A former Algonquin College student has been charged with terror offences after abandoning his studies to join the Islamic State.

The former business student, Khadar Khalib, 23, dropped out of sight last year after allegedly being recruited by an Ottawa man, Awso Peshdary, 25. Both men had ties to Algonquin College’s Muslim Students’ Association.

Khalib is now believed to be in Syria, fighting on behalf of the Islamic State, which is why he was charged in absentia by the RCMP on Tuesday with leaving Canada to participate in the activities of a terror group and with counselling a person to participate in terrorism.

In October last year, Khalib’s Facebook page underwent a dramatic makeover with Khalib announcing himself as AbdulBaqi Hanif. In Arabic, the name means “servant of the everlasting” and “true believer.”

In his new Facebook photo, Khalib’s head was wrapped in a black kaffiyeh. The page featured several pictures of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State, heavily armed jihadists, and the group’s black and white flag.

The page has since been taken down.

On another social media page, using his real name, Khalib quoted a Palestinian Islamic scholar and a founder of al-Qaida, Abdullah Azzam: “Death is only once, so let it be jihad.”

The RCMP revealed that Khalib travelled to Syria in late March 2014 with the alleged assistance of Peshdary and former University of Ottawa business student John Maguire, who was already in Syria at the time.

Maguire would later earn notoriety for his online propaganda video, which urged Canadian Muslims to launch new terror attacks on their home soil.

A convert to Islam, Maguire was reportedly killed last month while fighting for ISIS in Kobane, Syria. He was charged Tuesday in absentia alongside Khalib because, RCMP say, they have no conclusive evidence that he’s dead.

Weeks before Khalib left for Syria, both he and Peshdary took part in Islam Awareness Week on Algonquin College’s Woodroffe Avenue campus. Pictures from the event, sponsored by the Muslim Students’ Association, show them in the college’s new student centre, where association members shared food, handed out information brochures and collected donations for Syria.

RCMP officers visited the campus last year to interview members of the student association about Khalib’s behaviour and activity leading up to his departure for Syria, the power base of the Islamic State. The intensely radical group wants to create a caliphate in the Middle East to unite Muslims under religious rule.

Aboudi Naddaf, a former executive with the students’ association, told the Citizen that he found out about Khalib’s travel to Syria from the RCMP.

“Sometime after Khadar left I got a call and that’s when I found out,” he said. “They came to me and told me he had left.”

RCMP investigators were also interested in potential connections between Khalib and Maguire.

Khalib grew up in Ottawa but later moved with his family to Calgary, where he attended a french-language high school, École La Rose Sauvage. He was a valuable member of the school’s basketball team, which competed in the provincial championships in his senior year.

Khalib then returned to Ottawa to attend Algonquin College. Those who knew Khalib have described him as a friendly and devout person.

The federal government revoked Maguire’s passport in December after an Islamic State website published a video in which the Merrickville-born man called upon all Canadian Muslims to emigrate to Syria or launch jihad.

A spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada said she cannot comment on whether the department has taken similar action to prevent Khalib’s return to this country. “We can’t comment on individual cases,” said Sonia Lesage.

Under federal law, a passport can be revoked when an individual is deemed a national security risk or if they use the travel document to assist in committing a serious offence abroad.

The arrest of Khalib and Peshdary adds to the evidence that Ottawa was home to an extremist “cluster” — a small group of like-minded individuals who shared a violent interpretation of their Islamic duty.

Earlier this month, twin brothers Ashton and Carlos Larmond, 24, of Vanier were arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences. The brothers, both Rideau High School graduates, had recently converted to Islam. Carlos Larmond was arrested Jan. 9 at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport as he tried to board an international flight. The RCMP allege he was going overseas “for terrorist purposes.”

Days later, in a related arrest, Suliman Mohamed, 21, of Vanier was arrested and charged with two terrorism-related offences.

The RCMP said Tuesday that all of the men knew each other and had contact through social media.

A spokesman for Algonquin College said privacy legislation prevented him from explaining whether the school was aware of the RCMP investigation before Tuesday’s charges were announced, or from providing any information about Khalib.

“I can’t speak about individuals,” said Doug Wotherspoon. “I can tell you that we work hand-in-hand with law enforcement and have a strong working relationship, have had for years.”

Asked if the college had concerns about acts of radicalization taking place on campus, Wotherspoon said he was not aware of any specific incident. “Like all colleges and universities, these issues of extremism are well-known to us and we know we have a special role to play in creating a tolerant, respectful, caring environment.”

Calgary court records show that a man named Khadar Khalib was charged in May 2012 with theft under $5,000 in connection with a robbery at The Bay. A warrant was issued for his arrest in October of that year after he failed to appear in court.

Terrorism charges against Khalib come after several young men have reportedly left Calgary to fight alongside terrorism groups in the Middle East. Damian Clairmont, Salman Ashrafi, Farah Shirdon and brothers Collin and Gregory Gordon are believed to have been killed after taking up arms with Islamic State. Police suspect at least 30 Calgary residents have been recruited by foreign terrorist organizations.

With files from Shaamini Yogaretnam and Reid Southwick

aduffy@ottawacitizen.com

Related

• Extremist "cluster" spawning local jihadis: RCMP (with video)
• Outspoken Peshdary was swept up during Project Samossa, but not charged
• Terrorism allegations in Ottawa: Here are the Accused
• Ottawa allegations would fit typical network structure: expert

The Ottawa man RCMP say has been financing others’ travel to Syria to join Islamic State has been detained by authorities before — during what was then Canada’s most extensive anti-terrorism investigation.

