It's a sad day in the news today for Niagara, Canada

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) denies an application for a broadcasting license to operate an English-language commercial television station to serve St. Catharines and the Niagara region.

In doing so, the CRTC implies that it wishes for the continuation of Niagara's weak economy and lack of community cohesion

Having lived in Niagara most of my life, with my closest family here, I am very attached and concerned for my community. Today, I am embarrassed to call myself a Canadian and terribly upset that I pay taxes for such incompetent governance

My best wishes and regards go out to Wendell and Tracy Wilks, a father and son team, who set fourth to assist Niagara in it's social and economic need. Sure, they are business-men who identified an opportunity to make money, but in my opinion, they are also some of the most kind an honourable men to have graced this region, as are the rest of the TVN team, many of them residents of Niagara, who joined TVN in the endeavour to give Niagara a voice of it's own in the broadcast television world. The truth is that coverage from "CH Hamilton" does not do Niagara justice; they are more interested in the status-quo of redundantly simulcasting non-Canadian and non-local content for the benefit of the profits that are hoarded by their select few.

It is just so terribly disappointing to see the Niagara Region be so oppressed by it's own government. For further reading, a direct link to the CRTC's statement can be found on the front of TVN's web-site.