The Drift

Author: Matthew Olson

  • More than a trophy: Redblacks bring home history

    More than a trophy: Redblacks bring home history

    The Ottawa Redblacks are bringing home a national icon for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

    When the Redblacks defeated the Calgary Stampeders in a stunning overtime finish Sunday, they didn’t just win the Grey Cup. They won part of this nation’s culture, and a symbol of what the CFL means to Canada.

    The James Street Pub erupts in joy as the Redblacks win the Grey Cup. Video by Matthew Olson.

    The historic victory was all the sweeter for Ottawa as the city will play host to the 105th Grey Cup in 2017 as part of Canada’s sesquicentennial.

    “It’s not just about gridiron football, it’s about bringing people together,” said Jeff McWhinney. “I think Grey Cup weekend brings out the best in people.”

    As a keeper of the Grey Cup, McWhinney is one of a handful charged with taking care of the famous CFL trophy.

    “If we are to define it perfectly, we are a trustee of the cup,” McWhinney said. But it is more to him than that: It is a responsibility that McWhinney takes very seriously, and he hopes that Canadians take it seriously, too.

    “It’s not been watered down in any way; this was commissioned by Earl Grey over 100 years ago,” McWhinney said. “And we have a responsibility to maintain that honour, and the integrity that is really about our country. And we have to maintain the lines of respect that come along with the cup. It is a champion’s cup, it is a Canadian’s – it is a people’s cup, too.”

    McWhinney’s passion comes from a personal place: his father, former CFL player Glenn “Keeper” McWhinney, won the Grey Cup in 1954. Glenn passed away in 2012 at the age of 81.

    But having been around the Grey Cup for many years, there is an obvious connection for McWhinney between the Cup and Canada’s national identity.

    “The Red Serge,” McWhinney said, of the Mounties who walk the cup onto the field to be awarded to the victors. “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police – no question, hands down … Watching these guys that are truly Canadian representation, holding our Canadian Holy Grail, and they surrender it that way – if people would see it that way, it’s beyond exciting. It’s magic.”

    The fans in Ottawa share McWhinney’s enthusiasm for the game, and have waited a long time for successful football to return to the capital. The last time Ottawa won the Grey Cup it was 1976, and the team was still called the Rough Riders.

    “Ottawa sports in general, we haven’t had a lot to celebrate in my lifetime,” said Paolo Del Rio, a long-time Ottawa sports fan and administrator of the fan website Defend the R.

    A child of Italian immigrants to Canada, Del Rio was also drawn to the CFL by his father. Del Rio said football helped fulfill his father’s desire for sport when he first came to Canada, and helped his family embrace their new home.

    “Coming to this country and having something to bring themselves into the community – it might sound cheesy, but it’s their way to feel Canadian,” Del Rio said. “If it made them feel Canadian, then it’s incumbent on me to pass that along to other people. If it’s that important to them, how could it not be equally important to me?”

    The City of Ottawa, recognizing the importance of the Grey Cup to the city and to the country, worked hard to bring the championship game to Ottawa as part of the celebrations of Canada’s 150th in 2017.

    City Councillor Mathieu Fleury, a co-chair of the City of Ottawa’s Task Force on Canada’s 150th Anniversary, called the Grey Cup a “showcase event” for the festivities.

    “The more traditional Grey Cup parade, the events that go around the Grey Cup, I think it certainly builds an important environment for cities and communities to rally around not just the sport but the sport team.” Fleury said.

    The CFL and the Grey Cup are part of a sports community that spans generations. And just like McWhinney and Del Rio, the players feel that connection. When Ottawa’s MVP quarterback Henry Burris was asked how he felt after the match was over, his first response wasn’t about the game.

    “There’s my parents right there,” said Burris with a huge grin, looking into the crowd. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s all about.”

    Grey Cup Parade 2016

  • City leaders meet to discuss ending homelessness in Ottawa

    City leaders meet to discuss ending homelessness in Ottawa

    The way to fix homelessness is to permanently subsidize housing for the poor, a community forum on ending homelessness heard today.

    Professor Marybeth Shinn from Vanderbilt University used a keynote speech at the 13th annual Community Forum on Ending Homelessness to make a plea for affordable housing.

    “Homelessness for families in the United States is really a housing affordability problem,” Shinn told hundreds of workers from the public and private sector. “You fix the housing affordability problem, you fix homelessness.”

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    Data retrieved from Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa’s Annual Progress Reports[/box]

    The “intervention” of permanent subsidies was one of many different options explored as part of the research conducted by the Family Options Study in the United States. The federally-funded project compared the effectiveness of different interventions for homelessness. But subsidies, Shinn admitted, are not a new idea.

    “Some of the lessons are not so surprising; so you give people housing subsidies and that fixes homelessness,” Shinn said dryly to chuckles from the audience.

    Shinn was quick to point out that there were “benefits that radiated beyond housing stability” that emerged from the permanent subsidy experiment. According to Shinn, the study indicated a reduction in substance abuse, partner violence and psychological stresses that contribute to homelessness.

    Professor Marybeth (Beth) detailed the findings of the Family Options Study in her keynote speech on Tuesday. Photo by: Matthew Olson
    Professor Marybeth (Beth) Shinn detailed the findings of the Family Options Study in her keynote speech on Tuesday. Photo by: Matthew Olson

    “The study suggests a clear winner among interventions for families experiencing homelessness in the United States,” Shinn said. However, the professor admitted that she wasn’t sure how these results might apply to services in Canada, saying, “you’ll have to tell me.”

    Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor, who acts as the City of Ottawa’s Special Liaison on Housing and Homelessness, said he believes there are already good programs in place.

    “Right now, the scenario that exists is we are supporting people across a whole variety of different needs, so someone might receive a subsidy for transit – we’re bringing in a low-income transit pass in Ottawa – they might receive a subsidy to send their kids to school,” Taylor said. “They might collect a couple of meals a month from the Food bank – so in a sense, they’re receiving a subsidy on food.”

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    Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor opened National Housing Day on behalf of Mayor Jim Watson at the forum. Photo by: Matthew Olson

    “Beth Shinn’s principle of ‘housing subsidies work’ comes as no surprise. In fact, we’re looking at taking it a step further and saying ‘life subsidies’ can sometimes be of a real benefit, especially to a family.”

     

    It is this kind of talk that makes the annual forum so important, said Executive Director Mark Bulthuis from the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa.

    “I often describe the day as… a dialogue between researchers and practitioners, the folks who are on the front lines doing this work day in and day out and wanting to make sure they have access to the latest research,” Bulthuis said, adding that researchers also needed to be aware of “local realities” in the city.

    But for Bulthuis, there is always more work to be done.

    “I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Bulthuis said. “I think there’s lots of reasons to be optimistic right now; some of that just has to translate to new investments to help us work.”