It’s important to engage our youth in the full spectrum of politics
By Goldie Ghamari
mPP for Carleton
Last month, I was invited to speak to Civics class students at two local high schools.
The teachers reached out and invited me to talk to their classes about what it means to be a Member of Provincial Parliament, and the different ways in which a local politician and his or her constituency office serve the people in the community.
Speaking to young people about politics is something that is very important and often overlooked in what the role of a politician is.
I don’t mean politicians should talk to students to try to persuade them or influence them politically. We need to talk to students to engage them
and to be interested in the political process. Many of these students are getting ready to vote for the first time in their lives. Maybe in some households, this is seen as insignificant and unnecessary. But to others, the right to vote means everything. Some people in the community have fled oppression and have risked their lives for the right to live in a country where you can vote and have a voice. That was the situation my family was in when they escaped the tyranny of the IRGC in Iran and landed in Canada when I was
just a year old.
My political journey began as a way to give back and to show my appreciation to a wonderful country that has given my family and other refugee families opportunity and a life that we could never have dreamed of under a terrorist regime.
My message to students is bipartisan. It would be irresponsible and unethical for me or any other politician to try to influence students in any direction or impose my beliefs upon them.
It is important that teachers who have politics as part of their course material take the same approach. Teachers should not try to sway their students in a political direction. We have seen too much of this going on at schools and universities in the past
few years. There are always at least two viewpoints, and if a teacher imposes his of hers on students, they can drown out the voice of the conflicting side. Students withdraw and feel uncomfortable, especially if, as an example, there is a very left-leaning teacher preaching their viewpoints to students who come from rightleaning families, or vice versa. The student is then caught in a situation where discussions in the classroom conflict with discussions at the dinner table.
In a classroom, students will also be afraid or intimidated to express a viewpoint in a classroom not in line with their teacher. Students are encouraged to feel free about their sexuality or gender identity. They should also feel free to express their political opinions in a Civics class.
But if students can be exposed to politics in an unbiased manner, they can formulate their own opinions without being influenced by the views of others, be it their peers, their teachers, or guest speakers like I had the opportunity to be. Unbiased discussions on politics in appropriate classroom settings and learning about all viewpoints, from liberal to conservate to the extremes on each side, will give students a greater awareness of what is happening in the world, why it is happening, and also create a political baseline for them to develop their own political belief system.
I want to offer my sincere thanks to the teachers and students at both schools for inviting me to speak to them about why it is so important to become engaged in politics.
My objective in these scenarios is not to turn young people into conservate or liberal thinkers. My objective is to turn them into voters.
Remembrance Day
One of the things I am most proud of is the strong turnouts that Remembrance Day services draw.
Throughout the Remembrance Period, Poppies are worn as a symbol of respect to honour our veterans. While wearing a poppy is a personal expression and how to wear it is an individual choice, the Legion has provided us with some guidelines on poppy protocol.
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- The Poppy should be worn with respect on the left side, over the heart. Also available through some Branches is the Legion’s reusable black centre Poppy pin to affix your lapel Poppy.
- The lapel Poppy should be worn during the Remembrance period, from the last Friday in October until November 11. The Legion encourages the wearing of poppies at funerals of veterans, and for any commemorative event such as a memorial service, or the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
- Poppies may be worn throughout the Remembrance period, including in the evening after Remembrance Day Ceremony. Some choose to remove their Poppy at the end of the day on November 11.
Some choose to remove their Poppy at the conclusion of the ceremony and place their Poppy on the cenotaph or on a wreath as a sign of respect. This has become a poignant tradition each year at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa as thousands of Poppies are placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- When a Poppy is removed, it should be stored appropriately or it may be disposed of respectfully. We encourage anyone who finds a Poppy that has fallen to the ground to pick it up and brush it off so that it can be kept or disposed of respectfully.
- While Poppies are always free, The Royal Canadian Legion gratefully accepts donations to the Poppy Fund,
which directly supports Canada’s Veterans and their families in need.
Ontario Strengthening Supports to Combat Hate and Create Safer Communities
The Ontario government is addressing the rise of hate incidents and keeping communities safe across the province through the new Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant. This program was developed to help faith-based and cultural organizations implement measures to ensure their community spaces remain safe and secure.
The grant provides up to $10,000 to eligible community organizations to help them protect their spaces from hatemotivated incidents, graffiti,
vandalism or other damage. Grant funding can be used for measures such as hiring security staff, surveillance cameras, security assessments, cybersecurity and building repairs.
The Anti-Hate Security Prevention Grant application portal opened on October 31, 2024, and closes on December 2, 2024. Previous grant recipients are encouraged to apply again for 2024-25. Organizations can review eligibility and learn more at Ontario.ca/ AHSP.
Eligible organizations include:
- Religious and spiritual communities (e.g., mosques, synagogues, temples, churches, etc.)
- First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Indigenous organiza-
tions
- Cultural groups (e.g., 2SLGBTQQIA+ groups, Black, Asian and other diverse organizations offering programs, workshops and ceremonies that promote their communities’ cultures)
A complete list can be found at Ontario.ca/AHSP
Quick Facts
• Indigenous, Black, Muslim, Jewish and 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities have been among the most targeted groups of hate crimes in recent years. There were more than 2,400 police-reported hate crimes incidents in Ontario in 2023.
