Always wrote for the love of it and more, in a reporting and consulting career, Labour Relations and Public Administration @UofT, @FPACarleton
Ontario, Canada
Joined February 2010
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Don Fraser retweeted
APPLE SEASON IS HERE! 🍎
THE MCINTOSH TREE: THE LEGACY OF A LONE TREE SOUTH OF OTTAWA
Back in 1811, John McIntosh, a transplanted American from New York discovered an apple sapling on his farmland about an hour south of Ottawa. While clearing the overgrown plot of land, McIntosh discovered some wild apple seedlings on his farm. He transplanted the seedlings next to his house.
One of the seedlings bore particularly good fruit and his son, Allan, learned about grafting tress and began cloning apples so the McIntoshes could maintain the distinctive properties of the fruit from the original tree…
1/5
Don Fraser retweeted
Canadians will soon benefit from more precise and targeted warnings for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, reducing the number of notifications. ow.ly/gATn50ZxQrT
Don Fraser retweeted
Thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall overnight caused flooded basements and power outages from St. Catharines to Niagara. Radar estimates and local weather stations show 100 to 150mm falling in less than 6 hours. #onstorm
Don Fraser retweeted
"Just put the fires out!"
Ever seen a boreal wildfire? I have. I used to fight them.
When fire behaviour becomes extreme, you're not getting close to them.
The radiant heat from a crown fire is face-melting from hundreds of metres away.
All attempts at direct attack will fail, because dropping water on it becomes akin to trying to spit on a campfire...it evaporates before it even hits the flames.
Additionally, reduced visibility, high winds, and turbulence makes aerial attack hazardous.
As a wildland firefighter, I've been extracted off of wildfires twice as our fires blew up, both times having our gear burned over. We returned to find firehoses and metal melted into the ash.
I've seen fireballs launched hundreds of feet high, and fires intense enough to produce lightning, influencing the weather around them. I've seen wildfires grow to the size of a major city in a short period of time.
So no, we can't just put the fire out.
Not being able to stop such a natural process is a truly humbling feeling.
A great guy; very funny, smart, strong and kind. An excellent Standard editor, friend and father. Steve will be missed.
Don Fraser retweeted
“The dumbest trade war in history”
The WSJ Editorial Board slams Trump’s trade war with Camada and Mexico:
“Mr. Trump sometimes sounds as if the U.S. shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy making everything at home. This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr. Trump may soon find out…
None of this is supposed to happen under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Mr. Trump negotiated and signed in his first term. The U.S. willingness to ignore its treaty obligations, even with friends, won’t make other countries eager to do deals. Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions.
But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history."
Don Fraser retweeted
A growing number of political comms people seem to need some help with this concept, so here's a crash course: In societies like ours, with a free press, you don't get to tell journalists what questions they are allowed to ask. Ever. Period. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
Absolutely true— the private vehicle, public bus or train commutes from Niagara to Toronto during working day are unforgivably awful and long … this has been so for years, especially recently. Took bus recently to Toronto several round trips - the worst commute experience
Way to go Grant- an awesome move to follow a superb newspaper career.
I've had a long, amazing run in newspapers, and there are so many colleagues at @StCatStandard @TheSpec and @TorontoStar to whom I am grateful for and indebted to for their guidence, help and feedback over the years.
Fun video of we lowly East Pier, Port Dalhousie people listening to the other side, and remarking, just before totality #stcath #eclipsing
Cottage Life TV on Bell Fibe intriguingly has nada about cottage life (that I’ve seen). Good trash though, as Shocking Wonders of the World
Don Fraser retweeted
On a day everyone is clamouring for news they can trust about a story with widespread public interest comes word that an average of five local U.S. newspapers are closing every two weeks.
(Situation is no different in Canada.)
It takes time and resources to report, edit, and legally vet investigative reporting. Please support and pay for local journalism.
nytimes.com/2024/01/24/busin…
Don Fraser retweeted
Canada’s two largest metros, Toronto and Montreal, see six trains per day in each direction that take a little more than five hours. Madrid and Barcelona are the same distance and see 35 trains per day each way, taking as little as 2 hours and 30 minutes. Canada deserves better.
ALT Toronto and Montreal linear line between the two
Don Fraser retweeted
🧵- Thinking of the many journalists, ad staff & others - including some of the incredible staff here in Niagara that I was fortunate to work with. Sad to see this happen in general - but even more so after spending time several years as managing editor for @NiagarathisWeek.
