All posts by Kate Cornick

Settling Syrians in Ottawa won’t be simple

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A third of Syrian-born residents in the nation’s capital live in the city’s south end, according to an analysis of Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey.

With the first planeload of Syrian refugees expected to touch down on Canadian soil this week, there are still questions surrounding where these refugees will live in some of the country’s major municipalities.

“We are trying to obviously spread them out,“ said Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor Michael Qaqish referring to the Syrian refugees who are coming to the nation’s capital.

In Ottawa, 900 Syrian-Canadians live in the city’s Gloucester-Southgate, River and Gloucester-South Nepean wards. Qaqish said he’s been receiving phone calls and emails from people in his community asking how they can host a family in their home — and many non-Arabic speaking residents are offering their help.

Syrian-Canadians in Ottawa live in a cluster of wards in the city's south end. Click the map to explore.
Click on the map to explore where Syrian-Canadians live in Ottawa.

“Most residents are concerned with shelter, housing and food for these people that have been living in camps for the past few years,” said Qaqish.

There will be a language barrier for many refugees arriving in Ottawa from Syria, a predominately Arabic-speaking country. For Qaqish, he thinks language is the least of everyone’s concerns and is something that can be dealt with much later.



But Brian J. Given disagrees. He’s a professor of anthropology at Carleton University whose research includes immigrant and refugee settlement and adaptation.

“The first priority is that they get the language,” said Given. “We need to make sure they have enough language and basic cultural knowledge so they have a chance at settling.”

Given believes that a basic understanding of English will help refugees establish their own networks in Ottawa. If they can’t speak with others in English, he said there’s a risk that newcomers may settle with a small group of people that they can talk to in Arabic – and may be drawn to communities in the city’s south end.

“The reality is it’s just so much more relaxing when talking to someone who gets you, someone with the same language or even the same cultural fit,” Given said.

Tanya Mendes-Gagnon, senior director of newcomer services at the YMCA, said families who are privately sponsoring refugees have a big responsibility to help settle newcomers.

“We’re reaching out to the host families and really promoting our services so they understand the importance of truly integrating refugees when they arrive,” she said.

According to Mendes-Gagnon, about 800 government-sponsored refugees will be settling in Ottawa by the end of February. The program she runs helps about 2,000 refugees a year access housing, employment and language services.

“For now, our manpower is adequate,” said Mendes-Gagnon. “We’re busy getting the new refugees into their homes.”

In the last two months, Mendes-Gagnon said the YMCA has “ramped up” its work and increased community consultations, especially within immigrant communities. The YMCA’s Language Assessment and Referral Centre will be connecting refugees with programs that’ll help them learn English – but Mendes-Gagnon isn’t worried about an increase in demand just yet.

“It is still early days to say if we’ll need to open up more classes, or provide any extra language services,” she said.

But Given wants refugees to receive immediate language and culture training, even if that presents new trials.

“It’s very challenging to learn a language especially if you’ve already been stressed,” he said.

Without that training, Given said it’s “fairly likely” that refugees will be drawn to communities with a larger Syrian or Arabic-speaking population and may become isolated from what he calls “established Canadians.” And that worries Givens.

“The newcomers will end up paying a price later because of settlement issues and general hostility from the population at large.”

 

Hospital visitors risk parking tickets on Ruskin Street

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On Nov. 16, a car without a permit parks on Ruskin Street in a no daytime parking zone.
On Nov. 16 at 10:47 a.m., a car without a street or accessibility permit parks on Ruskin Street in a no daytime parking zone.

Sarah Peterson was visiting her dad at the Ottawa Hospital last fall when she was slapped with a $40 parking ticket on Ruskin Street. She was over her paid parking time by 15 minutes.

“I was chatting with my dad and all of a sudden I realized that about an hour had passed, I came outside and I had a parking ticket,” Peterson said. “I don’t think it’s very compassionate to the people who are visiting someone who is sick or dying.”

