In Praise of Ottawa
Recently some intellectual mercenaries have been picking on our beautiful Ottawa with pithy and hard to decipher prose, sadly decrying the poor state of affairs in Ottawa.
From newspaper editorial writers to philosophers they pontificate on the horror that is Ottawa urban design.
They particularly do not like the safety barriers in front of the U.S. Embassy. Insulting to our sense of style they infer in pithy prose. If your take on Ottawa was from these “critics” you would expect to see a very sad city filled with people craving to depart…but you don’t!
The truth is that 90 per cent of the people who live in Ottawa highly recommend it as a place to live and raise a family. The truth is we live in a special city where those of us who truly live here enjoy its marvel and beauty. The truth is we have a caring and kind city filled with people who live life to the fullest and enjoy each day as it comes. We live in one of the nicest, cleanest cities in the world where we enjoy an improbable standard of living combining safety, security and wealth.
So to our critics who portray the barriers on Sussex as a torment to your inner sense of urban design arrogance I say – horse feathers.
The good news is that most of us in Ottawa are happy to be the Nation’s Capital and we applaud all the federal benefits we receive as a result of this honour and this privilege. And if that means we have a few trade-offs for the security of our friends and allies then so be it. Ottawa is a fine and wonderful city to live in.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
[…] right direction, to a chapter criticizing Ottawa that has lead to predictable responses from the usual suspects. This is the more interesting part of the book, and I think raises some useful insights into […]