Fall 2019

NEWS/POLITICS/FOOD/ARTS/SPORTS/FASHION/LIFESTYLE $4.95

FALL 2019

THE DECLINE OF CIVILITY IN

Canadian politics

THE OTTAWA

HOSPITAL

On patient-centred healthcare

ONTARIO

NURSES SPEAK OUT

ADVENTURE

CANADA

Discover the untouched world that is Canada’s North ottawalife.com

Holiday gift guide * Joe Foster * Cryto4A * The proud town that was Eastview

nursesknow.ona.org

A bitter pill.

Doug Ford’s restructuring of health care is a prescription for disaster. Big decisions are happening behind closed doors. His funding and service cuts are already creating confusion about access to care. After just one year in office, Doug Ford has proven his only remedies are quick fixes and wishful thinking.

Tell your MPP, the Health Minister, and Doug Ford you won’t accept more cuts to Ontario’s health care.

PHOTO: HILARY THOMPSON PHOTO : LUTHER CAVERLY

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Dancing With the Docs is only one of the many successful fundraising campaigns by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation who help support the workings of The Ottawa Hospital.

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35 The Ottawa Hospital

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There were no winners in the federal election and one big loser — the Canadian people. Personal insults, jabs, lies, mistruth and nastiness defined the campaign. Whatever happened to civility, the high road and the principle of being able to agree to disagree, agreeably.

Ottawa’s digital Batman

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Meet the founders of tech startup, Crypto4A, whose mission is to keep us all safe in the world of the Internet of Things.

Travel

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We have a bevy of destinations for you to choose from.

Discover the relatively untouched world of Canada’s North aboard an Adventure Canada cruise. Closer to home, head to Newboro, Ontario and step back in time at a classic Canadian fishing lodge. South of the border, check out how naturally urban Texas is or take an arts and culture getaway in the Windy City.

NUMBER 4

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In 1845, Sister Elisabeth Bruyère of the Grey Nuns arrived in Ottawa and founded a single ward hospital behind the church on St. Patrick Street. Today, The Ottawa Hospital is one smooth sailing ship with Dr. Jack Kitts at its helm.

Supporting it all is the highly successful philanthropic agency, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

Cardboard houses and corrosive leaders

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PHOTO: PATRICK L. PYSZKA

FALL 2019 VOLUME 21

columns

Publisher’s message ............................... 4 Holiday picks ....................................... 5 Savvy selections ................................... 10 Gallery: Joe Foster .................................. 12 In search of style .................................. 14 Op-ed: Canadian Nurse’s Association........ 34 Travel: Adventure Canada ..................... 35 Travel: Poplars Resort ............................. 38 Travel: Texas ........................................ 40 Travel: Chicago .................................... 42 The proud town that was Eastview ............ 44 Op-ed: UAE and Expo2020 .................. 46

series

Students first ....................................... 17 Healthcare ...........................................19 Technology/the future is now................... 29 Education ...........................................32 Education/op-ed .................................33

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t Check in with Alex for what’s trending on the runways this fall.

PHOTO: WINTER LOTUS PHOTOGRAPHY

publisher’s message by Dan Donovan

A hapless response to racism from Jacques Frémont’s ivory tower at uOttawa

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n June 11, 2019 Jamal Boyce, a conflict studies and human rights student at the University of Ottawa and vice-president of academic affairs for the program’s student association, was stopped by campus security guards while skateboarding on campus. They started harassing him, repeatedly asking for identification. “If you don’t stop walking off campus, I’m going to arrest you right now . . . for trespass to property,” an officer says in a video taken of the incident.“I’m trespassing how?”

Boyce responds. “I’m a student that pays a lot of money to go here . . . you’re actually making me feel really uncomfortable.” Boyce is then surrounded and violently assaulted by five more security guards who put him in handcuffs and force him to sit on the busiest street on campus as his fellow students walk by. Boyce posts on Twitter that,“This wasn’t just humiliating, it was physical, mental, emotional violence.The experience let me know that black students are not members of the (U of O) ‘community.’ ” Two days later, a 2017 video goes viral showing law professor Amir Attaran and his PhD student Brieanne Olibris, both people of colour, being carded by a belligerent white campus security guard who enters Attaran’s office without permission (their working spaces are connected). Olibris and Attaran tell campus media that the incident highlights the racism, especially anti-Black racism, endemic at the university.

On June 14, 2019 uOttawa president, Jacques Frémont, says the university will hire an external investigator to examine whether larger systemic human rights issues exist on campus. Frémont does not suspend the guards, and three days after the incident, he is unable to answer the very basic question of whether they received anti-racism training. Later that day, an open letter signed by 36 professors is released calling on the university to “protect Black, Indigenous and racialized students from racist violence on campus.” The Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) caucus of the Association of Professors of the uOttawa release a letter condemning campus racism, saying the incident left them ‘horrified and appalled’ and “runs contrary to the university’s publicly-declared commitment to equality, diversity and human rights.” They demand a public apology for Boyce and the termination of the security officers. The uOttawa Students’ Union (UOSU) also demand a formal apology for Boyce and the abolishment of carding on campus (Policy 33) saying: “There is anti-Black racism present on our campus right now, we stand with (Boyce), and we stand with any other student who has experienced racism on this campus”.

On September 14, 2019 second-year Black student, Wiliston Mason, is carded and pushed by a security guard inside his own residence building. Mason says he tapped his key card to enter his building but the security officer behind the desk demanded identification, “to verify that you live here.” Mason says a white man entered the building moments before him, without tapping his key card, and was not stopped.

In October, the investigation report into the Boyce incident concludes that Boyce faced racial discrimination due to improper training and faulty procedures.

Without mentioning his name, Frémont publicly apologizes to Boyce for the first time. “I am deeply sorry for the way you were treated and for the humiliation you experienced.” Frémont won’t say if the officers involved in the incident are still employed by the university.

On October 7, 2019 over 100 professors and librarians release an open letter to Frémont citing his failure to address systemic racism on campus. They tell him they support the previous letter, signed by the 16 RSGs, the UOSU, the Black Student Leaders Association, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group, CUPE 2626 (which represents teaching and research assistants), Women in Science and Engineering, Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa, the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa, the Graduate Students’ Association of the University of Ottawa, and the University of Ottawa Muslim Students Association demanding that he take action to deal with the systemic discrimination on campus.

And that is the story of how racism is dealt with from the ivory tower of uOttawa President Jacques Frémont . . . ugh n 4 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

publisher/managing editor

Dan Donovan art director & web editor Karen Temple director of operations Maria Alejandra Gamboa social media manager Kat Walcott cover illustration by Joe Foster The copy shot of the cover illustration was shot using the Huawei P30 Pro, in Pro mode photographers Luther Caverly, Jacob Fergus, Kerrick James, Simon Gardner, Patrick L. Pyszka, Sean Sisk Photography, Petr Maur, Winter Lotus Photography, Bob Welland video Berrin Sun fashion editor Alexandra Gunn accounts Joe Colas C.G.A bookkeeper Joan MacLean contributing writers Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani,

Harvey Bischof, Michael R Bussière, Dan Donovan, Judy El-Mohtadi, Alexandra Gunn,Vicki McKenna Tori McNeely, Hilary Thompson, Debbie Trenholm, Kat Walcott web contributors Adele Blair, Sofia Donato, Maria Alejandra Gamboa, Dave Gross, Jennifer Hartley, Owen Maxwell, Mona Staples, Kat Walcott, Keith Whittier social media Kat Walcott student intern Emma Dykstra corporate advisor J. Paul Harquail,

Charles Franklin corporate counsel Paul Champagne editor in memoriam Harvey F. Chartrand advertising information

For information on advertising rates, visit www.ottawalife.com call (613) 688-LIFE (5433) or e-mail info@ottawalife.com Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement #1199056.

Ottawa Life Magazine, 301 Metcalfe St. Lower Level, Ottawa. Ontario K2P 1R9 tel: (613) 688-5433 fax: (613) 688 -1994 e-mail: info@ottawalife.com Web site: www.ottawalife.com Follow us on Twitter: @ottawalifers On Instagram: ottawalifemag Like us at www.Facebook.com/ OttawaLifeMagazine Ottawa Life is listed in Canadian Advertising Rates & Data (CARD).

Ottawa Life subscription rates: one year $48, includes postage, plus HST (four issues). Two years $85, includes postage, plus HST (eight issues).

Add $20 per year for postage outside Canada.

Subscriber service is 613-688-LIFE (5433) Ottawa Life Magazine is printed in Canada on recycled paper.

Van Houtte Cold COFFEE MAKER For the cold-brew coffee lover on your list, Van Houtte® introduces the Van Houtte Cold Brew Insulated Brewer.

It is ideal for a picnic in the park, camping in the woods or on the road. The double-walled container will keep your beverage cold for hours. As well, the coffee maker is compatible with your choice of coffee and grind. vanhoutte.com $59.9

holiday picks

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ANCESTRY.CA IS A THOUGHTFUL AND AFFORDABLE GIFT Home DNA kits have the capacity to change the way we view ourselves, where we come from, and how we relate to the world around us. This year’s Ancestry offerings – the AncestryDNA Kit and an Ancestry Family History Subscription – is a great way for families to connect and uncover details they may otherwise never know. With Ancestry DNA, connect with family members that you never knew about, lost touch with, and fill in gaps in your family history. ancestry.ca $14.99-$129.99

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NINTENDO SWITCH Nintendo Switch is designed to fit your life, transforming from home console to portable system in a snap. Nintendo Switch offers three different play modes: playing in TV mode by placing the system into a Nintendo Switch dock, playing cooperatively or competitively in tabletop mode by sharing Joy-Con controllers, or playing in hand-held mode. nintendo.com/switch/ $399.99 ROBERT MONDAVI PRIVATE SELECTION CABERNET SAUVIGNON Deep ruby red colour with cassis, sweet cherry, hints of black pepper and spicy oak aromas, the Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon pairs perfectly with charcuterie found at holiday cocktail parties and roasts at special dinners. The best part? It even comes with a festive holiday hat, so no wrapping is required.

LCBO.com $18.45

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Christmas on Union Street Calgary author, Kathleen Cranidge brings us a holiday tale with a twist. The novel follows the story of Ali, a criminology student, who escapes the holidays by renting an attic bedroom where she is plunged into an old-fashioned Christmas. Ali soon realizes that the townspeople have secrets. What begins as a much needed escape slowly becomes a sinister mystery.

ISBN:9781633634084 kathleencranidge.com $29.91 ENJOY THE BEST OF CANADA’S WINTERS WITH SNACK-AND-GO MITTENS Two of Canada’s most iconic brands, BeaverTails and KOMBI have teamed up to design the KOMBI Snack-AndGo mittens. They make a great stocking stuffer or gift them to complete a winter-look of BeaverTails apparel. The mitts allow you to enjoy a BeaverTails pastry while keeping your hands warm. Lined with red fleece, the Snack-AndGo mittens remind you of all things Canada, eh! kombicanada.com and shop.beavertails.com 5 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

A G IFT O F NATUR E The Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation works hard to protect vulnerable natural areas in the Rideau River watershed including crucial habitats (forests, wetlands, and shorelines) and ensure that these lands stay in public hands. A donation in the name of a family member or friend is a great opportunity to help protecting these green spaces in our community forever. To donate contact diane.downey@rvcf.ca As much $$ as you want Kim Cr awf o r d S a u vigno n B l a nc Nothing says ”holiday party“ like a festive bottle of New Zealand’s best — Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. The number one Sauvignon Blanc in Canada, this wine has classic Marlborough aromas of lifted citrus, tropical fruit, and crushed herbs. Soon to be available in a festive bottle, perfect for keeping the holiday spirit alive and well!. LCBO.com $19.99 CREATE YOUR PERFECT CUP AND CARAFE EVERY TIME WITH THE K-DUO™ COFFEE MAKER This versatile coffee maker offers the best of both worlds, using both K-Cup® pods and ground coffee to brew a cup and a carafe of your favorite varieties. The 12-cup glass carafe and heating plate are perfect for keeping your coffee hot, and the added convenience of the Pause & Pour feature makes serving a snap!

The K-Duo Single Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker lets you brew the perfect amount of fresh, full-flavored coffee whether you’re hosting friends or just enjoying a cup – and a moment – to yourself! keurig.ca $149.99 Thirst y N at u r al s — a ski n and b o d y c a r e li ne m a d e f o r t eena g ers While adolescence can be an unforgiving time on one’s skin, Thirsty Naturals products are created specifically for the needs of today’s teenagers. Made in Canada, Thirsty Naturals are an affordable line of skincare products made from quality ingredients without parabens, sulphates, phthalates, artificial fragrances, petroleum by-products, animal by-products and animal testing.

Thirsty Naturals’ products are entirely plant-based. The current line of six different products are available at Loblaw retailers, select natural retailers, and well.ca $11.69 to $18.99 G iv e y o u r dri nk m o r e ch a r a c t er wit h t h e u rb an b arrel Ottawa's Urban Barrel Company has mastered the craft of making a one litre liquor-aging barrel that is the perfect gift for whiskey lovers. In 4-6 weeks, their custom handcrafted American white oak barrels can transform a bottom-shelf scotch, bourbon, brandy, rum, tequila or coganc into something far more complex. You’ll get the smoky oak notes and the smoother flavour profile of a barrel-aged spirit or cocktail, without the price tag. Perfect for holiday parties and special occasions. urbanbarrel.ca $84 THE GIFT OF QUARTZ FOR YOUR HOME HanStone Canada’s new, nature-inspired quartz collection, Unearthed, combines earthly elements like texture and windswept veining with warm, tonal shades of pearl, grey and terra cotta, to create unique and distinctive designs. With its Riverwashed finish, the Unearthed Collection is a remarkable display of premium quartz that captures the natural beauty of nature, allowing homeowners to embrace outdoor elements from the comfort of indoors. Visit the website for design inspiration, product information, and showroom locations across Canada.

HanStone.ca

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Ra kut en Ko bo un veils t he Ko bo Libr a H 2 O Combining a decade of experience, the latest in innovative digital reading technology, and a readers-first approach, Rakuten Kobo has struck the perfect balance with the Kobo Libra H2O. The new device marries the features readers love most: ergonomic onehanded page-turn buttons, waterproofing technology, ComfortLight PRO, a 7” HD Carta E Ink glare-free screen, and convertible SleepCovers. Cozy up with the new device, designed and built to make reading lives better. kobobooks.com $299.99

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S TU FF FOR TH E S TO CKI NGS Three new flavours join the award-winning Tetley Super Teas collection, Canada’s first line-up of teas fortified with vitamins and minerals. Boost combines vitamin B6, peach, ginger and dandelion flavours for a balanced sweet and spicy note. Antiox is a tasty and comforting blend featuring apple, cinnamon, and turmeric that also contains vitamin C. Matcha is an excellent source of Manganese for the maintenance of good health and in energy metabolism. tetley.ca/our-range/super-teas $3.99

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WEA R Y OUR FAV OURI TE WI NE Wine enthusiasts can drink their favourite wine and can take their love of the grape to the next level by wearing it. Back by popular demand, Canadian designer Brunette The Label launched their super cute, limited-edition PINOT PLEASE sweater, inspired

by Meiomi Pinot Noir. Meiomi Pinot Noir is a rich garnet colour with a ruby edge. One sip will charm your palette with aromas of bright strawberry and jammy fruit, mocha and vanilla, along with toasty oak notes. meiomi.com AND brunettethelabel.com

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TH E PERFECT GI FT CARD! Treat your loved ones like the 10/10 they are this holiday season with the gift of pampering and relaxation from THE TEN SPOT. With three convenient Ottawa locations — The Glebe, Westboro, and Kanata — all offering services such as waxing, manis & pedis, facials and laser hair removal services, as well as a beautiful selection of in-house products, you’ll be sure to find the perfect beauty and wellness gift. Visit the website for a full list of THE TEN SPOT services or to purchase a gift card. thetenspot.com

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POKÉMON SWORD AND POKÉMON SHIELD Become a PokémonTrainer and embark on a new journey in the new Galar region in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

Unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta. Explore the Wild Area, a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles, in which players face off against gigantic and superstrong Pokémon known as Dynamax Pokémon.

