Tag Archives: Ottawa
Standing On Guard
This was a familiar scene in downtown Ottawa last Thursday and Friday – snipers, presumably American, on the top of buildings. US President Joe Biden was in town and there were extra precautions. Walking through the downtown core you felt like someone was watching you. Because they were.
The No Surprises Report
The Rouleau Commission says that Canada’s federal government was right to impose the Emergencies Act to end the Freedom Convoy a year ago. To many this will come as a surprise, but I had expected it. I don’t feel the government was actually faced with a situation where the security of the nation was threatened […]
The Big Day
We’ll find out at noon EST. But a year later, does anyone care whether the government was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act in face of the Freedom Convoy? Justice Paul Rouleau held a series of hearings in the fall of 2022, as required by law, as to whether conditions warranted the mass suspension of […]
An Ocean of Ice – II
More ice sculptures from Sparks Street in downtown Ottawa, part of the 2023 Winterlude festival. (I’m ignoring the Super Bowl today, though I may watch the game – I bought some good snacks.)
An Ocean of Ice – I
Ottawa’s tourism people are probably cursing the weather these days. We’re halfway through Winterlude, the annual winter carnival, and the Rideau Canal skateway, around which many of the activities take place, has yet to open for the season. And with temperatures above freezing in the forecast for every day next week, it is unlikely to […]
The Aftermath
Jordan Peterson has come and gone, and Ottawa is none the worse for the experience. And Monday, the day he was in the city, the Dilbert comic strip made reference to the attempts by the Ontario College of Psychologists to have Peterson submit to some sort of reeducation program to bring his message into line […]
Cast Your Vote
They’ve started to unveil the ice sculptures on Sparks Street, part of Winterlude, Ottawa’s winter carnival, which starts Friday. It’s a competition, with the public getting to choose the winner. You can vote if you like. So far this has been Ottawa’s third-warmest winter on record, but just because the Rideau canal is still closed […]
Still Troubling
More reflections from Freedom Convoy 2022, originally published shortly before the police finally moved in. You don’t expect to hear the words “secret court hearing” when it is the Canadian legal system being discussed. For those who believe in the fundamental principles of justice it is a little unnerving. Those behind the class action lawsuit […]
Memories of 2022
More from the Freedom Convoy, first posted last February. I took a detour from my usual route Wednesday and walked through a couple of blocks of the ongoing truckers protest in downtown Ottawa, Freedom Convoy 2022. I figured it might be my last chance to observe first-hand. Police were suggesting that they might actually start […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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