Tag: ottawa

Exploring the Ismaili Imamat: A Cultural Landmark in Ottawa

June 13, 2025

The Canadian Headquarters of the Aga Khan, known as the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, is situated at 199 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. The Ottawa Imamat itself is a secular building. However, the Aga Khan serves as the spiritual and hereditary leader of the Nizari Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, tracing his ancestry back to Muhammad.

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building on Sussex Drive

The Aga Khan once noted that, in the West, religion is often viewed separately from social and economic initiatives. In contrast, the Ismaili tradition sees helping the poor and fostering connections between people and cultures as integral to the practice of religion.

Sussex Drive, often referred to as the “ceremonial route,” is also home to the embassies of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, France, and Japan. The award-winning National Gallery, designed by Moshe Safdie, is located nearby, adjacent to the Canadian Mint and across from the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. Additionally, the Prime Minister’s official residence is located at 24 Sussex Drive, which is currently awaiting renovations.

The arrival of the Ismailis in Canada goes back to Pierre Trudeau, a friend of the Aga Khan IV, invited the Ismaili community to Canada when Idi Amin expelled them from Uganda. Currently, approximately 2,000 Ismailis reside in Ottawa and around 80,000 across Canada, out of a global population of approximately fifteen million.

The architecture of the Imamat left a lasting impression on me during my visit. Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, the project originated from a three-page letter from the Aga Khan, in which he requested Maki to design the building. He sought a design concept inspired by the visual qualities of rock crystal, emphasizing its transparency, translucency, and opacity.

Maki and his team carefully analyzed the letter to grasp the Aga Khan’s intentions fully. To gain further insight into the characteristics of a crystal, Maki even brought his wife’s diamond ring into the office to study its reflections from different angles. The Aga Khan’s request was for the building to be mysterious, esoteric, and intriguing, yet aesthetically pleasing, incorporating themes of Islamic architecture.

The Imamat features a large atrium crowned with a multi-faceted dome and includes a courtyard that contains an Islamic garden known as a Char Bagh. Additionally, the building provides office space for the staff of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and serves as a residence for the Aga Khan when he visits Ottawa.

The AKDN operates numerous educational, conservation, social, and economic programs in Africa and Asia, spending approximately one billion dollars annually. For instance, AKDN founded a university in Karachi, which initially focused on Islamic studies but has since expanded to include liberal arts education. Additionally, the organization has launched a microfinance program designed to support small businesses. This emphasis on helping the less fortunate aligns with the objectives of the Ismaili sect.

Related to the Aga Khan’s interest in architecture, he established a triennial architectural competition for works of Islamic design, including residential, religious, and conservation projects.

The Char Bagh

The purpose of the atrium is to host conferences, meetings, and study groups that focus on improving the condition of humankind worldwide. It features a patterned screen made of cast aluminum that reflects themes of Muslim architecture. The atrium’s floor is composed of maple wood tiles arranged in a seven-square pattern in both directions, with each square approximately ten feet by ten feet. This configuration results in a total of forty-nine squares, symbolizing that the current Aga Khan IV is the forty-ninth Imam of the Nizari Isma’ili sect. The use of mathematical concepts also serves as a symbol in Islamic architecture, reminiscent of the mathematical ratios seen in the gardens of the Taj Mahal.

The three-layered glass dome, composed of panels in various shapes, illuminates the atrium while diffusing direct light through a patterned layer of glass. The glass panels attach directly to the structural frame without the use of hardware. The design of the dome originated in Toronto, with the glass sourced from Austria, the structural steel from Poland, and the panels fabricated in Germany. The construction was completed in Canada. The multi-sourcing of the dome represents “pluralism,” a core principle of Ismaili Shia philosophy.

When I visited the Imamat, I felt relaxed as if I was at home. The parquet-like maple flooring created a warm ambiance, and the filtered lighting was visually soft. The hexagonal pattern of the cast aluminum screens hanging around the walls added a sense of enclosure and intimacy. People were seated around the perimeter of the atrium on large, comfortable couches, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

The acoustics in the atrium were excellent, even with many people conversing. The wood floor, screen wall, and triple glass ceiling effectively absorbed sound. The gentle buzz of conversation in this relaxing environment was pleasant, leading me to reflect on the life of Aga Khan IV, who passed away in February 2025.

