Letters to the Editor
‘Affordable Housing’ — a copy editor speaks out
The term ‘affordable housing’ [see Alliance to save co-operative housing in Sandy Hill, this issue] makes me sick: just another political lie in these days of speculation, AirBnB and inflation. Certainly, ‘affordable’, when used by politicians, landlords, and their developer friends, is many times greater than the number you first thought of.
In the early years of my involvement with IMAGE, one real estate agent had a regular column which I occasionally had to edit. I developed a few rules for dealing with the jargon —
‘House’ and ‘Home’ are not interchangeable
‘Home’ and ‘Residence’ might be interchangeable
‘Residential’ includes houses, condominiums, and apartments, owned and rented
‘Up to $N’ includes all numbers from zero to N
‘Affordable’ must be defined. Affordable by whom? Politicians, speculators, homeless?
Dave Willis
Range Rd.
I am a FAN of Chef Ric’s on Rideau
One of Chef Ric’s frozen items is always in my freezer as a “backup.” To show off three of my favourite dishes, I decided to have a Chef Ric’s Dinner Party for a couple of friends. They were mightily impressed with how tasty the food was. Lots of fun and not much cooking! Here’s how it went with three small plates for four people. First, meatloaf on sourdough bread toast with marinated tomato, olive and chip crumbs, grilled. Second, butter chicken with asparagus, and mango chutney. Third, shepherd’s pie with mustard pickle and stir-fried broccoli and cauliflower.
If you haven’t sampled Chef Ric’s food, it’s good clean food that tastes terrific and is inexpensive. Go for breakfast, lunch, a sandwich or the frozen meals. (All take out.) Chef Ric’s is a unique social enterprise for The Ottawa Mission and a community asset for people from all walks of life. Open 7:30 am to 2 pm at 384 Rideau Street, chefrics.com.
Liz MacKenzie
