Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville

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Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
février- mars 2021 volume 12 numéro 1                                           Gratuit - Free                                  February - March 2021 Vol. 12 No. 1

Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy
By Juliet O’Neill and John Chenier                                                                                                         among them was the loss of clientele as

T
                                                                                                                                           the surrounding office buildings emp-
        wo major pieces of our 15-minute                                                                                                   tied out — some permanently closed
        city disappeared at the end of                                                                                                     and converted to student residences,
        2020. The ByTowne Cinema fi-                                                                                                       others empty as a result of work-from-
nally shut down permanently, unable to                                                                                                     home edicts as part of the pandemic.
survive yet another lockdown and low
                                                                                                                                           All this coincided with the expiration of
revenue because of the pandemic re-
                                                                                                                                           the current lease and subsequently, the
striction of 50 patrons per showing. A
                                                                                                                                           decision not to renew at a higher rent.
similar absence of patrons led to the
closure of Lowertown’s only hardware                                                                                                         Given the value of development prop-
store, Trudel Hardware at 170 George            to help pay utilities and property taxes.     with a pandemic joke: “Nothing can
                                                The price is $100 for one side, or $150       mask our love.”                              erty in the downtown core, it will be
Street.                                                                                                                                    interesting to see what the future holds
                                                for both for 24 hours. Email cinemail@
                                                bytowne.ca to book.                             It’s a different story over at the hard-   for these two locations. There has been
  ByTowne Cinema owner Bruce White                                                            ware store where continuing under new        some interest in reviving the cinema,
will be on a quest to sell the cinema but         The cinema has a ton of fans, who           ownership is not an option. Trudel’s had     but whether a means to do this can be
not yet. He’s waiting until COVID19             poured out their memories and love for        been a Lowertown fixture since 1925,         found remains to be seen.
restrictions are over and he has some           the repertory cinema on social media          beginning with a shop next to Ogilvy’s
bargaining power. He says he won’t be           when the shutdown was announced.              on Rideau Street, moving from there to         It is unlikely another hardware store
re-opening it himself.                                                                        Besserer at Nicholas before moving fi-       would locate on George Street, but San-
                                                  But White said he doesn’t want them         nally, to the George Street location.        dy Hill and Lowertown should be able
  White said his optimism about stay-           to buy messages as an act of charity to                                                    to support a hardware store with a foot-
ing open, reported in the last edition          pay the bills. “I want to do it for people    The closure means that people need-          print similar to Capital Home Hardware
of The Echo, drained away when it be-           who want to see their name up in lights.”   ing a washer for their garden hose or a        in the Glebe or others in the urban areas
came apparent the authorities wouldn’t                                                      graffiti artist looking for can of spray       of the city, like Little Italy and West-
be allowing more than 50 patrons in the           Charles-Antoine Bachand proposed paint will have to take a car, bike or bus              boro.
650-seat cinema, and another lockdown           to Stéphanie Demers on the marquee. and travel at least six kilometres to the
was in the works.                               She accepted.                               closest hardware store.                          Perhaps the new commercial space in
                                                                                                                                           the Trinity development at Rideau and
  For the moment, he’s selling person-            White’s favourite so far was from a           A number of things contributed to the      Chapel could yield an answer.
al messages on the theatre’s marquee            couple celebrating their anniversary          decision to close the store. Prominent

Saving Lowertown
By Norman Moyer                                 supports its residents and its businesses
President,                                      to help them live and work together. In
Lowertown Community Association                 the case of a downtown community in
                                                the city’s hotel district, it also provides

O
                                                attractive products for tourists. When
         ttawa City Council has just            that community also sits at the centre
         voted to spend $129 million to
                                                of the public transportation networks
         renew public infrastructure in
                                                of the city, it should be expanding as a
the ByWard Market. This will go a long
                                                place for a diversity of retailers, restau-
way towards reviving Lowertown, if it
is accompanied by sensible plans and            rateurs and public institutions to oper-
regulations that favour development             ate. Lowertown/ByWard has all of these
aimed at producing a dynamic and di-            attributes but they are slowly being
versified residential, commercial and           eroded either by design or neglect.
institutional community.
                                                  Lowertown is being undermined by a
                                                number of factors: the failure to pro-
  The City of Ottawa has also just pro-
                                                tect its built heritage; the concentration
posed a new Official Plan to its citizens
                                                of services for the homeless; the truck
in which it boasts about the value of the
                                                route through its centre; and the prolif-
“15-minute community”. Why then is
                                                eration of bars to name a few.
the City through its actions and its ne-
glect killing its oldest 15-minute com-           The evidence shows that the Lower-          The homeless are concentrated in a few       the ByWard neighbourhood to be taken
munity?                                         town community is not safe, clean or          large shelters. People dependent on ille-    over by a monoculture of bars.
                                                appealing. In spite of six decades of         gal drugs are forced to buy their drugs
  A good community has many attri-                                                            from criminal organizations. In spite
                                                promises, governments have done noth-
butes: it is safe; it offers all needed ser-                                                  of its own bylaw, the City has allowed                        Continued on page 21
                                                ing to take the interprovincial truck
vices within walking distance; and it
                                                traffic off King Edward and Nicholas.

       News            Community               Heritage            Profile          Real Estate           Politics           Business            LCA               Arts &
        3                 5                       8                  12                 14                  15                 17                 21               Culture
                                                                                                                                                                     22
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
Page 2                                                                       ECHO 12-1                                                              février- mars 2021
                                                                                              Les personnes qui aimeraient collaborer avec l’Echo sont invitées à envoy-
                                                                                           er un couriel au echo@lowertown-basseville.ca en indiquant leur nom et leur
                                                                                           numéro de téléphone. Nous apprécions la contribution de tous, quel que soit leur
                                                                                           âge. L’Echo se réserve le droit de modifier en tout ou en partie les documents.

                                                                                           Contributors to this edition
                                                                                           Editor: John Chenier

T
       he Echo, a non-profit community newspaper, is supported financially by              Contributing editors:
       its advertisers and the Lowertown Community Association. Opinions ex-                  Patricia Balcom, Steve Ball, Kelly Butler, John Chenier, Lucille Collard, Car-
       pressed are those of contributors and advertisers and do not necessarily            oline Cox, Lynda Cox, Team/equippe CRCBV-LCRC, Zach Dayler, Mathieu
 represent those of the volunteer editorial staff.                                         Fleury, Jordan Ferraro, Alison Hobbs, Ilona Horvath, Kendra Hughes, Lauren
                                                                                           Intven, Elodie Lortal, David Lu, Nancy Miller Chenier, Sandra Milton, Norman
    In 2021, the Echo will be published in February, April, June, September and            Moyer, Juliet O’Neill, Valerie Proctor, Michel Rossignol. Jessica Ruano, Fiona
 November. 8,000 copies are printed and distributed free of charge to residents of         Sant, Joel Weiner
 Lowertown. Additional copies can also be picked up at the Routhier Centre, the
 Lowertown Community Resource Centre, the public library, and various public               Copy editors: Patricia Balcom. Philppe Doyon
 and commercial locations in Lowertown.
                                                                                           Photography: John Chenier, Sandra Milton, Renée Sylvain, Ilona Horvath and
     The Echo welcomes articles, letters, photographs, notices and other material
                                                                                           others
 of interest to its readers in the Lowertown community. Name and telephone num-
 ber of contributor must be included.
                                                                                           Layout: John Chenier
    If you’d like to write articles, draw cartoons or other illustrations for stories,
 or take photographs on assignment, please email and leave your name and tele-
 phone number at echo@lowertown-basseville.ca. No age restrictions. The Echo
                                                                                           Deadline
 reserves the right to edit in part or in whole all contributions.
                                                                                             Reserve your advertising space or submit your contribution to ads@lower-

 L
                                                                                           townecho.ca by March 25, 2021
         ’Echo est un journal communautaire à but non lucratif dont les seuls
         revenus viennent des annonceurs et l’Association communautaire de la                Questions regarding delivery? If you live in Lowertown, the Echo is delivered
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                                                                                           Date de tombée
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 Basse-Ville. On peut également l’obtenir au Centre Routhier, au Centre de Res-
                                                                                           avant le 26 mars 2021
 sources Communautaires de la Basse-Ville, à la bibliothèque et dans plusieurs
 commerces du quartier.                                                                      Questions au sujet de la distribution? L’Echo est distribué gratuitement dans
    Tous les articles, lettres, illustrations, photos et autre matériel qui peuvent        la Basse-Ville. Veuillez envoyer un courriel si vous connaisez quelqu’un qui ne
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 indiquer leur nom et leur numéro de téléphone.