Awso Peshdary is a former activist at Algonquin College whose new arrest was announced Tuesday by authorities as part of charges against three men for terrorism-related offences. The 25-year-old Iraqi-born Canadian was cast by authorities as a facilitator in a cluster of suspects now detained in the capital.

Peshdary was also arrested in 2010 as part of Project Samossa, an investigation into an Ottawa group whose leader had trained in Afghanistan.

While two of the group’s members were recently convicted and sentenced on terrorism charges, Peshdary was held only briefly before being released. Ottawa police then charged him with assaulting and threatening to kill his wife, but he was subsequently acquitted of those charges.

Since then, he has been active at Algonquin College.

He had posted an image on his Facebook page (now taken down) showing an assault rifle laid across a map of Canada and the United States. Another image said not to think of those “killed in the cause of Allah” as dead.

“WAKE UP Muslims,” he wrote beside a Facebook post about a child who had frozen to death in Syria. “And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed young men, women and children.”

The Algonquin College Muslim Students’ Association page on Facebook shows Peshdary holding a microphone and posing for photos at the campus’s Islam Awareness Week last March. The association did not respond to questions Tuesday.

“Honestly,” Peshdary wrote on a Facebook page last August after one of the Project Samossa accused, Khurram Syed Sher, was acquitted. “I feel that as Muslims we are all walking on egg shells. If such a reputable person can be accused, where do the rest of us stand?

“We can’t enjoy the liberties of regular Canadian citizens,” he continued. “There are hundreds of Muslim Canadians who are on an AMERICAN no fly list without having ever committed a single crime or have been suspected by Canadian authorities.

“As we speak there are Canadian Spy agents who go around the Muslim communities trying to drag young men into terrorism charges by pretending to be friends seeking justice in foreign countries,” he wrote.

He complained that camping, paintball and hunting had been “labeled as jihad training. Brothers and sisters we should stand up and speak out against the arrogant authority who tries to exploit our community for the benefit of gaining funding from the Canadian government.”

Upset at what he considered the “targeting” of Muslims by the Algonquin College spiritual centre, he wrote on Facebook that Muslim students’ posters had been taken down, the imam had been “kicked out” and evening and night prayers were not being permitted.

A month later, he posted a photo of two scale models of passenger aircraft, one a WestJet plane, the other Air Canada. “Found some toys on my friend’s bed … looks suspicious,” he wrote. “Trying to get caught by CSIS bro … lol,” read one of the comments.

According to court documents, Peshdary and his friend, Heva Alizadeh, were the subjects of an investigation by CSIS six years ago. A CSIS affidavit dated Oct. 15, 2009, said that a confidential source had said, “Peshdary was actively looking for sources on the street that could sell him a gun. Peshdary was still working with the intention of travelling overseas for jihad and was accumulating money in order to follow through with his plans.”

But court records indicate that CSIS had already spoken with Peshdary about the issue in May 2009 and investigators were “confident that he is no longer looking to purchase a gun” and the “matter will no longer be pursued.”

The court documents also say that another subject of the Project Samossa investigation, Misbahuddin Ahmed, “had been warned by his friend Awso Peshdary not to associate with Mr. Alizadeh because Mr. Alizadeh was an extremist, but he nonetheless persisted in fostering a close relationship with Mr. Alizadeh.”

Alizadeh, an Iranian who said he had been sent back to Canada by Al Qaeda to “hit from within,” is serving a 24-year sentence. Following his arrest, police seized detonators that had been custom built by a bomb expert at a terrorist training camp, and instructions on how to make remote control bombs.

Ahmed was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison.

National Post, with files from Meghan Hurley

Related

• Extremist "cluster" spawning local jihadis: RCMP (with video)
• Terrorism allegations in Ottawa: Here are the Accused
• Former Algonquin student charged with terror offences
• Ottawa allegations would fit typical network structure: expert

The Ottawa man arrested this week on terror-related charges once told friends at Algonquin College that he believed Canadian security officials would always be following him.

Awso Peshdary, 25, was an active member of Algonquin College’s Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) and shared with other club members his history as an investigative target of the RCMP.

Pehsdary was arrested in August 2010 and charged with assaulting his wife based on information collected during an anti-terrorism investigation known as Project Samossa. The Iraqi-born Canadian, who was not charged in the terror plot, was acquitted of assault in June 2011.

He told friends at Algonquin that was not the end of the story.

“One of the things I remember him (Peshdary) saying was that the guy who was the head of the operation told him, ‘I will keep my eyes on you for the rest of my life. And I will put you in jail one way or another.'”

The Algonquin student, who spoke to the Citizen on the condition that his identity would be protected, said he met Peshdary at MSA events. “For the most part, he seemed like a normal, average guy,” he said.

Peshdary was arrested Tuesday and charged with participating in the activity of a terrorist group and facilitating its activity. The RCMP allege that Peshdary helped to recruit jihadists for the Islamic State and finance their travel to Syria.

Peshdary was one of two former Algonquin College students, and former MSA members, charged by the RCMP this week. Khadar Khalib, 23, has been charged in absentia with terrorism-related offences because he’s believed to now be fighting in Syria with the Islamic State.