Launching November 15, 2019 nintendo.com $79.99 Tru Ni a gen SUPPLEMENT S Prioritizing ones health is a popular, albeit important, New Year’s resolution. Tru Niagen’s scientifically-backed, Health Canada approved supplement is the perfect solution to help you put your own health first! Tru Niagen is a unique form of vitamin B3 that restores and maintains cellular levels to give the body the energy it needs for functions like tissue formation, sleep and metabolism.

Tru Niagen is vegetarian, artificial-free supplement that can help you achieve your goals this new year. truniagen.ca from $49.49 7 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

S e e h o w y o u swim i n r eal t im e wit h sma rt disp l ay g o ggl es FORM Swim Goggles are a pair of premium swim goggles with a see-through augmented-reality display that delivers performance metrics in real time. Developed over the past four years in collaboration with top competitive swimmers and coaches, including former Olympians, these goggles make training smarter, more purposeful, and more engaging for swimmers of all levels. formswim.com $199

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TIMOTHY'S HAS THE GIFT EVERYONE LOVES! Give the Timothy’s® Variety Pack with 30 coffee K-Cup® pods, including Italian Blend, Breakfast Blend and French Vanilla — Variety Pack $21.49 box of 30. For a taste of the holidays try Timothy’s® Christmas Blend. It is a magical medium roast coffee that has plenty of spirit but it’s only here for the holidays!

— $14.99 Box of 24.

K-DUO PLUSTM SINGLE SERVE AND CARAFE COFFEE MAKER The perfect coffee maker for any occasion. This versatile coffee maker is the best of both worlds, using both K-Cups® pods and ground coffee to brew a cup and a carafe of your favourite varieties. keurig.ca/timothys MADE FOR WINTER PLAY Scandinavian brand Reima has been specializing in children‘s products since 1944. In Findland, children play outside four hours a day. That is why Reima clothes, shoes and accessories are suitable for all weather conditions and the simple joy of movement. Their clothes are designed by mothers who test them on their kids. Who better to understand the needs of active kids than the parents? Reima’s difference is know-how when it comes to Scandinavian and Canadian winters. Rest assured, Reima covers your little ones all year round! us.reima.com LA SIEMBRA'S CAMINO ORGANIC CHOCOLAT Change the way chocolate companies do business by purchasing fair trade chocolate bars and cocoa. La Siembra is an Ottawa-Gatineau co-op that began 20 years ago. They import, manufacturer, and distribute their Camino line of products that are available at over three thousand retail outlets in Canada.

Look for the full line of Camino certified organic, fairtrade prodcuts at your local suppermarket or specialty store.

Camino.ca GET YOUR GLITZ ON WITH UP! PANTS’ ‘GLITZ AND GLORY’ COLLECTION Each season UP! Pants uses its unique THINCREDIBLE FIT technology to create a collection of pull-on pants that are both comfortable and slimming – because women who feel confident in their pants will light up a room! From elegant fall florals, to formal baroque motifs, or edgy leopard prints, the ‘Glitz and Glory’ (F/W ’19) collection is the brand’s most versatile and ambitious yet! Dress-up or dress-down any look with their formfitting skirts or wide variety of denim options, and combine the collection’s earthy tones with the brand’s new silver-link belts. uppants.com

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T HE GIF T OF ST R E AM IN G T V The new Roku Express is 10 per cent smaller than its predecessor, is sleek and designed to blend in and disappear when connected to a TV. It can be fully powered by most TVs to reduce clutter around the TV. With the Roku Express consumers enjoy easy and smooth HD streaming. In the box a simple remote control is included with popular streaming channel shortcut buttons, a High Speed HDMI® cable and a power cord. $39.99 The new Roku Premiere is a simple way to start streaming in HD, 4K Ultra HD or 4K HDR. It features a powerful quad-core processor and comes in a low-profile form factor. In the box a Premium High Speed HDMI® cable is included plus remote control with popular streaming channel shortcut buttons and a power cord. $49.99 Powerful and portable, the Roku Streaming Stick gives the gift of entertainment on-the-go all in a powerful stick. Choose your favourite program with the Search function using the included point-anywhere remote, or just use the Roku app on your smartphone to control the action. $69.99 roku.com

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TH E GI FT OF GOOD S LEEP Since the average person sleeps 8 hours of the day or roughly 229,961 hours in their lifetime, sleeping on a great mattress is essential to your well being. Endy, the Canadian company that designed and crafted the most comfortable, convenient and affordable mattress on the market. Shipped directly to your door, all you have to do is rest easy and have a great sleep. Find out for yourself why Chatelaine, the Toronto Star, Canadian Living and Canadians from coast to coast to coast are Endy fans. Endy is the recipient of the OLM 2019 OLA Award for best matress! ca.Endy.com $675-$950

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T HE BE ST GIF T IS GIV IN G BACK! “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child” is the famous motto of Tunis Shriners International, a motto which each of the fraternity’s shrines strives to uphold. The same especially goes for the Ottawa-based Shrine, which has helped and supported numerous children over the years in the Shriners’ Montreal-based Hospital since its founding nearly 45 years ago. This organization is great for meeting like-minded individuals while also giving back to society. tunis179.org

Argyle Associates organizes premier education event for hundreds of dental professionals

Each year, Argyle Associates welcome dental practitioners, hygienists and staff to an informative event and this year’s focus is on the technological innovations in surgery and dentistry. One of the largest and most established groups of its kind, Argyle Associates have been providing the complete scope of oral and maxillofacial procedures to patients from the Eastern Ontario region for over 40 years. On November 1st, they will present their 31st Annual Education Day at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre with a focus on technological innovations in surgery and dentistry. This year’s outstanding group of presenters include Dr. Stephen Abrams, Dr. Marta Kersten-Oertel and Dr. Peggy Bown. argyleassociates.com 9 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

savvy solutions by Debbie Trenholm

Go ahead, splurge a little! he most asked question at this T time of year that I get is: “What wine gadget would you give a hard-

to-shop-for wine enthusiasts?” Instead of wine gizmos, most which end up in the bottom drawer and rarely get used, I highly recommend giving the gift of really good wine glasses. Splurge a little and the enjoyment of wine will improve a lot.

affected by the shape of the glass from which they were drunk. Understanding this, he focused on developing different shapes of glasses for each grape variety to maximize an individual’s enjoyment of that wine. In 1961, Riedel launched their revolutionary portfolio of glassware with different shapes and sizes.

Now, the Riedel product line has over 400 styles of glasses and decanters that are enjoyed by thousands of wine enthusiasts around the world.

The Riedel family (pronounced REEdle as in ‘needle’) has been in the glass business for over 300 years, spanning 11 generations. With The shape of the glass actually the introduction of their delicate affects how the wine is delivered crystal glasses that are specifically designed and crafted to enhance into your mouth. Riedel glasses are the different characteristics of specifically shaped to send the wine each grape variety, they have revolutionized the way we taste directly to the areas of your tongue and enjoy wines.

Wine can be served in any glass, but once you drink wine in a Riedel crystal glass, you’ll be amazed at the difference.

that corresponds to the characteristics of the grape variety.

Whether the glass is the traditional slender stemmed glass or the stemless tumbler style, the aromas and flavours of the wine are amplified in a specially shaped glass intended to “wow!” with each sip.

The difference is both academic and scientific.

In the late 1950’s, Professor Claus Riedel recognized that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines were 10 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

shape of the glass actually affects how the wine is delivered into your mouth.

Riedel glasses are specifically shaped to send the wine directly to the areas of your tongue that corresponds to the characteristics of the grape variety of that wine. For example, a Sauvignon Blanc typically displays tastes of citrus, herbs and a refreshing acidity. Riedel’s Sauvignon Blanc glasses are shaped to drive the wine straight to the sides (acidic) and back of your tongue (bitter) to amplify these specific Sauvignon Blanc characteristics.

There are several decanters but the Decanter Horn, in particular, is truly a work of art that I wouldn’t even dare serve wine with. Each are mouthblown crystal and are one of a kind.

How does it work?

A wine glass is a delivery mechanism to send wine onto your tongue (or palette). There are four sensory points on your tongue: sweet (tip of tongue), salty (top of tongue), acid (sides of tongue) and bitter (back of tongue).

When you take a sip of wine, the

Wine is just wine in a basic wine glass. When served in Riedel crystal, it comes alive and is more expressive and taste substantially better. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

There are now other glassware companies that rival with some similarity and price points.

Riedel’s products were not an instant success. It took over 20 years for the wine world to embrace the Riedel approach. In 1987, the tipping point in Riedel’s history was when winemakers such as Angelo Gaja, Robert Mondavi and wine publications such as The Wine Advocate, the Wine Spectator and Decanter Magazine endorsed Riedel glassware. These endorsements helped to put Riedel glasses onto the tables of the wine world. Under the leadership of Georg Riedel, their crystal became the world’s leading wine glass company, based in Austria.

PHOTOS: COURTESY RIEDEL

You don’t need to have a secret handshake or be part of a wine club or go out of your way to purchase it.

Often entry level glassware is available at Hudson Bay, Winners, HomeSense, even Bed Bath & Beyond. Splurge on the ‘Performance’, “Sommelier’ or ‘Vinum’ line, decanters or buy a special four glass set at CA Paradis (1314 Bank St) or call us at Savvy Company, 613-SAVVYCO, to see what we have in stock.

The glasses don’t need extra special care, they can be placed in the dishwasher.

It is that easy to elevate your wine enjoyment rather than collecting more wine gadgets.

ABOVE: The Decanter Horn from Riedel

New this year, we’re elevating the tasting experience at our Taste & Buy events, in Ottawa and Kingston. All ticketholders who purchase the V.I.T. (Very Important Taster) pass will be provided Riedel ‘Overture’ glassware to enjoy the wine tasting. This is the glass most often used at high-end restaurants in town.

Poetry and music come together to honour Remembrance Day An incredible music and poetry evening not to be missed! A unique and powerful, life-affirming classical concert premieres this Remembrance Day weekend, November 9 and 10, 2019, 7:30 p.m., in the heart of downtown Ottawa at the gorgeous Arts Court Theatre and across Rideau Hall at MacKay United Church, respectively. In honour of the one hundred and first anniversary of the conclusion of the First World War, The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone & Strings features an acclaimed ensemble of classical performers setting new music to verses penned by our brilliant soldier-poets.

Presented in the style of contemporary spoken-word, the poetry can be found in the collection We Wasn’t Pals: Canadian Poetry and Prose of the First World War, edited by Bruce Meyer and Barry Callaghan and published by Exile Editions, and includes works by John McCrae, W.W.E. Ross, H. Smalley Sarson, Bernard Freeman Trotter, William H. Ogilvie, and Adelard Audette.

With financial support from the Ontario Arts Council and private patronage, tickets are free for veterans and military service members. Tickets may be purchased directly from the Arts Court Theatre, Eventbrite, at the door of the venues or at the Leading Note music store on 370 Elgin Street. www.greatwarsextet.ca.

SERVICING FINE ART We service artists, collectors, galleries and museums.

Specializing in Fine Art framing, installation, crating and Conservation services.

With so many different glasses to choose from, giving the gift of Riedel is the beginning of a collection that can be added to with every occasion. And easily the question of what to give this year’s hard-to-buy-for wine lover just got easier . . . more Riedel glasses will definitely get a smile, every time n Debbie Trenholm is a Sommelier and President of Savvy Company www.savvycompany.ca

UR OUT O CHECK SITE! B E W NEW

160 Elm Street, Ottawa Ontario, Canada K1R 6N5

t: 613.232.7146 www.patrickgordonframing.ca

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gallery by Michael R. Bussière

Joe Foster (BELOW CENTRE) with his wife Nicole and the gang outside of the mission in Smith’s Falls where they volunteer.

Joe Foster’s cardboard Joe Foster is a portrait painter who calls the Smith’s Falls area home. His subjects are those individuals who no longer have a place to call home.

Joe paints his portraits on cardboard, something that gets tossed out all the time and can be found discarded in alleyways. This was not lost on Joe who found beauty in the tiny tears and imperfections of a cardboard surface; a 12 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

surface, he feels, suited to the faces of the homeless.

Joe is a beaming bear of a guy with a bear’s laugh who took an early pension from a factory job in Perth due to an injury. It seemed like half the patrons at the Tim’s where we met knew him, but his deep connection is with the clients of the Smith’s Falls mission where he and his wife Nicole Foster volunteer.

After 20 years of making a meagre living painting landscapes and commissions, Joe had found his niche. “I know them by name and rush every Monday and Wednesday to see them and talk. To find out what are their concerns and desires. What bothers them and what makes them happy.”

Joe has a unique vantage point from which to understand the homeless,

The subject receives an honourarium of 20 bucks and a portion of the sale goes back into the mission.

After only a year of portraiture, Joe has already produced about 30 works and collectors are lining up. Buyers want to know the whole story behind those faces, and there are great stories to share.

“Cockroach Pete is actually a man named Percy but because his room was overrun with cockroaches we started calling him cockroach Pete. Then one day he shows up with a custom printed shirt with the name Cockroach Pete written across it. Funny guy and now a good friend.”

Then there was that guy who was just passing through town and “stopped in for a bowl of Nicole’s soup and some conversation” recalls Joe. “He went on to tell me he spent his whole life avoiding hard work and his honesty made me laugh.”

mostly men who have fallen by society’s wayside, but a soup kitchen is its own temporary society in which hierarchies form. There are the regulars, and then there are those who the regulars regard as taking too much. Joe sees the irony of how a community that is usually snubbed on the street has its own class system. “Some things don’t change due to financial wellbeing. There are those up on the top shelf and there’s a ladder

there that others will never climb. So how is that different from society at large?”

A portrait begins with a friendly conversation followed by a photograph.

The final work is symbolically framed in gilded gold by a man of faith who recognizes that while “society has passed these people over, God has not. He still sees the beauty in every one of them.”

The community that Joe has embraced at the mission gives unto him as he has given unto them. The back injury that ended his employment at the factory still limits his abilities, but Joe can always count on the mission folk to return love and fellowship. They are there for him when heavy lifting needs to be done or when wood needs to be stacked in the fall. “I was kind of the old mindset of ‘well if they’d just get a job’…but really, there are some that just can’t hold down a job. They need support for their meds or whatever.

