VIDEO: Hot new attraction at Niagara Falls (the good side)

Agent 78 has called our attention to a video promoting "Niagara Takes Flight", the brand new catchpenny attraction on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It's a fully-immersive flying theatre ride, taking visitors to the skies for a breathtaking journey along the Niagara River corridor, with thrilling views of Niagara Falls and its surrounding landscape from the sky.

Sez the promotional copy, "You'll soar across 56 kilometres of parkland, from the shores of Lake Ontario to the edge of Lake Erie, as breathtaking landscapes unfold beneath you. Gliding over swirling rapids and steep rock faces, past lush forests and through dramatic battles that changed the course of history, all before getting closer than ever before to the thundering Horseshoe Falls."

Cinematic visuals shot across all four seasons unfold on a 55-foot dome screen while motion-based and other sensory effects like wind, mist and scent come together to create the exhilarating illusion of free flight. 

There is a pre-show voiced by James Cameron (yes, that James Cameron) which is heavy with woke "land acknowledgment" propaganda -- how the Indians First Nations saved the falls from the rapacious white colonizers.

There's almost no attempt to explain the historical moments and sites shown on the screen, but hey, the ride's the thing, and I think the Niagara Parks Commission -- kudos to them! -- hopes at least a few of the tourists will visit the other sites shown and learn that there's much more to Niagara than just the falls! Tell `em Walt sent ya!

Niagara Falls starts using "low-sound" fireworks - Walt reveals why

This is a holiday weekend in parts of the Great No-longer-white North. On Monday locals in the more British parts (i.e. not Québec) will celebrate the Queen's Birthday. Not Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but the very late Queen Victoria. That shows you how up-to-date Canadians are.

In Niagara Falls -- the clean one on the Canuck side of the river -- the Niagara Parks Commission begins its nightly fireworks showed, intended to make clear to those stuck on the shabbier side of the river that people on the western side are having lots more fun. Not just two casinos instead of one, and a lower drinking age, but fireworks too!

The nightly pyrotechnic display is pretty spectacular, to be sure. And it used to be pretty noisy too. Depending on the wind, you could hear the explosions echoing through and above the Niagara Gorge, up to ten miles away -- especially those ones that explode in a small circle of white light followed by an almighty BANG! Why, they sounded just like bombs, or cannon fire. You know, the kind of noises you'd hear if you were in a war zone. And that, gentle readers, turned out to be a problem.

To understand the dilemma faced by the NPC, you need to know that (according to Agent 78, who does know), white Canadians don't visit Niagara Falls. The whities you see oohing and awing are mostly Americans, who haven't heard about Canada's changing demographics. (Merci, Justin Trudeau, et mange d'la merde!) Canadian visitor are mostly immigrants, including hordes of Middle Eastern and south Asian "refugees" and asylum-seekers. And they, poor things, have a tendency to be "triggered" by the sound of explosions. At least, that's what the SJWs told Niagara Parks.

As a result, in a display of sensitivity and political correctness unusual even by Canadian standards, the NPC has sourced some new "low sound" fireworks for the nightly show. Instead of going "BOOM", these ones just explode with an inoffensive "pop". Less bang for the beaverbuck! And so the "accommodation" of "newcomers" reaches another high... or low... depending on how you look at it.

Footnote: The same argument was used last summer to dissuade the organizers of the CNE Airshow, the largest in Canada, to cancel the show entirely because the noise of the "warplanes" could "trigger" the poor downtrodden "refugees", yada yada yada. Fortunately the CNE has more guts than the NPC. Or at least they did last year.

Niagara Falls in danger from those who should protect it

This is Niagara Falls. [Yeah. We read the caption! Ed.] More accurately, it's the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls, which, together with the American and Bridal Veil Falls on the US side of the river constitute "Niagara Falls". Niagara Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it is in danger.

The danger comes, as it has since the day when Father Hennepin first laid eyes on it, from human activity. Nowadays, Niagara Falls looks pretty good, compared with what it was towards the end of the 19th century. By that time, tourism and other industry had almost obscured the natural beauty of the falls.