No one from the Algonquin College MSA would speak to the Citizen on the record Wednesday, but one former member said the club held its first ever Islam Awareness Week last March. Both Peshdary and Khalib took part in that event.

The former MSA member said Peshdary did not discuss jihad with him, but he did share his anger and outrage at events in Afghanistan and Syria.

“He was very sympathetic to any situation like Afghanistan: He was very opposed to the Americans and Canadians going into the country,” he said. Peshdary, he said, also lent vocal support to military and religious groups that opposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

“But beyond that, I never heard him say you should drop everything and leave here,” the former student said.

Peshdary spoke of his frustrations with others. He told one woman that Muslims are tired of seeing their brothers and sisters killed in places such as Afghanistan due to the intervention of Western countries. “What the Harper government expects is that the good Muslim is the one who, if his brothers and sisters are getting killed, the good Muslim is just a person who goes out and protests,” Peshdary once complained, according to the woman.

The former Algonquin student said Peshdary often shared the story of his 2010 arrest in Project Samossa, but he did not seem embittered by it.

“I don’t think he was bitter. I wouldn’t say bitter. He seemed, if anything, a little too calm,” the man said.

“I think when other people, when they heard the story they were more angered that he was. I was sympathetic with him about the whole thing — mostly because someone was arrested, and no charges actually stuck.”

Police charged Peshdary with assaulting and threatening to kill his wife based on evidence gathered by microphones planted in his house as part of the RCMP’s terrorism investigation. His wife told court she could not remember either of the two alleged incidents.

The former student described Peshdary as calm, careful and friendly.

“He was very friendly to everyone. He never said anything mean to anyone, and if he did feel like he offended anyone, he would always apologize. He was a very careful listener and would pay attention to what everyone was saying.”

aduffy@ottawacitizen.com

Related

• Terror accused Awso Peshdary ordered not to communicate with co-accused, witnesses (with video)

On the same day Everest College filed for bankruptcy protection following the closure of its 14 Ontario campuses, an Ottawa lawyer says he’s considering a class-action lawsuit against the school and its California-based parent company.

Michael Crystal with Ottawa’s Spiteri and Ursulak law firm said he’s been in contact with several students since the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities suspended the career college’s registration in the province.

“(Students) should have been advised that there could be complications in completing their year,” Crystal said. “It sounds like a number of them were caught off-guard and were about to graduate.”

Crystal said many of the students affected are single mothers who took out loans to pay for school and paid for their children to attend daycare while they completed their education.

As Crystal investigated the impact of the school closure on potential clients, Everest College’s parent company, Corinthian Colleges, said in a statement it was forced to file for bankruptcy protection when the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities suspended its registration.

“We are extremely disappointed that the ministry has taken these abrupt actions,” Jack Massimino, the chairman and CEO of Corinthian Colleges, said in a statement. “Our Canadian subsidiary had been working with the ministry for an extended period of time with the goal of achieving a satisfactory outcome for students, employees and other stakeholders in Canada.”

Reza Moridi, minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, released a statement Friday on the Everest College situation.

The minister said the province and the superintendent of private career colleges would “work to assess student access to training completion opportunities or refunds, depending on student choice. The Superintendent and Ministry staff will do everything they can to facilitate training completions. The government is also committed to helping displaced workers and affected communities get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

Corinthian Colleges said Everest College had about 2,450 students and 450 employees in Ontario at the time the campuses were closed.

Shocked students gathered outside the St. Laurent Centre campus on Thursday, struggling to understand what happened.

Students were told they might get only a partial refund of their tuition, which would make it almost impossible for many to switch to another school.

On Friday, some students seemed to catch a break. Michelle Scott, a single mother who was taking the personal support worker program, said she has enrolled in Herzing College’s personal support worker program.

The offer to transfer to Herzing College still stands even if Scott doesn’t receive a full refund from Everest College, Scott said.

“I’ve never had anybody in my entire life do something out of the kindness of their heart in such a great way,” Scott said. “It’s the most beautiful thing. I couldn’t believe it.”

Related

• Two Ottawa locations among Everest College campuses closed after province suspends licence

Dave McCormick, the president of Herzing College’s St. Laurent Centre campus, said the school will absorb the cost of Scott’s course if she isn’t given a refund from Everest College.

McCormick said Herzing College is trying to accommodate as many displaced students as they can by reducing tuition by whatever students have already paid to Everest College.

When Algonquin College president Cheryl Jensen heard about the closure, she contacted the ministry to let them know the college is available to help.

Jensen said a meeting will be planned for next week so displaced students can get information about transferring to Algonquin College.

Jensen said she encourages all students — even those without a high school education — to apply to a similar program at Algonquin College. As a mature student, they can still be considered for the program.

Everest College was looking for a new owner last July after its parent, Corinthian Colleges, said it planned to sell or close all Ontario campuses.

The company previously came under scrutiny when allegations that Corinthian Colleges falsified job-placement data in marketing claims led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which resulted in financial strains when federal funds were withheld.

Corinthian Colleges then agreed to close about a dozen campuses in the U.S. and place the rest up for sale.

In the Friday news release, the minister of Training, Colleges and Unversities included “important facts” for students:

• Affected students are encouraged to assemble and maintain detailed records regarding their progress in their program, and any payments they may have made to Everest College in relation to that program.

