Ottawa's Tragic Day

Centre Block during the Mosaika show

Ottawa. After Wednesday’s events, the very name will have a different connotation. Along with images of Mounties, Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal, we must add terrorism.

I’ve lived in Ottawa for most of my life. Years ago, we always made a point of driving any of our out of town visitors around Parliament Hill. Now I don’t mean driving them along Wellington Street. No, I mean driving through the main gates, right up to the Centre Block, under the arch of the Peace Tower, and around to the back of the building where the library faces the Ottawa River.

9/11 changed all that. It has been a long time now since we were able to drive on Parliament Hill. Security has become much more evident in recent years. Some gates have simply been closed off. There is now a security station near the Hill, retractable bollards at all the entrances, and new fences. This past summer we took visiting relatives for a tour of Centre Block and were amazed at the new security measures. It was like going through an airport; we had to take off our shoes and send our belongings through a scanner. At one point I asked to remain in the room while they frisked my eighty-nine year old mother-in-law. The person in charge spoke to me very sharply and insisted I could not stay to explain things to her. I have often wondered how much all this heightened security has cost all of us.

So, how could Wednesday’s events happen? How did all these new plans fail? Ottawa will never be the same. No doubt, the security measures that I thought were way over the top, are going to be increased dramatically.

I was not in Ottawa on Wednesday. I was in Toronto.  Here in Ottawa, Pat and Aaron both ended up in lockdown situations for part of the day.  Traffic in my parents’ neighbourhood was closely monitored, as police thought a shooter might be along the Ottawa River.

I watched some of the coverage on TV, in Toronto, before catching an evening train home. As I got off the subway at the Yonge/Bloor interchange, it seemed that every corner of the globe was represented in the masses of people walking, talking, and moving all around me. People from every walk of life, every colour, every age and stage of life were going somewhere. That saying, “We’re all in this together”, came to mind.

I found myself at the bottom of a long staircase. I stood there for a few seconds thinking,  ”Really? I have to carry my backpack and suitcase all that way?” I must have looked pretty perplexed because a couple of women came over to me. They offered to help me carry my load and then helped me to find an elevator. While on the elevator, we got chatting and I asked one of the women about her t-shirt, Grandmothers Advocacy Network. There, in the midst of one of Canada’s busiest transit stops, they outlined the admirable goals of their organization. They work for changes in Canadian policies to improve the quality of life for grandmothers in sub Saharan Africa who are caring for millions of AIDS orphaned children. These women were supposed to be attending the Malala Yousufzai Canadian Citizenship event that afternoon with Stephen Harper, but it was cancelled because of the attack in Ottawa. How horribly ironic that Malala, a shooting victim herself, came to our supposedly peaceful country and her event was cancelled due to a random act of violence here.

When we parted, I made my way to Union Station. If you have been to Union Station in the past year you will remember the construction going on there. There is an outdoor staircase with no elevator. As I adjusted my suitcase to carry it up the stairs, a young man, with two kids in tow, stepped forward to carry it for me.

The train trip went smoothly. Across the aisle, a couple of young men met and enjoyed a very animated conversation. One of them had forgotten his phone charger. He walked along the train car and returned a minute later, having borrowed one from a fellow passenger. Behind me, an elderly gentleman asked the young man across the aisle from him about a baseball score. He really wanted to know who was ahead in the Kansas City/San Francisco game. The young man explained that he would be unable to get the game live, but that he could go to a sports site and check the score. A few minutes later, I heard him report that it was 7-2 for Kansas. The elderly gentleman was pleased with that news.

The events of last Wednesday have shocked all of us. I feel especially saddened by the fact that my grandchildren are growing up in a world with the possibility of random acts of violence. While terrorists are changing our world, they are a tiny minority. My train trip from Toronto to Ottawa on that tragic Wednesday confirmed my belief that most people are good.

When I got home I watched the news for a while and learned that Toronto Police Chief Blair had increased security on the TTC and had advised all passengers to be extra vigilant. I’m glad I didn’t hear that advice. It would only have added stress to my journey. As it was, I encountered nothing but helpfulness, friendliness and much concern for others, both those in front of us and those as far away as Africa.

Jack Layton’s famous letter to Canadians ended with “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.” If someone like Malala Yousufzai can spread that same kind of message, then maybe we can as well.

Thanks for democracy

It almost goes without saying that Thanksgiving finds me extremely grateful for my family. We have just enjoyed a weekend with our kids and grandchildren around. It is a rare luxury to spend weekends like this one together.

Last week I found myself thinking about one of our most precious gifts; democracy. Our ability to change our governments is often take for granted in Canada. Meanwhile, we are constantly inundated with images of war and instability in many areas of the world. Students in Hong Kong have been bravely demonstrating, in hopes of maintaining some shred of democracy.

It is municipal election season in Ontario, with municipal and school board elections taking place on October 27th. It has been noted that while municipal issues effect us the most closely, turnout in these elections is usually far lower than in provincial and federal contests.

Perhaps that is why I felt encouraged last week when we attended an all candidates meeting for city councillor in our ward of Kitchissippi. What a crowd! There were seats for 180 set up in a church basement. They were quickly filled and as the meeting got underway people were standing three deep across the back of the room.

What this photo does not convey is just how packed it was. The windows faced the parking lot. As the room heated up with all the folks inside, the overflow crowd stood outside, pressed against the open windows, to hear the candidates' remarks. That's how keen they were to really know these candidates. That is democracy in action! It was wonderful to see.

We went into that meeting with our minds made up. We are backing Jeff Leiper, who is trying to unseat our current councillor. In June we held a meet and greet event at our place; a chance for our neighbours to get to know Jeff and his policies.

 Even though our involvement in his campaign has been limited, it feels good to be a part of the political process. One of the things that impressed us about Jeff, is that right from the start, he vowed not to accept any campaign donations from developers. If elected, he does not want to feel beholden to them in any way. 

Many of the questions and concerns voiced at the meeting were about developers and how they are shaping our neighbourhoods and our city, both in the big projects and the infill housing on all our streets. People want to see some accountability and responsibility from  these people who are making such huge financial profits as they transform Ottawa.

So good luck to Jeff. Here's hoping for a good turnout in our ward, in Ottawa and across the province. Imagine how all those Hong Kong students would feel about us, if we did not bother to get out and exercise this wonderful gift of democracy.