I learned from the tour guides on the floor that he was born in Switzerland and held citizenship in that country, as well as in the UK, France, and Portugal. He was also an honorary citizen of Canada. In his youth, he was part of the Iranian Olympic skiing team and later earned a degree in Islamic studies from Harvard University. Throughout his life, he became a prominent horse breeder and achieved significant success in business, with his estimated wealth reaching around $12 billion as of 2024.

If you find yourself in Ottawa, I recommend visiting the Imamat not only to appreciate its stunning architecture but also to gain intellectual insight by learning more about the Ismaili community.

Understanding Ottawa’s Affordable Housing Crisis

May 15, 2025

Affordable housing is constantly in the news today. My local city councilor emphasizes its importance in his newsletter. However, I am not convinced that our community of aging patriarchs would welcome such housing in our neighborhood; it evokes images of public and low-income housing, often associated with crime.

During the recent federal election in Canada, all political parties proposed ideas for building affordable housing, including financial incentives, reducing and simplifying the administrative approval process for house construction, prefabrication, and even rent control.

I do not know anyone actively seeking such housing. However, some friends have mentioned their children have trouble finding affordable options.

To understand why housing is unaffordable for many people today, I searched the internet for statistics that illustrate the challenges individuals face when renting or buying a home.

In simple terms, your income determines what you can afford. If you earn a minimum wage of $15-18 (provincial rates differ) per hour and work 2,000 hours a year, your annual income would be $30,000-36,000. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recommends that housing expenses should not exceed 30% of your yearly income.

According to this guideline, someone earning the minimum wage can afford $9,000 to $ 10,800 annually for housing, or approximately $750 to $ 900 per month. However, in Ottawa, rent for a one-bedroom unit starts at around $2,000 per month, which means minimum wage does not support renting. That is why many young people earning minimum wage stay home or bunk up with friends when renting.

Buying a condo or a house is a much more challenging scenario. In 2025, the average condo price in Ottawa is projected to be $445,000, while the average house price is expected to exceed $800,000.

Without a down payment and mortgage rates of 4.5%, the annual cost of owning a condo would amount to $20,000, which is significantly higher than what minimum-wage earners could afford. Purchasing a house would be even more expensive.

An affordability crisis affects individuals earning less than $65,000; according to guidelines, 30% of that amount would be needed to rent or buy a condo. Twenty-six percent of Ottawa jobs pay less than $50,000. This situation highlights the urgency for solutions to the affordability crisis.

One major issue is the gradual loss of low-rent housing due to demolitions to make way for higher-density and more economically profitable commercial and residential developments. Older neighborhoods in Ottawa are particularly susceptible to this redevelopment. Additionally, many low-rent units face renoviction, where tenants are evicted to make way for renovations that will increase rental rates.

According to the Executive Director of the Ottawa Community Land Trust (OCLT), between 2011 and 2021, Ottawa lost 26,000 low-rent units due to demolitions and renovictions; in contrast, only 6,000 new low-rental units were built during that time.

The OCLT’s purpose is to preserve and maintain low-rental units. Their strategy involves purchasing these units when they become available. Acquiring multi-unit buildings requires funding, and the OCLT has issued “community bonds” to raise capital. A bank in Toronto specializes in issuing such bonds backed by funds raised by the OCLT from the local community.

Interestingly, many residents are willing to invest in these bonds, even with a low interest rate or, in some cases, no interest at all, because they believe in the cause. Professional property managers are contracted to manage the rental units on behalf of the OCLT, and the rental income is used to pay off the community bonds.

This approach offers a distinctive and effective means of maintaining and expanding affordable housing. The OCLT’s key strategy involves community bonds, a system gaining traction across Canada.

Another innovative approach for maintaining affordable housing is leasing the land on which the rental units are built. Land costs are a significant factor in the overall expense of constructing housing units. Depending on the location, land costs form 30% or more of total housing construction costs.