• The 2022-2024 Safer and Vital Communities Grant program will help 17 communitybased, not-for-profit organiza-
tions and First Nations Chiefs and Band Councils, support projects that prevent online hate crime, human trafficking and fraud.
Inspiration for the week
“When you have a dream, you have to grab it and never let go.”
- Carol Burnett Office Notice: My office is open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. If you require assistance on any matter, please contact me at any time. My staff and I will be happy to assist. Even if it’s not a provincial issue, I’ll make sure to connect you with the proper office.
Goldie Your voice at Queen’s Park
Local veteran keeps importance of Remembrance Day alive
Some people decorate their yards for Halloween. Others have elaborate Christmas decorations.
Local veteran Terry Hunter does something completely different.
“Each year, I put up a Remembrance Day display,” said Hunter, who served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 47 years. “People put up fantastic decorations for Halloween and Christmas, but I have never seen anyone do something for Remembrance Day. So I decided I would start my own tradition.”
The display includes wooden silhouettes from The Great War, which was the original name for World War I. The display includes silhouettes of soldiers, animals and nursing sisters, as
well as a display of poppies made from recycled twolitre soft drink bottles.
“I have a Birch Tree shaped like a V, so I call it my Victory Tree,” Hunter said. “It is a perfect for the poppies. I used the pop bottles and chicken wire to create it.”
Hunter began creating his Remembrance Day display in 2022. He moved from Barrhaven to his home on River Road south of Riverside South in 2020, and then had the idea for Remembrance Day display. The feedback he has received has been very positive.
“All of the feedback I have received has been positive,” he said. “Some of my neighbours have told me they like it. I have also had people driving by who
have backed into the driveway and come to the door to thank me for putting up the display. Some of them say that the display reminds them of family members who have served. I’m glad it makes them feel special or creates memories.”
In addition to the display on his front yard, Hunter has also been visiting schools in and around Barrhaven for the past 30 years to talk to classes about Remembrance Day. He is part of the Memory Project, and teachers from area schools contact him through the program.
“It’s important to keep our history alive, especially among young people,” Hunter said. “Visiting schools is an important way to do it. I also make small Memorial Poppy Crosses each year which I give to students when I do my
Norm Christie and the 77th Overseas Battalion Club.
The 77th Overseas Battalion Club are a group of Historians dedicated to the preservation of Canadian Military History through interactive lectures, demonstrations and artifact displays in the local community.
Christie has travelled the world following in the footsteps of Canada’s soldiers from Sicily to France, to Spain, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. He has written over 20 books on the Canadians in the First and Second World Wars. He is known for his TV documentaries such as “For King and Empire”, “For King and Country”, “Battlefield Mysteries” and “The Great War Tour”. He is recognized as Canada’s leading expert on Canadian battlefields and cemeter-
British military from the Christie’s presentation was on Lost Treasures of the Great War, showcasing Audience members were also invited to bring an interesting item or two to explain how these artifacts tell the story of the
City begins environmental study at proposed sprung structure asylum site
By Wilson lo Barrhaven east CounCillor
Note: Submissions to the newspaper are due one and a half weeks in advance of publication date, so some information below may have been updated since. Check Ward24.ca for the latest.
Over the last two weeks, the City of Ottawa started an intrusive environmental investigation at the proposed sprung structure shelter site at Greenbank/Highbury Park, as part of staff’s detailed site evaluation. A third-party engineering firm is conducting geophysical evaluations, soil testing, and groundwater testing.
Provincial environmental legislation requires this work, where former industrial lands are to become residential/residential type, (including shelter) lands.
East Barrhaven Ward Report
Wilson Lo, Councillor
1005 Greenbank used to be a snow dump, while 1045 Greenbank was a Nav Canada facility which included a diesel generator.
The work is to figure out if soil remediation will be necessary as part of the construction, which will add considerable time and cost to any project. It’s possible that prospect may mean it falls outside the federal government funding’s “rapid deployment” criteria.
This work is also happening at another west-end property outside Barrhaven, which is another new site for consideration for a sprung structure shelter.
Your first thought may be, “wow, that’s a lot of tax-
payer money,” and you’d be right, but my failed motion at Council back in July means staff have the authority to continue advancing the project, including detailed site evaluations.
Although staff have said the detailed work does not seal either site’s fate, I understand you’ll be uneasy about the sunk costs and level of work being done, because I share that unease.
Since the possible sprung structure sites became public in July, I have opposed the proposal. My position continues to remain the same. The type of structure proposed is not proper for housing people in Barrhaven or anywhere, even on a temporary basis.
To quickly recap, at a City Council meeting back in July, I motioned to withdraw staff’s authority to advance the sprung structure proposal. The vote failed
three to twenty-one, with twenty other Councillors and the Mayor voting to support to continue with the project.
Despite that, Councillor Hill and I continued engaging with City staff and the Mayor’s office to challenge some of the earlier assumptions and conclusions.
It is still bad policy and we have been working since July to secure a better outcome for everybody involved, from existing residents in our community to the asylum seekers who would be, temporarily, housed under the City’s care while they awaited processing by the federal government.
