The
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Lake Report
Crash victims were students | Page 7
Canada’s most-awarded community newspaper
Vol. 8, 7, Issue Issue 12 30
July 31, 2025
George will get royal treatment Project managers will strive to minimize construction impact A mouldy window at a farm worker dwelling. SUPPLIED
Farm workers say they face hot, mouldy conditions, verbal abuse Paige Seburn Local Journalism Initiative The Lake Report The sun may set, but for many seasonal agricultural workers, the exhaustion doesn’t. After hours in scorching fields, they return to sweltering, overcrowded housing — rest is almost impossible. “You leave work tired and you’re going back to work tired,” Junior, a Caribbean farm worker, said in an interview with The Lake Report. Fearing retribution, Junior would not give his last name or identify the farm at which he works. In a town like Niagara-onthe-Lake, where agriculture thrives, many farms rely Continued on Page 4
Jon Taylor, a NOTL resident and co-chair of Govan Brown, says the construction management company will do everything it can to minimize impact on residents and tourism, while striving to hire local and create economic impact from the Royal George rebuild. RICHARD HARLEY
J
Richard Harley | The Lake Report
on Taylor never quite figured out how to retire. After helping build Govan Brown into one of Canada’s top construction management firms, the Niagaraon-the-Lake resident stepped back — only to stay on as co-
chair and dive headfirst into local causes, charities and now, one of the town’s most high-profile redevelopment projects. Taylor is helping lead the charge on the Royal George Theatre rebuild, a project that brings national experience to a hyperlo-
cal challenge. His company, Govan Brown, has been awarded the construction management mandate for the three-year project, working alongside the Shaw Festival and Unity Architects. For Taylor, it’s personal — he lives just down the street.
“I would call it an increased interest in making sure that this thing goes well, not just from the Shaw’s perspective, but from the community’s perspective,” he said in an interview. Continued on Page 5
First draft of new official plan gets green light, resident input sought Daniel Smeenk Local Journalism Initiative The Lake Report It’s been six years since the Town of Niagara-on-theLake was sent back to the drawing board after submit-
ting its newest official plan for review and being told it didn’t match policy plans laid out by the Ontario government and Niagara Region. Now, NOTL is in the home stretch of having a
new plan that’ll guide how the town will grow and how its land will be used — and, it hopes, one that the province will give a thumbs up to. Niagara-on-the-Lake council approved the first
draft of a new official plan, bringing the town closer to the final version it hopes to hand in to the province by November. It’s now available for public review and feedback. Coun. Erwin Wiens told
The Lake Report that he’s pleased with the progress. “A lot of work needed to go into make it comply with provincial policy,” he said. “I’m very happy with it. I’m very happy that our timelines are still on track,
that we can get this done.” In December, council told staff to prepare a new plan by October. The draft presented Tuesday is based on the 2019 version, with redContinued on Page 2