                                                                                         EVERY Saturday the Ottawa Mission Food Truck, in partnership with
                                                                                         LCRC and OCH, offers FREE NUTRITIOUS MEALS for anyone who needs
                                                                                         them. Call our Community House at (613) 562-2925.
                                                                                         TOUS les samedis le camion de
                                                                                         restauration de la Mission d’Ottawa,
                                                                                         en partenariat avec le CRCBV et
                                                                                         le LCO, offre des REPAS SANTÉ
                                                                                         GRATUITS pour ceux qui en ont
                                                                                         besoin. Pour plus d’infos appelez
                                                                                         notre maison communautaire au
                                                                                         (613) 562-2925.

                                                                                         In addition to our Club310 and Transitions virtual After-School Program,
                                                                                         in partnership with the Ottawa Food Bank and Ottawa School Breakfast
                                                                                         Program, our SNACK PROGRAM is back! To register your family, please
                                                                                                                    email Meagan at mgilsonlockhart@crcbv.ca
                                                                                                                    or text (613) 228-0842.
                                                                                                                   Nous offrons maitenant notre programme
                                                                                                                   Club310 et Transitions virtuellement.
                                                                                                                   Nous avons également redémarré notre
                                                                                                                   PROGRAMME DE COLLATION POUR JEUNES
                                                                                         de la Basse-Ville. Pour vous inscrire, communiquez avec Meagan au
     Votre Centre de ressources                  Your Lowertown                          mgilsonlockhart@crcbv.ca ou envoyez un texto au (613) 228-0842.
     communautaires de la                        Community Resource
     Basse-ville contribue à bâtir               Centre helps build a
     un quartier plus vivant et plus             safer and more vibrant                  We are still offering our FOOD
     sécuritaire!                                community!                              DISTRIBUTION SERVICE to
                                                                                         residents of Lowertown. You must
     Tous nos services sont                      All our services are                    make an appointment by calling
                                                                                         (613) 562-2925 before coming by.
     GRATUITS, confidentiels                     FREE, confidential
     et bilingues !                              and bilingual!                          N o u s co n t i n uo n s d ’o f f ri r d u
                                                                                         DÉPANNAGE ALIMENTAIRE sur
                                                                                         rendez-vous. SVP appelez au
   40 Cobourg, Ottawa K1N 8Z6 (613) 789-3930                                             (613) 562-2925 avant de venir.
      Numéro d’organisme de bienfaisance/Charitable number: 896719796RR0001
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
February - March 2021                                                         ECHO 12-1                                                                                Page 3

Shopping locally
By Alison Hobbs                               load. If for whatever reason we cannot                                                   Market building; as well as curries, they

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                                              go out, most stores deliver. Sasloves                                                    cook naan bread here. Take it home but-
          hen asked for the secret of         Meat Market, for example, offers a ser-                                                  tered and wrapped in foil, and when it’s
          his success, Paul Bocuse, the       vice that includes delivery of items from                                                unwrapped, it is still warm and smells
          legendary French chef and           its neighbouring stores as well, the By-                                                 delicious.
restaurateur, replied, “De bons ingré-        ward Fruit Market, Lapointe Fish and
dients, que je choisis moi-même!” Bo-                                                                                                    You might sometimes fancy food
                                              the House of Cheese.
cuse shopped for fresh produce every                                                                                                   from overseas, and you can find that in
day at his local market; his reputation         Make a shopping list at home and call                                                  the Market, too. Wedel Touch of Europe
depended on this habit.                       613 241 9266 to give Sasloves the order.                                                 or the Asian Fairway Trading Company
                                              (The delivery charge is $5 if you spend                                                  on Byward Market Square, the Conti-
  Not only does it make for better eat-       $100 or more, otherwise $10.) This can                                                   nental Delicatessen, the Tea Store or
ing to buy local produce, it makes good       save much time and trouble, especial-                                                    the Nut House around the corner, or La
sense. It reduces the need for complex        ly since their deliveries are reliably                                                   Bottega, within a few steps of the oth-
transportation systems, thus reduc-           prompt.                                                                                  ers, all sell unusual products from plac-
ing CO2 emissions and improving the                                                                                                    es that remind us of travelling abroad.
planet’s health. Rather than taking the         All of these businesses make a point
car every time you need to stock up on        of stocking foods of nearby origin, so in                                                  Wedel’s precooked sausages are
perishable groceries, if you walk to the      addition to the environmental advantag-                                                  handed over wrapped in butcher paper:
shops or go by bike, your own health          es, this means fresher food.                                                             again, that’s much better for the envi-
benefits too.                                                                                                                          ronment than plastic.
                                                 There are small-scale businesses in
  Most important of all, at this moment       Lowertown where food is prepared on                                                        Help yourself to fresher food and bet-
the small businesses in our vicinity, hit     the premises, such as the Portuguese                                                     ter health while helping local business-
hard by COVID 19 regulations, need            Bakery on Nelson Street. Inside the Por-                                                 es.by shopping locally.
loyal customers. Their appreciation of        tuguese Bakery, as well as Portuguese
our support cannot be underestimated.         breads and pastries, you’ll also find the
                                              Syrian Kitchen, which has its own sec-      baguettes, gateaux and pastries come         Alison Hobbs lives in
  We are lucky to live in Lowertown,          tion offering vegetarian platters, salads   straight from the oven and are wrapped       Lowertown and convenes an
with a gratifying variety of shopping         and wraps.                                  in paper or cardboard, which is more         environmentalAction group.
opportunities near home. The ByWard                                                       environmentally friendly than plastic.
Market is close enough for us to go there       At the Moulin de Provence at the Mar-
several times a week on foot, so that we      ket Mall or Le Boulanger français on          If you’re planning on curry for sup-
never need to carry home too heavy a          Murray Street, authentic French loaves,     per, visit Shafali Bazaar at the ByWard

Shepherds’ plans for Murray Street housing
By Caroline Cox                                 The first floor will be a drop-in pro-    ling back and forth through traffic to       those who just do not wish to live there.
                                              gram for anyone in the community, open      access meals.                                They want to make Lowertown their

