The Welland Tribune
Niagara's new digital 911 system ready to go live
Niagara is switching over to an enhanced emergency communications system, one that promises to be more robust and efficient while reducing response times. Powered by provider Bell and Motorola Solutions, the digitalbased Next Generation 911 (NG911)...
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South Niagara mayors are confident about health plans
While Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said plans are in place to provide “exceptional health-care service” for Niagara, she didn’t comment on Fort Erie and Port Colborne proposals to continue urgent care services in their communities. Urgent care...
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Regional council hands chair a stinging rebuke
Niagara Region Chair Bob Gale's drive for governance reform has hit a detour, with councillors passing a motion directing him to refrain from any further action or use of staff time while they initiate their own review. The motion was council's...
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Signed and delivered
A steel beam, seven metres long and bearing the signatures of thousands of Niagara residents and healthcare workers, on Wednesday was hoisted to the top of Niagara Health's 12storey hospital under construction on Montrose Road. It was the last...
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`It has to be from Niagara, by Niagara'
Doug Ford said Niagara's governance needs change — but he's not going to determine what that may be. Ontario's premier said that will be a decision for residents and the region's political leaders. “That's going to be up to them if they want one...
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Students face more debt as OSAP gets overhaul
As rent and grocery costs continue to climb, food insecurity had already become a growing concern on Niagara postsecondary campuses. Student unions and advocacy groups were focused on helping their peers avoid choosing between a healthy meal and a...
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Family slams police for failed 911 response
Less than a year after Ralph Buerger died, his family stood outside Niagara Regional Police headquarters, hoping their presence on the Niagara Falls sidewalk in front would put pressure on police to clarify what happened in the early hours of Aug. 30,...
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Sport system under strain showed in Milan Cortina
Canada losing ground to other countries in the 2026 Olympic Games is a symptom of a sport system under strain, said a Canadian Olympic Committee leader Sunday. Canada finished outside the top five countries in the medal table at the Milan Cortina...
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Industries navigating for slice of defence spending
Port Weller dry docks in St. Catharines could be a beehive of activity if Ontario Shipyards secures a share of billions of dollars being invested in national defence over the next decade. The company, formerly known as Heddle Marine, announced this...
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Ukrainians living in Niagara facing a new kind of limbo
When Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, Lydia Pelageya received a call from a friend of more than 25 years. The man had bought plane tickets for her and her family, insisting they flee to Canada. While her son-in-law stayed in Odessa to fight in...
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`Black communities should be encouraged and supported'
Tapo Chimbganda was shocked and horrified when she saw it. She was walking along Welland Avenue in St. Catharines in 2010 when an “extremely offensive” pitch-black doll with bulging white eyes and pink lips caught her attention. It was a golliwog...
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Niagara is no longer `such a white space'
When Nyarayi Kapisavanhu moved to Niagara in 2011, it was unusual to meet someone who looked like her, she recalls. The Zimbabwe native was one of 6,340 Niagara residents who identified as Black that year, according to Statistics Canada's census...
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`They helped me not die'
A former client of Niagara’s only supervised consumption and drug treatment centre says he’s alive today because of the services it provides to support his recovery. John Baker, a pseudonym protecting his identity, said he became concerned when he...
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Hospital underfunding `getting worse,' union says
Job cuts at Niagara Health, along with other hospitals across Ontario, are likely to continue in the years to come due to government underfunding, warns a new Canadian Union of Public Employees report. Michael Hurley, president of CUPE's Ontario...
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Charges dropped in case of Welland condo collapse
Charges against a professional engineer regarding the partial collapses of Evertrust Development's Upper Vista Welland condos three years ago have been withdrawn in provincial offences court. Appearing before justice of the peace Shari St. Peter on...
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Region's supervised injection site at risk
Relocation of a St. Catharines Montessori school could mean the end of Niagara’s only supervised consumption and drug treatment site next door. Talia Storm of Positive Living Niagara said provincial legislation regulating consumption sites prohibits...
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Gale wants $3 million in cuts to Region budget
Niagara Region Chair Bob Gale has identified more than $3 million in potential savings for the municipality's 2026 budget he said addresses residents' concerns about affordability and rising costs. Any decisions would still need council approval, but...
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EARTHLY CABARET
Nailah Renuka performs on an aerial hoop at The Bank Art House during the Welland performance venue's Earthly Cabaret, an artistic tribute to Mother Nature. The cabaret was held this past weekend in conjunction with FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre...
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Children's book a fresh take on stinky breath
Ever been trapped by someone with “Icky Stinky Poopy Breath?” Adults can discreetly move away. Kids don't always have that option — especially when being smothered in the arms of cheekpinching Aunt Betty, who they've never met before. “I always...