 • Students can contact the ministry by e-mail at TCAF-TCU@ontario.ca or at (416) 314-0500 or toll free 1-866-330-3395. Staff of Everest College can call the Employment Ontario hotline at 1-800-387-5656 for assistance.

 • Information packages, including information on how to complete a TCAF student claim package, were distributed to students at Everest campuses on Thursday. Affected students who were not able to receive an information package, or have more questions related to TCAF, should contact the ministry at TCAF-TCU@Ontario.ca.

 • It is the superintendent’s role to arrange training completions. Students who make their own arrangements may inadvertently impact their eligibility for funding from the Training Completion Assurance Fund.

 • Students who are seeking training completions through the Training Completion Assurance Fund (TCAF) should ensure the superintendent has their contact information.  They may also wish to collect the necessary documents and information in preparation for submitting their TCAF student claim package. They should contact the ministry if they need an information package or have any further questions.

• For OSAP students who choose to complete their training at another institution, the government will ensure that their loans do not enter repayment until six months after the completion date of their new training. For students who choose not to complete their training at another institution,  loans will not be due for repayment until six months after the date that they would have completed their program had Everest College not closed.

 mhurley@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/meghan_hurley

 -With files from The Canadian Press 

Fighting fire in the bitter cold is fraught with challenges, particularly when a blaze is in a rural location, according to veteran firefighters.

Water freezes and that can create treacherous and difficult conditions for first responders trying to put out a fire like the one that is believed to have claimed the lives of two children near Gracefield, Que., on Thursday. And when the fire is in a rural location, that can sometimes mean longer response times and greater difficulty moving the water to where it is needed most.

“Everything is more difficult when you get the cold weather,” said Ottawa Fire Service’s deputy chief of operations, David Thompson.

The extreme cold means firefighters need to be spelled off more often due to exhaustion and the risk of exposure, he said.

“Let’s face it, you are working with water,” said Mario D’Angelo, a professor and the co-ordinator of Algonquin College’s pre-service firefighting education and training program. “Once that water gets on stuff, that stuff can start to freeze. Whether that be ladders, whether that be the actual structure in a structure fire, water can freeze and that can pose all kinds of hazards. Water gets on your gear, your gear can start to freeze. You run the risk of getting cold and being exposed to the cold. Once your gear starts to freeze, it can affect your dexterity.”

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• 'Those two little angels, they're not here anymore': Children die in Gracefield fire (with video)
• Winter fire safety tips

That means fire crews need to slow down and take their time, said Peter Kennedy, an Ottawa fire captain and president of the Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association. Just gaining access to the fire can become strenuous work, as firefighters must trudge through snow-covered yards rendered inaccessible by frozen gates or other obstacles.

In rural areas, firefighters need time to respond and may encounter larger distances to get to the fire. In areas without hydrants, firefighters need to access water points such as lakes, ponds or rivers that may have been frozen over.

Winter driving and drilling through the ice can both add to the time it takes to attack a fire in rural areas, said Kennedy. Long, narrow laneways and snowbanks can pose additional challenges to getting the equipment close to the fire.

“With every minute that goes by, fire builds exponentially,” said Kennedy, whose shift has had the misfortune of responding to three fires that have claimed four lives this winter.

Many rural areas rely on volunteer firefighters, who also need time to respond. While some firefighters can respond directly to a fire scene, others need to meet at the station to put on their gear and retrieve the fire trucks, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said volunteer firefighters “do everything a professional firefighter does.”

“It is pretty much the same service delivery in a rural setting by people who are more oriented around their community,” said Kennedy.

That connection to the community can be a double-edged sword though, since many of the firefighters might personally know or be familiar with the people they are called on to help.

“There is a greater chance of you knowing them or knowing of them, particularly in smaller communities,” said D’Angelo, who himself was a volunteer firefighter for eight years in West Carleton.

“It’s one thing when you get a call to a particular location, but when you can put a name or a face or you have relationships with those people, well then it starts to become a little bit more personal,” said D’Angelo.

aseymour@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/andrew_seymour

It’s been three years in the making, but representatives from Algonquin College, the Algonquin Students’ Association and OC Transpo will be signing the Universal Transit Pass Agreement (U-Pass) Friday to officially adopt the system starting in the fall semester.

The agreement comes after 83 per cent of students at Algonquin College voted in favour of the U-Pass during a five-day online referendum last November.

Once adopted in September,  full-time Algonquin students will be required to buy the discounted bus pass for a fee of up to $199 per four-month semester. At present, students over the age of 19 pay a regular bus pass fare, about $100 per month.

Students who live outside Transpo’s service area can opt out of the program, which will be overseen by college staff and the Algonquin Students’ Association.

“We’ve worked really hard and are really excited to be able to provide students with his option,” said Cristina Miller, president of the Students’ Association at the college. “It’s been a long time coming and everyone has done an incredible job at pulling their part and we are happy with the outcome.”

According to the Algonquin Student’s Association website, “the U-Pass provides a discount between 41 and 50 per cent compared to student monthly passes, and a discount between 53 and 62 per cent compared to adult monthly passes.”

The U-Pass program is valid on all routes, including express routes.

The program is also already available at the University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University and Carleton University. La Cité Collégiale and Dominican University College do not have u-pass programs.

A new intimate theatre and music venue run for artists by artists, Live! on Elgin, plans to open its doors June 5 and provide a new venue for performance and musical groups as well as visual artists.

