FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 27, 2025
For further information contact:
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
905-354-5641 or 716-285-6322
NIAGARA FALLS BRIDGE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT
Ziad Hajifazul appointed by Premier Ford
LEWISTON, NEW YORK – The Commissioners of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ziad Hajifazul to the Board of Commissioners. He was appointed to the Commission by the Premier of the Province of Ontario, Doug Ford.
Commissioner Hajifazul has been a proud resident of Niagara for over two decades and is deeply committed to giving back to his community. He currently serves on the Board of Crime Stoppers of Niagara and is a provincial appointee to the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Grant Review Team for the Niagara area. Ziad has also contributed to the Boys and Girls Club of Niagara through his work with their foundation and fund development initiatives. An active volunteer, he has dedicated time as a youth soccer coach and is fluent in Arabic, Hindi, Pashto, and Urdu. Ziad’s longstanding community involvement and broad cultural insight bring valuable perspective to the Niagara Bridge Commission.
The present Board of Commissioners includes Chairperson Kathleen Neville (NY), Vice Chairperson Lindsay DiCosimo Merani (ON), Secretary Frank Soda (NY), Treasurer April Jeffs (ON), Dick Palladino (NY), and Laryssa Waler Hetmanczuk (ON).
About the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission:
The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission is a unique, bi-national body. Canada and the U.S. are equally represented on the NFBC through the bi-national appointment of an eight-member Board of Commissioners. A Joint Resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session created the framework for the NFBC. In 1939, the Province of Ontario, Canada licensed the NFBC under The Extra Provincial Corporations Act and amended the Highway Improvement Act to authorize the appropriation of land in Ontario for transfer to the NFBC. Initially established to finance, construct and operate the Rainbow Bridge, the Commission proved efficient and effective at its mission. The NFBC’s powers and authority were thereafter expanded through amendments to the Joint Resolution in the U.S., and by the Rainbow Bridge Amendment Act of 1959 and the Queenston Bridge Act of 1959 in Canada. Together, these enactments empowered the NFBC to assume responsibilities for the Whirlpool Rapids (Lower) and Lewiston-Queenston Bridges. Today, in addition to owning and operating three international bridges, the NFBC builds and maintains facilities for Customs and Immigration functions on both sides of the international border. The NFBC is self-supportive, largely through user fees (tolls) and private-sector tenant leases. NFBC is authorized to conduct international commercial financial transactions and empowered to issue tax-exempt bonds in the United States.