Ruskin Street — which runs in front of Ottawa’s Civic Hospital and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute — ranks among the most heavily ticketed streets in the city. Over 3,333 parking tickets were issued in 2014 alone, according to City of Ottawa data.

“Nine o’clock comes and I see the Green Hornet go by my window. It’s like they’re on a schedule,” said Karen Wright, president of the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association.

While the hospital has four parking lots, those spots come at a high price. The hospital charges $6 an hour, with a daily maximum of $13.

But at just $3 an hour, parking on Ruskin Street is more appealing for hospital patients, visitors and staff. Cars can park for up to two hours — and those spots are limited. Instead, many visitors will end up parking in a no-parking zone to avoid paying.

However, Wright said she thinks many visitors don’t know they are parking illegally.

“People see cars parked on the street and think there must be free parking. They are lured in and don’t look at the signs,” Wright said. ”They walk away thinking they scored great parking, but don’t realize they parked behind cars that have street or accessible parking permits.”

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said parking in the Civic Hospital neighbourhood has been a “persistent problem” and being “consistent in enforcement” is how by-law officers respond.

“Parking enforcement tends to be driven by first: where by-law know there is a problem, and second: by complaints,” Leiper said. “There have been very restrictive parking rules around the Civic Hospital for as long as I can remember.”

Ruskin Street has inched up the city’s most ticketed list by four spots in the past three years. In 2014, the parking ticket fees tallied almost $191,000.

Melrose Avenue, adjacent to Ruskin Street, is also a parking ticket haven for by-law officers with 2,250 handed out in 2014.

“I think the by-law officers target that area because they know people are going to go over their time. Maybe it’s so they can reach their quota of parking tickets,” said Peterson. “But they aren’t treating that space like they would treat any other residential area. They are picking on the people who are the most vulnerable.”

But Troy Leeson, the city’s by-law manager of parking enforcement, said residential streets near the Civic are monitored the same as other streets in the city.

“There has been no focused parking enforcement effort on Ruskin Street or Melrose Avenue,” wrote Leeson in an emailed reply.

In the past few years, the Civic Hospital has added off-site parking and shuttles for staff to alleviate some of the hospital’s parking pressures.

Now, the Ontario government might be stepping in. They want to make visiting loved ones in the hospital more affordable by introducing a program to cap hospital parking rates for frequent visitors, an initiative that Wright supports.

“There needs to be a discussion about fees,” Wright said. “If you are going [to the hospital] for weeks or months on end, it becomes very expensive for families.”


Rise in sexual assault charges in Ottawa, but reporting remains low

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With over 2.5 million views, Ontario's #WhoWillYouHelp campaign is one of many public education campaigns spreading awareness about sexual violence in Canada.
With over 2.5 million views, Ontario’s #WhoWillYouHelp campaign is one of many public education campaigns spreading awareness about sexual violence in Canada.

Sexual assault charges in the nation’s capital have increased by 30 per cent in the last five years. An analysis of Statistics Canada crime data shows that Ottawa had also the largest increase in the province – but that doesn’t mean there are more sexual assaults in the city, just that police are laying more charges.

This is a trend that support workers like Tara Henderson understand all too well. She wasn’t surprised — or concerned — by the change.

“Women are pushing other women and encouraging them to seek justice,” said Henderson, a public educator from the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre.

Henderson credits public education campaigns and social media for fuelling conversations about sexual assault. She said demand for services at the crisis centre shot up this past year and triple the number of people are receiving public education.

Erin Leigh from the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women said the sexual assault allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi changed how people think about the crime.

“Because of the type of work he did, there was a level of trust. People felt betrayed,” said Leigh about the Ghomeshi scandal. “It really personalized sexual assault and challenged the myth about stranger danger… It can happen to people (who) you know, it’s not always the creepy dude in the bushes.”

Leigh also said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s $41-million action plan to curb sexual assault has also pushed violence against women into the public eye with their #WhoWillYouHelp campaign.