The founders, father and son Lawrence and Jon Evenchick, say they wanted to create a venue at 220 Elgin St., above Dunn’s, that mirrors the atmosphere of the popular Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, but in downtown Ottawa, making it easier for musicians to access. Their goal is an affordable place to find good music.

There will be a bar and a small 72-spot seating area for patrons between shows, and there will be a limited Dunn’s menu, sparing the cost of installing a new kitchen. Total capacity will be 90.

They plan to decorate the walls with work from local artists, providing showcase space and possible sales.

The owners also plan to hire staffers from the arts community, allowing as much money as possible to be recirculated through the milieu.

“We want to do whatever we have to to help the arts,” said Jon Evenchick.

Live! on Elgin had planned for a May 1 opening but ran into a snag with parking.

The city requires a minimum of one parking space for every eight seats within the theatre, but all the parking surrounding the venue already belongs to the city.

The business has applied for minor variance, meaning it will need the city to grant an exemption from the parking rules. and has a hearing April 1 at Ben Franklin Place on Centrepointe Drive.

“I suspect they’ll get their variance,” said Catherine McKenney, councillor for Somerset ward. “To have that kind of live theatre and arts venue will be fantastic.”

So far, the club says it has support from people both in the artistic community and the neighbours at large, with 10 letters to the city supporting the minor variance, and no complaints against it.

In fact, the concept gained support from Mayor Jim Watson at its unveiling earlier this year.

“I think it gives artists and performers more option,” Watson said in an interview with Glue Magazine at the time. “It’s one of the reasons we’re constantly ranked high in quality of life when it comes to trying to attract people and talent to live and work in Ottawa. They want to have these kinds of venues, they want that cultural experience. It’s not just about work.”

Evenchick said the concept for the theatre came to him while he was studying business management at Algonquin College. He wanted to create a medium-sized musical venue, something Ottawa lacks, but after some research decided a smaller venue would be more beneficial and encourage growth within the arts community.

They also hope to provide a space where more than one show can be put on in one night. Most theatrical performances end by 10 p.m., so a musical show could be put on later.

The stage will be a set of risers, allowing for a more interactive experience if the show calls for it, as in the case of a comedy act.

The Evenchicks have planned a grand opening party June 5 with a free show.

NOTE: A previous version of this story gave an incorrect date for the opening of Live! on Elgin.

Sometimes you have to break a few eggs.  That’s what third year Civil Engineering Technology students at Algonquin College found out at their Egg Drop Contest, held March 23.

The aspiring eggheads had to use their imaginations and engineering skills to design a mechanism that would allow an egg to survive a two-storey fall to the atrium of the school’s ACCE building. And yes, the egg had to be raw.

“It took lot of work and planning to make this event a success, but we had a lot of fun doing it. We learned how difficult it can be to manage a project from beginning to end which is a skill that we will be able to apply to our careers as Civil Engineering Technologists, said student  Trevor Dunlop, before the competition.

Unfortunately, it’s back to the drawing board for Dunlop, as seen in the photo below.

Trevor Dunlop’s egg did not survive the drop from the second floor of the Algonquin College ACCE building in Ottawa, March 23, 2015.

Trevor Dunlop’s egg did not survive the drop from the second floor of the Algonquin College ACCE building in Ottawa, March 23, 2015.

Jordan Fequet, 3rd year civil engineer student at Algonquin College, throws his egg in Ottawa, March 23, 2015. His egg survived the drop.

Alex Scantlebury was the high school quarterback and had high hopes of landing a scholarship, but in the summer of 2004, he tore up his right ankle and with it any chance of a sports career.

It hit him hard and he lost himself in drugs. He financed his habit by working in Ottawa’s drug trade right up until the day in September 2011  that police arrested him in a big raid dubbed Project Finale.

At 24, he was facing drug charges as a reputed enforcer for an Ottawa gang, a world away from the football field at Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

But the judge gave him a break and allowed him to serve his sentence on weekends, and Scantlebury seized what he calls his second chance. As he sat in jail, he kept thinking that he wanted to be a better man for his young daughter.

“I’m thankful for the chance (Judge Ann Alder) gave me and I’m not going to waste my second opportunity at life,” said Scantlebury, now 28.

He now has three daughters, has served his sentence and community service, and is enrolled in the public relations program at Algonquin College.

It’s not just any PR program. Every year since 1990, the class chooses a charity and raises money for it through a series of popular events. This year, and after hearing Scantlebury’s pitch, the class chose the John Howard Society of Ottawa as the beneficiary.

“If it wasn’t for the John Howard Society, I’d probably be dead or still in jail,” said Scantlebury.

He said it’s an ideal campaign for the class. The prisoner advocate group is respected, but it doesn’t exactly attract corporate sponsorship like some more trendy charities.

In fact, this year’s fundraising campaign, called #letsunlockchange (www.letsunlockchange.com), wasn’t able to secure a corporate sponsor until days before its launch this week.

Sometimes, it pays to know a good lawyer, for in this case, it was the managing partner of Abergel Goldstein who at the 11th hour cut the campaign a cheque as a corporate sponsor.

“The John Howard Society is a worthy cause that makes society safer by providing support to men who cannot find support anywhere else,” said Oliver Abergel.

“As title sponsor of the #letsunlockchange campaign, it is not lost on us that organizations like the John Howard Society actually help reduce crime and reduce the need for defence lawyers. We are defence attorneys but members of this community first, and we are happy to do our part to make the community a safer place.”

