Back in America's Hat

Centre Block and the Peace Tower, Parliament Hill.

The changing of the guard ceremony doesn't start till later this month, so I was left to wander the grounds of Parliament on Monday morning. The same heat wave enveloping the east coast of the US is blanketing Ottawa, only with a bit less humidity than down in New York. You still sweat, just with eight percent less on the exchange. This is my new favorite shot of the Center Block of Ottawa's Parliament complex; it was made with a 17-40mm lens (at 17mm) on the full-frame 5D

There have been two items of great public controversy here, first 'The Apology', which will have PM Stephen Harper in the house of commons on Wednesday apologizing on behalf of Canada to the aboriginals for the appalling treatment and abuse they underwent at state-run residential schools. Peaceful today, the grounds here are sure to be a frenzy on Wednesday.

The other huge national controversy is the - it seems - now-resolved battle over the theme song to 'Hockey Night in Canada', a 40-year long staple of Saturday night television. CBC TV, which paid about $500 a week for the usage since 1968, lost the rights to rival CTV. If you're really interested, Google it. We're here to talk pictures, remember?


Ottawa is a city full of old stone and new glass buildings, which give plenty of opportunity for a combination of the two. Here the facade of 240 Sparks Street reflects the imposing stone of the government's Confederation Building on Rue Wellington, about a block from Parliament.

This is a bad name for a restaurant. A very bad name. I do not want to go somewhere and be made to eat yesterday's food. (But good for them on their punctuation.)