They have no one. I have a family, and I have them”.

Joe will soon return to landscapes, those known so well to his portrait subjects.

“Keep your babbling brooks and apple orchards but give me a back alley with a rusty fire escape and I’m there!” n Joe Foster’s profile and portfolio can be seen at www.linkedin.com/in/joe-foster607b9914b/ 13 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

in search of style by Alexandra Gunn

Follow Alex on Twitter: @AlexandraGunn

Every season has its own look and fall 2019 is no exception.There are always a variety of trends that stick out, but not all of them have lasting power or transfer from the runway to everyday.

The runway trends that reigned supreme this year were a reinvention of motifs, like tartan and animal prints, worn with a bring-it-on attitude.Whether you need to update your wardrobe or you’re just looking for a bit of inspiration, stay ahead of the curve with trends this fall.

pAldo Scarf $30

Check Please!

RUNAWAY DIOR

BURBERRY

GUCCI PHOTO: BY WINTER LOTUS PHOTOGRAPHY

u

McQUEEN

R13

GIVENCHI

Winners midi New checked patterns added a bold and plaid skirt $34.99 graphic punch to the Fall/Winter runways.

From a hefty buffalo check to exaggerated u glen plaid, it is one of the most versatile Single Button patterns. Donned all over in eye-catching Linen Blazer by colours, this season’s large checked prints CHELSEA28 are not for the faint-hearted but will add a nordstrom.com touch of drama to any ensemble. If you’re ready to give the cold-weather staple a try, pick up a tartan suit, jacket or a pair of pants that features the classic pattern. Keep the look fresh by opting for a bold colour, such as red, blue or green. If you’re looking to take this trend to the boardroom, smaller and more muted checks are a solid investment.

Spot On! The animal print obsession continues to flood the market

u

with spots and stripes, so pick up a statement piece while the timeless look continues to take centre stage. While leopard print can always hold a place in our wardrobe, it’s best to select a smaller sized print as this iconic look will remain stylish for years to come.

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STREET STYLE

pAldo Pearl Clips $15

ON MY LIS

ttGo Long

Get ready to snuggle right into your parka once the wickedly-cold winds kick in. Designers have us covered from head to (almost) toe with extended length on parkas to keep you toasty all season long.

Jabra Elite 85h Headphones Noise cancelling bluetooth headphones with an impressive battery life, plus great style that double as ear warmers for winter. $399.99 Jabra.com

PHOTO: BY WINTER LOTUS PHOTOGRAPHY

p Parajumpers Long Parka $600

Hair Trends Clips, barrettes, headbands and bobby

pins are garnering interest among fashion influencers and will only become more prominent over the coming months. This trend, heavily inspired by the 90s likely started with Gucci’s crystal hair clips and has since become an easy alternative to embellish any ensemble. Add a lux touch to your daily look with pearl hair clips for a polished yet playful look.

Wireless Sleekback Bra The perfect t-shirt bra with support and shaping $54.95 lavieenrose.com

This Works, Morning Expert MultiAcid Pads Perk up sleepy skin with This Works’ Morning Expert Multi-Acid Pads to help reduce dullness and uneven texture. $66 Sephora.com

p Canada Goose Elmwood Parka $1,250

New Store Opening uu Levi’s has opened its first mainline store in Ottawa at the Rideau Centre offering a Tailor Shop that allows you to create one-of-a-kind customized pieces by experts that specialize in chain-stitching, embroidery, pins and patches.

PHOTO: WINTER LOTUS PHOTOGRAPHY

Half Baked Harvest Super Simple makes weeknight meals hasslefree. $39.99 Indigo.ca

Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2016 Heading to a dinner party?

Grab a bottle (or two) of the Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $27.95 lCBO.com

15 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

OTTAWA ART GALLERY

HOLIDAY SHOPPING Photo: Lindsay Ralph

Shop the OAG for a wide selection of unique Canadian and locally made goods and gift ideas, including ceramics, jewelry, textiles, homeware, art supplies, books, kids crafts and more!

16 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

50 Mackenzie King Bridge (alternate entrance at 10 Daly Ave.), Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 0C5 Holiday hours (November & December): Monday to Sunday, 10am – 9pm oaggao.ca/oag-shop

students first series by Tori McNeely

learning through music

THE POWER OF

Y

ou may not remember all the teachers you've had, but there are always a few who make a lasting impression. We all remember that one teacher who made a difference. Ms. Natalie Andrews in one such teacher.

Some might say it is her passion for teaching children that led her to the profession, but that is not quite how it happened. With an Honours Degree in Music Performance from Wilfred Laurier behind her and a Masters in Opal Performance ahead of her, Natalie was on her way to becoming an established musician with the hopes of one day opening her own private studio.

After an accident with a very demanding recovery period prevented her from passing her final performance exam, her professional journey as a teacher began.

As a member of the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) for over 16 years, Natalie has used her role as both a musician and a teacher to show her students the value in music education.

Natalie is proof that if the learning experience is a pleasing one then the growth and development of the student is all the more positive.

“I believe teaching music to children is very important and the skills they learn are easily transferable to other academic subjects such as math and

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Music is a good example of a skill builder that can significantly improve students’ academic operating systems.

- Eric Jensen, Teaching with Poverty in Mind

language,” says Natalie. “Music has a direct correlation to learning.”

That is why, in 2017, after developing St. Elizabeth School’s first music program, Natalie applied for the MusiCounts Band Aid grant, a national charity that donates new instruments to school programs across the country.

In the gymnasium of St. Elizabeth Elementary School on an ordinary spring day, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Mayor Jim Watson and JUNO awardwinner Ruth B, surprised the students with $10,000 worth of new instruments for the school's music program as recipients of the 2017 MusiCounts Band Aid Program.

Throughout her years as a teacher, Natalie has organized and lead a variety of extracurricular activities such as the school choir, a beginner and advanced ukulele club, a recorder club and a bucket drumming ensemble.

Natalie is the recipient of the Sharon Hiscott Creative Arts Award, an award that recognizes an individual from an OCSB elementary school who has made a significant contribution in the Creative Arts.

Most notably, Natalie is committed to

supporting the Ottawa Catholic School Board’s deep learning experience, an innovative way of learning which allows children to explore and connect their daily learning with broader, realworld experiences.

Good news travels fast and shortly after the MusiCounts ceremony, Natalie was selected to play a key role in the school board’s newest Arts network called Deep Learning Through Music, a network where teachers can work together to help foster music education in the classroom.

As one of four music mentors responsible for organizing, creating and facilitating the program across more than 16 schools, Natalie was able to share her knowledge of the music curriculum with other teachers in the board.

“Without the support of the administration, it is very difficult to get programs such as the Deep Learning Through Music going. That is why I am very fortunate that the OCSB sees music as an important component to the education of children.”

Natalie currently teaches Math and Language to Grade 5 and 6 students at St.Martin de Porres in Kanata, but remains as impassioned as ever about the power of learning through music.

“It took many years for me to realize that this is what I was meant to do. I was meant to teach.”n 17 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

18 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

healthcare by Michael R. Bussière

OTTAWA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Working hard for all of Ottawa

ytown was a rough-and-tumble B place when Queen Victoria selected it to be the capital of her

new Dominion. It was home to 7,000 residents, 2 sawmills, 32 taverns, 1 doctor, and Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The Ottawa General Hospital evolved from a single ward facility on St Patrick Street. In 1924 the Civic Hospital was built on the outskirts of town across from the pastoral acres of the Farm.

The Riverside opened in 1967 near the new suburb of Alta Vista, and the General moved to its present campus on Smythe Road in 1980. All three, each with their own history of excellence in patient care, were amalgamated as The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) in 1998.

Tim Kluke became the OHF’s President and CEO in 2011, after holding the same job with the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health.

Tim’s professional certification is that of a fundraiser, and in 2015 he was named Fundraising Executive of the year.

VP Marketing Fiona Charlton came onboard in 2017 to build a brand that attracts and increases donations. Their success and that of their amazing team can be measured in the $20 million the TOHF raises annually for TOH and its world-renown research institute.

ABOVE: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation's Do The Ride attracks hundreds of cyclist of all levels to raise funds for research.

gear up in September as individuals or teams and DO THE RIDE for groundbreaking research advancement.

The Foundation provides the tools and stories to inspire the minimum goal of $750.

For the more formally inclined, the annual Ottawa Hospital Gala is a glittering evening held each October in the waning light of autumn. Patrons are treated to creative cocktails, hors (The Ottawa Hospital d’oeuvres and the chance to chat Foundation’s) success and that and mingle in what the TOHF bills as “the must attend social event of of their amazing team can the year!” A sumptuous meal and be measured in the $20 million fine wine accompany the inspiring The Ottawa Hospital Foundation the TOHF raises annually for TOH stories of the year’s research award (TOHF) is the principal philanthropic recipients, followed by desserts that and its world-renown agency whose vision statement warrant a physician’s prudent advice proudly proclaims a dedication to to vigorously dance off the calories Research Institute. being the “most efficient, effective, until the early hours. and respected hospital foundation in Volunteers and community members Canada, providing optimal support to are the heart and lifeline of the Ottawa Docs take dancing seriously, especially The Ottawa Hospital.”

Hospital Foundation, and there are if busting a dazzling step for a rapt many fun ways to get involved. Cyclists audience raises over $450,000 as it did PHOTO: JACOB FERGUS/THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

19 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

PHOTO: LUTHER CAVERLY/THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

LEFT: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s 2019 Dancing with the Docs raised over $455 thousand for research and patient care.

BELOW: Patient Fran undergoes therapy during his recovery from an autoimmune disorder that left him paralized.

Those corridors are emotionally charged environments, unlike any other we encounter in our daily lives. Within those walls, we welcome newborns and say farewell to loved ones. We receive bad news or good, changing lives either which way. Sometimes that news can build bonds among patients, volunteers and patient care workers that are the stuff of great stories. The Ottawa Hospital and its Foundation love to share those stories; the outstanding story of Fran Cosper tells it all.

Fran was a keen cyclist who would cover 120 kilometres on a Saturday with his buddies; that was until he woke one night and couldn’t feel his legs; in fact, he could barely feel anything, as he lay flat on his paralyzed face. His wife Elise feared a stroke as they rushed to TOH Emergency on February 14, 2017.

The team diagnosed Fran with Guillain Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that attacks the protective covering of nerves and short circuits the signals between the brain and the muscles causing weakness, numbness or, as in Fran’s extreme case, paralysis.

It can be triggered by something as 20 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

PHOTOS: COURTESY THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

in last year’s Dancing with the Docs at the Casino Lac-Leamy. Medical staff and researchers swap lab coats for stage costumes and, following some rigorous coaching from the pros at the Arthur Murray Studio, take to the casino stage and compete before judges and a packed house. Winners boogie home with the Medicine Ball trophy. Spectators will never see a drab hospital corridor in the same way ever again.

A remarkable Virtual Reality Lab, one of only two in Canada and donated by community support and the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, helped Fran relearn balance and normal walking motion. common as a feverish cold. GBS affects about 100,000 Canadians annually.

Fran was transferred to the Rehab Centre two weeks following admission by which time he was reduced to a quadriplegic state that required a huge support team. Treatment included physiotherapy five hours a day, three times a week in the Rehab Centre Pool and, after two months, walking with the aid of a harness and eventually parallel bars. A remarkable Virtual Reality Lab, one of only two in Canada and donated by community support and the Canadian Forces Health Services

Group, helped Fran relearn balance and normal walking motion. He finally headed home with the help of a walker on October 6th, 2017, with his story still to go full circle.

Fran’s stay at TOH was made tolerable and humane by the extraordinary staff and the kindness of volunteers like his newfound coffee chums Claude and Chris. It was enough to bring him back to the hospital in that role. “I think volunteering is a very tangible, and meaningful way to give back,” said Fran. “You don’t know how you might affect someone.” n

healthcare by Michael Bussière

Gone fishin’ — The Ottawa Hospital’s

Dr. Kitts proudly reflects back

r. Jack Kitts is retiring as President D and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital in June 2020. There is an old saying — you can take the boy out of the Valley, but you can’t take the Valley out of the boy. Kitts, a native of Barry’s Bay began as a medical officer in the Canadian Forces before embarking on a distinguished career as an anaesthesiologist, researcher and health-care administrator. His 2018 induction into the Order of Canada describes Dr. Kitts as “developing and implementing unique patientcentred care.”This may be his greatest legacy.

In 1998, while working as a physician at The Ottawa Hospital, Kitts was at the centre of massive changes to the city’s health care services – specifically the provincial government’s decision to merge three Ottawa hospitals (General, Civic, Riverside). Within three years, the newly amalgamated Ottawa PHOTO: COURTESY THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

Hospital had accumulated a debt of almost $200 million, staff morale was low, the province fired the board of directors, and shortly after the CEO was let go.

Kitts realized that great care means, “looking through the lens of the patient, which is very different than looking through the lens of the hospital.

In October 2001 Kitts was offered the CEO position and turned it down, twice, questioning his own administrative CV. “My wife said,‘Jack, he asked you if you want to be the leader. The question I’d ask you is, if you’re not prepared to lead, are you prepared to follow?’” That spun the situation around for Kitts and he took

the job in February 2002. It was not typical at the time for a physician to become a hospital administrator, and a rookie was the last person the media would give an easy ride to, so Kitts insisted on the support of the hospital’s senior team. “In fact, I was supported by two great teams. The home team, which is my wife and three children, a safe haven with a coach who is not afraid to tell me the truth. And I’ve been very fortunate over 19 years to have the best professional team I could ever imagine.”

Kitts can pinpoint the defining moment when the struggling hospital began to transform into the world-leading health and research centre it is today.

“We were good, but we weren’t great,” he recalls. As performance metrics and finances improved, a letter Kitts received in 2007 changed his perception of what “highquality patient care” meant. A patient’s husband related their experience with TOH during a 48-hour period awaiting treatment of fractures. “He described a hospital that had no soul,” reflects Kitts.

“We were really good at fixing things, but we were not really good at the care in between.” Kitts realized that great 21 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

care meant, “looking through the Dr. Kitts leaves his position lens of the patient, which is very feeling like his plan for patientdifferent than looking through the lens of the hospital. So, in 2008, centred care in the 21st century we changed our vision.” The result has taken hold and is awaiting was a comprehensive set of patientcentred care practices that can now a new state-of-the-art home be felt by anyone admitted for on Carling Avenue. treatment. Among many changes, care staff shares information, consults with and regularly informs patients, and sharply focuses the lens of caring for patients, the care options on the human person. The mantra given to patients barely scratched the Kitts instilled in the staff was to treat surface. Today, The Ottawa Hospital every patient as they would a loved is a leader in many aspects of health one. The hallways are now filled with care including cancer, neurological compassion. conditions, trauma, emergency medicine, Parkinson’s and the list goes With the ultimate goal of providing on. And with plans for a new Carling excellence in patient care, research site to replace the aging Civic well soon became an integral component under way, it is almost impossible to of day to day operations. visualize to what extent The Ottawa Hospital will transform health care for “Research and discovery offer hope,” future generations. says Kitts who works side by side with the hospital’s scientific director “Most of us can only imagine what Dr. Duncan Stewart. patient care will look like when our new Carling site opens. What research As he thinks back to those early days advancements will be made . . . will HUAWEI P30 Series-Print-3.3x4.75-A.pdf

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2019-10-03

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there be cures? What we know is that there are extraordinary people who will get us there and I’m so grateful to be part of their team.”

