement was the first formal budgetary step in the Ford government’s implementation of its campaign commitments to provide tax relief to Ontarians, make the cost of living more reasonable, stop provincial government wasteful spending and deficits and restore trust, transparency and accountability to Ontario’s finances.
The statement was made amid the backdrop of Ontario’s auditor general, the Fiscal Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) and the special Financial Commission of Inquiry all concurring that the previous Liberal government had not balanced the books in 2017-2018 (as they had claimed). The Commission of Inquiry pointed to a $6.7 billion deficit – and worse – that the Liberals had set the province on a path to a $15 billion deficit for 2018-2019.
U SPORTS recently presented Brock University women’s rugby player, Katelyn Heyens, with the Student-Athlete Community Service Award during the annual women’s rugby All-Canadian gala in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
“I am honoured to receive this award and am incredibly humbled by it. However, this was a team effort. I would not be here if it wasn’t for the support from all the amazing people in my life,” said Heyens. “I am truly thankful for all the people who have encouraged me to get involved, and for all those who have helped me grow as an athlete and individual over that last few years.”
Last month, the OUA also awarded Heyens the Russell Division Community Service Award.
Starting this month, the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Regional Mobile Cancer Screening Coach will begin offering free, regular cancer screening services at Bridges Community Health Centre locations in Fort Erie and Port Colborne.
The Coach has been providing cancer screening services in St. Catharines since July 2017. Expansion to Fort Erie and Port Colborne is part of the Regional Cancer Program’s efforts to increase cancer screening rates among Niagara residents who face barriers to screening.
The Coach will bring state-of-the-art breast, cervical and colon cancer screening to Fort Erie and Port Colborne for a full day each month, beginning on November 7 in Port Colborne and November 13 in Fort Erie. Going forward, the Coach will visit Port Colborne the first Wednesday of each month and Fort Erie the second Tuesday of each month.
Pelham While it was a night of change in several spots across the region, nowhere was this more apparent than in Pelham. Voters there, fed up with a huge debt, tax hikes, strange land deals and a tone-deaf council, took the opportunity to throw the whole lot out. Mayor Dave Augustyn, with dreams of becoming […]
While a lot of voters stayed home once again this municipal election, especially in St. Catharines and Welland where turnout was a paltry 33%, those that did make it to the polls had an appetite for change.
With 8 members of the 2014 Niagara Regional Council deciding not to run in the 2018 elections, a revamped Council was assured from the get go. Mayors Bentley (Grimsby), Maloney (Port Colborne), Augustyn (Pelham) and Jeffs (Wainfleet) all declined to seek another term as Mayor’s in their communities. Councillors Hodgson (Lincoln), Maves (Niagara Falls), Burroughs (NOTL), Barrick (Port Colborne) and Petrowksi (St. Catharines) all also decided not to run this time around. With a new regional councillor added for West Lincoln, 10 new faces were guaranteed.
In addition, in the politically tumultuous St. Catharines, new well-known candidates such as Jim Bradley, George Darte and Sandie Bellows all decided to run for a regional council seat. If those three were successful, that left only three spots for incumbents Tim Rigby, Bruce Timms, Kelly Edgar, Brian Heit, the embattled Alan Caslin and the quiet Debbie MacGregor.
Walter Sendzik will return to the Mayor’s office in St. Catharines with an overwhelming victory that saw the incumbent mayor win just over 70 per cent of the vote. Sendzik’s vote total of 21,574 was more than three times that of second place finisher Richard Stephens who grabbed 5,834 total votes. Of all the Mayor’s races across the Region this one was as close to a sure bet as one could find. Despite some significant challenges with projects that never came to fruition, like the General Motors factory site cleanup, the Port Dalhousie tower still at a standstill and the compassionate city slogan that has been tarnished with multiple acts of violence, Sendzik never really faced any credible opposition during the campaign and cruised to an easy victory.