W
           hen I first met Tereza, she wel-   16 hours a day. This is a much-needed                                                    home, for many of the same reasons you
                                              resource in the ByWard Market, where          The remaining floors will be com-          do.
           comed me to her home at 208                                                    prised of approximately 40 housing
           Saint Andrew St. with a hug.       many vulnerable people have nowhere
                                              to go and little to do during the day.      units, prioritizing Indigenous individu-       Paul was one of the first people I ever
She gave me a hard time about why I                                                       als, and women. These will give people       met at Shepherds of Good Hope. I was
wasn’t married yet. But then she told me      Additionally, it will serve the needs of
                                              Lowertown residents who struggle to         the stability and dignity of a home of       shocked when he told me that he had
a story I will never forget. Tereza came
                                              make ends meet.                             their own, and reduce numbers in our         been living at Shepherds for 10 years.
to Canada from Sudan after witnessing
                                                                                          emergency shelter.                           I didn’t know that Paul lived in a sup-
the violence of a war that claimed the
lives of her entire family. She self-med-                                                                                              portive-housing program, Hope Living.
                                                                                            For more information about the 216         When that program moved to Kanata,
icated with alcohol to numb the pain of                                                   Murray redevelopment, visit www.
PTSD and undiagnosed schizophrenia.                                                                                                    Paul went too. But he didn’t feel like
                                                                                          sghottawa.com/216                            he fit in there. He missed his old neigh-
  Shepherds of Good Hope helped Tere-                                                       We know that stable housing, mean-         bourhood, so he jumped at the opportu-
za get her drinking under control, con-                                                   ingful daily activity and social inclu-      nity to move to St. Andrew’s Residence.
nected her with doctors, and found her                                                    sion change lives and communities for        Now he greets me almost every morn-
a home with ongoing supports. Without                                                     the better. Over 90% of our support-         ing, often with his catchphrase, “It’s a
supportive housing, Tereza might not be                                                   ive housing residents do not return to       Pink Floyd Blue Sky Day!”
here today to tell her story.                                                             homelessness.                                   Shepherds of Good Hope is committed
   We know housing is the solution to                                                        So why not build in the suburbs, where    to doing our part toward ending chron-
homelessness, and we’re proud to be a                                                     it cheaper and there are fewer negative      ic homelessness in Ottawa. We want to
city-wide leader in supportive housing,                                                   influences? The short answer is, we are!     reduce the number of people staying in
with nearly 200 residents. But our goal                                                   We are soon opening up a 42-unit build-      our shelter, like Paul and Tereza once
is to have more beds in supportive hous-                                                  ing in the East End, and creating 8 more     did, because a shelter is not a home. We
ing than in our emergency shelter. This                                                   units in our location in Kanata, for a to-   want to increase their opportunities to
year, that goal will become a reality.                                                    tal of 101. But we believe very strongly     live full, dignified, meaningful lives in
                                                                                          that people experiencing homelessness        their own permanent homes. We hope
  We are grateful to have the support                                                     deserve the same level of choice about       that you will join us in offering homes
of the City of Ottawa and the federal                                                     where and how they live as anyone else.      for all, community for all and hope for
government’s Rapid Housing Initiative                                                                                                  all.
to redevelop our property at 216 Murray         The second floor will house our new         Many of the people we work with are        Caroline Cox is the Senior Manager
Street, and we are excited to share some      soup kitchen, replacing our currently       accustomed to living in the downtown
                                                                                                                                       of Communications, Community
details about it with you, our neigh-         aging one at 233 Murray, which will         core. Everything they know, from com-
bours.                                                                                    munity resources and social networks
                                                                                                                                       and Volunteer Services at Shepherds
                                              become administrative space. Relocat-                                                    of Good Hope.
                                              ing the kitchen will address community      to transportation and medical supports,
  We are planning for a low-rise mixed-                                                   are located in this area. Transitioning to
use building of approximately eight sto-      safety issues inherent in people travel-
                                                                                          the suburbs can be rough, and there are
reys.
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
Page 4                                                                     ECHO 12-1                                                               février - mars 2021

Anti-racism action in our community
By Kelly Butler                                                                          The Lowertown Community Re-                    Residents are invited to join the Low-

I
                                                                                       source Centre also created a youth com-       ertown Anti-Racism Community Ac-
    n November 2020, representatives                                                   mittee with members aged 10-19 years          tion Group or the youth committee.
    from the City of Ottawa Anti-Racism                                                to confront the challenges of anti-Black      Please contact Alain Lutala, Commu-
    Secretariat, the Social Planning                                                   racism. The committee comes together          nity Developer at the Lowertown Com-
Council of Ottawa, a committee of                                                      to engage in empowerment workshops            munity Resource Centre, at alutala@
Lowertown youth and a lawyer who
                                                                                       with guest speakers who provide partic-       crcbv.ca.
works at the Canadian Human Rights
                                                                                       ipants with the tools to navigate experi-
Commission made presentations to res-                                                                                                 Here are links to the organizations
                                                                                       ences of anti-Black racism and discuss
idents at a virtual community forum                                                                                                  mentioned in this article.
hosted by the Lowertown Community          solidarity with our Indigenous commu-       themes such as defining anti-racism,
Resource Centre, and facilitated by the    nity were included in the discussion led    allyship and resilience. Meetings are          Lowertown Community Resource
African Canadian Association of Ot-        by the Anti-Racism Secretariat. Coun-       now held twice a week with multidis-          Centre https://crcbv.ca
tawa. A summary portrait of Ottawa’s       sel from the Canadian Human Rights          ciplinary guest artist, Kalkidan Asse-
Black and other racialized communities     Commission gave highlights of the           fa aka DRPN Soul, who is responsible            Ottawa Neighbourhood Equity/Rac-
was introduced to raise awareness of       Canadian Human Rights Act and ex-           for many vivid and brilliantly coloured       ism https://neighbourhoodequity.ca/rac-
significant inequities in 28 indicators,   plained the grounds for discrimination.     murals in Ottawa. The youth are shar-         ism#data
including rates of poverty, employment     The bilingual event was well attended       ing their artistic talents and ideas in the
outcomes, unequal distribution of in-      and elicited many significant comments      creation of a new mural that will be rep-       Kalkidan Assefa, drippin soul cre-
come and opportunities, housing, and       in the break-out sessions.                  resentative of Lowertown’s diverse and        ations http://www.kalkidan-assefa.com
access to amenities.                                                                   rich community. There are hopes that
                                             One of the outcome actions from the                                                       Anti-Racism Secretariat https://en-
                                                                                       the mural will challenge the negative         gage.ottawa.ca/anti-racism-and-ethno-
  According to the Ottawa Neighbour-       Lowertown Community Anti-Racism             narratives surrounding Black lives and
                                           Forum held last fall was the formation                                                    cultural-relations-initiatives;
hood Equity Index, Lowertown scores                                                    encourage community resilience. The
well on access to transit, rental stock,   of the Lowertown Anti-Racism Com-           youth are taking an active role in shap-        Social Planning Council https://www.
green spaces, and pedestrian/active        munity Action Group by community            ing the kind of future they want to live      spcottawa.on.ca/about-us/
transportation. However, much of Low-      members. The group wants to educate         in. This gives them the chance to grow
ertown’s residential area struggles with   and raise awareness, examine the root       while gaining a greater sense of person-        Canadian Human Rights Commis-
high indicators of a population experi-    causes of disadvantage and disparity in     al and community identity. Check out          sion https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/
encing a great number of inequities. An    our community, and plan what further        the new mural mid-February at Loblaws         content/about-us
intersectional anti-racist approach and    actions can be taken.                       on Rideau Street!

Fad or future? Convenience or nuisance?: E-scooters
By John Chenier                                                                        idents with reliable access to shared

