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“We encourage these organizations to think of alternative solutions, rather than having it go in the landfill,” says Re4m founder Heather Jeffery.

LAUREN ROULSTON • APR 17, 2024

A retail display at Hazeldean mall in Kanata, created by Re4m using upcycled materials (courtesy of Re4m).

Next week is Earth Day, and eco-conscious vendors are coming together for an eco-market. Landscapers, zero-waste grocery stores, bike tire repairs, a seed library and thrift shop are all lined up to participate in this market on Sat, Apr. 20, 2024.

This year marks the third eco-market, and it’s hosted by the design firm Re4m, (pronounced reform). It’s the only known recycling firm of its kind in Ottawa, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for businesses by using upcycled scraps that would otherwise end up at the landfill.

Re4m’s founder Heather Jeffery discovered a necessity for this service after working in the retail industry.

“At this retail store they would just like, throw out their displays all the time. If it was outdated or last season they would just throw them out,” she recalls.

This came at a time when she’d just graduated from industrial design at Carleton. “I love crafting,” she says. “I love hands-on types of building.”

Pairing this with her passion for the environment, she wanted to take the old displays and find a new life for them, so she did.

“And I just kind of realized, wow, there’s so much opportunity city-wide, so many retailers who are always throwing out displays,” she says.

Re4m has taken in many unique displays and materials from shops, businesses, construction companies and even museum exhibits. These enterprises will call on Re4m to collect scraps and materials, otherwise bound for the dump.

“Just picture walking through a shopping mall and seeing very interesting window displays in stores, we get a lot of those funky things,” says Jeffery. She notes that they’ve currently got a sparkling diamond display in storage, complete with metallic finishes.

The firm has also received two old radios, one from around the 1940s that they converted into a wine rack and another that was modernized with bluetooth functions.

A vintage radio donated to Re4m and upcycled into a wine rack (courtesy of Re4m).

“So much material that ends up in the landfill and I just wanted to seize the opportunity and find a way to not have it go to the landfill,” she says. Once Re4m collects these materials, they’re stored until an appropriate design project comes up.

Then, they’re stripped of coatings and finishes and used in a brand new upcycled item, which is typically for exhibitions, trade show booths, signage, or furniture.

The firm is currently working on a solid maple line for a furniture rental company, creating classic sets, but Jeffery says she admires the oddballs every now and then.

“Someone comes in and they’re like, ‘we need a seven-foot tall Easter egg!’ Or, ‘we need a fake building front that looks like Santa’s Village!’ I really love that stuff,” she says.

A Santa’s Village retail display for the holidays, made by Re4m (courtesy of Re4m).

According to Jeffery, Re4m’s mission is to shift the mindset of local businesses and industries that traditionally sees scrap and offcuts as waste. “We encourage these organizations to think of alternative solutions rather than having it go in the landfill,” she says.

Re4m and the vendors of the eco-market are among a significant amount of the community looking to reduce their waste. Not only is climate change a pressing issue in its own sense, but Ottawa’s only public dump, the Trail Road Landfill, is running out of space.

This landfill has been operating since the ‘80s with a waste footprint over 150 football fields wide. Recent estimates suggest it could reach capacity in a little over a decade.

Through her work with Re4m, Jeffery notes that she’s found small and medium-sized enterprises looking to do better to reduce waste and emissions.

“There’s a lot of different types of organizations that are pursuing circular economy, recycling, upcycling, or even just environmental initiatives,” says Jeffery. This includes the vendors that Re4m will be hosting on Saturday.

For Jeffery, the community is what keeps her going. She points to a number of clients, colleagues, and fans of the firm.

“For Re4m, honestly, we just are so excited to see the community come together and come to this event and just, excited about environmental initiatives,” she says.

For more information on Re4m’s eco-market, head to the market’s Eventbrite.

Listen to this conversation as heard on CHUO’s weekly show The Mosaic:

Bushra Ben Hamed • Apr 11, 2024

Spotlight (2015) directed by Tom McCarthy and written with Josh Singer (Rotten Tomatoes).

The world’s best kept secret, relentless journalists, and the tru, unsavory definition of community. Those are the elements of today’s review of Tom McCarthy’s 2015 film Spotlight.

Based on a tremendous true story, the Best Picture winning film follows the Spotlight team of the Boston Globe newspaper as they investigate a case that would rattle and shake the world permanently: accusations of decades-long sexual abuses of children in the Catholic church.

The film is unremarkable visually, and it seems to have been a conscious choice made by the filmmakers. It’s almost as if to tell the audience, “hey, we’re not here for a pretty picture. We’re here for a story you can’t be distracted from.”

The most notable visuals are grand, sprawling shots of Boston. However, a running theme of the film is that in many of the shots, the church is either present or it’s towering over the characters, looming over them like an ever-present dark entity that’s watching their every move threateningly and closely.

A special aspect of this film is that the character actors, those playing the survivors, give the best performances out of the bunch. They’re incredibly profound and emotional, and they serve as the film’s purpose and its beating heart.

Spotlight sets out to demonstrate just how deep rooted the evil of the Catholic church can be, but it also serves as a criticism for journalists. We see more times that one that the journalists in the film had been previously informed about the abuses taking place in Boston, having been sent names and evidence in the previous years.

However, due to lack of interest or perhaps seeing that the stories were too thin or unimportant, they were buried in random columns or not spoken about altogether.

This film goes on to highlight the importance of community, for both the benefit and the demise of its people. Because as it states over and over that the Bostonian people all love their city, it implies that they love it to a fault.