With just three days to go until municipal Election Day there have been some interesting developments as candidates make one last push to convince voters they are the right choice to represent their respective municipalities.
Niagara Falls
Some very positive news out of Niagara Falls earlier this week when incumbent Mayor, Jim Diodati, released a statement saying his oncologist gave him very good news regarding his battle with Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Diodati, who is well on his way to completing his treatments, says he is feeling good and looking forward to Election Day. “I have a great team of volunteers and we will be focused on getting out the vote. Signs, advertising, flyers, none of it matters if your supporters don’t actually vote,” he said.
Also in Niagara Falls, former NHL player and coach, Steve Ludzik, is back in the race for a Niagara Falls city council seat. Ludzik said he was going to step aside early in the campaign but is now back in the race. Ludzik established the Steve Ludzik Centre for Parkinson’s Rehabilitation at Hotel Dieu Shaver and has done yeomen’s work to raise money and awareness for the Centre and the disease.
Last Friday night at A.N. Myer’s new turf sports field, 300 people braved the cold to sit under the lights and watch a heavily favoured Myer senior football team handily defeat visiting Grimsby Secondary.
It was eight degrees but felt like four. The grandstand was jammed; the cheerleaders were dressed for warmth but braved the elements to cheer on their home team. The home team delivered, ultimately winning handily over an overmatched Grimsby team.
The Brock Badgers men’s hockey team is looking to build off last season’s impressive playoff run when they open their season at home tonight. The Badgers will host the York Lions at 7:15 p.m. at the Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre.
Brock is coming off a successful season where they posted a record of 14-9-5 and upset Guelph, York and Laurier in the playoffs. They reached the U SPORTS National Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but were eliminated in the first round.
With hundreds of candidates running across Niagara in municipal, regional and school board elections – there are some interesting stories about many of the candidates. We profile a few below.
Flyboy is back in Welland
In the 2014 municipal election, Wellanders had to look up to see one candidate’s ‘lawn signs’. Graham Speck, a businessman – owner of Speck Industries, a communitarian and a Rotarian – had a unique way of getting voters’ attention for his 2014 campaign – he hand-glided above the city with his sign visible from the ground trailing behind. In the 2018 campaign, ‘flyboy’ is back, this time running for Welland City Council in Ward 5.
Niagara College welcomed their first batch of students into their Artisan Distilling (Graduate Certificate) program, a first-of-its-kind program in Canada.
The 2,500 square-foot state-of-the-art Teaching Distillery, housed at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, is directly adjacent to the college’s unique Wine Visitor + Education Centre, and is based on the college’s successful teaching winery and teaching brewery – also Canadian firsts. The fully operational distillery houses five stills, four mash tuns and ten fermenters that allow for on-site production of a wide variety of distilled products, including vodka, gin, whisky, brandy, rum and more.
Current Regional Chairman, Alan Caslin, released a statement following his appearance on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paiken, saying he is in favour of less government for Niagara; particularly when it comes to municipal politicians. Caslin pointed out that Hamilton has about 100,000 more people than Niagara but has just 16 politicians. By comparison, Niagara has 125 politicians.
Caslin said in his statement: “Not surprisingly, most politicians are tone deaf to residents’ shock when they are told Niagara has 125 politicians. Reducing the number of politicians in Niagara will reduce the cost of government. While this decision may not be popular with the political class or media establishment, it is the right thing to do.”
A recent Brock study may have just put an end to the doom and gloom scenario often painted about the Region’s manufacturing sector. Turns out there isn’t a need to plan a manufacturing funeral just yet. In fact, according to Sean Calcott and Charles Conteh there’s actually some good news.
Conteh, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Brock University and Director of the Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) admits the sector doesn’t look like it once did and it has gone through some challenging times. “But the general trend is that manufacturing has been very resilient, has stayed in the region and, in fact, has seen an upswing since 2012, so there’s a bit of a wind in our sails.”