A
                                                                                       e-scooters, to achieve consistently safe      • addressing sidewalk riding and
        report by city officials rec-                                                  and courteous e-scooter riding and              improper parking through a variety
        ommends Ottawa expand the                                                                                                      of mitigation measures as outlined in
                                                                                       parking, to reduce the burden of issue
        e-scooter program in 2021.                                                                                                     the report.
                                                                                       management and monitoring for staff
Specifically, the recommendations are                                                  and elected officials, and to improve the       Verbas noted the downside of the
to:                                                                                                                                  e-scooter craze is the potential impact
                                                                                       pedestrian experience for all road and
                                                                                       sidewalk users, especially the most vul-      on “active” transportation. He noted
• Approve the continuance of Ottawa’s                                                  nerable.                                      that “The e-scooter share programs are
  Electric Kick Scooter Pilot in 2021 as                                                                                             taking a big bite out of bike-share pro-
  detailed in the report, with proposed                                                  The recommendations call for:               grams throughout North America. The
  changes to the pilot program, and a                                                                                                City will soon table a report on bike-
  revised fee structure and procurement                                                • Selecting up to three e-scooter             share program options for the City.
  strategy;                                                                              operators through a competitive             There has been no program here for the
• Approve the implementation of a                                                        procurement process;                        past two years.”
  competitive procurement process and                                                  • Increasing the total fleet size from
  enter into agreements with successful                                                  600 to between 1,200 and 1,500 and            Residents of Lowertown, particularly
  proponents of the process; and                                                         widening the central deployment area        in the ByWard Market and surrounds,
• Direct staff to report back to the                                                     where the scooters will be available;       seem to bear the brunt of the e-scoot-
  Transportation Committee and                                                         • Exploring the possibility of a satellite
                                                                                                                                     er craze. One can only hope that dou-
  Council at the conclusion of the 2021    appears that the City will rely on “im-       pilot of up to 300 e-scooters outside
  pilot project for consideration of                                                     the Greenbelt, to determine the             bling the numbers of these comes with
                                           proved behavior through education” of
  future pilot seasons.                                                                  use and feasibility of e-scooters in        expanding the area where these are
                                           users to address the issue of users park-
                                                                                         a suburban area. The 300 satellite          staged. Otherwise, ByWard will come
  According to John Verbas, Co-Chair       ing or riding on sidewalks.
                                                                                         e-scooters will be part of the City’s       to resemble an e-scooter amusement
of the Federation of Citizens’ Asso-                                                     total fleet size of between 1,200 and       park.
ciation Transportation Committee, it         The gist of the recommendations for
                                           the 2021 season is to provide more res-       1,500 units; and

                                                        L’honorable Mona Fortier
                                                        Députée | Ottawa-Vanier | Member of Parliament

                                                                   Joyeuses fêtes! | Happy Holidays!

                                                                            À VOTRE SERVICE ! WORKING FOR YOU!

                                                                        Connect with me. Communiquez avec moi.
                                                                 613 998 1860 · mona.fortier@parl.gc.ca · www.mfortier.liberal.ca

                                                                  @MonaFortier                       @EquipeTeamMona                           @MonaFortier
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
February - March 2021                                                        ECHO 12-1                                                                                      Page 5

Des Gens Comme Vous
À la rencontre des membres du C.A. du CRCBV
Par : L’équipe du CRCBV                         VALERIE PROCTOR Je suis une en-           eureux, que je n’avais jamais vécu nulle     pense pas que les résidents pourraient

C
                                             seignante à la retraite et, avec mon mari,   part ailleurs. Je sens une certaine dette    se passer des services du Centre. Sel-
      e mois-ci, l’équipe du Centre de       j’ai fondé le premier magasin d’aliments     morale envers mon pays hôte et je veux       on moi, l’avenir du Centre passe par
      ressources communautaires de           d’Amérique latine à Ottawa (Mercado          m’impliquer davantage là où je peux          une plus grande implication de la part
      la Basse-Ville veut vous faire         Latino). La Basse-Ville c’est chez moi       pour le bonheur des autres. Je suis très     des résidents. Je crois à l’adage : « tu ne
découvrir des membres du Conseil             depuis 42 ans. Ici on a un mélange de        fier d’appartenir au C.A.                    peux pas faire quelque chose pour moi
d’administration, des bénévoles qui
                                             personnes, riches et pauvres, jeunes                                                      sans moi ».
évoluent dans notre quartier et qui ont                                                     VALERIE Je pense que c’est le désir
                                             et vieilles, de partout dans le monde.
à cœur son épanouissement.                                                                de faire du bénévolat pendant ce temps         VALERIE Je trouve que malgré tous
                                             Même si on a des choses à améliorer, on
                                             ne peut pas, selon moi, trouver un meil-     de ma vie où je n’ai pas besoin de tra-      ses avantages, la Basse-Ville a une
  Des 11 membres du conseil d’admin-                                                      vailler qui m’a mené à m’impliquer dans      grande concentration de gens en sit-
                                             leur quartier pour vivre.
istration, nous vous en présentons aujo-                                                  le CA. J’ai un désir de servir la commu-     uation de vulnérabilité. Le CRCBV,
urd’hui trois : Herman Ntawe, Valerie          JOLANE T. LAUZON (présiden-                nauté, comme je peux.                        avec d’autres organismes, aident beau-
Proctor et Jolane T Lauzon.                  te) Je suis originaire de la grande ré-                                                   coup ces personnes. J’aimerais voir
                                             gion de Montréal et j’habite à Ottawa          JOLANE J’avais vraiment le goût            les gens qui n’ont pas besoin des ser-
 Qui êtes-vous et que représente la                                                       d’aider les gens directement alors que
                                             depuis 2015. Je suis avocate au Tribu-                                                    vices du CRCBV y être plus connectés.
Basse-Ville pour vous?                                                                    dans mon emploi ce n’est pas toujours
                                             nal canadien des droits de la personne.                                                   J’ai un souhait : que le Centre fasse plus
                                             Je n’habite pas dans la Basse-Ville mais     très concret. J’ai commencé comme            pour les jeunes entre 13 et 18 ans. Les
   HERMAN NTAWE Je me présente
                                             en temps normal, je la traverse à chaque     bénévole avec les cliniques d’impôts et      ados d’aujourd’hui sont les adultes de
comme un homme riche—ça parait bi-
                                             jour pour aller travailler. Pour moi, la     après à la banque alimentaire. M’impli-      demain.
zarre, mais c’est ça. Je suis marié, père
                                             Basse-Ville c’est le cœur de la ville        quer au sein du CA me permet de mieux
de cinq enfants et grand-père de deux
                                             d`Ottawa. C’est un quartier multicul-        comprendre le milieu communautaire…             JOLANE Le CRCBV est une oreille
petits-fils. J’ai obtenu une maîtrise en
                                             turel et accueillant pour tous les nou-      ça me donne vraiment une perspective         pour les gens qui ont besoin d’être en-
agronomie en Allemagne et après être
                                             veaux arrivants et même moi, qui n’est       différente de ma communauté. J’aime          tendus. Par exemple, quand les gens
retourné travailler pendant plusieurs an-
                                             pas originaire de la ville, je m’y suis      avoir plus d’impact sur les décisions qui    viennent à la banque alimentaire, ils ne
nées dans mon pays natal, le Burundi en
                                             tout le temps sentie accueillie.             sont prises.                                 viennent pas juste chercher de la nour-
Afrique, j’ai immigré au Canada en 2015.
                                                                                                                                       riture, ils viennent aussi rencontrer des
La Basse-Ville, c’est vraiment mon                                                          Quel impact a le CRCBV dans la vie
                                               Pourquoi vous impliquez-vous au                                                         gens qui sont là pour les écouter, qui
chez-moi. Il y a lieu de comprendre que                                                   des résidents et quelle incidence pour-
                                             C.A. du CRCBV?                                                                            vont sourire, et juste jaser. Dans le fu-
les choses essentielles comme la sécu-                                                    rait-il avoir davantage dans l’avenir?       tur, je crois que le CRCBV doit davan-
rité, sont importantes pour moi, et je les     HERMAN Quand je suis arrivé au
                                                                                            HERMAN Les programmes du cen-              tage être là pour favoriser l’inclusion, la
trouve et je les vis dans la Basse-Ville.    Canada, j’ai été obligé de solliciter les
                                                                                          tre répondent réellement aux préoccu-        diversité et l’équité. C’est quelque chose
                                             services du CRCBV, et ce qui m’a im-                                                      de très important dans un quartier qui
                                             pressionné c’est vraiment l’accueil chal-    pations majeures des résidents. Je ne
                                                                                                                                       est extrêmement diversifié.