Councillor Hill and I hosted a public information virtual session to provide a concise account of what the proposal is, what has happened so far, what we have done and will continue to do to oppose it, and what to ex-
pect next.
Residents also had the opportunity to provide feedback and share concerns about the proposal. A summary of the session is available at Ward24.ca.
Although we have both been sharing lots of information through our newsletters and social media, we understand there are challenges and gaps in our reach. The
overall timeline has also fragmented the way information has been shared.
I deeply appreciate your continued care and engagement on the issue. Thank you to the residents who have emailed and called my office to share their feedback and express their concerns about the proposal, including many who copied me in emails to the Mayor’s office.
INDEPENDENT EDITorIal
The struggles within a Canada’s great victory
It was 105 years ago that the first Armistice Day, now known as Remembrance Day, was observed.
Canada went into the Great War with an army of just 3,100 men. By the time the war ended, 67,000 Canadians were killed, and another 250,000 were injured.
The Great War brought to Canada’s forefront the struggles between French Canadians and English Canadians.
Quebec’s leaders sent a strong message that this was an English war, not Quebec’s war. English Canada would be critical of the fact that French Canada formed 28 per cent of the country’s population, but only five per cent of the military was comprised of French Canadians. As Canadians pointed fingers at Quebec for their lack of involvement in the war, Quebec’s potential soldiers were turned away by Ontario’s Regulation 17, which disallowed French language instruction. Eventually, the 22nd Battalion was created to fight with the French Army.
While it was a difficult situation for those in Quebec wanting to be soldiers, non-whites and those born in enemy countries who had migrated to Canada were not welcomed into the military.
While Nova Scotia has a unique history with the development of its AfricanCanadian population, a group of black soldiers from Sydney were told that this was a white man’s war, and that the war was not for them. They would nonetheless form their own segregated units. One of them was the Number 2 Construction Battalion which included black soldiers from both Canada and the United States. Some African-Americans crossed the border into Canada to serve in this battalion.
In British Columbia, 227 members of the Canadian Japanese Association volunteered, and some would be admitted into the military. In World War II, however, it was a different story for Canadians of Japanese descent, as many, despite being born and raised in Canada, would be interned in camps in the B.C. interior.
Canada also made a deal with the Chinese Government during that war, as they secretly had thousands of Chinese labourers arrive in Victoria to form the Chinese Labour Corps. They were drilled and eventually shipped across Canada in cattle trucks.
Aboriginal Canadians were allowed to participate in the war by 1915, with an estimated 3,500 soldiers taking part in the war.
Canada was a young nation going through growing pains. The world was a different place then, with racial and gender inequalities and barriers that are still being broken today.
It’s important that we don’t let the cultural and racial climate of the times and the rifts between leaders make us lose sight of the tremendous sacrifices made by the people of Canada a century ago. Our soldiers secured victory in one of history’s greatest wars.
Canadian soldiers made the world a better place. But at home, they paved the way for a better country.
One tin soldier rides away
It’s funny how you seem to recall where you were an what you were doing when you recall certain things.
I saw a reference in an article I read last week to Jack Babcock, who was the last survivor of World War I. It took me back about 20 years. I was near Seattle, driving along I-5, listening to the news and talk station waiting to hear “Traffic and Weather on the Ones.”
I surfed the radio a lot in those days, as I had an hour-and-a-half commute each way to work. But I never forgot the interview with Jack Babcock, and how intrigued I was by his story. He lived in Washington State, though he was originally from the Sydenham area. He had moved to Spokane some 80 years earlier, but it was charming that he still had an emotional connection to his Eastern Ontario roots.
He referred to himself as a “tin soldier” in that interview. I had never really heard that term used before, other than from the late 60s folk/rock song I heard a lot as a kid. But even the fact that Babcock, who was north of his 100th birthday, had the wits to use such a clever metaphor in itself exemplified the humility that made him the perfect Canadian soldier.
“They said I could have a state funeral, but I don’t want anything like that,” he said in the interview. “State funerals should be for the real soldiers who fought in the trenches and faced the enemy. All I did was do what I was told, dig ditches and load and unload some trucks.”
diers, many of whom had seen battle action in France.
Although Babcock heard stories of horror from the front lines, it was his dream to be there, fighting arm in arm, with his fellow Canadian soldiers. “I wasn’t smart enough to be scared,” was one of the lines I vividly remember from that interview. The war would end, he said, before he got the chance to get to the front lines.
The end of the Great War was hardly a time of glory for the young Canadian soldier. In France, soldiers had to be 19 years old to see active combat. Babcock was 18 years old in October, 1918, when he and some of his Canadian friends headed to Wales on leave and went to a dance hall. The Canadians were kicked out of the dance hall by British Army Veterans. Babcock explained how they decided to go back into the hall and “clean things up.” A dust up ensued, a Canadian soldier was stabbed in the thigh with a British cadet’s bayonet, and Babcock and his friends were handed two weeks of house arrest. Before the two weeks were up, the war ended, the Armistice had been signed, and Babcock was on his way home.
