ByWard Market businesses, councillor want more police patrols

After a homicide in the heart of the ByWard Market on a busy Friday night, the business association and city councillor are again calling on Ottawa police to do more foot and bike patrols.

"During tourist time, we need to see a much more heightened presence," said Jasna Jennings, executive director of the ByWard Market Business Improvement Area, in a statement.

"Perhaps had an … officer been nearby, this terrible situation could have been avoided or at least intervened before the gun violence."

Markland Campbell, a hip-hop artist who used the stage name Jahiant Jahh, died after being shot at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday on a sidewalk at the corner of York Street and ByWard Market Square.

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"We never see anything like that during the day. Never, never, never," said Huguette Lacroix, a flower and vegetable merchant who has been working in the market for 45 years.

It was the second shooting homicide in the market so far this year. In April, 25-year-old Emilio Jimenez was shot on York Street.

Councillor wants extra attention

But Coun. Mathieu Fleury said the market area is seeing more incidents between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., in addition to incidents after midnight.

Violence and crime in the ByWard Market and on Rideau Street isn't new, and both the councillor and business groups have previously pushed for extra police presence.

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Fleury puts the problems into three categories: gang-related crime as bars close for the night, drug issues related to people with addictions who use the area's shelters, and problematic bars where drug deals and crimes may happen but which don't have their liquor licences revoked by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission.

The problems require many solutions, and Fleury has called for a ban on handguns after Campbell's death.

But as Ottawa grows and takes on more big-city problems, Fleury agreed the downtown and ByWard Market area deserve even more proactive police attention because it's an area "so important to the image of our city."

"If not year-round, at least from St. Patrick's Day right through to Halloween," he said.

Police concerned for public safety

Earlier on Monday, police also said they were concerned by the shooting.

"When we have someone discharging a firearm in such a crowded place when the streets are full of people. That's our No. 1 concern," said Ottawa police Supt. Chris Renwick.

Police already target the rowdiness of the bar scene in the ByWard Market, he added.

"Especially with this shooting at the time and location it happened, that just reinforces our commitment to address the issues that happen in the evening in the ByWard Market and other large-density gathering spots," Renwick said.

Rideau merchants to prepare for emergencies

Meanwhile, some businesses will be educating themselves on what to do in an emergency.

The neighbouring Downtown-Rideau business improvement area plans to hold a workshop in the coming weeks so its businesses can hear from police and the city about how to lock down their businesses and communicate with authorities if that threat ever arises.

Peggy Ducharme, the group's executive director, watched how restaurants had to respond during the shootings on Toronto's busy Danforth Avenue last summer and felt it was a conversation worth having among her member businesses. 

But for the most part, Claude Bonnet, owner of Moulin de Provence bakery in the market, said he finds Ottawa quiet and safe.

"You go to Toronto, you go to Montreal, or you go to New York, I think it's worse. More people, more problems," Bonnet said.