Glebe Report May 2024

stuff – Great Glebe Garage Sale 2024

By Colette Downie

Since its inception in 1986, the Great Glebe Garage Sale has been a fundraiser for the Ottawa Food Bank. Again, this year, we hope you’ll join us in donating a portion of your sale proceeds – we suggest at least 10 per cent – or by donating in person or online in the name of our community.

The Ottawa Food Bank has seen a staggering 68-per-cent increase in visits since 2019 with more employed people, more new Canadians and more families visiting its network of agencies. Not only are more people accessing food banks, but they’re also making more frequent visits. Less than two per cent of Ottawa Food Bank funding comes government, with donations making up the rest,

Everyone needs to play a part in ending food insecurity; everyone in the Glebe can help. Last year’s sale produced almost $15,000 of donations for the Ottawa Food Bank, with neighbours raising money in a variety of ways (garage sale sellers, swing dancers, lemonade stands, rummage sales – thanks to you all!).

This year’s dedicated donation link can be found at donate.ottawafoodbank.ca/ui/gggs2024. You will also be able to donate in person as our team will be roaming the neighbourhood looking for cash donations. You can also donate at the Ottawa Food Bank

tent on Bank Street in front of McKeen Metro Glebe. As well, we will post QR codes to take you directly to the Ottawa Food Bank GGGS donation page.

Please remind your friends and neighbours about this important goal and about the need for food in our community. A city with food security is possible, and benefits us all. Spread the word using any channel you can –including social media.

Planning for the sale is well underway. A few reminders in case you’re new to the sale.

The sale date is Saturday, May 25, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., although many people set up earlier to catch the most dedicated shoppers. No special permission or registration is required to sell your stuff from your own driveway, porch or lawn, though renters would be wise to check with their landlords before setting up. Selling on city property or sidewalks and streets is prohibited; you could be ticketed.

What you can’t sell on the day, you may want to donate to one of the neighbourhood organizations holding their own sales. For example, St Matthews Church takes donated goods for the garage sale and its treasures auction (10 per cent of sales go to the Ottawa Food Bank). Contact them at auction@stmatthewsottawa.ca. Similarly, Abbottsford House is looking for good quality flea market items and jewellery which can be dropped off

at the Glebe Centre, 950 Bank Street, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (phone: 613-230-5730).

If you plan to sell food, you will need a permit from the city at least two weeks before the sale. The requirements are onerous – see the City’s webpage for rules on selling food at events. Once the day is over, please be ready to tidy up and to donate and recycle as much as possible. When in doubt, search the City of Ottawa’s Waste Explorer tool at Ottawa.ca/WasteExplorer to learn the best place to dispose of your waste.

The Glebe Community Association has also published a guide to organizations that will take donations of unsold stuff at glebeca.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2022/05/GGGS_Charitiesaccepting-donations-of-usedgoods_May2022.pdf. You will make a difference to someone in need and keep leftover items out of Ottawa’s landfill site. At the time of writing, we are working on options to drop off unsold textiles and hope to have more details to share closer to the day.

Colette Downie coordinates the Great Glebe Garage Sale on behalf of the Glebe Community Association. If you have questions about this year’s sale, planned for Saturday May 25, 2024, see the GGGS FAQs on the GCA website at glebeca.ca/ great-glebe-garage-sale-faqs-2/

A Celebration of mothers

Mother’s Day, on Sunday, May 12, is an opportunity to pause and celebrate the mother who is or was in our lives. As a child, we often don’t fully understand what Mom means to us, what she does for us, how she makes us feel about ourselves and the world around us. Our bodies and our minds are profoundly influenced by her. Our aptly named “mother tongue” is shaped by her.

As fully formed adults, we can look back and see more clearly the full force of her presence in our lives. We may be dumbstruck by the sheer scope and scale of the impact she has had on us. We can appreciate anew her gifts to us.

And perhaps, looking back, we can also see her as a person with a story of her own, dreams and ambitions that may or may not have been realized, talents we can now appreciate, troubles she may have endured, joys she found in life.

And so, we celebrate and salute the mothers among us!

My mom Dorothy

By Derele Scharfe

Hi everyone! I am the wee baby in the lap of my great grandfather.

My mom arranged for her brother-in-law to record this special family occasion for the future.

I don’t remember the occasion, but my mom Dorothy (Shaver) Armstrong was truly excited to be able to gather four generations of the Shaver family for Christmas dinner 1944. The eldest (seated) Edgar Daniel Shaver; his son Fred Maxwell Shaver; his daughter Dorothy (Shaver) Armstrong; and her daughter (me) Derele (Armstrong) Scharfe

My beginnings were at 36 First Avenue, and I have lived with pride in the Glebe for 59 years with my husband Leslie.

Derele Scharfe is a long-time Glebe resident who appreciates her mother.

My mom Jean

Jean (Caskey) Jeffery, R.N., Mom, Gran 1921-2005

My mom was front-page news in the Glebe Report’s May 3, 2002 edition, even though her name wasn’t in print. She was “the 80-year-old victim of a purse-snatching.”

Mom was on her way back from the corner store at Fifth and Gordon (the shop closed a few years ago), a regular shopping excursion during her many visits with us in the Glebe. While her moment of Glebe fame wasn’t exactly glorious, she acquitted herself well. As reported by Susan Brant, “The senior exercised good judgement on a number of fronts during the incident. First, she did not resist the attacker. ‘The one thing I’ve learned is that if they are going to take it, let them have it,’ she said. The senior was also glad to be carrying her bag in her hand, rather than around her neck or over her shoulder, which could have increased the likelihood of injury. The quick-thinking senior also tried to get the license of the fleeing car. ‘I tried to read the license number, but it looked like the license plate had been reversed.”

That was classic Mom. She was a nurse, an R.N., one of the many unlauded mothers of the 1950s and 60s who worked outside the home while

raising children. She was unflappable, used to dealing with tough calls including life-and-death situations. Mom wanted to be a doctor but that cost too much. She worked for three years after high school to earn nursing school fees and graduated in 1945. She eventually became a night supervisor, beloved by her team of “night owls” at Port Colborne General Hospital. I remember her in her crisp white uniform and cap heading out at 10:30 in the evening, cool and professional.

Mom’s Third Avenue visits were more than welcome. Her arrival was met with a sigh of relief from the adults in our household and joyous whoops from the kids. She was a truly helpful guest (dishes and laundry, yay!). My husband, John, called her Cinderella; she took the ribbing with good humour. Her grandkids asked her for stories and more stories. She loved reading to them. Mom was quietly proud of her Northern Irish roots, her profession and her family. But mostly I remember her as modest, generous, sympathetic and loving. And practical too – a great problem-solver!

Jennifer (Jeffery) Humphries is co-chair of the Glebe Report board and a Glebe resident who appreciates her mother.

Christmas Day 1944 at 36 First Avenue

Jean Caskey, nurse

Jean Jeffery with her grandchildren

PHOTO: JOHN HUMPHRIES

SCAN TO LEARN MORE

My mom Louise

By Josh Rachlis

A couple of months ago, I proudly handed my mom the Glebe Report so she could see my monthly cartoon in it. After congratulating me, she pointed out that her painting was on the cover. I had no idea! And that kind of sums her up – she’s always doing amazing things that I don’t even know about, which always make me want to achieve greater things so I can be like her. Another example is that I just saw her post a photo on Facebook of her posing with a box of books, with the caption: “When I edited seniors’ sections for the Citizen, I always told myself, ‘I’m not a senior, I’m just writing about them.’ So, here’s a photo of my box of books that just arrived. I have a story on page 294 of Chicken Soup for the Soul Young at Heart, 101 Tales of Dynamic Aging. So, I say again, ‘I’m not a senior, I’m just writing about them.’ :) The book will be for sale May 21 on store shelves and available for purchase online.”

I didn’t even know she had submitted to the famous Chicken Soup for The Soul series, but suddenly here are the books! And this is just her latest literary accomplishment, as she’s written several books about how to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Her writing was also responsible for my early cartoon gigs – she was the first to hold the position of advertising features editor at the Ottawa Citizen, and when I was in Toronto for university, she would mail me articles she was writing, and I would draw cartoons for them and mail the cartoons back to her. And I guess I got the drawing bug from her, because when I was a kid taking gymnastics,

while I was waiting for class to start, she would draw fun mazes for me to fill out.

At age 77, she’s still a freelance writer for Postmedia newspapers and other publications, and writing is just one of her many activities that inspire me and everyone who knows her. For instance, she started running at age 50 and has run many marathons. She’s at the YMCA every morning for 6 a.m. fitness classes. Swims in Meech Lake. Sells her paintings in Glebe art shows. Volunteers to help the needy. And she just showed me tons of photos she’s taken of a Giant Blue Heron she spots in the Glebe on her daily walks and jogs – so I guess we can add bird photographer to her résumé.

Josh Rachlis is a cartoonist, writer, actor and Glebe resident who appreciates his mother.

By Sophie Shields

When I moved away from home, my mom, Bohdana Dutka, gave me a folder filled with recipes – Bohdana’s Chili, Bo’s brownies, my aunt’s crepes, leek and potato soup, sarma, etc. These and many more range from printed emails to scanned handwritten recipes to cookbook recipes with my mom’s notes all over, each with a story of its own. And cooking with her, gossiping at the counter as I “helped” cook, was

story of learning to cook: leaving North-end Winnipeg on a Commonwealth scholarship to England to study international development, paying for expensive international phone calls to ask my grandmother, a semi-professional cook for Winnipeg Ukrainian gatherings, how to cook dishes she had helped make her whole childhood. This scraped-together knowledge was then passed down to me as I learned to love my Ukrainian heritage as a child through cooking, with our yearly tradition of a day off school to make Easter paska and our Christmas perogies and holubtsy.

one of the first things I missed, and my texts showed it – “My strawberry crisp is too sweet – missing your recipe!” and “Why is your squash soup so much better than mine?!”

With her sometimes-loud aversion to cooking, my mom might be surprised to read that it is through her recipes that I now feel most connected to home, to the cozy and supportive environment she created for me growing up despite working full time. She always emphasized learning and remembering my heritage.

My mom loves to tell me her own

My mom’s cooking is a metaphor for her years of guidance and the support she continues to give me. On those special days off school to make paska, we would always call my grandmother and involve her as we practised a family and cultural tradition. In this same way, my mom will forever be involved with each new recipe, whether in my thoughts or in urgent texts at the grocery store. From weekend afternoons of Murchie’s tea and patisserie to my mother rushing home from her work as a public servant for kitchen gossip and Friday pizzas, these are defining moments in my relationship with my mother, a true role model for my life. Happy Mother’s Day, mama!

Sophie Shields is a Carleton graduate working on her MA in Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College in the U.S. She loves writing and learning languages, speaks French, Ukrainian and German, and appreciates her mother.

Louise Rachlis with some of her books

Mom and me making holubtsi (cabbage rolls)

My mom Bohdana

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WELCOME TO: JJ Comptois

THANKS AND FAREWELL: Jenny and Denys Cooper

CARRIERS NEEDED FOR:

QED: Broadway to townhouses at #520; (13 houses)

CONTACT: circulation@glebereport.ca

The World we live in

On the weekend of April 27 and 28 at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne, an event took place called, more or less, “Ottawa International Book & Food Expo.” The event featured panel discussions (as above) billed as a discussion of free speech, ethics and democracy. They featured speakers such as Maxime Bernier, Randy Hillier, Andrew Lawton and other personalities considered far right or who were associated with the “freedom convoy.” The Expo itself showcased books, alternative health, nutrition and foods. The event also offered singles meet-ups, advertised with scantily clad women.

This event at Lansdowne was flagged for concern by Community Solidarity Ottawa (www.communitysolidarityottawa.ca), a grassroots organization that is “building a community response to the far right.” This led to an investigation by the editor of PressProgress, a not-for-profit media outlet funded by the Broadbent Institute (www.pressprogress.ca). He turned up a number of anomalies such as fake employees and false sponsorship claims. The Ottawa Public Library, the Hill Times and others denied sponsorship although their logos are on the website. The Mexican Embassy cancelled its participation. Ottawa Tourism removed the event from their website, saying that it had “misrepresented itself.”

The Ottawa International Writers

Established in

Festival, a respected event with a reputation built over 27 years, rushed out a press release on April 28 to state emphatically, in bold face, “We are NOT affiliated in any way with the Book Expo, its organizers, or the speakers they presented.” The urgency was because the “Book Expo” was being confused with the Writers Festival, and no wonder. One of the names used by the “Book Expo” was “Ottawa International Book Festival.” Their website is “ottawawritersfestival.ca” whereas the Writers Festival website is identical but with the domain .org rather than .ca. The “Book Expo” took place less than a week before the actual spring Writers Festival held May 2 to 5. What to think about all of this? I think the problem lies not with the event itself – free speech, after all – but with the deception and misrepresentation that surrounds it. The sly positioning of the event next to the respected Ottawa International Writers Festival. The attempt to normalize discussions that many people are appalled by, insinuating them into existing well-known contexts like a book fair – what could be more innocuous? This attempt to mask and deceive is worrisome – it requires an uncomfortable degree of vigilance on our part to see through the misrepresentations and pseudo-legitimacy.

–Liz McKeen

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Glebe

Popavape Super Center opening soon at 1050 Bank Street, across from the Sunnyside library. “We are a chain of vape stores in Canada. Popavape stores offer sales, advice, maintenance and after-sales service for tobacco products and accessories.” www.popavape.com

Sisters Mart opening soon at 793 Bank Street. No information available at press time.

Connect Centre “Christian resources / coffee / caring conversation” now open at 816 Bank Street. www.connectingstreams.com. “Connecting Streams equips and mobilizes the Church to help society’s vulnerable populations know Jesus and experience his power to change the world.”

Witch Chest opening soon at 740 Bank Street. Grand opening June 15. A store focused on the needs of witches (and witch curious), whether information, community support, ritual tools or supplies. witchchest.ca

Iva Apostolova

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Colette Downie

Jenny Doyle

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Josh Rachlis

Louise Rachlis

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Derele Scharfe

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Sophie Shields

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Panel discussion April 27 on “free speech, ethics and democracy” as part of the Ottawa International Book & Food Expo held at the Horticulture Building. PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

My green bin is not for your dog poop

Editor, Glebe Report

Who do our bins belong to? The homeowner or the city which is responsible for picking them up? Some dog owners feel they have a licence to deposit their little bags of dog poop anywhere. On pick-up day, we’ve tolerated a certain amount of foreign litter being deposited in our boxes, unless it’s offensive, like food containers still with uneaten food or a beer can that was full of something not beer.

This morning, a Wednesday, I found one of those dog poop bags in my green bin. Come on, dog owner, why should I have to deal with your dog poop? It’s bad enough that several dogs wander through my garden off leash because we have a back lane and, more than once, we have cleaned up that mess too. I love dogs, I don’t love their mess on my property. Please be a responsible dog owner and take home and dispose of your dog’s waste.

Jeanette

Rive

Send your letters, comments and/or suggestions to Express yourself editor@glebereport.ca

Glebe concerns still

(letter from April 2024 Glebe Report, revised and with corrected name)

Editor, Glebe Report

My questions are still timely and relevant.

When might the lights of the Moving Surface sculpture on the berm at Lansdowne be in operation again? They have been off since March 20 and the Capital Ward Councillor’ s office has not responded with updates as yet.

When might the Glebe Apothecary be reopened? And will the Glebe Metro open its bakery and deli section?

Dr. Denis Caro

Long-term and proud resident of the Glebe

The Kindness of strangers

Editor, Glebe Report

On Thursday April 25, I had a bad fall on an uneven sidewalk on Second Avenue. I am a senior and was bleeding quite profusely from my temple. I’d like to thank Gavin and Janet who came to my aid. They invited me into their home, helped wash the blood from my face and hand and provided a sturdy Band-Aid.

Gavin insisted that he drive me to the restaurant where I was meeting my husband and assisted me in and out of his car.

The kindness of strangers saved me. There are angels in our midst.