Recognizing the importance of land costs in housing, the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) leases land to build affordable housing. This corporation was established in response to the growing number of high-rise developments in the community. The community association leased land to develop affordable housing, thereby preserving the area’s character. Currently, they manage 1,700 housing units.

One example of their work is the land leased from the local school board following a demographic shift that led to the closure of Percy Street School. Public agencies are aware of community needs, and through a nominal lease, the CCOC created a low-rise development that is affordable for individuals with limited income.

A coordinated multi-level strategy is necessary to effectively tackle the ongoing affordable housing crisis. From my limited experience listening to various non-profit organizations attempt to tackle this issue, I have identified two main approaches: subsidizing the cost of housing units or providing financial assistance to help individuals secure accommodation in the private market. The Ottawa Community Land Trust (OCLT) follows the first approach. The CCOC employs subsidized housing and market-based options, catering to those who receive housing subsidies.

Celebrate with Mother’s Day Brunch and Dinner Recipes

May 14, 2025

It has never failed. Each year, on Mother’s Day, the same question arises: “What will you do for me?” My response consistently points out I am not your mother; you are my wife. However, as usual, this was not the correct reply, so I offered to prepare breakfast, not just the usual fried egg and toast, but something better.

The children always call on Mother’s Day, but they can’t fix meals at our house since they live thousands of miles away. The first call came at eight; I initially thought it was a prank call. Luckily, I decided to pick up the phone.

After reviewing various recipes, I chose to make Shakshuka by Ottolenghi (and I’m sure I don’t need to describe Ottolenghi to cooking aficionados). This light and refreshing Middle Eastern dish features diced tomatoes, red peppers, and spices like harissa and ground cumin. My son, Tony, mentioned that they served it every morning at the breakfast counter in his hotel when he was in Israel.

Some recipes I read for shakshuka also called for onions, which I like, and I decided to modify Ottolenghi’s recipe and diced up a large onion. After boiling and simmering these ingredients, I cracked the eggs into the dish and cooked for an additional 10 minutes to set them. I served it with pita bread and caffeinated coffee; we drank decaf in the morning. This meal served more as brunch than breakfast, which was good since it took me a while to get everything organized, and it was getting late in the morning. Since the recipe yielded four portions, and we ate them all, we were set for the day.

I must admit, though, that I had help from Kathy. My cooking is slow and tedious, as I prefer to gather all the ingredients on the kitchen table and prepare the food before I start cooking. I diced the peppers and onions (and used a can of diced tomatoes) and mixed the spices and garlic in a small dish before beginning to cook. Kathy became hungry and started cooking with the prepared ingredients.

After indulging in a rather large brunch, we took a long walk to burn some calories. We enjoyed a peaceful stroll along a rail-to-trail path in Stittsville. As is typical for rail-to-trail routes, the walk was straight and flat. On our return, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop, the perfect way to end any walk. Naturally, the next topic of discussion was what to have for dinner.

Feeling inspired, I offered to prepare dinner and suggested fresh salmon steaks. Kathy agreed it was a great idea, so I bought two slabs of Atlantic salmon with the skin on one side at the local fish market. I like to marinate the salmon using a mix of soy sauce, maple syrup, and grainy Dijon mustard, based on a recipe I found on Allrecipes.

I enjoy this recipe – maple glazed salmon – because I can roast vegetables on the same sheet pan as the salmon. This time, I had some cauliflower in the fridge, so I cubed it, tossed it with oil and salt, and baked it for 15 minutes before adding the salmon to the pan. I also bought some Tater Tots and put them on the sheet pan, which drew some criticism from Kathy; she believed frozen French fries were healthier than Tater Tots. They were similar in nutritional value, so I chose the Tater Tots for their appealing cubic shape. To cover all bases, I also cooked a potato in the microwave in case the Tater Tots didn’t meet with acceptance. The dessert consisted of low-fat lemon yogurt topped with blueberries. The dinner was enjoyable, despite the lack of family, a common situation today as families are frequently scattered across North America and globally for many.