The American side was lined with heavy and very dirty industries, taking advantage of cheap power and churning out tons of chemical and other pollutants. On the Canadian side, "the Front" -- the roadway seen in the photo -- had become a cross between the Vegas strip and a carnival midway. It was lined with tacky stores, saloons, and other tourist traps. A visitor couldn't even see the falls without paying to go through a hotel sited near Table Rock, then guided down a dangerous path to the foot of the falls.

In response to this unplanned, haphazard and unregulated "development", the Ontario government, in 1885, ordered the clearance of all the buildings on it side of the river and the establishment of Queen Victoria Park, seen in the lower right part of the picture. And it created the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), which has the responsibility for not just the part, but virtually all the land on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, from Fort Erie in the south (opposite Buffalo NY) to Niagara-on-the-Lake at the north end.

According to the Commissions's Mission Statement, "Niagara Park’s [sic] mission is to protect the natural and cultural heritage along the Niagara River for the enjoyment of visitors while maintaining financial self-sufficiency." It also has a "Vision Statement". Here it is.

You don't see anything there about tourism, do you. There is a reference in the Mission Statement about the "enjoyment of visitors", but that's it. Yet for the last half-century or more, there have been people on the Commission who think NPC is all about tourism, and only tourism! In this, they are informed and supported by the Niagara Falls city council, because, since the collapse of the area's industrial sector, Niagara Falls lives or dies by tourism or lack thereof.

The conflict between promoting tourism and preserving the environment and heritage surfaces every couple of years. In 2003 it was a bunny-brained proposal by string a line of gondolas -- cable cars -- along the gorge, to amuse the tourists and mulct them even more US dollars. Five years later, it was a secret deal to give the Glynn family a sweetheart lease to continue operating its rust-bucket "Maid of the Mist" boat ride for another quarter-century.  Two years ago it was Niagara Falls mayor Jim "Who's Yer Daddy" Diodati's shameless promotion of the Nik Wallenda stunt, which he said would bring millions of tourist dollars into the city. (It didn't, but Mr. Diodati is still mayor, and Niagara Region's representative on NPC.)

Now the NPC, with the encouragement of Mr. Diodati and hotel-owner Vince Kerrio (who represents the City of Niagara Falls) has revived a plan, mooted four years ago, to install a "Zipline and Aerial Adventure" attraction on the Canadian side of the gorge, to give the tourists something more to do (and spend money on).

The Niagara Falls (NY) Reporter tells us that four (count `em, 4) ziplines, carrying thousands of passengers, at an estimated $50 per ride, will embark from the Grand View Market in Queen Victoria Park and soar at high speed some 2200 feet along the west wall of the gorge to the base of the former Ontario Power Company’s generating station facing the Horseshoe Falls.

The NPC assures everyone that the ziplines are below the level of River Road, so won't be visible from Queen Victoria Park. However, visitors to the New York State Park on the American side will have a fine view of rotund tourists, clad in their colourful attire, seated in harness, hanging upside down, or "flying" in the "Superman" position. Should be quite a sight.

   

The other part of the "attraction" will be an aerial adventure course, where customers will move like orangutans from tree to tree using log ladders, rope swings, scrambling walls, hanging nets, spinning logs, wobbly bridges, tightropes, monkey bars and... wait for it... zip lines rising above the forest canopy. This healthful and educational activity will take place above the Niagara Whirlpool at Thompson Point, presently a part of the NPC domain where one can sit and enjoy the natural beauty in peace and quiet. No more!

Preserve Our Parks, a citizen activist group which was instrumental in fighting the Maid of the Mist deal and the cronyism and corruption which plagues NPC, has sent to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, a statement of opposition to the proposed zipline attraction, and requesting an environmental assessment which they say was never done. 

Will Preserve Our Parks and other concerned citizens succeed in protecting Niagara Parks from the commissioners and managers who seem to have lost sight of NPC's vision? Stay tuned!