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Welland urged to pay $17.8M for Niagara Falls hospital
City staff are recommending Welland council approve a $17.8million contribution to the new 12storey Niagara Falls hospital under construction at Montrose and Biggar roads. Before it's presented publicly at Tuesday's meeting, city council will meet in...
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Cemetery discussion leads to shouting match
Discussion about Thorold's controversial cemetery bylaw gave rise to shouting and namecalling as a leader of the city's Islamic community sought compassion. City Coun. Tim O'Hare put forth a motion Tuesday to remove from the bylaw a clause that...
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Welland hospital extended care unit to close
Dozens of older adults living at Welland hospital’s extended care unit have to find new homes as Niagara Health shuts down its long-term-care home. The hospital system’s chief nursing executive, Simon Akinsulie, said the 115-bed facility won’t close...
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Deep freeze creates winter wonderland
Cold weather is expected to linger in Niagara for at least the rest of the week and into the weekend, although not quite like late January’s deep freeze and avalanche of snow. On Groundhog Day, furry prognosticators’ predictions varied. In Niagara,...
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Royal George Theatre takes one final bow
Colleen Lawrason saw her first film at NiagaraontheLake's Royal George Theatre. “I started in the '50s riding my bicycle to see movies here,” said the St. Catharines woman, who with her retired husband Jim toured the theatre Saturday one last time...
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`We should be doubling down on this program'
A team in bright vests and jackets has helped a downtown St. Catharines business deal with garbage in a nearby encampment. Its members have intervened at the library when a person was in crisis. And they've helped an employee get to know the unhoused...
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`Frozen falls' luring plenty of visitors
The “frozen falls” phenomenon is expected to draw a larger number of people to Niagara Falls this weekend than normal for this chilly time of year. Following an extended period of extreme cold and snow, the worldfamous cataracts have partially frozen,...
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Overhead gantry at former GM plant `dangerous threat'
Possible safety concerns about the old General Motors industrial overhead structure spanning Ontario Street are being raised by a St. Catharines city councillor. Bruce Williamson said his concerns aren't just about the integrity of the metal gantry...
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Ticat receiver goes from tackling sled to bobsled
“Big, strong and fast.” In three seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks and one with the Hamilton TigerCats, Keaton Bruggeling found out quickly “that's the name of the game” in the Canadian Football League. “And that's all they tell you to be,” the...
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Marineland has `solid plan' to move whales
Marineland has a “solid plan” to move Canada's last remaining captive whales and dolphins to several parks in the United States, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said Tuesday. On Monday, the minister conditionally approved the shuttered Niagara...
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Conditional approval granted to send belugas to U.S. parks
Marineland's belugas have a received a reprieve from death row after the federal government conditionally approved a plan to export the last remaining captive whales in Canada to the United States. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with...
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Ice volcanoes emerge on Lake Erie shoreline
Along with snow days, severe winter weather experienced this past week in south Niagara brought with it the return of a seasonal feature. Like natural sculptures, ice volcanoes are winddriven mounds of ice that form along a lake shore. Earlier this...
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Former Olympian, alleged drug king found in Mexico
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico, capping off a yearslong manhunt and dealing what U.S. officials called a significant blow to a violent criminal network that has endangered...
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Marineland asks to ship belugas to U.S. parks
Marineland has presented a plan to the federal government to ship the last remaining captive whales and dolphins in Canada to several institutions in the United States, The Canadian Press has learned. But the theme park also gave Ottawa an imminent...
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`Experiences like these can leave people feeling unsettled'
A month after a standoff and shooting on Second Street, Welland Mayor Frank Campion says city officials are continuing to review what happened and assess how to support municipal staff and the community. “I want to acknowledge city staff, including...
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Region presses for homeless solutions
Niagara Region continues to make its case with the provincial government that funding for highly supportive housing will reduce chronic homelessness — and makes financial sense for taxpayers. An analysis, presented last week in an infographic to...
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Take it easy while digging out, health experts advise
As parts of Niagara are digging out from its latest dumping of snow, cardiologist Dr. Adnan Hameed says Niagara Health is seeing an uptick in patients experiencing chest pain after clearing driveways. About 25 centimetres of snow fell on parts of...
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What’s in a name? Fonthill was never Temperanceville
The buildings may be miniature in size, but their history is anything but. While a recent restoration of the village display in Fonthill’s Peace Park highlighted the Temperanceville name, Pelham Historical Society is stepping in to provide a deeper,...
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Niagara's Ira Parker goes from fan to showrunner
It was one of those lifechanging moments Niagara's Ira Parker didn't realize at the time. He was in college, bored, about to read the Harry Potter books for about the 10th time, he recalls. That's when his longtime friend intervened with something...