Things have heated up in Pelham as the election date gets closer. The town’s new arena, the Meridian Community Centre, recently had a not-so-smooth opening. The development of the facility was pushed hard over the years by Mayor Augustyn and seen as a legacy project for the Town’s Mayor. There was much discussion as to the actual cost of the celebratory grand opening pomp-and-circumstance as well as how the tickets were sold (or not sold) for a hockey game. Just three months ago the projected cost for the celebrations were pegged at $85,000. Since that time the estimated cost has gone from the original $85,000 to $70,000 to $48,000.
Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Marc McDonald was asked by the Town’s local newspaper, The Voice, to clarify the actual cost. MacDonald’s explanation was; “The net cost of the event is expected to be $48,225.”
It’s one list that Niagara’s high schools would prefer not to be on.
Global News reporter, Patrick Cain, recently broke a story on how for years, the University of Waterloo has been comparing the marks of high school graduates with their marks in the University’s engineering program. Some matched and some didn’t. What Waterloo have been finding is that marks from students coming out of three different schools aren’t reliable indicators on how those students will fair in their post-secondary studies. Some students were getting really good grades in high school and continued to do so in university while others had their marks drop as much as 30 per cent.
Niagara’s Chief of Police will soon don a new insignia atop his black Eisenhower jacket.
Bryan MacCulloch, who has been at the helm of the Niagara Regional Police Service for just under one year, has been awarded the Order of Merit of the Police Forces for 2017/ 2018.
The accolade is one of the top honours any police officer can receive in Canada and is only conferred upon those who illustrate “exceptional merit” and produce career-long “contributions to policing and community development”.
Regional Planning Committee unanimously endorsed Phase 1 of the Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines Glendale District Plan this week. After several public meetings, workshops, charrettes, a social media campaign and consultations, renowned planning consultants, “The Planning Partnership”, presented the results – a visioning and conceptual development plan.
The Glendale Niagara area, is the confluence between the southern boundary of St. Catharines and the west boundary of Niagara on the Lake. It is the area that currently encompasses Niagara College, the Outlet Collection mall, White Oaks and the Seaway on the west side of the QEW and two hotels, commercial and industrial employment zones, and the QEW roadside rest area.
The Brock Badgers are set to take over the Meridian Centre again for one of the biggest shows in Canadian university hockey.
The Badgers men’s hockey team, which made it to the U SPORTS National Championships last season, will open the 2018-19 pre-season with their annual Steel Blade Classic to be held Friday, Sept. 21 in downtown St. Catharines.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the tournament, a single-game, winner-take-all matchup between the Brock Badgers and Guelph Gryphons.
In the worst weather last winter, and again this past summer during the heatwave, many Niagara residents were frustrated by not having their garbage or recycling picked up on the appointed day.
The Region re-tendered garbage and recycling collection several years ago, and current operator Emterra Environmental won the bid. In fact, their contract saves the Region’s taxpayers over $4 million per year.
Bart Maves, Chair of the Public Works Committee at the Region explains, “Emterra has actually done a spectacular job over most of the life of their contract with the Region. It is only over the last year that they have had some issues. The core of the problem has been aging trucks that they are trying to refurbish while maintaining service, some staff turnover, and other staff issues like people calling in sick on the hottest or coldest days of the year.”
Chicago Black Hawks and St. Catharines Teepees legendary centreman Stan Mikita died last week, he was 78 years old.
Mikita was born in Sokolce, Czechoslovakia in 1940 but moved to St. Catharines as a young boy where he lived with his aunt and uncle and took on their last name of Mikita. He was a star centre for the Teepees from 1956 to 1959. At the end of the 1959 junior season he went up and played three NHL games with the Black Hawks. He would play every season after that with the Hawks until his retirement in 1980. Only three players have played more games while playing their whole careers with the same team.
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the equity of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC in the U.S.
The purchase price is US$298 million, subject to customary working capital and other adjustments on closing, OPG said.
