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Niagara Falls
Friday, March 29, 2024
Editorial: Plenty to celebrate this Canada Day

This year we will mark Canada Day like no other July 1 in recent memory.

In the COVID-19 era, here in Niagara-on-the-Lake there will be no cake parade through the streets, no party at Simcoe Park, no Rotary Club barbecue, among just a few of the traditions we have come to know and love.

But let’s all find a way, in our own families, in our “bubbles,” maybe in our neighbourhoods, to break out the red and white to celebrate July 1, in a safe, physically and socially distant manner.

So raise a cheer to Canada and to some noteworthy NOTL accomplishments as well. Here’s to a few of the many who deserve kudos:

* Norm Arsenault, the NOTL councillor, who organized a hugely successful campaign to get NOTLers to fly the flag of NOTL.

* The grassroots organizers of the recent anti-racism rally and march in Old Town. They are shining a light on an aspect of society that is stuck in a bygone era and needs to change. Their work is just beginning.

* The Heritage District Merchants Group, for pushing hard to convince the Town of NOTL to help struggling small businesses that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

* NOTL’s numerous restaurants and wineries, for continually embracing innovation and finding ways to operate safely and responsibly.

* The friends and fans of the Sandtrap Pub & Grill, for coming together one day last week and building a new outdoor patio in the parking lot of one of NOTL’s favourite watering holes.

* The Town of NOTL, for striving to keep residents’ health and safety paramount.

* The NOTL Public Library, for devising an innovative and creative program to keep kids reading over the summer.

* The Rotary Club, for raising a remarkable $50,000 in April to aid the global fight against COVID.

* The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, for highlighting the complaints of migrant workers during the pandemic. And to Erwin Wiens, a town councillor and farmer, for pledging to help any farm workers who speak out about problems. Next, we look forward to both the alliance and Wiens following through to help anyone whose rights have been violated.

* Friends and parishioners of St. Mark’s Anglican Church who gathered 30 cartons of food and $3,500 in donations for the Newark Neighbours food bank.

editor@niagaranow.com

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