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CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Ottawa Mosque, ByTowne Cinema could get heritage designation
Designation 'long overdue,' says former president of Ottawa Muslim Association Image | ottawa mosque bytowne cinema heritage designation Caption: The Ottawa Mosque, left, and the ByTowne Cinema, right, are two of eight Ottawa buildings that are being considered for a potential heritage designation. The city's built heritage committee will discuss their merits on Tuesday. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC, Guy Quenneville/CBC) The Ottawa Mosque and the ByTowne Cinema could be among the latest additions to Ottawa's list of heritage buildings. The built heritage committee will vote Tuesday on whether to grant that status to a number of buildings in the city — including the Rideau Street cinema and the mosque near Tunney's Pasture. Despite being only about 50 years old, the Ottawa Mosque meets five of nine criteria for designation, with particular "design, associative, and contextual values," according to the city's heritage planning branch. A property can be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act if it meets two or more of nine criteria established in the regulations. Buildings that get that designation are granted special legal status that recognizes their cultural value, ensures their preservation and protects them from demolition and inappropriate alteration. 'An honour' In a report recommending its designation, the branch noted that it was the first purpose-built mosque built in Ottawa and one of the earliest in Ontario after the London Muslim Mosque. The irregular-shaped mosque, which has a dome and a minaret with modernist architectural influences, was built between 1973 and 1979, the report noted. Its designation would be a "long overdue" recognition of the city's Muslim community, according to Mohamed Ghadban, a former president of the Ottawa Muslim Association. "It's the main mosque or the mother of all the mosques in the city," said Ghadban. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021 there were nearly 100,000 Muslims in Ottawa, making up nearly 10 per cent of the population and forming the second largest religious group. But when the mosque was built, there were just a few hundred Muslims in the city, Ghadban said. "[It would be] an honour to actually have this building designated," Ghadban said, noting that the city is now home to more than a dozen mosques. Movie theatre in the Moderne style The heritage planning branch also recommended the designation of the ByTowne Cinema for its historical and design value, saying it met six of nine criteria. The theatre, it said, is a representative example of a purpose-built, post-war neighbourhood movie theatre in the "Moderne" style — a subset of the modern architectural movement that's characterized by smooth walls, simple ornamentation, rounded corners, and curved glass. "The ByTowne features elements of the Moderne style through its rounded profile, streamline stone cornice, smooth brick cladding, and metal accents," the report to the committee noted. ByTowne Cinema owner Daniel Demois applauded the research the city conducted into the theatre's history. "It really is a vote of confidence from the city," he said. "They've taught me a lot about what is important about the design and the history of the building." The Nelson Theatre, as it was originally known, was opened by proprietor Hyman Berlin in 1947. The building was designed by Toronto architectural firm Kaplan & Sprachman, which was instrumental in introducing the Moderne style to Canadian theatre architecture, the report noted. It has operated as the ByTowne cinema since 1988, although it almost closed for good during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa's ByTowne Cinema to reopen under new owners Designation could provide practical benefits to the cinema, according to Demois, as it would become more eligible for grants to help maintain and repair heritage elements. Running a 650-seat single theatre in a market dominated by multiplexes can be challenging, said Demois, who hopes that a heritage designation would also reaffirm the value of independent theatre. "With these older independent cinemas, the trend has always been ... to consider them more discount cinemas," he said. "But we've kind of started leaning away from that. If this is a heritage building and this is a place worth celebrating, maybe it's actually a premium experience." The other buildings up for designation on Tuesday are: The Rothesay Apartments at 172 O'Connor St. The former Bell Telephone Exchange buildings at 251 Besserer St., 200 First Ave. and 43 Eccles St. Eglise Saint-François-d'Assise at 1062 Wellington St. W. Eglise Saint-Joseph d'Orléans at 2757 St. Joseph Blvd. The recommendations will still have to be approved by full city council.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elbows up! 'Seriously angry grannies' and 'menopause mafia' protest Trump in Ottawa
Heavy snow did not deter several dozen protesters from demonstrating outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump's policies toward Canada, Ukraine and the liberal world order. Chanting "elbows up" and "down with Trump," the protesters cheered as they received honking support from passing motorists. Several people described protesting as a concrete way of responding to the anger and anxiety the second Trump administration is evoking in many Canadians. "Elbows up" has become the war cry of angry Canadians as they enter an unsought trade war with the United States, after Trump introduced punishing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports on Tuesday. A hockey term indicating a fight on the ice is imminent, Canadian actor Mike Myers mouthed the phrase during an appearance on Saturday Night Live on March 1 in which he wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan "Canada is not for sale." 'Seriously angry grannies' Helen Clark and Felicity Garrard protested against Trump and in support of Ukraine outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC) On Tuesday, protesters Felicity Garrard and Helen Clark joked that Trump had transformed them into "seriously angry grannies." "We are just so disgusted by what Trump and his goons are doing right now," said Clark. "It's so awful, everyone should get out and protest." Clark was especially angered by Trump's dressing down of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week and his threats to end military aid as Ukraine struggles to resist the Russian invasion. "Always stand with Ukraine," Clark said. Garrard was angered by Trump's attempts to blame Zelenskyy for the Russian invasion, but also his actions toward Canada. "The absolute injustice that is taking place today — denying an invasion, putting on tariffs and impoverishing both countries, our friends and neighbours in the U.S.A.," she said. "This is totally, totally wrong." Louisa Fenner said her worries about the impact of American tariffs on the Canadian economy brought her out to protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC) 'Menopause mafia' Louisa Fenner said protesting allowed her to express some of her fear and anxiety that Trump's threats toward Canada could escalate. "I don't want to be scaremongering, but I'm afraid of what might happen to us physically," she said. "I joke that we're sort of the menopause mafia, and I have no intention of giving my children over to any kind of armed conflict, but if anybody wants me to pick up a wooden spoon and give somebody a good whack around the head, I'm down for it. I'm scared. I'm actively frightened." Ukrainian Tatiana Piatkovsea protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday, as Trump threatened to withdraw support for her country as it resists a Russian invasion. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC) 'War is coming' Ukrainian Tatiana Piatkovsea held a sign reading "The suit doesn't make the man," a reference to Zelenskyy being asked by a right-wing American network why he wasn't wearing a suit to meet Trump at the White House last week. She said she worried that Trump's cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin had the potential to lead to a third world war. "I escaped from war, came here and now I'm feeling the same. I'm feeling that war is coming and I'm not feeling safe," she said. Steve Whitwill protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC) Likewise, Steve Whitwill said he was scared that Trump would not stop at a trade war with Canada. "I fear that if the economic blockade does not bring us to our knees, he will potentially use the American armed forces to take Canada, just as Putin has done in Ukraine," he said. "They seem to be buddies." 'Dangerous' for democracy Lucie Atangana said she's concerned about the threat Trump posed to democracy, and is opposed to unfair tariffs. "He is someone who is very dangerous for both Americans and the state of general democracy around the world," she said. "We stand with Americans, we just don't agree with their current political representation and the lack of clear leadership in the face of what is already a very uncertain time for everybody." Lucie Atangana and Babacar Faye joined the protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC) Atangana said she was particularly worried about how vulnerable groups including blue collar workers, trans people, women and people of colour could be impacted. "We should stand together instead of trying to tear each other apart," she said. Her colleague Babacar Faye said he's concerned Trump's tariffs could cause an economic recession. "We're going to see inflation rise again, we're seeing the price of the cost of living rising again," he said. "And it's just going to affect everyone."
