From the Niagara Falls Review: Last spring, my cohort Ray Spiteri and I did a three-part series on the Destination Marketing Fee, the notorious tourism fee several Niagara Falls hotels and restaurants have been charging since 2004. In recent years, the fee – up to 10 per cent in some places – has angered countless…
From NiagaraAtLarge.com: U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer met with the new Canadian Consul General Phyllis Yaffe and Canadian Ambassador David McNaughton this December 1st and urged them to immediately address staffing issues that are causing long wait times at all international border crossings between Buffalo and Canada including the Peace Bridge. Schumer said wait times…
From Niagara at Large: This Thursday, November 17th, the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has released new data that reveals a significant tourism opportunity gap when compared to international growth rates. According to the organization’s report, Closing the Tourism Gap: Creating a Long-Term Advantage for…
From the Niagara Falls Review: Canadian rockers Serena Ryder and The Sam Roberts Band will headline this year’s free New Year’s Eve concert at Queen Victoria Park. And if it seems like deja vu, that’s because both performers played the show just three years ago. That concert, headlined by U.S. pop star Demi Lovato, was…
From Niagara Falls Review: There’ll be a prehistoric addition to this year’s Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights. Among the new additions to the 34th edition of the festival will be a 10-foot-tall 3D woolly mammoth as part of the Canadian wildlife displays at Dufferin Islands… The expanded eight-kilometre illumination route runs along the…
From Niagara This Week: Despite interest from a pair of broadcast outlets to televise the annual New Year’s Eve celebration, no cameras will be rolling when a variety of musical acts hit the stage at Queen Victoria Park on Dec. 31. “There was interest from two broadcasters,” Mayor Jim Diodati said. “The discussions were going…
From the Niagara Falls Review: The city is moving ahead with planning for phase two of the streetscape revitalization along Victoria Avenue. Council approved $365,000 for engineering design work for the next phase, and city staff will prepare construction cost estimates for council’s consideration in the 2017 budget. The first phase — a $3.8-million revitalization…
From the Globe and Mail: Wait times at Canada’s second-busiest border crossing can stretch to hours, according to mayors and bridge authorities in Ontario’s Niagara Region who are pleading with Ottawa to boost staffing levels to ease the congestion, especially as the busy Peace Bridge prepares to reduce its operating lanes next month.
From the Buffalo News: Will Canada start listening now? With border backups attracting attention across the country and pressure rising at all levels of government, perhaps Ottawa will finally act to defuse a problem that poses economic perils on both sides of the border. The problem, which has been evident at various times all summer,…
From Niagara at Large: Congressman Brian Higgins is encouraged that progress will be made to address staffing issues on the border between the United States and Canada following today’s Northern Border Caucus meeting in Washington, D.C. with Canadian Ambassador David MacNaughton. Prior to the meeting with the entire caucus, the Congressman and the Ambassador met…