OPG has stated that no taxpayer dollars will be used to fund this acquisition. Instead, the investment will be financed through OPG’s corporate public debt program or other available credit facilities.
Over the last month, Conservative Party MPs have been meeting with business leaders, labour groups, and employees across the country to discuss the impact of Canada’s decreasingly friendly economic relationship with the U.S.
On June 1, President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on incoming aluminum.
Despite a feeble attempt to remedy the situation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was unable to secure an exemption from the duties: unwittingly launching Canada into a trade war with the U.S.
After leading the Brock Badgers men’s basketball team to a record setting season in terms of wins in 2017-18 and mading it to the National Championships for the first time in 10 years, head coach Charles Kissi is taking his development as a coach to the next level.
Kissi has been named an assistant coach for Raptors 905 — the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors — by Raptors 905 head coach Jama Mahlalela and ownership group Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Creating a microscopic robot that has the potential to identify drug resistance to tuberculosis faster than conventional tests is something most Niagara residents would assume happens at post-secondary institutions like University of Toronto or Queen’s University or even McMaster University down the QEW in Hamilton. However, this type of game-changing scientific research and development is happening here in St. Catharines at Niagara’s own Brock University.
The Brock team’s latest technology builds on an earlier version of the microscopic robot — called the three-dimensional DNA nanomachine — they created in 2016 to detect diseases in a blood sample within 30 minutes.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said there will be no general election of Regional Chairs in the upcoming municipal election, reversing a decision by the former Wynne Liberals. This news has sent Niagara politicians whirling in the last 24-hours.
In advance of what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested series of municipal elections in recent memory, the Niagara Independent examines a few of the most notable candidates registered to run (or not run) in 2018.
There will be plenty of Canadian content at this week’s RBC Canadian Open being held just down the QEW at Oakville’s Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Five players from Ontario are in the field including; Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Corey Conners of Listowel,Ont., David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and former Master champion, Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ontario. They are joined by fellow Canadian PGA players Adam Hadwin (highest ranking Canadian on the PGA Tour) and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C.
A lot of good things have been accomplished during the past few years in Canada’s “friendliest town” but Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Lord Mayor, Pat Darte, announced this week he’d like at least four more years to build on those achievements.
Introduced by his campaign manager, Joe Pillitteri, in front of a crowd of family and supporters, Darte said he has been recently reflecting on his first term as Lord Mayor and believes the Town is moving in the right direction. “We are expanding to meet demands while retaining the unique elements of Niagara-on-the-Lake,” he said. He stated that over a half a billion dollars of new construction has taken place and gave examples of new wineries, craft breweries, additional retail space as well as new housing development.
Niagara Ice Dogs’ Philip Tomasino is among forty-four of the nation’s top under-18 hockey prospects that will gather in Calgary at the end of July to compete for a chance to wear the Maple Leaf on home ice as part of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team competing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton and Red Deer this August.
The invitations have been extended to four goaltenders, 14 defencemen, and 26 forwards who are developing in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and Canadian Junior Hockey League.
Tomasino previously represented Canada Black at the World U17 Hockey Challenge last fall.
And then there were four.
Joining Damian Goulbourne from Welland, John (Ringo) Beam of Niagara Falls and current Regional Chair Alan Caslin from St. Catharines, current Pelham Mayor, Dave Augustyn declared publicly yesterday that he too will join the race to seek the Region’s top political position.
Although he doesn’t officially begin his role as the new Director of Economic Development for the Niagara Region, Domenic Ursini is doing his homework and reaching out to partners so that he’s able to hit the ground running come his official start date of July 30.
“I’ve been holding conversations with local counterparts and members of my team,” said Ursni who brings with him a wealth of private sector experience including commercial banking, government relations and public accounting.
Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. has acquired Backyard Vineyards Inc. of Langley, British Columbia for $3 million in stock, cash and the assumption of some debt. In what is described by the Company as a “highly strategic transaction” the acquisition transforms Diamond Estates into a national producer of VQA wines and positions the Company to build a major new winery in the internationally-recognized Okanagan Valley wine-producing region.
Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. is a producer of wines and a sales agent for over 120 beverage alcohol brands across Canada. The company operates wineries in Niagara and one in Toronto, producing VQA and blended wines under brand names 20 Bees, EastDell, Lakeview Cellars, FRESH, Dan Aykroyd, McMichael Collection, Benchmark and Seasons.
Only in Canada.
Only in our home and native land, on our national birthday, on the hottest weekend in many years, could hockey occupy centre stage.
July 1 is not only Canada’s birthday but also “Free Agent Frenzy” day in the NHL. Every July 1 at noon, all NHL teams can start to sign NHL free agents. Weeks of speculation on which free agent will go where lead into the big day.
On a sweltering hot Saturday, Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer found one of the cooler spots in Niagara to meet 300 supporters for a barbeque. Henley Island in St. Catharines provided the backdrop with a cool breeze off the water as the crowd of Tory supporters eagerly dined on burgers and Canada Day cake while lining up for pictures with their party leader.
The event was organized by St. Catharines Conservative Riding Association member and St. Catharines City Councillor Mike Britton along with the Niagara Falls Riding Association. Britton also was the evening’s emcee. “It was an honour to have Mr. Scheer here in Niagara and having such a large turnout with just a week’s notice is a testament to the support the Party has here in this Region,” said Britton.
Current Niagara Regional Chairman, Alan Caslin is officially seeking re-election.
Chair Caslin announced his intentions Thursday stating: “For the past four years, I have been honoured to lead a Niagara Regional Council that has repeatedly delivered for Niagara residents.” He cited the creation of 12,700 new jobs, billions of dollars in economic growth annually, the lowest unemployment rate in 18 years, and a low tax plan that included a tax freeze in 2016 as some of the accomplishments in the past four years under Caslin’s leadership.
A fourth European institution is joining the dual degree program that has become an international success story for Brock University’s Goodman School of Business.
The Goodman School has established a partnership with Reutlingen University’s ESB Business School in Germany for its Bachelor of Business Administration Co-op International Dual Degree program.
Welland City Council has approved phase one of a multi-phased canal redevelopment strategy focused on funding new initiatives and amenities that will enhance the city’s waterfront experience for families, individuals, and tourists. The phase one changes will be completed at the city’s Lincoln Street Docks over the next four to six weeks.
Traditionally frequented by dog walkers and weekend cyclists, Fireman’s Park will soon play host to an upcoming historic event.
On Saturday, July 21, 1 000 amateur and professional musicians of all ages will descend on the Niagara Falls recreation area to perform a synchronized set of six classic hits.
On Friday, June 15 public officials and relief agencies from across the region gathered to celebrate 10 successful years of the Niagara Prosperity Initiative (NPI).
Established in 2008, the NPI administers $1.5 million in annual funding to a variety of local organizations maintaining missions to reduce and prevent poverty.
The event was moderated by Commissioner of Community Services Adrienne Jugley and featured statements from Regional Chair Alan Caslin, Township of West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner, and program director at Westview Centre4Women Jane LaVacca.
The Integrity Commissioner Office for the Niagara Region, ADR Chambers, has found Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn in violation of the Region’s Code of Conduct, specifically the Release of Confidential Information.
Regional Councillor David Barrick brought forth the complaint in January, alleging Councillor Augustyn violated the Code of Conduct when, on Dec. 21 of 2017 he circulated documents clearly marked privileged and confidential to the Office of the Ontario Ombudsmen.
With just 48 hours until Ontario decides who will be the next leader of the province and closer to home, which Niagara candidates will be heading to Queen’s Park to represent their respective constituents, Niagara Falls riding PC candidate Chuck McShane gave one last pre-election day speech to his supporters.