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Babcock’s story was not an unusual one. He grew up on the Crater Dairy Farm in Frontenac County. The farm, named for the Holleford Crater that was left by a meteor strike on the property, was in its fifth generation of being owned and operated by the Babcock family. Jack was underage when he enlisted, and like thousands of other underagers, he was drawn by the lucrative salary of $1.10 per day – more than twice as much as he could make on the farm. His father had died in an accident while cutting down a tree when Jack was six.
Claiming he was 18, Jack was recruited in Sydenham and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to Valcartier, and it was discovered during his physical that he was underage. He was given A-4 status, physically fit but underage. He made it to Halifax, where he loaded freight onto army trucks and dug ditches.
In August, 1917, the 16-year-old Babcock got the chance to go overseas as part of the Young Soldiers Battalion. He landed in Liverpool and was sent to Bexhlll-on-Sea to train with other sol-
Babcock returned home and would become an electrician. At 21, he would head to San Francisco, and would eventually join the United States Army, reaching the rank of Sergeant. In 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, Babcock tried to enlist for active duty. He was once again rejected because of his age, this time because he was too old.
Babcock became a U.S. citizen in 1946 and had a career as an industrial salesman. He became a pilot at the age of 65, and when he was 95, he would earn his high school diploma.
Jack Babcock said he didn’t deserve attention as a soldier because he “didn’t really do anything.” However, he saw the importance of being the last link to one of the most horrific wars in history. He didn’t want people to forget the war or let it fade into obscurity.
In February, 2010, Babcock passed away at his home in Spokane after a bout with pneumonia. Queen Elizabeth II, whom Babcock had joked was “a nice looking gal” when she extended birthday wishes to him in 2007, acknowledged his passing two months later, on the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Maybe in his own eyes, Jack Babcock was a tin soldier. But to us, he was a piece of Canadian history that both linked us to, and defined, a generation and a war that will never be forgotten.
BARRHAVEN
Veteran educator agrees that schools to focus on education, not indoctrination
The Editor, I wanted to reach out and thank Michael Zwagstra for penning his recent editorial entitled ‘Focus in schools should be to educate rather than indoctrinate’ (October 11, 2024; Barrhaven Independent).
Simply put, after 29 years in education, I could not agree with him more. He is bang on when he states, “Not only does woke ideology lead to division and resentment, but it makes it
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impossible to have an honest dialogue about controversial topics.” Sadly, those in the upper echelons of education and who make the important and often institutional-changing decisions would rather die
on the cross of “DEI” than allow for honest dialogue within both classrooms and staffrooms. Again, his calling them zealots is a most accurate descriptor. It was indeed tragic that one man chose to take his own life
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after voicing his disapproval over what can only be correctly termed “indoctrination.”
Once again, I (as a fellow educator), wish to commend him for bravely and coherently exposing the truth on
such damaging and misplaced rhetoric. Like him, it is my sincere hope that one day our schools will truly be places of education rather than indoctrination.
Respectfully, Matthew Dineen, OCT
Waterford Grand Retirement Living hosted an Open House on Saturday October 26. The event featured live music from Nick Straccini and his band, as well as home baked apple pies, apple cider, a scarecrow contest and fall crafts and games.
MacLeod delivers emotional farewell speech to Queen’s Park Legislature
It was an emotional day for Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod as she delivered her farewell member’s statement to the Ontario Legislature Mon., Oct. 28.
MacLeod announced late in the summer that she would not seek a seventh term as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Nepean. The next provincial election is scheduled for the summer of 2026, but it is widely assumed that Premier Doug Ford will call an election in the spring of 2025.
“I want to say, in my last statement here in this Legislature—my deepest appreciation to each of you,” MacLeod told the Legislature.
“Every single one of you, I look at and you’ve given me a story. You’ve given me life. And despite what you might think when I’m in question period, I do look at each one of you with deep admiration and affection, even when you may have been my harshest critic, and that usually came from this side. I learned a great deal from you.”
The Nova Scotia native served the riding of Nepean for 19 years, which also included when the riding was Nepean-Carleton until 2018
when it split into two electoral ridings due to the population growth of Barrhaven, River-
side South and Stittsville.
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Nepean MPP celebrates her 2022 election victory with her campaign team. It was her sixth straight victory. MacLeod announced she would not be seeking re-election in the next provincial election.
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MacLeod said the decision to not run again came after a “summer of reflection” with family and friends. In April, the former Ontario cabinet minister said she wasn’t “going anywhere” during an event with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Fallowfield United Church.
Before that, she joked at the grand opening of the Barrhaven Salvation Army Church that she would still be the MPP for Nepean in 20 years.
MacLeod had worked for both Councillor Jan Harder and then-Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre before winning a by-election in 2006. She won the Progressive Conservative nomination after MPP and Cabinet Minister
John Baird vacated his seat to run for the federal Conservative Party in Ottawa West-Nepean.
“In 2006, I stepped into this hallowed chamber,”
MacLeod told the Legislature. “I had a baby cradled in my arms as Bob Runciman and John Tory walked me through that door. We were joined by Peter Tabuns, although not in the same party, who became a great friend of mine, and I have to say he touched me this morning when he told me that when his mother passed away this past September, she had a picture of me and him in her funeral proceedings.
“I harken back to that day because it was a day of hope and it was a day of promise. It was marked
with the presence of many great people, and it was fun to be together embarking on the journey.”