Jenny Doyle

Retiring dentist leaves me down in the

mouth

Editor, Glebe Report

I’m feeling a wee bit down in the mouth. I’m losing my Glebe dentist, the irreplaceable Pierre Isabelle. When I was getting out of the hygienist chair recently, he told me he was retiring. My jaw dropped; shocked, I felt the beginnings of an overbite.

Over the last 20 years or so we’ve been through a lot together: spit and drool for one; fillings and implants for another. Even his extractions never drove me to distraction.

A lovely, gentle man with soft hands and a good sense of humour. Retired, he’ll have more time for his wife, kids and beer – not necessarily in that order. And, of course, his waterboarding.

My wife and I wish him only the very best.

Here’s one for you Pierre: What do you call a dentist with a sense of humour. Answer: a sadist.

Douglas Parker

Tribute to Dad

Fathers have a deep and lasting effect on every child, no matter whether Dad is present or absent, easygoing or strict, fun or boring, loving or distant Father’s Day on June 16 gives us a moment to salute the dad in our lives, to recognize his importance to us, and to celebrate his life

Please send to editor@glebereport your short tribute to your dad (let’s say 200 to 500 words) including his full name, and preferably a photo of him, for the June issue This can be a brief profile, an anecdote, a short history of his life –whatever you think best expresses his essence Deadline is May 21

Save the date! The Glebe Report Association’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, May 13 at 7:00 p m in the Pre-School Room at the Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Avenue

Join the volunteer board and production team to learn more about your community’s non-profit, independent newspaper All readers of the Glebe Report are welcome to attend

The PWHL Ottawa vs Montreal game April 27 at TD Place. PHOTO: LUCY BOTTOMLEY

From humble beginnings to triumph

By Katherine Silins

When I was younger, I enjoyed looking through my parents’ old photos. I distinctly remember stopping at a photo of my dad on what looked like the set of a game show, playing against Glebe, the high school I was expecting to attend. My father explained that it was a photo from Reach for the Top, a high-school trivia competition. At the time, having come off a stint competing in spelling bees, I was looking for my next academic challenge. At the start of high school, and with the confidence of a 14-year-old with nothing to lose, I approached one of the vice-principals to ask about starting a trivia team.

The process was not particularly onerous – all it required was a supervisor. We eventually made a connection with Janice Bernstein, a fellow trivia enthusiast. In 2007, the Glebe Reach for the Top club was officially formed. With some old question packs found in a school cabinet, we met once a week to shout questions at one another, slapping the table to answer until our palms stung. The capital of Zimbabwe and the second stage of mitosis never seemed so important.

The following year, we did fundraisers for our first set of buzzers, which cost $200, a seemingly insurmountable sum! We had bake sales and trivia nights, and even organized a trivia battle against a team of teachers to raise money.

In our first year competing, we made it to the city finals but suffered a

heartbreaking loss to rival Lisgar Collegiate for the last qualifying spot at provincials. While this would be our best finish in my four years at Glebe, it helped to spark interest in the Reach for the Top club. By Grade 12, the team had quadrupled in size.

Nearly a decade later, while scrolling through Twitter, a headline caught my attention: “Glebe’s double city champions (juniors and seniors) will be hosting their second trivia night of the year.” Glebe had won the city championship? And the club I got going again 12 years ago was still running? With two full teams? I was elated and sent a screenshot to my family group chat in celebration.

During the pandemic, in the depths of isolation, I discovered a treasure trove of old Reach for the Top footage online and was surprised to see that the 2021 National Championship game had been between the University of Toronto Schools and Glebe! I clicked on the video and jumped straight to the end. YES! – 14 years after I’d restarted the team, Glebe Collegiate was the National Champion of Reach for the Top. The depth of knowledge demonstrated by that championship team floored me, not to mention the calmness under pressure. The win for Glebe – which would turn out to be the first of back-to-back titles –was won on a single tiebreaker question.

If my original Glebe squad had played this collection of trivia whizzes, I suspect the result would have been lopsided – and not in our favour. Personally, I would nail the spelling category and snag the odd math and science question, but I didn’t possess

the incredible breadth of knowledge of top trivia players, from geography and sports to pop culture, arts and the humanities. It didn’t bother me that I was an alternate on the team – highschool trivia helped me build leadership, organizational and teamwork skills, and I valued the time I spent with people who thought learning was fun. It gave me a sense of belonging

and camaraderie, and it’s rewarding to know that the club I started is helping others feel the same way.

Katherine Silins is a first-year law student at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She was the founder of this iteration of Glebe Collegiate’s Reach for the Top team.

The 2024 edition of the Reach for Top National Championship will take place at Glebe Collegiate Institute over the weekend of June 1 and 2, with top trivia teams from across Canada competing in Canada’s best-known high school trivia competition. Round-robin games will begin Saturday with the semifinals and finals on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Glebe’s historic auditorium. Members of the public are invited to attend this fundraiser event.

This is the first time the Reach for the Top championship will be held outside Toronto since 2008, when another Ottawa team – Lisgar Collegiate Institute – won its first national title. It would turn out to be the first of three championships in a decade for Lisgar, cementing the Ottawa region as a major force on the national high-school trivia scene. The rich history and tremendous success of Ottawa high schools is written all over the championship trophy: dating back to the 1960s, no fewer than seven area schools have captured the top prize. Along with Lisgar’s hat trick, Glebe and Gloucester won it twice while Rideau, Hillcrest, Bell and Merivale each triumphed once. In fact, 11 total championships put Ottawa second in Canada, only a single win behind the Toronto region – and miles ahead if considering only schools in the public education system.

Tickets to the semis and final can be purchased in advance at reachnats. com (adults $20, students $15) or at the door (subject to availability), with one ticket getting you access to both semi-finals and the championship final hosted by Ryan Vickers. You’ll see some of the most talented students from across Canada participate in fast-paced, buzzer-beating action, with the proceeds helping to support Ottawa-area high-school trivia programs.

Tickets/info: reachnats.com. Questions: glebereachnats@yahoo.com.

Trivia at Glebe Collegiate Institute

Glebe Collegiate’s 2022 Reach for the Top team won the National Championship. Back row, from left: Willow Paraskevas, McKenna Gray, Rowan Watchmaker, Greg John (coach). Front row: Caleb Ott, Micah Colman, Elizabeth van Oorschot, Stuart Chandler-Baas. This year’s championship will be hosted by Glebe June 1 and 2.

New ways to bus around the Glebe Annex

By Sue Stefko

After a bus-route review in 2023, OC Transpo will enact a so-called “route optimization” sometime this year. While the overhaul will impact most routes and cut about 74,000 service hours per year, the City insists that this is not just about cuts and cost savings, is also also about improving connectivity and better meeting transit riders’ needs.

A number of routes will indeed be cut, and some riders may need to walk further to bus stops or to make transfers. However, there will be improved connections to the Trillium Line, better connections to commercial and employment areas, and more frequent

service on some key routes, particularly those destined for transit stations.

To help explain these changes, the City unveiled a new website called New Ways to Bus. On the site, 27 routes have been designated as “frequent,” including a number that pass near the Glebe Annex neighbourhood, like routes 10, 85a and 14. The City notes that these frequent routes will run seven days a week, every 15 minutes or less during the weekdays. If the 15-minute schedule is maintained the whole day, this would represent an improvement, particularly on the 10 and 14 routes, which now switch to about a 30-minute schedule after the evening rush hour.

Some local routes will also be changed. As many have called for, route

10, the main bus route serving Bronson, will continue east through downtown all the way to Main Street, instead of ending at Lyon Station. This will eliminate the transfer to the O-Train for those headed downtown. The easterly part of the route will replace the current 16.

Preston will be served by a more local route – a new bus 8 will stop at Pimisi Station before crossing into Gatineau to the Canadian Museum of History. Hopefully, the shorter route will mean fewer delays than on the old 85, which according to OC Transpo held the dubious honour last year of being in the top three of most unreliable bus routes in Ottawa. The eastbound 85 will no longer go north up Preston but will return to Bronson, at least between Carling and Chamberlain on its way to Lees Station, replacing the 55. Westbound, instead of travelling south down Bronson, the 85 will use Booth to get from Catherine to Carling, before continuing west along Carling to Bayshore.

Some other nearby routes, such as the 14 which runs from Tunney’s Pasture to St. Laurent along Gladstone, will not be changing. The same is true with route 56, which stretches from King Edward to Tunney’s Pasture, running on Carling and through the Glebe. However, the route will be temporarily detoured from Glebe Avenue between April and October this year due to replacement of underground sewers and watermains and a road reconstruction.

When the changes will actually take place is still unknown, as that’s linked to the reopening of the northsouth O-Train line. The line was officially renamed the Trillium Line in 2014 after the entire light rail transit system took the O-Train moniker, a reference that used to be reserved for the

north-south line.

The Trillium Line, which opened in 2001 using an existing Canadian Pacific Railway track, was closed in 2020 for its expansion south. As part of the project, the line is extending 16 kilometres south to Limebank Road (Line 2), including a four-kilometre separate stretch of rail, referred to as a spur, between South Keys and the Ottawa International Airport, which will be Line 4. The project includes the creation of a new station at Gladstone, which will be called Corso Italia. Some other components of the project include grade separating the extension to avoid any level crossings with roads, upgrading the signalling system, constructing new pedestrian tunnels and overpasses, and rehabilitating rail bridges, such as the Dow’s Lake tunnel.

The line was initially expected to open in August 2022, then May 2023, then spring 2024. After the numerous delays, Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar refused last month to further commit to any particular timeline. The line is not expected to reopen until this summer at the earliest, until remaining issues are resolved, the line is tested and transit operators complete their training.

In the meantime, transit users will continue to watch and wait, using the temporary buses that no longer feel very temporary, for the Trillium Line to reopen. This will unlock improvements in access to the O-Train system and also for those transiting to, through and near the Glebe Annex by bus, with improved connections to other parts of the city as promised.

Sue Stefko is vice president of the Glebe Annex Community Association and a regular contributor to the Glebe Report.

The new bus routes expected to be implemented sometime this year

Kids on bikes

By Eugenie Waters and Erin Maher

We’re bicycle-loving parents with For Our Kids Ottawa-Gatineau and want to share these exciting family-friendly events that our group is organizing for Ottawa residents starting this spring and into fall!

Kidical Mass rides

First is a series of joyful familyfriendly group bike rides (aka bike parades!) that feature a slow-paced loop on separated paths and calm streets geared towards riders of all ages and abilities, including your youngest family members!

Dubbed Kidical Mass, these celebratory bike rides are part of an international movement inspired by “Critical Mass” events held to emphasize the number of people who want to ride bikes for transportation but need infrastructure improvements to make it safe. Kidical Mass expands on that idea with a focus on children and families. We believe children should be able to travel safely and independently to school, parks, sports and other destinations. With climate change already impacting the lives of children, safe streets for kids also means seriously addressing the climate emergency. There are measures – both big and small – that cities like Ottawa can

pursue to make this possible.

But even beyond the message it sends, the Kidical Mass stands to be the most festive bike ride your family has ever been on! Bike decorations, stuffy friends, music and costumes are encouraged.

Mark your calendars for this year’s Kidical Mass rides on May 11, June 22, July 21, August 24 and September 21 (THE BIG ONE!). Meeting locations and routes will vary and will be posted on the website and social media ( bit.ly/ kidical-mass-ottawa / @KidicalMassOttawa). For the May 11 ride, the meeting place will be City Hall. For every ride, meet at 9:30 a.m.; bikes depart at 10 a.m., and will take about an hour. Check out the website to download a fun colouring page invitation!

Cargo bikes and Motherload at the Mayfair June 9

Second, but equally exciting, we are thrilled to be hosting a community showing of the award-winning documentary film Motherload as part of

Let’s Bike Month. This film captures a new mother’s quest to understand the increasing isolation and disconnection of modern life, its planetary impact and how cargo bikes could be an antidote.

Join us at the Mayfair Theatre on Sunday, June 9 at noon. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the event is a fundraiser for the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation Hop On Bikes program that provides bikes to young residents. Entry tickets can be obtained at cargobike-motherload.eventbrite.com with a suggested donation of $10 per person, $5 for students and youth. Special thanks to our partners including John Gomes of Royal Lepage Realty, Vélofix, Physio Bike Fitter, Let’s

Go Cargo, School Streets Ottawa and Bike Ottawa!

Prior to the film, come check out a wide variety of cargo bikes, and chat with their owners about what works for them to make family transportation by bike easy and fun. Cargo-bike-lovers will have their bikes on display from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. next to Hopewell Avenue Public School for an informal cargo bike show & tell. All are welcome!

Eugenie Waters and Erin Maher are bicycle-loving parents with For Our Kids Ottawa-Gatineau (www. forourkids.ca/ottawa_gatineau)

Kidical Mass on Queen Elizabeth Drive in September 2023. PHOTOS: GABRIEL RIVETT-CARNAC

Logo for the award-winning documentary film Motherload.

Sarah Routliffe GNAG Executive Director

GNAG brings the fun!

There’s one thing I adore almost as much as recreation, and that’s fashion. Hopefully, you’re not reading this and thinking, “I’ve seen her walking down Bank Street, and she does not look like she loves fashion.”

I thoroughly enjoy thrifting clothing or discovering hidden gems at vintage or second-hand stores. There’s something special about wearing an adorable and sustainable vintage coat that you KNOW nobody else has – at least not anymore. It always puts a spring in my step.

The reason we’re discussing vintage clothing is that this year, our incredible GNAG Theatre production, The Drowsy Chaperone, was set in the 1920s, and our costume department sourced many vintage pieces for authenticity.

According to director Eleanor Crowder, we featured a garment in the production that was over 100 years old, worn by the character of the chaperone. The costumes department meticulously repaired the delicate fabric to ensure its use in the show, and great care was taken to store it safely every night.

In the photo on this page, you’ll see two cast members wearing vintage pieces. The gold dress is from the mid-century and the black floral dress is from the 1920s.

“I absolutely adored putting together the children’s costumes,” said Mellissa Boicey, our costume head. She shared how enjoyable it was to witness their reactions on the authentic pieces, including knee-high socks and clothing without any stretch. One child even asked, “Can I keep these really cool socks at the end?”

The Drowsy Chaperone

I had the privilege of managing the front of house for the Saturday matinee and attending the evening show of The Drowsy Chaperone. I was thrilled by the fantastic performance! The cast, crew and production team delivered an outstanding show that had the audience laughing in their seats. Some of my family members are still singing the catchy “Aldolpho” song from the production.

It was a night filled with pure theatrical brilliance, and we have a few individuals who made this production possible. First to the cast and crew – your dedication to community theatre, teamwork and the performing arts is truly inspiring.

To Eleanor Crowder, our fearless director – you took a show we were unfamiliar with and introduced us to a hilarious and enchanting new world. Lauren Saindon, your live piano performance transforms each

production, and Ciana Van Dusen’s choreography brought us right into the 1920s!

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Monty Rogers, who did a fantastic job as our company stage manager, Luc Asselin, our production stage manager/ props, and David Magladry for his outstanding lighting design. Special appreciation to Mellissa Boicey for her beautiful costumes and to Paul O’Donnell, whose year of dedicated production management contributed greatly to this show’s success. Your hard work and dedication are truly appreciated.

Thank you to Clare Davidson Rogers for front of house, promo and admin and to the many front-ofhouse volunteers.

Finally, to those who stayed or came in for the strike of the set on Sunday night, we are so grateful!

The lights may be down for this year, but the excitement lives on. Camila Villar Evans, one of our children’s chorus members, shared her enthusiasm, saying, “It was very exciting to do the shows, and I can’t wait to do it again.”

Financial Assistance

We are proud to subsidize attendance at GNAG programs for folks who qualify. Many of our large events, such as Trivia Night and Taste in the Glebe, fundraise for our Financial Assistance Program, which is housed under our larger Community Development Fund. This is the first year the Financial Assistance budget of $12,000 has been fully accessed by our community, signaling an increased demand for subsidized recreational programs. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone in this community who has supported us through volunteering, event participation or financial contributions. Your generosity allows us to make a difference in our community.

Summer Camps

Several summer camp weeks now have openings! We often see cancellations after early bookings, so some previously full weeks now have a few spots available. While many weeks still have waitlists, this is your chance to get in! If you are still looking for summer camp for your child or adolescent, view our availabilities at www.gnag.ca.