Lawless America

Bill Windsor has been mentioned in WWW before (here and here) in connection with his role in exposing the sleaze and corruption at the Niagara (Ontario) Parks Commission, particularly in connection with a sweetheart deal on the Maid of the Mist tour boat facility.

That deal was set aside through the efforts of Mr. Windsor, a whistle-blowing commissioner by the name of Bob Gale, and a citizens action group called Preserve Our Parks. But "Mr. Bill" wasn't a one-trick pony. The corruption and disregard of the public weal at NPC -- and its counterpart on the US side of the river -- is just one example, he feels, of a culture of corruption and lawlessness which infects America's government and judiciary at every level in virtually every state.

So, being an American who believes in speaking out (unlike your typically timid Canuck) Mr. Windsor has started a campaign. It's called Lawless America, and here's the link.

What's Lawless America doing to fight corruption? Making a movie exposé, for one thing -- funding permitting. And there's an online petition you can sign, if you support honesty in government and the rights you were granted under the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Such as the right to speak out in public. And the right to petition for redress!

Lawless America is worth checking out. There's no partisan agenda, as nearly as I can tell. Mr. Bill's attitude seems to be "a pox on all their houses". I can relate to that!

Niagara Parks Commission GM on the way out, but why?

For our readers in Ontario's Niagara Region who are following the turmoil at the Niagara Parks Commission, some shocking news today.

Bullet News broke the shocking news that, after less than one year on the job, Fay Booker is out as general manager of the Niagara Parks Commission. According to the online story, the decision was made Tuesday and senior staff members at the NPC were informed this morning. It is not clear if Booker resigned or was asked to leave, or when this change will come into effect. Nor is it clear who made the decision or why.

Ms Booker came to Niagara Parks in the spring of 2010 as Interim Chairthingy, tasked with cleaning out the Augean stable which the NPC had become. Well-documented allegations of cronyism, untendered contracts, secrecy and downright corruption forced the Ontario government (the supposed masters of the NPC) to bring in someone to clean up the mess, which is what Ms Booker did.

With an open tender for a new lease for the Maid of the Mist boat ride attraction well in hand, Ms Booker applied last summer for the position of general manager, from which John "Peachey" Kernaham had retired -- early -- in the opposite of grace. Booker was appointed in July 2011 on a 30-month contract.

Did she jump or was she pushed? Nobody, from the Minister of Tourism on down, is saying anything. But Agent 3 is following the story for us. Stay tuned.

Niagara Parks gets a GRIP on Maid of the Mist

Way back in 2009, Walt wrote "Power to the people of Niagara Falls", about the sleaze and corruption surrounding the decision of the Niagara Parks Commission to renew its lease contract with the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company.

The company, owned by the Glynn family of Niagara Falls NY, had managed, by hook or by crook -- mostly crook -- to secure a sweetheart deal for the continued operation of the famous "Maid of the Mist", while sharing less of the revenue with the NPC, which depends on revenue from that and other attractions to keep its magnificent parks open without government (meaning "taxpayer") funding.

The whistle was blown by an NPC commissioner, Bob Gale, who quit in disgust, and by William Windsor, who thought than an open competition for the right to operate the boat tour would have been a better idea than nailing the puck to the Glynns' stick.

In the aftermath, the provincially-appointed commissioners were sacked, and two very senior managers were either fired or quit in disgrace. A proper -- open and transparent -- competition was then ordered by the Ontario government. Today the result was at long last announced.

And the winner is -- envelope, please! -- not the Glynns! The Niagara Parks Commission announced this afternoon that Hornblower Canada -- their American parent runs boat tourst to Alcatraz and the Statue of Liberty -- gets the new 30-year lease. Visitors to Niagara Falls get a new and improved boat ride, and the NPC gets an estimated $500,000,000 in revenue.

Everybody wins, except those who sought to give and get corrupt benefits to line their own pockets.

