Glebe Report: June 2023

Woonerf on Woodlawn: the community’s shared living room

By Barbara Leckie and Joel Westheimer

Imagine a street’s speed limit set at the pace of the average pedestrian. Imagine walking, cycling and playing as a priority over motorized traffic. Imagine urban green spaces multiplied rather than reduced. Since the 1960s, this vision of street design has been a reality in Europe. It could be a reality in Ottawa, too. Indeed, a few innovative streets – Murray Street in the Market and Cambridge Street in Centretown – have already realized similar visions. And now the word is out on Woodlawn Avenue in the Glebe.

On a sunny, cool morning in mid-May, about 20 residents of Woodlawn gathered with Councillor Shawn Menard, his assistant Jonathan McLeod and the city’s lead engineer Josée Vallée to discuss street construction. The staffers wore fluorescent vests, and Menard still had bike clips on his pants from his ride over.

The catalyst for this conversation was the proposed Woodlawn Avenue reconstruction to modernize the road, sewers and water mains. We stood in the shade of two oaks and a maple tree as we discussed the impact of the construction on the street’s majestic trees.

Our overall goal, however, was broader. We wanted to create a Woonerf street. Most of us, when we first heard the phrase “Woonerf streets,” were mystified. What-streets? we asked. But as we researched the principle behind the Woonerf street and the support it had in Europe, we were convinced that it could be a model for Ottawa too.

Woonerf streets originated in Delft, a canal-ringed city in the western Netherlands, and the word is variously translated as “living street” and “shared street.” It privileges the life of the street

in all its facets – children, adults, seniors, animals, birds, foliage and, of course, the trees – and has been called “the community’s shared living room.”

Our street’s proximity to Lansdowne Park and two seniors’ centres makes it an ideal candidate for such a vision. Like many living rooms, it is intergenerational and often filled with visitors. With a lively street life, it is already our

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community’s shared living room, but its decorations are scant and its invitation to slow down or sit down are minimal.

We liked the idea of seniors taking their walks down a street explicitly designed for pedestrians, with bumpouts large enough for native gardens they could tend and benches on which they could sit. We also liked the idea

of emphasizing the ways in which the street could be a community: children coming from their private backyards to play together on a street where traffic has been calmed through effective and aesthetically pleasing design.

A Woonerf street [has been] variously defined as “living street” and “shared street.” It privileges the life of the street in all its facets – children, adults, seniors, animals, birds, foliage and, of course, the trees – and has been called “the community’s shared living room.”

For almost a century, our cities have been planned for cars. The history of the shift from an emphasis on pedestrian life to prioritizing the automobile is difficult to trace but the Joni Mitchell lyrics “they paved paradise to put up a parking lot” nicely captures a phenomenon that many recognize. We often forget that the plans we make now impact not only our lives in the next several years but the lives of those to follow for another half century or more. It makes sense to ask what sort of public spaces we want to create for Ottawa’s future. Do we want parking lots and maximized parking? Or do we want green spaces, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, benches, flowers and places where children can play? Our vision for a new Woodlawn Avenue is still developing. But it’s already been a community-building

Continued on page 2

Woodlawn Avenue’s proximity to the Lansdowne stadium and two seniors’ centres makes it an ideal candidate to become a Woonerf street, an intergenerational “community’s shared living room.”

PHOTO: JEANETTE RIVE

Woonerf Continued from page 1

phenomenon. We’ve had four, animated, in-person, street meetings with dedicated residents, a survey by the city with results tabulated in a PowerPoint presentation and circulated to residents, a city-organized, online, consultive meeting to which the city’s lead engineer Josée Vallée and Darryl Shurb generously gave more than three hours of their time and an open invitation to send ideas to Vallée via email. At our meetings, we used white boards to brainstorm ideas, and residents drew blueprints capturing what they wanted to see. We revisited ideas, refined our priorities and developed collective goals.

We hold high hopes that our vision will be realized and that our street could even serve as a model for a revisioned Ottawa. Many of our urban streets could be designed with principles that privilege the needs of the people who live there. It could be a feature of our city that brings tourists here to see how street design can be organized around people and trees and other living things rather than around cars.

Woodlawn Avenue, although beautiful, is currently filled with potholes, and the sidewalks are rutted and falling apart. Underground, the pipes are corroded and must be replaced. This infrastructure renewal is an example of public works, and public works, when they work for the public, are one of the great successes of modern society. The community, through its taxes, pays for improvements that benefit all. Public works projects are not specific to the Glebe. They are everywhere. Each year, across the city, streets need to be dug up, pipes replaced and new paving laid. Each time this happens is an opportunity for a Woonerf street.

We began this process as an exercise in imagination: our street narrowed to one-way, with generous sidewalks, traffic-slowing bump-outs with planters for flowers to be tended by residents at the seniors’ centre, a mid-street parkette with a bench for socializing, bicycles and native-plant community gardens. When we began, we didn’t realize that we were in the process of imagining not only a new street but also a new way of working together. In collaboration with the city and each other, we had conversations that were wide-ranging, feisty and fun. Together we sought to imagine what was possible. For us, it has been an inspiring example of what a community can do when it works together with the support of the city.

And this is the place. From pre-kindergarten to Grade 12, our students develop the skills, passion and curiosity of lifelong learners. With the support of our community, their confidence, resilience and strength of character grow so they can take smart risks, use their voice and realize their true potential.

Barbara Leckie is a professor at Carleton and Joel Westheimer is a professor at uOttawa. They are both long-time residents of Woodlawn Avenue.

Some 20 residents of Woodlawn Avenue met in May with Councillor Shawn Menard and two City of Ottawa representatives for an animated discussion of street construction and to explore the notion of Woodlawn as a Woonerf street, redesigned to privilege the needs of the people who live there.

Discussion included the potential for parkettes’ on the street where pedestrians could rest in the shade.

PHOTO: JEANETTE RIVE

A Deer odyssey through the Glebe

By Randal Marlin

It was 8 a.m. on Monday, May 15. I had just dropped off my car to Malcolm Griffin at Griffin’s Automotive on Isabella and O’Connor and was walking home to Third Avenue. I was lost in thought about the day’s events.

I heard a strange noise, getting louder, that my brain couldn’t categorize. I turned my head and saw a sizable animal! A deer! Moving! Galloping! Fast! Heading toward Fifth Avenue. It must have come from Isabella. Maybe it had come from the Queensway? I soon lost sight of it, but as I headed toward Fifth Avenue, I spoke with people coming the other way and got reports on its whereabouts.

Most of the people had seen the deer, and I learned that city authorities and police had been contacted. (I’m not a very fast walker at my age.) Still, I thought it would be cool to get a picture, so I continued to Fifth Avenue. I could see a knot of people gathered, looking in the general direction of the tot lot (officially named Lionel Britton Park). What I saw was the deer wedged between a backyard wooden fence and the tot lot’s Lundy fence. It was not possible for the deer to proceed westward because a large tree blocked the way. It was too narrow for it to turn around. It did not seem to want to back up.

This was a very scared deer. People were thoughtful enough to avoid scaring it any more. I went into the tot lot, hoping for my picture, but suddenly the deer began to make powerful attempts to leap over the Lundy fence. On the third try, it succeeded, amazingly, given the angle of the jump! It

landed in the tot lot unharmed. There was a lot of muted cheering by spectators. I tried to be inconspicuous, not just for the deer’s sake, but for my own safety as well. As it got to the Fifth Avenue border, I finally got picture number one. The deer is inside the fence, looking at the firehall.

I guess the deer liked the look of what it saw, because it leaped over the fence and proceeded down toward Lansdowne Park. It seems to have gone to the dog walk (bad choice!), because I saw it once again running this time east of O’Connor, back to Fifth and the Driveway. I got my second picture at this stage.

Around this time, there was considerable commotion. Two city cars made an appearance along with police south of Fifth Avenue. I spoke with police and city officials and nodded towards the firefighters watching from the firehall, but by then I had lost sight of the deer.

At that time, I ran into a friend, Greg Macdougall, who was on a bicycle and had access to better photographic equipment. I showed him my first photograph. Off he rode in pursuit. He told me later that the deer jumped the Rideau Canal railing and swam up towards the Bank Street Bridge, stopping at Pig Island before proceeding.

Greg sent me motion pictures – wow, could that deer swim fast! He also sent them to the CBC, which aired the water part of the deer’s odyssey. I guess the deer was fed up with dogs, cars and people and found aquatic happiness after jumping into the Canal.

Later Greg was informed via his website, EquitableEducation.ca, that the deer had been near the NAC and came

to Isabella via Elgin. After the canal swim, it reportedly made its way to safety in the Arboretum.

I’ve lived in the Glebe since 1966 without ever seeing a deer here, apart from one in captivity at a petting zoo at Lansdowne.

The experience of the galloping deer on O’Connor Street reminded me a bit of the crow’s reaction, in Walt Disney’s Dumbo, to the vision of a flying elephant.

Keep your eyes and ears open for

other signs of nature in the Glebe and in Ottawa as a whole. Young readers won’t believe this, but a moose once walked into the Riverside Hospital (as it was then known). Ask your grandparents. I trust that the story about the moose being ejected because it lacked an OHIP card is only an irresistible fictional embellishment.

Randal Marlin is an author, professor, lecturer, long-time Glebe resident and natural storyteller.

A deer on the loose in the Glebe on May 15, pursued by authorities, eventually made its way to safety in the Arboretum. PHOTO: RANDAL MARLIN

Images of the Glebe

Business Buzz

Sports 4 is now open at 769 Bank Street. Sports4.com.

Shu-Flora coming this summer to 851 Bank Street, former home of Universal Driving School. “Bouquet, plant, fresh flower, wedding & event, florist & design.” shuflora.com

Akaí Bowl opening soon at 891 Bank Street, formerly Plateau Cannabis. “Health food smoothies and bowl of açaí, the Brazilian superfruit.” akaibowl.ca

3 Brothers Shawarma and Poutine now open at the corner of Bank and Holmwood, former home of Chickpeas. “Best shawarma & poutine in town.” 3brothersshawarma.com.

Contributors

this month

Krigor Aghajanian

Iva Apostolova

Matthew Behrens

Joanne Benoit

Martha Bowers

Micheline Boyle

Naomi Cabassu

Susan Carter

Feeling a loss of control?

Lately I’ve been feeling like some parts of our collective life are spinning out of control – or maybe they never were within our control, and lately it’s become obvious.

For example, whatever is happening with the Queensway? There must be a way to find out – an obscure, impenetrable, confused and unhelpful way, but nevertheless it must exist.

When will the Bronson east offramp open? When will the Bronson west on-ramp open? When will the Percy Street underpass be open to cars? Will the Percy Street underpass suddenly be closed as well to walkers and bikers, as happened a couple of weeks ago? Will the Percy Street underpass be clear of debris, or will I and my bike need to screech to a halt

and weave around piles of dirt, construction gear, wires and other hazards in the dark, as was also the case a couple of weeks ago? It’s all in the hands of a Ministry of Transport (MOT) headquartered in Toronto, 350 kilometres away – and it seems a universe away in “caring.”

Then there’s the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. It seems there are no lights and haven’t been lights for some time now, while the NCC and the City “discuss” who is responsible. There is talk of temporary lighting but no actual movement in that direction. This discussion happening with little or no reference to the people who live there.

And will the Queen Elizabeth Driveway be closed to traffic permanently? It’s an idea that’s been floated, but

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again, decision-making seems to be entirely with the NCC, a federal body with a checkered history of listening to the people who live in this city.

Then we hear of a possible 90-week (that’s almost two years) detour being planned for the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive around the Queensway bridge replacements over the Canal (see elsewhere in this issue). That’s back to a decision of the MOT! Once again, not in our control.

I don’t know about you, but if I can’t have control, I’d love at least a bit of information. Or better yet, a free flow of fulsome information!

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John Dance

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Zeus

The Great Glebe Garage Sale was back in full force this year, under perfect skies. PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

Editor, Glebe Report

According to the NCC Canal Lighting Rehabilitation Project, close to three years. The NCC has announced that outdated lights are being replaced along both sides of the canal, and the work will be done by sometime in 2025.

I first contacted the NCC in November of 2022 about the lights on Queen Elizabeth Driveway not working. Their response: “In partnership with the City of Ottawa, which is responsible for the maintenance and replacement of the street lighting systems on Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive, we’re working to repair or replace all outdated and broken pathway and parkway lights along the Rideau Canal.”

In February 2023, I counted 70 lights burned out between Laurier and the Bank Street Bridge. I emailed Councillor Menard’s office and their response: “The NCC will have the more informative response, as it is their project. We

Mary Tsai Park?

The City of Ottawa is conducting public consultations on a proposal to name a preschool park at the Glebe Community Centre after Mary Tsai, long-time executive director of the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group, in recognition of her extensive community service. She received the 2012 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award and her commitment to community service has garnered the support of this commemorative naming from the Glebe Community Association, the Glebe BIA, MP Yasir Naqvi and more.

Lansdowne consultations a sham

Editor, Glebe Report

Our

Carriers

will await their reply with you, as the information is most helpful.” These non-answers are not solving the problem. Queen Elizabeth Driveway is dangerously dark for bikers, pedestrians and cars. Surely, in the name of safety, the timeline to repair can be advanced before December 2025.

J Spiteri

It has become obvious to all of us that the so-called “robust consultations” on Lansdowne 2.0 have been a complete sham. We have elected a new mayor, but this city’s governance is clearly same-old, sameold. Increasingly, those who follow politics are realizing that we never hear about developments until it is too late to change them, or, alternatively, that we are being fed outright lies. At all levels of government, we are seeing an alarming deterioration of democratic process. We elect representatives, believing that this will give us influence, only to find out that we are powerless.

Dorothy Speak

Jide Afolabi, Jennie Aliman, Lawrence Ambler, Nico Arabackyj, Ella Åsell, Aubry family, Miko Bartosik, Alessandra & Stefania Bartucci, Selena Beattie, Adrian Becklumb, Beckman family, Joanne Benoit, Inez Berg, Naéma and Raphaëlle Bergevin Hemsing, Carolyn Best, Carrie Bolton, Daisy & Nettie Bonsall, Martha Bowers, Bowie family, Adélaïde and Éléonore Bridgett, Bob Brocklebank, Ben

Campbell-Rosser, Nico Cauchi, Bill Congdon, Ava & Olivia Carpenter, Ryan & Charlotte

Cartwright, Chiu-Panczyk Family, Sarah Chown, Sebastian, Cameron & Anna Cino, Janis Ellis-Claypool, Jenny Cooper, June Creelman, Marni Crossley, Olivia Dance, Mark Dance, Dawson family, Richard DesRochers, Davies Family, Nathan and Roslyn Demarsh, Marilyn Deschamps, Diekmeyer-Bastianon family, Dingle family, Delia Elkin, Nicholas, Reuben, Dave & Sandra Elgersma, Patrick Farley, James & Oliver Frank, Judy Field, Federico Family, Maria Fobes, Liane Gallop, Joann Garbig, Madeleine Gomery, Joyce

Goodhand, Camilo Velez Gorman, Barbara Greenwood, Ginny Grimshaw, Marjolein

Groenevelt, Oliver, Martin, Sarah & Simon

To submit written comments on the proposal, complete the survey at ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-manager-administration-and-policies/ policies-and-administrative-structure/administrative-policies/commemorative-naming (or google City of Ottawa commemorative naming).

Comments must be received by Saturday, June 24, 2023.

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Sandiso Johnston

Alison Lobsinger

Hudson Love

THANKS AND FAREWELL:

Avery & Darcy Cole

Henry Hanson

Iain Wood

AVAILABLE DELIVERY ROUTES

Bell & Cambridge Streets: Powell to Carling. MacLean Street.

Powell Street: Bell to Bronson

Secure bike parking coming soon to the Glebe! PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

CONTACT: circulation@glebereport.ca

There is a proposal to name this park after Mary Tsai, former executive director of GNAG. PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

How long does it take bureaucrats in Ottawa to change a lightbulb?

50th Anniversary Party

PHOTOS: Cheryl Gain Mayor Mark Sutcliffe talking to Diane McIntyre

Sharon Drache, Ellen Schowalter and Gwen Best

Shawn Menard talking to Sophie Shields

Liz McKeen and Micheline Boyle

Some members of the Board and Production team: Back row, from left: Liz McKeen, Jennifer Humphries, Steve Zan, Judy Field, Patricia Lightfoot. Front row, from left: John MacNab, Leslie Cole, Hilda van Walraven, Lynn Johnston, Beatrice Keleher Raffoul, Sophie Shields, Steve Ball and Cameron Mitchell.

Ian McKercher and Joel Harden

Inez and Richard Berg

Carolyn Best and Jennifer Humphries looking at Glebe Report past issues

Jim Watson talking to Inez Berg and Gwen Best

Judy Field and Kent Raistrick of Winchester Print

John Crump and Leslie Cole

Glebe Annex Community Association marks a decade

By Sue Stefko

The Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA) is 10 years old, and its founding was marked at our Annual General Meeting in May.