“Today, if you walk into a public bathroom stall, you will see a poster for a public education campaign,” said Yami Msosa, a support worker at the Sexual Assault Centre of Ottawa.

For Msosa, hearing there’s been a bump in charges in the city wasn’t bad news.

“It’s phenomenal,” she said.“But even though there’s been an increase, there is still a large percentage of individuals who are not reporting it.”

And that is the biggest challenge when it comes to collecting reliable data about sexual violence: the disclosure rate.

“The disclosure rate is so low, it’s hard to get a true sense of who is being impacted,” said Henderson.

A 2013 study by University of Ottawa criminology professor Holly Johnson found that of every 1000 sexual assaults in Canada, only 33 are reported to police, 12 have charges laid, and only three lead to conviction.

“When women hear those statistics, considering the amount of time it takes to go through the justice system, reconnect with a tragic experience, sometimes with no legal representation… It can be daunting to think of oneself going through it,” said Henderson.

Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Angela McDade from the Sexual Assault Unit said it’s common for women to report a crime and not want to lay a charge.

“Many times they are willing to tell us their story, but at the end of the day some women just want that person warned,” said Sgt. McDade.

Sgt. McDade said the Ottawa Police haven’t seen a significant change in the number of sexual assault charges. Yet, from 2013 to 2014 they received 13 per cent more reports of the crime. She said the Ottawa Police are also educating officers to not write off a sexual assault report as unfounded until they can absolutely confirm it didn’t happen.

Still, sexual assault clearance rates remain high because the crime usually happens behind closed doors and there is often not enough evidence to support a charge — something McDade said shouldn’t discourage women to come forward.

“Although reporting won’t change what happened to them, it may hold an offender accountable and empower the survivor to regain control in their life.”

Promising changes to B.C. party bus industry fall short

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Regulatory changes to the party bus industry in British Columbia won’t stop underage passengers from sipping flasks full of liquor or popping pills on board.

Newly released documents from the Ministry of Transportation show that the ministry acknowledges they can’t prevent illegal activities on party buses.

In a ministerial briefing from Sept. 30, 2014, that was obtained through a freedom of information request, the ministry discusses how behaviours demonstrated on a party bus are already against the law and how they’ve taken action to remind party bus companies of their safety obligations.

But five months after the briefing, the ministry made regulatory changes in an attempt to make party buses safer.

In a press conference on Feb. 26, 2015, Minister of Transportation Todd Stone announced that stretch SUV limousines and party buses will need special authorization from the Passenger Transportation Board to operate. The board regulates licences, rates, areas of operation and fleet size.

Until then, anyone with a driver’s licence could own and operate a party bus. With these stricter rules in place, the police will know where these buses are driving around, said the ministry in an emailed response.

The changes are meant to make teen passengers safer, deter underage drinking and crack down on bad operators. 

But NDP transportation critic George Heyman said much more is needed if the province wants to prevent future tragedies.

Heyman is referring to the deaths of two 16-year-olds on party buses in metro Vancouver in 2008 and 2013.

“There is nothing more important than protecting young people,” said Heyman. “But the reality is it’s still dangerous for teens.”

Heyman said bus drivers can’t see what’s happening behind them and the new special authorization won’t solve that problem.

So how do theses changes make party buses more safe for teens?

The ministry didn’t directly answer that question. 

In an emailed response from a ministry spokesperson, they write that the new regulations allow the government to have an increased level of scrutiny. 

“By levelling the playing field in the industry, licensees will have to be more accountable.”

But Heyman thinks the Ministry of Transportation is simply throwing the responsibility to regulate the industry on someone else.

“They’ve left this to the Passenger Transportation Board. I suppose they could ask the board specifically to do certain things but they’ve done the minimum here so far.”

That’s why in 2014 Heyman introduced a private members bill with recommendations to make party buses safer. 

He proposed a chaperone to travel with minors, stiffer fines, mandatory safety training for drivers, and for operators to be held liable for ‘travelling bar’ advertisements. 