Cast members of The Drowsy Chaperone wore vintage clothing like this gold dress from mid-century and the black floral dress from the 1920s.

NESBITT

John Crump President, Glebe Community Association www.glebeca.ca

GCA works for you

The Great Glebe Garage Sale: 2024 edition

This year’s garage sale takes place on Saturday, May 25. Besides being a great social event, it is also an opportunity to support people in need. And the need is great so once again the GCA is working with the Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA) to support the Ottawa Food Bank.

In years past, the suggestion has been to give 10 per cent of sale proceeds to this cause (last year over $15,000 was collected). But given the dire situation some people find themselves in and the strain on resources at the Food Bank, let’s try to do more.

How about 25 per cent? Or perhaps you could consider donating all your proceeds. No matter what you decide, every little bit helps.

Working closely with the Glebe BIA and the Ottawa Food Bank, we are expanding our fundraising efforts this year through on-the-ground volunteers and communications via traditional and social media. Event coordinators are working hard finalizing the usual no-parking restrictions and emergency routes on the day of the sale. We will continue to communicate aggressively about traffic and transportation challenges on the day. Portable toilets will be located at St. Matthew’s Church and another location to be determined. We have received funding from Councillor Menard’s office for two additional toilets this year, and the GCA will fund two plus a wash station.

As was the case last year, there is a plan in place to cancel if the weather turns nasty.

Queen Elizabeth Driveway closures

The National Capital Commission has announced this year’s schedule for parkway closures to allow for active transportation. The Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) in the Glebe will be closed to motorized vehicles from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and holiday Mondays from May 11 to October 14. As well, in July and August, a portion of the QED from Somerset Street to Pretoria Avenue “will remain carfree 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” according to the NCC announcement.

While no one was surprised that the closures would happen again this year – and some might see the new plan as addressing residents’ concerns about the negative impacts of detoured traffic – the GCA feels the NCC could do a better job of consulting and communicating with community stakeholders. Despite multiple requests, the NCC has not yet agreed to sit down with us and the city staff to discuss the best ways to promote active transportation while minimizing the impact of increased traffic on streets like Pretoria, Strathcona, O’Connor and Fifth.

Always optimistic, the GCA has again requested that the NCC organize a meeting with our Councillor’s office, city staff and your association to look at ways to reduce traffic impacts –before they happen. Stand by for further developments.

Province may shut down Lansdowne 2.0 appeal

The failure to make transparent decisions is not just confined to the QED. On April 10, the Ontario government introduced Bill 185, which will mean the GCA’s Lansdowne appeal would automatically be dismissed, along with all other thirdparty appeals in Ontario that do not already have a scheduled hearing date at the Ontario Land Tribunal.

We were finally given a hearing date of October 7-11 (the GCA had no control over setting the time) on April 24 – two weeks too late, given Bill 185 is being made retroactive to the date it was announced. If it passes as is, our appeal will be dismissed, notwithstanding that we now have a hearing date.

Since this bill clearly undermines citizens’ democratic rights, we anticipate that there will be push back across the province. The GCA has joined the calls for the bill to be amended with a motion calling for it to align with the province’s own Housing Affordability Task Force Report which recommended removal of the ability to appeal only in relation to affordable housing projects. Since our appeal applies to removal of green space at Lansdowne, it does not fall under the conditions recommended by the task force report.

If you think maintaining the right to appeal by third parties is an important part of the democratic process, write to Minister of Housing Paul Calandra and tell him this right should be retained. His email is paul.calandra@pc.ola.org.

Annual General Meeting in September

As previously reported, the GCA is working to comply with new provincial rules governing non-profit organizations. Under the rules, organization members are required to approve changes at the AGM, so the board voted at its last meeting to hold this year’s annual meeting on September 12 to ensure that everything is in place by that date. The next GCA meeting takes place Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Everyone is welcome.

Working

Shawn Menard

Councillor, Capital Ward

N 613-580-2487

www.shawnmenard.ca

to improve flooding readiness and climate adaptability in Ottawa

I know the details can be a bit dry, but stormwater management and climate adaptation are hot topics in Ottawa these days. We are scrambling to respond in the short-term and adapt in the long-term to changing weather patterns and old infrastructure systems in need of renewal. A recent report from the National Capital Commission predicts more rain in the spring, summer and fall and more intense weather events occurring more frequently.

These effects are happening in real time. Last August’s rainstorm resulted in 92 reports of flooded homes in Capital Ward, clustered in Kaladar Park, and 474 flooding reports citywide. While the infrastructure systems are not technically failing – they are working as designed – they are not meeting current needs. Support programs for residents are also struggling to keep pace, with long phone waits for 311 during emergencies. Existing programs like the Residential Protective Plumbing Program, which support the installation of sump pumps, storm and sanitary backwater valves and other protective plumbing devices, need to be streamlined and aligned with timeframes for a faster response.

But change is on the horizon. In my role as chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee – and with support from Ariela Summit, our office’s lead on environmental issues – we have been seeking improvements, after all the power outages, windstorms, flooding and tornadoes we’ve seen.

A series of revised programs to support residents and new long-term planning strategies are coming to council this spring and fall. In April, we’ll see a report recommending that the pilot program Rain Ready Ottawa become permanent. This three-year program supports residents to increase stormwater infiltration on their properties through education and financial rebates. It has resulted in tangible interventions like downspout redirections, the creation of rain gardens, the construction of soakaway pits and the installation of permeable pavement. We need more programs like this that use the unique position of the City to catalyze private action.

While the Rain Ready Ottawa

Program is geared toward captur ing water runoff through low impact development measures on private properties, the Residential Protect ive Plumbing Program deals primar ily with homes connected to the storm, sanitary or combined sewer systems that exceed capacity during rain fall events, resulting in stormwater or sewage backups in basements. This program is due for a revision this fall, and we have suggested a number of measures which include proactive educational mailouts, compiling a list of pre-approved plumbers, offering plumbing assessments in flood-prone areas and a review of the city’s emer gency response capacity.

While there is a lot more to be done on the education front, the City is start ing to partner with experts like the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, which offers a series of easy-to-under stand graphics on flood prevention maintenance and simple upgrades to increase resilience. We need your input on two important policy frame works that will support these programs. The draft Climate Resiliency Strategy is currently up on Engage Ottawa, with a corresponding survey that looks to prioritize key action items. There is also a series of open houses on Climate Ready Ottawa at the end of April. You can visit engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency for dates, times and locations. These events will be interactive, with opportunities to share feedback and ask questions, so please show up and let staff know which aspects of climate change impact your life and how they could be better addressed.

The next item to watch out for is the Tree Planting Strategy, which will be coming to the Environment and Climate Change Committee this June. Trees increase water infiltration and prevent erosion, as well as providing a habitat for wildlife, lowering temperatures in the summer and making our neighbourhoods more beautiful and interesting. The strategy will evaluate existing planting programs like Trees in Trust, Commemorative Tree Planting and Schoolyard Tree Planting, and it will propose shifts to move toward a proactive approach to reaching the new urban-canopy-cover target of 40 per cent outlined in the New Official Plan. Check out engage.ottawa.ca/ tree-planting-strategy for surveys that are currently online, and feel free to email feedback to our office or the contacts listed there.

The scale of change needed is huge, but it is happening piece by piece. An important component of this will be the Infrastructure Master Plan and Long-Range Financial Plan which guide the scale and scope of services to support growth like roads, sewers and drinking water. While it may sound boring, these elements impact our basic quality of life and demand new solutions that prioritize green infrastructure, reduce sprawl and promote common-sense solutions.

IN THE HEART OF THE glEbE

Richard Merrill Haney, Ph.D. (Counselling & Mediation)

“You are your dreams...limited only by your fears.”

• Individual, Couple and Family Counselling

• Comprehensive Family Mediation (with or without lawyers)

• Hypnotherapy

• Life Coaching

Bank St. at the canal email: richard@ottawacounselling.com 234-5678 (by appointment) www.ottawacounselling.com

Introduction Lecture A PATH TO A HEALTHY BODY AND SOUL

Based on the work of Bruno Groening

Learn how to absorb the life stream and how it can help you attain health, joy and inner freedom.

Thursday, May 30, 2024 Time: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Place: 91A Fourth Ave.

Free Admission

Donations Welcome Sponsored by the Ottawa Circle of Friends

Contact: Danielle 613-331-2773 or Nicole 613-841-9216

Email: boutind2@gmail.com or nicole51m@hotmail.com

Info: www.bruno-groening.org

Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth OCDSB Trustee, Zone 9

Review of elementary school programs – why?

A family moving to Ottawa recently wrote to ask me, as trustee for Capital and Alta Vista, about the programs that Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) offers. How do I know which program to choose, they asked, and can I choose from any of the schools in the area?

A poignant question at a time when the OCDSB is embarking on a review of our elementary programs. As those of you who have a children currently enrolled in school know, we currently offer an array of six different programs: Kindergarten with 50 per cent instruction in English and French; English with Core French (grades 1-8, 40 minutes of French instruction daily); Early French Immersion (EFI is 80 per cent of instruction in French in grade 1, then 60 per cent of instruction in French in grades 2-6 and 50 per cent in grades 7-8); Middle French Immersion (MFI begins in grade 4 with 60 per cent of instruction in French, then 50 per cent in grades 7-8); and Alternative programs (cooperative, student-directed learning in multi-age groupings, offered at four schools in grades 1-6 and one school in grade 7-8). Some schools are single track (English with Core French only, for example), some are multi-track (English with Core French

and EFI/MFI, for example). We also offer remote learning (OCV), run two special education schools (Crystal Bay and Clifford Bowey), and run 143 elementary specialized program classes (gifted, autism spectrum, behavioural classes, etc.) in 66 sites. In short, if you are a parent, you are faced with a hodgepodge of programs. So how does someone new to Ottawa choose where to enroll their child?

Unfortunately, where a child goes to school in Ottawa, which program they are encouraged to pursue and whether they thrive in that program does not reflect our commitment to equity, inclusivity and diversity in public education. We’ve identified significant disparities as a result of our hodgepodge of programs.

First, there is streaming from an early age, with French immersion dominated by populations of higher socioeconomic status. Racialized populations, newcomers and refugees and students with disabilities are less likely to be encouraged to enroll in French immersion programs. The hodgepodge of programs also results in children who require transportation to get to schools further from their homes, rather than keeping children at their neighbourhood schools. Indeed, some schools (primarily English with Core French single-track schools) are then under-enrolled, while other schools are bursting at the seams.

Furthermore, we have identified disparities in the attrition rate for students in French immersion (data shows that boys, racialized populations, students with disabilities and students with

behavioural dysregulation are more likely to be moved out of French immersion programs, between grades 1-6, into English or Alternative programs).

We have also identified significant gaps in educational outcomes for students in our programs: Our data has shown that students in French Immersion programs are more likely to meet provincial standards in all subjects.

In short, our hodgepodge of elementary programs contributes to structural inequalities in educational experiences and outcomes.

We have a responsibility to address these disparities. It is with these goals in mind that we’ve embarked on an Elementary Program Review. It will not be easy – we are talking about transformational change – but our goal is to conduct consultations with the community, consider other program delivery models and put something into place for our students by September 2025.

Those whose children already thrive in current programs may be nervous or upset about discussion of change. Transformational change is never easy, but it is very much necessary in our district to ensure equitable access and opportunity. OCDSB has already embarked on public consultations. For more information about our current programs and about the Elementary Program Review, please see: engage. ocdsb.ca/elementary-program-review

If you have questions about the Elementary Program Review, you are also welcome to reach out to me as your trustee: nili.kaplan-myrth@ocdsb.ca

Glebe Collegiate Reach for the Top team of 2021, the first recent team to win the national championship (see story, page 6). Back row left to right: Caleb Ott, Gabriel McMurren, Elizabeth van Oorschot, Joel Harden (Ottawa Centre MPP). Front row: Greg John (coach), Micah Colman, Stuart Chandler-Baas, Jacob Johnston

Countdown to the Climate Change Master Plan’s 2025 targets

By Cecile Wilson

[Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii on 21 April 2024: 427.29 parts per million]

Canada ranks number 10 among the top 10 greenhouse gas emitters in the world. A 2022 document on Environmental Sustainability Indicators from Environment and Climate Change Canada reports that although our per capita emissions declined from 2005 to 2019, we still have the highest per capita emissions on the planet. Clearly, our current model of operation is not sustainable. What can we do about it?

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimates that cities have an influence over approximately half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Cities and towns own approximately 60 per cent of public infrastructure and provide services related to housing, transportation, water and sewers, waste management and planning. Ottawa, for example, manages around $70 billion worth of infrastructure. Actions at the municipal level can make a huge difference.

The City of Ottawa has already made several climate commitments: declaring a Climate Emergency, signing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2022, and – most significantly –approving a Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP) in January 2020.

Ottawa’s Climate Change Master Plan

The CCMP has a two-part strategy: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation

refers to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Adaptation refers to improving the resiliency of the city’s built and natural infrastructure in the face of severe weather events. Responsibility for mitigations and adaptations are divided between the “corporation” (i.e., the City of Ottawa) and the community. The city’s emissions derive from its vehicle fleet, facilities, solid waste and wastewater.

The Climate Change Master Plan has short-, mid- and long-term deadlines for achieving its mitigation and adaptation targets. The first of those targets comes up next year. How is the plan faring so far?

The goal for 2025 is a 30-per-cent reduction in corporate emissions and a 43 per-cent reduction in community emissions over 2012 levels. Last year, the City delivered its progress report in April. At the time of writing, the 2024 update had not yet happened but was

expected in late May or early June.

In the 2023 progress report, only two of the eight priorities were proceeding on schedule, five were “off target,” and one had not progressed at all (carbon sequestration and green infrastructure).

One priority that was on schedule was the application of a “climate lens” to capital projects and the management of city assets. For example, the budget included funding for the purchase of electric buses and for conducting energy retrofits of municipal buildings as well as ensuring continued mapping of floodplains and forestry and greenspace protection.

Another priority that was on target was the encouragement of private action through education, incentives, municipal support and advocacy to various levels of government on behalf of individuals and private organizations. To achieve this goal, the City was able to obtain a number of loans and grants to purchase electric buses, install electric-vehicle charging stations, fund most of the retrofit of the Hintonburg Community Centre and support the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program and the Better Buildings Ottawa Program. For the education aspect of the goal, the City launched the ClimateActionOttawa.ca website and the Climate Change Newsletter (climatechange@city-ottawa.ca). In addition, the City bought 69 thermal cameras for the Ottawa Public Library’s lending collection. Residents can borrow these cameras to locate leaky areas in their homes and target them for sealing.

Will we meet our 2025 targets?

The five priorities falling short of targets include the implementation of the Energy Evolution strategy (the city’s strategy for reducing GHG emissions), the development of a climate risk assessment, applying a climate lens to the Official Plan, setting corporate carbon budgets, and developing a governance framework to help the City and the community work together to take responsibility for climate action.

The City has made some progress on its Climate Change Master Plan, but more work remains to be done. For example, 36 per cent of Ottawa residents do not have access to air conditioning. This becomes a health threat as we anticipate more days above 30°C and higher humidity in coming summers.

As we wait for the 2024 progress report, it is important that residents let the Mayor and their Councillors know that we support the city’s mitigation and adaptation efforts. Money is tight everywhere, but every dollar we can put towards reducing climate risks will help us to avoid higher costs in the long run – both financially and socially – as we deal with the continuing impacts of climate change.

For more information on the type of climate risks we can anticipate in the future and the City’s Climate Resiliency Strategy, check out engage.ottawa.ca/ climate-resiliency.

Cecile Wilson has been a Glebe resident for 23 years and is a frequent contributor on climate change.

135 Barrette Street, Unit 304, Beechwood

The Greening of St� Matthew’s

By Neville Nankivell

Now taking off among houses of worship worldwide, the climate-change “greening movement” has been embraced solidly by St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in the Glebe.