The main guest speaker was Robert Bell from the Dow’s Lake Residents’ Association. Bell focused on the Katasa Groupe’s proposal for 774 Bronson. He explained that the community wanted to see the site developed, but in a reasonable way. The initial concept – a 26-storey building extending lot line to lot line, with almost no community amenities – was nearly universally despised. Residents criticized the proposed project as too big, ugly, car-centric and dense. Bell explained key steps taken by the DLRA to improve the proposal. These included engaging early and broadly with the local community, city residents (largely through the media), the developer, the local councillor and city staff. A notable step was hiring a lawyer with planning experience to make arguments that would resonate with planners.

Katasa unveiled its latest plan for 774 Bronson earlier this year, responding favourably to several of the proposed changes. This included a reduction in height from 26 storeys to 22, increasing the size of the setbacks and creating more open space on the site, which translates into wider sidewalks on Bronson, more trees, more greenspace

and more breathing room for residential homes on Cambridge. There will also be fewer units (278 instead of 401), more commercial space, public pedestrian access through the site and fewer parking spaces. While the proposal isn’t perfect, and the process is not complete, concerted community involvement, strong councillor support and the willingness of city planners to engage have led to significant improvements.

Councillor Shawn Menard provided an update on a planned crosswalk at Henry and Bell Streets particularly designed to make it safer for pedestrians going to Dalhousie South Park or Abbas’ corner store. While funding details still need to be finalized, it is hoped the crosswalk could be in place this year. Menard also mentioned ongoing efforts to extend the number 10 bus route to the Rideau Centre.

The GACA president’s report included a synopsis of local development and the board’s activities. The Katasa Group’s ongoing build of a 16-storey, 168-unit retirement residence at 275 Carling is top of mind for many. While the five-storey parking garage was expected to be completed in late 2022, weather delays, a crane operator

strike and a concrete shortage have delayed completion until late 2023. The whole project is expected to be finished next year.

Other planned projects have been delayed, including the redevelopment of vacant houses between 283 and 281 Bell Street South which were damaged by fire last September. Two buildings were planned for the site – a six-storey on Bell and a four-storey on Arthur Lane, with a total of 49 rental units. While the proposal seems to be on pause, the site was finally maintained in May, thanks to the efforts of a neighbour who engaged bylaw – vegetation was trimmed and junk, which had been there for many months, was removed.

Another project with an unknown timeline is 7 Maclean. After a site plan for a three-storey, seven-unit apartment building was approved in January 2020, the property was sold to Canci Realty in 2022. Since then, the lot has been cleared to create a temporary parking lot. Canci plans to add about 26 units and expand their current apartment building at 385 Bell. However, there are no firm dates planned,

as the company is pursuing other projects first.

Another project with an unknown timeline is 299 Carling, which belongs to the Canada Lands Company. Four towers ranging from eight to 20 storeys are planned for the site, which has been for sale since the fall of 2021. Even if the site is not sold, Canada Lands intends to construct a public park on the site in 2024.

However, the neighbourhood is about more than just development. The president’s report also discussed other issues, including growing pains with the integration of the John Howard Society building into the community and efforts (largely led by the Lakelander condominium) to mitigate them. On transportation, the plan to re-open the Bronson on-ramp to the Queensway this summer and the offramp by the end of the year was also discussed. So were GACA plans to host another party in the park this August!

Sue Stefko is president of the Glebe Annex Community Association and a regular Glebe Report contributor.

Construction of the 275 Carling parking garage PHOTO: KRIKOR AGHAJANIAN

Work on the Bronson eastbound off-ramp continues.

PHOTO: JOANNE BENOIT

LANSDOWNE 2.0 AND ‘HERE WE GO AGAIN’

By Chris Leggett

It is with great frustration and continuing concern that I find Lansdowne once again coming to our attention. According to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), the business model is flawed, and a bailout is needed. A gushing waterfall of excitement, fun and funds is not to be.

Thankfully, the public park areas, the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture Building are successes. Unfortunately, an opaque agreement of some sort exists between OSEG and the City, which the public isn’t allowed to see. Hard to fix what you don’t know.

Some History

2006: Lansdowne is a sea of asphalt, with derelict buildings, an abandoned, crumbling stadium and several neglected heritage structures. Lansdowne is publicly owned.

2006-07: Public consultations proceed to determine what a redevelopment might look like. A survey of Ottawans shows strong support for a public redevelopment but not one tied to a professional sports franchise. Suggestions focus on community-based facilities such as a community centre, public library, an aquarium, low-rise residential and a koi pond connected to the canal. No to a casino! Increased traffic, lack of parking and no connection to the future LRT were issues of significant concern.

2008: Public consultations are stopped. Recently elected mayor Larry

O’Brien (2006-10) has been approached by a group of developers who propose a single source agreement. It seems they have a CFL franchise for an Ottawa football team if a new stadium is built. OSEG is created, contracts are signed, and the project gets the go ahead. A sports team is coming, and we are not sure what else. City council consists of 15 councillors from the suburbs and nine from the inner city and as always, the suburban councillors win. Part of the deal is that OSEG has use of the land for a token dollar!

2008-12: “Friends of Lansdowne” comes together. Citizens mount both a legal and a community-based campaign to stop the project. The local councillor is onside, a fundraising plan is put together, lawyers file objections,

alternative solutions are presented. But the OSEG project proceeds. The footballers are coming, a stadium must be ready for the 2014 season.

2014 –Today

The Aberdeen Pavilion, the Horticulture Building and now a great park are working well. The event/business facilities, not so much. The football stadium is still falling down. We have large swaths of hard surfaces, dying trees, a poorly defined area more like a landing strip than a public square named for a casino somewhere, with four used, overturned cable-spools, bales of hay, a few benches and three chairs for furniture. Sidewalks are unprotected and open to the elements. Marché Way in winter is a wind tunnel. Twenty-five of the retail tenants are national chains while only five are boutique type –remember “no big box enterprises”?

OSEG and City staff’s latest proposal

Tear down the existing Northside stands (renovated only nine years ago) and rebuild smaller stands. Clearly poor attendance requires fewer seats.

Construct three high-rise condo towers, from 20 to 40 storeys, with about 1,200 units in total. (See the building at Carling and Preston to get

Remove part of the great lawn and toboggan hill and replace with

Allocate the tax revenue from the new condo owners to build items 1 to

Allocate $330 million more tax-

A Review of the Plans:

1. The high-rise towers will increase traffic. Game-day traffic that overwhelms Bank Street now would become an everyday occurrence.

2. Tall high-rises located on the south side will block the sun, casting long shadows over the site most of the day, making the pedestrian experience even harsher.

3. Removing green space for a commercial arena is reprehensible. The park portion of the site is the most successful piece of the original concept; reducing it for commercial means goes against all that is progressive and environmentally sound.

4. Having no connections to the LRT and limited parking hampers attendance at games and public events and is likely a reason for the project’s failure.

Alternatives:

Council must review other locations for sports facilities, not just Lansdowne. LeBreton Flats, while federal land, is one possibility. It will likely become the home of the new Senators arena. It is looking for development, and it is on the LRT. Game-day parking could be used by both the NHL and the CFL. Bayview Yards and the federal Tunney’s Pasture are other possible choices.

Taxpayers deserve transparency!

Considering the city’s incompetence in managing the LRT and now this Lansdowne debacle, secrecy is not working.

Chris Leggett is a Glebe resident and architect.

The much-used and much-loved Aberdeen Pavilion reigns as the grand dame of Lansdowne. PHOTOS: LIZ MCKEEN

OSEG and the City and the lopsided partnership

By Bob Brocklebank

It is encouraging to see that Lansdowne continues to elicit comment from across the city. But what seems to have been forgotten in the discussion is the prime reason for the current debate –making the partnership sustainable.

The partnership between the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) is a strange arrangement. In my opinion, the partnership’s objective is to obscure the degree to which Ottawa taxpayers are pouring resources into the arrangement. That objective has been splendidly achieved.

Let’s look at the parties involved. On the one hand you have the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, a closely held private corporation. The owners are four

or so wealthy individuals. OSEG is not a corporation listed on a stock exchange in which the public can buy shares. It is not obligated to issue public statements of account. At any moment, the owners of OSEG can decide to wind up the corporation or, if they wish, to have the corporation declare bankruptcy. The public has no right to know if any of the owners of the corporation have pledged any of their assets in support of OSEG or if bankruptcy would be a simple loss of investment made to date.

The other partner is the City of Ottawa, a municipal government created by the province. It is unlikely that the province would permit Ottawa to go bankrupt. Financial undertakings by the City are backed by the taxation power of the City and, theoretically, by the greater authority of the province.

Thus, if we are considering the continuity of the partnership, it appears that one partner can readily walk away, leaving the other partner responsible to pick up the pieces. Moreover, the partners are not treated equally within the partnership.

The City owns all the land at Lansdowne and it owns the stadium

and arena. But as landlord, the City receives only nominal rent – one dollar a year! The City put up $110 million to rehabilitate the stadium and arena plus further money for the parking garage, but under the terms of the partnership, none of this is “deemed equity” to justify any return to the City. By contrast, investment by OSEG in the teams or the facilities is recognized as equity and is to receive an eight-percent return with measured repayment of that equity taking precedence over any payment to the City.

Moreover, there are other payments by the City that conveniently have been forgotten. The City gave a grant to the 67s to play elsewhere while work was underway on the arena. The City provided funds for the EY Centre, which was built to provide exhibition space lost in the Lansdowne redevelopment. Risk which the City has taken on board through the partnership is unclear. Could the City be left with the football and hockey teams and their associated debts? Is the City responsible for mortgages on the retail buildings? What are the City’s responsibilities in maintaining the

foundations supporting the residential and office buildings constructed on top of the parking garage?

As long as the City owns the land, the stadium and arena, those values do not figure in the calculation of property tax. While the residential and commercial buildings pay tax, the land under the buildings is tax-free. The stadium element of the partnership is not paying property taxes, in contrast to the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata (which has its own tax classification).

The partnership has produced benefits, but still is said to need to be “sustained.” Before residents of Ottawa stump up more money for the continuation of the Lansdowne arrangement, a serious discussion is needed to review what the past decade has produced, what benefits have been realized and for whom. Until there has been a comprehensive discussion, we should resist being stampeded into a quick acceptance of any additional commitments.

Bob Brocklebank is a long-time Glebe resident and the Glebe Community Association representative on the Federation of Citizens’ Associations.

TAXPAYERS DESERVE OPTIONS FOR SOLVING LANSDOWNE’S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

By Carolyn Mackenzie

Taxpayers deserve more than just a “take it or leave it” proposal to address the financial challenges facing the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) at Lansdowne. However, the City refuses to engage in discussions regarding alternatives.

At the heart of the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 development is a new arena for the 67s, which would double as a new performance venue. It will cost upwards of $200 million and reduce valuable green and park space. The city’s refusal to consider alternative locations that could offer more benefits to taxpayers raises serious questions about what is influencing the decision-making process.

Make no mistake – the Lansdowne 2.0 proposal is a response to OSEG’s ongoing financial losses. OSEG is now seeking a new deal and asking taxpayers to make a total investment that will likely reach $400 million, only 10 years after Lansdowne 1.0 was completed. However, before committing to such a substantial investment, taxpayers have a valid concern: Where should a new arena be located to maximize accessibility for all Ottawa residents, provide city-wide advantages and contribute to the overall financial viability of the City?

For those living nearby, the convenience of walking or biking to a 67s game or a concert at the Civic Centre is undoubtedly appealing. However, OSEG and numerous Ottawa residents from Kanata, Orleans and South Ottawa have highlighted transportation as the Achilles’ heel of Lansdowne. The lack of good transportation options leads to fewer attendees and, consequently, financial difficulties for Lansdowne. Unfortunately, ongoing challenges after 10 years of operation demonstrate that there are no easy answers.

Modern arenas and larger concert venues are typically built near highways with extensive vehicle parking lots or near LRT or rapid transit systems. Lansdowne offers neither of these. Constructing a massive parking lot is

What is driving the city’s refusal to discuss them?

unfeasible, the site is not adjacent to a highway and an LRT along Bank Street is unlikely to materialize any time soon. Given that the City is already investing billions in Ottawa’s LRT, making a substantial investment in a new venue that does not align with or support the LRT is highly questionable. The idea that Ottawa is poised to do it raises concerns about the decision-making process and what information is being provided to decision-makers.

So, it is surprising that city staff recently advised that they would not consider alternatives for relocating the new event centre off-site (or even rebuilding in its current location). This contradicts earlier statements suggesting that nothing was set in stone and that robust public consultations could be expected. The lack

of flexibility in exploring reasonable options raises questions about what is influencing this resistance. Staff have also stated that they are now considering options that are not revenue neutral, contrary to council direction. On what basis do they ignore council direction on one key element but not show flexibility on another?

In light of these concerns, the Glebe Community Association (GCA) recently wrote to the City, requesting that residents be presented with real alternatives to the key elements of the Lansdowne 2.0 plan. The GCA specifically urged the City to explore options for relocating the arena and performance centre to city-owned or other viable sites located near the LRT. The GCA once again emphasized the need for informed and meaningful public

consultations, which have been absent from the process thus far.

While Glebe residents would miss the convenience of walking to arena events at Lansdowne, accessing a new venue (such as Bayview Yards, Tom Brown Arena or Coventry Road) would not be an extreme hardship compared to what other residents across the city face now. It is essential to evaluate whether locating the venue near the LRT makes better sense, both financially and from the larger perspective of the livability and attractiveness of Ottawa. It is crucial to assess the available options and engage in open discussions to ensure the best outcome for all taxpayers.

Carolyn Mackenzie chairs the Glebe Community Association Planning Committee.

A 3-D model of the Lansdowne 2.0 proposed development was on display at the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

John Crump President Glebe Community Association

T @glebeca E gca@glebeca.ca www.glebeca.ca

GCA pushes for a livable community

Community Transportation Study

Did you attend the GCA’s consultation open house on June 7 for our Active Transportation Study? If not, there will be other opportunities to comment on the project looking at how we walk, cycle or otherwise move around the neighbourhood without using a motorized vehicle. “Active transportation” is an important component of a livable city. If you have ideas, check out the survey at Glebeca.ca – it’s open until June 16.

Street Trees are Infrastructure

The Glebe is one of Ottawa’s oldest communities, and many trees have aged along with our neighbourhood. Thirty years ago, our street had a good share of large trees. Since then, the infamous ice storm, warmer winters that allow insect pests to thrive, last spring’s derecho and this winter’s wind and ice storm have taken their toll. Not to mention the chainsaws that came out when the road was rebuilt.

In his campaign for mayor, Mark Sutcliffe promised to double the city’s annual tree planting goal to about 250,000 a year – 148,000 street trees and another 50,000 in parks. The 40-per-cent target is in the city’s New Official Plan and climate change master plan. Although there is no plan yet to indicate how it will be achieved, it’s a good goal and important as we try to

cope with a rapidly changing climate.

To this end, the Glebe Community Association has a suggestion. At our May meeting, we passed a motion calling on the city to adopt a proactive tree-planting strategy where City of Ottawa staff automatically plant street trees on the city-owned frontage of private properties to achieve the 40-percent tree canopy coverage necessary to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Ottawa neighbourhoods.

The motion refers to the city-owned part of front lawns. This is where the city infrastructure goes – lamp posts, hydro poles, fire hydrants, traffic signs, etc. Trees are infrastructure and, like other infrastructure that is damaged or destroyed, the city needs to replace it.

This approach would eliminate the requirement for property owners to request replacement trees. Many people assume the city does it automatically – it doesn’t.

What Makes a Liveable City?

Trees, green space, accessible amenities, good roads and efficient public transportation – these are all important elements of a liveable city. Another important component is openness, transparency and due democratic process. When it comes to democratic process, the City of Ottawa often falls short.

Which brings us to Lansdowne 2.0. Again.

The GCA has been working with the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and the Glebe BIA for many years to make sure Lansdowne Park is a vibrant site that will benefit both our community and residents across the city. The effects

and costs of the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 is not “just” a central Ottawa issue.

The proposal on the table has city-wide implications – that’s why it was on the agenda of the Federation of Community Associations Annual General Meeting in May.

The GCA is on the record as being in favour of the city’s objectives for intensification, which include increased density in the Glebe and the downtown core. We have called for the City to build deeply affordable housing, and the Lansdowne redevelopment plans provide an opportunity to ensure additional units are built.

Nevertheless, the GCA is concerned about overdevelopment, the loss of accessible green/park space and the impact on public space of the proposed redevelopment – which includes apartment towers of 40 storeys or more.

The main question: Is this a good deal for taxpayers? Has due diligence been done? Is there a proper financial analysis, or are taxpayers massively subsidizing a private venture?

An example is the roughly $200-million proposal to build a new arena/ performance centre. Is this a good investment given all the buzz about potential new buyers for the Senators

hockey team and discussion about whether a new arena will be built on LeBreton Flats or some other location closer to the LRT? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to slow down the decision-making process on Lansdowne until we know for sure if a new arena is in the cards?

