Terrorists, weather ruined Canada Day in nation’s capital

Editor: After making the long drive from West Kelowna to Ottawa, our former home, my husband and I were stoked about celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday on Parliament Hill.

Thunderstorms were forecast again, but we set out regardless on Saturday morning on free public transport, along with thousands of red-and-white merrymakers. Heavy rain had already flooded the grass on the Hill and parks, which were set up for concerts and shows. We were warned about two-to-three hour lineups to pass through security, so we decided to party on Sparks St., one block back from the Hill, where at least we caught some of the show on a TV screen.

This was unfortunate, as we couldn’t get anywhere near the live show. We were crushed onto this narrow street (Canada’s first pedestrian-only mall) with crowds of others in the same situation, children, babies in pushchairs, old and young. There were only two security checkpoints set up to filter thousands of people through all day and evening.

Note that there was far more risk of a terrorist attack on these congested streets with no security than on Parliament Hill itself. There should have been 10, not two, checkpoints for the expected number of people. In order to pass by these lineups, we had to shuffle down more than another city block, taking over an hour to reach the war memorial. At one point, we weren’t moving at all; it was quite frightening to have no control.

There was a big screen set up on Elgin, where we were trapped, but it had no audio to entertain the frustrated hordes waiting to move along. Additionally, the organizers hadn’t foreseen the need for portaloos and big garbage cans, which overflowed all over the sidewalks.

In past years, there have been buskers and live music all over the Parliament Hill area. This year, nothing.

Early evening, thunderstorms returned with violent vengeance, forcing us to run for shelter with our Canadian flag umbrellas blowing inside out. We gave up trying to reach Parliament Hill, so instead we headed down to Major Hill’s park, where live music was cancelled due to continuing storms.

The best entertainment there was a group of youngsters taking turns sliding on their bellies through the mud, competing to see how far they could get. We cheered these brave souls on and broke out into “Oh Canada” many times during the fiasco to buoy our soggy spirits.

Overall, this special day in our proud Nation’s Capital was spoiled by security overkill, which prevented so many of us from getting anywhere near the festivities.

This is surely what terrorists aim for, to disrupt our lives and spoil the celebration.

The weather is, of course, out of everyone’s control. On finally catching a bus back at 10 p.m., missing the fireworks at 11 p.m., because we were soaked through, we were sandwiched with more wet bodies than we’ve ever experienced and left with a feeling of disappointment after making a huge effort to be there.

Our saving grace was the repeated rousing chorus of “Oh Canada” while hanging on for dear life on that crowded bus.

Pauline Landry, West Kelowna