Let’s Get Crafty

 Patio season is upon us. There’s no better way to enjoy it than with a cold one from a local craft beer maker. The craft beer industry is incredibly trendy right now, and for good reason. Ontario breweries are creating a diverse marketplace of flavours to savour. There are currently

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile: Ted Lindsay

 2015 marks the Year of Sport and the 60th anniversary of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In recognition of these important milestones, OLM will be featuring Honoured Members of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in a weekly Profile piece. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame aims to share the stories and

Ontario’s Newest Folk Star

 Fiddler, singer, and step dancer April Verch is emerging into Ontario’s music spotlight! Recognized for her blissful voice, lively dancing and striking performances, her upcoming appearance at the National Arts Centre (NAC) is not one to miss! With impressive reviews coming from newspapers like the Huffington Post and Toronto Star, there

Meet the Winemakers of Pondview & Sue-Ann Staff wines

 From fruit trees to vineyards  – over generations, their family farms have become wineries. Meet two families who have been fruit farmers in Niagara for many generations & now their land produces internationally award-winning wines. They’ve grown up on the farm & certainly know what it’s like to get their

Tie Up Your Dancing Shoes and Get Ready for Sea Perry

 Get ready to put on your dancing shoes for the single Molly’s Shoes by Canadian folk-rock band Sea Perry. The catchy and upbeat song dropped at the beginning of April from the band’s debut full-length album, Do What You Do, set to be released April 21. If this first single

Ottawa Celebrates Diverse Cultural Roots

 Photo Credit: Connie Kaldor Embrace a return to your roots by taking part in the fourth annual Ottawa Grassroots Festival. The Grassroots Festival plans a spring weekend of family-oriented concerts and workshops each year thanks to its 100 per cent volunteer-run organization. The festival particularly focuses on folk music, dance

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile: Ike Hildebrand

 2015 marks the Year of Sport and the 60th anniversary of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In recognition of these important milestones, OLM will be featuring Honoured Members of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in a weekly Profile piece. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame aims to share the stories and

The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival—Canada’s Sweetest Tradition

 Photo credit: Explore Waterloo Region Traditions come and go, but there are some I can never imagine abandoning. One of these is the incomparable taste of fresh Canadian maple syrup and hot pancakes in the springtime coming from the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival! Maple syrup is an icon for the small

Wage Equality: Lessons from the public sector

 By Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union As a general rule, women get paid less than men do. It doesn’t matter how you measure it. If you go by the average annual pay of all women in Ontario, women make 69 cents for every dollar

Sarah MacDougall: poetic songs from Canada’s North

 Canada’s own northern star is shining bright from the humble community of Whitehorse, Yukon. Nestled within the magnificent landscape and vibrant cosmopolitan lifestyle of the city is singer-songwriter Sarah MacDougall. She is gearing up to release her new album Grand Canyon. “I am excited to share it with the world,”

Canada on canvas: the art of Julia Veenstra

 ABOVE: Ontario artist Julia Veenstra in her Hamilton studio. Since childhood, Julia Veenstra has been an artist to watch. Her mother would often be told about her daughter’s artistic talent. Veenstra took her calling and attended Sheridan College in Oakville where she studied illustration. She found her niche as a painter through

The heroes of the Canadian rail

 Railways in Canada have a high safety record, but trains’ masses and the speeds they travel mean collisions have the potential to be deadly. Whether it’s a person on the tracks, a vehicle in the way, or a derailment, when an accident happens, the first responders at the scene are

Lingering legal wars of the officially recognized Métis Nation

 While Canada has made headway in addressing injustices of First Nation groups, it has largely overlooked the rights of Métis - another significantly large Aboriginal population. The Métis have been tossed back and forth between federal and provincial governments, each disputing its jurisdictional responsibility to deal with them as a

Publisher’s Message: Wrong

 In January 2013, Ottawa Life Magazine featured Kathleen Wynne on its cover with the headline A Few Good Women. Wynne was running for the provincial Liberal leadership which she would end up winning later that month. Today, she is Ontario’s first female Premier and the first openly gay Premier in

Jo Mann: An Art All Her Own

 When it comes to seeing artistic possibilities in the ordinary, Jo Mann is unparalleled. Mann’s artwork is in fact unique and is a style completely her own. She acknowledges. Her canvas is not stretched fabric but the most Canadian of objects. Ironically, while deeply Canadian she found inspiration through travels

New Hospital Funding Model is a Leap of Faith

 Activity-based funding may discharge patients from hospital ‘quicker but sicker’ Most Canadians probably don’t realize that health care in Canada is quietly undergoing a major transformation in funding that could significantly impact patients.  Three provinces—Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia—are implementing a new funding model for hospitals and other provinces are

Ontario Spends More than $11 billion a Year on Prescription Drugs

 Why an income-based drug plan would not be good for Ontario’s economy or its seniors Ontario spends $11 billion per year on prescription drugs. Nearly half of this is spent on medicines used by senior citizens, a group that receives public subsidies for nearly all of their prescription drug costs

Defending workers’ rights while advocating for a new approach

 How do we determine value in Ontario? This question typically drives the development of economic policy, but in today’s Ontario, it also frames labour relations. If one were to listen to some politicians, lobby groups and thinktanks, one would assume that workers in this province were overpaid, underworked and slacking

Have You Had a Glass of this Year’s Beaujolais Nouveau?

 The third Thursday of November is a milestone date in the wine world – wine stores have a special delivery of Beaujolais Nouveau wine. What is all the fuss about? Beaujolais Nouveau or ‘first wine’ is wine made from grapes that were picked in the most recent harvest.  By the

Art Exhibit Showcases Grandeur of Local Environment

 Inspired by nature, award-winning Ottawa artist Margaret Chwialkowska will be featuring her solo exhibition “Gatineau Sublime” at the Galerie Old Chelsea from December 4 to December 31. Ever since Chwialkowska moved to Canada from Poland in 1979, she has been overwhelmed by the natural beauty of North American landscapes. Capturing the magic

Dr. GM Geldert: A Pioneer of Radio Broadcasting

 Laudreville Daytime C.K.C.O. Studio, Somerset Street Ottawa native Shirley Shorter recalls a time when Canadian radio broadcasting was no more complex than a local talent performance airing live from the dining room of her Somerset Street West home. A recent interview with Mrs. Shorter, now 94-years-old, captures a period in

Wining and Dining at the Ottawa Wine & Food Festival

 I have lived in Ottawa for a mere two months, but the city has already given me so many unforgettable experiences. Entering my third month of life in the capital, I made a conscious decision to make the most of my time here and find new ways to embrace the

Pass the Wine and Cheese, Please!

 Perusing over a showcase of signature wines from Ontario wineries unavailable at the LCBO sounds like a great night. Join Savvy Company for A Wine and Cheese with a Twist! This taste and buy event will allow you to stock up on your new favourite Ontario wines from Casa Dea

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile: Sarah Burke

 In honour of the upcoming Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame 2014 Induction Celebrations presented by Canadian Tire on October 22, OLM will be featuring inductees—recent and historic—in a weekly Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile piece. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame aims to share the stories and achievements of Honoured

Five Things Most People Get Wrong About Canada’s Health-Care System

 By Kathleen O’Grady and Noralou Roos A recent court challenge before the British Columbia Supreme Court threatened to change the rules of the game for the Canadian health-care system—should the challenge have made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada and found success there. Dr. Brian Day of the