Eating and Walking: Discovering Wheeler’s Maple Sugar Shack

April 18, 2025

We went to a sugar shack in April this year. April weather is ideal for maple syrup flow, which happens when nighttime temperatures are -5 °C and daytime highs are 5°C (24°F to 40°F). Such weather is a pleasure to walk about, especially in contrast with the much colder weather in February and March.

I enjoy visiting maple sugar farms for their restaurants, which serve delectable pancakes with freshly made maple syrup, sausages, and beans. And post-lunch, I enjoy strolling through the woods and checking out the maple trees’ syrup containers.

We went to Wheeler’s this year for our annual sugar shack trip and pancake feast. The hour-long journey was worthwhile; a sunny day with blue skies followed the snowstorm, leaving the fields white.

Maple sugar shacks now typically require reservations. Despite this, the restaurant had few patrons when we got there. I think the idea is to ensure enough seats if a busload of tourists arrives.

The coffee flowed endlessly at Wheeler’s, and the enormous pancakes were eight inches in diameter. Thinking I was hungry for lunch, I ordered a two-pancake meal with three sausages and a side of beans. It was too much food, so I knew I would need a long walk afterward to burn off the meal. I recalled visiting a different sugar bush where we sampled local beer with friends last year.

We found many trails outside and took the longest, five kilometers long. The snow covered the ground, with some icy patches in places. Only a few people were walking, and the silence in the woods was peaceful, perfect for yoga classes.

The history of this farm is fascinating. Vernon and Judy Wheeler purchased the farm and planted sugar maples, and they, along with their four children, still operate the farm today. It takes thirty years for the trees to be ready for tapping, and they tapped their first trees in 1978. They installed six hundred kilometers of plastic pipes to collect sap from forty thousand trees. Vernon’s local builder helped construct the restaurant using local wood, which opened in 1996. Vernon also wrote a book about the farm’s history, available in the restaurant’s lobby.

The Wheelers keep the farm open year-round for visitors, with the only exception being Christmas Day. Families enjoy exploring the farm during the summer by hiking the grounds, while cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular winter activities.

Syrup production involves boiling sap down to a 40:1 ratio. Boiling the sap further makes a sweeter, darker, and thicker syrup. Customers can choose from three grades of syrup, ranging from light to dark, when making their purchases

Previously, people boiled sap outside in large kettles to evaporate the water. Today, however, they use reverse osmosis to produce the syrup. The factory at Wheeler’s is open for inspection and features a large room with advanced equipment. A kitchen and a small shop offering maple syrup items are situated between the appealing post-and-beam restaurant and the factory.

Panels within the plant’s viewing area show information about the maple syrup industry. Canada provides over 80 percent of the global maple syrup supply, 90 percent of which originates from Quebec, and 4 percent from Ontario.

It was an Indigenous child who discovered maple syrup hundreds of years ago by sucking on the icicle of a branch from a maple tree. The sugary taste was delightful, a treat Indigenous people quickly learned to harvest. It took about a hundred years for them to develop the method of boiling the sap to create today’s sweet syrup.

The two museums on Wheeler’s farm are possibly the most interesting part. One museum displays hundreds of maple syrup artifacts, the other shows Mr. Wheeler’s extensive chainsaw collection. The chainsaw collection amazed me; there are over four hundred old models, some of which I recognized, while others were unfamiliar.

      
A couple of soulful llamas stared at us as we approached the museums. The presence of llamas on this farm, among other options, puzzled me.

Maple syrup is a quintessential Canadian product. I recall trips to Europe where we searched for gifts for family and friends to take with us. We often bought small jars of maple syrup. Thankfully, travel for fresh maple syrup is no longer necessary; our neighbours’ parents run a maple farm, and we can purchase fresh maple syrup from them at wholesale prices.