As Dr. Kitts prepares to leave his position, he can see that his plan for patient-centred care in the 21st century has taken hold and is awaiting a new state-of-the-art home on Carling Avenue. He feels blessed to have led such an incredible team of medical staff and researchers serving a very generous community. “The only way you can get world-class care is to have a community that supports their hospital, and that’s something I’ll always remember, what a caring and giving community Ottawa has.”

We, the community, wish you well with tremendous gratitude, Dr. Jack.

Even though, it would be tempting to think that Jack’s summers might be more about fishing rods back up in the line in Barry’s Bay, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him continuing to work in some way to keep improving the patient experience n

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Discover a healthy community and a sense of belonging at the Y!

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YMCA-YWCA of the National Capital Region

healthcare by Shelley McLean

The remarkable recovery of Dan Collins an Collins was 62 years old in D 2015 when he learned that a peculiar pain at the back of his head

was stage 4 melanoma. His story began with what was maybe nothing more than some discomfort, minor pain that appeared as he rested his head against the back of his airplane seat. But the pain was persistent and prompted a visit to his family doctor followed by an ultrasound. A cyst perhaps? Biopsies at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre revealed a rapidly growing mass.

Dan had lost two older brothers and his dad to cancer, so fear for his life gripped him. “I was scared. Cancer had stripped my family of so much,” Dan shared. Dr. Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson acted as Dan’s surgical oncologist. At first she wanted to shrink what was, by July, a golf ball-sized tumour, but the speed of growth was too rapid to delay removal. Dan had surgery that lasted most of August 11, and left him with 25 staples and 38 stitches in the back of his head. Sadly, that was not the end of the story.

Two weeks following surgery, the mass was back. Examinations revealed that the cancer had metastasized to stage 4 as an additional mass in his right lung and shadows in the lining of his belly. Enter The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Michael Ong who specializes in the nextgeneration of cancer treatment known as immunotherapy. Ong proposed four high doses of immunotherapy PHOTO: COURTESY THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

at three week intervals coupled with 22 radiation sessions. Regular x-rays between doses indicated positive results.

ABOVE: Dan Collins is a cancer survivor and a patient at The Ottawa Hospital who benefited from the patient-centre healthcare implemented by Dr. Kitts.

“Each x-ray showed the tumours were getting smaller. That’s when the fear started shifting to hope,” Dan patiently recalled.“By December 2015, I finished immunotherapy treatment. The next step was to wait. This transformational treatment was designed to train my own immune system to attack the cancer. We would have to be patient to see if my system would do just that.”

But sadly again, while the shadows in Dan’s belly lining had shrunk, the mass in his lung was tenacious.

University of Ottawa. The world-class work of this amazing partnership and the support of a generous and caring community change darkness to hope for patients like Dan Collins. “I think back to 2007, when my older brother Rick died of cancer. At the time he was treated, his doctor asked if he would participate in a research study. The doctor told him directly, this would not help him, but it would help somebody in the future,” Dan reflects.

Dr. Ong prescribed another immunotherapy drug in 24 rounds. Dan completed his last treatment in September 2017 and there’s no sign of cancer. “When I started as an oncologist a decade ago, melanoma was essentially untreatable. Only 25 per cent would survive a year,” says Dr. Ong. Things have improved dramatically thanks to immunotherapy. “We can expect over three quarters of patients to be alive at one year. Many patients are cured of their metastatic cancer and come off treatment. We are now able to prevent 50 per cent of high-risk melanoma from returning.”

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning institution long affiliated with the

At the beginning of his battle, Dan felt the fear that anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis would. How much time? How much suffering? Will I be strong and what about those I may leave behind? In hindsight, he is convinced he is among loved ones today because of research and those who donated and participated. “One thing I do know is that research was a game changer for me,” Dan gratefully reflects, and there is perhaps a karmic beauty in his recovery and family history. “I like to think that, maybe, [my brother] had a hand in helping me out today. Maybe he helped me survive.”

Dan and thousands like him, friends and loved ones to us all, share heartfelt appreciation for your donations to The Ottawa Hospital n 23 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

cover by Dan Donovan

THE CORROSIVE EFFECT

negative politics

ormer Prime Ministers Joe Clark, F John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper all believed in the merit of public service and that politics was an honourable profession. They were civil towards each other when debating the great issues of the day, and believed in the principle of being able to agree to disagree, agreeably. Most importantly, they never demonized their opponents or suggested they were un-Canadian for having a different perspective.

Premier Réne Lévesque was a brilliant leader and a passionate separatist, but always a democrat. He and Pierre Elliott Trudeau (PET) had mythological debates about Canada and the French fact, and Quebec’s place in Canada. Both Lévesque and later, Bloc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard, would attempt to take Quebec out of Canada via fiery but respectful debates that took place during two referendums. Preston Manning used populist politics and the battle cry, “The west wants in”, that laid the foundation for Stephen Harper’s eventual rise to power as Prime Minister for a decade.

Those times were difficult, adversarial, and occasionally a tad mean spirited but they were never as toxic, dismissive, divisive, disrespectful, nasty, angry or as downright personal as today.

24 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

Former Toronto Danforth Liberal MP Dennis Mills won four consecutive elections before NDP leader Jack Layton defeated him in a very close race, in 2004. Mills and Layton had a battle royal, but they never got personal with each other. They recognized that civility between leaders has a trickledown effect in the broader community.

If leaders act out their worst thoughts and basest instincts and set the bar low, society will surely follow. Mill’s was fond of saying, ‘The high road is the only road’. They were strong adversaries, but they would never suggest the other was un-Canadian for having a different point of view.

Fast forward to the 2019 election: a toxic affair defined by personal insults, fake news, crass lying and fearmongering by all parties and their leaders. There is no real winner, only one big loser — the Canadian public.

As a result, Canada is a country more deeply divided than it has ever been.

It is reminiscent of the two solitudes narrative first used in 1838 by Lord Durham, the Governor General and high commissioner of British North America who referred to the French and the English as,“Two nations warring in the bosom of a single state.”

Today, the warring factions are polarized ideologically and geographically. Progressive Liberals in the east versus

PHOTO: TEMPLE

OF

middle-of-the-road Conservatives in the west, particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Westerners are deeply resentful that decisions about their future prosperity and livelihoods will be made by a Liberal minority government led by a polarizing and narcissistic prime minister who is so widely disliked that he was not able to elect a single one of his Liberal candidates in Alberta or Saskatchewan. (In Saskatchewan, the Conservatives swept all 14 ridings and 33 of 34 in Alberta). They are also upset that Trudeau’s minority government is now propped up by Jagmeet Singh, a charismatic, fourth party, anti-resource sector socialist from Brampton, Ontario whose party managed to elect only one MP in Alberta, was completely shut out in Saskatchewan and lost one third of the seats they held nationally before the election.

As Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau frittered away his first term by demonizing opponents whose views he did not share, and by playing one province off against another at the expense of national unity. Many are questioning, to what end? In the West, calls for a Wexit (Western Separation) and a rethinking of confederation and equalization payments have dominated radio stations and headlines since the vote.

Polls are for dogs

On election night, the Liberals got 156 seats—14 short of the 170 needed for The 2019 election displayed in real a majority in the 338-seat House of time the corrosive effects of the post Besides, most pollsters in Canada Commons. Despite being reduced to a truth age on Canada’s democracy. Facts are in a conflict of interest. While minority, losing the popular vote to the don’t matter. Spin from biased and elitist reporting their interpretation of Conservatives, and being completely national media talking heads with the polling results to the nation, they are wiped off the electoral map in Alberta attention span of a gnat determined the in the parallel business of providing and Saskatchewan, humility continues national narrative. These spinmeisters polling and communication services to evade Trudeau. His election night polished their ‘informed’ media lines to federal government departments ‘victory’ remarks read like he had with ‘scientific data’ they accepted or organizations that receive federal just won a massive majority. Trudeau without question from pollsters declared the results gave him who apparently can tell from “a clear mandate” and that their ‘polling’ what the public Canadians had rejected cuts One can surmise that if people thinks on a daily and hourly and austerity in favour of, “a are told daily for several weeks by the basis. progressive agenda and strong action on climate change.” The CBC and other national media that Pollsters often use questionable problem is that is not what a certain outcome is preordained — samples and trick questions that happened in the election. More lead to pre-ordained answers like there will be a minority government Canadians voted for Andrew rather than real truths. Despite Scheer than for Trudeau.

— then there is a very good chance the Ironically, he only remains this, the CBC, CTV and other media presented their data daily prime minister because he kept broader public will start to believe it. as part of the election coverage. the first past the post system Several posted reader surveys (FPTP) despite promising on which were then processed via software funding. There is a strong case to be multiple occasions that 2015 would be to tell the reader which political party made for banning all polling from the the last election with FPTP. would be their best fit. day an election is called until the day Trudeau also chose to ignore the it is over. It would take all influence Subjective surveys and polling cannot baiting out of the election equation. unwritten practice for an election measure things like personal character, Polling is not a science. It is a subjective winner to let those who have lost emotion, authenticity, context and endeavour at best. There are just too address their supporters first. He other key factors. The effect this has many variables to suggest otherwise. cynically timed his speech in Montreal on the voter in unknown. However, to start within moments of Conservative one can surmise that if people are told Post-truth discourse Leader Andrew Scheer beginning his daily for several weeks by the CBC concession speech in Regina. Scheer and other national media that a certain The 2019 election displayed in all its too skipped the protocol and began his outcome is preordained — like there ugliness the post-truth discourse that speech before NDP Leader Jagmeet will be a minority government — then now defines politics in Canada. In this Singh had finished his remarks in there is a very good chance the broader new normal, experts are dismissed and Burnaby, B.C. Simple gestures and a public will start to believe it and this replaced by ‘alternative facts’ presented return to decency were lost on all of by influencers or people claiming to will affect how they vote. them. be subject-matter experts whose only ‘Cynical’ replaces ‘sunny’ Pollsters do not release their sampling expertise is that they have an opinion ways data or the context or reasoning behind or are a public figure. With Facebook, their many subjective questions or why Twitter, Instagram and other social The Liberal 2019 campaign was a stark or how they interpret questions that media at everyone’s fingertips, it is easy contrast from their upbeat 2015 sunny lead responders to answering in certain to suppress facts and replace them with ways theme that contrasted sharply ways. Are they questioning the same lies or outrageous statements designed with then incumbent Prime Minister groups of people, or different people? to generate an emotional response.

Stephen Harper’s tired, and prickly How are they contacting them? Is the persona. 2019 was more ‘cynical ways’ sampling objective or is it taken from The age of reason is in the distant past. with Trudeau saying that Andrew parts of an area with a political history This has a corroding effect on the Scheer’s values were ‘un-Canadian’ and electorate and leads to a high degree of or bias? We aren’t told. that his supporters were everything cynicism and an erosion of trust. from climate change deniers to austerity The reality is that pollsters are like cutting slash and burn revisionists. The weather reporters in that they can If accountability starts at the top, then Liberal war room suggested that Scheer guesstimate things, but they really Prime Minister Justin Trudeau owns a had ties to white supremacists, was anti don’t know until it rains. If a sunny day large share of the blame for the current LGTBQ, a pro-life, anti-abortionist happens instead, it’s a statistical glitch. toxic climate and divisiveness in the who would take away a woman’s right This is why former Prime Minister country.

John Diefenbaker once famously commented that, “Polls are for dogs”.

25 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

to choose and an anti-gun control, profirearms redneck who favoured capital punishment.

Prime Minister Blackface

When Time magazine published a mid-campaign photo of Trudeau taken in 2001 as a 29-year-old high school teacher dressed in blackface at a school party the nation was shocked. Trudeau apologized for the incident saying “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better and I didn’t. I’m really sorry.” It was Trudeau’s Trumpian ‘grab’em by the pussy’ moment.Within hours of his initial apology, two more incidents emerged of Trudeau wearing blackface. His new response was to claim he did not know better back then because of his ‘privilege.’

The blackface eruption had an unintended consequence in that in clearly showed that Trudeau had either lied or deliberately withheld information about his past during his own candidate vetting process.

Yet, as a leader he had dismissed at least two former Liberal MPs on unproven allegations of misconduct and disallowed numerous others from running due to vetting issues. Trudeau was the judge, the jury and the decider for it all.

Candyland and Liberal apologists

As Canadians processed the blackface scandal and what it meant, the Trudeau team went into overdrive assembling a cadre of higher profile apologists from minority communities from coast-tocoast-to-coast to appear in a series of interviews claiming that the blackface thing was no big deal. Ontario Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, Greg Fergus, a black Liberal MP for Hull-Aylmer, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Natural Resource Minister Navdeep Bains, Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources and Liberal House Leader Bardish Chagger, all publicly defended Trudeau over wearing blackface. ’Progressive’ Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi penned a weird almost cult like op-ed to patronizingly ‘explain and excuse’ Trudeau’s behaviour. Any of them could have easily played Samuel L. Jackson’s twisted and scowling 26 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

Trudeau election performance showed he is a master of the Kellyanne Conway school of politics where, when asked a about anything uncomfortable, just don’t answer the question and simply make up your own fiction. character Stephen in the movie Django Unchained. Stephen is constantly seeking the adoration of his master Calvin Candie, (Leonardo DiCaprio) and will do anything for his approval regardless of Candie’s appalling behaviour towards his fellow slaves on the plantation. The blackface matter went Kafkaesque in the final days of the campaign when Humber River—Black Creek Liberal MP Judy Sgro told a reporter in her riding that,“Those in the black community have told me how much more love they have for the prime minister, that he wanted to have a blackface, that he took great pride in that too.”

Sadly, for Canada, Sgro was re-elected.

Elections are not about debating issues

Trudeau declined to participate in the Maclean’s/City TV English debate, leaving the exchange up to Singh, Scheer, and May. He refused to participate in the Munk Debates, which were then cancelled. As a result, there was no discussion or debate in the election on Canada’s problems in foreign affairs including the continuing controversy with China regarding the Meng affair that has devastated the Canadian canola sector, or over strained relations between the Trudeau government and India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Do as I say not as I do

The Liberal party vilification of the Conservatives as climate deniers hit a credibility gap when it was discovered that ‘Team Trudeau’ was using two planes for their campaign, emitting twice as much carbon as all of the other leaders. Trudeau brushed it off saying that the Liberals buy carbon offsets to make up for the extra emissions.

He then pivoted and attacked Scheer saying that the Conservatives did not buy carbon offsets. Trudeau seemed incapable of understanding the point that his campaign was polluting twice

as much as the other parties. As Ottawa’s popular morning show host Bill Carroll of CFRA pointed out: “Yeah, here’s Trudeau’s logic — it is like taking two half-empty cans of oil-based paint from your garage and dumping them in the Ottawa River and then making a $10 dollar donation to Greenpeace and claiming you didn’t pollute because you’ve ‘offset’ it.”