MacLeod reflected on her first question period, saying Queen’s Park was not just a compilation of people from different parts, but rather a living, breathing embodiment of each new member, each with a fresh perspective and a new idea that they brought forward.
“It’s a place enriched by those who have weathered the storms of public opinion, as I certainly have, and electoral change, as I have seen over the past 20 years in this assembly,” she said.
“This place is magical not for the routine proceedings or the motions that we engage in, but it is because
of the vibrant humanity that fills it. It’s a place filled with shared laughter, questions asked, debates ignited, and I must say, Speaker, I have seen that commitment and dedication to each of those of us who have chosen to serve. That’s why the true magic lies in our differences, the unique stories each of us brings, and it’s a gift to us fortunate enough to be elected to this assembly.”
While she reminisced about some humorous and more social moments during her time as MPP, there were also moments that she called weighty.
When Kathleen Wynne stood firm during the terrorist attack on Parliament Hill, she refused to shut down the Legislature during a time of national crisis,” MacLeod
said of the 2014 incident. “We came together in this assembly as a family. We were united in navigating the storm, and the unity and strength of Ontario came shining through on that particular day.”
MacLeod also mentioned her health struggles. She has been very public with her battle with bipolar disorder.
“I’ve had some health difficulties, and some of the most comforting gestures were the warmth of a visit to my office from former Premier Dalton McGuinty; the thoughtful notes from Jim Bradley, Cheri DiNovo, Suze Morrison and—I’m going to out you here—Jill Andrew; and sweet and gentle moments but also from my colleague Will
Bouma and his wife Joni,” she said. “These are the moments that are some of the best, the funniest, the most humbling and the most genuine of my life. It’s been a profound gift to share these experiences with each one of you.”
MacLeod concluded her statement with a reference to former Progressive Conservative party leaders John Tory and Tim Hudak.
“Tim Hudak reminded me of the platform that we all hold, and John Tory taught me something that is important for all of us to know too: Life unfolds in chapters,” she said. “I stand here, comfortable in the knowledge that I have had both. And I want to say this to each one of you: You do as well.”
BIA issues survey on impact of back-to-office mandate to local businesses
The Barrhaven BIA is conducting a survey among businesses in the community to gage the impact of federal government workers being mandated back to working downtown.
Two months ago, federal workers were mandated to go back to work three days per week as part of a new hybrid model.
Part of the frustration of the Barrhaven business community has been the focus on salvaging an already struggling downtown business core. Ottawa wants workers back
downtown to support downtown restaurants, coffee shops and retailers.
However, taking those government workers out of their home offices and putting them in government buildings in working hours will have a negative impact on many Barrhaven business, including the several dozen commercial businesses that have popped up on the community’s retail and restaurant landscape since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Just as downtown businesses benefited
from pre-pandemic workday patronage, local businesses in Barrhaven enjoyed a boost in daytime customers, and Barrhaven enjoyed a boost in life,” said Wilson Lo in the Barrhaven Independent back in May when talk of getting commuters out of Barrhaven and back downtown was being floated.
Lo said he cares about the downtown, but relying on commuters from Barrhaven and other suburbs is not the answer.
“Downtown needs to be supported by downtown,” Lo said. “To
achieve that, downtown needs residents—people who are always there to give the area life beyond office working hours. A sustainable customer base will encourage businesses to be open longer (and to be open, period), bringing vibrancy to the city’s core, including during working hours.
“In turn, a vibrant and safe downtown will also attract more visitors from within and outside the city, further contributing to its economic and social success, further making downtown better. It’s a positive cycle.”
There is also a problem in getting workers from Barrhaven to downtown Ottawa.
According to a CTV News Ottawa report last Friday, the union representing OC Transpo bus drivers has claimed that hundreds of bus trips per day are being cancelled.
CTV News Ottawa show cited statistics that showed that OC Transpo cancelled 1,877 bus trips between Oct. 21 and Oct. 28. An average of more than 250 bus trips a day were cancelled on weekdays.
The City of Ottawa
Budget is expected to be tabled Wed. Nov. 13. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is asking for a combined $140 million per year for three years from the provincial and federal governments to support transit in the nation’s capital.
The difficulty being faced by commuters in getting downtown in the morning and back to Barrhaven in the evening has brought the issue of being mandated downtown to the forefront. Commuters’ desire to support businesses in Barrhaven is part of that argument.
Operation of Trail Waste Facility included in new solid waste by-law
Ottawa Council has approved a new Solid Waste Services By-law to guide the city’s waste collection, removal and disposal programs. The by-law was updated following a fulsome review and incorporates policy and program changes that Council has approved since 2012. They include:
- Transitioning the Blue and Black Box recycling program to provincial regulations
- Transferring responsibility for public waste receptable collection from Parks Maintenance and Forestry Service to Solid Waste Services
- Introducing the threeitem curbside collection limit
- Requiring mandatory
participation in the Green Bin program for multiresidential properties
- Adding language for clarity making interpretation and enforcement easier
The Solid Waste Management By-law has been in place for more than 13 years and was identified through the 2023-2026
Corporate By-law Workplan report for a fulsome review in alignment with ongoing city initiatives.