By meeting certain yardsticks over the past year, it has been certified at the “light green” level by the Canadian nonprofit group Greening Sacred Spaces (GSS). “This organization encourages all denominations to commit to caring for the environment,” says Bill Nuttle, St. Matthew’s sustainability coordinator and co-chair of its property committee. “All parts of our church are now involved in this project.”

The goal is to reach the medium and then deep-green level by completing activities set down under GSS requirements. For many years, St. Matthew’s had already been recycling and composting waste but meeting the lightgreen certification level involved an updated eco-audit of its energy and water use. Nuttle says this identified ways to reduce the church’s energy use

in areas such as lighting and weather sealing. Most of its basement lighting is being replaced by more energy efficient LED lighting under Ontario’s Save on Energy Program. Discussions on options for a more reliable and “greener” heating system are also underway. The possibility of solar panels will be part of this but nothing specific yet.

To make parishioners more aware of what’s happening, a “Greening St. Matthew’s Tree” is now on display in the front of its pews. Made out of a composite panel left over from church renovations, its branches “sprout” cardboard green leaves for each milestone reached. “Watch it grow,” Nuttle says of this visual eco-progress reminder.

St. Matthew’s also now has an environmental working group whose scope involves several of its parish committees and draws on a Zero Waste Church program used by other Canadian and U.S. churches. Margaret Terrett, the St. Matthew’s co-ordinator, says this year’s activities have included a salad garden project at the church

where participants plant seeds in pots and take them home, an Earth Day Fair and a Blessing of the Bicycles service. The fair involved exhibits on ways to reduce carbon footprints and become better eco-stewards of the planet.

On Saturday, June 8, a Bicycle Clinic will be held in the church’s First Avenue parking lot between 10 a.m. and noon with minor repairs available, such as oiling and proper tire pressure. A keen cyclist herself, Terrett says more complicated repairs will be noted down for participants “so cyclists can go to a bike shop with the correct lingo for their two-wheel friend.” She will be helped by Mark Lindsay, the event’s co-leader. Places can be reserved on the website: www.eventbrite. ca/e/865741174157?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Nuttle says the most important thing the church has accomplished so far “is to bring our commitment to be better stewards of the environment front and centre through an increasing number of activities.” It’s encouraging, he adds, to see that many other churches

are responding in similar ways amidst a growing sense that we need to be doing more.

Neville Nankivell is a long-time St. Matthew’s parishioner.

Last year’s Blessing of the Bicycles at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church PHOTO: RANDI GADDARD

Greening St. Matthew’s Tree PHOTO: WILLIAM NUTTLE

s ofthe g lebe

the joy of birding

By Jeanette Rive

Remember the spring of 2021, that second year of COVID? We were still isolating, ordering online, meeting in bubbles, online school, masking everywhere and hearing horror stories of the ravages of the virus.

And we were walking and walking and walking, enjoying the outdoors, spaced two metres apart. All there was to remind us of some normalcy was the world of nature – the tulips were out, spring was in the air. Our eyes turned to the outdoors whenever possible, and everything was so much quieter – we could hear bird song, the air was clearer, and time moved slowly.

I started writing the Birds of the Glebe column that spring of 2021. So many more people were out with binoculars, we were more observant of wildlife around us and our eyes and ears were somehow more attuned to nature. Twenty-three columns and twenty-two bird species later, I have almost exhausted the list of birds we habitually see in our area of Ottawa: our backyards, our parklands around the inlets and creeks, the Canal, the Arboretum and Fletcher Wildlife Garden, my haven during those early COVID months. I spent many hours outdoors, binoculars and camera in hand, watching for birds, chatting to equally

enthusiastic birders, most much more experienced than I.

Researching about the birds made me focus on bird behaviour, unique aspects of each bird, the resilience, instinct, bravery of these animals, some of them so tiny they only weigh a few grams and yet make the most astonishing flights of migration. Little details have stood out: the Mourning dove’s ability to suck up water, the Yellow warbler covering up her eggs if another bird has laid an egg amongst her own eggs, gulls’ built in desalination plant, the White-breasted nuthatch’s ability to go down a tree as well as up, the Pileated woodpecker’s huge long tongue, the dazzling feather display of the Wood duck and the super smarts of Blue jays and corvids.

It seems that every day we are reading or hearing about the health benefits of being in nature and birding. One is forced to slow down, keep still, keep quiet, listen for the rustle of leaves, notice tiny movements in bushes and trees, look up (yes, a stiff neck can be the result) and catch a glimpse of a larger bird of prey. One only needs a pair of binoculars, they don’t even have to be expensive, and a bird guide, although now, so much information is just on your phone. Ebird and the Merlin bird ID have been referenced several times in my columns. Sibley

and National Geographic bird guides are excellent resources. Locally, Wild Bird Unlimited has everything one needs to both be a birder and provide sustenance to our feathered friends.

The changing climate has brought unusual visitors to our area over the last few years as weather patterns, habitats and food supplies affect the range of birds. This winter, birding enthusiasts were thrilled by the sight of a bright yellow Western Tanager that was sustained through the winter by caring volunteers making sure feeders were full and protected. Sadly, it perished in a window collision, perhaps being pursued by a predator. Dow’s Lake, areas along the Ottawa River, floodplains in the east and Britannia Conservation area are wonderful areas to explore and perhaps catch some unusual visitors. One of a birder’s greatest thrills is to

witness 10,000 Snow geese taking off en masse from one of their resting areas in the east end of Ottawa as they migrate south in the fall. May and June are peak migration and leading up to nesting season, although some early nesters are already busy.

This is my final “regular” column. I hope I have created some awareness of the wonderful birds around us and readers have learnt a little, as I have, about their habits and powers of survival. Enjoy and marvel at these wonderful creatures, keep your feeders full and clean, provide some water in the summer and keep the cats indoors, especially in nesting season. Happy birding!

Jeanette Rive is a Glebe bird enthusiast and frequent Glebe Report contributor. This is her final column in this series.

The sight of Snow geese rising from their resting place to migrate south for the winter is thrilling to all who witness it. PHOTO: JEANETTE RIVE

Looking forward and being appreciative

By Pat Goyeche

May April showers indeed bring May flowers. Our volunteer gardeners are hoping for lots of April showers to feed the beautiful flower beds that surround Abbotsford Seniors Centre.

The tremendous efforts of our main volunteer gardener and of the many volunteers who keep Abbotsford thriving and surviving were celebrated this month. Staff, members and clients were encouraged to nourish and thank our 150-strong Abbotsford volunteers throughout the month of April as part of National Volunteer Month.

Abbotsford flourishes in no small part due to our tireless volunteers who drive clients to medical appointments, support our day programing (Luncheon Club and Dementia Day program), facilitate clubs and instruct classes, serve on the members’ council, sort, price and sell donations for fundraising, serve lunches, create and sell high quality crafts and homemade teddy bears, greet members and clients at reception, tend our gardens and support our small staff team in innumerable ways.

Spring programming began the second week of April with a full complement of fitness classes for the varied levels and needs of our 650-strong membership. Art classes and workshops, along with language classes, memoir writing, and several weekly

the need for our in-community seniors programming increases beyond our resources. The boomers are blooming, keeping fit, connected and supported as they age, and we aim to support them through our programming and support services at Abbotsford. We have been acting in this role since 1975!

Abbotsford has never been fully funded, but we are mandated by our provincial funders to be accessible and affordable to the general population of adults 55 +, which is of course the mission that inspires us all. We are only able to continue to deliver our programming through the support of community, volunteers and dedicated staff.

Our major fundraiser coincides with the Great Glebe Garage Sale, to be held this year on Saturday, May 25. We will be selling both indoors and outdoors. On offer will be the enormous range of donated goods that has been accumulated, sorted and priced by our volunteers. You will see 70 of our finest volunteers working up to and on that day, all with the goal of helping Abbotsford meet its financial needs.

How can you help? Donate your slightly used, but still wonderful things to Abbotsford. We are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. We gladly accept flea market items, jewellery and what we lovingly term “elegant treasures.” If you are downsizing or spring cleaning, please think of us. We accept, price and sell

Thank you to the community of Abbotsford members, clients and volunteers who do so much to keep Abbotsford thriving. Whether you donate goods, time or money, it all adds up to keeping our community strong.

We are also reaching out to the larger community to support our fundraising endeavours by becoming a sponsor of our event, donating goods for us to sell or committing to a monthly donation. All of those contributions help support seniors in our community. We all play a role in supporting our elders as they age where they live.

Abbotsford is your Seniors Active

Living Centre. We are the community programs of The Glebe Centre Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit, organization which includes a 254-bed long term care home. Find out more about our services by dropping by 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., telephoning 613-2305730 or by checking out all The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website www.glebecentre.ca

Pat Goyeche is coordinator of community programs at Abbotsford at The Glebe Centre.

Gatherings at Abbotsford, made possible by a multitude of volunteers, often turn into muchappreciated social occasions. PHOTO: PAT GOYECHE

Raising the bar: Glebe resident launches STEM fundraiser

By Devon Babin

Jennifer Farkas has only lived in the Glebe for eight months, yet her dedication to the local community can’t be denied. Throughout April, Farkas ran a fundraiser to support the local chapter of the Canadian Association for Girls in Science (CAGIS).

Moving into the Glebe last September, Farkas is a United States Space Force Guardian assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force serving as an Exchange Officer for the 3rd Canadian Space Division.

“The Glebe is not only the best neighbourhood in the city, but the spirit of the community is unmatched,” said Farkis. “As someone who moves often, I know when an area is the right fit, and the outpouring of support during this fundraising campaign reflects the welcoming nature of its residents,”

Careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are among the highest-paid and fastest-growing in the country. Unfortunately, women make up only 23 per cent of science and technology workers in Canada. CAGIS is committed to reversing this trend by offering programs that inspire young women, showing them how they can be successful in any field, including STEM.

The Raising the Bar fundraiser launched April 2 with a densely packed trivia night at the Glebe Central Pub. Farkas kicked off the event by telling the crowd of STEM supporters that more must be done to get women into these fields.

“Daily, I am reminded of the need to advocate on behalf of women in the crucial fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” she said “As a member of the armed services, I am committed to community involvement and public outreach. Empowering young women and girls is near and dear to my heart.”

Other fundraising events at the Glebe Central Pub included an April 14 dart tournament sponsored by Perth Brewery. Twenty players from as far away as Smiths Falls descended on the pub to compete in a teams-based, cricket-style tournament to support the fundraiser. A head-shaving event on April 16 raised more than $300 and lots of attention from passers-by on Bank Street.

The fundraiser culminated with a wrap-up party on April 28 featuring live music and some appreciative final words from Farkas and CAGIS representatives.

Prizes for the final event were provided by local businesses, including Capital Home Hardware, McCrank’s Cycles and Skis, Compact Music, the Glebe Central Pub, 3’s Company, Riviera and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, among others.

Donations through CAGIS’s online portal, including a generous donation from the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, helped the campaign exceed its target of $1,000 by mid-month, and the final total for the Raising The Bar fund-

young women to pursue careers in STEM,” said Farkis. CAGIS programs are evidence-based and informed by scientific research and thorough evaluation. The association’s approach is recognized internationally, with expert advisory roles and presentations to the United Nations. The association offers both virtual programs and in-person experiences through local clubs that visit labs, workshops and field sites to meet mentors and do fun, hands-on activities.

Founded in 1992, CAGIS is Canada’s largest and longest-running STEM club for girls and gender diverse youth aged seven to 16. The success of CAGIS is truly inspiring, with 94 per cent of CAGIS alumni studying or working in STEM fields.

Since its inception, CAGIS has created opportunities for girls and gender-diverse youth to explore the world of STEM. Its award-winning programs take STEM out of the classroom and into labs, field sites and workshops to build, experiment, and explore, with women and gender-diverse role models. To date, its in-person and online programs provide over 12,000 interactions with youth across Canada per year.

Anyone interested in supporting young women in STEM can donate through CAGIS’s secure online portal at https://

Glebe resident Jennifer Farkas held a fundraiser in support of promoting girls in science, technology, engineering and math, hosted at Glebe Central Pub.

Abbeyfield Riverside volunteer opportunities

Abbeyfield Riverside is a new non-profit housing organization formed to create a seniors’ residence for 15-20 independent older adults in central Ottawa, serving the Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East and Centretown.

We have positions on our board for qualified people looking to improve affordable housing options for seniors in the community. We are seeking people with leadership experience in the not-for-profit sector to serve on the board and on our sub-committees to support project management, communications, outreach, marketing and fundraising. Experience in real estate development or construction in the notfor-profit housing sector would be an asset.

Upcoming board positions include:

Chair and Vice Chair: excellent leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, a tertiary education, ability to find, retain and evaluate the performance of committed volunteers, ability to achieve results through others.

Treasurer: accounting degree, extensive experience in financial statement preparation and budgeting.

Secretary: strong written and oral communication, digital competence, experience maintaining records, organizing meetings, and taking board minutes.

Chair of Communications and Outreach Committee: strong oral and communication skills, extensive experience in marketing and communications, including social media, website design, digital publishing.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Nora McKnight at riverside@abbeyfield.ca

For information on the Abbeyfield model of housing, visit abbeyfield.ca.

To them, we’re a support system, a studio, a playground, a blank canvas. Here, they can explore beyond the curriculum, developing passions and skills that help them achieve whatever they can imagine.

Watching the solar eclipse on Third Avenue. PHOTO: ELIZABETH ROSS

Seitan, a meat substitute that packs a flavour punch

By Tim O’Connor

When it comes to meat substitutes, tofu gets the headlines and fancy mushrooms get the glory, but the best bang for my meatless buck is seitan.

Seitan, a meat substitute made of wheat gluten, has more flavour than tofu and costs less than fancy mushrooms. It’s easily made at home and excellent for a vegan version of our favourite fried things, such as chicken. All you need is water, a few spices of your choice, nutritional yeast and a bag of vital wheat gluten, which you can get at any large grocery store or Herb and Spice store.

You mix all ingredients and then poach or bake the dough. The methods produce different results, so in next month’s column we’ll focus on baking, and this month we’ll look at poaching seitan to make vegan fried chicken.

Seitan has a soft, meaty texture and is high in protein. It plays well with others, so you can add many flavours to the raw dough, be it soya, boullion or even mushroom powder. You can experiment to bring out more flavours that appeal to your taste. For this recipe I’ll use a touch of tahini.

The dough is soft and wet and very tacky. When you cut portions, they will be in odd shapes, and you can stretch them or leave them as the shapes they want to be. Pieces of fried chicken are

irregular shapes too.

You can poach the seitan in water or stock, though I’ve found that boullion powder or mushroom powder added while making the dough packs in more intense flavour than can be had from

cooking in liquid stock.

I also learned to respect the baking powder in the recipe, as it will cause the dough to grow to two or three times in size while poaching. On my first attempt my dough alarmingly

expanded to fill the entire circumference of the pot I’d chosen. Who ya gonna call? Potbusters!

You’re poaching this because you want the dough to stay nice and soft, whereas if you bake it, it becomes a little tougher. (Note that poaching releases a lot of gluten into the water, so you can’t reuse the water for a second batch.)

Once poached and dried (as per recipe below), cover the poached pieces in the flour mixture you’d use for making fried chicken, then fry in a pan. There you have seitan vegan fried chicken. Add your favourite condiment or dipping sauce for even more flavours. Next month, we’ll talk about baking the dough and making another delicious dish.

Tim O’Connor was raised in the Glebe and is head chef at Flora Hall Brewing.

1 cup vital wheat gluten 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

tsp salt 3/4 cup water 1 tbsp baking powder 2 tbsp tahini

Mix all ingredients, cut or stretch into pieces (remember they will expand significantly while cooking). Bring poaching liquid to simmer, turn down slightly, drop in pieces and poach for about 45 minutes. Let them air dry a bit, then put them on a cloth to soak up some of the water. Your seitan is now ready to cover in flour mix and fry as you would for fried chicken.

PHOTO: PETER SIMPSON

Flavourful veggies from my mamma’s kitchen

for the Glebe Report, she recalled her first visits to Canada in the late 1980s and her dismay in discovering that vegetables here were mainly served boiled in water or steamed – the norm, back then. That is what she always serves to people who are unwell or have digestion problems!

