Frontier Town

Those who travel extensively inevitably begin defining countries by their key cities.  Two weeks ago I was in New York City for UN meetings, and walking through Manhattan you could sense things were different from just a few years ago.  The place was friendier, helpful, and construction cranes were everywhere.  These were likely the legacies of 9/11 and the more robust mood emanating from the Obama outlook on the world.When people came to Ottawa in times previous, they came away with key memories that essentially defined Canada for them – remarkably open, institutional, nothing too exciting, and above all cold. It was a postcard of historic buildings, bustling with bureaucrats, enhanced by key waterways, and always touched by bilingualism.Talk to anyone who now visits repeatedly from elsewhere and you hear a different story, one that is expanding in scope in other nations.  In times past, the city was so boring as to be almost sensible. Not today, however.  And I’m not talking about the Guergis/Jaffer story – outside of Parliament, it garners little attention.  Increasingly to visitors, Canada’s nation capital is taking on a new moniker: Frontier Town.  Some will like this, having seen Ottawa as too staid and traditional in times previous.  But when you look at the reasoning for the name-change, it’s not at all comforting.This view was highlighted yesterday when the Information Commissioner came out with her ratings for openness and access of numerous federal departments.  No need to go over them here since they were all over the news.  It was her conclusion that access rights are at risk of being “totally obliterated” that the true tale is told.  Ask any seasoned journalist, bureaucrat, and even many MPs and Senators and you’ll only get confirmation of this one inescapable fact: Ottawa has changed, more resembling Dodge City than a modern capital of openness, innovation and, yes, national pride.It’s everywhere you go in the region around Parliament itself.  The list is lengthy and growing.  Information being withheld on detainees, huge backlogs of requests for assistance from numerous departments, whistleblowers silenced, bureaucratic leaders dismissed for their candour, the cult of secrecy from the government in regards to the media, the refusal to answer any query during Question Period.  One restaurant owner said to me yesterday that only a few years ago you would see politicians from all parties seated in gathering places all around Parliament, but now they are divided into Conservative, Liberal or NDP watering holes.  “Everything is now partitioned,” he said, something of a timely metaphor of what’s happened in this place.In moments of honesty, such individuals will tell you that things changed with the arrival of the Conservative government – the “Calgary component,” the owner stated yesterday.  I don’t buy that, having been born and raised in that great city.  Rather, it’s the Harper ideology that has infused this capital with a new and troubling mood.  It’s not like old Moscow, where everything was shut behind iron gates.  It’s more like a town where frontier justice reigns.  Step out of line – wham. Threaten to tell the truth – fired. Muse about anything other than the Harper agenda – 24/7 negative ad campaigns flooding the airwaves. Plea for a return to decency and respect – heckles. It’s to the point where you just can’t step out safely into the street anymore.None of this characterizes the broader Ottawa, naturally – it’s beauty and strengths remain.  But this was always a government town.  Well, not anymore.  Matt Dillon’s nearby and we’d best be careful.  The most troubling aspect of all is that what has transpired in this place is now emanating out into the rest of the country.  We’ve lost our prestige abroad and our openness at home.  Like it or not, more and more residents are missing the old days.