Folks Like You: Meet Board members of the Lowertown
Community Resource Centre
By the LCRC team                             the world. Even if there are things to         JOLANE I really wanted to help peo-           VALERIE I feel that, despite all of

T
                                             improve on, I can’t think of anywhere        ple more tangibly, whereas in my work,       its advantages, Lowertown is home
       his month, we at the Lowertown        else in Ottawa which would provide us        things aren’t always so concrete. I be-      to a large concentration of vulner-
       Community Resource Centre             with the same quality of life.               gan at the LCRC as a volunteer at its        able people. The LCRC, along with
       would like to introduce you to                                                     income tax clinic and then at the food       other organizations, helps many resi-
members of our Board of Directors,             JOLANE T. LAUZON (President) I             bank. Being part of the Board has al-        dents in need. I would like to see oth-
volunteers who contribute to the well-       grew up in the greater Montreal region       lowed me to learn much about the com-        er residents who may not need the
being of the community and its resi-         and I’ve lived in Ottawa since 2015. I       munity sector—it has given me a dif-         Centre’s help directly get involved.
dents.                                       work as a lawyer at the Canadian Hu-         ferent perspective on my community. I        I have one hope: that the Centre is able
                                             man Rights Tribunal. I don’t live in         appreciate being able to have an impact      to do more for kids aged 13-18. Today’s
  Please meet three of our Board mem-        Lowertown but in normal times, I walk        on decisions affecting it.                   teens are tomorrow’s adults.
bers: Herman Ntawe, Valerie Proctor et       or bike through it every day on my way
Jolane T Lauzon.                             to and from work. For me, Lowertown            What difference does the LCRC make           JOLANE The LCRC is like a friendly
                                             is the heart of Ottawa. It’s a multicul-     in the lives of its residents and what       ear for those who need to be heard. For
 Please tell us a bit about you and
                                             tural neighbourhood which welcomes           how can it have greater impact in the        example, many of the people who come
what Lowertown means to you
                                             newcomers. Even me, who is not from          future?                                      to the food bank don’t come only to get
  HERMAN NTAWE It may seem                   this city, I have always felt welcomed                                                    a basket of food—they also come to
                                             here.                                          HERMAN The Centre’s programs               meet with others who are there to listen,
strange but I introduce myself first
                                                                                          respond to resident’s major basic con-       who will give a friendly smile and just
as a rich man. I am married, a father
                                              Why are you involved in the LCRC            cerns. I don’t think that the neighbor-      chat. In the future, I believe the LCRC
of five children and a grandfather of
                                             Board?                                       hood could go without its services.          will be there more than ever to foster in-
two grandsons. I earned a Master’s
                                                                                          From my point of view, the future of the     clusion, diversity and equity. It is most
in Agronomy in Germany and, af-                HERMAN When I first arrived in             Centre goes hand in hand with greater        important in such a diverse neighbour-
ter returning to my native country of        Canada, I needed to seek out the ser-        involvement from residents. I hold to        hood as Lowertown.
Burundi in Africa to work for many           vices of the LCRC and I was impressed        the saying « nothing for us, without us”.
years, I immigrated to Canada in 2015.       with the warmth with which I was
Lowertown is my home. It is important        greeted and supported, something I                                                           Ranke
                                                                                                                                      pizza     d #1 f
to understand that basic things such as      had not experienced anywhere else. I                                                           on Tri     or
security are important for me and I live     feel a certain sense of moral debt to this                                                            p Adv
                                                                                                                                                         isor
and breathe them in Lowertown.               country and I want to give back to the
                                             well-being of others. I am very proud to                                             CUMBERLAND PIZZA
   VALERIE PROCTOR I am a retired
                                             be a member of the board.                                                              152 Nelson Street
teacher and, together with my husband,
I founded the first Latin American mar-                                                                                              Ottawa K1N 7R5
                                               VALERIE It’s this period of my life
ket in Ottawa (Mercado Latino). Low-         in which I don’t need to work that has                                                  613-789-9999
                                                                                                                                                                  line
ertown has been my home for 42 years.        led me to get involved on the board. I                       Certicate of Excellence
                                                                                                                                                c a n o  rder on
                                                                                                                                            You                    za.com
Here, we find such a mix of people, rich     want to serve my community as best I
                                                                                                                                                 m  b e r l andpiz
and poor, young and old, from all over       can.                                                                                         www.cu
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
Page 6                                                                        ECHO 12-1                                                            février- mars 2021

Coming soon:                                                                                    PAPER PRODUCTS PRINTING
                                                                                                Digital & Offset printing available
Green thumbs at work                                                                            Business Cards
                                                                                                Letterhead
                                                                                                Packaging
By Ilona Horvath
                                                                                                Boxes

O
         ne day a few years ago, I noticed                                                      Cheques
         sudden transformation of the area                                                      Envelopes
         framing the front of the public li-                                                    Coffee Sleeves
brary, an impressive heritage building on                                                       Brochures
Rideau street. A Cinderella story! Years                                                        Fire Extinguisher Tags
later, I was delighted to finally meet and
                                                                                                NCR
say thanks to Diane Stephenson and Ur-
sula Williams, who have volunteered their
                                                                                                Forms
time over the years to develop and main-                                                        Kit Folders
tain the library’s garden - a beautiful oasis                                                   Door Hangers
in the midst of the hustle and bustle of        ing along the sidewalk would give them          Postcards
Rideau Street.                                  some money towards purchasing them.             Booklets
                                                                                                Calendars
                                                  They are humble with a real green
   It started in 2016, when Diane and Ursu-     thumb. When asked why they decided to
                                                                                                Invitations & More
la, long-time friends and amateur garden-       start this project, they said: “For us it was
ers, decided to put their gardening experi-     a wonderful opportunity to get our hands
                                                                                                BANNERS, POSTERS,
ence and love of flowers to public use. The     in garden dirt, meet all sorts of interesting   SIGNS & MORE
library does not have a budget for plants       people (and critters!) and help cheer up a      Sintra Signs
and does not accept donations for it there-     beautiful heritage building.”  This lovely      Coroplast Signs
fore at the start they provided all the flow-   garden and their volunteer work may be an       Foamcore Signs
ers and bulbs themselves.                       inspiration for future beautifying projects     Rollup Banners
  Later on, they received donations: the        in Lowertown.                                   Hanging Banners
management of the Watergate building              Thank you Diane and Ursula! We hope
                                                                                                Canvas Prints
gave away tulips bulbs, friends donated         to see you in 2021.                             Wall Graphics
plants, and once in a while someone com-                                                        Window Graphics
                                                                                                Posters
                                                                                                Stickers
                                                                                                Labels

                                                                                                CUSTOMIZABLE PRODUCTS
                                                                                                Embroidery
                                                                                                Screen Printing
                                                                                                DTG Printing
                                                                                                T-Shirts & Polos
                                                                                                School Apparel
                                                                                                Sweatshirts & Pants
                                                                                                Hoodies
                                                                                                Hats, Toques & Scarves
                                                                                                Mugs

                                                                                                                                 70 George Street, 2nd Floor
                                                                                                                                 Ottawa ON, K1N 5V9
Diane Stephenson and Ursula Williams put their green thumbs to work                                                                      613.742.0238
tending a garden for all to enjoy as they pass by the Rideau Street Public                                                       Fax: 613.745.5531
Library. Photos by Ilona Horvath.                                                                                                E-mail: sales@carlosgraphicsprinting.com
                                                                                                             PRINTING
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
February - March 2021                                                      ECHO 12-1                                                                            Page 7

Community in the time of COVID:
Enjoying the small things!
By Sandra Milton

A
        s the pandemic requires us to stay at home for
        longer periods of time, we have begun to re-
        alize there are many “small things” to enjoy
within our community.

  Perhaps you are walking twice a day, taking differ-
ent routes and admiring a garden, noticing a house
you have never seen before, noting historic plaques en
route or listening to various podcasts. Have you found
yourself mulling over different recipes, trying some
with success and others with less, leading perhaps
to an order from a local restaurant? Are you reading
more, doing more puzzles, watching more television,
or engaging in lots of Zoom meetings?

   Life is quieter now, although busy at the same time.
It is a strange feeling, and perhaps it is time to give
thanks for some of the small enjoyments.

