By Anita Grace
At an understated ceremony on January 12, the field house on Van Lang Private was renamed in honour of Paul Dewar, a well-loved local politician, leader, and educator.
Approximately 50 guests, ranging from elected officials to soup kitchen volunteers, attended the afternoon event. The ceremony started about half an hour later than expected, which meant that for more than 30 minutes people mingled and chatted in the field house. This seemed fitting for the commemoration of a man remembered for bringing people together.
“Paul was about small conversations,” said Julia Sneyd, Dewar’s widow. She added that he was always invested in getting people together and said he would come home smiling after hosting community meetings on topics like cycling or housing. “That was what inspired him.”
Later, speaking to the room full of attendees, Sneyd again commented on how fitting it was to have everyone together in a community space. “This small gathering could have a big impact,” she said. “Often we don’t know what that impact will be, and that’s the mystery.”
“He would want us to gather. He would want us to share our ideas.”
“Of all the different ways to remember him, this really fits with who Paul was,” she said.
A well-respected politician
Dewar won the Ottawa Centre riding in the January 2006 federal election, taking over from former NDP leader Ed Broadbent. He held his seat through the 2008 and 2011 elections, winning a reputation as an engaging, down-to-earth leader and earning the respect of politicians of all stripes. He died in 2019 from brain cancer at the age of 56.
“Paul served with his heart,” said current Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi prior to the ceremony. “A lot of us miss him.”
“Paul was a unifying force,” echoed Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. “He got along with everybody, even if he didn’t agree with them.”
Kitchissippi Councillor and event host Jeff Leiper remarked on the Dewar’s outsized influence. “He approached his job with empathy, with generosity, and with decency. He was a man of incredible integrity. He was a voice of reason and compassion.”
The idea to name the field house in Dewar’s honour was spearheaded by the Westboro Beach Community Association. Mari Wellman, the Association’s Past president, worked for Dewar while he was an MP. “He was the best politician,” she told the Kitchissippi Times before the event began. “He had integrity and principles.”
A community advocate
The building now bearing Paul Dewar’s name is fittingly a vibrant community hub.
“This is a place for people to come together,” said Heather Mitchell, Vice-Chair of the Westboro Community Association and another driving force in the initiative to rename the field house.
Stephane Giguere, CEO of Ottawa Community Housing, described the space as an anchor for a community of low-income residents, where they can find a sense of belonging and engagement. Activities include homework help, a weekly food truck stop, book mobiles, and a soup kitchen. “This is what Paul was about,” Giguere said, “making sure people have the dignity and respect they deserve.”
In their remarks during the ceremony, Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney said places like this field house are the type of spaces Dewar knew we needed to invest in. He believed housing and opportunities should be for everyone, be accessible to everyone.
It is also fitting that the Paul Dewar Field House is in a community where many newcomers to Canada have settled, including refugees who fled Vietnam in the 1980s. Dewar’s mother was former MP and Ottawa mayor Marion Dewar. She spearheaded Project 4000 in 1979, a campaign that over several years brought close to 60,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to Canada under private and government sponsorship.
In the ceremony’s closing comments, Julia Sneyd thanked all those involved in honouring Dewar’s legacy.
“Thank you for giving Paul a voice,” she said, reminding everyone that Dewar believed it was through understanding and care that change can happen.
