Community centre boardroom named after trailblazing Sandy Hill woman
Noah Leafloor & Christine Aubry
The boardroom in the lower level of the Sandy Hill Community Centre has been named after Sandy Hill resident Alicia Natividad, a tribute to her accomplishments in the field of law and her incredibly numerous contributions to her local community.
Natividad and her husband first lived in Sandy Hill as students, while they both attended uOttawa’s law school. They bought their first house in Sandy Hill on Goulburn Avenue, back in 1982, and now live on Range Road.
The City of Ottawa website states that this commemorative naming is “in recognition of Alicia Natividad’s dedication to community service,” and that “Natividad was the first Filipino lawyer to be called to the Ontario bar and has been a trailblazer for women in leadership roles, encouraging women of all cultures to become leaders in politics, society, and within their communities.”
On December 6, a ceremony was held to unveil a plaque in the boardroom where Natividad was honoured by Distinguished Women of Ottawa along with the Mayor of Ottawa Mark Sutcliffe and RideauÐVanier councillor Stéphanie Plante.
“I am honoured to be recognized for my community work and to have a boardroom named after me,” said Natividad. “I want to celebrate and thank DWO for the advocacy work it is doing to have public spaces named after women. I was fortunate to be chosen by DWO to have this space named in my honour.” Being a strong advocate for gender equality and improving the status of women, she has herself nominated other women from Sandy Hill for DWO awards.
Unfortunately, DWO may not be able to continue to do this. A representative of the organization, Lee Farnworth, said that though the City encourages the practice of nomination, it does not provide money to pay for the associated plaques. “The plaques can range in cost from $400 for a boardroom sign to $2,800 for a park sign,” she explained. “We’ve nominated four women this year and all were accepted. As a non-profit with no funds, we can’t afford the cost of continuing to do this,” she said regretfully. In her opinion, the City needs to cover the costs if it wants people to put forward names of women who deserve recognition of their contributions to the community, women like Alicia Natividad.
Natividad, who was born in the Philippines, uses her voice to advocate for the Philippine community in Ottawa and nationally. She has provided legal council to many Filipino organizations in Canada and is passionate about promoting Filipino businesses in Ottawa and Canada.
“In past years, a number of associations have rented this large room at the Sandy Hill Community Centre to display and sell Philippine products and food, and to showcase Philippine culture,” Natividad told IMAGE prior to the ceremony. “Unfortunately, there is no Philippine community association or church in Sandy Hill,” she added. “Assumption Parish Church at 320 Olmstead St. in Vanier is where Filipino Canadians congregate primarily on Sundays to attend mass and to participate in various events.”
Natividad says she is humbled to have received this recognition and is proud to represent the Filipino community.
To read more about Alicia Natividad’s long list of accomplishments and many other awards received, visit the Distinguished Women of Ottawa website at: frottawadw.ca/biog/alicia-natividad.
