City will find permanent honour for Pitre: mayor

Ottawa will honour the memory of Jonathan Pitre by naming a road, recreation centre or other important city facility after him, Mayor Jim Watson said Wednesday.

Pitre died last Wednesday at 17 of an infection after a lifelong struggle with epidermolysis bullosa, a genetic disorder that kept the layers of his skin from staying connected. He brought international attention to the rare, painful and currently incurable condition, and his spirit and the devotion of his mother Tina Boileau to his care inspired thousands.

He’d been in Minnesota for an experimental treatment.

“The first thing I want to do is speak with his mother, but as you know, she and the family asked for privacy for a few weeks,” Watson said. “We will do something that is acceptable to his family and is respectful of his memory.”

Pitre was a sports fan, of hockey in particular, and the Ottawa Senators adopted him and his cause, including making him an honorary scout. Pitre’s condition made playing sports dangerous but he was an avid watcher and judge of talent.

People with epidermolysis bullosa are sometimes called “butterfly children” because they’re so delicate. When he died, the Senators players wore decals of butterflies on their uniforms. Watson had one on his lapel at Wednesday’s city council meeting, which began with a moment of silence for Pitre and the victims of the team bus crash in Saskatchewan that devastated the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team.

“I’m open to ideas from the public as to what kinds of recognitions we can do in honour of Jonathan and bring those to the family,” Watson said. “There have been a lot of good suggestions over social media and emails.”

Getting it right will take a little thought, he said.

“Whether it’s a rink or an arena or a road — where would that road be? Is it close to the Canadian Tire Centre, close to CHEO, or the east end because he’s from the east end?”

Strictly speaking, Pitre wasn’t an Ottawan, Watson pointed out. “Certainly we also have to be respectful of the Township of Russell, which is his home community,” he said.