Trudeau’s election performance showed he is a master of the Kellyanne Conway school of politics where, when asked about anything uncomfortable, just don’t answer the question and simply make up your own fiction. When questioned about racism, specifically him wearing blackface, Trudeau answered by saying he continues to fight racism as if he never wore blackface. Same thing for when he was asked about the accusation by a woman that he had groped her. His response was that they had an encounter and she ‘experienced it differently.’

On SNC-Lavalin and the matter of interfering in a criminal case and being found guilty of ethical breaches by the Ethics Commissioner twice, Trudeau looked straight into the camera saying he did nothing wrong and that he only wanted the former Attorney General, Jody Wilson Raybould, to intervene because he was concerned about SNC losing jobs in Quebec.This was a boldfaced lie said with a smile and a wink.

The SNC President has commented publicly several times that there were never any SNC jobs at risk. The Ethics Commissioner said the same. But facts don’t matter.

Despite a strong tradition of having no foreign interference in Canadian elections, the Liberal campaign team began to panic in the days leading up to the vote.They arranged for an October 16, 2019 tweet of endorsement by Barack Obama for Justin Trudeau. “I was proud to work with Justin Trudeau as President. He’s a hard-working, effective leader who takes on big issues like climate

change. The world needs his progressive leadership now, and I hope our neighbors to the north support him for another term.”

The tweet coincided with a Liberal message to centre and centre-left citizens claiming that a vote for either the NDP or Green Party would split the ’progressive vote’ and turn Canada over to the Conservatives who would then destroy the country’s future with austerity and slash-and-burn policies that had been championed by Ontario Conservative Premier Doug Ford. It worked, but it left the country bitterly divided.

blue liberals who might vote Tory.

Instead those angry and terse comments served to alienate many of them.

Andrew Scheer further hurt his own brand by demanding accountability and transparency from Trudeau on multiple occasions yet was not transparent himself when put under the spotlight. When accusations surfaced that the Conservatives had hired former Liberal backroom strategist and political warhorse Warren Kinsella to “seek and destroy” Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada, Scheer refused on multiple occasions to address the issue. On October 3, 2019, The Globe and Mail reported that Scheer has dual U.S.Canadian citizenship.That Scheer had never once mentioned this in his 15 years as a MP or when he was Speaker of the House or since becoming Conservative Leader was bizarre. He said he began the process of renouncing his U.S. citizenship last year and had

Singh wins and losses in the same election

Expectations for Jagmeet Singh were low going into the election and he exceeded them. He needed to because there was a real danger that the NDP could be wiped out. As party leader for the previous 18 months, Singh had proven to be a disastrous manager in both fundraising and dealing with his parliamentary caucus. The election team was on financial life support when the race started. Despite a strong personal campaign by Singh, the NDP dropped from 39 to 24 seats and were crushed in Quebec, a province that only eight years ago had propelled the Jack Layton led NDP to official opposition status, for the first time.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer won the popular vote over the Trudeau Liberals by a small margin and increased the Tory seat count to 122 from a pre-election number of 95. However, Singh’s authentic and likeable persona his obvious dislike for Trudeau, at resonated with many voters during times verging on contempt, did not the campaign. However, in the postresonate with voters. In the English truth world from which he comes, debate Scheer began by ignoring the his propensity to make stuff up opening question, turned to Trudeau without evidence or facts to support and said: “Justin Trudeau only pretends his positions hurt him with more to stand up for Canada. You know, he’s Andrew Scheer further mainstream voters. He promised free very good at pretending things. He can’t even remember how many times he put hurt his own brand by demanding dental care, but could not say how he would pay for it; he promised reduced blackface on. Because the fact of the accountability and transparency cell phone fees for everyone without matter is, he’s always wearing a mask. He puts on a reconciliation mask and then from Trudeau on multiple occasions costing it; he promised the building of an additional 500,00 homes within fires the Attorney General, the first one of Indigenous background. He puts on a yet was not transparent himself when five years for low income families without saying specifically where he feminist mask and then fires two strong put under the spotlight would get the money; he promised female MPs for not going along with his a massive transition away from the corruption. He puts on a middle-class carbon economy to green technologies mask and then raises taxes on middle class not spoken about it because, “he was without presenting a detailed plan of Canadians. Mr. Trudeau, you are a phony never asked”. It hurt his credibility action. and you are a fraud, and you do not deserve over transparency matters immensely. to govern this country.”

To fend off Scheer’s constant personal During the English debate Singh attacks on Trudeau, the Liberals had a great line where he reminded It was a direct, low and mean-spirited charged he was lying about his claim Canadians that they did not need to comment from Scheer. He had the that he was once an insurance broker. choose between ‘Mr. Delayed (Trudeau) option of taking the high road, acting Scheer responded saying, “I did receive and Mr. Denied (Scheer),” referring prime ministerial like, and getting my accreditation. I left the insurance office to himself and his climate plan as the his point across in a positive way. He before the licensing process was finalized.” other option. Later, when pressed for could have said that Canadians were However, the damage was done, and details, Singh could not answer basic profoundly disappointed in Trudeau it left the impression Scheer was not questions about his climate plan on who had let the country down and that being truthful and forthcoming. cost and how he would implement as prime minister he (Scheer) would it. He faced a similar credibility gap never do that and would always put Many agreed that the only real civil by billing himself as a champion for Canada first. Scheer’s hard-core body moment in the campaign occurred minority rights, but then in the next slam seemed to catch people off guard towards the end of the English debate breath said he would not challenge and not in a good way. It reinforced when Scheer commended Jagmeet Quebec’s controversial Bill 21, clearly the ‘angry Tory’ syndrome that had Singh for the way Singh handled a discriminatory law directed against haunted and then killed the Harper racism throughout the election. religious minorities. Former NDP government, in 2015. Scheer seemed Interestingly, Trudeau and May picked leader Tom Mulcair declared that to forget that to win he needed the up on Scheer’s comments and also Singh had ‘completely abandoned’ the support of potential switch voters — congratulated Singh. It was refreshing.

27 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

NDP legacy of defending religious rights in his handling of the debate over Quebec’s secularism bill.

Singh took several cheap personal shots at Maxime Bernier in the debates suggesting Bernier was inherently racist because he wanted to change Canada’s immigration policy. Bernier retorted pointing out that Canada has free speech and a discussion about reducing the levels of immigration or changing immigration policy was a matter that should be open for discussion for all Canadians. Singh doubled down and seemed to be suggesting that any discussion about reducing immigration number was racist. To his supporters it was a defining moment. To others, not so much.

Singh was widely regarded as the winner of the English debate, despite his invective with Bernier. This led to panic in Elizabeth May’s Green Party as she saw her chances for a possible third place finish evaporate.

Hair on fire

Elizabeth May and the Green Party had a disastrous campaign. Her entire election theme was that the world faces a climate catastrophe in the next 15 years unless Green Party members were elected with enough clout to ensure ‘their’ progressive climate action agenda was implemented. May’s tendency to lecture and finger point grated on many voters. She released policies including a national pharma care plan with a 30-billion-dollar price tag. In the debates she talked about transitioning away from a carbon economy yet was vague on the specifics.

Given that over 150,000 western Canadians who work in the resource economy are unemployed in part due to the Trudeau government’s ‘progressive energy policies’, her message did not resonate.

May showed her personal dislike for Andrew Scheer, and made wild statements about ties to Trump and his apparent admiration for Boris Johnson and Brexit. In one of her more petulant and mean moments during the English debate she pointed at Scheer and said, “You’re not going to be prime minister”. Scheer firmly rebuffed her, 28 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

but it was an uncomfortable and meanspirited moment in the debate. May’s frustration seemed to grow the more Jagmeet Singh seemed to connect with far-left supporters. By the end of the campaign May and Singh were having bitter public exchanges over claims of misleading advertising. NDP voters who were initially considering switching to the Greens, stayed with the Singh camp. On election night the Greens went from two seats to three in the House of Commons. May has been the Green Party leader since August 2006 and an MP since 2011. She and the Greens clearly have not connected with the broader Canadian electorate.

The People’s Party of Canada experiment

Maxime Bernier’s failure to win in his own riding signaled the end of the beginning for the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). Bernier tried to corral a more libertarian, business oriented free-thinking part of the population in the hopes that he could bring that agenda to Parliament. Instead he ended up attracting many unsavory extreme right-wing outliers who he could never shake off.

Bernier was right to say that theTrudeau government has really messed up the adjudication of the refugee process in Canada costing taxpayers billions of dollars. But he was being disingenuous because he knew the problem is a systems issue that can be fixed.The claim that Canada has an immigration crisis or problem is factually false. Bernier’s views on Canadian immigration and multiculturalism were not of interest to most Canadians, one third of whom are all first-generation immigrants.

The only thing that all the leaders agreed upon in the entire election was that Bernier’s views on immigration were wrong and misguided. That may be the only takeaway from the PPC experiment.

The Bloc is back

The biggest winner in the election was Bloc Quebecois (BQ) leader Yves Blanchet who propelled the BQ from 10 seats to 32. The BQ is a party who want to take Quebec out of Canada. His entire campaign was based on the BQ

electing MPs to Ottawa to defend the right of Quebec to function in its own way and to support what Quebecers want for Quebec. Of all the leaders he was the high-road candidate and won the most seats . . . A lesson there.

The numbers don’t lie

Canadian voters decided Justin Trudeau did not deserve a majority and that the Tories did not deserve to win. The total vote numbers tell the real story and show that ‘progressive voters’ — Liberal, Green, NDP and BQ — pulled in 11,303,660 votes compared to the Conservatives total of 6,155,662 votes and 292,808 for the more right wing PPC. What it means

Justin Trudeau’s ‘progressive agenda’ proved intolerant to alternative views.

He demonized opinions, ideologies, religions, ethnic beliefs, regional identities and political affiliations that did not conform to his views.

Instead of debating issues, Trudeau has done a great disservice to Canada by suggesting that those who do not agree with him are somehow un-Canadian. Andrew Scheer and the Conservative response to this came across as anger. Scheer lacked credibility in trying to sell his message that Canada could have a prime minister who has conservative views on divisive issues like same-sex marriage and abortion and that he could be trusted by Canadians not to impose those views on the country.

Normally, personal opinions on these matters are beside the point. However, they became the point when Scheer was evasive over simple matters like his dual citizenship and work history.

His harshness in holding Trudeau to account for his peccadillos backfired.

Voters did not believe his assurances on controversial social issues. The Liberals relentlessly exploited this during the campaign.

Painted on coardboard, the magazine cover image by artist Joe Foster shows that if you build a cardboard house, it will surely collapse. Strong democracies allow for the ability of diverse voices to be able to disagree, agreeably. Without that, all is lost n

technology/the future is now by Michael R. Bussière

Huawei ventures North of 60 ary Simon is a respected Inuit M leader who represented Canada on the panel that negotiated the

about 5.4 million people representing 15 per cent of the population do not currently have access to high-speed Internet. An article in Ottawa Life’s previous edition referred to this lack of service as being not only in northern or remote communities, but right here in the outlying regions of the nation’s capital. Head north and hope your house is in sight of a 3G tower. The situation prompted Pontiac MP Will Amos to put forth a Private Members’ motion (M-208) whose call for a

to 70 communities in the Arctic and northern Québec with partners ICE Wireless and Iristel.

creation of the Arctic Council. She was invited to serve as a special advisor to Huawei’s public affairs director, the federal government as it formulates Christopher Pereira, takes great delight a comprehensive policy on the north. in blogging about his visit north of Her mandate focused on conservation the tree line. Pereira, originally from goals, sustainable economic developToronto, has spent more than half of ment and the social needs of remote his life in China, but the Canadian Arctic communities. Her final report north has always “been a place that had titled A New Shared Arctic Leadership been romantic and mysterious” in his Model was released on May 1 2017 mind. Chris describes a travel itinerary and incorporated input acquired that most Canadians will never from 65 engagement meetings experience, a multi-flight series The moment you leave the town involving 170 people and 34 of giant hops in tiny aircraft that center, you lose all signal (not even 2G) wearily touched down in Inuvik written submissions.

NWT. In Iqaluit, the only hotel in . . . .This means that when residents Ms. Simon’s discussions with Arctic town was booked long before his leaders made it clear that while go hunting or fishing (which represents departure. It was perhaps finding there was a long list of physical a significant proportion of their time) they himself in an AirBnB 15 minutes and social infrastructure needs, it out of town on Frobisher Bay are completely disconnected. was the vision of “a leap forward where Pereira personally absorbed in broadband that presented the the scope of the challenge and most intriguing transformational government commitment to support the seriousness of the situation. “The ideas.” Fortunately, two earlier the delivery of high-speed Internet moment you leave the town center, studies provide the springboard for to all Canadians as an essential service you lose all signal, not even 2G!” Pereira implementation. The 2011 Arctic received rare unanimous support. The notes. “This means that when residents Communications Infrastructure Assessment feds are committed to bringing highgo hunting or fishing (which represents Report compiled detailed maps of speed Internet access into every home a significant proportion of their time), communications services available and community by 2031, and began they are completely disconnected and across the territories including gaps. with a budgetary pledge of $6 billion unable to call for help if an emergency The Arctic Economic Council’s 2016 for connectivity upgrades, including arises.”

Arctic Broadband: Recommendations for an $1.7 billion in new funding.

Interconnected Arctic compares Canada Pereira sees the hurdles, so Huawei to other circumpolar nations, and Huawei has been in Canada since support services will bring “6 or 7 IT offers recommendations on available 2008 and employs hundreds of people. professionals from across the north to technologies and financing. Enter Last year, the company invested $180 Markham in November for Train the Huawei. million into a new 5G-technology Trainer sessions. We enable their tech research and development facility in people to return home and support Company founder Ren Zhengfei Ottawa. Earlier work in more southerly their communities.” started his enterprise to provide service remote communities foreshadowed to rural areas in China, making it a an announcement in July that Mary Simon has been on the natural fit in the Canadian context. Huawei Canada has received federal The federal government estimates that approval to expand satellite coverage continued >> page 31 29 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

PHOTO: PETR MAUR

technology/the future is now by Michael R. Bussière

Ottawa’s Crypto4A heads off those scary quantum threats Crypto4A is an Ottawa tech start-up with stellar credentials whose mission is to keep us safe in the strange new world of the Internet of Things (IoT).

The company vision statement pledges “to create innovative and disruptive Quantum ready cybersecurity foundations for a trusted digital world”.

Translation: it’s massively important to head off potential threats from next-generation quantum computing when more things will be Internet dependent, everyday things from selfdriving vehicles to medical devices and automated systems controlling the hydro grid.

Montréal bound for the black market.

Crypto4A founders Bruno Couillard, Jean-Pierre Fiset, Jim Goodman, and Brad Ritchie met during the mid90s heydey at a small startup called Chrysalis-ITS, a major contributor to the PKI rollout that kicked off the secure internet and provided the foundations for today’s digital economy.

They moved into private consulting and eventually drew upon Bruno and JP’s previous history with the Forces and the Communication Security Establishment to develop security prototypes for DND.

4A, by JP’s cryptic suggestion. The quartet had day jobs until a full-time commitment was possible. The office opened in 2017 with two employees.

