Category: Focus

Matt worked 14 hours a day, 75 hours a week, he says, washing dishes, preparing food, running downstairs to get supplies. The restaurant owner promised Matt $5 an hour, but at the end of the week he said he could only afford $250, less than $3.50 an hour. Matt took the money. He needed the job and kept on working.

Many immigrant-run shops and restaurants in Centretown once catered to their own niche communities, but now other Canadians are increasingly frequenting their businesses.

Walk down any major street in Centretown and chances are you’ll find a shawarma shop. But is there a shawarma war?

There is an international flavour to the McNabb community centre’s drop-in basketball program. Chinese players in NBA jerseys and young Sikhs with topknots say that hitting the court with friends and strangers helps them integrate into the community as new Canadians.