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Police storefront wanted in downtown St. Catharines
Niagara Regional Police are being asked by St. Catharines council to consider opening a community storefront downtown as part of a plan to improve safety, support workers and residents, and “restore public confidence” in the area. The city has been in...
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A Niagaran's life in the lore of Robert Burns
Carefully sifting through the wellworn edges of his grandfather's Robert Burns poetry collection, Ronnie O'Byrne's hands go still when they find a familiar 270line refrain. “Go anywhere you want,” he says, passing the book. “Just give me a couple of...
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Cool times forecast with icewine in festival spotlight
As temperatures dip below freezing, the Niagara Icewine Festival turns up the heat for two weeks in January. Starting Jan. 17 and 18, and continuing Jan. 24 and 25, NiagaraontheLake's downtown transforms into Icewine Village as local wineries offer...
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A Niagara artist, a 1963 photo and a surprise visit
Niagara Falls artist Emily Andrews usually gets so attached to her paintings she forms a relationship with the people in them. Random faces and figures are characters she grows attached to. Considering the nostalgic nature of her work, the faces are...
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`Give me a chainsaw and I'm a happy guy'
Four blocks of ice, each weighing 125 kilograms, were delivered to Sts. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church ahead of the first weekend in January. On Saturday, Rev. Roman Dusanowskyj laid the blocks, with assistance from members of the...
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Tradespeople numbers can't keep up with building boom
There is now more work in Niagara for skilled tradespeople than there are people available to do that work. For tradespeople, it's a good problem to have, said International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 303 business manager Mark...
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`It's about the community'
Despite the gratitude she felt when she learned she was being appointed as a member of the Order of Canada, Mary Ann Edwards said it also made her feel a bit uncomfortable. It's a secret the St. Catharines resident has kept since midNovember, when...
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It's a boy! Meet Niagara's first baby of 2026
It's a boy! Rachel McColeman and her partner Robert rang in the new year with a new addition. The couple arrived at Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines on New Year's Eve and welcomed son Rory on Jan. 1, making him the first baby born at Niagara...
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Some notable Niagarans that we lost in 2025
A political giant, a pair of trailblazers and a former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, among others, helped shape the region throughout their lives. These are the stories of some of the notable Niagarans the community lost in 2025. Jim Bradley Jim...
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A look back on Niagara in 2025
Tariffs and tourism. Political legacy and controversy. Belugas and Jackfish. It was another eventful news year in Niagara. Here were some of the biggest stories of 2025. Tariffs International trade was on the minds of many business leaders and...
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How did Niagara man's bone get to Hamilton?
A little more than a year ago, an upper arm bone was found in Hamilton Harbour. DNA from the remains was sent to the RCMP's National DNS Data Bank for identification. The testing determined the humerus bone, which was discovered on Dec. 4, 2024,...
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'Those are the cases that keep us up at night'
Despite fewer homicide investigations than in recent years, Niagara Regional Police detectives still had their work cut out for them in 2025. Eight homicides were reported in the region as of Dec. 22, exceeding the average of about six homicide deaths...
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`Caravan of controversy'
For the first time in almost eight years, the chair's office at Niagara Region has a new occupant. Bob Gale arrived at regional headquarters bright and early on the Friday morning before Christmas week, assuming the chair's role following his...
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Merry Christmas
We would like to wish the whole community a happy holiday, for those who celebrate Christmas and also those who do not. There will be no paper on Thursday. Find news, updates and holiday events at wellandtribune.ca
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Eye-like observation wheel planned for falls
A second observation wheel is coming to Niagara Falls' tourist district. This one, according to a senior Niagara Parks official, will resemble the worldfamous London Eye along the River Thames in England. HOCO Ltd. has owned and operated Niagara...
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Attempted murder charge laid after officer shooting
A 59yearold Welland man who allegedly shot a female Niagara Regional Police officer Friday morning on Second Street near Plymouth Road in Welland has been arrested and charged with attempted murder. In a news release, police said Daniel Tronko was...
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Police officer shot in Welland standoff
What began as a call to assist City of Welland bylaw officers at a property on Second Street near Plymouth Road erupted into chaos Friday morning as shots were fired and a Niagara Regional Police officer was struck by a bullet. “The city had a bylaw...
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Niagara Health job cuts `sneak attack,' union says
A “sneak attack” is how the vicepresident of SEIU Healthcare described Niagara Health's plans to cut nearly 100 jobs. “When I heard about the sneak attack Niagara Health SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members got, I was pretty ticked...