The by-law serves to guide the administration of the city’s waste collection, removal, and disposal programs. It includes a definition of waste streams, levels of service, collection schedules, acceptable material, waste limits, associated fees, operation
of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill just outside Barrhaven, and enforcement standards.
Since the by-law was last fully reviewed and updated in 2012, Solid Waste Services (SWS) has sought and received Council approval on several policy and program changes with associated bylaw impacts, including the Provincial Blue Box Program Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), and most recently, policies and programs approved through the Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP).
While minor amendments have been made to the by-law over the last 13 years, it has been done piece by piece without a full review.
Many of the updates included in the proposed draft by-law are administrative, focusing on revising definitions and
provisions for clarity and alignment to current waste legislation and city operations including curbside collection, containerized
(multi residential) collection, public space waste collection, and operation of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill.
Barrhaven Santa Claus Parade Sun., Nov. 17 along Strandherd Drive
Santa Claus is coming to town.
The annual Barrhaven Santa Claus Parade takes place Sunday, Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
The parade, organized and hosted by Barrhaven Santa Claus Parade Inc., takes place on the third Sunday of November each year.
It is considered the second largest Santa Claus Parade in the city, next to the downtown Ottawa parade, and is one of the largest in the province. Two years ago, the City of Ottawa estimated that 38,000 people lined the parade route to see St. Nick. Weather permitting, this year’s parade could top 40,000 in attendance.
Sponsors for this year’s parade include Barrhaven Ford, Caivan, Primo Self Storage, the Barrhaven Legion, the Half Moon Bay Community Association, Councillors David Hill and Wilson Lo, Bradley Hiscock and McCracken, Mr. Lube, Cobs Bread, and Heart and Crown.
The parade route is primarily along Strandherd Drive. It begins near Canadian Tire and goes along Strandherd to Beatrice, then turns south and ends at Chapman Mills Public School.
The Barrhaven Food Cupboard will be in attendance collecting donations. Last year they raised about 2,000 pounds of food.
They will have their truck and volunteers walking the parade route collecting nonperishable food items. They will also be walking with their QR code for monetary donations so people can click and donate right away.
The Barrhaven Food Cupboard has felt the pressure of rising food prices with more families turning to them for services. The number of families relying on the food bank has grown exponentially since the end of the COVID 10 pandemic.
The parade is an ideal opportunity for the residents of Barrhaven to support those in need within the community.
Barrhaven’s Santa Claus
Parade has been in existence for over 25 years. It started with the Lions Club and has only grown since. For more than a generation, it has be-
come a Barrhaven tradition. Many parents who grew up in Barrhaven and attended the parade when they were young now bring their children to the
same parade. The Riverside South Community Association’s Toy Mountain Parade will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, at 11
a.m. The parade route is along Spratt Road, and starts at St. Jerome Elementary School and finishes at École BernardGrandmaître.
Santa Claus waves to Barrhaven residents along Strandherd Drive during the 2023 Barrhaven Santa Claus Parade. Charlie SenaC k P h oto
Jaguars outlast Coyotes in high school football showdown
St. Joseph Jaguars improved their record to 5-0 while the St. Francis Xavier Coyotes suffered their first loss of the season Friday, Nov. 1 at St. Joseph.
The unbeaten Jaguars continued to roll through the regular season as they put up another big offensive performance in a 4521 win.
Across town at St. Mother Teresa, the Titans were also on their homefield Friday afternoon. They came up on the short end of a 40-29 score against Ashbury.
Both teams were tied for sixth place in the NCSSAA standings with 2-2 records.
The NCSSAA playoffs are scheduled to begin this week.
The NCSSAA senior girls basketball playoffs also began this week. St. Joseph, St. Francis Xavier and St. Mother Teresa all have 4-2 regular season records while LongfieldsDavidson Heights and Pierre Savard are both 3-3.
Senior Girls
Basketball
Oct. 21 – All Saints 39
John McCrae 24
Oct. 24 – St. Francis Xavier 59 Sir Wilfrid Laurier 27
Oct. 24 – West Carleton 51 Longfields-Davidson Heights 19
Oct. 24 – St. Joseph 52 Earl of March 30
Oct. 29 – St. Peter 31
St. Francis Xavier 29
Oct. 29 – South Carleton 57 St. Mother Teresa 33
Oct. 29 – John McCrae
46 Earl of March 27
Oct. 29 – Pierre Savard
53 Longfields-Davidson Heights 43
Oct. 31 – St. Mother
Teresa 42 All Saints 37
Oct. 31 – John McCrae
40 St. Joseph 26
Oct. 31 – West Carleton 44 Pierre Savard 18
Junior Girls
Basketball
Oct. 21 – Earl of March
48 John McCrae 18
Oct. 22 - Longfields-
Davidson Heights 42 St.