   Did you enjoy the pop-up art exhibit “Warm Hug”
created by artists Kanika Gupta and Amat Kehar?
It was located at Rose Park in November, hosted by
Friends of Bordeleau Park, and in Jules Morin Park
in December, hosted by the Lowertown Community
Resource Centre,      Did you appreciate your neigh-
bours who put up outside lights to bring vibrancy and
brightness to the dark evenings?                             Did you and your family see Santa when he visited       have found a local skating rink and enjoyed chatting
                                                          Lowertown on Sunday December 20th ? To the de-             with the wonderful volunteers caring for our Lower-
                                                          light of people in Lowertown East, Santa took some         town rinks.
                                                          time to walk around and greet people. For some little
                                                          ones who were housebound due to COVID, Santa’s
                                                          wave from the street was a magical moment!

                                                            When Santa and Mrs. Claus, accompanied by a
                                                          German Shepherd named Tana, began their journey
                                                          through Lowertown on John Cundell’s horse-drawn
                                                          wagon, it was a memorable day with lots of beautiful
                                                          snow falling. As Santa’s sleigh wagon made its way to
                                                          the ByWard Market, young and old enjoyed the special
                                                          moment. It was an amazing day: many thanks to the
                                                          Market BIA for sponsoring the event.

                                                                                                                       Many of you have offered to pick up groceries for
                                                                                                                     your neighbour, or to walk their dog. And maybe de-
                                                                                                                     spite the masks and social distancing, you have made
                                                                                                                     some new acquaintances as you walk around the
                                                                                                                     neighbourhood.

                                                                                                                       We are so lucky in many ways and will get through
                                                                                                                     this time of COVID. Let us always remember to ap-
                                                                                                                     preciate the small things in our community!

                                                            Did you build or enjoy watching others build snow
                                                                                                                         Support your business
                                                          persons in the park? There are so many amazing ones           Support your community
                                                          this year. Or did you see children sledding with
                                                          squeals of laughter even on the slightest of hills? Have
                                                                                                                         Advertise in the Echo
                                                          you taken up birdwatching, running or walking, or en-          Check out our rates at
                                                          joyed a local coffee shop and the great outdoors? Per-        https://lowertownecho.ca/our-advertisers
                                                          haps you have new snowshoes, cross-country skis, or
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
Page 8                                                                       ECHO 12-1                                                             février- mars 2021

Lowertown blockbusters:
The Nelson and the Bytowne
By Michel Rossignol

F
       or the first time in over a century,
       there is no cinema in Lower-
       town. The closing of the ByTowne
Cinema will end the theatre’s major
contribution to Ottawa’s cultural scene,
but the history of the cinema which oc-
cupied the space at 325 Rideau Street
before the ByTowne, the Nelson The-
atre, also merits attention.

  When the Nelson Theatre opened on
February 10, 1947, it became one of a
dozen downtown cinemas showing the
newest films. Residents of Lowertown
who wanted to see films could walk to
the Théâtre Français on Dalhousie (from
1914 until 1961) and the Rideau Theatre
at the southwest corner of Rideau and
Dalhousie streets, as well as the Nelson.

  They could take a streetcar or a bus
and arrive within minutes at the Capitol
on Bank Street, the Elgin on Elgin near
Laurier, or many other cinemas. In the        The Bytowne when it was still the Nelson Theatre March 15, 1974 photo City of Ottawa Archives
1950s, the Nelson tried to attract cus-       CA024656. Via Lost Ottawa Facebook page
tomers while showing mostly low bud-
get Hollywood films.                             In the June 14, 1960 Ottawa Citizen,    musical, My Fair Lady. The song about       within the walls of 325 Rideau Street
                                              the Nelson’s ad noted that 60,000 Otta-    the rain in Spain was heard until July      when the ByTowne showed these films
  Things changed for the better in De-        wa theatre goers had already seen the      1965, when Julie Andrews started sing-      as part of its must-see cinema series.
cember 1959 when the Nelson upgrad-           film. I saw Ben Hur with students from     ing in the hills in the film The Sound of
ed its equipment to show 70 mm films          Guigues and other local schools thanks     Music.                                        By the mid- 1980s, many of the old
(instead of the usual 35 mm) with wi-         to the school board, which arranged a                                                  one-screen cinemas downtown had
descreen images. It joined the ranks          Saturday-morning screening for the           For a full year, the Nelson was the       closed because of competition from new
of Ottawa’s most prestigious cinemas          special admission price of 75 cents. The   place to go to see the classic film ver-    multiscreen cinemas. The family of the
like the Capitol by showing the popu-         Nelson showed Ben Hur until October        sion of the Broadway hit. On July 20,       builder of the Nelson, Hyman Berlin,
lar big-budget productions from Hol-          25, 1960.                                  1966, another popular film started,         sold the theatre, which in 1988 became
lywood. The Nelson hit the jackpot in                                                    Doctor Zhivago, but it played only until    the home of the ByTowne Cinema. Un-
April 1960 when it started showing the          In the mid-1960s, the Nelson pre-        January 1967.                               der a new name, the cinema on Rideau
three-hours-long epic, Ben Hur, which         sented one big hit after another. On                                                   continued to give us wonderful memo-
                                              October 28, 1964, the Nelson held the       Five decades later, Lara’s theme from      ries.
won eleven Academy Awards.
                                              motion-picture premiere of the popular     Doctor Zhivago and the melodies from
                                                                                         The Sound of Music again reverberated

Lowertown Legend:                                    Jack Barber (1895-1993)
By Nancy Miller Chenier

S
      kating on the Rideau Canal con-
      tinues to be a highlight of winter
      for many Lowertown residents.
And in 1986, the Skateway was the
site of a Winterlude speed-skating race
named for Jack Barber, longtime Low-
ertown resident and son of Paul Barber,
the first Black man to settle in Ottawa.

   The Jack Barber 50-kilometer Skate
Challenge was not the first honour for
John Alexander (Jack) Barber. Just a
year earlier, he had been inducted into
the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame with
recognition for his speed skating career
and for his work with local youth. His
name was already in the Speed Skating
                                              With this motto in mind, he went on        ficiated at speed-skating races at Bing-      In 1947, Jack became president of the
Canada Hall of Fame, acknowledging
                                              to win local, provincial, and national     ham Park, and in the 1960s he pushed        Ottawa Speed Skating Club and worked
his long-term involvement and excep-
                                              championships, skating competitively       for a bigger oval at Anglesea Square        vigorously to promote the sport and to
tional contribution to the development
                                              until he was in his seventies.             (now Jules Morin Park). He regularly        encourage participation by young peo-
of speed skating in Canada.
                                                                                         organized events that invited skating       ple. He bought skates, kept them sharp-
                                                But he never forgot the Lowertown        clubs from Ontario, Quebec and Lake         ened and had them ready for any eager
  Jack motto was “You never know
                                              community where he lived, first on St      Placid, New York.                           beginner who paid a dollar to join the
what you can do till you try it” so at the
                                              Joseph Street and after his marriage on                                                club.
age of 31 years, he tried speed skating.
                                              St Andrew Street. Over the years, he of-
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
February - March 2021                                                      ECHO 12-1                                                                                Page 9

Homeless men in Lowertown:
a look back at Emergency Shelters
By Nancy Miller Chenier                    Army opened its first hostel on the