The Surge of Asylum Seekers: Impact on Canadian Society

November 19, 2024

Dueling demonstrations took place yesterday. At the old Nepean City Hall, a small crowd celebrated the proposed construction of a “temporary” welcome center for asylum seekers. Another group protested against the welcome center at its proposed location, the Nepean Sportsplex. Of the one thousand asylum seekers in Ottawa, six hundred find shelter in community centers, like hockey arenas, while others find refuge with volunteer social organizations.

With expectations of a further surge in asylum seekers, the city hired consultants to evaluate the suitability of over a hundred sites for constructing the welcome center. One site in Barrhaven met vociferous opposition, although nobody owned up to NIMBY. The Sportsplex site is a mile from the nearest shopping center and has an infrequent bus service.


I took some time to gain a deeper understanding of the proposal; I discovered that the city plans to erect “Sprung” buildings, a design from the Sprung family company. The company erected over a thousand such buildings globally. I checked out one built on the Embarcadero in San Francisco and found it is an unappealing tent-like building. But it requires simple construction and is economical and fast to erect.

According to city officials, asylum seekers are mostly young single people. The current arrangement is for these people to stay for three months in these welcome centers, receiving help from officials in finding jobs and housing in addition to filling out papers to become residents of Canada.

How did we reach this point with the number of asylum seekers surging during the past couple of years? And would there be more in the future, given President-elect Trump’s intention to deport millions of illegals just south of our border?

Politicians often create and resolve crises to boost their public image. Prime Minister Trudeau has created an immigration crisis in Canada by increasing the inflow of immigration substantially subsequent to the pandemic and is now trying to solve it by reducing the number of arrivals. Naturally, he denies creating a crisis and blames private interests for misusing immigration policies. 

The surge in immigration has triggered a housing shortage, a healthcare problem, and a challenge to the education system. The capacity for housing construction in Canada is no more than 250,000 units per year. Over the past couple of years alone, the rate of a million people a year arriving in Canada would require the entire annual production of housing units, assuming four people per unit. Hospital emergency rooms boast a waiting time of over ten hours; people without family doctors visit emergency rooms for consultations. Teachers have struggled with teaching children who speak dozens of different languages at home and bringing with them their cultures.

Statistics indicate there are eight million “permanent residents’ in Canada, waiting to become citizens (it takes three years of residency to qualify for citizenship). Furthermore, there are three million “temporary residents,” which include foreign students, seasonal workers, and immigrants. Asylum seekers are immigrants, numbering 250,000 across Canada today.

Interestingly, eleven million of the forty-one million Canadians—temporary and permanent residents combined—cannot vote; one must be a citizen to vote. It is also noteworthy that although the federal government created the asylum seekers crisis, local levels of government shoulder the burden of welcoming and assisting newcomers to fit into Canadian society.

A ninety-day stay in a shelter for a young newcomer to Canada can be a cheerful affair, especially during the cold Canadian winters. I assume that clothing and food are also provided. But what is most important for a newcomer to Canada? I suggest speaking English is vital unless the newcomer already knows the language. I speak from my lived experience. As a genuine refugee arriving in Canada, learning English was crucial for navigating life, securing employment, and resuming my education.

Now, language training takes more than ninety days. I’m wondering, what experience do government officials have dealing with the current wave of asylum seekers? Are they turfing out people in ninety days from their shelters now? Or do the newcomers stay longer, and how much longer? This thought takes me back to the original concept of city officials claiming that the proposed welcome center would be temporary.

The stated temporariness of the “Sprung” structures energized many people who doubted the buildings would ever be demolished. When not required any further for asylum seekers, the public imagined these buildings would be repurposed to house the homeless. Couple with the challenge of sheltering asylum seekers, Ottawa is facing a significant rise in its homeless population. It has become quite unpleasant to walk in central parts of the city at night, with homeless people sleeping in doorways and on the streets.

The government’s recent announcement lowering immigration targets will reduce the number of asylum seekers, freeing up welcome centers to house the homeless. The most significant impact of this issue for me was that I noticed a shifting public attitude towards immigrants in the news media, questioning immigration’s worth to Canada. I blame the federal government for this snafu for acting without a proper impact study of what a significant increase in immigration to Canada would entail.