These considerations were part of a motion passed by the GCA at its last meeting that calls on the City to develop alternative concepts for the revitalization of Lansdowne. Specifically, it requests:

• No decisions on a potential Lansdowne redevelopment plan to be taken by Council until decisions are taken regarding a new Sens arena;

• The City to develop and commit funding to a transportation plan to get visitors and new residents to and from Lansdowne Park in keeping with whatever decisions are made to redevelop or enhance the site;

• The City to provide detailed financial analysis for any alternative redevelopment plans; and

• The City not to schedule any decisions on such an important file during the summer months when it is clear to all that public engagement is compromised. Ramming through a decision during the summer months is something the old City Council might have tried. We expect more from the current Council. The GCA has produced a graphic on the proposed financial scheme for Lansdowne 2.0. Just scan the QR code on this page to follow the money.

Upcoming meetings

Please join us for the GCA’s Annual General Meeting at the Glebe Community Centre, Tuesday June 13, 7–9 p.m. After a short business agenda, there will be time to socialize with your neighbours. The next GCA board meeting will be held online Tuesday, June 27, at 7 p.m.

Thirty Years Ago in the Glebe Report

ART IN THE PARK

Ian Van Lock (Bhat Boy) was organizing a new concept to showcase Glebe artisans to be called “Art in the Park.”

On Saturday, June 19, 1993, Glebites were invited to stroll in Central Park east of Bank Street to view the works of local painters, photographers, potters, sculptors, candle makers and other artisans while being serenaded by musicians and entertained by local actors doing comedic performances. Van Lock saw the event as a coming together of the varied and eclectic talents of our community. Free lemonade was to be provided courtesy of Jim McKeen of Loeb-Glebe.

QUEALE TERRACE AWARD

Capital Ward Councillor Jim Watson presented City of Ottawa Heritage Award plaques to Greg Weston, Claudette Logue and Kevin Logue who recently completed a beautiful restoration of Queale Terrace, the brick row of homes running from 304 to 312 Queen Elizabeth Driveway. This row running south from the corner of First Avenue was believed to have been designed by a New York architect and constructed for Ottawa businessman William Queale in 1908.

PLASTICS RECYCLING

First Avenue School was the site of a successful day-long plastics

recycling depot on Saturday, June 5. It was a joint effort between Ottawa Area Girl Guides, Mayor Jaquelin Holzman’s Green Team and Laidlaw Waste Systems Ltd. The depot was open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and managed to fill three-quarters of a waste recycling truck.

GARAGE SALE DONATIONS

The eighth annual edition of the Great Glebe Garage Sale held May 29 was organized by Jim Foster. It was another success, raising $4,480 for the Ottawa Food Bank with more donations still coming in. The fame of the event had spread far enough to have drawn two busloads of shoppers from up the Ottawa Valley.

by Ian McKercher

Volume 21, Number 6, June 11, 1993 (36 pages)

This retrospective is filed bi-monthly by Ian McKercher of the Glebe Historical Society. The society welcomes the donation or loan (for copying) of any item documenting Glebe history (photographs, maps, surveys, news articles, posters, programs, memorabilia, etc.). Contact Ian at 613-235-4863 or ian.s.mckercher@gmail.com. Note: All back issues of the Glebe Report to June 1973 can be viewed on the Glebe Report website at www.glebereport.ca under the PAST ISSUES menu.

Scan Lansdowne 2.0 Financials!

Sarah Routliffe

GNAG Executive Director

N 613-233-8713 E info@gnag.ca

gnag.ca

Summer fun at GNAG

Summer is the best time for fun and adventure! Whether you go away on vacation or stay in the city, there is no better feeling than heading out of the house in sandals with the promise of sunshine. I hope to see many of you about town over the summer months –you can spot me wandering around the Glebe drinking a hot tea. Yes, I know, I should try it iced, but for some reason I still like it hot, even when it’s 40 degrees. (Feel free to tease me about it!)

GNAG Arts and Christopher Griffin Donation Auction

GNAG Arts was back at the Glebe Community Centre this May, featuring more than 50 gorgeous pieces from local and emerging artists! This art show allows community members to purchase pieces directly from the seller and connect with the artist. Thank you to Clare Davidson Rogers and her volunteers, Kathrin Von Dehn and Clare Pearson, who hung each piece with care on our walls! The show will be up till June 14, so please come by and take a peek.

Christopher Griffin, a local professional artist, donated an auction piece as a spring fundraiser for GNAG. His piece (pictured above) “Gentle North Allows Grace’’ is valued at $1,700 and was auctioned off online on June 8. Proceeds are earmarked to hire an Integration Support Worker to cater to children with special needs who participate in our Summer Camps. Thank you, Christopher, for your kind support and the beautiful work of art.

Unleash your talent with GNAG’s Summer Acting Workshop Series

Ignite your passion for acting and your creative potential this summer! Join us for an exclusive acting workshop series led by some of Ottawa’s most experienced actors and directors. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced performer (or just curious), this immersive program is designed to teach you the art of improvisation, the tricks of the trade and the essential audition techniques that will elevate your acting skills.

Led by a talented lineup of industry professionals, this workshop series offers a transformative experience. Through dynamic improv exercises, participants will enhance their spontaneity and collaborative skills. They will also gain invaluable insights into character development, script analysis and impactful storytelling. Plus, expert guidance on audition techniques will give you the edge you need to shine in auditions and secure coveted roles.

Whether you dream of hitting the stage or getting in front of a camera, join us this summer. These are standalone workshops, so register for one or many, the choice is yours – who knows where it will lead!

Glebe House Tour September 17, 2023

Would you like to sponsor one of GNAG’s most popular fundraisers?

This fall, the annual Glebe House Tour will feature five unique homes in the neighbourhood for 400 ticket holders to visit. This year, the fundraiser is dedicated to supporting our Integration Support Program for 2024. Our dedicated integration support workers utilize their unique expertise to enhance the well-being, dignity, development and independence of children and youth with special needs during their camp adventures. By removing barriers and fostering a positive environment, these workers ensure an enjoyable camp experience that would otherwise be challenging to attain. We are hoping to raise enough funds from the House Tour to extend this role into specialty programming throughout the entire year.

This sell-out event has often been featured in the Homes section of the Citizen and gets excellent coverage in the Glebe Report. We have also been covered in many online design blogs and in the Ottawa Magazine House and Home edition.

If you are interested in more details on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Clare Davidson Rogers at clare@gnag.ca.

Summer Camp Availability Tykes (3 years- entering JK)

We still have space left in this weekly half-day camp filled with crafts, games, adventure and learning – the perfect combination to get your little tyke hooked on summer camps! It’s also a great way to introduce your child to programming at GNAG and will help prepare them for Q4 or any after-school activities they may attend next year.

We also have a selection of adult programs this summer, including the acting mentioned above, belly dance, pottery and morning fitness. Check out the program guide online.

Happy Summer Glebe!

The entire team wishes you and your families a safe and happy start to this summer season. We hope it is filled with family, vacations, barbeques . . . and maybe some GNAG programming!

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“Gentle North Allows Grace’’ by Christopher Griffin

An Ordinary morning in the life of a healthy octogenarian

front of the old bod, attach it, swing it around to the back and then inch my arms into the straps. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. Socks are a bigger challenge. The stool on which I place each foot in turn has to be exactly 18 inches high. If lower, I can’t bend over to get the socks on; if higher, I can’t get my feet up high enough. I put in my hearing aids – they feel like itchy bugs in each ear, but they help me to hear better.

By Carol Shipley

After at least two “nature” calls in the night, I awaken around 5:30 a.m. with another desperate urge. It’s a tough call – I’m unable to hold it, yet when I get out of bed, I’m unable to move due to arthritis which has caused my leg, hip and groin muscles to seize up. I drip my way to the bathroom. My eyes are dry – they feel dry and itchy about eight times a day – so I give them their first Systane dose of the day. I notice that my big right toe, with the nail that has a tendency to in-grow, is bright red, and I resolve to drop in on the foot-care nurse this week to treat it – ouch! My left hip is shouting at me, so I dig the cold compress out of the freezer and spread it over that hip while I sip my coffee and read The Guardian Weekly for optimistic news stories. Ha! The bursitis in my left thigh is telling me to do something, so I leave my favourite chair to get the Voltaren gel, squirt it on my thigh and rub it in. Does it do any good? My back seems to be itching all over, so my handy backscratcher from the dresser drawer comes into use.

Now it’s time to get dressed. Bra is a challenge. It involves placing the hook ends to the

This is definitely the morning to eat a few prunes – enough said. I don’t take any daily meds except for calcium, a few vitamins and Preservision to stave off AMD (age-related macular degeneration). A soft-boiled egg and a small bowl of granola will do for breakfast. I do much better walking with two sticks than without. They help me to stride instead of mince and to maintain a good balance. With two sticks, people think I’m an athlete; not so with a cane. Now I’m all set for the day.

Off I go with nonagenarian husband Ken to our cardio class for seniors at Abbotsford House. I take breaks by pretending to need frequent sips of water. What I love most about this class is our outrageously funny instructor who understands and loves us like no one else; next, the community of fellow seniors who support each other in a hundred ways while having coffee and cake after class; and least of all, the exercise.

Did you note that I’m a healthy octogenarian and grateful every minute of the day? Well, almost.

Carol Shipley M.S.W., is a long-time member of Abbotsford Seniors Centre, author of Love, Loss, and Longing: Stories of Adoption, and has 87 years of experience, laughter and life!

What to do about ticks!

Now that ticks are here in the Ottawa area, the Ontario Region of Health Canada has advice on preventing tick bites that can cause Lyme disease and other infections like anaplasmosis.

Before going outdoors, take the following precautions to avoid tick bites:

• Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants

• Tuck your shirt into your pants, pull your socks over your pant legs (and ignore the inevitable comments!)

• Use bug spray containing DEET or Icaridin on your skin and clothing (be sure to follow the label directions)

• Stay on cleared paths or walkways

When you return, take time to inspect 10 specific areas of your body (favourite tick hiding spots):

• head and hair

• in and around the ears

• under the arms

• around the chest

• back (use a mirror or ask for help)

• waist

• belly button

• around the groin

• legs and behind the knees

• between the toes

What to look for: You may not notice a tick bite because ticks are sometimes tiny and their bites are usually painless. Feel your skin for bumps and see if there are any tiny black dots. Most people get Lyme disease after being bitten by a nymph, which is about the size of a poppy seed (1.15 mm), or by an adult female tick, which is about the size of a sesame seed (3 mm).

Found a tick? Remove it immediately to reduce the risk of infection. The Health Canada website has a video on how to remove it. Lyme disease video: How to properly remove a tick. Don’t forget to also check your pets!

To learn more, visit Canada.ca/LymeDisease

Carol Shipley, ready to stride out athletically with the help of her two sticks PHOTO: PAT GOYECHE

Queensway Bridges Replacement

By John Dance

Tired of detours due to the replacement of bridges along the Queensway? Well, get ready for the mother of all disruptions – detours that could close key parts of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive for almost two years

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) is barrelling ahead with its recommendation of 90-week detours along the two roads when it replaces the Highway 417 bridge over the Rideau Canal.

The project, expected to start within three years, is the next step in the MTO’s lengthy plan to replace all the 60-year-old bridges along the Queensway. The Canal bridge is the most complicated because of its length and its location over the heritage-protected Rideau Canal.

The Metcalfe and Elgin bridges must also be replaced, but they require only three-week detours in advance of the weekends when the fabricated bridges are quickly hoisted into place. The actual detours for users of the Queensway will only be for a couple of days.

Although the MTO planning for new downtown bridges has been underway for more than five years, it was only at a November online information session that residents learned of the proposed 90-week detours. In the two previous sessions, they only mentioned brief detours required for the actual “rapid replacement” of the assembled new structure.

The detours of QED will require all pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to detour around the construction site by way of Elgin and Argyle, so the very congested Elgin-Isabella-Pretoria Bridge intersection will become that

much worse. MTO has been asked if they have done any traffic studies to determine the impact of the detours, but it has not replied. The City of Ottawa hasn’t done any studies either because it says it’s MTO’s responsibility.

The Old Ottawa East community is concerned about the detour around Colonel By Drive because all that traffic would end up on a Main-Hawthorne route, already highly congested at peak periods. A further complication is that the bridge replacement will follow the three-year reconstruction of Main and Hawthorne that’s now underway. The combined disruption of the two projects – which also involves replacing the Queensway bridge over Main Street – could total more than five years, which may overwhelm affected businesses and residents.

“The bike detours that the MTO put in place recently for the Percy Street closure pertaining to the 417 Percy bridge replacement were completely insufficient and, frankly, dangerous,” says Matthew Meagher, co-chair of the GCA’s Transportation Committee. “For a large part of the first Percy closure, the MTO detours were directing cyclists, and particularly Grade 7 and 8 students going to Glashan, out onto unprotected bike lanes in the fast traffic on Chamberlain, before expecting them to walk their bikes for several blocks.

“If they were to take a similar approach to bike detours on Main/Hawthorne, funneling cyclists into mixed traffic, it would be unsafe and unworkable,” says Meagher. “Our plan is to push hard to get them to give some real attention to cyclists and pedestrians, rather than just focusing on how they

get cars through our neighbourhoods quickly. Whether that means staggering the closures or building a temporary structure out into the canal to get people around the construction, I’m not sure.”

At the previous online information session three years ago, MTO’s recommended plan for bridge reconstruction required the demolition of two buildings near the northeast corner of Colonel By Drive and Hawthorne Avenue. A number of residents objected to the demolition, not knowing that the alternative to demolition would be 90-week detours.

MTO says the new recommendation will save the two buildings, avoid endangering a major watermain to the south of the bridge and improve safety in the construction area. MTO noted in an email, “The new bridges must be constructed on temporary piers and abutments (ends of the bridge) that will be in place for the duration of the construction period (90 weeks) ... The temporary piers are directly within the travel lanes of the two parkways, and they cannot be relocated.”

Both recommended plans say the Rideau Skateway and Canal boat traffic

will not be adversely affected.

In May, MPP Joel Harden and representatives of the Old Ottawa East Community Association met with MTO officials who noted that after the November online information session, they’d received only 12 comments expressing “concern for impacts to active transportation, tourism and traffic.” They also noted that the parkway closures were “formally accepted by NCC letter dated November 23, 2021,” a year before the recommendation was made public.

Capital Ward Councillor Shawn Menard and Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi have also criticized MTO’s consultation process and the plan for 90-week detours.

MTO will finalize its “transportation environmental study report” on the bridge-replacement project this spring, and there will be a 30-day public review in the summer.

John Dance is an Old Ottawa East resident, an occasional contributor to the Glebe Report, and a daily visitor to the Glebe. Parts of the article above originally appeared in The Mainstreeter.

The replacement of the 417 bridge over the Rideau Canal will require 90-week detours of both Canal parkways, says the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

PHOTO: JOHN DANCE

By Marc St. Pierre

On April 21, in the lead-up to Earth Day, teams from the Ottawa Redblacks, OSEG, the city’s Waste Management, Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group and Glebe BIA spent the morning cleaning up the community in and around the Glebe as part of Ottawa’s Cleaning the Capital campaign.

More than 40 participants included local community leaders, Ottawa Redblacks players, Waste Management staff and various other volunteers who were eager to ensure the community they live, work and play in was ready for the warmer weather. The teams were divided across six parks in the Glebe to collect litter left behind following the recent snow melt.

The Cleaning the Capital campaign is a city-wide cleanup that occurs in the spring and fall every year. Residents come together and combine efforts to make our city clean and green. This year marks the 30th year of the Cleaning the Capital program. Since 1994, more than 1.4 million volunteers have participated in nearly 30,000 cleanup projects.

As community-driven organizations, we want to keep our community clean and our city beautiful. Stay tuned for future events within the Glebe and check back with the Glebe BIA as they look to run another cleanup in the fall.

Marc St. Pierre is manager of community relations for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.

Eco-cat booklet sales surge

Supporting St. Matthew’s Green Team

By Margret Brady Nankivell

An interview on CBC national radio of Miss Jessie, a feline member of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, has boosted sales of her eco-cat advice booklet, A Guide for Cats Who Care.

The book sells for $10, and revenues help fund St. Matthew’s Green Team initiatives. Jessie has already raised enough money to buy and install a reverse-osmosis water treatment system for St. Thomas Anglican Church in Moose Factory, Ontario. The new system, ordered for the parish hall of St. Matthew’s partner church, will save on the use of plastic bottles there.

The 18-year-old calico and accomplished feline writer (yes, she does need

help with a human keyboard) was nominated as a climate champion on the popular CBC radio show on environmental issues What on Earth with Laura Lynch. Jessie was interviewed by the show’s producer Rachel Sanders in a final segment of the one-hour program, and she meowed on cue nicely.

Jessie says she enjoyed the experience, especially because before the interview she was given a pinch of locally sourced catnip to steady her nerves.

