[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="328" caption="Should Ottawans know who this man is?"][/caption] Editor's note: Immanuel Giulea is the Founder and Executive Director of the Société Macdonald-Cartier Society. Ottawa’s civic holiday in August is known as Colonel By Day. City Council reaffirmed that as recently as June 9--a decision that underlines the intimate connection between the City of Ottawa and its founder Lieutenant-Colonel John By. In recent weeks, Bob Plamondon has created some publicity around the idea of renaming our venerable and historic Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill. Those in favour of renaming the street argue that the Duke of Wellington never set foot in North America and had no connection to the city. Instead of honouring a relatively unknown figure, they argue, why not pay tribute to our first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald?

As I write this, I'm enjoying a family holiday in Vancouver. Travelling always makes me feel a little wistful, especially when I come across great public spaces or city services we don't see much of in Ottawa. Sure, it's easy to be envious of the big things – great parks, great transit, and so on. But what gets me going are the little things. Like public washrooms in playgrounds... open ones! In March! Or fenced dog runs tucked into unexpected spaces. Or street signs that ...