Category Archives: Ottawa

Word is the Ottawa Senators are eying Le Breton Flats as a possible site for future home games. Possibly a new arena; possibly outdoor games played in the iced-over pit that until recently was home to contaminated soil.

More likely, the former.

It’s a dandy idea. And if your response to the proposal was “Why didn’t anyone think of that before?” well, you’re almost certainly new to Ottawa. If so, welcome. And please, try our shawarmas.

We’re a complicated city. Sort of. Home to the most powerful men (and sometimes women) in the country, we nonetheless find it a challenge to design and build a bridge that can support the weight of a pedestrian.

Fortunately, we know what makes a city truly world class: sporting events. Lots of ’em. Without major international sporting events, you’re nothin’! You hear that, Paris? Is a World Juniors warmup game coming to you? I thought not. Continue reading →

Today is National Flag Day, it says here. For some, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the pennant that has represented Canada for nearly 50 years. To me, though, the day represents a missed opportunity for what could have been the coolest Canadian tradition of all. Continue reading →

Here in my favourite time zone fewer than 12 hours remain in the year of our lord 2013. And while that means it’s premature to offer a summary of the year’s events, I’m willing to take a chance on at least noting a few positive things that happened during this nearly-completed year. I do so mostly to counter the relentless stream of depressing images and memories that have graced our media in recent days and weeks. Canada’s media have, for example, chosen the Lac-Mégantic tragedy as the news story of the year — surprising, given that they know all too well it was not the story on which they obsessed in 2013. Perhaps they were too embarrassed to acknowledge what was truly their ‘news story’ of the year — though that doesn’t sound like our media.

So, as we prepare to bid farewell to another year, please allow me to take note of but three good things that strove to make life a little more bearable amid the grim news of the day. Continue reading →