Copies of the booklet are sold through St. Matthew’s online Treasures Boutique and were on display at the church’s recent Earth Day celebration and lunch. Sales so far total $600.

Jessie hopes the publication will inspire eco-cat activism across Canada and is pleased that she has several new “paw pals.” These include Callie in Courtenay, B.C. (who suggested the term paw pals), Haddie in Chateauguay, Quebec and Pickles in Kitchener, Ontario.

The booklet includes a dozen tips for ways cats can help conserve the environment, such as drinking from natural water sources like rain puddles, avoiding car travel and reducing food waste. Dogs can learn some lessons from the booklet too.

Her other publications include Cat Tips in Covid Times, A Cat’s Christmas in Covid Times and Jessie’s Favourite Recipes. Proceeds from all sales go to St. Matthew’s outreach projects.

The success of the eco-cat booklet, however, has been Jessie’s big breakthrough. As one reader emailed, it has been “a CATegorical success.”

Note: Jessie has been blessed several times at St. Matthew’s Blessing of the Animals service, including when she was just a little kitten.

Margret Brady Nankivell is a longtime member of the St. Matthew’s congregation.

GNAG cleanup stars, from left, Paul O’Donnell, Sarah Routliffe, Clare Davidson Rogers, John Muggleton and Peter Wightman

Redblacks players clean up.

Redblacks, GNAG and Glebe BIA clean up the community

(Part 1)

By Dan Vivian and Cecile Wilson [Atmospheric CO2 near Mauna Loa, Hawaii on May 19: 422.39]

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lowering heating costs are two reasons why people are electrifying their homes. By combining a heat pump with solar power, you can have heating that is both cleaner and less expensive than using natural gas.

In this article, we provide the rationale for reducing the GHG output and compare the emissions produced by various home heating methods. In the August edition, we will show how using the combination of an electric heat pump and solar power can also save you money.

Why are we concerned about fossil fuels and GHGs?

Data collected by scientists around the world indicate that burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gases) has emitted so many GHGs that they are in the process of changing the makeup of the atmosphere. This change is enough to cause a significant rise in global temperatures around the earth.

There are all sorts of consequences to these rising temperatures. The delicate balance of the climate is disrupted, resulting in droughts in some parts of the world, floods in others, fires, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, melting polar ice caps, rising ocean levels, stress for plants and animals and even extinctions. We can expect a whole list of related issues for human beings and our social institutions as well.

Even if we (governments, corporations and financial institutions included) decide that we need to keep burning fossil fuels despite their destructive effects, there are limited fossil fuels available. As we use more, sources become depleted and harder to find and access, which makes them more expensive. We need to transition away from fossil fuels eventually – why not make the move to cleaner heating sources sooner, while we have more control over the transition?

How do fossil fuels compare to other heat sources?

The graph below compares the GHG emissions produced by the various means of heating space and water in Ontario. Natural gas burned at a high efficiency (92 per cent combustion, which is common for condensing furnaces and boilers) is used as the base rate for GHG emissions and is given a value of one. A value higher than one indicates that the heat source emits

more GHGs than gas burned at 92 per cent efficiency; a value lower than one indicates that the heat source emits fewer GHGs.

In addition to a high-efficiency furnace, this graph shows the emissions produced by gas burned in a conventional efficiency heating appliance (about 82 per cent efficient). This is indicated as ‘Natural Gas Conv’ on the graph.

Note that fuel oil (78 per cent efficient, which is typical) emits about 75 per cent more GHGs than high efficiency gas, propane about 25 per cent more and conventional gas about 12 per cent more. In Ontario, conventional electric heat produces about 90 per cent fewer GHGs than high efficiency gas does, while an electric heat pump produces about 96 per cent fewer GHGs (or about 10 per cent and four per cent respectively of the GHGs emitted by high efficiency gas). The GHGs produced by solar power is so tiny (one divided by over 1 million) that it is effectively zero.

How significant is home heating?

The City of Ottawa tracks its GHG emissions from buildings, transportation, waste, agriculture and its own operations. Buildings are further subdivided into two subsectors: residential and industrial/commercial/institutional. In 2020, buildings were the largest source of GHGs in Ottawa at 46 per cent of total emissions, with the two building subsectors being about equal (see Results of the 2020 Community and Corporate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories, September 2021, City of Ottawa publication for more information). On a more personal scale, a 2,000-square-foot house typically accounts for between 4.8 and six tonnes of GHG emissions per year.

In 2020, 83 per cent of building emissions came from natural gas. Even though natural gas is often touted as a ‘clean’ fuel, the chart below shows clearly that moving from any fossil fuel (including natural gas) to an electric heat pump would significantly lower GHGs.

In the August, we’ll demonstrate how combining a heat pump with net-metered solar panels can save you money as well.

Dan Vivian is a mechanical engineer and the principal for Building Science Trust Inc., as well as a Climate Reality Leader (2018). He helps people move their buildings to net zero energy consumption. Cecile Wilson is a resident of the Glebe and is interested in climate change, the actions we can take to mitigate it and the discourse surrounding this critical topic.

Stories at the Solstice –grandmothers in solidarity

By Susan Carter

One World Grannies is hosting our popular storytelling fundraiser again this year on June 21. After being held for many years in leafy Ottawa gardens, threats of rain (and an actual soaking) have wisely resulted in an indoor event this year. We are happy to have the wonderful space at the Unitarian Congregation to host this year’s event.

Stories at the Solstice: A Celebration of Summer in Story and Song features well-known storytellers “Beaver Woman” Louise Profeit-LeBlanc of the Yukon Nacho N’yak Dun First Nation, Mary Wiggin, master of folk and fairy tale, and Nigerian Canadian teller Uchechi Ogbonna. The Three Rivers Choir, Sheila Green and Thomas McKegney will add musical pleasure to the evening. In addition to stories and music, guests will enjoy canapés, desserts and a chance to win one of several door prizes.

For 17 years, Ottawa grandmothers have supported their sisters in sub-Saharan Africa who remain strongly affected by the devastation of HIV and AIDS on their families and communities. Now they face quadruple jeopardy caused by the COVID pandemic, climate change and the looming threat of food insecurity in troubled economic times.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, we are now facing a global food crisis of unprecedented proportions, the largest in modern history. In Canada, the use of food banks across the country has increased two to three-fold in the past few years beginning with the pandemic and compounded recently by inflation. Food insecurity is a real threat here in Ottawa and the Glebe community is doing its part to address this issue.

In 2021, one in every five people in

Africa was facing hunger. In sub-Saharan Africa, grandmothers and older women are especially vulnerable due to poverty and inequality, climate change, conflict and food system failures. At the same time, these women are the keepers of knowledge about traditional, sustainable seeds and growing practices. Working with younger people, they hold hope for the future.

The One World Grannies and the Unitarian GoGos are dedicated to working in solidarity with the grandmothers in Africa. They are two of 14 grandmother groups in the Ottawa-Gatineau region that fundraise and advocate for women, children and youth in sub-Saharan Africa. All funds raised by Canadian grandmother groups are channelled through the Stephen Lewis Foundation directly to partner organizations working with grandmothers at the community level.

Carolyn Harrison is a regular at Stories at the Solstice. “This is my launch to summer and I try not to miss it. Every Stories evening has its magical moments and it’s such great fun.

Stories at the Solstice

When: June 21: 6:15 welcome reception; program 7-9:30 pm

Where: First Unitarian Congregation, 30 Cleary Avenue

Tickets: $30, available on Eventbrite or by reservation at 613-864-6442

Your evening’s enjoyment will support young people and grandmothers affected and infected by HIV and AIDS and help them address the perils of climate change and food insecurity.

Susan Carter is a long-time resident in the Glebe and member of the One World Grannies and the Grandmothers Advocacy Network.

birds of the glebe

The unmistakable Yellow warbler

By Jeanette Rive

The warblers are a group of songbirds greatly anticipated every spring by enthusiastic birders who excitedly flock to their known habitat as soon as the first sightings are reported. These mostly unrelated birds share the following characteristics: they are all small, vocal and insectivores, eating mostly caterpillars, spiders and any flying insects. Their name originates from an old French verb, “verbler,” which means singing in trills.

In our area of Eastern Ontario, there are some 38 different species of warblers, called wood warblers because they are mostly arboreal. Warblers, especially males in full breeding

plumage, are colourful, and their names often reflect the distinguishing markings of the species – Yellow warbler, Black-throated Blue warbler, Black and White warbler, Yellow-rumped warbler, Chestnut-sided warbler, among others. They are small, ranging from the tiny 7 cm Northern Parula to the slightly larger Ovenbird at 11 cm. They weigh about 10 grams – about the weight of four jellybeans! They are extremely active little birds,

flying from shrub to shrub, hiding behind leaves, frustrating photographers and challenging birders to identify them correctly when they are only seen for a few seconds.

Yet they are migratory champions, spending the winter in Central and South America, then flying north to breed in our arboreal forests. The most extreme traveller is the Blackpoll warbler, which flies from Alaska all the way to Brazil over a period of three days. In preparation for these arduous journeys, warblers gorge on high-fat berries and double in weight. The flight south is non-stop but when returning north in the spring, the birds stop along the way to catch insects. However, with climate change affecting the seasons, birds are at risk if their timing does not coincide with the seasonal cycles of the insects.

Warblers are not seed eaters, so you won’t see them at your feeders, but I have heard of the occasional report of warblers in a Glebe garden. Looking further afield, they are often seen at the Fletcher Wildlife Gardens and the Arboretum, among the shrubs and trees along the Rideau Canal and Rideau River and occasionally at Brown’s Inlet and Patterson’s Creek.

The best location is the Britannia Conservation Area. Patience and a quick eye are needed!

The Yellow warbler, sometimes

called the “summer yellowbird,” is among the most widespread and most visible of all warblers. The male is bright yellow with orange streaks on its breast, while the female is a pale lemon yellow. They usually spend time in small flocks but when the breeding season starts, the male becomes territorial, staking out a suitable nesting area, chasing away any intruders. He will then start incessantly singing a whistled tune “sweet, sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet” to attract a female – he may sing up to 3,000 times a day!

Parental responsibilities are shared, though each has set duties: the female builds and maintains the sturdy cup-shaped nest in a tree, incubates the eggs and broods the chicks; the male guards the nest and brings insects to the female to feed the chicks. A clutch is usually three to six eggs which hatch after about 11 days. The chicks are brooded for eight or nine days – they then leave the nest though their parents feed them for about two weeks. After that, the family breaks up with some chicks following the mother, some staying with the father.

Warbler nests are frequent victims of brood parasitism with Brownheaded cowbirds laying eggs in their nests in hopes the chicks will be reared by the warblers. Not only have warblers developed a distinct alarm call to alert other birds to the presence of a cowbird, they have also evolved a unique way to combat them. When the female sees the egg of another bird in the nest, she will cover all the eggs, including her own and build a new nest directly on top to smother the eggs. She will then lay a new clutch of eggs. Nests up to six layers deep have been found!

The southward migration can start as early as July once breeding and fledging are completed, but usually August is when mass migration starts again.

Summer can be very hot for small birds. They can cool down by panting and opening their bill wide to cool their throats and air sacs, but they need water to replenish the water lost through panting. If possible, set out a little bird bath in your garden, out of reach of an opportunistic cat, to keep birds hydrated.

Happy birding this summer and keep your eyes out for unusual tiny birds.

Jeanette Rive is a Glebe bird enthusiast and Glebe Report proofreader.

Every window matters. Every bird matters.

By Janette Niwa

Thud. It’s a horrible sound to hear at your window.

Every year in Ottawa, collisions with glass kill an estimated 250,000 birds. Given our love of windows and glass railings, that number grows to one billion in North America. The journal Science notes that the population of North American birds has dropped by almost 30 per cent since 1970. This is not sustainable.

People often say, “I haven’t had many birds hit my house,” yet the average single-family residence kills between one and 15 birds each year. Residences, of which there are more than 400,000 in Ottawa, are responsible for 44 per cent of collisions. Often, we’re not home to hear it, the bird remains are scavenged by squirrels, cats or other wildlife, or we simply don’t notice the small, feathered body in the bushes.

Safe Wings Ottawa, an initiative of the Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club, is working to make Ottawa safer for birds, and we need everyone’s help. So, what can you do? A lot!

Two key areas where everyone can make a difference are (1) rescuing birds who collide with windows and transporting them to a rehabber; and (2) using bird-friendly glass or applying markers to windows and glass railings.

Rescuing birds

“The bird flew away – I’m sure it’s fine.” But just like when a 90-kilogram hockey player hits the boards headfirst, an 11-gram Black-capped chickadee needs care after hitting glass – and the chickadee, flying at 20 kilometres an hour, wasn’t wearing a helmet! Almost all birds who hit glass are concussed, and most suffer internal injuries such as brain bleeds, impaired vision and severe bruising. Those that fly away often die later, become easy prey, or starve because they cannot forage for food.

Act quickly and scoop up the bird with your hands or a tea towel, place it gently in an unwaxed paper bag folded and sealed with a paper clip or in a closed box with a few small holes. Then call Safe Wings at 613-216-8999. Don’t give it food or water, and keep it in a warm, dark, quiet place until it can be brought to a rehabber. Even if you think it has recovered, don’t release it. If the bird is dead, place it in a sealed plastic bag, keep it in a cool place (the freezer is perfect and perfectly safe), and

contact Safe Wings. Help us collect data by completing a report at safewings.ca/ found-a-bird/report-a-bird-collision/.

Making glass visible

Birds don’t understand glass. When they see trees reflected in a window, they perceive a safe haven; when they see plants inside your home, they perceive a potential hiding spot; and when they see sky through a glass walkway, they think it’s somewhere to fly. Instead, they hit the glass.

There are many ways to make your windows visible to birds – install Feather Friendly, use an oil-based marker to draw designs, install a vinyl pattern, hang Acopian bird savers or paracord, use external screens or build and renovate using bird-friendly glass. The four key elements for window markers are:

1. Install the markers on the exterior of the glass to cut reflections

2. Ensure the markers are five cm apart horizontally and vertically

3. Ensure the markers are 6 mm in size/diameter

4. Ensure high contrast between glass and markers

Additional actions can be helpful, like closing curtains, turning lights off at night, moving plants away from windows and keeping bird feeders and baths within 50 cm of windows or else more than nine metres away. Note that widely spaced decals, UV treatments and owl statues do not work. See safewings.ca/small-scale-solutions/ for more solutions.

We’re making progress!

The City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission have published their Bird-Safe Design Guidelines, and the federal government is developing theirs. Easy to use treatments such as Feather Friendly are available from Safe Wings, online and from retailers such as Wild Birds Unlimited and Lee Valley. We all need to do more. Updates to the provincial and national building

codes would be ideal, requiring all new builds and retrofits across Canada to follow bird-safe standards, not just guidelines. Everyone can email their elected politicians to request these changes. Many voices amplify the message!

Want to do more? Volunteer with Safe Wings Ottawa – we can always use more drivers, phone agents and building monitors. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need advice or help for a bird in distress!

Janette Niwa is a volunteer with Safe Wings Ottawa and an animal and nature lover.

Northern Saw-whet owl in rehab

PHOTO: CHRISTINA HUPPÉ

PHOTO: KAREN CHRISTINA YOUNG

Glebe St. James feeds the hungry

More volunteers needed!

By Susan Palmai

Last October, Ottawa Public Foods opened its doors at 415 MacLaren Street. Its mission to reduce food waste and help feed needy residents of Centretown. Over the first eight months, success has been building.

OPF operates out of a brand-new shed designed and built by students in the master’s Architecture program at Carleton University. Other partners in the project include Glebe St. James United Church, Ottawa Community Housing, Arlington 5 Café and the Centretown Community Health Centre.

Unlike a food bank, the community fridge is open 24/7 and is not staffed. The food is supplied by individuals, grocery stores, bakeries, cafés and churches. Anyone can go to the shed and put food in the fridge or on the shelves; anyone who needs food can come and take what they want. Our motto is “Take what you need and leave what you can” – that’s how we operate.

A main focus of our project and other community fridges is to prevent food waste. We ask stores and other businesses to donate good food which can no longer be sold and would usually go into the trash. For example, some food which is past its best-before date or produce which is bruised or dark is still edible even if merchants can’t sell it.

Our volunteers – we call them “fridge

checkers” – visit twice a day to ensure the site is tidy, remove inappropriate food items, check fridge temperatures and stock the fridge and shelves if supplies are available. That the fridge and shelves are often empty is a sign of our program’s success – it means that as soon as we fill them, people in need

Sandwiches made, packaged, dated and delivered by members of Glebe St. James

are coming to empty them.

Our donors so far include: Cedar’s & Co., The Wild Oat, The OOS Quickie, Glebe St. James United Church, the Centretown Community Food Centre, Carlington Community Chaplaincy, Hintonburg Marché, Real Canadian Superstore via Foodsharing Ottawa, Golden Baguette Bakery, McKeen Metro Glebe via Foodsharing Ottawa, Café Deluxe, Messine’s YIG and many individuals.

We need to grow this list by spreading the word!

