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Once a gem in the centre of the nation’s capital, the ByWard Market is losing its place in Ottawans’ hearts. Longstanding businesses have closed. A rash of high-profile violent crimes—including a brazen daytime shooting—and rampant opioid abuse have increased calls from locals for help. The attempts to revitalize the area—from the addition of a $50 million neighbourhood police station to installing an undersized fake-ice rink—vary widely. But what say the people who are still there? We interviewed folks who live, work and play in the ByWard Market. These are their stories, in their own words.
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Brooks Hillaby has lived in ByWard for over 25 years, in a housing co-op at Clarence and Dalhousie.
It’s a mixed blessing that you’ve got more police presence here recently. Took them a while. Which seems to have taken down the amount of guys on Harleys revving at ungodly early hours. So that’s a plus.
The downside is why there are more cops, which is because of the marginalized citizens. The horror, the horror. I give them money, I don’t care what they do with it. That’s all I can do.
Quite often I’m walking by people, I have no idea if they’re dead or not. I have no idea if they’re breathing. The emergency first responders are dreadfully overworked.
And I don’t see it getting any better. The increased police presence does what it can, but they’re still out there, they’re still suffering, and there are still horrors, disturbing and frightening to young children sometimes.
But I mean, you know, the show must go on. We’ve still got bars, still got restaurants. Still got the milk shop. To my mind, the defining characteristic is the afflicted. And I mean, despite being compassionate, I’m less phased than a lot of people. Civilians from Kanata must be shaking in their boots, to a moderate extent. It would be difficult to own a store.
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I don’t have solutions, I don’t. Or, if there were mental hospital beds, and addiction treatment centres open without waiting lists. But that’s not going to happen, they won’t give the money for that.
So no solutions, other than be kind to them. Give them some money, be nice. It would help to a certain extent if ODSB [Ontario Disability Support Program] and welfare was livable. I was on ODSB before I got on Old Age Security. It’s not enough money to live on.
As told to Marlo Glass. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
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