By Marisa Romano

An unstoppable “force of nature”, my mamma, Flora Marchetti, now pushing 92, still lives independently in Italy, walks to the local market for groceries and cooks up a storm. Around her table are places for her closest friend, her children (three of us, including me when I visit) and her grandchildren who announce their visits with a call, knowing that they will be treated with a sought after made-from-scratch special meal.

Born and raised in a small seaside resort in her beloved Tuscany, my mamma often recalls the scarcity of war times, the hours spent gleaning wheat or foraging for wild greens, and her grandmother’s simple meals around the outsized dining table, large enough to accommodate the extended family.

That was before her parents acquired a small restaurant that they operated with the help of some family members and developed it into an establishment where patrons waited in line for a table, and loyal truck drivers made a special stop for their mid-day break. My mamma was then the young vivacious server who hung up the apron at the end of the day and joined night-long gatherings with her friends.

Her life changed when she married one of the restaurant’s patrons, the professional serious man who came from another city to work at the local factory and lived in one of the rooms built above the restaurant after renovation of the original building. He was the first client to sign the hotel registry.

The kitchen has not always been my mamma’s heaven. Cooking is something that she discovered once married and mastered after a few culinary failures, remediated with a bicycle ride to her parent’s restaurant where she picked up ready meals for her husband who initially thought that was her cooking. After that, food preparation became her passion and a daily obsession.

Nowadays she lives for cooking. On her table are dishes with ingredients typical of the Mediterranean diet: a lot of vegetables and little meat, fish, pasta (of course!) often made by hand and beans (Tuscans are known as Italy’s bean eaters). Olive oil is at the base of her cooking and the condiment for excellence.

When I asked my mamma for a recipe

So here, for all vegetable lovers and the ones who can be converted, are a couple of her favourite recipes.

Piselli stufati con pancetta

Ingredients:

A drizzle of olive oil

½ small, sweet onion, finely sliced

2 slices of pancetta or bacon, cut in small pieces

2 cups of peas fresh or frozen

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a casserole, warm up the olive oil, add the sweet onion and pancetta or bacon. Cook for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Add the peas (if using frozen ones, do not defrost first), salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat until the peas are soft, mixing occasionally and adding a splash of water if needed. The cooking time depends on the type of peas. Best are the ones with a soft skin. Unfortunately, most peas on the market are large and with a thick skin, ideal for steaming and for soup. This recipe works with those ones as well, with a little longer cooking time.

Cavolfiore in umido

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower

3-4 Tbsp of olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1/3-½ cup tomato passata

2-4 Tbsp water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Divide the cauliflower into small florets and slice the large ones lengthwise. Cook them in boiling salty water for 5 minutes, drain and set aside. Peel the garlic clove, cut it in half and remove the inner germ. In a skillet, warm up olive oil, add the garlic and let cook in the gently bubbling oil until golden. Discard the garlic and add the cauliflower. Mix gently and let cook a few minutes until golden; add tomato passata, water and season with salt and pepper. Mix gently, then cover and let cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. Add more water if needed. Uncover and continue cooking to thicken the sauce if needed.

Marisa Romano is a foodie and a scientist with a sense of adventure, who appreciates interesting people and good food, especially when cooked by her mother.

Meet our Dynamic Duo of Care

Sarah Hobbs, Registered Practical Nurse (RPN), and Jillian Eng, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), combine their extensive expertise in nursing and social work to serve our community. Collaborating closely, they strive to identify optimal care strategies for all residents, ensuring each individual receives the necessary attention. Moreover, they foster a supportive environment where our healthcare team feels prepared, capable, and at ease in delivering exceptional care.

Sarah says, “I admire seniors. They share so many stories of courage, wisdom, and strength. This gives me great satisfaction.” Echoing Sarah’s sentiment, Jillian adds, “I enjoy working with seniors. I can see the impact that we make every day. This keeps me going on the tough days.” Join us in recognizing their teamwork and commitment to seniors!

Marisa’s mother’s dish, Piselli stufati con pancetta

Flora Marchetti, 92, loves to cook up a storm in her home in Italy. PHOTOS: MARISA ROMANO

Glebe author Denise Chong launches new book

By Ian McKercher

Denise Chong is a meticulous and patient writer. Five books and one edited anthology over the last 30 years demonstrate her dedication to detail before crafting words to the page. The people she highlights do not all have cheerful tales to tell, but she brings their greater glories to life in a way that is humane and uncompromising of the forces working against the victims. She travels to difficult places to give voice to voiceless human stories.

Chong and her family moved to the Glebe in 1994, the year that her first book, The Concubine’s Children, was published. This non-fiction memoir of her family was on the Globe and Mail best-seller list for 93 weeks.

Thirty years later, on April 18 at Library and Archives Canada, she launched her fifth book, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse. She left two days later to promote the book in Vancouver and Calgary.

The book digs deeper into a story that grabbed international headlines in 2011. After her first year of graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, Rumana Monzur, a university professor from Bangladesh, returned home to demand a divorce from her abusive husband. His response: a vicious attack in front of their five-year-old daughter that left Rumana totally blind.

Chong not only travelled to Bangladesh to explore what led to the attack and the consequences that followed, she also tells the inspiring story of Rumana’s recovery after being rushed back to Vancouver where she learned to live with blindness and studied to become lawyer.

“When I first met Rumana, I was bowled over by her courage in learning to live in darkness, build a new career and cast off any sense of victimhood,” Chong said in an interview. “To tell her story, I had to unravel what led to the attack and what followed. As such a

brutal example of intimate partner violence, Rumana’s case became an issue at the highest level of Bangladeshi politics and in the international media.”

Chong was born in Vancouver in 1953 and grew up in Prince George, where her father was a radio operator at the airport. In grade school, she entered compositions in the fall fair and later wrote for the school paper at UBC. Graduating in 1975 with a BA in economics, she became one of few women back then in the Department of Finance in Ottawa. She took a leave in 1978 to earn an MA.

She met her future husband Roger Smith in 1982 while working as an economic advisor to Pierre Elliot Trudeau. When Smith was posted to Beijing in 1985 to report for CTV, Chong accompanied him, and she persuaded her mother, Weihing, who’d never been to China, to visit. But for a twist of fate, Weihing could have been born there. Her heavily pregnant mother, thinking she was carrying a son, left two daughters with relatives and boarded a ship to Canada so the baby – another daughter it turned out – could be born here. Neither mother nor daughter ever went back, leaving a family divided.

More than 50 years later, Chong and her mother tracked down one of Weihing’s sisters and other long-lost relatives in the family village. It brought Chong face to face with a past she knew almost nothing about. What she learned turned into The Concubine’s Children, and its success convinced Chong to make writing her main focus.

The Girl in the Picture followed in 1999. Chong travelled to Vietnam to research the story of Kim Phuc, the young Vietnamese girl seen running and screaming after a napalm attack in a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph in 1972.

Chong returned to China for her next book. Egg on Mao (2009) is the story of a bus mechanic who defaced the iconic portrait of Chairman Mao during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He spent nine years in prison for this act of defiance and moved to Edmonton after his release.

In Lives of the Family: Stories of Fate and Circumstance (2014), Chong stays on safer ground to tell the stories of Chinese immigrants who moved to eastern Ontario where they lived isolated lives toiling in laundries and cafés.

Denise Chong pursues each subject with a deep regard for inherent truth, transcending war, chaos, pain and tragedy. Her writing is sensitive yet steers clear of sentiment and sensation. This unassuming perspective generates trust in the words written.

Ian McKercher is long-time Glebe resident, a retired Glebe Collegiate teacher, a local historian and a novelist working on his fifth book.

Author Denise Chong

Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse, by Denise Chong. Random House Canada, 2024.

Available online and locally at Octopus Books and Perfect Books.

Sunnyside spring recommendations

By Christina Silva

Dive into spring with some book recommendations, from romantic comedies to murder mysteries. There’s always something for you at the library!

Baily

Fangirl Down, by Tessa

Josephine Doyle is a superfan. She has believed in golf star Wells Whitaker from the start of his career and is still a superfan despite his current slump. Wells is ready to quit golf forever but when a storm threatens Josephine’s livelihood, he asks her to be his caddy and help him make a comeback. As they travel together, they learn to believe in themselves and learn to count on each other. It is a fun, light read that manages to tackle some serious issues like the challenges of type 1 diabetes. My first read from Tessa Baily but won’t be my last!

Wild Life, by Opal

Wei

Zoey has a plan – to cure the cancer that almost killed her sister. One misplaced tissue-sample slide later and Zoey ends up on a remote island re-evaluating if research is what she wants or if she might want something or someone else. Davy has always worried about doing the right thing after mistakes he made in his youth. When he accidentally takes the slide Zoey needs and it ends up on his remote island, he tries to help her find it. What they both might find instead is love. A little slow to start but picks up after a couple of chapters. It addresses family pressure, anxiety and changing plans when your current plan no longer serves you. A cute romantic comedy.

The Seven Year Slip, by Ashley Poston

A story about grief, love and finding yourself. After the death of her aunt, Clementine is lost. She inherits her aunt’s apartment, and strange things start to happen. That is where she runs into a strange man with kind eyes who makes her smile. There is only one problem: the man is from the past, seven years ago exactly, and she is from his future. But despite the challenges, she continues to spend time with him, and the more time she spends, the more she questions her decisions and what she really wants. A light read that deals with taking chances and though romance is what drives the plot, it is really a story about aiming for the moon. Trigger warning – it deals with topics such as suicide and mental health issues.

Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows (duology), by

Rebecca Ross

This duology is geared towards older teens and tells the story of Iris and Roman, rival journalists competing for a promotion to columnist at the Oath Gazette. Iris and Roman both want nothing more than to be the new columnist at the Oath But as the war between the gods, Enva and Dacre, escalate and more humans are being pulled into their fight, the rivalry between them becomes less important. Roman and Iris get closer through these unpredictable times by a magic typewriter connecting them through letters they send each other. The war intensifies and brings them to the front lines where they must count on each other to survive. A fantastic duology and one of my favourite reads of 2024. I would recommend it for those who like First and Second World War historical romances.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, by

Nina Simone

A murder has been committed in Elkhorn Slough. The main suspect is 15-year-old Jacqueline, or Jack as everybody calls her. Determined to clear her granddaughter’s name, Lana, a former real estate developer, does some amateur sleuthing, much to her daughter Beth’s dismay. Despite Beth and Lana having a tumultuous relationship, Beth rushes to her mom’s aid when she is diagnosed with cancer, offering her a place to rest and heal. The murder shakes the uneasy peace the two have managed to create since Lana arrived four months earlier. But to clear Jack’s name, these three generations of women must work together and put the past behind them. A thrilling murder mystery.

Christina Silva is a public service assistant at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

Granular & Stone Dust

Cat Person

Cat Person (US / France, 2023)

Directed by

Susanna Fogel

Review by Iva Apostolova

I saw Cat Person almost entirely by accident, while browsing through the list of movies on Prime. Curiously enough, although it’s been several months since I saw it, I find myself coming back to it, undeterred by its seemingly unpretentious nature. Or maybe precisely because of it. What originally sold it for me was the casting of Nicholas Braun as the lead. With his signature 6’7’’ awkward, lanky frame and deer-in-the-headlight blue eyes, I am convinced that his portrayal of cousin Greg in the massively popular Succession is the sole reason half of the world kept watching the HBO show.

Directed by the queen of indie movies Susanna Fogel, whose credits include The Spy Who Dumped Me, Booksmart and The Flight Attendant, Cat Person is listed as a drama/horror/thriller, which it is, but also, so much more. In essence, it’s a story about a date gone terribly wrong. Robert (Nicholas Braun) meets college student Margot (played by one of the British rising stars, Emilia Jones) at the local theater’s concession stand where she works. But make no mistake, Cat Person is not your typical bunny boiler or Sleeping with the Enemy type of story, fraught with gender stereotypes and pseudo-feminist points. As a matter of fact, far from it. The movie checks all the boxes of a

brilliant indie movie (it was also the official 2023 Sundance selection). By Emilia Jones’s own admission, many of the scenes were, in fact, improvised and off-script, which gives the story a rare authentic feel. I am not sure what has happened to the American romantic comedy, mainstream or otherwise, but it has been suffering for some time from the unfunny, often on account of trying to be too woke or too meta. In contrast, the horror-esque Cat Person is a breath of fresh air: its elegant dark humour, with the occasional dose of self-deprecation, is both endearing and hopeful.

But what really stayed with me is the smoothness with which the film puts its finger on the pulse and explores such complicated and controversial topics as stalking and romantic obsession. Fogel expertly builds on the narrative to lead the viewer to unexpected realizations: that we all make assumptions about the other, and some of those assumptions can and sometimes do have devastating consequences; that unconscious biases, which are, in fact, gender-neutral, are a real thing and that we are all governed by cultural stereotypes that we rarely examine.

Iva Apostolova is associate professor and vice-rector, research and academic, at Saint Paul University and a regular Glebe Report contributor on films and TV.

Rated R, Running time: 1 h 58 mins Available for streaming on Prime Video

OUTDOOR MARKET SEASON OPEN MAY THROUGH OCTOBER

a brilliant indie film

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Poem for Marla

Let’s get neighbourly

The theme for the Glebe Report’s May 2024 Poetry Quarter is “neighbours.” What does it mean to be a neighbour? What makes a good neighbour – simply someone who lives close to you, or does it go deeper? These poems respond in some way to this question.

So many British dramas I’ve watched, not about the fighting during the Second World War, but how everyone left at home really suffered.

Now it’s about a neighbour who died four days ago before her 100th birthday, so full of life she was, asking to be lifted into a canoe in Canada in her late nineties.

Smiling & laughing all the while-but when she was 21, you see, she lived in London during the world war & drove around picking up dead bodies.

She was able to see beyond the hate & was determined to spread joy around her for the rest of her life-you must know.

It can’t be blind happiness only-not by ignoring the world, what truth is all about-letting you really know.

Cyril Dabydeen Ottawa Poet Laureate Emeritus

Neighbours

Talkin’ neighbours Walkin’ neighbours Wave’n neighbours Ravin’ neighbours.

Boomin’ voices in the diner neighbours Silent, earbug running neighbours.

25-year neighbours you don’t really know And that neighbour’s tenants Renting by the month, below.

Neighbours dour and surly Putting out garbage way too early.

Then there’s smiling neighbours With a fresh pie so good To welcome you To the neighborhood.

Louise

Rachlis

Behind the curtain

Our first neighbour, In our first house

Had no first name, Just “Mister Gargotta.”

He watched with derision

Our subdivision For errant balls

Lobbed over the fence, And shook his fist with alacrity At cars over-parked Too close to his property.

Then one July day

He was on our doorstep pacing. “Fence needs replacing.”

So young husband and old neighbour Worked together, despite hot weather.

Missus Gargotta

Brought out hot Italian buns

The men ate under the sun. With no words spoken, The job was done.

After that day, We moved away.

But even now

When Husband peers out Watching for trouble on our street, “Don’t be Mister Gargotta,” I repeat. The circle is complete.

Louise Rachlis

Open

doors

doors open possibilities. . . yes, yes. mind the neighbours yes, yes. all that other. . . oh, yes. big brother this, that, all the doors. . . inside . . . safety, closures. out there . . . look about you. . . . put that device away, don’t be a stranger, my friend. . .come back open doors open roads open your hands to others be a friend, stay safe keep your eyes open

right whales in deep waters, they are calling one to the other. . . here, over here hear me, come here find me, come here the pod in deep water. . . echolocation undone, unheard. in trouble. . . lost in the deep, one. . . by one, unseen, unsung . . .

Maureen Korp

The Robin Family

They don’t live down the street, no, they live just next door, they’re not a rich bunch, nor are they poor, a beautiful group a family of four.

They built their own house, not a thing from the box store, a wonderful structure with no windows or doors. It sits on a site about the fourth floor, but I can see right in as I live next door. I saw father leave this morning, a red vest he wore, going out for food as the kids shout for more. When Mom wants to go out Dad stays with the brood, a loving father, a caring dude.

There comes a time when the house gets full, with feathers sprouting and stronger wings and an urge to go natures mysterious pull. That pull was to fly never tried before, did it need some nerve or unknowing follow natures loving curve. An empty house lived in no more, I miss my neighbours, that family of four.