“It’s an industry where advertising shows passengers congregating around a stripper pole holding cups full of alcohol. What can you expect?”

Heyman’s bill didn’t make it past the first reading.

The ministry says that the current regulatory structure limits their ability to impose terms like the requirement for a chaperone to accompany minors.

However, Heyman believes the ministry could impose terms through legislative change, but there is a reluctance to introduce any more regulation.

“There is no guarantee that much more will happen to regulate party buses,” he said.

“The government felt enough pressure to make a change, but not enough.”

Requests for comment from party bus companies in British Columbia were unreturned.

___________________________________________________________________________

Below is a link to a package that contains all my requests:

Kate Cornick’s formal and informal requests

For the assignment

What is the information?

The information is from a ministerial briefing prepared for the Minister of Transportation Todd Stone for a meeting with Don Zurowski from the Passenger Transportation Board on Oct. 1, 2014. The briefing includes background, discussion, and questions and answers related to the party bus industry in B.C.

From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?

The pages are from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in British Columbia (provincial government), but I did not request for these documents myself. They were given to me in class after none of my formal and infromal requests yielded a story or were returned.

Why was this information helpful?

This information provided me with deeper insight into the ministry’s thinking five months prior to the announcement about regulatory changes to the party bus industry. It gave me an idea of what the ministry had done to date to address passenger safety on party buses and an inside look into some of the discussions that were being had surrounding the issue. I learnt that the ministry was essentially saying there was nothing they could do, and they tried to justify their role in regulating the party buses to date.

Graffiti complaints in Ottawa on the rise in spring

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Springtime in Ottawa means temperatures are rising, snow is melting and graffiti artists are spray painting – at least the latter is what residents could expect this season, according to the most recent city data. 

In 2014, between March 20 and June 20, the city received 506 graffiti-related complaints including reports of vandalism, offensive words and hate messages. This is up 106 per cent from the 246 complaints made during the same period in 2013.

Graffiti complaints were the highest in Rideau-Vanier, where 311 calls rose from 24 to 96. In Kitchissippi, calls increased from 24 to 79 calls, the second highest number of complaints.

But in both wards the biggest problem is tagging: graffiti artists who spray paint their nickname or symbol just about anywhere they can.

Rev. Doug Stringer of the Vanier Community Church knows firsthand what it’s like to be a target. Last year, one of the church’s yellow brick walls became a notepad for a local tagger.

“It was too inviting to be left alone,” Stringer said. “There didn’t seem to be a message of hate or criticism or ridicule. It seemed to be someone who wanted to express themselves and this was a good place for it.”

Stringer said the tagging in Vanier “just demonstrates a lack of pride in the community” and “a lack of respect for what others see as important.”

Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury said that he isn’t surprised his ward has the highest number of graffiti complaints since it’s the most dense in the city.

“We have the ByWard market, the University of Ottawa and several high schools,” said Fleury. “The sheer interaction that is happening with a lot of people travelling through make it an easy target.”

Last spring, residential properties along Rideau Street and Laurier Avenue were aggressively tagged.  The more visible the graffiti, the more likely Fleury said he’ll see a spike in complaints.

But Fleury doesn’t think that graffiti is necessarily a “bad thing.” He said the city wants to collaborate more with local artists, even those whose pick up a spray can instead of a brush.

“That’s why we launched the Paint It Up! Program where we established locations to have graffiti walls,” said Fleury. “If we know there is some visual appeal for a specific location, why not make it into a piece of art?”

Kitchissippi councillor Jeff Leiper said that there doesn’t seem to be a “huge demand” for graffiti designated spaces in his ward.

“Those who are putting their tags on buildings are not necessarily going to take advantage of a wall that is for graffiti,” said Leiper. “Their point it to go where they aren’t supposed to be going.”

Leiper said last spring, one tagger climbed scaffolding beside a six-storey building on Wellington Street and spray painted letters almost two metres tall. 

“We saw a very visible acceleration in the number of tags that were going up last year until August,” said Leiper. 