At a news conference held at his Niagara Falls campaign headquarters, McShane took to the podium on Tuesday afternoon to remind his supporters and those in his riding of the importance of having a seat at the table in Toronto.
Ontario PC Party Leader Doug Ford was back in Niagara for the fourth time in this 2018 provincial election which tells many political pundits that the PCs are seeing numbers that suggest they can win what have historically been NDP and Liberal seats.
In contrast, the other main party Leaders Andrea Horwath (NDP) and Kathleen Wynne (Liberal) have been in Niagara only once and not at all respectively.
The Region has moved the full day GO TRAIN transit file forward in a solid and meaningful way with the passing of all four secondary plans for the GO Train station areas.
Niagara Region, as part of its business case, committed to ensuring that the areas around the potential stations, the so-called Transit Hubs, would be fully planned and prepared in time for the beginning of GO Train service committed for 2023.
Myer’s Ryan Shannon rounds the bases during play in the Bullet Proof high school baseball tournament. Photo Credit: Jeff Eidt Last week the annual Bullet Proof High School Baseball tournament was held in St. Catharines. A.N. Myer of Niagara Falls, which has ‘threepeated’ as SOSSA champions and finished in the top five in OFSAA the last […]
Last year’s regional-municipal saga surrounding the $36 million borrowed by the Region on behalf of the Town of Pelham for Pelham’s new arena, reappeared in an Audit Committee meeting at the Region this week. The loan request of the Region was first made in June of 2016 when the Town asked the Region to agree to grant it borrowing space of up to $36 million for aforementioned arena. The Town stated they had no intention of borrowing the full amount, because they had a plan to fundraise and engage in land sales to cover at least $15 million of the cost. Several Councillors balked at agreeing to have the Region borrow for the Town fearing the amount was far too much for a town of only 17,000 people, but were led to believe by previous Region staff that their non-approval would be a legal problem. Loans like this by upper tier governments had come to be treated as ‘rubber stamps’. After a deferral was narrowly defeated, the loan space was eventually approved, with only Councillors Bart Maves and Andy Petrowski standing their ground and voting against.
The Town of Pelham and a few other municipalities began to pass motions at their respective Councils condemning perceived Regional government interference in municipal matters. The Region argued that since they were liable for the debt, they had the right and the responsibility to ask for financial information from the Municipalities that would assure the Region that the municipality could actually afford the debt.
Rather than tell you who won or who lost, The Niagara Independent staff watched the first Ontario election leaders’ debate and picked out a few interesting and fun sections of the debate and have reprinted them here – in their own words.
All three are single parents. All three have raised boys. All three have gone through terrible physical or emotional experiences and have come out stronger on the other side.
Now, all three of these women are running to become progressive conservative MPPs in the upcoming Ontario election. And they want to get more women interested in participating in politics.
Christine Elliott joined Niagara MPP hopefuls Sandie Bellows and April Jeffs at Johnny Rocco’s in St. Catharines Friday evening for what was billed as “A Conversation with Women – Three Strong Leaders Talking Real Change”.
As a rookie, Kristin Gallant figured her first year with the Brock Badgers women’s basketball team would see her play a small role and fight for playing time.
But after a busy season that saw the 18-year-old Halifax native become a young leader on her team, Gallant was named to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all-star game.
An accident in early 2018 at Four Mile Creek Road and Line 3 in Niagara-on-the-Lake spurred regional public works transportation staff to try and find out why so many accidents were occurring at the intersection. Traffic counts don’t warrant four-way stops at the intersection and it is a relatively plain two-way stop from Line 3 onto Creek Road.
The Regions’ public works staff accelerated their processes after another accident in late April. This accident was followed by urgent requests for a four-way stop to be installed by Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council.
The spotlight on the Burgoyne Bridge massive cost overrun has shifted to the City of St. Catharines. At issue is two years worth of city emails, 2011 and 2012, that can’t be retrieved. The 2011 email file is corrupted and the 2012 emails have completely vanished.