For a full list of events across the next three weeks — ranging from a comedy night, silent auction, and bubble soccer — go to http://www.letsunlockchange.com.

Since 1990, Algonquin College’s PR program has raised more than $300,000 for charity.

gdimmock@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/crimegarden

Future chefs and cooks spiced up the night at Algonquin College’s Restaurant International on Thursday by serving entirely salt-free fare to guests of the Blue and Green Soirée, a culinary evening that focuses on creating better restaurant food options for people with chronic kidney disease.

“It’s about getting the new generation of culinary chefs to introduce saltless food options in restaurants and to flavour the food without salt,” said soirée founder and chair Patricia Treusch, wife of CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) commissioner Andrew Treusch.

“It’s social responsibility. I’m not going to change the planet; all I’m doing is giving them the gift of awareness.”

A diet loaded with salt is dangerous for people struggling with various health conditions, like kidney disease, and restaurant food is notorious for being high in sodium. Let’s face it, most Canadians eat way more salt than they need.

Culinary student Mandy DeGeit served grilled pineapple sundaes with rum butter sauce as part of the Blue Green salt-free culinary soiree for the Kidney Foundation, held at the college’s Restaurant International on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Among the array of food being served that night: mini spiced chickpea patty sliders, stir-fried beef tenderloin with Asian-inspired marinade, butternut squash soup with caramelized apples, and grilled pineapple sundaes with rum butter sauce.

“I can’t believe there’s no salt,” an incredulous Kerry-Leigh Burchill, director general of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, told Around Town. “The food’s been delicious. You don’t miss the salt at all. As one of the benefits of being an adult, I started with the dessert. It was very good.”

Clerk of the Privy Council Janice Charette and her husband, Reg Charette, at the salt-free culinary Blue and Green Soiree.

The 100-plus attendees included Clerk of the Privy Council Janice and Deputy Clerk, Michael Wernick, as well as Italian Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado and his wife, Martine Laidin, and College Ward Councillor Rick Chiarelli.

Popular Ottawa couturier Frank Sukhoo added his own flavour to the night with a smattering of Angie’s models wearing his gorgeous get-ups.

From left, makeup artist Anthonia Bejide with Ottawa couturier Frank Sukhoo and hair stylist Anica Iordache at the Blue and Green Soiree held in support of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Models from Angie’s modelling agency dazzled in Sukhoo Sukhoo Couture at Algonquin College’s Restaurant International.

Also out supporting the cause was volunteer firefighter Craig Dunbar of Carp. He made headlines last year after receiving a kidney transplant from the wife of a former sector chief. Dunbar, 42, said he’s been feeling great. “I just had my year-end hockey tournament last weekend,” he told Around Town.

A panel of judges, led by House of Commons Executive Chef Jud Simpson, took part in a friendly food competition organized by the college’s culinary students.

The evening also included a silent auction to raise funds for the Eastern Ontario chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Michael Wernick, Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council, and Wiebke Merck at the salt-free culinary Blue and Green Soiree.

Algonquin College culinary student Andrew Paterson participated in a friendly salt-free food competition as part of the Blue Green Soiree for the Kidney Foundation, held at the college’s Restaurant International on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Italian Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado arrived with his wife, Martine Laidin.

Culinary students Ce Shang and Niccolo Calderisi participated in the friendly salt-free culinary competition as part of the Blue and Green Soiree for the Kidney Foundation at Algonquin College’s Restaurant International on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

From left, Public Safety Deputy Minister François Guimont, Canada Revenue Agency commissioner Andrew Treusch and event chair Patricia Treush at the Blue and Green salt-free culinary soiree held at Algonquin College’s Restaurant International on Thursday, March 26, 2015, in support of the Kidney Foundation.

Ottawa real estate agents Geoff Walker and his sister, Lindsay Walker, of Toscano/Walker Team were sponsors of the Blue and Green Soiree.

College Ward Councillor Rick Chiarelli, seen with his executive assistant, Nancy Cairns, at the Blue and Green salt-free culinary soiree.

Models from Angie’s Models & Talent donned Sukhoo Sukhoo Couture for the Blue and Green Soiree held at Algonquin College’s Restaurant International.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Using multiple computers around the clock, Ottawa police have been trying to crack an Algonquin College student’s laptop password for more than a year, and have now been granted a 12-month extension to see if they can finally break the code.

The computer technician student is a suspect in a child-pornography investigation and was arrested in the college parking lot on Feb. 4, 2014 — the same day authorities seized his laptop, thumb drive and iPhone from his backpack.

The police didn’t find any child pornography on his phone or thumb drive, but they still don’t know about the laptop because the police department has been unable to crack the student’s 26-digit alphanumeric password. In a police interview on the day he was arrested, the student refused to reveal his password and the police have been trying to crack it ever since.

Not for lack of trying. In fact, in his March 24 ruling to let the police keep working on the laptop for another year, Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett said, “The evidence before me indicates that multiple computers have been working 24/7 to unravel the password, but it has yet to happen.”

“There has been no foot-dragging in this investigation, nor any evidence of procrastination or bad faith. It is not a matter of a lack of training or resources. It is a matter of decrypting a hard drive, which is a long and complex procedure,” the judge said.

The original tip that sparked the investigation came on May 9, 2013, when Microsoft reported that 89 images had been uploaded from an online hosting site linked to someone’s IP address at a home in Greely. The police later obtained a search warrant and, months later on Feb. 4, executed it at the family residence, home to seven people.

