Ottawa Macabre

The Ottawa region is relatively safe for residents and visitors alike. Nevertheless, the area has been the site of a few strange and disturbing fatalities over the years. Hopefully these are the exceptions that prove the rule:

In the town of Perth, just an hour’s drive west of the city, the last fatal duel in Ontario occurred on June 13, 1833. Two law students and former friends, John Wilson and Robert Lyon, had been quarrelling over remarks Lyon made concerning a local teacher, Elizabeth Hughes, whom both men were interested in. The outcome: Lyon was killed, and Wilson was charged with murder. Wilson, who was eventually acquitted, married Elizabeth Hughes and later became an MP and a judge.

In 1882, a man committed suicide in the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica (otherwise known as La Basilique Cathédral de Notre-Dame, 385 Sussex Dr.), putting a bullet in his head after a mass. A gang of priests had to be sent in to re-consecrate the church afterwards.

In 1998, 21-year-old Ottawa resident Jérôme Charron died in an accident on a “reverse bungee” (also known as a “catapult bungee” or “ejector seat”) a ride at the SuperEx at Lansdowne Park on Bank Street. The ride, called “The Rocket Launcher,” consists of two poles feeding two elastic ropes down to a two-passenger car; once released from its electro-magnetic latch, the car is shot straight upwards with an acceleration of 4.8 Gs, with a maximum altitude of 55 metres (180 feet). Instead, the ride hurled him 40 metres (130 feet) into the air before his harness became detached, causing him to plummet to his death. In 2000, the American firm responsible for the ride was fined $145,000 for the incident. Provincial inspectors had apparently inspected and approved the ride just four days before the accident, but did not inspect the faulty strap.

University of Waterloo PhD student Ardeth Wood was 27 years old when she went missing while cycling along the Aviation Parkway on August 6, 2003. After an extensive search by police and community volunteers (the largest search operation ever undertaken by the Ottawa Police Service), her body was found on August 11 by a specially trained OPP cadaver dog, just metres from where her abandoned bicycle had been found. Her murder launched one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history. It also opened up a dark chapter in Ottawa’s own history, as women all over the city suddenly no longer felt safe to leave their homes after dark, especially along remote bike paths. In October 2005, Chris Myers, a 25-year-old Ottawa resident, was found in North Bay, Ontario and charged with the murder, as well as four other counts of sexual assaults.

In the winter of 2006, the naked body of a seven-month-pregnant Vanier woman, Kelly Morrisseau, was found in Gatineau Park, having been stabbed more than a dozen times. With accusations by members of her family in June 2007 that the attention on her murder had waned because she was Aboriginal, the Assembly of First Nations put up a substantial reward for information, adding $2,000 to the $2,000 already offered by Crimestoppers.

Ottawa Parks

Ottawa is a city full of great parks. Here are a few good ones for kids:

St Luke’s Park: Operated by the Jack Purcell Community Centre, this is one of the cleanest and safest closed-in parks in the downtown area. Various play structures include swings, basketball nets, and a summer pool. The Bethell Field House was once a field hospital in the 1920s. (Elgin at Frank Streets, behind the Second Cup)

Dundonald Park: Home of the Centretown Movies (where a screen is set up in the park for summer showings of popular films), the small play structure and sandpit are enclosed to keep the small kids in and the bigger kids out. Dundonald is also known as “beer park” in some circles, but don’t let that deter you from bringing your kids here; it gets this nickname by virtue of being situated across the street from the Beer Store. Look for the plaques directly across from the store dedicated to Russian file clerk Igor Gouzenko, who lived in the apartment building across the street at 511 Somerset Street West. (Somerset West at Bay Streets)

Strathcona Park: This park is filled with huge open spaces and various play structures. The imposing fountain at the top of the hill was presented to the City of Ottawa in 1909 by Donald Smith, a.k.a. Baron Strathcona, statesman, railway builder, and businessman, who drove the last spike in the railway that crossed the country. (Laurier Avenue East at Range Road, Sandy Hill)

Strathcona Park: Don’t let the name repeated from above fool you; this is a completely separate park in the Glebe. There aren’t any playgrounds here, but some lovely trees to run around under. (Bank Street at Strathcona Avenue)

Andrew Haydon Park:
Located on the shores of the Ottawa River in the west end of the city, this park is named after a former mayor of the City of Nepean. It features a lovely view of Britannia Bay and includes a picnic area, artificial lake, concession stands, washrooms, and a yacht club. Swimming is not recommended. (Holly Acres Road and Carling Avenue)

Ottawa Pride

Celebrating the LGBT community in both Ottawa and Gatineau every year, its highlight, course, is the parade, which usually runs along Somerset Street West from Elgin Street heading west, before turning south on Bank Street.