M
                                           same street. Jump ahead to 1983 when
          en drifted into Lowertown        St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church on
          from the nearby trains, some-    St Patrick Street opened a shelter in its
          times hitching rides on Mar-     church basement during what was de-
ket-bound vehicles, and often just         scribed as a “plague of homelessness”.
walking from the jail or the hospitals.
The train station, the market wagons,         For early shelter promoters, the By-
the hospitals and the jail are gone but    Ward Market area was the chosen loca-
Lowertown continues to be a primary        tion. At the organizing meeting for the
site of emergency shelters for men who     Union Mission, Reverend McFaul of the
are homeless.                              newly formed French Baptist church felt
                                           that the mission should be established
  In 2006, Georges Bédard, then ward       near the ByWard Market where, accord-        Overflow facilities at Shepherds of Good Hope
councillor, called for a moratorium on     ing to the Ottawa Citizen, it was most
new shelter services downtown. In 2012,                                                    Homelessness has many causes and          acquired a farm, hoping some clients
                                           needed and where any policeman would         the early shelters enumerated them in        could work there, and later in the 1980s
Mathieu Fleury, our current councillor,    say that the fallen congregated.
argued that a different funding model is                                                their public statements to the newspa-       launched an employment program.
needed to get the destitute out of emer-     When the Salvation Army was con-           pers. At the early Mission, they talked
                                                                                        about the unemployed working poor,              While these emergency shelters were
gency shelters and into stable housing.    sidering a possible site, it reported that                                                supposed to be places for temporary
                                           Lowertown would be the best part of the      men coming from the public wards of
                                                                                        the hospitals, prisoners just discharged     stays, persistent and increased demands
                                                                                        from jail. Tramps were not welcome. At       led to bigger and bigger institutions in
                                                                                        the Salvation Army, the focus was on         our neighbourhood. These organiza-
                                                                                        transients and men who were up against       tions quite rightly measured their suc-
                                                                                        it – often unemployed or recently re-        cesses by the number of beds and meals
                                                                                        leased from prison.                          and programs that they offered to men
                                                                                                                                     who appeared to have nowhere else to
                                                                                          By 1983, when the Shepherds of Good        go. But the numbers were then and con-
                                                                                        Hope was established, the organization       tinue to be a measure of the failure of
                                                                                        was dealing with the same concerns but       our community and our city to find and
                                                                                        with increased homelessness created          fund supportive housing and programs
                                                                                        by de-institutionalization that left many    to meet the needs of these vulnerable
                                                                                        individuals living with mental illness       residents.
                                                                                        without community support.
                                                                                                                                        We now know that our shelters house
                                                                                          All the shelters initially operated with   women as well as men. Our city has
                                                                                        strong Christian religious support and       declared that housing and homeless is
                                                                                        charitable donations, with volunteers        an emergency. Our Lowertown com-
                                                                                        providing significant services. The Sal-     munity continues to have front-line ex-
                                                                                        vation Army was noted for its “soup,         perience with neighbours who live at
                                                                                        soap and salvation” approach. Both the       the shelters. Most residents continue to
 Bunk room at Booth Centre, August 2018. Photo: Errol McGihon
                                                                                        Mission and Salvation Army started           advocate for more supportive housing;
                                                                                        with a model where the men in need           many argue for more equitable distribu-
  So how did our current shelters for      city for such an institution. And as for     paid a small sum for bed and food ex-        tion in our city.
men get their organizational start? The    the Shepherds, the fact that St Brigid’s     cept in extreme cases.
Mission, now on the edge of Sandy Hill,    Church was in Lowertown with easy                                                           Our city has supported our Lower-
grew out of a 1906 gathering of business   access to restaurants and leftover fruit       They also expected the men to seek         town shelter organizations in doing
and religious leaders collected together   and vegetables determined much of the        work and operated as labour bureaus,         what residents across the whole city
to support a Rescue Mission on George      future development.                          encouraging job requests from the            should be doing – providing homes and
Street. A few years later, the Salvation                                                community. The Shepherds initially           support to the many in need.
Our fifteen-minute city in jeopardy - Two major pieces of our 15-minute - Lowertown Echo de la Basse-ville
Page 10                                                                      ECHO 12-1                                                             février- mars 2021

The night the war brides arrived
By Michel Rossignol                         of them made the trip before the end of      Glasgow, Scotland. The home of anoth-       were on the other side of the ocean.

L
                                            the war. The war brides who arrived in       er air force sergeant and his wife was on   However, on that evening in December
       ate in the evening of December       December 1944 were mostly from the           St. Andrew Street.                          1944, there were many joyful reunions,
       20, 1944, a large crowd gathered     British Isles.                                                                           heartfelt welcomes, and hopes for a bet-
       in Union Station, Ottawa’s busy                                                     The war brides who arrived in Cana-       ter tomorrow.
train station which is now the tempo-          Their journey aboard a crowded ship       da during and after the war faced many
rary home of Canada’s Senate. The           across a stormy ocean where enemy            challenges since they were now in a new
most excited persons in the crowd were      submarines still lurked under the waves      country and their parents and friends
young men wearing army or air force         was not a vacation cruise. All the pas-
uniforms.                                   sengers were happy when they arrived
                                            safely in Halifax, where they boarded
  They had returned to Ottawa during        trains for Montreal and other destina-
the previous weeks, after having com-       tions across Canada. The December
pleted a tour of duty in the United King-   21, 1944, edition of the Ottawa Citizen
dom and, together with their parents and    reported that fifteen war brides had ar-
friends, they now waited impatiently for    rived in Ottawa.
the trains arriving from Montreal. The
young women they had met and married          Some of the war brides carried babies
while overseas had arrived in Canada.       in their arms, so there were many hap-
                                            py grandparents as well as proud fathers
  Between 1943 and 1947, approximate-       in Union Station that snowy December
ly 48,000 young women who married           night.
Canadian soldiers, sailors, and airmen,
arrived in Canada. (A few women in the        Now re-united, the young couples left
Canadian military married British men       Union Station to go home. For some war
who also arrived in Canada during the       brides, home was just a short distance
same period.) Most of the Canadian          from the train station because it was in
war brides crossed the Atlantic Ocean       Lowertown. A francophone air force
in 1946 and 1947, but a small number        sergeant arrived at his home on Dalhou-
                                            sie Street with his wife who came from

Le soir où quelques épouses
de guerre sont arrivées dans
la Basse-ville
Par Michel Rossignol                        vagues n’était pas une croisière de va-

T
                                            cances.
       ard dans la soirée du 20 décembre
       1944, plusieurs personnes atten-       Tout le monde était soulagé lorsque le
       daient dans la Gare Union, la        navire est arrivé sain et sauf à Halifax
gare très achalandée d’Ottawa (où se        où les épouses de guerre ont pris des
trouve aujourd’hui le Sénat du Canada).     trains pour Montréal et d’autres endroits
Les personnes les plus excitées dans la     à travers le Canada. Comme l’a signalé
foule étaient des jeunes hommes por-        le Ottawa Citizen dans son édition du
tant l’uniforme de l’armée ou de l’avi-     21 décembre 1944, quinze épouses de          On December 4, 1944, In London, England, a Canadian war bride,
ation. Ils étaient de retour à Ottawa       guerre sont arrivées à Ottawa dans la        Mrs. R.H. Whitmore, makes last minute preparations before the trip
depuis quelques semaines après avoir        nuit. Quelques-unes portaient des bébés      to Canada. Photo: Lieutenant Charles Richer, Department of National
terminé leur période de service au          dans leurs bras, donc il y avait à la Gare   Defence. LAC-BAC, PA-128181.
Royaume-Uni.                                Union cette nuit d’hiver de nombreux
                                            grands-parents heureux en plus de fiers Le 4 décembre 1944, à Londres, une épouse de guerre canadienne,
  Avec leurs parents et amis, ils atten-    papas.
daient maintenant avec impatience les                                               Mme R.H. Whitmore, se prépare pour son voyage au Canada. Photo :
trains partis de Montréal car les jeunes      Maintenant réunis, les jeunes couples Lieutenant Charles Richer, Département de la Défense nationale.
femmes qu’ils avaient rencontrées et        ont quitté la gare pour se rendre à leurs
mariées au Royaume-Uni étaient ar-          domiciles. Quelques épouses de guerre
rivées au Canada.                           sont arrivées dans des maisons dans la
                                            Basse-Ville, à quelques pas de la gare.
  Entre 1943 et 1947, près de 48 000        Un francophone, sergent dans l’avia-
jeunes femmes mariées à des marins,         tion, est arrivé à sa résidence sur la rue
soldats et aviateurs canadiens pendant      Dalhousie avec son épouse qui venait de
la Deuxième Guerre mondiale sont ar-        Glasgow en Écosse.
rivées au Canada. (Seulement quelques
femmes dans les forces armées cana-           Un autre sergent dans l’aviation et son
diennes ont marié des hommes britan-        épouse sont arrivés dans leur maison
niques qui sont aussi arrivés au Cana-      sur la rue St-André. Les épouses de la
da.) La plupart des épouses de guerre       guerre qui sont arrivées au Canada juste
canadiennes ont traversé l’Atlantique       avant ou après la fin de la guerre ont
en 1946 et 1947, mais quelques-unes ont     fait face à de nombreux défis car elles
fait le trajet avant la fin de la guerre.   étaient maintenant dans un nouveau
                                            pays alors que leurs parents et amis se
  Les épouses de guerre arrivées en         trouvaient de l’autre côté de l’océan.                               The Echo has a new website.
décembre 1944 venaient des Îles bri-                                                                                   Check it out at
tanniques. Sur un navire bondé de pas-        Cependant, le soir du 20 décembre
sagers, la traversée d’un océan agité       1944, il y avait de nombreuses réunions
                                                                                                             https://lowertownecho.ca
par la houle alors que des sous-marins      joyeuses, un accueil chaleureux et l’es-
ennemis se faufilaient encore sous les      poir d’un monde meilleur.
February - March 2021                                                         ECHO 12-1                                                                               Page 11