This is a community-based program which will hopefully be self-sustaining shortly. We expect the Centretown and Glebe communities will make it

so! How can you help us? We need to add to our roster of fridge checkers and build a list of occasional drivers. We get calls from businesses offering surplus food, and we need drivers right away to pick it up and deliver it to 415 MacLaren. It’s an easy way to contribute to improving the health of needy residents in Centretown.

Please contact us through our website at ottawapublicfoods.org or Facebook at Ottawa Public Foods or directly at 613-286-3435.

Susan Palmai is a member of Glebe St. James Outreach Team, the team behind the creation of Ottawa Public FoodsYour Community Fridge and Pantry.

A community member delivering food – lots of shelf space ready for food donations! PHOTOS: SUSAN PALMAI

A Cure for what ‘ales’ you

By Tim O’Connor

Cure and brine might sound like an Irish comedy duo, but they’re no joke in your kitchen. They’re the secret to moist, flavourful meat, especially during barbecue season.

Cures and brines go really well with a barbecue’s intense flavours, with the flames, the char and everything that makes barbecue so special. My rule of thumb is that you cure fattier meats and brine less fattier meats.

A cure or brine is firstly a balance of salt and sugar, with added flavours that suit your moment or appetite. When I brine turkey, I use a bit of honey and mustard. It works so well that I use it year-round, including my Christmas and Thanksgiving turkeys.

You can experiment with ingredients, but it’s important to understand that you’re adding nuances of flavour, not adding punches in the mouth of flavour. More salt doesn’t make a brine work faster, and brine can ruin poultry as easily as it can improve it. Remember that the ratios of salt and sugar to meat are essential.

An overnight cure or morning-to-evening brine will change your brisket’s flavour from simple to amazing or add flavour and moisture

to your poultry. Whether you’re grilling or putting in even more effort and barbecuing low and slow, why settle for a simple sprinkling of salt a few minutes before you cook?

It’s not complicated. For brine, all you need is a bucket or large pot and space in your fridge. Pro tip: I make room in the bottom of my fridge where normally forgotten stuff goes to die.

For a brisket or pork shoulder, a cure goes a long way to making sure the meat is flavourful. Don’t be too gentle when you’re rubbing that cure into the meat, as you want the meat covered with a good layer of spices and seasonings.

I generally cure pork for 24 hours before cooking. Brine permeates poultry with moisture in less time, so a morning brining is good for cooking that evening. Eight or nine hours should do, and I never go more than 12. Some ambitious people use a meat injector, which can cut brine time to three or four hours.

Finally, always pat the meat dry before cooking, so you get a caramelized, crispy exterior with nice sear lines.

Tim O’Connor grew up in the Glebe and is head chef at Flora Hall Brewing.

Turkey/ poultry brine

For each pound of meat:

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp pickling spice, crushed

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 litres water

Bring water to boil, add other ingredients and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool in fridge. Add poultry to brine, and top with a plate or bag filled with water to ensure the meat is submerged.

Cure for red meats

2 cups of salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1tbsp pickling spice crushed

1 tsp black pepper crushed

Rub generously over meat to ensure all areas are covered. Whatever your

Children of Ottawa, get your summer read on!

by Véronique Dupuis

If you were a fly on the wall at the Sunnyside Library this month, you would see Caitlin, a library worker, going through a supply closet in search of the perfect materials to use for crafts. You would also see her colleague Luna at her desk, browsing the Internet in search of fun science experiments to do with children, and me perched on a chair hanging decorations in the Children’s department.

We are preparing for the most exciting time of the year at the library (according to children’s librarians): summer! Every year, more than 2,000 Canadian libraries participate in the TD Summer Reading Club. Its objective is to get kids excited about reading throughout the hot season and retain the skills they gained during the school year.

The TD Summer Reading Club is really three things rolled into one.

First, it is a way to encourage children to read every day. We give them a kit which includes a notebook, stickers, reading recommendations, an origami activity and, most importantly, a calendar on which to mark every day that they have spent reading. Throughout the summer, they can report back to us, and we’ll give them a reward for their efforts. They could also

win a free book of their choice from a large selection through our weekly draw.

Second, they can participate in fun (and free) activities! Science experiments, encounters with animals, crafting, playing with a Cubetto robot, movie nights – we hope that many of you will come spend a bit of your day with us for those activities!

Third, the national website of the TD Summer Reading Club is a good way to pass the time on rainy days (or on a long drive, using a phone). Children are invited to vote in an all-Canadian Battle of the Books, answer trivia questions, read jokes submit there own, read an exclusive web comic, all of this in English and French.

Véronique Dupuis is a librarian in the Children and Teen Services area at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

Dates to remember:

June 12: The library (all 33 branches in our system) starts giving out book club kits.

June 12: Registration begins for our summer activities (although some programs are drop-ins). Visit the Ottawa Public Library’s website or talk to us for more information.

June 19, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.: Summer Reading Club launch party at the Sunnyside library! Come one, come all, to get your book club kit, participate in activities and have a snack!

July 3: Start of our summer programming. Yippee! See you there!

To advertise on glebereport.ca and in the

The Skinny; My Messy Hopeful Fight for Full Recovery from Anorexia, A (decently

comical) Memoir

Value in The Glebe!

By Sheri Segal Glick

The following is an excerpt from the book The Skinny, by Glebe resident Sheri Segal Glick, recounting her struggles with the eating disorder anorexia.

One morning last week, my almost-teenage son was yelling at me to help him find something before leaving for school, “Mom!” “Mom!” “Mom!” “MOOOOOOOM.” I was in my bathroom, drying my hair in my bra and underwear. Exasperated, I ran downstairs (passing my husband who was standing. right. there.), handed my son the thing he was looking for –apparently invisible to everyone but me – and headed back up the stairs.

“Mommy?” I stop, wondering if this is the day I’ve only heard about and seen in TV movies – the day he actually thanks me for something. I turn to face him.

“Mommy, you are gaining weight. Sorry if this sounds rude, but you are.” I quickly walk up the rest of the stairs.

DON’TCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDON’TCRYDONTCRYDONTCRY

I finish drying my hair, get dressed, and walk my youngest to school.

DONTCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDON’TCRYDONTCRYDONTCRY

I smile at people at school drop-off and bump into a friend and talk and laugh for a minute and then walk in the opposite direction of her house, and mine.

DONTCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDONTCRYDON’TCRYDONTCRYDONTCRY

I want to run as fast and long as I can, until I can’t feel the hurt and the shame, but as I’m in winter boots and a parka and have a session with Emily in just over an hour, I settle on an illicit walk.

This kid doesn’t notice anything. Our house could be painted an entirely different color tomorrow, and there is only a fifty percent chance he’d notice. Our cat could go missing, and he wouldn’t notice. I could replace one of his sisters with a stunt double, and he wouldn’t notice.

But he noticed that my body has changed.

I text Kirsten, and she initially thinks it’s funny (we don’t always have the same sense of humour, I’ve also stopped sending her TikToks). Then she realizes how upset I am.

She reminds me that the body he is used to seeing isn’t a healthy one, and that a sick, starving body shouldn’t be his standard of female attractiveness. She tells me that I’m doing a service to his future partners (and I can’t help but wonder about all of the ways in which I’ve already failed those same partners. I don’t think he’s ever hung up a jacket, or made his bed, except under duress).

Cali says mostly the same things but without using the words heteronormative assumptions. They are both really kind, and say smart, insightful things. But I need someone to feel sad with me. I want

someone to acknowledge how much this hurts.

I tell Emily about it on our call, and she blames me for not having told him what I’m doing. I try to explain to her that he’s twelve and wouldn’t understand, and that he would tell everyone about this thing he doesn’t understand. She tells me that it’s my job to help him understand. Her frustration is palpable. Of course my body is changing, that’s the point. If it wasn’t, nothing else could be changing. And of course my kid is going to notice, and if I don’t tell him what’s going on, well that’s on me. And if I’m ashamed to tell people about why I’m gaining weight, that’s also on me. I am supposed to be gaining weight. I can’t gain all the life things without gaining weight. Why can’t I understand that?

I get it. Isn’t it better for my children to have a mother who can teach them it’s possible to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles than a mother who fits into the tiniest size of pants?

Isn’t it more important to have a mother who can model healthy, balanced attitudes around food and exercise than one who acts like exercise is more important than all other things?

Isn’t it more important to have a mother who is present, who can go for spontaneous ice cream, and who can happily stay in all day and watch movies on the couch, than it is to have a mother whose body never changes?

Then why didn’t my kid say he notices that I eat dinner with him now? Or that we no longer have to walk absolutely everywhere? Or that because I’m no longer exercising at crazy o’clock every morning I’m now joining him downstairs for breakfast?

Maybe the extra weight is the only thing that he can see.

I’d like to think that recovery is making me more available, more open, more empathetic, more honest, less afraid, less rigid.

But right now, I feel more distracted, more self-conscious, more anxious, more self-critical and more alone than I’ve ever felt.

It doesn’t feel worth it.

Does my son really care about the way my body looks? Maybe he only mentioned I was gaining weight because he was so excited that he finally noticed something. But his words really hurt me. I’m still getting used to my changing body, and this was a stark reminder that other people can see the changes too. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

Sheri Segal Glick’s The Skinny; My Messy Hopeful Fight for Full Recovery from Anorexia, A (decently comical) Memoir, will be released on June 20 and is available for preorder at Indigo, Amazon and locally at Octopus Books.

Sheri Segal Glick is a Glebe resident and mother.

If you’re looking to downsize, but still want to enjoy all that the Glebe has to offer, consider the value of a studio apartment at Villagia in The Glebe. Our spacious studios offer comfort with access to our vibrant community and services when you need them. Located steps away from the Rideau Canal, we’re near the downtown core and many of the city’s best restaurants and shops in an unbeatable location.

Young-adult novel set in the Glebe and Toronto

named Zoe who wakes up in an alley in Ottawa. She stumbles onto a main street and gets sent to the hospital because of injuries. Soon she wakes up and needs to run because there are three people who want her killed. She heads back to the alley. Zoe believes it can help her remember who she was before the accident. She needs to escape Ottawa to go to Toronto because her friend Ethan told her to. In Toronto, she meets Professor Chao to whom she tells everything that happened until then. He then explains everything she needs to know about her mental abilities which she discovered in Ottawa. Professor Chao tells her that she is a telepath and the people who attacked her are called the rogues. Professor Chao also mentions that he is a teacher at the Academy, which is a school for students who are telepaths like Zoe.

Fractured,

by Gordon G. Bowman.

Review by Naomi Cabassu

Fractured is a first novel by Glebe resident Gordon Bowman and the first in a young-adult urban fantasy/sci-fi series called “Telepath.” The second book in the series is expected to be published this summer or fall.

Fractured follows a 14-year-old girl

At the Academy. she befriends Professor Chao’s daughter Lin. Later we learn that the headmaster and the council are suspicious about Zoe because she could be a spy or an assassin. She doesn’t believe that because she thinks she is the same person as she was before the accident. She makes a deal with the headmaster to go to see the school psychologist to retrieve her memories. After Zoe’s first retrieval of memories, she has a dream about her childhood and tells it to Lin, her parents, professor Chao and Professor Yeoh. Later she tells it to the headmaster and her psychologist.

I enjoyed this book because it does not follow the Romeo-and-Juliet theme.

You still know that Zoe and Ethan will end up together because that’s how young adult novels are. It’s also enjoyable because it is set in Canada and not in the United States like most English-language books are.

I did not like the flashbacks which were confusing; at the same time, it helps us understand Zoe’s past, which is only explained through Ethan’s memory.

I would recommend this book to

pre-teens and young teens because it is an easy read for young adults. It is also very simple to understand because it is meant for 12- to14-year-olds. The storyline is better for a younger audience.

Naomi Cabassu is a Grade 12 student at Glebe Collegiate Institute who enjoys reading and is aiming to attend the Library and Information Technician program at Algonquin College.

are Reading

Fractured, by Gordon G. Bowman. (Ottawa, Bowman Books, 2022) 298 pages. Available at Octopus Bookstore and other indie bookstores in Ottawa, on Amazon, as well as the at the Ottawa Public Library and Glebe schools. Also available at bowmanbooks.ca

37 FLORA AT BANK CENTRETOWN’S NEIGHBOURHOOD BREWERY & KITCHEN

FRESH BEER, SCRATCH FOOD

Sneezy Waters: A Very Fine Biography,

by Peter B. Hodgson

Review by Ian Boyd

I was excited to read this book by Peter B. Hodgson, aka Sneezy Waters. It was worth every word. The cover lays out the type of book that the author wants you to see – it shows travel stickers, backstage passes, provincial logos and cause-related activism, all slapped on a well-worn travel case.

Sneezy Waters started out as Peter Hodgson, with an older brother to influence him in life. He grew up in west Ottawa. He enjoyed baseball and talks about his childhood exploits with a sense of glee and wonder. His parents had a huge influence on him as they encouraged his musical development. Peter’s parents travelled to Europe and lived in Paris for a time. Back in Ottawa, he went to high school, got his first guitar and started to make friends in the arts. He started playing local coffee houses while still in his teens, linking up with Bruce Cockburn in a band called The Children. He went to Asia with another band and played at Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan.

After that trip, Hodgson was playing a local bar, drinking a few beers – “lit up pretty sweet,” he writes – when “I started mumbling disparate words, meaningless.”

“At one point, while doing my Kerouac rant, I started to repeat ‘The waters are

sneezing,’ thinking of a calm body of water which then suddenly sneezed.

I babbled those words for quite some time until I stopped and said, ‘Sneezy Waters – that sounds commercial!”

And so, in the early 70s, Peter Hodgson became Sneezy Waters!

Sneezy was part of the leading edge of what was then the folk revival. He did full-band gigs, solo coffee-house gigs, he even busked in the streets. He speaks fondly of playing Le Hibou, the Ottawa coffee house that moved around the city, ending up on Sussex Avenue before it closed in 1975.

Never letting any grass grow under his feet, Sneezy loved to hit the road. He hitchhiked across Canada on one early tour. He toured the U.S. and Mexico in finer style, and his Asia tour is legendary. He booked house gigs in Hong Kong and Bangkok, anywhere he could find work. His prowess at self-booking served him well, and his around-the-world trip was truly a fantastic adventure, featuring a 36-day car ride from Southeast Asia to Denmark.

Throughout the book, there are photos of Sneezy and his family, friends, band members and colleagues. He joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the entertainment union, and moonlighted as a stagehand for many years. His first love was clearly performance, not just the music but the showmanship that goes with it.

This led to his famous interpretation of Hank Williams Sr. in the stage show and later in the 1980 film Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave. From 1977 to 1990, he toured the show extensively around North America to good crowds and positive reviews, playing the concert that he imagined the American country music icon might have done in Canton, Ohio in 1952 had he

not died of a drug overdose in the car on the way there.

It was around this time that I first met Sneezy Waters, only knowing him by that name for years. Oddly, my father was the logistics guy at the same company where Sneezy’s father also worked. Small world, eh? Sneezy was playing at the Chateau Laurier when I met him, and we have been friends ever since.

How to describe Peter Hodgson? Good guy, friendly, benevolent, funny, musical, great musician, friend to all, nomad, hard worker, fellow musician,

generous, giving. Fine band member, honest worker, great photographer, songwriter, interpreter of songs, showman, performing artist. But none of those words work on their own. The best way to describe Peter Hodgson is simply . . . Sneezy Waters.

Sneezy Waters: A Very Fine Biography is available online from sneezywaters.com or at the Compact Music shop on Bank Street. I dare say it’s a very fine read.

Ian Boyd is the owner of Compact Music at 785 Bank Street.

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Oh sister! Oh brother!

In this Poetry Quarter, you will find poems that define, dignify and explore the precious nature of our relationship with siblings – those with whom we have often shared our most vulnerable moments and those with whom we have an intimate attachment. These poems include adult recollections from childhood, thoughts from a young poet and even a poem about a sister who exists only in a dream. We thank the poets for sharing their perceptions and for the touching recollections found in their poems.

My dream sister

I could have never dreamed of a better friend than you You believe in me more than I You love me more than I You trust me more than I You know how to push me through hard times and take me back from devastating impulses You elevate me with your so many qualities of heart and the openness of your mind, and the kindness of your helping hands

You know my past, we build our present, and we daydream our future

We share everything, and what we don’t share we don’t care You are my precious one

In your eyes, I take the strength I need to go my way every day

And in our laughter I know life is a pleasant ride by your side

My dear sister…the one I never had and always dreamed about

Carole Tremblay

Sister

Inner strength and beauty. My support and inspiration. My love, my best friend, My sister

Susan Buller

To Our Sister Liz at 60 In the Key of Kool

She’s our sister Liz. At the piano she’s a w(h)iz! Since there are no frets on her instrument, she invents a basketful to keep her admirers nicely on edge, and to add colour to the black and white keys.

Her charms are many, not just musical: Harmonious with friends and family; Rhythmic in pursuit of enlightenment; Melodious in her diction; and Contrapuntal in her opinions.