Joseph 31
Oct. 22 – South Carle-
ton 64 Merivale 48
Oct. 22 – St. Francis
Xavier 41 Maplewood 33
Oct. 29 – St. Francis
Xavier 40 Brookfield 25
Girls Field Hockey
Oct. 22 – Earl of
March 1 John McCrae 0
Oct. 23 – Merivale 4
St. Mother Teresa 0
Oct. 23 – Ashbury 4
John McCrae 0
Football
Oct. 22 – St. Mark 23
St. Francis Xavier 21
Oct. 28 – St. Joseph 38
St. Mark 13
Oct. 28 – St. Mother
Teresa 36 Holy Trinity 11
Nov. 1 – St. Joseph 45
St. Francis Xavier 21
Nov. 1 – Ashbury 40
St. Mother Teresa 29
Boys Non-Contact Hockey
Oct. 23 – John McCrae
2 John McCrae 1
Oct. 23 – LongfieldsDavidson Heights 4 St.
Joseph 0
Oct. 23 – Sir Robert
Borden 2 Pierre Savard 1
Oct. 23 – St. Joseph 3
John McCrae 2
Oct. 23 - LongfieldsDavidson Heights 2 Sir
Robert Borden 2
Oct. 23 – Pierre Savard 3 St. Mother Teresa 1
Oct. 23 – Sir Robert
Borden 3 John McCrae 2
Oct. 23 – St. Mother
Teresa 3 LongfieldsDavidson Heights 1
Oct. 23 – Pierre Savard 3 St. Joseph 1
Oct. 24 – St. Mark 4
St. Francis Xavier 0
TREE
OPENS
Oct. 28 – St. Joseph 3
Sir Robert Borden 3
Oct. 29 – Pierre Savard 2 Longfields-Davidson Heights 1
Senior Boys Rugby 7s
Oct. 22 – Paul-Desmarais 17 John McCrae 0
Oct. 22 – John McCrae
15 Ridgemont 5
Oct. 22 – South Carleton 21 John McCrae 7
Girls Rugby 7s
Oct. 23 - LongfieldsDavidson Heights 22 Elmwood 12
Oct. 23 – St. Pius X 41
John McCrae 5
Oct. 23 – Glebe 29
John McCrae 12
Oct. 23 – LongfieldsDavidson Heights 17 South Carleton 0 (bronze medal game)
Senior Boys Soccer
Oct. 21 – AY Jackson 4
Pierre-Savard 0
Oct. 22 – St. Francis
Xavier 0 St. Pius X 0
Oct. 22 – All Saints 3 Longfields-Davidson
Heights 2
Oct. 22 – St. Mother
Teresa 1 John McCrae 1
Oct. 24 – John McCrae
2 All Saints 1
Oct. 24 - LongfieldsDavidson Heights 4 Earl of March 0
Oct. 29 – Franco Cite
3 St. Mother Teresa 2 (playoff)
Oct. 29 – St. Francis
Xavier 2 John McCrae 1 (playoff)
Oct. 30 – South Carleton 2 Pierre Savard 1
Oct. 31 – St. Francis
Xavier 2 Franco Cite 0
Junior Boys Soccer
Oct. 22 – St. Francis
Xavier 2 St. Mother Teresa 1
Oct. 22 – Pierre-Savard 8 Woodroffe 1
Oct. 22 – St. Joseph 3
Pierre de Blois 0
Oct. 24 – John McCrae
3 Merivale 0
Oct. 25 – Pierre Savard 3 John McCrae 2
Oct. 29 – St. Mother
Teresa 2 Pierre de Blois 1
Oct. 29 – St. Francis
Xavier 3 Woodroffe 0
SATURDAY NOvEmbER 23
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Oct. 29 – Merivale 3
St. Joseph 1
Oct. 31 – St. Joseph 2 Pierre Savard 1 (tiebreaker)
Senior Boys
Volleyball
Oct. 21 – Sir Robert Borden 3 LongfieldsDavidson Heights 1
Oct. 21 – Redeemer
Christian 3 John McCrae 1
Oct. 21 – Sacred Heart
3 St. Mother Teresa 2
Oct. 22 – St. Joseph 3 Bell 1
Oct. 22 – St. Peter 3
St. Francis Xavier 2
Oct. 23 – Paul Desmarais 3 Pierre Savard 0
Oct. 23 - LongfieldsDavidson Heights 3 All Sants 1
Oct. 24 – St. Joseph 3
Pierre de Blois 1
Oct. 28 – St. Mother
Teresa 3 St. Pius X 2
Oct. 28 – Nepean 3 John McCrae 0
Oct. 28 – Pierre Savard 3 Merivale 0
Oct. 28 – Osgoode 3 St. Francis Xavier 1
The John McCrae Bulldogs take on St. Mark in senior girls basketball action earlier this season.
The St. Joseph Jaguars fend off a Pierre Savard attack during their NCSSAA junior boys soccer tie-breaker Oct. 31. St. Joseph hung on for a 2-1 win.
OCDSB Speaker Series: Bullying
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will be hosting a Zoom webinar on bullying. The webinar takes place Tues., Nov. 19 from 6:30-8 p.m.
Bullying – A New Approach to an Enduring Problem is part of the OCDSB Speaker Series. While bullying has always been a problem in schools, cyber-bullying is now replacing playground bullying at an alarming rate.
As part of Bullying Awareness and Prevention
From the oCSB
The Ottawa Catholic School Board held a blessing ceremony for the new St. Juan Diego Catholic Elementary School last month.