He said that development signs in his ward were a target for what he calls “protest graffiti” against intensification and he saw a peak in spray painted swastikas.

One way Leiper thinks his ward can deter tagging is by covering up “big, tempting graffiti targets” like Bell Canada utility boxes. Last fall, Hintonburg painter Daniel Martelock turned the grey boxes into a work of art.

Photo c/o Jeff Leiper.
Martelock working on the Bell boxes at 1041 Wellington St. Photo c/o Jeff Leiper.
c/o Jeff Leiper
Martelock’s finished painting. Photo c/o Jeff Leiper.

“When you take the time to get them nice and painted up, the taggers will leave them alone,” Leiper said. 

Both Fleury and Leiper say that it has been a “quiet winter” for graffiti complaints in their wards. But if last year’s pattern repeats itself, both councillors might be dealing with frustrated residents and a big clean up in the coming months. 

The Ottawa Senators and 25 years of off-ice success

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Twenty-five years after the nation’s capital was awarded an NHL franchise, the Ottawa Senators’ biggest victory is arguably their community work.

That may not have been the vision of the team’s founder Bruce Firestone when he won a bid for the franchise on Dec. 6, 1990. He spearheaded a two year campaign with business colleagues and friends Cyril Leeder, now the Senators’ President, and Randy Sexton to bring an NHL team back to Ottawa.

Two and a half decades later, the team has yet to win a Stanley Cup for the city. But they’ve invested more than $100 million into the Ottawa community.

While the team has donated to charities and financed scholarships, the players have become regular visitors at CHEO and given their free time to champion causes like mental health awareness.

Star forward Bobby Ryan with seven-year-old Evan Green-Sloan at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario | c/o Ottawa Community News
Star forward Bobby Ryan with seven-year-old Evan Green-Sloan at CHEO | Photo credit: Ottawa Community News

“I believe that they have probably been as strong a community organization as an NHL franchise,” said Michael Allen, CEO and President of the United Way.

Allen was “thrilled” when he learned Ottawa was gaining an NHL team. He had recently moved from Winnipeg which had just lost its franchise to Phoenix. 

Since the early days, Allen has worked closely with the team. In 2007, the Ottawa Senators Foundation contributed $1.2 million over 10 years to a United Way project tackling youth drug addictions through counselling, treatment and early intervention.

The Senators have also supported United Way’s Social Rec Connect project.

“In many communities across Ottawa, for a variety of reasons, some of them socio-economic, lack of facilities or cultural barriers, kids don’t participate in the same way in sports across all our neighbourhoods,” said Allen. 

Allen explained that with the foundation, counsellors go into at-risk communities to get youth involved in sports and try to overcome those challenges.

“We are committed to ensuring that kids are given the opportunity to be active, engaged and to feel good about themselves,” said Brad Weir, who oversees community investments with the Ottawa Senators Foundation.

The foundation was launched in 1998. Since then, the players have used their celebrity status to attract attention and raise money.

“What makes us special is our ability to leverage the brand of the hockey club and get our players involved in generating funds and awareness for organizations, programs and initiatives we support in the community,” said Weir.

Their largest investment is Roger’s House, a palliative care home built by the foundation for children and their families right next door to CHEO. Weir said the foundation has set up an endowment fund to ensure it’s still operating for many years to come.

The team has also made small, but significant contributions in the community by simply donating their time.

Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley remembers when four players and their families showed up to a community meeting where they were raising money for an anti-bullying school program. 

In the spur of the moment, veteran defenceman Chris Phillips offered to play a game of hockey in his backyard rink with the highest bidder and friends.

“We raised $8,000 on that one item off the floor. They didn’t plan it. It was just done at the event,” said Hubley.

Next week on Mar. 5, Mayor Jim Watson is presenting former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson with a key to the city, amongst the highest recognition that a citizen can receive.

“He worked hard to be a community ambassador. His work with mental health, CHEO and the United Way, all are a testament to the kind of commitment both he and the team hold for community work,” said Allen.