David Rockburn

when yesterday is hard, go outside. . . .today’s the gift, you’ll see. . .remember, you’ll always know your way back . . . here again. I promise. we’re your neighbours, after all.

Maureen Korp

POETRY QUARTER

Ah, to be young!

George Bernard Shaw said that youth is the most beautiful thing in the world, adding “what a pity that it has to be wasted on children.” We have all been young and (arguably) in that beautiful state and perhaps unable to fully appreciate its benefits.

But now we at the Glebe Report, for the August Poetry Quarter, are asking the poets among us to contemplate, poetically, the experience of being young – what childhood means, how memories of that time have prevailed. Or if you are still young, how you feel about it today.

As usual, poems should be:

• Original and unpublished in any medium (no poems submitted elsewhere, please);

• No more than 30 lines each;

• On any aspect of the theme within the bounds of public discourse; and

• Submitted on or before Monday, July 29, 2024.

Poets in the National Capital Region of all ages welcome (school-age poets, please indicate your grade and school). Please send your entries (up to 5 poems that meet the criteria) to editor@ glebereport.ca. Remember to send us your contact information and your grade and school if you are in school.

Deadline: Monday, July 29, 2024

Spring and summer concerts

Doors Open for Music at Southminster (DOMS) presents free 45-minute concerts on Wednesdays at noon at Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Avenue. Concerts are both live and live streamed on YouTube. Follow DOMS online at www.DOMS613.com. Concerts continue until June 26, 2024. DOMS, led by artistic director Roland Graham, is sustained by freewill offerings. Concert attendees can donate cash at the door or online via Canadahelps.org.

May 15 – DANCE WITH ME!

Pianist four-hand duo Mauro Bertoli and Frédéric Lacroix breathe life into a selection of instrumental dances by Eastern-European and Russian composers written and adapted to the piano.

May 22 – COLLECTED STRANDS

Stylistically versatile improvisors (cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne, violinist Leah Roseman, pianist James McGowan, and percussionist Mike Essoudry) assemble to fuse classical, world and jazz traditions.

May 29 – OUR UNIVERSE

Diabolus in Musica (Mia Beaudoin-Dion, compositions and piano, Denis Rousseau, trombone, and Keiran Warskett-Lambert, double bass) present a program of original indie jazz compositions, influenced by the community, culture and the cityscape.

June 5 – NEW WORLD INSPIRATIONS

Filipino-American pianist Tristan Savella and Canadian Jean-Luc Therrien present music by French and North American composers of the 20th century showcasing the evolution of styles, sources of inspiration and the artistic exchange.

June 12 – NATURE SEEMS TO SAY NATURE

Nature, the timeless muse, evokes love, the divine, the circle of life itself. Soprano Julia Jordan and pianist Carson Becke explore nature depicted by great composers for the voice in styles ranging from Rameau to Barber.

June 19 – SHADES OF NIGHT

Pianist Alexander Merpaw interprets piano works by Chopin (Nocturne Op 48-1, Scherzo Op 39, Mazurka Op 59-1) and Ravel (Gaspard de la nuit), exploring “nighttime terrors” and their antidote, in works that variously soothe and agitate.

June 26 – ELIZABETHAN GEMS

Motets and madrigals of the English renaissance on themes of morality, courtship, nationalism, faith, and love. Music of Gibbons, Byrd, Tallis, Batten, Farmer, Bennett, Morley and Weelkes, led by DOMS director Roland Graham.

Fauré and Dubois in the last century

By Matthew Bol

As part of the Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde’s (SPNM’s) 25th season, its artistic director and conductor Michel Brousseau, its three choirs (Ottawa, Bass Laurentide, and Montreal) and its orchestra invite you to an evening dedicated to two great French composers of the early 20th century.

Gabriel Fauré and Théodore Dubois, who followed parallel paths, each created many musical masterpieces, two of which will be featured in our Spring Concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary of their deaths in 1924.

Our programme includes the muchloved Fauré Requiem, Dubois’ lesser-known Messe Solennelle de St-Rémi, and a few surprises. While Fauré’s Requiem has been acclaimed by audiences since its creation in 1888, the North American premiere of Dubois’ Messe Solennelle took place in May 2008, after almost a century of silence. As colleagues, Dubois and Fauré worked side by side throughout their careers, even succeeding each other as directors of the Conservatoire de musique de Paris.

This concert symbolizes the revolution in French classical music and allows you to compare and contrast –Dubois’ composition representing the Romantic period and his rival Faure’s Requiem representing the modern school. Both are beautiful in their own way.

Join us to discover, rediscover, and appreciate these two great composers and their masterpieces. A concert not to be missed. Tickets are on sale at spnm.ca/concert.

The Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde (SPNM) is a dynamic musical organization comprising choirs from Ottawa, Montreal, and the Lower Laurentians, along with the Orchestre philharmonique du Nouveau Monde. Led by artistic director and conductor Maestro Michel Brousseau, the SPNM brings exceptional musical experiences to its three principal cities. The SPNM performs six to eight concerts each year in Ottawa, Montreal and Sainte-Thérèse, except when it is touring internationally.

Brousseau has made a significant impact on the international music scene, having performed at numerous major stages in Canada, the United States and Europe. He has also conducted tours of his choirs throughout North America and Europe.

An eminent alumnus of the piano and orchestra-conducting classes at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Brousseau is an inspired, energetic and

sensitive leader, who typically directs from memory, communicating with fervour and intelligence the full range of emotions evoked by the great works of the classical repertoire.

Brousseau’s talent, dynamism and commitment to the operatic repertoire have been duly acknowledged. He was a finalist at the International Luigi Mancinelli Opera Conducting Competition in 2005, and he is frequently invited to direct at major European opera houses and concert venues. In France in 2007, he discovered, almost by accident, several works by Théodore Dubois. They had rarely left the family archives since being composed. He was so impressed by their artistic merit that he resolved to make them known to music lovers.

The SPNM along with Michel Brousseau invite you to come and make your acquaintance with Dubois’ once-forgotten work.

Matthew Bol is treasurer of the Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde, Ottawa and is a Glebe resident.

Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde

Fauré and Dubois

Sunday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Carleton-Dominion Chalmers Centre 355 Cooper Street Entrance at 290 Lisgar at O’Connor

Michel Brousseau, artistic director and conductor of the Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde. The Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde invites you are invited to a concert dedicated to Fauré and Dubois on June 9 at the Carleton-Dominion Chalmers Centre. COURTESY OF SPNM

The Company of Adventurers presents Hamlet !

By Cynthia Sugars and Paul Keen

Hello neighbours! The Company of Adventurers invites you to our all-girls production of the greatest play ever: Hamlet! This is a first for Ottawa – did we say an “all-girls Hamlet”? –and our cast of 11 young women is incredible. We have music, we have a spooky play-within-a-play, we have two silly popcorn-eating badminton players, we have a graveyard, we have a girl gone mad, we have a fencing match, and we have a GHOST!

Been a while since you studied Hamlet in high school? No worries! Here’s a quick summary: Upon learning from his dead father’s ghost that his uncle has murdered his father, Hamlet is set on a tortuous path of moral self-questioning, paranoia and madness. But is he truly mad or merely acting mad? “The play’s the thing,” he tells us, “wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” And so he sets a trap, a “mouse trap,” that achieves his purpose. The trap is a performance, by travelling actors, of the very murder that the ghost had recounted. But Hamlet is not the only one who is acting. And there are so many traps! A young woman set up as a decoy to trap Hamlet; a father who talks a man into spying on his son in France; a king who hires Hamlet’s old school friends to secretly “glean” information about him; a fencing match that is not what it seems; and a silly old man who eavesdrops on Hamlet and his mother in her bedroom. As you know, it’s never a good idea to eavesdrop. Ouch! Finally, a fencing match to settle the score. But what’s that? A pearl dropped into a goblet of wine? Do not drink it!

Come out to see us! All are welcome!

Due to a family commitment, show dates this year are in May and June. Our May performances are at the Gladstone Theatre, May 16-18. Entrance is free; shows are a fundraiser, by donation, to The Gladstone Theatre. Tickets can be booked through eventbrite.ca or at the door. June shows are at 57 Glen Avenue. Walking distance! These shows are a fundraiser for the Ottawa women’s shelter, Harmony House.

Cynthia Sugars and Paul Keen direct the youth theatre group, The Company of Adventurers, in Old Ottawa South.

Performances

At the Gladstone Theatre (910 Gladstone Ave): Thursday, May 16 (7:00) Friday, May 17 (7:00) Saturday, May 18 (2:00 and 7:00)

At 57 Glen Avenue (shows cancelled in the event of rain): Saturday, June 1 (6:00) Sunday, June 2 (2:00) Friday, June 7 (6:00) Saturday, June 8 (2:00) Sunday, June 9 (2:00)

For more information, contact Cynthia at csugars@uottawa.ca or visit The Company of Adventurers on Facebook!

PHOTO: NATASCHA SEKERINSKI, TASCH PHOTOGRAPHY

come. No barking allowed. Seriously Fido, no barking.” The flea market will be held over the summer on May 11 and 18, June 8 and 15, July 6 and 20 and August 3, 17 and 31. Here are some of the canine customers caught on camera on a stroll through the market on a weekend in April.

PHOTOS: LIZ MCKEEN

Yasir Naqvi MP,

N 613-946-8682

E yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca

Fairness for every generation, reflected in Budget 2024

As the weather is getting warmer, and with the solar eclipse behind us, I am pleased to connect with many members of our community at events across Ottawa Centre and share federal government updates with Ottawa

On April 16, the Government of Canada announced Budget 2024. We are focused on making life more affordable, so that Canadians of all ages can succeed. Through Budget 2024, we are launching a new National School Food Program by providing $1 billion over five years to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand access to school food programs to more than 400,000 kids. The aim of every government is to help build a better, stronger future. I am thrilled that our federal government is creating a National School Food Program, providing meals to kids in schools. This is a game-changer.

Here are some other highlights reflected in Budget 2024:

• A Canada Disability Benefit

• A National Pharmacare and Dental Care Plan

• A Child Care Expansion Loan Program

We are also committed to making sure Canada is fair for everyone. To do this, we are building 3.87 million new affordable homes; making big corporations pay their fair share; and accelerating the process for internationally trained doctors and nurses to practice in Canada.

Additionally, our government is calling for the development of an acquisition fund, designed to help community housing providers acquire affordable rental units at risk of being sold to investors and repriced in order to preserve their affordability over the long term. I’m pleased that the work of the Downtown Ottawa Revitalization Task Force is getting results! We called for a program that protects the availability of affordable residential units, and through Budget 2024 the

federal government delivered with a new $1.5 billion acquisition fund called the Canada Rental Protection Fund.

If you would like to learn more about Budget 2024, please visit Canada.ca/Budget, or reach out to my office for further information.

As we wrapped up tax season, we continued with our annual tradition of running free tax clinics in our community for eligible residents. Through this two-day tax clinic, over 30 returns were filed for individuals and families in Ottawa Centre. This means essential government benefits are unlocked for residents, including the Canada Child Benefit, the GST rebate, the Canada Carbon Rebate and more. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, please get in touch with my office, and we will do our best to assist.

Changes in my community office

It is bittersweet that I am sharing with you a transition within our office that reflects our ongoing commitment to serving our community with passion and dedication. After serving as the Director of Community Office since 2021 (and having worked for our former MP since 2016), Monica Fathallah has decided to pursue her calling in the field of social work. Monica’s unwavering dedication and tireless efforts have made a profound impact on our community. I am personally deeply grateful for her contributions and sound advice along the way.

As we bid farewell to Monica, we welcome Sophie Kiwala as our new Director of Operations and Community Relations. Sophie brings a wealth of experience, having served as a former Member of Provincial Parliament with a strong focus on constituency concerns. Her background as a Parliamentary Assistant to ministers of tourism, culture and sport; children and youth services; and Indigenous relations and reconciliation, coupled with her entrepreneurial acumen, equips her well to understand and address the diverse needs of our community. Sophie is eager to engage with constituents and partners and foster meaningful connections.

If you would like to schedule an introductory meeting, please reach out to us at Yasir.Naqvi@parl. gc.ca. Your input and involvement are invaluable as we work together to build a brighter future for our community.

As always, please reach out to my office for information on federal government programs, or if you need direct assistance. We are here to help.

Harden

We need a windfall tax on oil/gas profits to fund climate solutions

We recently celebrated Earth Day, and I have a metaphor for you to consider. Imagine your local forest is in flames, but the neighbours are debating how to call 911.

Should I use my cellphone, or should we use yours? Who has the best cell reception or the better phone? Who can best describe the size and scope of the fire?

You’d probably scream “HEY! I don’t care WHO calls the Fire Department! MAKE THE CALL! We need help RIGHT NOW!

In many cases, this is not metaphorical. Wildfire season in Canada has begun and is expected to be as bad (or worse) than last season. That’s not good news.

Meanwhile, the Ford Government rails against federal carbon pricing. At the last count, they have asked themselves 272 consecutive questions in Question Period along these lines. The Trudeau government responds with their talking points.

It hurts the head, and it hurts the heart. Why?

Because there is no evidence carbon pricing is the cause of today’s affordability crisis. There is also no evidence that carbon pricing is reducing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions on the scale that is needed. We must be more ambitious.

We need solutions to make life more affordable AND save the planet.

When a forest is on fire, no expense is spared in bringing the blaze to an end. Locals are empowered with the resources they need from all levels of government to protect their communities.

Climate change is already costing us billions of dollars. And we already know how to protect our homes and communities to invest in a better future.

Here in Ottawa, there is no short-

deliver results.

Like the Parkdale Food Centre, which saved over 115,000 pounds of food last year to make meals for neighbours in need.

Like Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, the largest non-profit landlord in Ontario, that maintains over 1,700 homes in over 50 properties for people on low or modest incomes. Many of these homes are built to high-efficiency standards.

Like the Ottawa Tool Library that kept over 15,000 pounds of metal out of landfills last year or EnviroCentre whose programs reduce over 1.5 million tonnes of GHG emissions in our city.

Like Eco-Équitable which repurposes textile waste to create jobs, notably for immigrant women. Or Box of Life, a social enterprise that promotes vermi-composting so food waste is used to enrich local soil.

Like Sacred Earth Solar, an Indigenous-led social enterprise that builds renewable energy, or the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative that does the same thing.

Like Bike Ottawa and Ottawa Transit Riders which advocate for low-carbon modes of getting around our neighbourhoods.

The work of these and other changemakers must be scaled up; they are the water bombers for the blazing climate emergency before us.

To make that happen, we must start regulating limits on the harms of fossil fuels and redirect the super profits of the oil and gas sector towards practical strategies that can point us in a more sustainable direction.

The most frustrating aspect of the federal budget was its refusal to do this. Rumours swirled about a potential windfall tax on oil/gas profits, but a strong fossil fuel lobby dashed those plans. That’s unacceptable.

If 20 governments in Europe can implement a windfall tax on oil/gas profits, our federal government can too. And it can follow through on commitments to end public subsidies of these giant multinationals.

That’s why I’ll be moving a motion on May 30 at Queen’s Park to ask my colleagues to support a windfall tax on big oil/gas profits. We can put that money to use with climate solutions to make life more affordable and save the planet.

Let’s douse the flames of the climate emergency and build a less anxious, more affordable, and more hopeful future for everyone. That’s my Earth

Let’s Play

We have everything for your spring adventures - strolling along the canal, brunch with friends or checking out the farmers markets. Let’s meet up.

The following is part of a continuing series of profiles of servicemen from the Glebe and St. Matthew’s Anglican Church who gave their lives to Canada and the pursuit of peace in the Second World War. We commemorate and remember their passing, 80 years ago.

Remembering William James Windeler

By Kevan Pipe

William James Windeler was born February 19, 1919, the son of William and Edna Windeler of Ottawa, who lived at 588 The Driveway adjacent to the Rideau Canal. His sisters Lois and Doris were 13 and eight when he was born.

