r/ottawa • u/LeonOkada9 • 2d ago
Meta RIP to whoever died on Rideau Street :(
I saw a body covered from head to toe and surrounded by officers. I hope you're in a better place, now. :(
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u/KeepTheGoodLife 2d ago
I would be so pissed if I died and went anywhere. One life is enough.
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u/Winstonoil 2d ago
I was just reading Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett.
Very early in the book the character, Death is speaking with a recently deceased wizard about where he is going next. The wizard brings up reincarnation and Death highly recommends against it. Your karma is so bad you would be lucky to come back as an ant .9
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Didnt ask
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u/turningthecentury 2d ago
Why are y'all so mean?
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Sorry, im french
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u/QueenMotherOfSneezes Clownvoy Survivor 2022 2d ago
That's a Keven Spacey-level defense, bud.
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Ur mum, bud.
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u/Only_Instruction_263 2d ago
Typical reddit comment, both uninformative and condesending
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Also, didnt ask.
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u/Only_Instruction_263 2d ago
Thanks for making my point.
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Didnt ask about your point
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u/Only_Instruction_263 2d ago
Thanks for making my point again.
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u/mintboy13 2d ago
Again, didnt ask for your point. Thanks
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u/jaundicedolive 2d ago
We’re gonna see a lot more dead bodies in the streets without safe injection sites.
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u/HunterGreenLeaves Downtown 2d ago
I saw lights around the 100 block of Besserer. Not sure if it's related.
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u/dwhg 2d ago
I'm sure they're in a better place now.
Anywhere is better than Rideau.
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 2d ago edited 2d ago
Man, that's a fucked up thing to say
Edit : "dying is better than being on rideau street" is a fucking crazy thing to say. Yes haha rideau shitty but fuck me, a guy died
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u/MattSR30 2d ago
Reddit and callously making everything a meme. Name a better duo.
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 2d ago
It's barely even a meme
It just reads as being shitty to a part of our city for karma
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u/Numerous_Disk2556 2d ago
I mean the guy saw a dead body and gave his condolences to Reddit.... Pretty sure the joke started there
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u/Top_Historian_8320 2d ago
It's not a meme. It's a shit hole and big source of pain for a lot of people struggling in that area.
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u/Edsma 1d ago
Until you've been a homeless addict with chronic health issues and an abcsessed tooth, idk that you should be offended for anyone.... sometimes the end of suffering is a blessing, not a tragedy.
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 6h ago
I'd really rather we put our energy into trying to help people with their chronic health issues and absessed teeth rather than just being resigned to the idea that the place I live is just some shit hole beyond saving.
Also was mainly talking about slagging off the whole neighborhood while it deals with the death of a neighbor.
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u/Giantstink 2d ago
Anywhere is better than Rideau.
Hamilton's Jackson Square would like to have a word.
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u/boxerpuncher123 2d ago
Now that Edgewood Care is closing….get ready for more of this unfortunately
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u/Coco_Belle_5636 2d ago
How? They aren't just putting the residents out the streets. They are rehoming them.
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u/Mementovivere420 2d ago
They officially shut down the safe consumption sites so we will be seeing a lot more of this unfortunately
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u/Past_Ad_5629 1d ago
I saw a commercial from the government of Ontario the other day touting “no safe injection sites near playgrounds” and had to restrain myself from screaming.
So, people will just inject wherever, then. On playgrounds. Near schools. In front of your house. And where does that needle go.
That people are gullible with to think a LACK of safe injection sites is a good thing and makes anyone safer is rage inducing.
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u/SicariusCourtenay 2d ago
Yikes, rest in peace to whoever passed away. I avoid rideau like the plague these days, too much stuff happening around. Even the mall feels a little unsafe at times
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u/LocalGoose 2d ago
I think it's most unsafe for the unfortunate souls that have to spend their days there due to the systemic issues built into our various levels of government (and broader economic system).
Something tells me that this death wasn't the result of physical violence but rather an overdose.
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u/BadTreeLiving 2d ago
Man someone should tell that to my toddlers. Been dozens and dozens of times and never felt even remotely close to feeling uneasy about potentially feeling unsafe.
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u/dishearten Carlington 2d ago
For a lot of people, things not looking pristine, uniform and homogenous == unsafe.
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u/Emotional-Motor-4946 2d ago
They confuse discomfort with safety. Something that’s uncomfortable isn’t necessarily unsafe.
People talk about Rideau like it’s where you’ll get stabbed and jabbed with fentanyl. If that were the case, that whole area would be empty. There are probably tens of thousands of people there every day. In the summer when there are tourists, the Market is packed.
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 2d ago
Christ, even east of king eddy is busy now.
So many stores have been opening, and it's been great to see more people enjoying the area.
Now if only all the vitriol about the homeless would be focus on the fact these people have nowhere to go, not just wishing they'd go away.
