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Are you ready to discover Canada's Capital through its history and culture? Explore in
a whole new way some of the most appreciated monuments and public art that enrich the core
of the Capital. Select the capsule of the monument or public artwork in front of you
to begin your adventure. And don’t forget to walk around the sculpture to discover all
of its features. If you are exploring with kids then select the children's version. They’ll
love it! Man: Lieutenant Colonel John By. I guess that
must be By as in Byward Market. Well, with him dressed like that he must have been the
owner of the market. Hmmm… I wonder what he sold?
Woman: You’re not serious, are you? Man: Ha ha, euh, what do you mean?
Woman: You live here and you don’t even know who Colonel By is?
Man: Ah…well, ok, I guess I’m guilty. Apart from the market, a parkway and a high
school with that name, no, I don’t know who Colonel By is. Is that a bad thing?
Woman: Haha, you’re funny. No it’s not bad, we all learn something new everyday!
But take a good look at him, do you really think he worked at the market, dressed in
a military uniform? Man: Ha ha ha…
Woman:He was a British military engineer. Also, did you know that the University of
Ottawa was called the College of Bytown when it began in 1848? By was really important
for this region. He was sent from London to oversee the building of the Rideau…
Man: The Rideau Canal! Woman: Excellent, the Rideau Canal! You get
ten points for getting the correct answer. Man: Woo hoo! And that’s why he’s holding
a set of plans in his hand. Woman: Yep. I’m sure you can imagine that
for a project like that, you’d need to have pretty detailed plans. When he arrived in
1826, the region was nothing but forest! They had to start from zero, but before they could
begin, they had to have a place for the thousands of workers to live!
Man: Details, details. Woman: The workers lived not far from here,
and a military camp was built on what is now Parliament Hill and, that’s how Bytown was
born! Man: And was later renamed Ottawa! Which eventually
became the Capital of Canada in 1857. Woman: There’s even ruins of Colonel By’s
house in the park! We can look for them in a few minutes.
Man: Oh! Ok great! W: It took six years to build the Canal.
Man: Why did they build it? Woman: You know, in the early nineteenth century,
the British built canals and forts to defend their territory against attacks from the United
States. So, the first reason for building the Canal was for military purposes, even
if it was never used for those reasons. But, it was very convenient for shipping. It’s
two hundred kilometers long! Today, we look at the Canal in the middle of the Capital
and can’t even imagine the amount of work it took and the huge obstacles that had to
be overcome. I mean, just think about it –overseeing a huge project in a largely undeveloped region.
He even almost died of malaria, like a lot of his men did. He left Canada a hero, but
received a very poor welcome when he returned to London. He was accused of making unauthorized
expenditures and he spent the rest of his days fighting to clear his name.
Man: Classic tale of a hero! He should have come back to Canada to live out his old age.
Woman: Yeah, maybe, but he died young, he was only fifty-seven.
Man: It was in 2007, wasn’t it that the Rideau Canal was named a UNESCO World Heritage
Site? It’s pretty amazing to think of your own legacy becoming world heritage. Even today,
he stands looking toward the Canal he built. W: Oh yeah! I hadn’t really noticed!
Man: Do you know Joseph-Émile Brunet? Woman: Um, no, who’s that?
Man: What? You don’t know who Joseph-Émile Brunet is? He’s the Quebec artist who created
the statue of your precious Colonel By! Woman: Oh!
Man: So it seems that I also know a few things. Did you know that he built over two hundred
monuments? He was almost eighty when he created this statue of Colonel By in 1971. He came
from a family who carved tombstones. Woman: Nice. How cheery.
Man: Well, yeah, but it was where he first learned about sculpture. You know, when you
said that a military camp had been built on Parliament Hill? Well, Joseph-Émile Brunet
began his career; he worked as an assistant decorator of the Parliament of Canada. That
was in 1917. Woman: Come on; let’s take a little walk
along the Canal. Man: You want to take a look for the ruins
of Colonel By’s house? Woman: Oh yeah! Let’s do that! The first
one who finds the ruins gets to buy dinner tonight in the Byward Market!