A scholar and an athlete, William attended Hopewell School from 1925 to 1933, then on to Glebe Collegiate, graduating in 1937. He certainly enjoyed his four high school years, playing on the basketball and rugby teams while also being a member of the chemistry club.

That gave him a clear interest in chemistry. In 1940, he enrolled at the University of Ottawa in both chemistry and mathematics, and he also worked as a chemistry assistant for the E.B. Eddy Company from late 1940 to June 1941.

On August 4, 1941, with war raging in Europe and Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany) in full battle mode, 22-yearold William enlisted in the RCAF, following a short stint with our military forces in Cornwall as a private and working in the chemistry lab there. A notation in his RCAF Attestation Paper stated he was just one year short of graduating from University of Ottawa with a degree in chemistry.

After nine months of intensive training, on June 5, 1942, at RCAF Station Uplands, he received his pilot wings and became a Flying Officer. His skills must have been exceptional as he then immediately enrolled in a flight instructors’ course at RCAF Station

Trenton. Upon course completion, he was appointed as a flight instructor at RCAF Station Claresholm in Alberta for eight months. This base was a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), devised by the governments of Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand in 1939 as a means of training air crew for the war in Europe.

Flying Officer Windeler was a member of this ‘Plan’ until his transfer overseas in late 1943 to England. Assigned to RAF 263 Squadron at RAF Station Harrowbeer near Plymouth in Southwest England, his squadron was assigned the task of patrolling the coast to intercept low level attacks by German FW fighter-bombers as well as conducting attacks on shipping targets on the French coast, often near Brest. The squadron was outfitted with the new single-seat Hawker Typhoon fighter bomber, heavily armed with four cannons and rockets. However,

this plane experienced multiple teething problems as it was rushed into service. It was meant to be a high-altitude fighter bomber to take over from the aging Hurricane aircraft which was so prolific in the early days of the Second World War, but the Typhoon never fulfilled its promise.

Windeler, a highly experienced pilot with over 800 hours of flying time, was flight testing his Typhoon near his station around noon on June 15, 1944, just a week after the successful invasion of France on D-Day. After just 18 minutes of flight, he radioed back to the tower that he had complete and catastrophic engine failure and was attempting to return to base. Witnesses saw him flying over the local wheat fields at under 1,000 feet altitude, trying to get his plane down in the largest landing area below.

Subsequent RAF analysis and a formal accident report confirmed total engine failure that verified no pilot could have landed the Typhoon safely. William Windeler is remembered at RAF 263 Squadron in England, at Glebe Collegiate Institute and at St. Matthew’s Church. He is buried alongside 2,400 other Canadians and many other Commonwealth servicemen, at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, England, 50 kms from London, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the UK.

And like so many other families who lost their children in the Second World War, his parents’ headstone (his father passed away in 1963 and his mother in 1972) in Ottawa’s Pinecrest Cemetery also commemorates the memory of their only son, with his name and rank, along with the expression: “Yea, in the shadow of thy wings, shall I make my refuge.”

Kevan Pipe is a Glebe resident and member of St. Matthew’s, The Anglican Church in The Glebe. Aisling Boomgaardt and Bram Boomgaardt Telephone: 613-746-2367

Email: GreentreeCo@sympatico.ca www.GreentreeOttawaRentals.ca

Unfortunately, less than two minutes later, Windeler’s Typhoon flipped over while attempted a steep emergency landing at Stourscombe Farm in Launceston. The 25-year-old was killed on impact.

William James Windeler

Hawker Typhoon, the aircraft Windeler was flight testing when he died

F.O.Windeler (far right) at the completion of course 49 at RCAF Station Uplands, June 5, 1942

By Kevan Pipe

By the fifth year of the Second World War in 1944, Canada’s population was still less than 12 million. To think that more than a million of them served in our military forces during this tumultuous time, with 45,000 killed in action and another 55,000 wounded, is still almost incomprehensible. During those early and lonely days from 1939 to the end of 1941, Canada stood alone in the western hemisphere as a key military ally and economic supply lifeline to the United Kingdom with western Europe under Nazi occupation.

“Operation Overlord,” the landing of 150,000 Allied troops on June 6, 1944, was the turning of the tide in Allied fortunes. Taking Nazi forces largely by surprise, soldiers from just three countries –Canada, Great Britain and the United States – stormed the beaches of Normandy in western France. Canada was assigned the area designated as Juno Beach, sandwiched by the British beaches Gold and Sword, with the Americans further south at Utah and Omaha beaches.

Fifteen thousand Canadian troops attacked the heavily fortified and dug-in German forces near the small fishing port of Courseulles-sur-Mer. With the Battle of Normandy now underway, Allied forces suffered heavy losses in what became known as ‘the longest day,’ with nearly 10,000 casualties. Three hundred and eighteen Canadians were killed in action on June 6 with more than 700 others wounded. But the landings were successful and the pathway for eventual victory in Europe just 11 months later was now constructed.

Canada’s role in D-Day was prolific, as it was throughout that war. We remember the actions of these one million Canadians who contributed to the efforts on the battlefields, on the high seas as well as in the skies over Europe and Asia. As well, the millions of Canadians who produced all the ammunitions, planes, ships and materiel for the war (including my mother, a “bomb girl” in the war factories, while

Canada and D-Day June 6, 1944

my father was on convoy duty on the North Atlantic with the RCN) need to be acknowledged for their tireless work and commitment to the war effort for so many years.

The Greatest Generation

In the June edition of the Glebe Report, the stories of five young men from St. Matthew’s Church will be told, all of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in July and August 1944, mostly during the Battle of Normandy.

Kevan Pipe is a Glebe resident and member of St. Matthew’s, The Anglican Church in The Glebe. He has undertaken this series of articles remembering the war dead from the Glebe and St. Matthew’s.

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Troops of the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders) going ashore from LCI (L) 299, Bernières-sur-mer, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 SOURCE: LIBRARY AND

By Charles Weiner

You cannot believe your luck! It’s your first time buying, and an affordable house becomes available in no less than the Glebe. The owner has a building inspection report, and there are only minor repairs listed. You discuss with your partner and decide to put an offer in at the listed price. There will be other buyers for certain, and this is one opportunity you cannot afford to miss out on. A day later, your agent calls and tells you that your offer has been accepted!

We are witnessing a great change of occupancy in the Glebe. Many owners are now retired and deciding to downsize and sell their homes. This is a wonderful thing for young families and individuals who wish to be part of this dynamic community. The problem is that some homes being sold by owners who have lived there for 40 years are no longer the homes they originally bought. No problem if you happen to have lucked out or did your homework and bought a house with a stone foundation. This unfortunately cannot always be said for those who purchase a home with an aging rubble foundation.

When rubble foundations were built, Portland cement was at a premium. As a result, not enough of this bonding and hardening agent was added. So, years later, much of the cement has now leached out of the walls.

Many people are unaware of the degradation until one day, after prolonged rain, they find scaling from the

wall on the floor, sitting in a puddle of water. If they are responsible, they call an expert to evaluate the situation. It must be said that in half of rubble foundations, the owner has several years to save money before beginning the process of fixing the walls. In another third, costs can be spaced out over two-year intervals by completing one wall at a time.

Now, the unfortunate part of this story is the remaining 20 per cent of owners. In these cases (as recommended by a structural engineer), a complete repair must be done. That requires enveloping the exterior of the foundation walls in concrete and a moisture-proof insulation barrier. This process may need to be continued on the interior of the foundation walls as well. In most cases, the price of repair is so exorbitant that a new owner cannot afford the procedures needed to protect the structural integrity of the dwelling. That is why it is of paramount importance that you consult with a structural engineer or a structural expert who can do a proper foundation inspection before you purchase a home with a rubble foundation.

If you have any questions or need your foundation inspected, please do not hesitate to call. I am a structural expert, and the inspection is free.

Charles Weiner is an Ottawa structural expert and foundation repair specialist. He can be reached at 613-915-8377 or at charleszave65@gmail.com.

Paddle from Oka to Ottawa’s Governor Bay

Third annual Chief Pinesi Day

By John Leefe

Chief Constant Pinesi was the last traditional chief in the Lower Ottawa River, until he was obliged to move to Algonquin Park. In what is becoming an alternative way to celebrate Canada Day and promote reconciliation with our Indigenous partners, New Edinburgh will once again host the third annual Chief Pinesi Day on July 1.

Kichi Sibi Trails, in concert with New Edinburgh Community Association and the Crichton Community Council, will coordinate the event in New Edinburgh Park (in and around the Fieldhouse) to honour Algonquin Anishinabe presence in the National Capital Region and beyond.

This year, Chief Pinesi Day will begin with a unique Indigenous-led paddling trip following route of the annual jouney from the summering place at Oka to the hunting grounds of Ottawa. To that end, a group of dedicated Indigenous paddlers, descendants of Chief Pinesi, Algonquins and non-Indigenous participants will first assemble in Oka, Quebec, where Chief Pinesi was buried in 1834. A ceremony to honour his memory will occur on June 25, highlighted will be the unveiling of a new monument to Chief Pinesi and his many contributions to this territory

Chief Constant Pinesi (1768 – 1834) had hunting grounds in Ottawa at Rideau and Chaudi ère Falls before being obliged to move to Algonquin Park. He and his four sons fought in critical battles in the Niagara as allies of the British in the War of 1812 in their common desire to beat the United States. Pinesi was appointed Grand Chief by Governor-General Kempt in 1830.

At the Oka celebration, there will be speeches by various dignitaries, former Algonquin Chief Wendy Jocko, the Grand Chief of Kanesatake Victor Bonspille, Bishop Msgr. Raymond Poisson, Oka mayor Pascal Quevillon and a senior Indigenous member of the Canadian Armed Forces, among others.

At the Fieldhouse, participants can see the Bloodline – Miskwi and Gathering Phases – Bakaan Asiginan murals located on the side of the New Edinburgh Fieldhouse, now with a three-language panel description. These colourful ceramic and paint murals were created by the Algonquin mother and daughter team of Doreen and Charlotte Stevens. Miskwi means bloodline and the murals depict Algonquin lineages. Bakaan Asiginan signifies the gathering of Indigenous people living in harmony with nature through all phases of their lives.

To make this third annual event as successful as it was in previous years, volunteers will be needed, once again in a variety of areas. Greeters will be needed to answer questions, guide attendees regarding the schedule for the day and assist the media. Mobility volunteers will assist people who have mobility challenges. Set up and take down help is also required, as is help in serving lunch, setting up the sacred fire and selling t-shirt. If you’re interested in any of these volunteer roles, please contact Cindy Parkanyi at cparkanyi@ yahoo.ca.

John Leefe is a member of the Kichi Sibi Trails committee organizing this year’s Chief Pinesi Day.

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This year’s Chief Pinesi Day on July 1 will culminate in the arrival of canoes from Oka to Ottawa’s Governor Bay below Rideau Falls. PHOTO: OTTAWA NEW EDINBURGH CLUB

Leaked petition charges rodent media with insufficient bias!

In an unprecedented quadruped alliance, dozens of elite guinea pigs, hamsters and squirrels from around the borough have signed a secret petition, leaked to GPTV. The petition charges rodent media with an insufficient level of disinformation and fake news and demands more bias.

The leaked petition opens with the claim that while rodent media has made some progress to ensure quadrupeds are told what to think, “it needs to do much, much more.” Among the signatories is BigBro, a leading rodent argument proponent (RAP) and founding member of the far-middle rodent think tank, Group Irrational Thought in Thinking (GIT-IT).

The petition further cited a GIT-IT study claiming that irrational techniques of persuasion, such as the ad hominin and appeal to outrage, are

underutilized by 38 per cent in rodent media. “More needs to be done to ensure the populace remains unaware of its complicity in international atrocities,” continued the petition, which provided examples of at least two facts that got through in the last year.

But what more can be done? In defence, Nevar Ansar Unestly, a renowned media spokesperson, said rodent media is by contrast in the vanguard of reporting bias: “All of our anchors take advanced emotive news delivery (END) training to learn how to convey to the public the moral stance they should take on every topic. These highly trained news anchors use frowns, tones of voice and even eye rolling. And there is a lot we leave out of the news to ensure complete partiality!”

But Fluffy, founder of Fantastical Anti-Rationale Thinking (FART) and Deep Distraction Therapy (DDT), says still more is needed. “Unfortunately, facts are numerous. And sure, the carbon tax debate has provided some DDT when aided by END tactics, but only a full FART offensive can obliterate facts.”

Indeed, only time will tell whether FART or fact will prevail!

JAMES McCULLOCH LAWYER IN THE GLEBE

James provides legal services to Glebe residents, offers home visits and welcomes new clients. 613 565-5297 mccullochlawyer@rogers.com

Victorianisms on May two/four

By Sophie Shields

Victoria Day is just around the corner and with it a relaxing weekend of warm weather, tulips and perhaps even fireworks. But before we can truly rest, let’s discuss the interesting language developed around this longawaited long weekend.

Queen Victoria’s (1837-1901) birthday, May 24, was declared a holiday in Canada in 1845. But only in 1957, with Queen Elizabeth II, did it become the custom to celebrate any sovereign on the Monday preceding May 24, regardless of their actual birthday. And as we move away from the British era, new names have popped up for Victoria Day: from May long weekend to May long to the interesting May two/ four, referring to a case of 24 beers, and the debated May Run, a popular turn of phrase in northeastern Ontario!

Of course, in Quebec, an entirely different vocabulary is at play. Since 2003, the holiday has been designated as Journée nationale des patriotes. This name refers to the 1837-38 rebellions against British rule in Lower Canada. An interesting twist,

In the Glebe

By Josh Rachlis | SparkTheGenius.com

considering the anglophone name, Victoria Day, is instead celebrating this British rule!

No matter the name, why not add some linguistic fun to this weekend? Brush off that Canadian Dainty accent, a quasi-British accent once spoken in Canada, and pick up some old Victorian English slang. Gather with friends for some nasty narking (‘fabulous fun’), just don’t go mafficking (‘getting rowdy in the streets’)! Or, in true Victorian style, enjoy the day in an afternoonified (‘posh’, associated with afternoon tea) fashion with some scones, tea and a promenade around Dow’s Lake. Indeed, whether you celebrate in the spirit of Victoria Day, Journée nationale des patriotes or just welcome a long weekend, you can plan to have a bang up to the elephant (‘perfect, beyond compare’) day off – that is, once you learn your Victorianisms!

Sophie Shields is a Carleton graduate working on her MA in Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College in the U.S. She loves writing and learning languages, and speaks French, Ukrainian and German.

Ottawa’s surprising history in sport

By David Chernushenko

If you love sport, or just want to be active, what’s to stop you? Plenty, it turns out. Your decision to hop on a bike, go for a skate or throw cleats into a backpack can be encouraged or discouraged by many things.

Since the beginnings of Ottawa and the Glebe, what people do for fun, camaraderie or maybe a shot at fame has been influenced by who they and we are.

If I was male, white and wealthy in 1905, I could do almost anything. Though it would not be proper to mix it up with the rougher characters in certain neighbourhoods. Best to join other gentlemen at the yacht, tennis or curling club.

If I was a young woman with an independent streak in 1925, I might hop on a streetcar to Union Station where I’d meet friends on the “ski train” to the Gatineau Hills. Or we could take our skates to a local park for some spins and jumps. The bravest among us would bring a hockey stick and mix it up with the boys.

If I was Black and motivated to make the school team in the 1950s and 1960s, the team I tried out for would probably be football, basketball or track. Not hockey? Only if I was prepared for abuse from opponents and spectators. If I was indigenous, I would expect similar treatment. Is it worth it, I’d ask myself.

The sports I chose would be affected by more than my gender, race or religion, though. Do I have the money for equipment and fees? Or special coaching if I show real potential at, say, figure skating or tennis? But before that happens, have I been drawn to that activity because of a hero or role model who looks like me?

There’s another side to this history, however. Many leagues and fields were a mixing place. Some clubs worked hard to be open to all, including offering financial assistance. What mattered was commitment: showing up and giving your best. If you displayed special talent, the community would step up to help. When Barbara Ann Scott travelled to the world figure skating championships in Europe in 1947, it was only possible because supporters helped pay. Their belief in her was well placed: she became world champion and then an Olympic gold medallist in 1948.