Memories of Lowertown Rinks
By John Chenier and Members of Facebook                     pour se rechauffer avec un
Group I Grew Up In Lowertown                                poêle à charbon ou bois et
                                                            l’on déposait nos mitaines

L
                                                            de laine pour les faire séch-
       owertown’s rinks continue to be the creators
                                                            er ça puait le diable. L’on
       of memories. Now memories are made at the
                                                            patinait jusqu’à être frigor-
       Winterfest celebrations with games between
Lowertown youth and the Ottawa police on the large          ifié. De retour à la maison
hockey league size rink at Jules Morin Park (formerly       l’on mettait nos pieds sur la
Anglesea Square). And maybe some residents will             fournaise à l’huile. Que de
have stories of the Bingham Cup competition between         beaux souvenirs.
the USA Embassy and the Parliamentary Press Gal-
                                                              Guy Carisse - What a
lery at Bingham Park.
                                                            delightful thing to be able
                                                            to remember “olden” days.
  Both rinks have a long and active history. At Bing-
                                                            Do anyone of you remem-
ham, speedskating competitions dating from the 1920s
                                                            ber Friday night skating at
drew upward of 2000 competitors and spectators. In
                                                            Anglesea Square during
the 1950s, ice carnivals at Anglesea brought out as
                                                            the winters - skating hand-
many as 3000 people. The 1940s and 50s were the
                                                            in-hand with young ladies
era of the “Skate to Music” programs and on selected
                                                            to the classical sound of
nights, both rinks were filled with singles and couples
                                                            La Valse des Patineurs and lacing up on long wood               Carole Fortier - A little history of speed skating. I
gliding around the oval rinks.
                                                            benches in the old shack with its wooden stove?               started renting skates from Jack Barber for ten cents.
   Hockey ruled the ice over the years with reports of                                                                    Eventually we had competitions at Anglesea Square
players cheered on by scores of fans. In the 1960s,                                                                       winning ribbons and then in 1963 competitions were
broomball events were sponsored by local businesses                                                                       held at the park. The group that started with Jack Bar-
and Jack Barber was pushing to make Anglesea the                                                                          ber was Gerry Cassan, Michel Rivet, Francine Aspect,
site of a 440-yard oval speedskating rink.                                                                                Linda Landry and myself. Eventually other skaters
                                                                                                                          started to join our club, Ottawa Speed Skating. We
  As the Facebook site - I Grew Up in Lowertown Ot-
                                                                                                                          trained during the week for at least one hour a night.
tawa / J’ai grandi dans la Basse-ville d’Ottawa - re-
                                                                                                                          We had the rink to ourselves. We travelled all over
veals, the rinks elicit multiple memories for current
                                                                                                                          Ontario and the States competing. My hero was Jack
and past residents. The smells, the sounds, the feel of
                                                                                                                          Barber being there for me and showing me the sport I
the rinks and some of the people who supported them
                                                                                                                          loved the best.
are easily recalled in these snippets from people who
are now adults. Thanks to Danielle Gagne for reviving                                                                       Joanne Pharand - Oui je me souviens, c’était beau
these recollections and to the following people who                                                                       avec la musique... mais, juste à me rendre au rond à
shared them.                                                                                                              patiner mes pieds étaient gelés déjà avant d’arriver, je
                                                                                                                          pense qu’on mettait trop de bas dans mes patins, ça
                                                                                                                          arrêtait la circulation… et le shack avec son poêle à
                                                                                                                          bois ne réchauffait pas trop...je me souviens d’arriver
                                                                                                                          à la maison avec les pieds gelés et de pleurer quand ils
                                                                                                                          dégelaient.

                                                                                                                            Ron Lavigne - My mom played broomball for a
                                                              Marie Longtin - La patinoire Bingham c’était pour           team of nurses from the General Hospital...my dad
                                                            moi une passion . Tout les soirs après souper. Je partait     also played with Red, Tinouc, Lassy, Niger...1930-40s
                                                            en patin allé rejoindre mes amies on fesait le tour après     boys from Cathcart...my dad’s nickname appearing on
                                                            tour.et en couple on dansais avec la musique. Henri           a jersey was ‘Picolo’...loved watching them play late
                                                            Lacombre et son père était en charge du Parc en l’ hiv-       at night.
                                                            er et en été, c’était M. Lemay. Il était grand je crois 3/4
                                                            de la rue Bolton jusquà la ruelle qui partait de Dalhou-
                                                            sie et la rue Cathcart.

  Patricia M. Gauthier - Un beau cadeau de Noël               Mike Richer - Wow, what can you say about An-
quand j’étais petite c’était de recevoir une paire de pa-   glesea Square, so much fun to be had, I can still re-
tins (blanc avec les petites coches à l’avant). J’allais    member the sounds, the smell, and the frozen toes, the
après souper patiner sur le grand cercle au carré An-       friendships to be made, some skating hand in hand,
glesea. Il y avait de la musique et une petite cabane       the spills and the tears, the sounds of joy made by boys
                                                            and girls playing, going inside the little shacks to get
                                                            warm, the smell of the stove that toasted many mit-
                                                            tens, some things you never forget, this little spot in
                                                            Lowertown has so many memories for so many, it has
                                                            a special place in my heart.

                                                               Hélène Caron - Je me souviens très bien du temps où
                                                            je m’empressais après l’école pour aller patiner au Car-
                                                            ré Anglesea, là où j’essayais de faire comme Barbara
                                                            Ann Scott. Je me suis fait quelques foulures au poi-
                                                            gnet et à la cheville en essayant de l’imiter. Il y avait
                                                            une cabane pour se réchauffer si on avait trop froid.
                                                            La cabane était composée de deux côtés, un côté pour
                                                            les garçons et un côté pour les filles avec une four-
                                                            naise au centre des deux côtés. Lorsque 18 h arrivait
                                                            les lumières de la patinoire clignotaient, soit en même
                                                            temps que les cloches de l’église Ste-Anne sonnaient,
                                                            pour avertir les jeunes que c’était le temps de quitter
    Rene Latreille, Michel Richer, Robert Latreille         pour le retour à la maison. Que de beaux et bons sou-
                                                            venirs que je retiens dans ma mémoire à tout jamais.                           Winter Carnival 1953
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