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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013
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Inside NEWS
Law students get chuckles for charity Fundraiser brings in more than $1,000 to help low-income families Michelle Nash michelle.nash@metroland.com
Residents weigh plans to change what developers can build in Vanier. – Page 3
NEWS
Ottawa community leaders, students and families brave the cold to help raise money for youth homelessness. – Page 14
EMC news - Students in the University of Ottawa’s law program put down their books and picked up a microphone to have a few laughs and help raise a little money for a good cause at the same time. A comedy night to raise money for Ottawa ACORN, an organization that fights for social justice for low-income families across Canada, was held on Feb. 7 at the Draft Pub. Some of the university’s law students volunteer for ACORN, including Michael Currie, who helped organize the event. He said the students just wanted to help the local association. “It’s a great feeling to know that we can use the law to help others,” said Currie, who does stand-up comedy when he’s not hitting the books. “We look forward to raising some much-needed funds to keep Ottawa ACORN’s initiative going.” Currie and six other law students and one law professor braved the stage, with some of them taking their first stab at stand up. “Everybody did great,”
he said. “The audience was pumped up and we sold out very quickly.” Jill O’Reilly, an organizer at ACORN Ottawa, reached out to law students in early 2012 to match the soon-tobe lawyers with low-income families who needed assistance in landlord and tenant matters. “Many of our members endure horrible conditions, such as cockroach infestations, mouse infestations, flooding, mould, and so on, even though they pay their rent every month,” O’Reilly said. “The law students, including Michael (Currie), volunteer their time to fight for our members and help provide them with tools to deal with their disputes.” Currie said the program has helped these families understand their rights as tenants and has provided himself and the other students valuable experience. This is the second time Currie has organized a comedy event for a cause and this year the jokes that rang through the pub during the evening involved personal experience, some law jokes and observations.
PAUL WISENBERG
See SIMILARITIES, page 2
Law students from the University of Ottawa perform at a comedy fundraiser for Ottawa ACORN on Feb. 7 at the Draft Pub.
City plans to tackle demolition by neglect Lowertown heritage school building about to fall down and Cumberland streets stands as a monument of something local heritage advocates have long railed against: demolition by neglect. Poster-covered hoarding around the building obscure the graffiti and paint-covered walls. Right in the downtown core, where property values and condo development have reached a fever pitch, the site remained suspended in time, slowing
Laura Mueller laura.mueller@metroland.com
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EMC news - Even before an engineers report revealed a former girls’ school on Cumberland Street was at imminent risk of collapse, Coun. Mathieu Fleury and the mayor’s office were working to prevent similar hazards. The vacant heritage building at the corner of Murray
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fading and becoming more derelict. It’s one of an estimated 100 properties in a similar state across the city. About 15 of them are considered “problematic,” several of which are located in Fleury’s Rideau-Vanier ward. It’s a sore spot for Lowertown residents, so Fleury reached out the Groupe Claude Lauzon, which counts the school
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at 287 Cumberland St. in its portfolio of properties. For months, Fleury and Mayor Jim Watson have been discussing options for Lauzon’s vacant properties, including 287 Cumberland St. There was finally a glimmer of willingness to address the derelict state of the school, but then, on Feb. 1, an engineering report commissioned by Lauzon revealed the building was at imminent risk of collapse. See VACANCY, page 9
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