Documentation

Senators Foundation Infographic

(1) This infographic represents some of the contributions the Ottawa Senators Foundation has made within the city. It includes investments of money and the team’s time.
(2) Brad Weird from the Ottawa Senators Foundation sent me the document after our interview.
(3) The infographic helped me understand the breadth of community work the team does and the magnitude of their investments. It also gave me basic facts and figures that were useful when writing my article.

Senators Sport and Entertainment Impact Study

(1) This is a study conducted by the University of Ottawa about the economic, sport and social impact the Ottawa Senators have had on the city.
(2) Jessica Smith from the United Way sent me this study by. She helped the team of researchers understand the intangible impact the team has made on the community.
(3) The study helped me understand how having an NHL team in Ottawa has impacted the city’s economy, entertainment and sport industry. It also shed some light on the Senators’ community work and development, which I wanted to explore further in this piece.
 

Lululemon’s spending more on spandex

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Photo c/o CTV News
Photo c/o CTV News

Known for their figure-hugging yoga pants and colourful workout tops, athletic and leisure wear giant Lululemon Athletica is selling more products than last year – but it comes at a higher cost.

The Vancouver-based retailer spent $33 million more this quarter doing business. The company’s cost of goods sold was $208 million compared to $175 million spent the previous year.

The cost of goods sold refers to the total cost for Lululemon to manufacture their gear and get it into their stores. For a retail company, this includes the cost of fabric, factory workers’ salaries and freight transportation, among other things.

 

The company’s quarterly report states that a “natural growth in labour hours” increased their costs by $10.9 million.

Lululemon opened 42 new stores over the year. This meant having to hire more workers in their oversea factories to keep up with the demand for their products.

However, there were few references in the quarterly report to what factors affected their costs of goods sold. In fact, it is hardly mentioned.

In an email reply from Lululemon Athletica, guest educator Kevin O’Grady explained that while the cost of product materials didn’t change, other expenses did. He said, “2014 saw an increase in various factors related to Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Increases in these costs do have an impact on the cost of goods sold since many of these costs are part of that calculation.”

Lululemon senior management also addressed the third quarter results during a teleconference with a group of Lululemon analysts on Dec. 11, 2014. Once again, no explicit reference to the increase in costs was made during the meeting.

However, John Currie, former chief financial officer, said that 2014 was “a year of investment and shoring up supply chain.” These investments increased the cost of production and are expected to continue in 2015.

Inside a Vancouver Lululemon store | Photo c/o yourvancouverrealestate.ca
Inside a Vancouver Lululemon store | Photo c/o yourvancouverrealestate.ca

Sheldon Weatherstone, a financial accounting professor at the Telfer School of Management, said that Lululemon’s cost of goods sold is rising at a faster rate than their revenue.

“Their sales increased by 10 per cent, but their cost of goods sold increased by nearly 19 per cent. So despite the fact that they managed to generate more revenue and more sales selling more products, their cost to sell those products outpaced their growth by almost nine percent.”

He said another increase in cost of goods sold could mean trouble for the company.

Prof. Sheldon Weatherstone, right | Photo c/o the University of Ottawa

Lululemons’s gross profit margin has already dipped from 53.9 per cent down to 50.3 per cent. Weatherstone said if Lululemon can’t keep their costs under control, their profit will continue to slide

“It doesn’t take much to impact a public company,” he said. “Even though three or four per cent may not seem like a big deal, when you look at it in dollar terms it can be pretty significant.”

Lululemon’s share price has also taken a small hit in 2014. Their earnings per share in one year have gone down from $0.46 to $0.42.

Weatherstone said shareholders aren’t going to be very happy if Lululemon can’t manage their costs in the next year.

“If their profit margin continues to drop, their share price is going to diminish and their popularity as an investment to shareholders is going to decrease,” he said. “As a shareholder, you don’t want to see your investment erode.”

In 2015, Lululemon could face another increase in their costs due to the fluctuating price of the raw materials used to manufacture their gear.