The committee trying to get to the bottom of the massive cost overruns was provided with an update from staff at this week’s meeting.
A Brock University student placed an impressive third overall in a national science research video contest, with two other Brock student videos among the contest’s top 15 finalists.
Science, Action! features student-produced, 60-second videos on research projects funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), one of Brock’s major research funders.
While the ‘Port Tower’ project still hasn’t gotten off the ground in the Port Dalhousie area of St. Catharines, two new condo projects are winding their way through city bureaucracy and the court of public opinion hoping to have more success at becoming a reality than their languishing cousin down the street.
The two projects are essentially located side by side. The Port Dalhousie Harbour Club Inc. is looking to redevelop the former Lincoln Fabrics building while Royal Canadian Legion Branch 350 and Rankin Construction are planning on redeveloping the Port Dalhousie Legion building. Somewhat similar to the port tower saga, there are both proponents and naysayers to both projects. One of the main concerns from those opposing the projects is the height of the buildings.
A.N. Myer High School’s baseball program has been having great success over the last few years. Success that rivals that of the school’s legendary football program – whose senior team had 3 successive SOSSA Championships as well as victories at OFSAA which included the #2 ranking in Canada in 2016.
Myer baseball is on a similar streak with 3 successive SOSSA championships and 3 straight trips to OFSAA, which included the #3 ranking in Ontario going into OFSAA last year.
The Progressive Conservatives are hoping two strong hard-working women will end up as MPPs at Queen’s Park after the June provincial election. Sandy Bellows, who recently received the nomination for St. Catharines and April Jeffs, who this past weekend opened her campaign office in Welland, are looking forward to the long hours and tough demands of a provincial campaign.
Both women say they are hearing the same message from voters in their respective ridings – it’s time for change. That was the message Jeffs heard at the opening of her campaign office at the Fitch Street Plaza in Welland. “The energy in this room today shows me that people are motivated and eager for a new government – a government that works for them – not against them,” Jeffs said.
Regional Councillor’s voted at last week’s meeting in favour of beginning an investigation into the allegations reported in local media regarding the hiring of CAO Carmen D’Angelo. While many observers of regional politics were anticipating a knock down drag ‘em out heated debate on this issue, councillors kept their comments respectful and constructive throughout the discussion.
By the end of the debate council ended up approving the hiring of Toronto firm, ADR Chambers, to conduct the investigation. The firm already acts as the council’s integrity commissioner.
For the longest time in Canadian politics, Justin Trudeau ascending to the office of Prime Minister just seemed to be a fait accompli. Name, looks, aura – all pointed to it.
From the time he eulogized his late father during a nationally covered address, Liberals spoke about Trudeau Junior as their Great Hope. He became an MP narrowly winning in his own riding. Then he won the Liberal leadership with over 80 per cent of Liberal party members’ vote. Even when he ran for Liberal leader in the 2015 election, Harper and the Tories offered up little resistance to the inevitable ascendancy of Trudeau and the Liberal party. After winning the majority in October 2015, the expected Trudeaumania in full force, even Tories talked about him being at least a two-term Prime Minister.
Every year when the provincial or federal budgets are introduced, the public gets bombarded with economic spin as the governments of the day seek to put lipstick on a pig. For the public, constantly experiencing unemployment, underemployment and a seemingly ever-increasing cost of living to go along with minimal income growth – these rosy statistics put out by government Ministers just does not seem to match their own realities.
Recently Ben Eisen and Milagros Palacios, academics with the Fraser Institute, put out several economic measures about Ontario’s economy over the last decade (2007-2016) to objectively measure its performance. Matching what most Ontarians are feeling, the results weren’t good.
Researchers at Brock University are going to be “all-in” to help fight against disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Brock University Professor of Biological Sciences, Fiona Hunter, and her co-investigator, Modesto Cruz, will work with additional researchers and students from the Dominican to conduct field research which involves identifying and collecting mosquitoes from sites across the country. Their project is titled “Zika Virus: Factors Influencing Vector Competence in the Dominican Republic.”
