Singer songwriter Brendan Flynn, originally from Almonte, Ontario, has called Ottawa home since early 2004. Flynn is already well-known in music circles around the capital for his crowd-pleasing blend of country and rock. In 2007, Brendan released his self-produced, debut solo album called “Songs of Brendan Flynn” accompanied by Keith Glass from the Juno Award-winning country band “Prairie Oyster”, Dale Murray from the Guthries, Cuff the Duke and Buck 65, and many other accomplished musicians. You can hear the Roots-Rock sound of Brendan Flynn and the Terrible Liars in local venues around...

Habitat for Humanity recently put the finishing touches on a revamped Bayshore home that will soon house a family in need. Habitat engaged local volunteers, companies and trades to give the place a complete ‘green’ overhaul. The house now boasts an energy-efficient furnace, energy-efficient windows as well as a new kitchen, new flooring and a new water heater. Improved insulation and foundation sealing will also increase the home's energy efficiency. Daniel Smith, owner of Ottawa’s Strokes of Genius Painting (www.strokesofgeniuspainting.ca) donated a crew to help Habitat volunteers with repairs...

On November 20, the defence community gathered for the annual Vimy Award celebration. The Award, established in 1991, recognizes one Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to defence, security and the preservation of democratic values. (Past recipients include Major General Roméo Dallaire, General Rick Hillier, Gordon Hamilton Southam and former PM, the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, to name just a few.) The Conference of Defence Associations unanimously selected Warrant Officer William Kenneth MacDonald as the 2009 Vimy recipient. Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice, the Hon....

The End Game - Do you find the news today on television consists more of one anchor pontificating to another rather than reporting on the actual “news?” CBC and CTV are masters at this, bringing us a myriad of mind-numbing opinions from the same “media” people on multiple issues every day. A good example of this is the coverage of the Afghan detainee issue. The thrust of the media coverage seems to coalesce around the idea that the Canadian Forces deliberately, in a planned and premeditated manner, colluded with Afghan authorities in the torturing of detainees in Afghanistan. The national media are beside themselves frothing, spewing and spanking with joy as they report this as if it...

Publisher's Message (December 2009) - A reckoning is coming. I really believe this. I have had the experience of working in government, politics, the business sector as an Executive for a Fortune 500 Company, as an entrepreneur and, of course, in the media. I suppose this provides me with a broad perspective and enables me to make credible observations about the workforce, and our society today. Maybe, after reading the observations below, you will feel entitled to disagree! A recent study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shines a light on the public/private sector wage gap. It found that public sector workers across Canada earn 8 to 17 per cent more than people...

Ottawa Life Magazine proudly presents our Ninth Annual Top 50 People in the Capital issue. Each year, the Top 50 highlights the best and the brightest of our city’s most accomplished and influential residents. It comes as no surprise the results reflect such tremendous diversity. The Nation’s Capital is a multicultural community and host to the country’s most successful citizens, who in turn, bring positive world acclaim to Canada. The Top 50 selection process is arduous, OLM staff review countless news stories, press releases, phone calls, and letters from readers, nominating worthy candidates from all corners of the city. The ultimate goal is to produce a list of 50 individuals that is...

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CBC News Top Stories — Nortel strikes deal on pensions, disability    (Monday, 08 February 2010 22:47) Nortel Networks Corp. has reached a deal with its pensioners and employees on long-term disability. — Interim commander will replace Williams    (Monday, 08 February 2010 21:57) The Canadian military has expressed shock at the murder charges laid against Col. Russell Williams and says it will...

Globe and Mail Headlines — Native band votes to accept pipeline deal    (Tuesday, 09 February 2010 00:21) Fort William First Nation residents overwhelmingly support $3.5-million settlement after five years of negotiations with Ottawa — Ontario loans to cover part of Nortel pensions    (Monday, 08 February 2010 00:00) Cost to provincial government remains unclear — Cabinet...

I applaud the recent victory by the U.S. team at the WJHC. They were a great team with great talent and played an up tempo, exciting brand of hockey. More importantly, every interview I saw with an American player or coach showed them to be a classy, respectful team worthy of representing the U.S.A.  and, the title, World Champions. Nonetheless, before my fellow Canadians fans begin the usual self-flagellation that follows a loss at an international hockey event a little perspective is in order.  Steven Stamkos, John Tavares ,  Matt Duchene ,  Evander Kane,  Ryan O'Reilly ,  James Wright, Michael Del Zotto and Tyler Myers were all eligible for the Canadian team and, but for their respective NHL commitments, did not play. I hate to play what if but…WHAT IF!? Playing what if does not negate the fact that Canadians can’t assume the wins will keep on coming perpetually. We must realize that hockey is an international sport and that fans from other countries love the game as much as we do. We have been spoiled by the success of the Canadian junior teams at the WJHC year after year. We have also been spoiled by the availability of year round ice surfaces in Canada that make it fairly...

I’m watching the Senators lose to the Canadiens as I write this column. Is it just me or do the Sens forwards look slow? Say what you will about Jacques Martin but when he coached the Senators, team speed intimidated the entire league. The speed of the Senators took away the forecheck of opponents by forcing them into a tight defensive shell. This was a contributing factor to the Sens being one of the top defensive teams, year after year. Simply, it was tough to implement a high pressure offence against the Sens when you were preoccupied with the Sens’ race horses sprinting back up the ice on a turnover. Now, however, the Sens just don’t look very fast. This puzzles me when players like Michalak, Fisher and Shannon are flying around. With Michalak’s wheels he should be getting two or three breakaways each game. The problem I see is that the Senators get no intelligent back end support. When was the last time we were treated to a seeing-eye pass finding a streaking Senator forward breaking toward the opponents’ net? Kuba, Karlsson, Campoli and Picard hold on to the puck far too long when coming out of their own end. Time after time, against the Habs, Sens’ forwards were forced...

The big elephant in the room, at least in the Senators dressing room, is that this team is not good enough to win anything. Sure, on any given night, the Senators possess the raw talent to fool some Senators fans. Kovalev, Alfredsson, Spezza et al. are extraordinarily gifted players with the demonstrated ability to lift fans out of their seats. Nonetheless, something just always seems to be missing. In the early days (early nineties) the Sens could do nothing right. Then, as the nineties came to a close, under Jacques Martin they became one of the consistently better defensive teams in the NHL that won more often than it lost. Unfortunately, team toughness became the issue and they never seemed to be able to compete with teams that went deep into the playoffs. The dawn of the 21st century found the Sens with amazing individually talented players who lacked heart. Moreover, with Tugnutt, Lalime, Gerber and the like, I would be remiss in not mentioning the dismal goaltending of this era. Now, as the century approaches adolescence, the Sens as a team are once again found wanting. Great goaltending and an emerging leadership group which includes handsome Mike Fisher and the much maligned,...