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Hospital funding boost not enough to save jobs
Millions of dollars in provincial funding increases over the past six years haven't been enough for Niagara Health to rein in its growing budget deficits. And now, as the hospital system plans to eliminate 98 frontline positions as a result, SEIU...
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Hockey fans turn out for Team Canada training camp
As Canada's top young hockey players prepare to take on the world, thousands of people are cheering them on in Niagara Falls. The national junior hockey team's training camp started this week, with its members practising at the Gale Centre. “They...
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Ford wants more casinos, attractions
Call it a plan to make Niagara Falls the Las Vegas of the North. More casinos and attractions for the Honeymoon City and a better transportation network for the region are among highlights of an ambitious strategy to bolster Niagara's economy...
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Restaurant set ablaze by arsonists rises from ashes
When Kays Hannus and his family opened the doors at Castillo Shawarma in Thorold, they were happy to see familiar faces. Customers from their former restaurant that was gutted by fire on Lakeport Road in north St. Catharines last year — the result of...
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`My broken family to yours, please never drive impaired'
For a few moments on a sunny, frigid Thursday morning, photographs of Cole Hodge hung along a small foldout table near the intersection of Bunting Road and Eastchester Avenue, where his life ended two years ago. Grinning widely in a school portrait....
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Niagara students stand at the head of the class
Ontario's provincial report card is out, and Niagara students are again grading at the top of the class. Test results recently released from Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) showed students at both Niagara public and...
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`I don't want this to happen to anyone else'
Malik Masud says he tried to be strong for his family despite the intense emotional pain he felt after losing his 18yearold daughter Alina as a result of a crash on Highway 406 last week. “This is such a formidable experience. Nobody ever wants to...
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Muslim family prevented from burying daughter in Thorold
An hour before Alina Masud was to be laid to rest at Lakeview Cemetery on Thorold Townline Road Saturday, the service was abruptly halted. Masud, an 18yearold Brock University student, died in a crash on Highway 406 three days earlier. On Dec. 3,...
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'Its best days had ended'
It has been more than a decade since the St. Catharines Standard left its home of 115 years at 17 Queen St., but the fire that sealed that building's fate over the weekend is still hard to bear for many of the people who worked there. The building,...
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New DSBN chair Baggott talks about the good and bad
Returning to Canada in 2013 after spending a decade in Germany, Kate Baggott remembers feeling disenfranchised living abroad — a foreigner on a temporary resident permit, without any say in local governance. When she returned to St. Catharines, she...
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`Cheers to the open road'
The latest beer launched by Cold Break Brewing is a 4.2 white stout called Year 6. Given that the combination brewery and taproom opened at the end of 2019, a brew that owner Noel Buckley refers to as a “cinnamon latte” couldn't have a more fitting or...
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Transit budget increase includes more service
Niagara Transit's proposed 2026 gross operating budget of $89.7 million is up 6.76 per cent over this year's figure but will address the top rider request — regionwide holiday and weekend service. That means the owner of a house valued at $620,600 is...
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Jail's dental program put inmates' health at risk
Richard Caissie's intuition told him something was wrong after having teeth extracted while an inmate at Niagara Detention Centre (NDC). Caissie, 36, had a painful abscess in his mouth and was worried about infection. He had the jailhouse dentist pull...
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Anyone need 1,146 Monopoly games?
Bert Dandy is rolling the dice and taking a chance on finding other Monopoly enthusiasts. The 82yearold Niagara Falls resident for many years has been collecting sets of the popular real estate board game first published by Parker Brothers in...
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Two stars, one wild journey
Eric Robertson, the chef with an international reputation whose finedining restaurant in Niagara is ranked No. 1 in Canada, plucks an orange pepper from the soil. “I promise it's not a prank, it's not spicy — I'll eat it first, OK?” he says, tearing...
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Budget reality closing in
Niagara Region council's budget committee has recommended accepting the Niagara Regional Police (NRP) operating budget of $236.9 million for 2026, subject to final budget deliberations scheduled for Dec. 11 at regional headquarters in Thorold. On that...
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Westview helps unhoused keep pets through winter
A St. Catharines agency is working to ensure women facing homelessness are able to keep their furry friends as winter sets in. Westview Centre 4 Women's (WC4W) Holiday Hearts and Helping Paws program equips women living in tents with supplies to keep...
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Changes to renters' rules called threat to democracy
With critics calling it a threat to democracy, the provincial government has pushed through highly contested legislation that tenant advocates worry will strip renters of their rights and consolidate power in the hands of landlords. The provincial...
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Home affordability `nothing short of crisis'
The struggle to keep up with rising costs has become a defining part of daily life for many Niagarans, feeling pressure that stretches from grocery bills to the hopes of one day owning a home. The scale of those strains has come into sharper focus...
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