You can learn a lot about Ottawa’s evolution as a society through our sports history. While designing a sport-themed bicycle tour, I went on a fascinating journey through Ottawa’s archives, parks and streets. I knew stories that a visitor and even local residents might find fascinating.

Each tale of a person, team or event is interesting in its own right. Together, they build a compelling narrative about us as participants, coaches, volunteers and cheering/jeering spectators.

Did you know that:

• Two of Lord Stanley’s sons loved hockey and played on a team called the Rideau Hall Rebels in the early 1890s. They travelled in papa’s private rail car. Privileged rebels?

• Equally passionate sister Isobel played in the first organized women’s match in 1889.

• The Minto Skating Club was once a world leader. Starting outdoors at Rideau Hall, it would spend many decades at indoor rinks in Sandy Hill. Famous champions include Don Jackson, Lynn Nightingale and the Duchesnay brother-sister pair.

• The Ottawa Tennis Club started in 1881 on Elgin Street before marching south. It spent several decades in the Glebe (Patterson Avenue from 1903-06; Third Avenue from 1906-22) before settling in Old Ottawa South. Lawn bowling was added to counter the exodus of members towards golf. A century later, lawn bowling is gone ,and beach volleyball is the hot sport for young adults on a summer night. Over time, the club has gone from male and exclusive to open and inclusive.

• City Council voted against maintaining the Rideau Canal for skating in 1970, because it was “not likely to be used by many.” The NCC went ahead anyway.

• Lansdowne Park has been an event hub for many sports across three centuries. Did you know there was stock car racing in the 1950s? And when “the Civic Centre” hosted the first women’s hockey world championship in 1990, Bank Street was decked out in pink as the Canadian team uniforms were pink and white! Now we have a popular professional team (who do NOT wear pink!)

• Flora MacDonald was a bridge-building parliamentarian who lived next to the Canal at Third Avenue for 40 years. As many Glebites will confirm, she loved to speed skate and would gladly chat with us regular skaters.

Chernushenko leads local cycling tours as a guide with Escape Bicycle Tours & Rentals.

NEW DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE DEPOT MULCH RIVER ROCK

David

The Ottawa Tennis Club began in 1881 on Elgin Street, spent time in the Glebe and moved to Old Ottawa South more than 100 years ago in 1923. PHOTO: DAVID CHERNUSHENKO

Lansdowne has a storied history of sport in Ottawa, including stock car racing! [see Glebe Report, March 19, 2021.

Common types of headaches

By Marjolein Groenevelt

The World Health Organization reports that up to three-quarters of the population has had a headache in the last year. There are many and varied types of headaches. If you are a headache sufferer, finding out which type you have will help you get the best treatment. To diagnose the type of headache, it is very important to be able to review them with your health care practitioner. Track dates, times, intensity (0-10), preceding symptoms, possible triggers, medication and relief. Description and location of the pain should also be noted. There are online resources such as www.headaches.org and phone apps for tracking.

The first group of headaches are primary headaches. This means the headache is the primary problem for which help is being sought. Headaches in this category are not a side-effect or symptom of another disease. One of the most common in this first group is migraine headaches. Migraines can occur with or without aura. Migraine without aura is called “common migraine.” This is characterized by pain which is usually only on one side of the head (although children may present with pain on both sides). The pain is quite intense, usually pulsing or throbbing and lasts four to 72 hours. There is often associated nausea, sensitivity to light or sound and symptoms may increase with any activity, including walking or climbing stairs.

Migraine with aura is known as “classic migraine.” Auras are warning signs. These symptoms are neurological and can be serious signs of other medical problems. They should always be investigated and properly diagnosed by a medical doctor. The most common auras are visual, such as spots, zigzags, flashes of light or even losing sight. The next most common warning sign is pins and needles or numbness, again typically on one side of the body or face but can be on both sides in children and adolescents. The least common aura is difficulty with speech. There are

detailed criteria for migraine diagnosis. In brief, there needs to be several of these symptoms of aura, lasting up to 60 minutes, followed by a headache. There may be other symptoms occurring before an aura and after the migraine has subsided, such as fatigue. There are other, less common types of migraine headaches, as

well as a mixed headache pattern such as migraine plus tension type. Vestibular migraines are becoming more recognized. They present with dizziness and vertigo and may or may not have headache. Track the timing and description of all symptoms to help with diagnosis and treatment.

The next group of primary headaches is “tension-type headaches.” These are very common, with

(less than once per month) or frequent. Chronic tension-type headache is considered a serious disease, affecting quality of life and causing disability.

Headaches can also be classified as secondary or have a mixed presentation of primary and secondary. One of the most common secondary headaches is when the source of pain is the joints and muscles of the neck. In some instances, there may have been an injury to the head or neck, such as a direct blow or whiplash. Osteoarthritis of the neck could also be the source. These are known as “cervicogenic headaches.” There is usually reduced range of motion in the neck, pain with movement and trigger points in the muscles.

It is important to note that a head injury can be very serious and require immediate medical attention. Significant signs and symptoms at any time include vomiting, worsening headache, difficulty with speech, dilated pupil and lowered state of consciousness. These and other symptoms require emergency medical attention and are not within the scope of this article.

There are many other primary and secondary headache disorders, including substance withdrawal (including caffeine), and other causes such as eye strain and sinusitis. Interestingly, a recent study found that many headaches which were diagnosed as sinus headache were actually migraines.

For all headache sufferers, it is very important to review symptoms with your healthcare providers. Even with an accurate diagnosis, it may take some time to find effective treatment and good outcomes. Some headaches cannot be cured but working with your healthcare providers can help you manage your

photos: Curtis Perry

First Avenue Public School Book sale donations

First Avenue Public School is accepting donations in May, June and September of gently used books for our October Book Sale Please drop off your donations at the school, 73 First Avenue, Monday to Friday between 8:30 a m and 4 p m

We welcome your jigsaw puzzles and kids, teens and adult fiction and non-fiction books

We can’t accept encyclopedias, VHS tapes, DVDs and CDs, magazines or textbooks Thank you for supporting our school programs

Glebe Co-operative Nursery School’s Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser

Mark your calendars for the Glebe Co-operative Nursery School’s Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser on Sunday, May 26 from 10 a m until noon This family friendly street party takes place on Third Avenue in front of the Glebe Community Centre All are invited to enjoy live music, a fire truck visit, crafts, face painting, snacks and refreshments and a silent auction

Glebe Collegiate’s ‘Kids 4 Kids’ CHEO drive

Glebe Collegiate Institute is once again holding its “Kids 4 Kids” CHEO drive, with students going door to door on May 23 This year, we are setting our fundraising goal at $20,000, 100 per cent of which will go to the CHEO foundation

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is one of the few stand-alone pediatric hospitals in Canada and treats more than 70,000 patients every year Every year, Glebe students go door to door in an effort to help CHEO continue its amazing care and help support the hospital’s pediatric programs, research, state-of-the-art equipment, medical and nursing education and assistance for families in crisis This is a unique opportunity as Glebe is the only school allowed to do such a large-scale fundraiser for CHEO

The Glebe Montessori School Choir, led by Ania Hejnar, participated in the Kiwanis Musical Festival this spring. The choir was awarded a silver certificate in the kindergarten to Grade 6 category. PHOTO: STEPHANIE HART

space is a free community bulletin board for Glebe residents Send your GRAPEVINE message and your name, email address, street address and phone number

Messages without complete information will not be accepted. FOR SALE items must be less than $1,000.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

ABBOTSFORD SENIOR CENTRE is looking for flea market items, jewelry and your treasures for fundraising during the GREAT GLEBE GARAGE SALE on Sat , May 25 Drop off your donations for charity Mon-Fri, 8:30 a m –4 p m at 950 Bank St , Tel : 613-230-5730 Abbotsford is part of the Glebe Centre, a registered charity (the old stone house) Thank you for your donations!

ABBOTSFORD SENIOR CENTRE (950 Bank St , Tel : 613-230-5730) MEN’S BREAKFAST CLUB, Thurs , June 6, 9–10:30 a m in Margaret’s Room (the upstairs kitchen) Gentlemen, this is your chance to come together with other men in your own time and space at Abbotsford for coffee/tea/juice, muffins, pastries and conviviality Must register in advance (limited seating), cost: $5

ABBOTSFORD SENIOR CENTRE (950 Bank St , Tel : 613-230-5730) LEARN & EXPLORE SPEAKER’S SERIES, Wednesdays, 1–2 30 p m – MAY 15: Alex Neve, OC Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa will present on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights The UDHR, the first human rights instrument adopted by the United Nations, on December 10, 1948, recently marked its 75th anniversary Alex will reflect on what the anniversary means, the progress and setbacks in protecting human rights over those 75 years and the renewed commitment needed moving forward It will be held LIVE and on ZOOM simultaneously MAY 22: Dr Gerd Schneider is a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, providing comprehensive, continuing care to patients, most particularly in his role as the Medical Director at the Glebe Centre long-term care home Dr Schneider has been asked to speak to some of the common ailments that seniors might experience such as dehydration, urinary and bladder infections and other ill health that may have serious side effects It will be held LIVE and on ZOOM simultaneously MAY 29: Debbie Charbonneau and Valerie Oldfield are back in their roles as Death Doulas to speak to the issue of ritual and commemoration upon death Most particularly they have been asked to consider and help us discuss the role of ritual in the relatively new reality of MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) deaths LIVE only JUNE 5: The Abbotsford Members’ Council Annual General Meeting will be held in the dining room for members You are invited to attend and to nominate new members to the executive as this is an election year For more information on your Members’ Council and its role in helping support your seniors centre, please go to the Glebe Centre website: www glebecentre ca under Abbotsford Seniors Centre and Members Handbook 2024 It will be held LIVE and on ZOOM simultaneously The lectures are free but one must register in advance for a seat or ZOOM link Tea/ coffee and treats available for purchase in the dining room courtesy of your Members Council

ATLANTIC VOICES CHOIR PRESENTS ROGUES’ GALLERY - Privateers, bootleggers, defiant outlaws, sailors on a spree and a whole host of seductive charmers For their spring concert, Atlantic Voices presents a Rogues’ Gallery in song It’s an afternoon of music that celebrates lovable scoundrels and folk heroes who defy society’s rules Join us May 26 at Centretown United Church, 507 Bank St , as the choir makes bad behaviour sound SO GOOD! Doors open at 2:15 p m for pre-concert entertainment by the Fumblin’ Fingers Concert 3 p m , with a mug-up to follow Tickets are $25 until May 25 or $30 at the door (free for children 12 and under) Tickets are available from choir members or through EventBrite Our online silent auction starts on concert day and runs all week Visit atlanticvoices ca for more information

CANADIAN CENTENNIAL CHOIR ( ccc-ccc ca/ ) presents: Red and White / Rouge et blanc, Sat , May 11 at 7:30 p m , St Thomas the Apostle Anglican Church, 2345 Alta Vista Dr Tickets for this concert Adult: $25; Senior/Student: $20, available at www brownpapertickets com/event/6144463 A wide-ranging program of Canadian music spanning the last seven decades Come and hear Srul Irving Glick’s magnificent Triumph of the Spirit, the quirky Figures de danse by Lionel Daunais, and recent works by Marie-Claire Saindon, Matthew Emery, Katerina Gimon and others We’ll also perform much-loved folk song arrangements and introduce you to some new ones

COFFEE HOUSES ON SUSTAINABILITY, Sat., June 8: The topic this week is Climate Risk – Basement Flooding (NOTE: this one will be held at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre, 1265 Walkley Rd ) – For

more information or to register for those free events, please go to www eventbrite com/cc/coffee-houses-on-sustainability-2828129

FIRST AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL is accepting donations in May and June of gently used books and jigsaw puzzles for our October Book Sale Please drop off your donations at the school, 73 First Ave , Monday to Friday between 8:30 a m and 4 p m We welcome your jigsaw puzzles and RECENTLY PUBLISHED kids, teen and adult fiction & non-fiction books Please note that we cannot accept any out-of-date materials or any encyclopedias, VHS tapes, DVDs & CDs, magazines or textbooks These items do not sell and create a lot of extra work for our wonderful team of volunteers Thank you for supporting our school programs

GLEBE CO-OPERATIVE NURSERY SCHOOL’S ANNUAL SPRING FLING FUNDRAISER - Mark your calendars for the Glebe Co-operative Nursery School’s Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser on Sun May 26, from 10 a m to noon This family friendly street party takes place on Third Avenue, in front of the Glebe Community Centre All are invited to enjoy live music, a fire truck visit, crafts, face painting, snacks and refreshments, and a silent auction

Glebe Collegiate’s “KIDS 4 KIDS” CHEO DRIVE is back! This year, on the evening of May 23, students from Glebe Collegiate Institute will be canvassing in support of CHEO; 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the CHEO foundation Any donations, small or large, are greatly appreciated

ORLÉANS PICKLEBALL FESTIVAL BENEFITTING BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS

(www bbbso ca/events/orleans-pickleball-festival/), Orléans Tennis & Pickleball Club, Sun , June 16 The event is a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa (BBBSO) For questions about this event, call 613-325-0555 or email jake naylor@bigbrothersbigsisters ca

PROBUS Ottawa is welcoming new members from the Glebe and environs Join your fellow retirees, near retirees and want-to-be retirees for interesting speakers and discussions, not to mention relaxed socializing See our website: www probusoav ca for more detailed information about the club and its activities as well as contact points and membership information We will be meeting on Wed , May 22 at 10 a m at Gloucester Presbyterian Church, 91 Pike St for a presentation by the author of “Ladies Don’t Do That”

AVAILABLE

Hi neighbours! I am a HOUSESITTER who is available in the GLEBE to move in and care for your home

while you travel for short-term vacations, to a second home abroad or cottage I have experience supervising renovations, gardening, shovelling snow, packing and moving a home, organizing, watering plants, collecting mail, etc I am a young lady who studies the Word of God (the Bible) remotely at home I have several years of recent HOUSESITTING experience in the GLEBE with excellent references from many families in our neighbourhood I have cared for and lived in many homes over the last 5 years I also love caring for God’s precious animals, especially puppies! Please contact Sarah 613-682-0802 (mayyouhope@gmail com)

FOR SALE

VINTAGE OAK 4-DRAWER FILING CABINET, manufactured in Toronto by Office Specialty Manufacturing Ltd : $250, PINE BLANKET BOX: $150, ANTIQUE OAK DESK: $200 Please call 613-230-5552

LOST

Green eyed CAT, mainly grey with stripes and grey spots on his white stomach He is an Egyptian Mau, has a distinct loud meow, loves treats, answers to his name Leo and is a support cat for a 10-year-old boy He got into a car on his street in Orleans on March 28 When discovered, the driver stopped the car on Bronson Ave by Drummond’s Gas, where he escaped If found, please call 613-266-7889 BREAKING NEWS: Leo the cat has been found

WANTED

PRIVATE GLEBE HOUSECLEANER, 3 hours biweekly in p m , $30 an hour, Mary: 613- 233-0222

VOLUNTEERS Watch your impact grow with as little as one hour a week this summer by volunteering as a garden caretaker at The Glebe Centre Inc. We are looking for volunteers to champion a small section of our garden space in our Long-Term Care Home

Volunteers will be asked to commit at minimum one hour weekly during the warmer months to weed, prune, water, and complete general upkeep of their assigned section Our outdoor garden spaces provide safe and accessible access to nature for our residents and their families, ensuring the care supports needed are close by For some of our residents, their only access to the outside world is through these spaces Please note, volunteers will be required to participate in an application process that includes obtaining a vulnerable sector police check There will be no cost to obtain the check To apply or learn more, please contact Bridget MacInnis, coordinator of volunteer services volunteerservices@glebecentre ca or 613-238-2727 x353

PHOTO: DR. RAJ

RUSSELL ADAMS PLUMBER

613-978-5682

Home renos and repair — interior/ exterior painting; all types of flooring; drywall repair and installation; plumbing repairs and much more.

Please call Jamie Nininger @ 613 852-8511.

A pretty mug or bowl, a cute planter, practical oven mitts or some yummy cookies or jam. We have it all. Visit us soon to see all the new spring collections.