Unlike her hungry siblings when about to eat gelato She pauses a split second-an elegant rubato. She is all of these and many others. For 60 years a treasure to her sister and brothers.

Stephen Acker

Forever

Friends

From the day I went to the hospital, From the day I walked through the door, From the day I held him in my arms, My life wasn’t the same anymore.

As an older sister I have a big responsibility, To care and stand up for him

As he would do for me.

When I hold him in my arms And wipe his tears away, I hope we’ll share this closeness Forever and a day.

When I’m hurt or feeling sad Or if we fight and disagree, We find our way back to each other And he’s always there for me.

Inside jokes and cuddles, Love, laughter, and loyalty, My brother makes my life complete, Best friends we’ll always be.

Shreya Kappagantula Sharpe, Grade 4, Elmwood School

WE WERE TWO

My mother kept two small stones in the cedar chest drawer that someone had picked up from the grounds of the Dionne Quints’ home and given to her as fertility charms: One for me and one for my sister. For a while, we believed the two magic stones had brought us into being. Later, we learned the facts of life, but remained fascinated with the tale of the five little girls, five miracles, kept alive by heroic means only to be exploited.

I read We Were Five when it first came out, and every book about them since. Just two of the sisters are alive now.

My sister and I were only two and now I’m the one left alive. Without her, my heart is heavy as a stone.

Ruth Latta

Sharing a Bed with My Brother

My brother Russell, now 81, is eight years my senior. We had no other siblings. They could not have fit in The tiny two-bedroom bungalow where we grew up In Kemptville in the time of The Bomb and no seatbelts. Russell, a teenager, tuned into Elvis after school everyday. A youngster, on Sunday I went to bed at the end of Ed Sullivan. Every night we slept side by side in a “three-quarter” bed. Russell often announced: “if you’re still wide awake When I go to bed, I will step all over your body.” There was no anger. This was just a statement of fact. I remember those times when his feet strode quickly atop me. But I think now he avoided my head, my ribs and my privates Because he just wanted to sleep and not hurt me. Soon he was no longer with me for he was university-bound. With summer jobs that took him away to new places. My folks built a rec room on one side of the basement. So, Russell could sleep there when he did come to see us. Today, all is forgiven. Now we work closely in tandem, Tracing our ancestors who all slept snugly together, Because in winter at night it was so cold in their houses.

Bob Irvine

Buggie

I have five siblings but only one I love.

Buggie is fourteen months younger, but He taught me to ride my bike

He suggested we play with gasoline

He can catch slippery trout with his bare hands

He is not just dangerously fun

He lights up every room he enters

And says I do.

Paige Raymond

The poetry of trees

Joyce Kilmer wrote in his 1914 poem, ‘I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree.’

But – intrepid Ottawa poets – let us try!

As they stretch into the sky with their majestic reach, they stand as the true giants of nature, and recent studies have shown that our happiness can be increased just by spending time with them. They not only help capture carbon from the atmosphere but are vital in stopping the decline of wildlife numbers by creating diverse habitats.

So, for the October 2023 Poetry Quarter, let’s take a moment to put pen to paper and show trees some wellearned, poetic love.

As usual, poems should be:

• Original and unpublished in any medium (no poems submitted elsewhere, please);

• No more than 30 lines each;

• On any aspect of the theme within the bounds of public discourse;

• Submitted on or before Monday, September 25. Poets in the National Capital Region of all ages welcome (school-age poets, please indicate your grade and school). Please send your entries (up to 5 poems that meet the criteria) to editor@glebereport.ca. Remember to send us your contact information and your grade and school if you are in school.

Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023

The poetry of uneven transitions

Continuity Errors, by Catriona Wright

Like everyone else, I use trees

As a metaphor for myself

And my dream community

“Species Loneliness”

Continuity Errors

By Catriona Wright

Review by John Crump

In movies, as in life, continuity is important. A continuity error in film is when a character appears in a red sweater and then, in the next scene, the sweater is green.

“The pandemic was a weird continuity error,” says poet and former Glebe resident, Catriona Wright. “So was pregnancy during the pandemic.”

Wright’s third book is aptly named Continuity Errors, and she was back in Ottawa recently to read from her new work at Perfect Books on Elgin Street. The morning after, she relaxed in her parentsʼ garden on First Avenue.

Wright grew up in the Glebe and shadows of the neighbourhood appear here and there among the 33 poems in this small collection. “I was born on a dead-end street” is about living close to the old exhibition grounds but not seeing it.

My bedroom window faced a brick wall.

From my brother’s you could see The carnival, those Ferris wheel spokes Loud with orange lights. I was stuck With the bricks and their boring Secrets. They were terrible best friends.

“Fifteen” is, well, another continuity error – between childhood and something else, as yet undefined.

I smoked pot in a rhododendron cathedral by the canal, pink petals sputtering through thick plumes. I parted branches and entered the afternoon. In the canal’s radioactive waters carp thrashed to the surface. We fed them Pringles and Sour Patch Kids, bright corpses covered in powdery down, the first frost. Sour. Sweet. Gone.

There is a literary story behind her name. When her mother, Jean, was carrying her, a book fell from a shelf. It was Catriona, Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1893 sequel to Kidnapped

“Predestination,” the contemporary Catriona says. She was meant to write. Growing up in a house full of books, with her parents reading to her and then becoming a voracious reader herself, as well as a regular at the

Sunnyside Library, Wright was always making notes and writing. Nevertheless, the former First Avenue student originally wanted to be a veterinarian. And while the family had a small menagerie of cats, geckos and fish – “I wanted a ferret,” she says – Wright credits James Harriot’s Animal Stories for inspiring that scientific dream.

But her high-school journey at Glebe Collegiate and the influence of teacher Joshua Pattison led to a different path, and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from McGill and a master’s in creative writing from the University of Toronto.

When she’s not writing poetry or looking after her young son, Wright teaches communications to engineering students. She also convinced U of T to let her teach a creative writing course, also to engineers. It’s completely voluntary, she explains, an elective for those who want something more than numbers.

Her poetry at times seems very personal. But it’s also creative writing. “People always assume it’s you, even if it’s from the perspective of a sea monster,” she says.

Asked if having her words out in the world makes her feel vulnerable, she replies: “You are vulnerable but it’s a compulsion.” Even without being published, “I’d be doing it anyway.”

But some of it is very personal and very funny. “Keep the channel open” describes her son finding his voice:

Concentrating, concatenating, my infant son splices syllables with white noise, gurgles, word clatter, the endangered bleeps, clicks, and static

of dial-up internet, the accelerated grind of an asteroid mine.

While white noise of a baby finding his voice and the transition into parenthood may feel like continuity errors, in her poems about pregnancy, its hope, fears and absurdities, Wright connects to all women who have felt a new being within. From “How to Expect: A Triptych”:

. . . Some days I think you’re a prank

I’m pulling on my past

We

Continuity Errors

Toronto, Coach House Books. Available at Octopus Books, Perfect Books and Amazon.ca.

My birth plan is no pain and the glaciers stop melting I can’t fix the world before you get here.

I hope you like your name Catriona Wright is the author of two other volumes, one of poetry and another of short stories. She will read from Continuity Errors in Vancouver, Waterloo, Montreal and other cities over the next few months.

John Crump is a Glebe resident and former journalist.

Catriona Wright reading at the launch of her latest book of poetry Continuity Errors

PHOTO: JOHN CRUMP

, by Catriona Wright.

Marriage Story (US, 2019)

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Review by Iva Apostolova

With the summer season upon us, the silver screen once again becomes dominated by adventure flicks, action movies or sequels (think the next installments of the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Meg 2, Fast X, Mission Impossible, the list goes on). Don’t get me wrong, I love some hi-fi action with special effects bursting from every corner of the big screen! But while the multi-million-dollar franchises are, by design, for sheer entertainment, my nostalgic craving for something quieter got me clicking through several streaming channels. To my delight, I landed on an original Netflix movie that I intended to watch when it first came out, right before Christmas in 2019, but never actually did. Directed by the indie phenomenon Noah Baumbach (holding writing and directing credits for such indie cult classics as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Squid and the Whale and, my personal favourite, the screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox), Marriage Story stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in the title roles, with the talented Laura Dern and the legend Ray Liotta as the two divorce lawyers. Apart from the delight of seeing the now late (sob!) Ray Liotta on the big screen again, the movie is a hidden gem in its own right.

The plot is as simple as it is multi-layered. Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are both domestic and professional partners. Charlie is a theatre direc-

tor and co-owner of a small theatre company off Broadway, and his wife Nicole, once a Hollywood child star, is the main actress in all Charlie’s stage productions. Until one day when Nicole decides that she has had enough and files for divorce. It is not immediately clear what has brought this change of heart, especially given that there is a child in the mix. What may add to the puzzlement is that the movie opens with Charlie and Nicole narrating what they love the most about the other.

From this point on, the story follows with enviable realism the psychological ebbs and flows of the process of dissolving a marriage: from the original betrayal, real or imaginary, through the snowballing practical difficulties, to the persistent heartache so deep and unexpected that it threatens to dissolve one’s own sense of personal identity. While one may fool oneself that there is always a villain and a victim, Marriage Story convinces that in every partnership, it indeed takes two to tango.

Romantic drama with an edge

Punch-Drunk Love (US, 2002)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Review by Angus Luff

Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a lonely, frustrated, self-loathing man who lives by himself. When he meets the mysterious Lena (Emily Watson), he falls in love with her, but while he starts to open up his complex feelings and emotional problems to those around him, he must deal with a scam phone-sex line led by Dean Trumbell (Phillip Seymor Hoffman) as they harass Barry and attempt to rob him.

A bizarre turn from Anderson at the time of its release, Punch-Drunk Love is a uniquely stylized romance that seems to deviate from Anderson’s previous longer, denser and slightly more prestigious films. Punch-Drunk Love is

What was really interesting to me was that at one point, Marriage Story makes a reference to another cinematic masterpiece, the classic Scenes from a Marriage: while visiting Nicole in Los Angeles, Charlie looks through the framed pictures on the wall in her house and sees a newspaper clipping of when presumably their own theatre company staged Scenes from a Marriage in New York. My theory is that this scene was Baumbach’s subtle nod to the inspiration for his own movie – Scenes from a Marriage explores the journey of a couple through marriage, divorce and then a re-coupling of sorts.

The original, semi-autobiographical Swedish mini-series from 1973 (six episodes in total) was written and directed by the legendary Ingmar Bergman. Following the success of the mini-series, Bergman turned it into a theatrical play and later into a long movie which received many accolades, including a Golden Globe. In 2021, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain reprised the roles of the

a film built around feeling and atmosphere rather than plot, which will put off some and entice others. I find the film endlessly fascinating, captivating and exceptional. Anderson weaves together a tone through beautiful cinematography, haunting music and creative choices that feel so singular yet also so broad. The film constantly feels like it’s hitting an emotional experience that is unique and unexplainable but also universal. The film feels so alive with its emotions of frustration, confusion, anger and pure, unapologetic love and caring for another. The blue and red lens flares spilling into the frame help emphasize and complement scenes of romance and passion, as Jon Brion’s endlessly enchanting score perfectly reflects the ideas and themes the film presents. The film has such a lush, deep emotional texture that you can cut it with a knife. I love films that capture such a unique and profound image or tone in their storytelling; it’s no surprise this film hits me the way it does.

The film can also change tone on a whim, becoming romantic and whimsical, then anxiety inducing. This tone shift feels reflective of the main character Barry Egan, who runs the gamut

original Johan and Marianne (in the American version, Jonathan and Mira). Although I always preach going back to the original source, I have to admit that the 2021 adaptation of Bergman’s masterpiece was nothing short of brilliant – it haunted me for weeks. But where Bergman is relentless in his dissection, episode after painful episode, of the human heart, leaving his viewers as raw and aching as his protagonists, Baumbach has opted for a more heartwarming and at times even humorous depiction of the evolution of romantic love. Where Scenes from a Marriage leaves both characters desperate, vulnerable and longing for something else, Marriage Story ends with a glimmer of hope for the poor battered human heart.

Running time: 2h 17m

Rated 14A

A Netflix original movie

Iva Apostolova is a professor of philosophy at Dominican University College.

of emotions – happiness, confusion, anger, sadness – in a short amount of time. Barry feels so alive and relatable because there’ve been times when we’ve all felt confused and radical in similar stressful situations; in Barry’s case, it’s a run-in with his belittling older sisters or a scam phone-call company stealing his money. He represents the point when we just break away from rational thought and start running through every possible bad scenario that can happen at a given moment. Adam Sandler plays this role amazingly, as he nails the characteristics of a man who is uncomfortable with who he is and how he acts. He changes his walk and manner, it seems, around different people, he fumbles his words and butchers his thoughts. Sandler, along with Anderson, makes great strides in making this unique and unconventional lead character feel sympathetic, relatable and real. The film has incredible aesthetics that help drive the compelling character and romance, but without a strong performance from Sandler to sell his insecurities, freakouts and alienation, the film would not be as successful as it is.

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Punch-Drunk Love is a film that creates an experience so unlike anything else, yet its emotions feel so relatable and genuine that it’s impossible not to get invested in the story being told. The cinematography and art style are so purposeful and alive that it can bend around any scene or event happening in the film and still feel appropriate. Sandler’s performance goes down as one of the best of the last 30 years. And somehow Anderson crafts all these pieces together in such a way that feels perfect in a way no other movie does. All its otherwise unrelated elements come together to feel unified and complete, like the love that Barry Egan develops from such a dark place. It all somehow comes together and, even if it seems unlikely or unpredictable, the feeling still soars.

Rated R

Running time: 1 hour 35 mins

Available free with ads on CTV and streaming on Hoopla and Hollywood Suite on demand.

Angus Luff is a student at Glebe Collegiate. He grew up in the Glebe and is obsessed with movies.

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Community safety requires public investments

A few weeks ago I asked for some insight from neighbours about how we keep each other safe.

They wrote back and shared deep concerns.

Many acknowledged the extent of suffering in our city. A brief walk anywhere in the downtown core demonstrates this. We are facing a housing and homelessness crisis, an opioid crisis and a mental health crisis.

This is leading to behaviours and interactions that make people feel unsafe. One person wrote to tell me of a friend who was assaulted outside a coffee shop and suffered several injuries, including a major facial fracture.

That made me think about the tragic loss in 2021 of Carl Reinboth, a street outreach worker at the Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC), who was stabbed by a man in psychosis. Even today, Carl’s colleagues still feel his absence.

But what do we do about this? That’s the debate I wanted to have in the legislature and there was a moment when we found common ground.

MPP Stephen Crawford proposed a motion calling for the “certification of addiction peer support specialists.” In debate, he insisted his intent was to encourage people with lived experience of addictions to devote themselves to peer support work but in a regulated framework that drew on best practices and high standards.

In debate, I recommended the government not require academic credentials for addiction peer support specialists. I noted the SWCHC’s Drug Overdose Prevention Program (DOPE), staffed by peer support workers, that is available to help from 5-11 p.m., Monday to Friday and over the weekends.

I also recalled the insights of Bobby Jamison, one of Ottawa’s foremost

“What Bobby tells me is that when he had his own journey. . .it wasn’t from addiction to sobriety. He often says that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety; it’s connection to yourself and connection to your community and discovering what makes you get up in the morning and want to put one foot in front of the other and do something with your life. That’s what Bobby said.

“His first overture into wellness was $20 and pizza at the Somerset West Community Health Centre, where he was brought into a room with harm reduction workers to talk about why he was living with the trauma of the St. Joseph’s Residential School in the Thunder Bay area, and how that school had hurt him at such a deep and visceral level that he was self-medicating through drug use.

“When he found his way out through spirituality, through connection with neighbours, through connection with other folks who were struggling with addiction, it wasn’t just an investment in saving one person’s life, Bobby has gone on to save dozens, I think probably hundreds of lives in our community.”

Since its inception in 2019, the DOPE program has hired Bobby and other addiction peer support workers and earned impressive results. They have had over 31,000 engagements with neighbours, 84 per cent of whom said they gained knowledge and skills to help with substance use.

This is what community safety looks like, but it requires public investments. Ottawa’s Community Health Centres have written a comprehensive report that charts a way forward on this front, and I urge you to read it. When you do, email me and tell me what you think. I will read every word you send.

My very best, Joel

P.S. This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Glebe’s Report first edition, a milestone well worth cele brating. A huge congratulations to everyone who was ever or is currently involved in helping put together this wonderful community project – the work you all do to keep neighbours connected and informed is commend able and it deserves immense appreci ation and gratitude.

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Yasir Naqvi MP Ottawa Centre N 613-946-8682 E yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca

Congratulations to the Glebe Report on its 50th anniversary! This marks half a century of valuable journalism and community building. Thank you for your contributions to our city and congratulations on achieving an incredible milestone.

As we enjoy the beautiful weather, I hope you are taking advantage of Ottawa’s active transportation network. Opportunities to walk, run, bike and roll are key parts to creating healthier, safer and more environmentally sustainable communities. This summer, Ottawa will see the grand opening of the new Chief William Commanda Bridge, made possible by an $8.6-million investment by the Government of Canada, that will connect cyclists and pedestrians across the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Gatineau.