Right before the search, as police did surveillance outside, they spotted one occupant — the student — leaving for school. They followed him and later arrested him at the college parking lot and seized his laptop.

It should be noted that none of the electronic devices seized from the home contained any child pornography. All seized devices except the laptop have been returned to the family. The police didn’t have a warrant to seize the student’s laptop but a judge ruled that the search was justified because there was a “realistic risk that any evidence contained on the hard drive would have been destroyed before the police had the time to obtain a warrant.”

Because of the urgent circumstances, the judge ruled there was no charter breach. Breach or not, the judge said she would not have returned the laptop either way.

The judge called it a matter of “striking the appropriate balance between (the suspect’s) rights at the investigatory stage of the proceedings and the public’s right to have serious offences properly investigated.”

gdimmock@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/crimegarden

Cat Empire, Current Swell

Algonquin Commons Theatre

Reviewed Tuesday

Australia’s genre-bending party band Cat Empire has spent the last couple of weeks touring Canada with Victoria folk-rockers Current Swell, leaving a trail of beaming faces and worn-out dancing shoes along the way, including Tuesday night at Algonquin College’s Commons theatre on Tuesday.

Although not quite sold out, most of the crowd of about 700 fans packed the floor in front of the stage, frolicking with an exuberance that illustrated the special connection Cat Empire has with Canadians. It’s a love that began on the West Coast more than a decade ago, and spread through the rest of the country after a summer on the Canadian festival circuit a few years back. Sizzling performances such as their River Stage outing at Bluesfest in 2013 left audiences buzzing.

In an interview from Australia before the band left for a world tour that encompasses three continents, singer-percussionist Felix Riebl speculated on the ties between the Aussie band and its Canuck followers. “I think there’s a great spirit in Canada to get out and listen to music,” he said. “That seems to have been our experience. It’s been a happy surprise to find oneself amongst people who get the music.”

All it takes to appreciate Cat Empire is an open mind and a spirit of adventure. Few bands can match the breadth of this musical maelstrom, which starts with jazz, funk and soul, and wraps it up with Latin flourishes, ska, reggae and electro sounds. The lineup on stage consisted of eight musicians, including two vocalists, a rhythm section, keyboardist, a ‘turntablist’ and a phalanx of brass players, but as usual, no guitarist, which made for a refreshing change of pace from most touring acts.

On Tuesday, the festivities were uncorked with the pop sharpness of Brighter Than Gold, the singalong opening track from the funkalicious 2013 album, Steal the Light. Without the top hats and beaded necklaces of their videos, the band members looked rather ordinary, until they let loose. Singer-percussionist Riebl, in a cap,T-shirt and jeans, was the laidback crooner with the fluid voice, while bearded singer/trumpeter Harry J. Angus , the spotlight glinting off his muscular shoulders, was a natural as ringmaster, singing with gusto and maintaining an impeccable tone on his horn.

The band was tight, although it took a couple of songs to build momentum. By the time they hit How To Explain, the energy was bubbling and the crowd was practically vibrating, taking to heart the dancing-to-be-free instructions of Two Shoes when it came along.  Other highlights included the title track to Steal the Light, the dazzling bits of wizardry by drummer Will Hull-Brown and keyboardist Ollie McGill, and the set-closing stretch that included the keyboard-driven Wine Song, the empowering Still Young and the winding-down spirit of All Night Loud, which reflects on a night of music-making magic. It was a fitting end to a great show.

In the opening spot was Current Swell, the fast-rising B.C. band that is on the verge of becoming bigger than Cat Empire, at least in Canada. While the two bands have a long history of touring together, things didn’t quite gel for the Swell on this night, possibly due to technical difficulties. Too bad, because they’ve been getting better every time they come to town, especially since the release of their superb album, Ulysses.

Shortly after the weekend fire that left 75 people homeless, the support started coming.

“I just had a gentleman from the community come in with cash in hand, wanting to help out,” said Jack Doyle, general manager of the Algonquin Students’ Association.

Fire engulfed an apartment complex at Deerfield Drive on Saturday. Most of the 75 residents displaced were students from nearby Algonquin College.

“Our initial reaction was one of shock and profound relief that no one was hurt,” said Doyle.

Aid was on-site as soon as word got out about the fire. Laura Stanbra, vice-president of student services at Algonquin, said employees jumped right in to help people.

“Our director was out at Walmart at 10 o’clock at night with students, looking for bed sheets, toothbrushes and other supplies while our general manager was holding down the fort,” said Stanbra. “They knew that students were leaving with only the clothes on their backs.”

Although no one was hurt, the complex was extensively damaged.

Minto, the building’s landlord, couldn’t confirm when people might be allowed back in to retrieve their things. A few residents will have nothing to return to.

“There are some units completely gone,” said George Van Noten, Minto’s senior vice-president of property operations.

The building remained closed on Monday while investigators tried to determine the cause of the fire.

In the meantime, Minto and Algonquin have been providing temporary housing for those left homeless. Thirty-eight students are now living in campus residences. Others have moved in with relatives.

Algonquin was also offering students financial assistance and counselling, and student groups and community organizations, such as the Salvation Army, have also pitched in.

Students from the Algonquin Food Cupboard have offered food donations. The college’s veterinary program volunteered to take in people’s pets because the school’s residences have a no-animals policy.

