Monday, November 9, 2026
The Niagara Independent
Monday, November 9, 2026

Local

Page 155

High five – Welland opens fifth industrial park

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.

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New Niagara Falls hospital makes the list

While there have been doubts as to whether or not there will ever be a new south Niagara hospital built, a recent Infrastructure Ontario document titled P3 Market Update – Fall 2019 puts those doubts to rest. The document lists a number of projects in the pre-procurement stage. Not surprisingly under the section titled “Hospitals and Other Social Facilities” the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital is listed. What came as a welcomed surprise to many was “Niagara Falls Hospital” also being listed in the document.

Kevin Vallier

Police to get new command post

For the second year in a row Niagara Regional Police has received board approval to purchase a new vehicle that will assist in different emergency response situations. Last year the board approved the purchase of an armoured response vehicle. At last week’s Police Service’s board meeting, members approved the $4.15 million 2020 capital police budget that included $450,000 for a new mobile command centre. Niagara Falls regional councillor Bob Gale and Wainfleet Mayor Kevin Gibson who sit on the police board voted against the purchase of the mobile command centre. That vote and the vote for the balance of the budget passed.

Kevin Vallier

Leviathan Cannabis sues Town of Pelham

In a statement released Monday, Sept. 9, Leviathan Cannabis Group announced that through a subsidiary, Woodstock Biomed Inc., it has initiated legal proceedings against the Town of Pelham. The move appears to be timed to influence Town Council’s decision, scheduled for late September, over whether to extend an Interim Control Bylaw that has delayed Leviathan’s construction of cannabis production facilities in Fenwick. The initial one-year bylaw period is set to expire on October 15. Members of Pelham’s Cannabis Control Committee have lobbied council for a one-year extension to the bylaw. The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake recently passed a similar extension.

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What it takes to be a Snowbird

As a young boy growing up in St. Catharines Blake McNaughton says he was fortunate to know exactly what he wanted to do as an adult. “I was very lucky in that at a very early age I knew I wanted to be a military pilot,” said Captain McNaughton. He not only met that goal but flew right past it on his way to piloting Snowbird number 10 for one of the most famous military air demonstration teams in the world. After flying for the team for the past three years, McNaughton is now an instructor and while his colleagues were dazzling on-lookers over the Niagara District Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake earlier this week, Captain McNaughton was back in Saskatchewan helping train the next crop of potential Snowbirds as the Flight Safety Officer.

Kevin Vallier

Development charges: friend or foe

Depending on who you talk to it’s either a necessary charge applied fairly to cover growth related infrastructure costs or a form of tax on home buyers that has over time become completely out of whack with other economic indicators. Regardless, development charges are a hot topic. There has always been misunderstanding, confusion and discussion about development charges (DCs) since they were enacted in the Development Charges Act of 1997.  Conversation has ramped up again with the province passing Bill 108 – More Homes, More Choice Act which addresses some of the issues with what some call the “housing tax”.

Kevin Vallier

Feds pull through with summer games funds

The final piece of the funding puzzle has been put in place for the 2021 Canada Summer Games. The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; along with feral colleagues Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre and Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines; Doug Hamilton, Chairman of the 2021 Canada Games and a host of other politicians and dignitaries were at the Welland Flatwater Centre yesterday to announce funding for the construction of two new sports facilities, the rehabilitation of seven other sporting venues, and the purchase of new specialized sports equipment for two events, all of which will be used for the 2021 Canada Games.

Kevin Vallier

Marotta Family Innovation Complex opens at Niagara College

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.

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Niagara shipyard looking for fair shake

The deadline for submission on a massive shipbuilding project – several new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard - was Friday, Aug. 30 and while Shaun Padulo, president of Heddle Marine Services - which took over the Port Weller Dry Docks in Niagara in 2017 - was happy his company got his submission in, he’s still frustrated over the federal government’s procurement process. Padulo, who became Heddle’s president last year, feels there are signs the process favours a Quebec shipyard over all others. He said he’s been watching the federal government’s procurement processes closely for a couple of years and there have been a few red flags that it may not be a fair process. One such red flag occurred when the industry was asked to bid on the construction of two new ferries. One of the ferries being replaced was originally built at Port Weller. The contract went to Davie shipyard in Quebec after the sizing of the vessel was changed at the last minute. The only shipyard that qualified after the size change was Davie.

Kevin Vallier

St. Catharines awarded 2024 world rowing championships

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.

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