They received a $250,000 (U.S.) grant from the Dominican Republic government for a mosquito surveillance research project.
Niagara College has 11 million reasons to thank those who have generously supported students through the recently completed Achieving Dreams fundraising campaign. The Achieving Dreams campaigned far surpassed its goal of $7 million, raising a total of $11,450,791.
The campaign was launched in April 2015, with a goal of supporting student success through campus redevelopment projects; equipment and learning resources; and scholarships, bursaries, study-work abroad and student leadership development opportunities.
Thanks to donors’ generous support, 788 new student scholarships and bursaries were created, and $1.6 million of new instructional equipment was purchased to help provide students with the up-to-date equipment and support they need to excel in their studies.
Fort Erie Town Council has come full circle with their approval of Harbourtown Village subdivision.
Ontario’s New Democratic Party, known for its anti-harassment and anti-bullying stance has come under fire for exactly those allegations. All three Hamilton-area NDP members of provincial parliament – Paul Millier – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, Monique Taylor – Hamilton Mountain and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in Hamilton Centre have allegedly had no less than 11 workers fired, quit or bought out after filing grievances. Most constituency offices only employ a couple of employees each. The NDP constituency offices are the only ones unionized.
The story first appeared in The Bay Observer, a Hamilton- Burlington news publication, who spoke with several former staff from all three constituency offices. They all described their working environments as toxic where the MPPs sometimes intimidated and bullied them as well as demanded personal loyalty above qualifications.
Eight Niagara municipalities received funding from both the provincial and federal governments yesterday to the tune of $149 million. It’s being called the single largest transit investment in Niagara’s history.
MPs Vance Badawey and Chris Bittle were on hand at Niagara Regional headquarters to announce the federal portion of the funding which totalled $82.1 million. St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley was also on hand to announce the provincial share of $67 million. The funding is a ten year commitment and it will be up to the individual municipalities to decide which transit priorities they will spend the cash on.
Dean Demizio of Fort Erie will be acclaimed Thursday night as the Ontario Provincial Liberal candidate in the riding of Niagara Falls for the 2018 provincial election to be held in June. Demizio was born and raised in Niagara Falls. Along with his wife Peggy, he moved to Fort Erie in 1994 and opened a […]
Doug Ford shocked everyone, including himself, when he won the leadership of the PC Party on the third ballot on the weekend.
“Today isn’t only about defeating Kathleen Wynne. Today is about rebuilding Ontario to be the economic powerhouse of the country. It’s about bringing new jobs, and new opportunities. It’s about showing the province, the country, and the world, what happens when a strong, united, Progressive Conservative Party focuses on a single goal,” Ford told supporters.
In 1967, Pierre Trudeau, acting as Justice Minister, introduced a controversial bill in the House of Commons calling for massive changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. The bill included the decriminalization of ‘homosexual acts’ performed in private, telling the nation “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”
Seems like his son Justin wasn’t at the kitchen table to hear that lecture. The younger Trudeau and his current Liberal government continue on their social engineering spree not only with Budget 2018, but with other sneakier pieces of legislation currently sliding under proper public scrutiny (except for one of Canada’s leading business writers, the ever vigilant Terence Corcoran). Trudeau would like to intervene in the bedrooms, boardrooms and lunchrooms of Canadians and Canadian businesses. Not to mention the lectures he chooses to give around the world to other governments, that if they don’t step up and buy into his socially engineered view of the world, they won’t be doing business with Canada.
Ontario PC’s are currently voting electronically this week for their next Leader. The Leader that in a few short months will lead them into an important provincial election. They should choose Christine Elliott.
We have watched the candidates throughout the process, followed the debates and attended appearances by Elliott, Ford, and Mulroney in Niagara. Elliott stands far above the others.