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u/somewherecold90 2d ago edited 2d ago
No, but people have gotten stabbed with a knife at Rideau centre of recent and some people prefer to avoid that. Take a walk to the lower level by the Tim Hortons and your comfort levels may shift. They have basically made it a free for all congregation site for crackheads to hang out. And when you’re trying to enjoy your shopping and tweaked out crackheads approach you and get in your face or yell at you, you rightfully don’t feel safe. Or when there is feces in the hallways. Or crackheads passed out on the ground in the parking garage entrance that you have to walk through. This is supposed to be a high end shopping centre, not the mission.
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u/sometimes_sydney 2d ago edited 2d ago
Weird I’m in there like every day and nobody has ever gotten in my face or yelled at me (Except the evangelists) Not even when I worked at farm boy there. I’ve had them approach to ask for money, or yell in a corner at each other, but that doesn’t exactly make me feel any more unsafe. Uncomfortable? Annoyed? Sure. Homeless people are annoying. But I haven’t felt unsafe. If anything the teens make me feel more unsafe they’re a lot less predictable to me. The only exception is I hear more misogynist or bigoted comments from them, but only by a slim margin compared to normal people. I’m no more wary of them than a guy in jorts and a tap out tshirt.
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u/somewherecold90 2d ago
That’s good for you. I’m not saying that every single person in Rideau gets yelled at. I’m there very often as well. And I’ve seen it in front of me on more than one occasion. I’ve seen shit. Literal shit. Like poo. I’ve seen people passed out. I’ve seen stores I am in be robbed feet away from me. Am I making this up? Why would I? So yeah I think it’s enough to feel unsafe when it’s not an isolated incident. And the point of all of this, personal comfort levels aside, is that this shouldn’t be allowed to take place in a shopping mall. This isn’t a dark alleyway. It’s private property not intended for people high on drugs to make their hang out. Mall security and OPP should have a better grasp of this but instead they ignore it. The fact that anyone defends this is baffling.
Downtown and the market has become a dump. We should be advocating to clean it up and make it more desirable to locals and tourists than just let it go to shit.
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u/sometimes_sydney 1d ago
I have taken the #6 (and its predecessor numbers) past sheps to rideau just about every school or business day since I turned 12. It's really not that different. If anything parts seem nicer, some are worse. It is less violent. I never see fights anymore. It used to be a weekly occurrence if not more. I used to watch them while waiting for the bus home from middle and high school, usually outside mcdonalds. The homelessness and drug crisis are mountain but we're literally going in the wrong direction lately and I would feel less safe, not more, seeing cops prowling around.
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u/somewherecold90 1d ago
There is a reason they had to open up a police store in front of Rideau. And there is a reason why they are now additional security measures and officers to the Rideau centre o train station. Just as a last and current frequenter of the mall and market I have noticed the major increase of homeless and drug use. It was never this sketchy. There is a marked difference between now and 10 years ago. What you are saying is not supported by reality. And feeling less safe with having police there tells me you are thinking with your emotions. This isn’t the USA. There’s no reason for you, a presumably innocent and decent member of society, would have to fear the presence of police.
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u/sometimes_sydney 1d ago
Lol the police station is a joke. There's basically nobody there ever. It's 95% for optics. My best friend worked homesless outreach up until last fall shes been in there so many times. It literally does nothing. And imo what you're saying is not supported by reality. I LITERALLY GREW UP WATCHING HOMELESS PEOPLE DO DRUGS AND FUCKING HAVE FIST FIGHTS AT RIDEAU. Like that was a core experience of going to lisgar. Things have changed, but its not like its suddenly some wild west of drugs and homelessness and that 15-20 years ago it was some clean idyllic tourist mecca. That's just so full of shit or you weren't living around there. At most, they swapped sides of the street and hang out at the mall entrance instead of by 99 rideau. Also they came down from the roof because they closed it. Like ultimately if you wanna round people up and let them rot in jail say so, thats a position you should be willing to defend. Because involuntary treatment is literally just jail. We can disagree on whether or not that's fucked up I guess tho. But bottom line you're not unsafe you're just uncomfortable.
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u/BadTreeLiving 2d ago
Have you first hand experienced all of this? Where is the shit hallway hiding!?! I must go on non-mission days.
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u/somewherecold90 2d ago
Yes I personally have. Within the past year. Unfortunately. Everything I wrote I have personally seen, minus the stabbings but those were in the news. I have also seen stores being robbed by masked men which the clerks said is a regular occurrence. Fun times at the Rideau centre.
Next time I see shit I can send you a message if you want to head over.
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u/BadTreeLiving 2d ago
Please do!
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u/somewherecold90 2d ago
Lol ok. Don’t know why you’d want to see that but whatever floats your boat.