Two years and twenty-four employees later, Crypto4a went to market in June 2019 with its first product, The Root of QAOS™, an industry-first entropy appliance that safeguards both software and hardware from potentially crippling attacks.These attacks are made possible by the weak entropy many of today’s machines use to generate their cryptographic keys.

Crypto4A’s corporate vision is committed not just to solutions for global clients but also to Our dependence on a connected the Ottawa community in Companies that manage everything from our social media profiles to world brings us a great many benefits, which it has such deep roots. It acknowledges the global shortage our investment portfolios assure us but it also leaves us with a host of of cyber security expertise, so the that all is being done to keep our information safe and that every vulnerabilities that previous generations company offers co-op positions to students from the University monster data hack is sealed with didn't have to content with. of Ottawa, Waterloo, McGill, and assurance. But what happens when Carleton. Having come through a 5G/IoT world infiltrates our BRAD RITCHIE the boom days when 80,000 hi lives like the slow creep of a Philip co-founder The Root of QAOS™ tech jobs existed in Ottawa-Gatineau, K. Dick story? the team believes that a reinvigoration “The 4 Amigos”, as they became is possible that would see the region It’s one thing to have your privacy known, turned their camaraderie and rebound as a global cyber security ruined, but it’s quite another to have complementary skills in the security your Smartcar drive itself onto a ship in space into a company in 2012; hence, hub.

30 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

All of the company’s design and custom hardware manufacturing is done locally, with final assembly and certification of the appliance done in house. As demand grows, Crypto4A aims to acquire final assembly services from a company in Gatineau. They’ve partnered with Ottawa’s 2Keys and other local companies to strengthen the cyber security ecosystem in the Ottawa region.

Crypto4A’s VP of engineering Ron Vandergeest stresses the importance of a Canadian production and supply chain. It’s about “Canadian jobs, skills retention and quality. The ability to easily and directly interact with local suppliers, to visit their premises as needed and verify security.We pay a bit of a premium versus cheapest possible but have much higher assurance in the quality and integrity of the final product.”

Jean-Pierre Fiset at The Root of QAOS ™ launch. PHOTO: BOB WELLAND

At the June 2019 launch of The Root of QAOS™, co-founder Brad Ritchie reminded guests of the great power outage of 2003 that blacked out much of eastern North America’s intertwined electrical grid. “Imagine what a widespread loss like the one that we experienced in 2003 would do today. Our dependence on a connected world brings us a great many benefits, but it also leaves us with a host of vulnerabilities that previous generations didn't have to content with. And our dependence on this connectedness is only going to increase.

And security is one of the kingpins of this connectedness.”

Ottawa’s Crypto4A is ahead of the quantum curve to being the kingpin solution n

Huawei venture North >> from page 29

airwaves since her report was released evangelizing for broadband as a means of improving overall standards of living.

Current but very limited initiatives in telehealth and virtual classrooms “clearly demonstrate how increased broadband access improves learning opportunities and mental health services.” In an era of reconciliation, learning goes both ways. As mentioned previously, I was a researcher in many early virtual classroom programs, and can think of no more powerful lesson in climate change than to live stream a conversation from the shores of Frobisher Bay to southern schools.

It’s not often that the affairs of Canada’s Arctic make international headlines, but Huawei’s continuing commitment to bring 4G to northern communities has caught the attention of our neighbour. Huawei is one of the biggest suppliers of network backbone technology in the rural US, but splintering glaciers don’t trigger the Trump administration’s early warning system like the Chinese tech giant has, or, more generally, Russia and China’s interests in the circumpolar region. US critics see federal approval of Huawei’s collaboration with a northern telco and an Inuit development corporation as China’s foot slipping into Canada’s northern door before America has even had a chance to put on its mukluks. $30 trillion is the estimated value of untapped Arctic resources overall and Canada accounts for the biggest share.

Mike Pompeo’s laser-like focus on perceived threats by America’s rivals has him repeatedly refuting Canada’s claim over the Northwest Passage, ominously making our north America’s next economic conflict zone. Efforts from the search for and discovery of the Franklin expedition to the current government’s partnership with northern Huawei broadband can be read as an assertion of Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. Furthermore, Mr. Pompeo, the project was approved under the federal Security Review Program, which protects critical infrastructure and is overseen by the Communications Security Establishment, the Ministry of Public Safety and Global Affairs Canada.

Huawei Canada’s Christopher Pereira

Mike Pompeo’s laser-like focus on perceived threats

by America’s rivals has him repeatedly refuting Canada’s claim over the Northwest Passage, ominously making our north America’s next economic conflict zone.

Policy and politics notwithstanding, it is in the deliverables that a project is best evaluated. Canada is not alone in needing to bolster broadband Internet in remote regions, and current Huaweisupported projects elsewhere bear a curious resemblance to things north of 60. In 2017, the company unveiled RuralStar, a low-cost base station that provides Internet connection to villages in Africa. Remote communities have low populations and are often located in unfavourable environments. Harsh conditions from the hot, dusty terrains of Africa to the brutal temperatures of a polar vortex put sophisticated technology to the test.

Huawei might as well be operating on Mars (if it isn’t already!). Gear needs to be super durable. Towers in the Ottawa Valley get coated by every ice storm, but crews are located nearby and power is on site to effect repairs. That is not the scenario in the high Arctic where reliability is put to the test and alternative power supplies like solar is the norm. And considering challenging terrain, Huawei’s equipment services the base camp at Mount Everest.

They’ve delivered and are poised to deliver again in Canada’s high Arctic n 31 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

ope-ed by the Coaltion Against Campus Racism

“We waited four months for a meeting with our university’s president. Here’s how it went.”

une 12, 2019 was an ugly day at Jthird-year uOttawa. Jamal Koulmiye-Boyce, a student in Conflict Studies

and Human Rights was wrongfully carded and detained by Campus Security while skateboarding on campus. An external investigation concluded that “the Student was subject to discrimination because of his race… under the Code both as an employee and student of the university”. Only after this conclusion did the central administration issue a formal apology, over three months after the incident.

This conclusion, however, came as no surprise to students who have been voicing their outrage since June.

We, the University of Ottawa Student Union, the Black Student Leaders Association, and the Conflict Studies and Human Rights Students’ Association, among other groups, first wrote to the administration in the wake of the June 12th incident through separate open letters, gathering attention from both the media and student community. We demanded unique and relevant calls to action, to integrate a comprehensive, informed, and collaborative approach to combating anti-black racism on campus.

We were ignored...

On September 14, 2019 Wiliston Mason – community advisor in one of uOttawa’s residences – was refused entry to both his residence and workplace for not providing identification. This incident came just weeks after the central administration introduced four interim measures as part of their self-titled Global approach to combatting racism and discrimination at uOttawa. It highlighted how the steps being taken 32 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

to combat anti-black racism were not enough. As students with mandates that revolve around equity, safety and university experience, we felt the urgency associated with this issue.

After three tireless months of not being heard and not being taken seriously while these serious and blatant acts of racism get swept under the rug and dismissed through tactics of reputation management, we’ve had enough.

So we wrote again, but as the ‘Coalition Against Campus Racism.’

After Jamal’s incident, they had the opportunity to do so much more, but they actively chose not to. We expect the Central Administration to regain our trust by constantly and continuously demonstrating their willingness to be a part of this fight against systemic racism.

While it was frustrating that it took a significant amount of public pressure to sit down with President Frémont, we were grateful for the opportunity to finally do so. We have ideas that seemed to align well with those of the central administration’s, and we were pleasantly surprised by their openness.

We have plans to facilitate a town hall and assist the president with forming comprehensive consultation with our BIPOC community.We are determined to make progress.

But, we will continue to keep our guard up. The unnecessary effort we went through to make our voices heard in the first place will not be forgotten.

The central administration’s receptivity now does not erase the fight we endured to get here. After Jamal’s incident, they had the opportunity to do so much more, but they actively chose not to.

We expect the central administration to regain our trust by constantly and continuously demonstrating their willingness to be a part of this fight against systemic racism with us, as the only other option is working against us.

We came together, releasing a single statement on behalf of all the groups on campus that are dedicated to combating racism at uOttawa. The letter includes support from groups that represent undergraduate students, graduate students, professors, public employees, academic interests, clubs, and sixteen different programs. Since the release, we’ve held a press conference, gained significant media coverage, and started a public petition that already has over 300 signatures.

Systemic racism is messy and complicated and working to dismantle it requires as much mess and complication. Humility, accountability, and a willingness to learn must be the cornerstones in this movement.

We aren’t asking for perfection from our university, we are asking that the voices of those communities impacted by systemic racism on campus be accounted for while attempting to develop the very policies intended to protect them.

Then we got a meeting request from the president.

S h a r e yo u r e x p e r i e n c e s u s i n g #CampusRacism. Enough is enough n

PHOTO: PIXABAY

uOttawa students form a coalition against campus racism

ope-ed by Harvey Bischof

Education Under Attack

O

ntarians have a great deal to lose if the Ford government cannot be convinced to change its approach to education. Widely recognized as among the finest in the world, Ontario’s publicly funded education system has a long tradition of providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to find success and contribute in a meaningful way to the social and economic life of the province. Publicly funded education is perhaps the province’s most important investment.

There is no dispute that the past fifteen years have been a period of continuous improvement in Ontario’s schools.

High school graduation rates are more than 20 percent higher now than they were in 2003.

Now, however, education in Ontario is under attack. The Ford government’s misguided move, announced in March, to increase average class size ratios in high schools from 22:1 to 28:1, and to impose mandatory e-learning courses on every secondary student, will have a devastating impact on the learning environment.

Over the next four years, Ontario high school students will lose 25 percent of their teachers. That adds up to almost 10,000 teaching positions removed from our schools. Ten thousand fewer adults teaching courses, taking extra time to help students, coaching sports, and overseeing clubs and other student activities. Tens of thousands of course options will no longer be available to students. Thousands of support staff positions – professionals who work mostly with special needs students or students with mental health challenges – are also being eliminated.

PHOTO: COURTESY OSSTF

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) are working hard, both at the bargaining table and in their communities, to protect the system and defend the interests of the students.

Just a few weeks into the first year of this ill-conceived plan we are already feeling a profound impact in our schools. Across the province we’ve seen classes crammed with as many as 40 or 45 students. We’re seeing “stacked” classes, with a single teacher instructing multiple grades and curriculums – usually two or three, but in some cases as many as four – in a single period.

Students with special needs have lost access to the support staff who gave them an equitable opportunity for success. Countless students are unable to fill their timetables or denied access to courses they will need in order to graduate.

As chaotic as things have been these past few weeks, that chaos will only get much, much worse over the next four years. By the time the 2022-23 school year rolls around, the cuts will be much deeper and the turmoil in our schools will have become unmanageable.

Students and educators, however, will not be the only ones to feel the negative effects of this government’s missteps. In June the Conference Board of Canada released a report entitled The Economic Case for Investing in Education. Their research found

that each dollar invested in public education in Ontario generates $1.30 in economic growth. This positive impact is amplified by the fact that the higher graduation rates that come with more investment in education can save the province millions of dollars every year on costs associated with health care, criminal justice, and social assistance.

Unfortunately, the exact opposite is also true. When investment is removed from the education system, as the Ford government is doing, the economy shrinks and costs increase.

While Doug Ford tries to undermine education in Ontario, the 70,000 members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/ FEESO) are working hard, both at the bargaining table and in their communities, to protect the system and defend the interests of the students who rely on it. We’re talking to our families and to our neighbours about the devastating impacts of these cuts, and we’re making every effort to convince our MPPs that the government needs to reverse course.

The Doug Ford government poses the greatest threat in a generation to Ontario’s public education system. But OSSTF/FEESO has a century-long tradition of tenaciously defending that system, and we remain committed to doing just that until the current threat has passed.

You can learn more, and do your part to help save Ontario’s worldclass education system, by going to HereForStudents.ca and sending a message to your MPP n Harvey Bischof is President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation 33 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

op-ed by Vicki McKenna

ONTARIO’S NURSES SAY

it’s time to get healthcare priorities in order

t has been 15 months since Ontario’s Ipower Progressive Conservatives came to in this province. In that short time, our health care system has gotten a glimpse of the biggest unravelling of our health care system in memory.

I say a glimpse because while the government has told Ontarians what its big-picture sweeping changes are – for example, reducing 35 public health units to just 10, cutting the 14 local health integration networks and integrating major organizations like Cancer Care Ontario under the umbrella of the new Ontario Health – it has been much fuzzier on the detail about how it will all work. It has also been vague about how this will all impact Ontarians.

As president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), I have repeatedly signaled to the province the desire to share the expertise of Ontario’s nurses. As the people on the front lines — at the bedsides of our patients — we experience first-hand where the roadblocks are, and what needs to improve. We are the advocates for our patients.

However, to date, this government has been unwilling to meet with or hear from the dedicated nurses of this province, who work in every health care sector.

Instead, we hear from our government of the vague plans to create a “super agency” called Ontario Health, which will oversee a massive, reformed health 34 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

As the people on the front lines — at the bedsides of our patients — we experience first-hand where the roadblocks are, and what needs to improve. We are the advocates for our patients. care system. There are no details on how this super agency will function, its powers, its level of transparency or how exactly the still-to-be-created Ontario Health Teams will provide the range of care Ontarians have every expectation of receiving.

We question the priorities of a government that has put continuing efforts — and taxpayer money — into increasing the availability of alcohol while simultaneously announcing that it is cutting funding to public health units across the province.

The announcement of public health funding cuts was the turning point for ONA, prompting us this summer to launch a public awareness campaign to call attention to the priorities and promises of this government.

This government, in our view, has taken a reckless approach to managing the health care system that is so vital to all Ontarians. Starving vital health care services while pushing for wine and beer sales in convenience stores is simply a recipe for disaster.

What kind of province, and what kind of health care system do Ontarians want?

Are we more concerned with being able to drink alcohol at nine o’clock in the morning, or having a robust public health system that ensures our communities are safe from infectious disease outbreaks, for example?

Do we want tailgate parties at select sports events, or a hospital bed — not a stretcher in a hallway — when we need hospital care?

Ontario nurses believe it is time to call on our government to get their priorities straight. We all need and deserve a healthy, robust health care system — for the people.

Please join with Ontario’s dedicated nurses in speaking out against skewed priorities — Ontarians need and deserve quality health care services.

ONA has a special website to make it easy for Ontarians to speak out. Please visit nursesknow.ona.org today n Vicki McKenna is a registered nurse and the President of the Ontario Nurse's Association

travel by Hilary Thomson

Adventure in the Arctic DISCOVER THE BEAUTY AND SERENITY OF CANADA’S NORTH.

It’s 5:30am. The sun, that barely dipped bellow the horizon all night is rising over the Baffin Bay. I take a deep breath and taste the cool, salty air of the sea. I’m aboard the Ocean Endeavour, Adventure Canada’s 200 passenger ship, about half-way through the trip of a lifetime above the Arctic Circle.

As I caught my first glimpse of Ocean Endeavour, my home for the next 12 days, across the arid landscape of Resolute Bay my heart skipped a beat.