Bribery, corruption and sleaze happen to be the subjects of Bill Windsor's website "Lawless America", to which Walt's attention has just been drawn. Check it out for Windsor's crowing comments on today's decision. Hey, he has a right to crow!

And while you're there, read about GRIP, the Government Reform & Integrity Platform. Think it can't work? It worked at Niagara Parks in Canada. Are Americans not at least as committed to honesty in openness in government as their neighbours to the north?!

Freedom of information...well, SOME information...Ontario-style

Getting information out of Canadian governments and their agencies has never been an easy thing. The federal government of "Call Me Steve" Harper has rightly been called the most secretive and controlling in history. But the federal Tories have their counterpart in the Ontario Liberal government of Haltin' McGuinty.

Trying to find out what's going on in Ontario's ministries, departments and crown agencies is like trying to pry state secrets out of the Kremlin. (Come to think of it, doesn't Queen's Park look a bit like the Kremlin?)

Whatever the Ontario government is doing, especially where our tax dollars are involved, they don't want us to know about it. Here we see McGuinty, flanked by the Ministers of Tourism and Finance, in conference on allegations of wrongdoing at the Niagara Parks Commission. (See "Power to the people of Niagara" in Walt's blog of October 29th.)

Thanks to pressure exerted by Preserve Our Parks (of which Agent 3 is a member), Bob Gale (a former commissioner) and Bill Windsor (a would-be business partner), the three unwise monkeys were finally coerced, earlier this year, into appointing an "independent" firm of auditors -- KPMG -- to look into the allegations of mismanagement, nepotism, favouritism and corruption.

In July, KPMG submitted a draft report. On page 3 we find this disclaimer: This draft has been prepared and is intended solely for Ministry of Tourism's internal use...and may not be edited, distributed, published, made available or relied on by any other person without KPMG's express written permission.

Presumably "any other person" includes the taxpayers who have paid 1000s of dollars for the auditors' work. Certainly the Minister, Monique Smith, was adamant in refusing to provide copies of the report or any part of it to anyone. Yes, anyone...including the MPP for Niagara Falls, Kim Craitor, who asked for a copy only to be told it was confidential and he couldn't see it. And hey, Craitor sits on the same side of the house as Minister Smith!

So steamed was Kim that he threatened to make an official request under the FIPPA, Ontario's freedom of information law. While he fumed, investigative reporter Anthony Reinhart of the Globe and Mail actually made the request, and was rewarded with a heavily redacted [censored! ed.] version of the "draft" report.

Reinhart's story, "Probe uncovers ethical breaches at Niagara Parks Commission", includes links to the KPMG report as well as the Ontario government's internal auditors' report into the NPCs procurement procedures...or lack thereof.

The text of the KPMG report takes up 48 pages. Check it out and you'll see that no fewer than 14 pages have been crudely deleted, apparently with bits of white paper being stuck over the naughty bits. Two pages (34 and 48) are left entirely blank.

Whatever damning facts or recommendations could they contain? Hint: the censored parts often occur just before or after references to "the Chairman". That would be NPC Chairman Jim Williams, who had the gall to boast in an "interview" apparently dictated to the Niagara Falls Review's cub reporter that he had been exonerated by the KPMG audit.

Is that right, Jim? Then perhaps you could let us have a look at your copy of the KPMG report...the whole thing, that is, with the coverup post-it notes removed.

While we wait, we take a little comfort in being at least somewhat enlightened. Somewhat. Sort of. In a typical half-assed Ontario way. The public's right to know? In Ontario? LMAO.

Power to the people of Niagara Falls

The Niagara Parks Commission has been, for years and years, a notoriously secretive and arrogant agency of the Province of Ontario.

Governed by a law passed in the 19th century which has barely changed since, it is pretty well a law unto itself. Its members, although public officials, are sworn to secrecy and cannot divulge what goes on at its meetings to anyone, even the municipal councils whom some of them represent.