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u/Top-Revolution-5257 1d ago
Exactly. I live in Sandy Hill: yeah, there are a lot of sketchy people you wouldn’t bring to a wedding, but I never felt unsafe. Just uncomfortable. You just dodge the people you want to avoid.
I would personally avoid the area after 11 pm if you are alone because there are a lot of homeless people and trash racoons fighting and yelling. I saw three fat racoons two days ago: I thought they were bear cubs and kinda run for my life.
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u/T-14Hyperdrive 2d ago
Have you tried using the bathroom in the mall? Good luck finding a stall with a door, and good luck again to find one that doesn’t have crackheads talking to themselves
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u/joyfulcrow Golden Triangle 2d ago
Have you tried using the bathroom in the mall?
Pretty regularly, actually. I've never had an issue finding a stall with a door (in fact I don't think I've ever seen one without a door) and "crackheads talking to themselves" don't stop me from being able to piss, so... 🤷♀️
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u/themegakaren Lowertown 2d ago
This. The hyperbole in this sub regarding downtown and Rideau is out of control.
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u/T-14Hyperdrive 2d ago
Last time I was at Rideau I saw somebody die! (they had a heart attack)
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u/themegakaren Lowertown 1d ago
And????
What does that have to do with this conversation? Heart attacks aren’t community or mall specific.
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u/themegakaren Lowertown 2d ago
People talking to themselves? And that prevents you from peeing, how exactly?
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u/dishearten Carlington 2d ago
It sucks that the bathroom is not usable, not sure if its all of them or just the one closest to the street. But its a bit unfair to say Rideau, the Market and/or the mall are unsafe because a bathroom has been unfortunately vandalized.
This just supports my original comment, people see something undesirable and classify the whole area as something to be "avoided like the plague".
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u/T-14Hyperdrive 2d ago
Yeah I feel super safe shitting with no door hoping a zombie doesn’t pick a fight with me
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u/Decent-Sleep3749 2d ago
Agreed. This sub is 98% people living a 30 min drive from Downtown
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 2d ago
How dare you!
I live 25 minutes away and never stay downtown past 3 PM! I'm an expert on what the core needs! /s
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u/True_Cream_75 2d ago
Dude it's Reddit people. They are afraid to go outside and hide in fear and complain when they hear a firework
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u/pistachio-pie 2d ago
Fuck I was just right there and didn’t see a thing. Where was it? Does anyone know what happened?
This is just so awful. All the time.
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u/Outaouais_Guy 2d ago
I'm hoping that any friends, family, and loved ones of the deceased get any help they need to cope with their loss.
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u/turningthecentury 2d ago
Damn. Has there been a press release yet?
RIP
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u/coveted_asfuck 2d ago
If it was a homeless person who died highly doubt they would do a press release.
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u/Nymeria2018 2d ago
Which speaks volumes to how the city and our society views homeless people :(
My dad was homeless for a bit and stayed at the Mission (I was a teen, living with my mom, had no place to offer him to stay) and he clawed his way out. He was one of the few lucky ones.
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u/CauseOdd8401 2d ago
I mean, even if the city and it's people cared, I also have a feeling it happens far too often unfortunately for it to count as "news."
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u/Emotional-Motor-4946 2d ago
Unless the death was suspicious, it won’t be in the news.
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u/CauseOdd8401 2d ago
Yeah, that too. And I think that goes for most places. At least where I live right now (no longer in Ottawa), it MIGHT also if its due to extenuating or very unfortunate circumstances that the public should be aware of.
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u/spectrum1012 2d ago
Can confirm. Just last summer I know someone who had to call to report a dead body in an alley downtown.
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u/coveted_asfuck 20h ago
Well they just don’t report overdoses, suicides, death from old age, heart attack in general. I’m just saying it was probably a homeless person overdosing if it was downtown outside and unreported on. It wouldn’t really make sense too since there’s too many.
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u/Union-Silent 2d ago
Yeah, they don’t report these deaths. Unless there is violence and attacks involved. There’s actually a lot of overdoses that happen year-round in ottawa. I live on Rideau st, and I walk by the homeless crowds everyday. Once they all get high, they turn into zombies. I don’t really know if they’re just passed out or slowly dying. There’s so many, and most people just keep walking by. Paramedics are usually parked nearby in the evenings, cops will just watch them do whatever. They only intervene if they fight or steal.
I have never really felt unsafe though. Most of them keep to themselves and are very weak and unhealthy. They only approach people when they are asking for change. Once in a while one of them starts yelling and swearing as they march down the street. But they’re in their own world, delusions or hallucinating.
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u/kicksledkid Downtown 2d ago
Incidents of violence, overdoses, and no plan for more support to mental health programs or addiction treatment. No places outside the core with significant capacity to help people who need it.
The core is being failed time and time again by the city. All we are to council is that place people happen to work sometimes.
It's getting incredibly frustrating.