That they’re willing to overlook, or worse, cover up such egregious acts in the name of maintaining community, and in the name of God. Because, as the film chillingly states, how can you say no to God, right?

A monumental and harrowing tale of perseverance pulling what is concealed in the dark out into the light, Spotlight serves as a reminder that while it takes grit and audacity to unveil heavy truths, it’s necessary work for the sake of justice and freedom.

Spotlight is now available on Netflix, but will be leaving the platform Apr. 30, 2024.

Listen to this story as told on CHUO’s weekly show The Mosaic:

Cécile Tala • Apr 11, 2024

Chart-topping Nigerian-American singer Rotimi is coming to Ottawa this weekend (Rotimi/Soundcloud).

Nigerian-American actor and singer Rotimi will perform at The Palace in the Byward Market this Saturday, Apr. 13, 2024. He’ll be joined on stage by Montreal artists Naate and Lil K HPB.

Rotimi’s music is a fusion of contemporary, R&B, afrobeats, and dancehall. He’s been singing since he was three years old, and by eight he’d already travelled around New Jersey as a Nigerian wedding singer.

He’s got 2,579,977 monthly listeners on Spotify and he’s worked with Jay Z, 50 Cent, and Jamie Foxx. Interestingly enough though, Rotimi met Foxx at a nightclub in 2012 and didn’t even recognize the Oscar-winner.

The artist’s music has been influenced by musicians like Bob Marley and Ms. Lauryn Hill. This year, he’s released a single called ‘Sade.’

The lyrics of Sade are about overcoming fear and building trust in a new relationship. Mayorkun sings on the track about “changing and repenting” from his old ways, and Nasty C mentions “fighting the stereotype” of other men who failed to treat their partners properly.

Those interested in attending Rotimi’s show on Saturday at 10 p.m. can find more information and tickets on Eventbrite.

The Palace, 400A Dalhousie St (Google Maps).

Listen to this story as told on CHUO’s weekly show The Mosaic:

Lauren Roulston • Apr 9, 2024

Canadians consolidating their positions on Vimy Ridge, Apr 1917 (Library and Archives Canada).

The Battle of Vimy Ridge began 107 years ago on this day. It was a rainy Easter morning at 5:30 a.m. when all four Canadian divisions attacked together in Northern France.

Over 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans through the sleet, mud, and shellfire.

Soldiers from all across the country were present, and over 10,000 ended up killed or wounded. Today, Canadians are remembering the countless acts of sacrifice that came from this battle.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement this morning. “Today, we remember the bravery and sacrifices of the Canadian soldiers who fought for peace, freedom, and justice in the Battle of Vimy Ridge,” he writes.

“Canada’s success at Vimy Ridge marked one of the First World War’s most memorable victories, but victory came at a heavy cost,” he adds.

3,598 are said to have been killed at Vimy, a battle celebrated as the moment Canada became a nation and earned itself a seat at the Versailles Peace Treaty.

The Canadians seized the heavily fortified seven-kilometre ridge from the Germans, earning a reputation as formidable and effective troops. Previous attempts from the French military had failed, with over 100,000 casualties.

The Vimy Foundation writes that Apr. 9, 1917 is still the bloodiest day in Canadian military history.

Governor General Mary Simon is encouraging Canadians to reflect on the significance of this day and the stories of the soldiers who fought in battle.

“Learn the stories of the Indigenous soldiers who fought at Vimy, such as those who served with the 107th ‘Timber Wolf’ Battalion,” she writes in a statement issued today. “Or the story of Private Robert Gilbert and other Black Canadians who fought at Vimy Ridge.”

She names Ethelbert “Curley” Christian, who was serving with the 78th Canadian Infantry Battalion, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. He was assigned to deliver supplies to the frontline trenches when heavy artillery-fire buried him in a trench under dirt and debris.

A Mural of Honour painting of Ethelbert “Curley” Christian (The Military Museums).

Christian was trapped there for two days with his limbs crushed. He was found barely alive, and the stretcher-bearers were killed by enemy fire while carrying him to safety.

Military records show that doctors decided to amputate his four limbs on account of gangrene. This procedure was unheard of at the time and incredibly risky.

Curley Christian became the first and only person to survive a quadruple amputation during the First World War. He received artificial limbs after the war and became an inspiration to Veterans and amputees across the country.

With his wife and the support of his medical team, he helped lay the foundation for what would later become a Canadian Forces financial and social assistance program for disabled Veterans, which is still offered today.

In 1922, a grateful French government granted Vimy Ridge and the land around it to Canada. Hill 145 is the highest and most important feature of the Ridge, and now the Canadian National Vimy Memorial sits atop it.

The gleaming white marble sculpture shows two pylons that represent Canada and France. They rise 27 metres above the base of the monument above a now quiet countryside.

The unveiling of Canada’s National Memorial at Vimy Ridge (Library and Archives Canada).

The names of all 11,285 Canadian soldiers listed as missing or presumed dead in France during WWI are inscribed on the monument.

The iconic memorial was designed by Toronto-born sculptor Walter Seymour Allward. He’s also got a statue of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

(D. Gordon E. Robertson/Creative Commons).

Curly Christian was among many of the Veterans and amputees who attended the unveiling of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in 1936.

“There are many other stories that represent our diverse country, I encourage you to learn about them,” says the Governor General. “We owe that much to the Canadians who were at Vimy Ridge more than a century ago, as well as to their families, who also sacrificed.”