The school serves students from Junior Kindergarten through sixth grade in Half Moon Bay, from the Jock River to the north and Dundonald Drive to the south. The school will feed into St. Joseph Catholic High School.
The October 3 ceremony at the newly opened St. Juan Diego Catholic Elementary School celebrated a vibrant new hub for learning and faith as the community gathered to participate in its official blessing ceremony. The OCSB called the event a heartfelt affirmation of the community’s shared values and aspirations.
As guests arrived, they were met with the infectious enthusiasm of the student council, eager to showcase their new school.
The ceremony kicked off
Week, this session will help parents/caregivers and educators feel more empowered to address bullying and protect children. Counsellor, author, and speaker Dr. Deborah MacNamara will help you understand what drives bullying behaviour, know how to prevent attacks, and learn how to guide children through situations where bullies are involved.
Dr. MacNamara is the author of Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of
Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one), the children’s picture book The Sorry Plane, and Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for our Kids (and everyone else we love). As a Neufeld Institute Faculty member and Director of Kid’s Best Bet, a counselling and family resource centre, Dr. MacNamara provides counselling services, speaks internationally, and leads over 60 presentations yearly on child and adoles-
cent development.
To register, visit https://
with Principal Shelly Lyonnais, whose heartfelt opening remarks united the community in support of the school’s mission of togetherness, education, and faith.
Nepean MP Chandra Arya continued the theme, emphasizing the importance of faith in education and celebrating the school as a place where diversity enriches the community fabric.
When the school choir performed, their voices filled the gym with a spirit of hope and togetherness. The performance streamed live to every classroom and ensured that even those not in the gym were fully included in the festivities. This gesture of inclusion is a cornerstone of St. Juan Diego’s approach.
The day’s highlight was the blessing by Most Reverend Marcel Damphousse and Father Gerard Monaghan. More than a ceremonial gesture, their blessing and storytelling about St. Juan Diego were designed to bring the
community closer together and reinforce the foundation of faith and shared values.
The ceremony also featured insights from Cindy Simpson, Vice-Chair of the Board; Tom D’Amico, Director of Education; and Balkiran Romana, School Council Chair. Each spoke about the school’s bright future and commitment to excellence rooted in community values.
The blessing ceremony was much more than the official opening of a new school; it was the start of a journey. St. Juan Diego Catholic Elementary is poised to become a beacon of faith, learning, and unity. It is a place where students will learn and grow into thoughtful, communityminded individuals.
In a touching end to the formal events, Most Reverend Damphousse personally visited the kindergarten classes, extending the day’s blessings to the youngest students and ensuring they felt a part of this new beginning.
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ecc_
LYqPS168-yYlmnF0tQ#/ registration .
School officials and clergy members took part in the St. Juan Diego ribbon-cutting ceremony.
CLUES ACROSS
1. Absence of effort
5. Preserve a dead body
11. Gratitude
14. The act of coming together again
15. Simpler
18. Visionaries
19. Large, fisheating bird
21. Indicates near 23. Former CIA agent and critic
24. Icelandic poems
28. Pop
29. “Hammer” is one
30. Senses of selfimportance
32. Thyrotrophic hormone
33. Not around
35. Electronic data processing
36. Licenses and passports are two types
39. Snakelike fish
41. Air Force
42. Popular computers
44. Of a withered nature
46. Wings
47. Used in combination
49. Laid back
52. Jeweled headdress
56. In slow tempo
58. __ Falls
60. Assertions made again
62. Periods of history
63. Hyphen
CLUES DOWN
1. Body part
2. Mimics
3. Expel large
quantities rapidly
4. Sea eagle
5. A type of subdivision
6. Variety of Chinese
7. Mr. T’s name on “The A-Team”
8. Consumed
9. Chinese dynasty
10. NFL great Randy 12. Ireland
13. Palm trees with
creeping roots
16. Fungal disease
17. Impressionable persons
20. Affirmative! (slang)
22. Instinctive
part of the mind
25. “The First State”
26. A way to develop
27. Fraternities
29. Woman (French)
31. Sunscreen rating
34. Beer
36. Spiritual leader
37. Indigo bush
38. Burn with a hot liquid
40. Junior’s father
43. Ray-finned fishes
45. Morning
48. Line passing side to side through the center (abbr.)
50. Double curve
51. A small bundle of straw or hay
53. Got older
54. Crater on Mars
55. Humanities
57. Relating to the ears
58. “To the __ degree…”
59. Residue of a burned product
61. It cools a home
A&W (both locations)
Anabia
Barley Mow
Barrhaven Legion
Booster Juice
Boston Pizza
Broadway
Canadian Tire Gas Bar
Circle K – Strandherd
Circle K – Greenbank
Fallowfield Pharmasave
Green Street Medical Centre
Halibut House
I.D.A.
Jolly Taxpayer
Kelsey’s
www.barrhavenindependent.ca
Longfields Pharmacy
Longfields
Maverick’s Donuts
Minto Rec Centre
Nepean Sportsplex
Petro Canada - Fallowfield
Petro Canada – Greenbank
Petro Canada – Strandherd
Pizza Pizza
Prince of Wales Manor
Quickie – Jockvale
Quickie – Rideaucrest
Rexall (both locations)
Royal Bank