Here I was, thousands of kilometres from home about to discover the relatively untouched world of the North — An Arctic expedition akin to the explorers of the past (albeit in much more luxurious accommodations).

My education about the North began as soon as we boarded the ship with a presentation from the people of Resolute Bay about Inuit culture.

Two sisters demonstrated Inuit throat singing, one following the other before bursting into fits of laughter.

ABOVE: The beautiful Ilussiat Icefjord is on Greenland's west coast, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle RIGHT: The Ocean Endeavour, seen here anchored in Pond Inlet, was our home for 12 days.

PHOTOS: HILARY THOMSON

Two young men showed us traditional Inuit games meant to prepare them for the strength and endurance needed to hunt. We were introduced to drum dancing, Inuit clothing and the lighting of Quliq, the oil lamp used traditionally for light and heat in Inuit homes.

And so began our voyage from Resolute Bay, along Devon Island (the largest uninhabited island on earth) and across the Davis Straight to Greenland.

As is common with expedition travel, every day’s itinerary is flexible.

Adventure Canada staff and the crew of the Ocean Endeavour worked hard to adjust to weather and ice, which is a huge concern when cruising in the Arctic. The day we were supposed to go to Beechy Island, the final resting place of some of John Franklin’s men, we were fogged out. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the team were able to alter the itinerary and take us to the Prince Leopold Island, which is a large protected migratory bird sanctuary. Thousands of thick-billed murres lined the majestic 265m-high dolomite limestone cliffs that rose through the remnants of the fog and out of the sea as we cruised around by zodiac, accompanied by the evening sun.

It was magical. I thought to myself that if that was all I got to see I would be happy . . . and it was just the first day.

We did make it back to Beechy Island 35 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

where we had a beautiful day hiking on the cool desert island where Franklin’s men overwintered and search parties looking for that fateful expedition made their base.

We also stopped at several spots along Devon Island to hike and take in the beauty of the Arctic landscape. We took a zodiac cruise to see the famous Devon Ice Cap which covers roughly 12,000 km2 of the island and visited Dundas Harbour which houses an old

communities to ensure their visit is beneficial, both for their passengers and the people who live there. In Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), Nunavut we were toured through the village by local Inuit guides. Mine was a teenage girl named Faith, the middle of five children, who was shy but proud to show off the town she called home.

We were treated to a presentation of throat singing, drum dancing and the lighting of the Quliq in their community hall followed by a soccer

On our expedition five of the 34 Adventure Canada staff were Inuit including expedition leader and Swan’s husband Jason Edmunds. The pair met when Edmunds joined the Adventure Canada team in 2010 and they now have two little girls who were also on the expedition. Having the little girls running around the ship and joining in on some of the shore landings and community visits only contributed to the laid-back family atmosphere of the trip.

The expedition team have a deep connections to the Arctic and several expressed their respect for how Adventure Canada run their tours: partnering with the communities they visit and leaving the wilderness untouched.

RCMP outpost as well as an impressive archeological site of an early Inuit settlement.

The vast natural beauty of the Arctic. The gigantic white and blue icebergs from the Illulissat Icefjord in Greenland, towering above the ship like ice castles fit for a James Bond villain’s lair. Snow covered mountains rising out of the sea. Walruses chilling on the sea ice and humpback whales taking advantage of the rich feeding ground created by the fresh water melting from the glaciers in the summer months. A lone polar bear roaming the shore for its next meal.

The landscapes of the Arctic are unlike any I have ever seen but what touched me the most about this remote and often harsh part of the world is its people.

Adventure Canada is a tour company that values human connection and works hard at partnering with local 36 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

ABOVE : The cliffs of Prince Leopold Island are said to be home to 200,000 pairs of breeding

birds. (RIGHT) Two-year-old Colton was on hand to welcome passengers at the Quliq community hall.

game — visitors against the youth of Mittamatlik — a long-standing tradition whenever the Adventure Canada ship comes to visit.

The CEO of Adventure Canada, Cedar Swan, who was on our expedition was greeted by our hosts like she was family, making it clear that it was always a good day when the Adventure Canada ship was in the harbour.

Swan is adamant that Adventure Canada will not run a trip to the Arctic without Inuit as part of their staff. In fact, Adventure Canada was part of the creation of a program that trains interested Nunavumiut in the skills they need to work on big cruise ships, certifications that would not otherwise be available to them unless they traveled South.

It is clear that family is a large part of the Adventure Canada experience.

Many of the staff aboard have been with Adventure Canada for years and knew the company founders, borthers Matthew and Bill Swan and Dave Freeze who began taking small groups to remote Canadian locations in 1987.

Cedar says that as a family-owned and operated company, they work hard at creating an accepting and fun atmosphere for all the staff and crew aboard the Ocean Endeavour, something that definitely trickles down and bolsters the experience for the passengers along for the ride.

The knowledgeable staff aboard the Ocean Endeavour was overwhelming.

With a geologist, a glaciologist, several culturalists, a botanist and a PHOTOS: HILARY THOMSON

historian (just to name a few) there was someone who could answer any question about what we were seeing day to day. The expedition team have a deep connections to the Arctic and several expressed their respect for how Adventure Canada run their tours: partnering with the communities they visit and leaving the wilderness untouched.

Inuk law student Robert Comeau is a staunch advocate for his people and a member of Adventure Canada’s expedition team. He believes that Adventure Canada is the gold standard for socially conscious Arctic travel.

“It’s not just having Inuit involved in the conversation but really directing it.” He went on to say, “That’s why I appreciate working for Adventure Canada because they allow for Inuit to develop and influence policies too.”

A trip aboard the Ocean Endeavour is a once in a lifetime experience.

I will never forget the colourful houses of Greenland, the vast fjords of Devon Island and the smiling faces of Mittimatalik. We exited the Davis Straight and entered the 190km Kangerlussauq Fjord on our way to the airport just as it was getting dark on our last day at sea. I stood on the back

ABOVE: The town of Ilulissat is the stepping-

off point to see the icefjords, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Adventure Canada's connection and respect for the Arctic includes hiring local guides like, picture here, Faith from the community of Mittimatalik.

deck of the ship and watched as the mouth of the fjord and my adventure in the Arctic faded into the distance. I said farewell to the beauty and serenity of the north.

“Until next time.” n adventurecanada.com

AN INSTANT BESTSELLER “Painful and beautiful, absorbing and unforgettable.”

—KAREN JOY FOWLER, AUTHOR OF WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES

37 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

The Poplars Resort will have you feeling like a kid again

travel by Michael R. Bussière

The rooms at Poplars Resort in Newboro feature keyless entry. In fact, they feature lockless entry; something that co-owner Becky Thompson delights in pointing out. Doors don’t need locks in a kid’s summertime memory, and that’s what this place feels like whether you’re a kid or not. Becky and her husband Dave purchased the property from Becky’s parents last year and are in the process of lovingly restoring this step-back-in-time gem of living nostalgia. Becky can’t hide her love of the place. Her sunny smile and an impressive knack for remembering names give it away, and with good reason. There’s plenty to love here.

Colonel By, whose crew built a lock station and canal connecting Newboro Lake with the Lower Rideau, founded

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Newboro in 1829. The village is home to antique houses on huge properties shaded by white pine and willow trees.

A recipe of freshly cut grass, hay fields, and summer at the lake scents the air.

Poplars Resort was built in the 1920s by American Stephen Bresee as a private camp. Way back when, entertainment was a player piano that still resides in the lodge. There was a croquet course and a stable, a boathouse and various other buildings that have been expanded and moved over the years. It was a place of hospitality for entertaining guests, but the story goes that Mr. Bresee eventually built a log cabin, still there, to have a quiet space all his own while his visitors enjoyed the place.

Poplars changed hands many times over the decades. Becky's parents, Rick and PHOTOS: MICHAEL BUSSIÈRE

Joan White, purchased Poplars in 2004 and continued the conservation efforts of what had become a piece of Rideau heritage. The rental fleet was expanded and Rick earned the reputation as a knowledgeable fishing guide whose company is still sought by guests looking for that secret spot. Most regulars make the annual trip up from Pennsylvania where lakes are few and far between.

Poplars Resort provides rental boats fully equipped and gassed up for those who don’t trailer their own. The day begins at nautical twilight when the sun is just a hint below the horizon and a few land features are becoming visible. The intrepid early risers tiptoe their way along the docks and motor off to their favourite spots somewhere in the cluster of five lakes adjoining Newboro by narrow channels: Indian,

Clear, Benson, Mosquito, and Loon.

Mosquito is shallow but the rest dip down to 100 feet or more.The waters are known for smallmouth and largemouth bass, splake and bluegill, and there’s a cleaning station at Poplars’ dock for the big ones that didn’t get away.

A movie art director could not have done a better job on the main lodge.

There are the requisite mounted fish, board games, comfy chairs on a screen porch, and wall plaques with funny sayings about old fishermen and their drooping rods. There are cabins and chalet rooms, and an American plan of three squares a day makes the whole experience even simpler. Bonnie Smith’s 38 years in Poplars’ kitchen guarantees everything is quick, perfect, and delicious. Breakfast has the usual

selections. Lunch (bagged for the boat upon request) and dinner will remind you of your mum’s classic cottage meals that came with two choices: “Take it or leave it”, meaning a fixed menu with special accommodations possible. Evenings are tranquil and so quiet at dusk that you can relax in your room and listen to the kids from across the lawn enjoying the pool table in the lodge.

Places like Poplars are disappearing along the Rideau, making them all the more precious in a world of virtual experiences. Lucky for us, Becky and Dave are devoted to preserving the peace of a classic Canadian fishing lodge. It may be just what a noisy world with too many choices needs n poplarsresort.com

39 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

travel by Kat Walcott

”Houston . . . we do not have a problem“ For a Texas‘sized’ destination, consider Houston — amazing food, luxurious accommodations, culture and a big dose of nature.

On track to surpass Chicago as the third biggest city in America, whether you stay a week, or just a weekend, Houston will not disappoint.

Where to Stay

Downtown Houston is home to a variety of accommodations. Staying in the heart of the city is your best bet for easy access to all the major landmarks and attractions.

The gorgeous Four Seasons located on Lamar St., overlooks the Toyota Center, home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, and is just minutes from the huge urban green space Discovery Green Park, and many other hot spots. The hotel offers large rooms, a beautiful spacious lobby, various amenities including a game room, full spa services, and a gorgeous rooftop pool with a bar, perfect for both business travelers and families looking for a comfortable and entertaining stay. The in-house restaurant Quattro serves the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever 40 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

had; beautifully plated and everything is fresh and hot. The beds are so comfortable that you could just stay in and take advantage of the top-notch room service.

Where to Eat

Houston is fast becoming a foodie capital. The city is multi-cultural and progressive which is very evident in the food scene. Just over one year old, Vibrant is a contemporary restaurant located in the Montrose neighbourhood that specializes in healthy, wholesome plant-rich meals.

The dishes are flavourful, colourful, vegetarian-friendly and leave you compeltely satisfied.

For a no-holding-back carnivore lunch drop by the famous Goode Company BBQ. You will find delicious, classic Texan BBQ including melt-in-yourmouth ribs, pulled pork, brisket and more. They also serve up a mean pecan pie and some of the most delicious side PHOTOS: COURTESY VISIT HOUSTON

dishes. I recommend the jalapeno bread and collard greens. The outdoor picnic tables add a casual, backyard BBQ vibe that makes the food taste even better.

With a significant Mexican-American population, Houston is home to topnotch Mexican eateries. You’ve got to try Xochi. This is not your usual TexMex fare. Located on the ground level of the Marriott Marquis Houston, the restaurant specializes in authentic food from the Oaxaca province of Mexico.

Indulge in braised rabbit, baked oysters, and if you are feeling adventurous try the insects. The ants and grasshoppers are crispy, well-seasoned and surprisingly tasty! Xochi also offers up an impressive selection of mezcal; a strong, alcoholic beverage made from the agave plant that you have to try at least once in your life.

For something extra special and unique, your best bet is world-renowned chef Chris Shepherd’s One Fifth Houston.

Located at in a repurposed church, chef Shepherd has fostered a really cool concept. With only a five-year lease, he decided to run with one theme and menu each of the five years. Every August the restaurant shuts down for renovations and reopens in September as a whole new experience.The current theme is Gulf Coast. Who knows what is in store for year five!

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Space Center Houston.

Buffalo Bayou Park. See works by Pablo Picasso at the Museum of Fine Art’s special exhibit. One Fith Houston changes its menu and decor every yeer.

Taste Texas-style BBQ at Good Co. Barbeque.

Places to Explore

Whether you’re into art, science or nature, Houston’s diverse sites will have something for you to explore.

Spend a day at Space Center Houston, the official visitor’s centre of the NASA Johnson’s Space Center (JSC).

The museum is a dream come true for science and space enthusiasts alike..

Learn about the history of space travel, explore re-creations of what the surface of the moon looks like but best of all, see some actual spacecrafts. The tram tour, included with admission, takes you through the JSC grounds and even stops at a couple of the buildings so you can see NASA engineers at work.

You can also have a look at cool mock ups of spacecrafts.

The tour ends at Rocket Park, home to the Saturn V, a real rocket that was used from 1967 to 1973 as part of the Apollo mission. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission Space Center Houston has various on-going special events including documentary screenings and a Thought Leader Series, featuring live talks by Apollo astronauts.

Art to Admire

If you’re all about the arts, Houston’s rich visual arts scene will not disappoint. The Houston Museum

District is overflowing with museums which alone warrant a good few days to explore. It is home to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston which spans five separate buildings and houses approximately 64,000 works from around the globe. It is the epitome of artistic heaven. Aside from their incredible permanent collection the museum hosts various special exhibits that rotate regularly. Upcoming special exhibits include Monet to Picasso: A Very Private Collection and Berthe Morisot: Impressionist Original.

Other art attractions in the city include The Menil Collection, a scenic campus of four buildings in the Neartown neighbourhood, that houses the personal collection of 20th century artcollecting and philanthropic couple John and Dominique de Menil. Entrance is free to visit the 17,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photos and rare books are on display.

Lastly, but definitely not least, do not miss the chance to stop by the Silos at Sawyer Yards — a contemporary art space that serves as the workspace for over 100 Houston-based visual artists.

The site features 34 massive rice silos

that have been transformed into display spaces for various art installations. It is a worthwhile experience to see art displayed in such an unconventional, yet really aesthetically-pleasing, setting.

To explore Houston’s gorgeous city views and green spaces — and get some great exercise to work off all that Texas BBQ — book a bike tour with Tour de Brewery. They offer a variety of tours focusing on the beer and brewery scene of Houston. I opted for the Buffalo Bayou and Historic Downtown tour which focuses on the city’s design, history, landmarks and takes you through some of the most scenic parts of town.

Before the bike tour kicks off, take some time to explore Buffalo Bayou — a 160-acre greenspace that extends west from the heart of the city. It is home to gorgeous parks, trails, monuments and the historic Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern.