The NCC Weekend Bikedays are happening all summer long, encouraging residents to use our existing parkways to get around without their cars. These initiatives build on Ottawa’s growing active transportation network, which includes new paths across LeBreton Flats, the iconic Flora Footbridge and quite possibly in the near future a fully pedestrianized Wellington Street. I encourage you to get outside and enjoy the nice weather by choosing to bike to work, walk to the grocery store or go for a stroll. You can find routes, maps and more information at City of Ottawa and National Capital Commission websites.

Summer is also a great time to plant

more trees. Increasing our urban tree canopy is an important part of our work to make Ottawa the greenest capital in the world. Tree cover works as natural climate control by cooling temperatures during hot summer months, storing carbon dioxide and contributing to our natural biodiversity. Planting two billion trees over a decade is a crucial part of Canada’s climate plan. Last year’s summer update reported that approximately 29 million trees were planted across the country, amounting to about 97 per cent of the 2021 season’s planting projection. More details will come later this summer on planting numbers from the 2022 planting season. We have started a local initiative to plant more trees in Ottawa Centre to help restore our urban tree canopy. Last month, I was happy to partner with Community Associations for Sustainable Environment (CAFES Ottawa), Forests Ontario and Forêt Capitale Forest to launch a pilot tree-planting program for our community. We gave out free trees to residents over Mother’s Day weekend, along with instructions on how to care for their tree for years to come! Additionally, we hosted a community tree-planting event for the whole family to enjoy. Together we have planted more than 120 trees in our community!

As always, my team and I are here to help. Let us know what issues are important to you and how we can better support you and our community.

Celebrating 50 years of the Glebe Report

Happy 50th anniversary to the Glebe Report! It is inspiring to think of the devotion of community members who have, month after month, year after year, churned out editions of the Glebe Report for half a century – the editors, the contributors, those delivering papers, everyone who has given of their own time to help make the Glebe Report happen, thank you. This paper continues to be such an asset for the neighbourhood, keeping us informed and keeping us connected. Life in the Glebe is definitely improved with the Glebe Report

New Lighting

Along Queen Elizabeth Drive

For the past number of years, many lights have been out along both Queen Elizabeth Drive and Colonel By Drive. This has been a frustrating situation for residents. The lack of proper lighting is a serious concern.

We’ve had a number of discussions with both NCC representatives and with city staff, trying to get a solution and seeking some temporary lights in the interim. The main problem with the lights is an antiquated electrical system that prevented simple bulb replacements for these lights. Further, the design of the globes allowed for water leakage, shorting out the system.

This spring, after much advocacy from residents and our office, the NCC in partnership with the city announced that work would begin on replacing the lights along the canal. Work will begin this year and will be completed in 2025. This will include lights along the roadway as well as along the pathways. Suitable replacements will be used to ensure the lights align with the heritage standards along the roads.

Lansdowne 2.0 Engagement

The city consultation process for Lansdowne 2.0 continues. Having neglected to get residents’ feedback during the last term of council before coming up with a proposal to re-build Lansdowne Park, it’s all the more important that the city hear from you now.

This month, the city has launched the Lansdowne 2.0 Coffee Chat series over Zoom – an opportunity to speak directly to the director of the Lansdowne Park Project. They’re also running a survey on public park space at Lansdowne. Both these engagement opportunities can be found at engage. ottawa.ca/lansdowne-2-0

And don’t forget to visit our website, A Better Lansdowne, at

www.betterlansdowne.com, to learn more about the proposal. We have serious concerns with the plan that was developed last year, and we provide important ways the Lansdowne 2.0 plan could be improved.

You can read more about the plan, our vision for Lansdowne and an alternate design proposal from one of our Glebe residents at the website. And don’t forget to sign our petition!

New Trees at Lansdowne

Crews have begun installing large planter boxes along Marché Way and Exhibition Way. The intention of these planters is both to give trees more space to increase their chances of growing and surviving and to better protect them from salt and grit in the winter.

Next year, there will be a new soil cell project outside Lansdowne along Bank Street. The designs are still being worked out, but these soil cells are more efficient at providing water and nutrients to trees in tight urban contexts.

This work will likely take two to three months, so staff want to start in the spring at the beginning of the construction season so that the work can be done without impacting the large crowds at Redblacks games.

During this time, there will be some northbound lane closures along Bank, though there will always be at least one lane open. Pedestrian access will be maintained, as will a temporary bicycle lane.

It is no secret that trees provide tangible benefits to residents – they provide shade and cover, help clean our air and fight the heat island effect of urban area. And they just look nice – that’s worth something, too!

The Mayor’s Annual Canada Day Celebration for Seniors

Aberdeen Pavilion will once again play host to the Mayor’s Annual Canada Day Celebration for Seniors. It’s a great way to kick off Canada Day. The event includes breakfast, served until 9:30 a.m., as well as door prizes and live entertainment.

This event will take place on Saturday, July 1, from 8 until 10:30 a.m. in the Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, and tickets for the general public will be available as of Monday, June 5 by calling the City of Ottawa at 613-580-2424, ext. 21245 or by emailing protocolrsvp@ottawa.ca.

Shawn Menard is City Councillor for Capital Ward. He can be reached at CapitalWard@ottawa.ca.

Remembering Lieutenant Sidney Darling

By Kevan Pipe

Not all of the 60,000 Canadians lost during the Second World War were killed on the battlefields of Europe or Asia or on the seas or in the air. This is the story of one young Glebe resident who died while training for combat.

Sidney Darling was born June 9, 1920, in Regina, son of Herbert and Mary Darling. Both his parents came to Canada from England and eventually had four children – daughters Jeannette and Margaret were followed by Sidney and a younger brother. His father was in the RCMP and moved to Ottawa in 1931. They resided for four years at 28 Clemow Avenue and the family became members of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. Sidney attended Glebe Collegiate and achieved his junior matriculation in 1935.

With frequent moves a common feature of life in the RCMP, the family went to Vancouver for two years and then to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1937 where Sidney finished his high-school studies at Lethbridge Collegiate. After high school, Sidney returned to Regina and, following in his father’s footsteps, joined the RCMP in 1939 as a 19-yearold recruit sub constable. The family returned to Ottawa in 1943, with Herbert assuming the post of superintendent, eventually rising to become

Regiment. Over the next 17 months, he underwent intensive training at various locations across Canada, starting in Moosomin, Saskatchewan as a bombardier. In November, he was transferred to Lac Megantic, Quebec for further training, then back to western Canada in 1942.

His regiment was sent overseas, finally arriving in England on December 31, 1942, and it was assigned to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. Intensive training continued in England during winter and spring 1943.

Unfortunately, like thousands of other soldiers during the war, Sidney became seriously ill. On May 26, 1943, Sidney’s father, now superintendent of the RCMP, received a cable from Canadian military headquarters in England. He was advised that Sidney had his appendix removed but was “dangerously ill” and had severe complications from appendicitis.

Eighty years ago this month, on June 7, 1943, at Builth Brecknock Medical Centre in Wales, Lt. Sidney Darling succumbed to a pulmonary embolism, two days before his 23rd birthday.

Darling is remembered at St. Matthew’s, The Anglican Church in the Glebe. He is buried, alongside 2,400 other Canadians and many other Commonwealth servicemen, at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, England,

The following is part of a continuing series of profiles of servicemen from the Glebe and St. Matthew’s Anglican Church who gave their lives to Canada and the pursuit of peace in the Second World War. We commemorate and remember their passing 80 years ago.

Lt Sidney Darling

Lt. Darling's headstone, Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, England

PHOTO: THE MAPLE LEAF LEGACY PROJECT

Summer and Central American choral singing workshops

By Roland Graham

As people continue to grapple with new realities in the post-pandemic world, groups and collectives that traditionally involved large groups meeting in small, confined spaces are once again finding ways to operate successfully.

Among the hardest hit by the lockdowns and closures of 2020-21 was the choral singing community, which was singled out as being about the worst place you could be if you wanted to avoid sharing your breathing air with other people. And not without reason – anecdotes of people dying en masse following community choir practices in early 2020 spread like wildfire, giving organizers the world over little choice but to halt operations.

Fortunately, now that most people are vaccinated and boosted – to say nothing of the good percentage who’ve had and recovered from the bug – choirs for the most part feel safe once again, even for the elderly and at-risk. And it’s helped that studies have shown that choral singing was not so dangerous as briefly thought. But they’ve had to adapt.

Among the changes for choirs brought on by the pandemic was a shift in emphasis from working predominantly in large groups to focusing on individual vocal development and small ensemble singing. Technology has played a vital role too, as singers rely increasingly on study aids provided through the internet to learn music on their own.

For the most part, directors have embraced these shifts, as the

alternative approaches have offered their own rewards. Although more time-consuming and challenging to schedule, working more often in smaller groups affords greater opportunity to meet the learning needs of individual singers and can lead to a better honed ensemble.

The good weather helps, as windows can be left open with fresh air ventilating rehearsal spaces. Many groups even plan outdoor meetups in the summer, where the challenge of singing without a reverberant acoustic to give feedback are more than compensated for by the enjoyment of being out of doors.

My choral workshops have followed the trends with some of these same adaptations. Hot on the heels of a successful spring workshop that culminated in noon-hour concerts at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian and at Southminster United Churches, I am gearing up for a summer workshop that will involve both singing outside and working in small groups.

The performance component of the summer workshop will be to sing the Canadian and American national anthems for an Ottawa Titans baseball game on Thursday, August 3. Following age-old tradition, we’ll also sing a new a capella arrangement of Take Me out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch.

To prepare, singers will meet in small groups of similar voices (e.g., sopranos, altos) to learn and master the parts before assembling as a full choir to put the music together. Some of the rehearsals, weather permitting, will happen outside to prepare for singing

in the open air at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park.

In the fall, I’m planning a workshop for singers to learn and perform Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, a piece I love to teach. And then next February, I’m taking a group of singers to Nicaragua with singing engagements booked in the colonial city of Granada on the shore of Lake Nicaragua and in the seaside town of San Juan del Sur near the border of Costa Rica.

In a region unexplored by travelling choirs, the trip will offer a totally original experience blending wellness and eco/adventure tourism with daily singing, immersed in a wonderful world of colonial, Indigenous and Latin culture, set in one of the most

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The underlying theme of my workshops is reclaiming your voice. Any who have missed employing their vocal cords to musical ends or simply want to sing even more, honing and discovering new abilities as they do, will enjoy them. Geared especially to people not seeking long-term commitments, participants don’t have to join for the whole year and don’t need to audition to take part.

For more information, contact OttawaChoralWorkshops@gmail.com

Roland Graham is artistic director of the Master Piano Recital Series and Doors Open for Music at Southminster, held at Southminster United Church.

Roland Graham directs the spring choral workshop choir. Additional choral workshops are planned for this summer and fall, and the winter of 2024.

Art Lending of Ottawa: the affordable option of art rental

By Christine Osborne

Not everyone can afford to buy an original piece of art outright. The cost of living keeps rising, and people are increasingly looking for ways to cut costs. For those who are looking for an affordable way to enjoy the beauty of original artwork in their homes and offices, one option is to consider art rental.

Rental allows people to enjoy high-quality artwork for a fraction of what it would cost to buy. It also allows for flexibility. People are free to try out different art styles in their homes and offices without having to make a long-term commitment. The ability to rotate works of art can help keep your space looking fresh and dynamic, especially for those who love to change their decor regularly. Renting is a risk-free option if you’re uncertain about whether you will like a piece in the long run.

This is a great way to support local artists by giving them a platform and contributing to the growth of the local community.

Art Lending Ottawa (ALO) has been serving our community since 1970. The art shows take place four times a year, with the next one taking place June 24 at the RA Centre. This curated art exhibition features original artworks in wide variety of styles, all crafted by local artists. The works are available for both rent or purchase. All shows have free admission, and previews of available works are available on artlendingofottawa.ca. Artwork is leased on three-month terms with the option to renew, return or purchase; the rental cost is toward the purchase price.

ALO has 40 active artists, including Sanjay Sundram and Suman Sundram. Sanjay

moved to Ottawa from New Delhi in 2013, having studied architecture and receiving a Masterʼs in design from the Indian Institute of Technology. Sanjay is often inspired by urban spaces and their interactions with the natural world. He credits his parents for inspiring his love of art as well as being his mentors.

His mother, Suman, completed her BFA at the Delhi College of Art in India with a focus on realistic and abstract composition in oils. Having immigrated to Canada in 2019, Suman now divides her time between Canada, the UK and India. She is currently working on a series that highlights traditional Indian practices that have a positive environmental effect. This is her way to keep knowledge and culture alive while also creating social impact.

Like Suman, Sanjay ’s work is inspired by the ongoing climate emergency. He has been creating works that communicate to a larger audience and involve community whenever possible. One of his projects, “ Teach Your Parents,” involved 700 schoolchildren from Canada and India. The project was featured in the The Globe and Mail’s profile on climate called “Canadians making a difference,” and it was also part of CBC Kids Earth Week.

You can see both Suman and Sanjay Sundram’s work at the next Art Lending Ottawa show at the RA Centre on June 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive. Admission and parking are free.

If you miss our June show, mark your calendar for our fall show on September 23.

Christine Osborne is an artist and member of Art Lending of Ottawa

Cityscape by Sanjay Sundram

The Village by Suman Sundram

‘Why Is This Happening?’

By Heather White

The Wild Oat Café in the Glebe is hosting an eclectic art exhibit from July 1 to 31. The show asks: Why is this happening? Why, without our consent, is environmental devastation of local communities ongoing?

This question comes to mind when a thousand trees and 53 acres of Ottawa’s greenspace are being destroyed at the Central Experimental Farm, when 25,000 trees were mown down for the Tewin development project in Carlsbad Springs and when the Hunt Club Forest is under continuous threat. At every turn, nature is being threatened, crowded or destroyed for profit.

In this small group show, you will see appreciative images of natural beauty reflecting earth’s richness and mystery. You’ll also be reminded of how it is being destroyed.

Eleven Ottawa artists from Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia have come

together to create this exhibit. Our artworks express a range of emotions: reverence for the wonder of nature, acknowledgement of our need to protect what remains, grief over what’s lost and anger about how it continues to be stolen. Some pieces are rebellious art while others express love and a need to protect.

It is brave and necessary to face the climate crisis. We are attempting to do this through art. Our collective effort encourages us to reflect again on the state of the environment and to do what we can in our day-to-day lives to make a difference.

We invite you to drop by the Wild Oat Café at 819 Bank Street in July and take a look.

Heather White is one of a group of local artists expressing concern about climate change and ensuing environmental issues through artistic expression. She is a long-time Glebe resident who taught school and raised her family here.

Twins, by Dulce Tapp

Tangled Canoes, by Maria Gomez Umana

The New Art Festival June 10 and 11

By Bhat Boy

With the beginning of summer, a mirage appears in the park below Bank Street. The sound of pipes and guitars will lure you down the steps into a medieval festival of tents. It will be full of things you never imagined existed. The smell of grass and children’s laughter will accompany you through The New Art Festival, a tradition held with the arrival of each new summer. Dogs are welcome. Take a merry trip around the park. Get lost. We feature over 150 artists, some exhibiting for the first time. We have new talent, old talent; the only thing we don’t have is no talent. We create everything you couldn’t imagine. Sample Kerry Duffy’s sandwiches from the Life of Pie, eat at Sulu Wok, listen to some music and talk to your neighbours. Do it all at the same time.

One of the stars of the New Art Festival is Nicole Allen. When she exhibited for the first time in 2011, she was nervous about sharing her work with the public. Her experiences that first weekend left her exhausted but helped her launch herself forward into her own art career.

“I now find that exhibiting my work feeds my artistic process as I can see how people respond and interact with my paintings,” says Nicole. “The feedback from attendants and artists has become invaluable and the energy surrounding TNAF has always inspired me artistically.”

She will be showing a new collection of floral-inspired paintings that blend graphic pattern with loose gestural brushwork. Some of the paintings are large in scale, but she has created small works too. For those of you that have seen Nicole at the festival before, she also promises to have some “cheeky bird” paintings. “It is at TNAF where I first exhibited a few small bird paintings. Little did I know that there were so many bird-loving people in Ottawa! I started bringing more birds every year but hanging a large collection of small canvases was tricky until I salvaged an old wooden door from my neighbour’s trash – the “bird board” was born.”

I will not call Nicole Allen old talent, but, I will agree that I, Bhat Boy, am really old talent. I have been in the park every year since 1993, and this

Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour

year I have created a special series of paintings for the occasion – treehouse paintings. But more than just treehouses, they are cities suspended above the landscape. The dream of recreating everything as a treehouse is a new lens for me see the world through. These new paintings seem instantly iconic of my work. I can never get enough of getting excited about new paintings.