Their books are not open to the public. Audited accounts have not been published in a timely fashion. Management and business decisions have been made on the bases of cronyism, favouritism and, allegedly, corruption.

The allegations have been made by Bob Gale, a Niagara Falls businessman and former NPC member who resigned in disgust, and by Preserve Our Parks, a citizens' action group which has taken on the mission of lobbying for Niagara Parks to be managed in the best interests of all the residents of Niagara.

The most monstrous example of puck-nailed-to-the-stick decision-making was the NPC's decision to renew the lease contract for the famous Maid of the Mist, made in haste and secrecy in April 2008, more than a year before the current lease expired. A sweetheart deal was given to a company controlled by James Glynn, an American with close connections to prominent politicians -- both Liberal and Conservative -- and the supposedly independent Commission.

Under the new lease, the NPC would actually have received less revenue, over the course of the 25-year contract, than it does now. Who would have kept the rest of the money? Glynn, of course. Worse yet, NPC chairman Jim Williams kept hidden from the Commission the fact that at least two other boat tour operators had expressed interest in taking over the operation, providing more modern equipment, enhanced service and increased (and direly needed) revenue for NPC.

In the face of the hue and cry raised by Bob Gale, Preserve Our Parks and Bill Windsor (one of the would-be bidders for a new lease), Ontario's Integrity Commissioner launched an investigation. In her report, Lynn Morrison said she "could not find any evidence of wrongdoing" on the part of Commissioner Williams. It is rumoured that the Integrity Commissioner also has trouble finding a blackberry in her saucer of milk.

However, the Integrity Commissioner suggested that it might be in order for the NPC to "review" its decision to renew the lease with Glynn. This the NPC did. To no-one's surprise, the NPC found it had done nothing wrong, and recommended the same renewal, on the same terms, without any tender or competitive bidding!

Like King Balthasar (Daniel 5), the NPC would not read the handwriting on the wall!

In response, Preserve Our Parks and Messrs Gale and Windsor stepped up the pressure on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the feckless Minister of Tourism Monique Smith. (Ms Smith owes her position chiefly to being a pliable woman, appointed to pretty up the cabinet picture.) And, believe it or not, they won!

Yes, Minister Smith (not Chairman Williams) announced yesterday that the Niagara Parks Commission will at last solicit competing bids from companies interested in leasing the property needed to provide the Maid of the Mist tours.

"For once, the taxpayers have won. It's unbelievable," said Bob Gale. Click here to read his statement, published by OPSEU Local 217, the union representing NPC employees. The union has for years complained of the mismanagement and high-handed attitude of the Commission and its chairman, and has been very vocal in calling for reform of the NPC.

In effect, the Liberal government told NPC to get real! How could they just, for the sake of doing a favour for a friend, leave on the table nearly $100 million of potential income from a new boat tour operator, especially when NPC is running deeply in the red, as at present.

After the eHealth scandal, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a new policy aimed at opening government-issued contracts to competitive bids more regularly. Why a new policy should have been required is a good question, but nevertheless...

"We think that this process aligns itself well with that," Smith said in an interview just hours after she recommended [really? it was her idea? ed.] cabinet not give its approval to the deal the NPC handed on a platter to Glynn's Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.
"I think this is the appropriate course," Smith said. "It ensures all interested parties get the opportunity to submit proposals in a fair and open competition."

Parks commission chairman Jim Williams said his board will abide by the order. According to the Niagara Falls Review, Williams said, "As a dutiful agency of government, we are not our own masters. We work for the government. They're wanting an open, transparent process. We will certainly follow that recommendation." Snorts of derision were not recorded in the Review account.

Speaking for Preserve Our Parks, James Bannister said the group was encouraged that at last a proper and businesslike bidding process -- one that was called for by the government's rules -- would be followed. However, he cautioned, "the NPC is still badly in need of reform. The old boys club that tried to push through the sweetheart deal is still in charge of NPC. Preserve Our Parks won't rest until the rascals are thrown out!"