Biking through the Bayou’s various parks before making our way downtown past City Hall and the vibrant theatre district is the perfect way to see how Houston is a beautiful harmony of the natural and urban. No problems here . . . it is a city for everyone n TravelTexas.com 41 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOOSE CHICAGO

travel by Kat Walcott

ChicaGo

MAKE IT YOUR FIRST CHOICE FOR AN EXCITING ARTS AND CULTURE GETAWAY

The Chi,” “The Windy City,” “The Second City,” “Chi-Town” are but a

If you’ve been dying to see the Broadway hit Hamilton forget the very hot and pricey tickets in either New York or London’s West End and head instead to Chicago. For around $200 CAD, you can snag orchestra section tickets to see the production at the gorgeous CIBC Theatre. The musical, with its catchy songs and phenomenal performances, absolutely lives up to the hype. Standouts in the Chicago production include the brilliant TaTynisa Wilson as Eliza Hamilton and the hilarious Andrew Call as King George. The production runs until January 2020.

few of the nicknames that this Midwest American city is affectionately called by people from all over the world. Chicago is truly special. It is a cultural melting pot and a hub for everything from natural science to top-notch theatre. But don't take it from me, you’ve gotta go yourself and when you do, here’s some of the most exciting aspects of the city to check out.

42 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

Grab a meal on-site at the hotel’s Intermission Bar & Kitchen. It will not disappoint. The restaurant offers a reasonably priced menu with a lot of options and a great weekday happy hour.

PHOTO: KAT WALCOTT

Theatre & Comedy Scene If you thought New York City was the only American city with big theatre cred, think again. Chicago has a booming theatre, comedy and music scene that is as exciting as it is influential. Whether you’re in the mood to see a major Broadway production or an intimate improv-comedy show, Chicago offers it all.With 2019 coined the #YearOfTheatre in Chicago by the city’s mayor, this has never rang more true.

Non-Broadway theatres such as Goodman Theatre are also very important to Chicago’s scene and are a great place to catch locally-produced, innovative plays that really push the envelope in terms of content and PHOTO: COURTESY CHOOSE CHICAGO

Accommodations Stay in the downtown core to be within minutes of the city’s hottest sights and attractions. The lovely Cambria Hotel and Suites Chicago Loop is a chic, boutique-style hotel located in the same building as the historic early twentieth-century Oriental Theatre (recently re-named the James M. Nederlander Theatre) which is in the city’s downtown theatre district. The hotel is the perfect mix of classic and modern. The interior is sleek, urban and minimalistic with rooms that are both spacious and cozy with unique touches like a map of Chicago on the wall behind the beds and super cool bluetooth-enabled bathroom mirrors with built-in speakers.

Don’t leave town without taking in a comedy show or two at the famous The Second City. Chicago is coined the “birthplace of improv” and it’s for good reason. Some of the world’s top names in comedy including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Canadian legends like John Candy, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short, got their start at The Second City. Catch one of their weekly student shows — they’re hilarious and you may be watching a future star.

Museums and Sight-Seeing

CityPASS lets you hit up Chicago’s top attractions with absolute ease. It is also your best bet to save money and avoid the hassle of lining up for tickets at each venue. For $150 CAD, you receive a booklet of tickets, valid for nine days, for various admissions like Skydeck Chicago, Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and more.

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOOSE CHICAGO

As a museum nerd, this was right up my alley, I took full advantage of my CityPASS. I started by visiting the stunning and historic Field Museum.

Located on Museum Campus Chicago, this establishment dates back to 1921 and is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. You simply cannot visit Chicago without spending a day here.The majestic, early twentieth century building houses exciting exhibits ranging from ancient Egyptians to insects but the museum is best known for being home to the most complete T-rex skeleton in the world.

Unearthed in 1990, this incredible

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Man on “The Ledge” at Skydeck Chicago — 103 floors up the world-renowned Willis Tower(1973). A view of Chicago with the iconic Lake Point Tower (1968) in the foreground. The Field Museum is home to Sue, the most complete T-rex in the world. Opened in 1930, the Shedd Aquarium was once the largest aquarium in the world.

The majestic CIBC Theatre is home to some of the biggest touring shows in the world. The Hamilton sign at CIBC Theatre. The Cambria Hotel and Suite

PHOTO: KAT WALCOTT

creativity. Plays by award-winning writers such as Christina Anderson’s How to Catch Creation and Meredith Willson’s The Music Man have had very successful runs at Goodman and it is one of the city’s best spots to catch high-production theatre at an accessible price.

specimen, nicknamed “Sue” in honour of the researcher who discovered it, is a sight to be seen. Located in her own special suite on the very top floor of the museum, so explore the rest of the museum first and leave her as the big finale.

Right next door is the Shedd Aquarium, which also dates back to early 20th century, making it one of the oldest indoor aquariums in the world. It is a great family spot with over 32,000 live animals including every type of fish, crustaceans and amphibian imaginable.

The are also mammals like dolphins and Belugas and the Amazon Rising exhibit even has some adorable monkeys that are a must-see. While you’re there, make sure to check the times of the aquatic presentations — you don’t want to miss the chance to see some exciting live dolphin training.

If architecture and cityscapes are more your thing, Skydeck Chicago is a must. Located on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive, it is the second-tallest building in the

PHOTO: COURTESY CHOOSE CHICAGO AND ADAM ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Western hemisphere. The observation deck gives you the most magnificent views of the city and beyond. Step out onto “The Ledge”, a glass box that extends four feet from the building, to get a 360°experience of the view from 103 floors up. On a clear day, the view extends to four of Chicago’s neighbouring states.

With the ease to get around the city and its endless theatres, museums, artistic landmarks, architecture and more, Chicago is truly special. So, don’t make Chicago your second choice. . . make it your first n

To keep up with Chicago’s theatre scene visit, chicagoplays.com For more information about the sights and attractions of Chicago visit, choosechicago.com 43 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

good reads by Michael R. Bussière

When the Montreal Road was Eastview’s main street

here is a tiny piece of France T hidden away in Ottawa, in a part of town that was once on the outskirts

of a town once known as Eastview. La Grotte de Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes is a holy enclave nestled among mature trees next to the church whose matron revealed healing waters to the faithful and the hopeless. The Eastview grotto originated in Cyrville and was moved closer to town about a hundred years ago. An actual spring was tucked into the rocks up until not that long ago.

People still drop by to light candles and attend Mass outdoors in the Summer.

A noble and glorious stone church built in 1877 burned down in 1973 and was replaced by a modern descendent, next to the once-rural cemetery where Sir Wilfred Laurier is entombed. There is heritage to be found here.

Eastview was an amalgamation of little villages east of the Rideau River in Gloucester Township along the King’s Road. Charles Cummings founded a settlement on an island just south of the fine old bridge that bears his name.

An early map of Janesville, commonly referred to as Cummings’ Island, indicated a toll booth and some of

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE LEFT: Beamish department store on Montreal Road just off the Cummings bridge. Montreal Road back in the days of Eastview. Montreal Road today.

the earliest streets. Montgomery was Victoria, the quirky Palace St. took a doglegged bend, and McArthur Road quickly trailed off into that family’s farm. Later additions like Bradley and Olmstead streets were named for other early families.

Janeville was bisected by an industrial rail corridor that was active until the 1960s when it made way for the Vanier Parkway that abruptly ends at New Edinburgh where NIMBY outcries were heeded.

The original town character can still be seen on along the Montreal Road where homemade houses hug the sidewalks and front porches are centres of neighbourly conversation.

Streets named Carillon, Durocher or otherwise named for the communion of saints reflect what was a majority

francophone population who settled here from eastern Ontario and the Québec side to work for such new employers as Laurier’s Ottawa Improvement Commission.

Like other minority language enclaves in Ottawa, Eastview was blue collar labour educated by Catholic schools.

Ottawa, Ontario, and Canada generally were divided economically by language and denomination. One just had to locate the old Catholic churches in the city to identify the segregation.Eastview, Hintonburg, and Lowertown (also home to the oldest synagogue in town) versus the Uptown St. Andrew’s, Christ Church, and First Baptist of remnant British Upper Canada; St. Patrick’s on Lyon being the exception. I long recall unkind comments uttered down noses at those lower neighbourhoods by those who lived upwardly. They were

not exactly fair characterisations.

The Montreal Road was an authentic main street of a real community whose identity was still that of a town. Locals could find anything from fresh produce to jewellery stores, men’s and ladies fashions, and variety stores like R. A. Beamish and Woolworth’s. My Syrian family had a much-loved dry goods store, Laham’s, at the corner of Park Street.There were steak houses for date nights and family restaurants for Friday nights with the kids. Kids and schools and churches were everywhere.

The Golden Rail at the Lafontaine Hotel was probably the best country and western bar in the Ottawa Valley. The Butler Motel’s lounge featured Dick Maloney and his heartfelt tribute to Frank Sinatra, and the Hotel Eastview was famous for its dining room. There was a police station in the middle of it all where my dad Oscar worked for 31 years, retiring as the deputy chief of the 45-man Vanier police force. There was one murder during his career; a Montréal mafia hit in a motel room.

Eastview had always been an autonomous municipality with a mayor and council, but the one square-mile city had become surrounded by Ottawa in the post-war boom. Farm land along McArthur Road was replaced by low-rise apartment buildings for families and new schools appeared. By the time Eastview had been renamed in honour of Gen. Georges Vanier in 1969, the state of things had begun to change due, according to my retail family, the opening of St. Laurent Shopping Centre.

A vital, vibrant community of families joined the exodus to suburbia in communities like Orléans, Rothwell Heights, and Blackburn Hamlet. Over time,Vanier became the antithesis of the modern suburb where sidewalks and corner stores are nowhere to be seen.

The closest Starbucks or Bridgehead are found on the more tony north side of Beechwood Avenue, but you will

find phone booths and laundromats, remnants of another urban era and signifiers of an economic ghetto.

I lived in the Glebe for twenty years prior to Bank Street’s transformation from a friendly main to a head-on collision with the Smart Centre™ known as Lansdowne ‘Park’. Rickety telephone poles remained in place due to cheapness or perhaps some clever nod to the bygone days of the local telegraph office. Sidewalks crowded by sandwich boards and families of cyclists

ABOVE: Full page ad promoting home sales in Eastview from The Ottawa Journal, August 1950.

riding where they shouldn’t are now further cluttered by preachy red things that command residents to this and that.

Montreal Road is about to undergo a similar renovation, and one wonders how it will revitalize a neighbourhood slated for an addiction mega-shelter whose indubitable home would be a motel in Westboro in a parallel universe. Vanier’s main street truly needs revitalization, and the potential is evident in what is already there.

Firstly, preserve the town character as has been done in neighbourhoods like Montreal’s Griffintown or Parc Ex. Don’t let developers shove slabs and boxes into it. The street configuration cannot accommodate density, nor are there significant properties available for conversion. If the proposal is to replace Eastview Shopping Centre with towers, then consider how increased density demands even more pedestrian-friendly retail. Rideau Street is rapidly transforming into a canyon, and while its proximity to the downtown core may make this reasonable, remember that Rideau Street used to be the finest shopping street in the city and home to local businesses including four family-owned department stores. It is now a name-brand street like any other in North America.

Secondly, embrace the fact that all four indispensible conditions for what Jane Jacobs referred to as “exuberant diversity” already exist in the fabric of Vanier: short blocks that encourage pedestrian exploration; streetlevel versus vertical density; a diversity of functions in which retail and residential closely intermingle, and; a mix of newer buildings with older ones that afford a range of rents to younger entrepreneurs. Imagine the funkiest mix of creative spaces and artists’ galleries in a part of town where world cuisine is already taking hold, not to mention the little-known designation of Little Nunavut.

Thirdly, if the mega-shelter is cast in stone, then re-instate a 24-hour neighbourhood police presence. My dad walked the overnight beat on the Montreal Road wearing two pairs of long johns in arctic temperatures. Police presence is today encapsulated in hi-tech supercars that only swoop into a scene when a call is made. The revitalization of a neighbourhood requires more than sewers, public art, memos from developers or a consultation process. It first and foremost requires recognizing what is already good about a part of town and not screwing it up n 45 OTTAWALIFE FALL 2019

op-ed by Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani

The UAE hosts EXPO 2020

AND INVITES CANADIANS TO VISIT he United Arab Emirates will T host EXPO 2020 Dubai from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021, which will see over 190 countries participate, including Canada, and with 25 million people attending, it will be the world’s largest EXPO in its 168 year history.

Outside of the EXPO site, Canadian families and individuals alike will be met with an abundance of things to do in the UAE. Home to some of the world’s largest amusement and water parks – from IMG Worlds of Adventure, Ferrari World, Warner Brothers, Yas Waterworld, Legoland, and Motiongate, to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and worldclass museums, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE tourism offers something for everyone.

Dubai’s World Expo theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ echoes the powerful spirit of partnership and co-operation that has driven the UAE’s success in pioneering new paths of development and innovation, which also showcase UAE values of inclusion, tolerance and cooperation.

The UAE is one of the most safe The unique opportunity for countries and dynamic places to live, travel and participating in EXPO 2020, as well as conduct business in the world. In doing business in the UAE,is our strategic fact, according to the UK based travel location. Through being present in the magazine, Which?, the UAE is the UAE, one can outreach to the entire world’s second safest place to visit world with ease and efficiency.

We are proud of the strong after Iceland. The UAE is also extremely accessible for Canadian bilateral relations that the UAE and Canada Our geographic positioning means passport holders, who do not need that one third of the world lives already enjoy, and Expo 2020 Dubai to obtain a visitor’s visa prior to within a four hour flight of UAE, arrival. and this connectivity reaches more will offer a unique opportunity to further than 3.2 billion consumers in increase this bond.

Visitors to the UAE will be met Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle with warm Emirati hospitality, in a East, with a collective GDP of more prosperous country which is home to than $60 trillion in emerging markets more than 200 different nationalities, alone. (including about 40,000 Canadians), where almost everyone speaks English, The UAE stands as Canada’s largest and women are upheld as empowered trading partner in the Middle East FAHAD SAEED AL RAQBANI and equal partners to men. & North Africa (MENA) region, Ambassador of the UAE to Canada with exported goods from Canada EXPO 2020 visitors will be able to to the Emirati market exceeding the For those who like to shop, the explore innovative world pavilions, UAE offers some of the world’s most one billion dollar mark for the 11th visit the expo rotating observation consecutive year, with total bilateral opulent malls, which host everything tower, treat their taste buds to dishes trade reaching almost $1.4 billion in from an enormous aquarium to indoor from every corner of the world - from 2018, and with UAE investing over $30 ski hill, as well as many exotic gold street food to haute cuisine to familybillion into Canada, it makes the UAE souks and traditional markets, and for friendly meals in the over 200 food one of Canada's largest international those wishing to relax, sun-filled sandy and beverage outlets, and brush up on investors. beaches and world class spas are in their art skills through interactive art abundance. installations.

Through our strong friendships we will make EXPO 2020 a great success.

Accommodation in the UAE also The approximate $33 U.S. admission Come visit EXPO from October 20, offers something for everyone – day ticket is extremely reasonable, from seven star luxury hotels, with 2020 and April 10, 2021 and take (which is free to those 65 years and advantage of all the UAE has to offer. helicopter launch pads on the roof to older), and includes 60 live events per We welcome you to come share in the hotels which cater to average income day – featuring some of the world’s excitement, the fun, and help us make families, offering the same reasonable most famous singers and performers. history together! n rates that you would find at home.

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