I founded the festival in 1993. At that time, I had just graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design and wanted to create a platform for emerging artists. A space to do business beyond the shiny glass windows of the galleries that would not have me. A place to meet and exchange ideas with other artists. It turned out that artists everywhere needed the same things that I needed, and my homegrown experiment in Art in the Park was a fabulous success.

I had no idea the festival would create such a lasting legacy. As with all great ideas, Art in the Park took on a life of its own. It outgrew me and went on to become The New Art Festival. I created it, but it grew to meet the needs of a new generation in a new millennium.

For more than a decade, I had not been involved with running the festival, but the pandemic took a heavy toll on the old team. I am part of a new team carrying the festival forward into the future. I hope we see you there, helping another generation bridge the divide.

For more information: www.newartfestival.ca

Bhat Boy is a noted Glebe artist and a founder of The New Art Festival.

The New Art Festival

June 10 and 11, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Central Park, Bank Street at Patterson Avenue

By Martha Bowers

One of the Glebe’s most anticipated events is back again this summer. The Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour will be held on July 8 and 9, rain or shine.

This popular tour brings together local artists in Glebe gardens, offering visitors the chance to meet some talented people in lovely garden settings. There is a wide range of art available for purchase, from paintings and photographs to pottery – you will be sure to find something you like.

Grouping 20 artists at 13 sites makes this a very compact, accessible tour. Come by foot, by bike, by public transit or carpool. Chat with the artists, share gardening tips, take a break for a coffee or lunch in one of the neighbourhood restaurants, enjoy a summer weekend

in our community.

Once again, we are offering prizes. Pick up a ballot at any site and deposit it in the box. The more sites you visit, the more chances you will have to win a voucher towards the purchase of a work of art from any participating artist.

Site maps and cards with the list of artists will be available in Glebe shops and the community centre, and there will be notices on social media. Information is also available on our website www.glebearttour.ca. Come out between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on July 8 and 9 to support local artists.

Welcome to the 2023 Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour!

Martha Bowers is one of the organizers of the Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour.

Artists display their works in gardens and backyards throughout the Glebe on July 8 and 9.

Nicole Allen, left, and her bird board with Kerry Duffy from the Life of Pie at The New Art Festival last year.

Wild at Heart, part of Nicole Allen’s explosive floral series.

PHOTO: THE NOTLEY CREATIVE

The Glebe Tree, by Bhat Boy

PHOTO: BHAT BOY

Hamlet in the park

A Company of Fools will present Shakespeare’s iconic play Hamlet this summer outdoors in local parks from July 3 to August 26.

The company will perform during an eight-week tour of more than 40 parks across Ottawa and beyond. This fastpaced, 90-minute rendition of the bard’s greatest tragedy will feature disemboweled puppets, a sword fight to the death, live underscoring and five actors taking on 15 different roles.

Join the Fools this summer as they delve the depths of the human experience and have a few laughs along the way. Whether you’re a Shakespeare nerd or this is your first foray with the bard since high school, their foolish take on Hamlet has something for everyone.

WHEN: July 3 – August 26

TIME: Monday – Saturday at 7 p.m.

GLEBE SHOWS: Patterson’s Creek on Friday, August 4; Windsor Park on Saturday, July 8 and Saturday, August 26.

COST: Pay what you can, with a suggested donation of $20 per person. You may not recall the story quite this way. Returning home to attend her father’s funeral, Hamlet discovers that another ceremony has already taken place: the marriage of her mother to her uncle. That’s right, her dead father’s brother. When Hamlet is visited by her father’s ghost demanding that she avenge his murder, Hamlet begins to wonder – is it she who has gone mad or everyone around her?

The play takes place in a fairytale-inspired Elsinor, an extravagant kingdom ruled by the freshly crowned King Claudius. But don’t let its decadent appearance fool you, there’s something rotten in this fairytale wonderland.

Reimagined to feature a female Hamlet, the play portrays her feigned madness as a rejection of feminine expectations and an attempt to free herself from a fake world. This is the story of a quest for justice that exposes what happens when a young woman challenges authority.

Learning about community at Glebe Cooperative Nursery School

By Julie LeBlanc

This spring, the preschoolers at Glebe Cooperative Nursery School have been busy exploring and learning about community.

Children have been sharing ideas of what community means, including the things they see, the ways they move about their community, the buildings they use and the common spaces they share and enjoy.

The teachers have been leading the preschoolers on walks around the neighbourhood. The children enjoy the fresh air, practise being safe pedestrians, and chat about their observations and connections.

The groups took photos around the community as part of a collaborative

class project. Photos included the community centre, nearby schools, parks, a bookstore, a coffee shop, a hardware store, a parking garage, cars, buses, trees and the children themselves. Each photo was attached to a building block.

Back in the classroom, the preschoolers were able to play with the blocks, set up their own communities, see themselves as members of a community and dramatize their ideas about participating in a community – going to school, visiting shops, taking a walk.

There has been so much engagement and imagination from these little learners!

Julie LeBlanc is responsible for communications for the Glebe Coop Nursery School.

A Company of Fools is Ottawa’s long-running professional Shakespeare theatre company.

Preschoolers at Glebe Coop Nursery School learn about their community, with the help of pictures of places in and around the Glebe.

The Glebe according to

Zeus

A GUINEA PIG’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE GLEBE

Grassive-aggressive guinea pigs flood hospitals after no-mow May

Hospitals are asking for volunteers to assist as they receive hundreds of emergency bloat calls from gorging, grassive-aggressive guinea pigs. “Every June, guinea pigs flood to emergency rooms complaining of gas, bloat and an inability to eat more, which scares them,” said Steth Ascope, emergency room physician at the Glebe Hospital. “They’re very challenging to treat, agreeing sweetly to belly rub treatments with one physician, then squealing for PET scans with the next!”

Chubb Ford, premier of the Glebe, suggested cancelling no-mow May to save on health-care costs. However, the Killer Granny Bees (KGB), an effective environmental group, staged a sting-in, resulting in an abrupt withdrawal of Chubb’s proposal. Several pro-anti-no-mow-May supporters claimed the police were biased and secretly sided with the KGB, noting that officers were seen chatting to the bees.

“Let me be clear – we are apolitical and do not support unlawful sting-ins by the KGB,” stated Constable Babblevich. “In fact, we’d love no-mow May to be cancelled! We spend half our annual budget on arresting guinea pigs in bee suits trying to slip into the Experimental Farm to eat the spring dandelions! But with the current supply-chain challenges, there is a shortage of epinephrine autoinjectors, and I just can’t risk my officers going unprotected into a sting-in with the KGB!”

Indeed, with health-care bills on the rise, police costs going

Long live the bling

By Douglas Parker

Well, that splendacious brocade, the coronation of King Charles III, has now been relegated to the annals of history. Many of you, I imagine, watched the coronation ceremony, sacrificing sleep to indulge in every second of it. For some reason, I wanted to watch the ceremony live rather than taped, fooling myself into pretending that I was actually there. I chose the BBC because it is deeply steeped in the ancient traditions and symbolism upon which regality rests; the BEEB is also adept at identifying the privileged and dolled-up guests as they entered the magnificent Westminster Abbey. It was an ideal occasion for celebrity gawking even through the filter of the television screen. Vicariously, we all had an opportunity to be there.

During the ceremony, the network wisely knew when to stay quiet, unlike other networks who often seem to think that constant yacking, even over magnificent and magisterial music, compensates for what they don’t know.

This ancient and sacred ritual afforded Charles and Camilla permission to shine above all else amidst an eye-blurring glister of gold, crowns, precious gems and emotive poetic language and wonderful music. No occasion on this day for scene-stealing thanks to careful camera work; no need to focus on the prodigal and disgruntled child once we saw him enter the Abbey. The BEEB happily spared us any migraine-inducing commentary on that regal and tawdry soap; Meghan was home babysitting the kids and busy making Archie’s birthday cake. The Duke of York got short shrift too. From all accounts, the disgraced duke has a certain familiarity with women’s undergarments, which may explain why the monarch allowed him to don his Knight of the Garter regalia. Oh yes,

up and persistent shortages, pundits speculate Chubb may raise taxes. Meanwhile, GiddyPigs.com is making record profits, sending out droves of voracious guinea pigs to mow Glebe lawns and parks with zero overhead and several federal grants for green jobs. “We mow and fertilize as we go. We are the green future,” offered Zeus, in a rare interview last week from the emergency room, where he was himself recuperating from bloat.

Local Service in Ottawa since 1988 with Quality Flags, Banners, and Flagpoles.

Dr. Jill was there as well, but husband Joe was not. After all, Charles is not Biden’s king – that was settled centuries ago – nor is he, apparently, the king of the “Not My King” crowd, who made their opposition clear throughout coronation day, trying to simulate nature by raining on the King’s parade.

Some of you have heard that Charles has the big shoes of his tiny mom to fill. My hope is that Charles will fill his own shoes; based upon his words and actions at this early stage in his reign, he might be on the right track. But as a man committed to farming, he will know that as King, he will have a tough row to hoe.

Over 70 years, his mom, the Queen, carried out yeoman service, if by service you mean showing up. Dutifully, she attended everything she felt she was supposed to, even doing her royal duty by showing up heroically, clearly dying, to meet Liz Truss. Charles will never match his mother’s showing-up record unless he lives to be 140. Some time ago, Charles, perhaps in a moment of inappropriate candour, claimed that in her relationship with him, the Queen was “not indifferent so much as detached.” For me, that phrase might well capture the Queen’s relationship with her kingdom. She was “there” wherever “there” was, but was she ever wholly there?

My sense is that Charles will have learned a lot from both his mother and father. Son to a “detached” mother, linguistically brutalized by a macho father who saw his son as weedy, physically not up to it and lachrymose. Philip sent him off to Gordonstoun boarding school for five years where linguistic brutality was replaced by physical beatings. Several of those years must have been an annus horribilis for the boy who loved nature, literature and music. Should such an upbringing be foisted on a child today, social services would come knocking. And there were other soul-lacerating experiences as well, not least a coercive and ultimately corrosive marriage. When recently Charles appealed to his sons “not to make my final years a misery,” he may have known of what he spoke.

The early days of Charles’s reign are decidedly different from his mother’s. He is out among his people, touching them, allowing them to touch him, laughing and joking with them, encouraging his wife and family to press the flesh as well. Perhaps all of this is performative, but perhaps it isn’t. He is very much engaged with the real world: his passions are organic farming, the environment, architecture, overpopulation and so on. Maybe he’ll be encouraged to shut up or tone it down. I hope he doesn’t. The challenges he faces are enormous, maybe even impossible. The Brits seem to want a monarchy that is simultaneously both like them on some days and not like them on others. Good luck threading that needle, Your Majesty. If anyone can do it, I believe Charles can because he’s lived those two lives in his own time. And being a lover of Shakespeare, he is no doubt aware of the words that the bard’s Henry IV uttered: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

Douglas Parker is a 30-year Glebe resident with an interest in English Reformation literature, history and theology. He also has a penchant for wry commentary on life in the here and now.

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COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

ABBOTSFORD SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTRE

(950 Bank St.) is unable to collect donations of books, art, jewelry, elegant treasures or flea market items at this time. We are bursting at the seams with donations that were so graciously donated to us for our Glebe Garage Sale fundraiser in May. Volunteers who sort, price and sell donations will take a break over the summer, and we will start collecting again in the fall. Thank you for your generous contributions.

ABBOTSFORD SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTRE

(950 Bank St.) Stay tuned for the Summer Program Guide coming out in mid-June. In addition, please note that throughout the summer, our Atrium Book Store will be open, and people will be welcome in the Boutique to shop for good quality ladies clothing, handmade crafts and teddy bears,

ART IN THE PARK The New Art Festival is looking for volunteers to help on the weekend of June 10-11. If you would like to volunteer, contact us at thenewartfestival@gmail.com

BHAT BOY speaks about his art at the Sunnyside Library, Sat., June 17, 1 p.m. Free lemonade!

DECIBELLES CHOIR FOR WOMEN ANNOUN-

CES FIRST LIVE CONCERT Sat., June 17, 7 p.m. (doors open 6.30 p.m.), Rideau Park United Church, 2203 Alta Vista Dr. DeciBelles Choir for Women will deliver its first live concert under the leadership of local musician Jody Benjamin. The 60+ member choir performs an eclectic repertoire of popular music, including songs of local singer-songwriters such as Lynn Miles and Jody Benjamin. Proceeds from the concert will support the Ottawa Ukrainian Children’s Choir who will open the second act. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance from choir

WHERE TO FIND THE Glebe Report

In addition to free home delivery and at newspaper boxes on Bank Street, you can find copies of the Glebe Report at:

Abbas Grocery

Abbotsford House

Black Squirrel

Bloomfields Flowers

Bridgehead 1117 Bank St.

Capital Home Hardware

Clocktower Pub

Douvris Martial Arts

Ernesto’s Barber Shop

Escape Clothing

Feleena’s Mexican Café

Fourth Avenue Wine Bar

Glebe Apothecary

Glebe Central Pub

Glebe Community Centre

Glebe Meat Market

Glebe Physiotherapy

Glebe Tailoring

Goldart Jewellery Studio

Happy Goat Coffee

Hillary's Cleaners

Hogan’s Food Store

Ichiban Bakery

Irene’s Pub

Isabella Pizza

Kettleman’s

members and at the door. For more information about the choir, which is open to new members, visit decibelles.choirgenius.com

GLEBE ART IN OUR GARDENS AND STUDIO

TOUR 2023 July 8-9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come out to support local artists in lovely garden settings. Site maps available in Bank St. shops and the community centre or visit our website www. glebearttour.ca for more information.

The HNATYSHYN FOUNDATION concert to rebuild the arts in Ukraine! For its 20th anniversary, the Hnatyshyn Foundation is raising funds to help restore or rebuild an arts facility in Ukraine. Artists from across Canada and a group from Kyiv will perform in a concert followed by a silent auction with food and drinks. The concert takes place June 25 at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre from 6-10 p.m. Tickets required; donations encouraged! www.rjhfgala.com

HOUSE OF PAINT URBAN ARTS FESTIVAL 20th anniversary festival, August 11–13, 2023 under the Dunbar Bridge over Bronson, and nearby Brewer Park. Spoken word, hip-hop, dance battles, DJs, emcees, graffiti, muralism, good vibes. houseofpaint.ca

MOMS PARTY – CELEBRATE GRADUATION

Are you a Glebe Mom with kids born in 2005 who went to First Avenue, Mutchmor or Corpus Christi? If so, come party with us to celebrate graduation! Thursday June 15th 7:30-10:00 p.m.! Join us at 4th Avenue Wine Bar. A toast to all your hard work and see old friends! Info: laurieleemaclean@gmail.com or barbparkes2@gmail.com

PROBUS Ottawa is welcoming new members from the Glebe and environs. Join your fellow retirees, near retirees and want-to-be retirees for interesting speakers and discussions, not

to mention relaxed socializing. See our website: www.probusoav.ca for more detailed information about the club and its activities as well as contact points, membership information, and meeting location. We will be meeting on Wed., June 28 for a presentation from the Canadian Geographic magazine.

2023 STORIES AT THE SOLSTICE – A CELEBRATION OF SUMMER IN STORIES & SONG This is a fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Grandmothers Campaign, supporting grandmothers and children affected by the HIV-AIDS epidemic as well as COVID-19, drought and food insecurity. Presented by One World Grannies & Unitarian Go Gos, Wed., June 21, 6:15 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 30 Cleary Ave. Tickets $30. Available on Eventbrite or 613-864-6442.

AVAILABLE

HOUSESITTING IN THE GLEBE! Leaving town for an extended period of time to vacation or just to the cottage and need a HOUSESITTER to take care of a beloved pet, water plants, pick up mail and maintain the home, garden, shovel snow, etc.? I am a young lady who studies theology/bible at home with several years of recent HOUSESITTING experience in the GLEBE. I have excellent references from many family homes in the Glebe I have cared for over the last five years. I really enjoy taking care of animals, especially puppies!! Please contact Sarah at mayyouhope@gmail.com or 613-682-0602.

FOUND

YELLOW BIKE On Saturday morning, May 20 someone dropped off a sturdy yellow bike in our laneway on Third Avenue and then disappeared through our backyard. Anyone with information as to ownership or other pertinent details, please contact Randal at 613-234-2233.

Kunstadt Sports

Lansdowne Dental

Last Train to Delhi

LCBO Lansdowne

Little Victories Coffee

Loblaws

Marble Slab Creamery

Mayfair Theatre

McKeen Metro Glebe

Nicastro

Oat Couture

Octopus Books

Olga’s

Old Ottawa South Firehall

Quickie

RBC/Royal Bank

Subway

Sunset Grill

The Flag Shop Ottawa

The Ten Spot

Thr33 Company Snack Bar

TD Bank Lansdowne

TD Bank Pretoria

The Works

Von’s Bistro

Whole Health Pharmacy

Wild Oat

Dancing on Third Avenue at the Great Glebe Garage Sale PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

For rates on boxed ads appearing on this page, please contact Judy Field at 613-858-4804 or by e-mail advertising@glebereport.ca