Black voices yearn to be heard in nation’s capital
Allan Andre woke up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning this past July feeling inspired. He left his bed and made his way to Ottawa’s graffiti-covered Tech Wall at the corner of Bronson Avenue and Slater Street. There, he spent the day painting a memorial to Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in a Texas jail earlier that month. Less than 24 hours later, his work was defaced. “ALL LIVES MATTER,” declared the vandal in large, block letters...
Food Banks Canada urges government to keep promises to low-income Canadians
John Kort moves between groups of people huddling together in front of the Salvation Army food bank on George Street in Ottawa’s ByWard Market. He’s braving the cold, sharing a cigarette, a laugh and a story with the many friends he has made. Kort has lived on the streets most of his life and still clings to the same idea that drives him everyday: hope. “They are attacking this head-on, and I think our government could get a...
BuzzOn has high hopes for vapour lounges in Ottawa
“We’re like Cheers here,” owner Wayne Robillard says of Ottawa’s first marijuana vapour lounge. “If you walk in, we probably know your name.” As Robillard sits on a black leather couch in the back lounge area of BuzzOn, he socializes with some middle-aged patrons as they use the lounge’s array of vaporizers. “I was in Toronto and my friend asked me to go to a bar. I told him I didn’t drink, so he took me to Vapor Central, and since...
Plan to resettle 25,000 refugees should be suspended: Saskatchewan premier
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s request for the Liberal government to rethink its acceptance of 25,000 Syrian refugees shows “a limited understanding of the resettlement process,” says a Carleton University political scientist. James Milner, an immigration expert, said Wall’s comments are concerning because they are “completely unfounded.” Wall released a letter Monday, asking Canada’s new prime minister to re-evaluate his...
Win or lose, soccer super fans chant: “Fury, always with you”
It’s 5:30 a.m. on a chilly Sunday morning outside a barren TD Place. The only thing breaking the silence is the rumble of an idling bus awaiting its passengers: members of Stony Monday Riot and the Bytown Boys SC, Ottawa Fury FC’s die-hard fans. The reason for being up so early? It’s match day. These fans are busing down to Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., to watch their beloved team take on the New York Cosmos in the Soccer...