The biggest concern for a lot of student now is exams. Some students lost all their notes, textbooks, and laptops in the fire.

“They’ve worked all year and now it’s the final crunch time,” said Stanbra.

Algonquin is allowing students to defer their exams to reduce some of the stress, and for those who are taking the tests, the college is lending them laptops.

“Algonquin is being very flexible in giving students anything they need to get to the finish line,” said Doyle.

Stanbra said that the students she’s been seeing have been calm and collected. “They’ve handled it extremely well. I don’t know if I would have handled it as well.”

With summer break approaching, students have an opportunity to consider their next steps. Minto has extended its hours and has additional staff available to talk to people about leasing options.

twitter.com/tanyakirnishni

tkirnishni@ottawacitizen.com

Bonnie Seguin was still in her bathrobe when she opened the front door for police.

They weren’t there to say good morning, and the tactical officer leading the charge yelled for her to get on the ground. In terror, she dropped to the floor only to be ordered — at gunpoint — to crawl on her stomach. Then, she says, the unidentified officer kicked her legs apart and stood over her with his assault rifle trained at her head, telling her to stay face down on the floor.

She was then handcuffed, and when she asked why she was being arrested, an Ottawa police officer told her: “You are a f-cking pedophile — you know what the charges are, pervert.”

This account of a Feb. 4, 2014, police raid at the Seguins’ home is contained in the family’s lawsuit against the Ottawa Police Service. In the statement of claim, several family members are alleging assault, unlawful arrest and false imprisonment. None of the allegations has been proven in court, and Ottawa Police Services Board chairman Eli El-Chantiry declined to comment on the case because it’s before the courts.

The tip that sparked the investigation came on May 9, 2013, when Microsoft reported that 89 child porn images had been uploaded from an online hosting site linked to an IP address at a home in Greely. Nine months later, police executed a search warrant at the Seguin residence, home to several people — including tenants in two apartment units.

The Seguin family says police trashed their home — even breaking down doors that were unlocked. Seguin says she gave police the passwords to all the computers seized from the home and told them where they could find the router. None of the computers or electronic devices seized from the home contained any child pornography.

“She was at all times as co-operative as she could be,” the statement of claim says. “Nevertheless, she was handcuffed, assaulted, treated with the utmost disrespect, and, although there was no need to do so, doors were deliberately broken and smashed down, rather than simply opened,” the claim says.

Her treatment at the hands of Ottawa police “amounted to nothing less than gratuitous bullying for whatever perverse motives Officer John Doe may have had,” the lawsuit alleges.

Seguin says the police raid has left her traumatized. She suffers from severe depression, is now tearful much of the time, and any sound or sight that reminds her of the 2014 raid triggers panic, according to the statement of claim.

Seguin was not charged with any crime and was not taken into custody. During her arrest, her bathrobe had opened, and when a handcuffed Seguin asked the unidentified officer to close it, he refused. And when another member of the SWAT team picked up a quilt and suggested he use it to cover her, the officer refused to do so, the statement of claim says.

Another officer told him to “zip it” when he allegedly started calling her vulgar names, the statement says.

The only other person home at the time of the raid was Seguin’s nephew, Joel Seguin. They roused him from sleep, handcuffed him and showed him the back of a police cruiser as neighbours stood outside watching, according to the lawsuit.

“I felt exploited,” Joel Seguin said in an interview. Police held him in a cell at the Elgin Street headquarters for 12 hours and let him go without charge, according to the lawsuit.

Moments before the raid, police saw Seguin’s son leaving for school. They followed Justin Seguin and later arrested him in the Algonquin College parking lot. He was also held for 12 hours and released without charge. The police — without a warrant — seized a thumb drive, iPhone and a laptop from his backpack, according to the statement of claim.

Police didn’t find any child pornography on his phone or thumb drive. Police still don’t know about the laptop; they told an Ottawa judge in March they had been trying “24/7″ ever since without success to crack the student’s 26-digit alphanumeric password. The judge granted police another 12 months to try to break the code.

The judge also ruled that though the police didn’t have a warrant to seize his laptop, the search was justified because there was a “realistic risk that any evidence contained on the hard drive would have been destroyed before the police had the time to obtain a warrant.”

Because of the urgent circumstances, the judge ruled there was no Charter breach. Breach or not, the judge said, she would not have returned the laptop either way.

Bonnie Seguin, her son Justin and nephew Joel, are all named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which seeks $450,000, against the Ottawa Police Service, Det. Tami Casselman, and “Officer John Doe”, a member of the force’s SWAT team. The owners of the house are also named as plaintiffs and are suing for $10,000 to cover the damage allegedly caused by police during the raid.

The city has filed a notice of intent to defend.

gdimmock@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/crimegarden

Sitting in her living room, her blue hair in a bun, Latoya Chevannes strikes a different figure than most cops on the beat, but she believes it to be a good thing — different people mean different perspectives.

Chevannes, 20, just finished her police foundations program at Algonquin College and will receive the Thomas G. Flanagan Scholarship on Tuesday night at the Community Police Awards Ceremony. The $1,500 scholarship is awarded to a police foundations student who is a racialized woman who has expressed interest in joining the Ottawa Police Service. She’ll use the money to go back to school to study criminology at Carleton University, where she intends to apply.

Her part-time job at fast-food restaurant A&W doesn’t get her very far since she spends a big chunk of her time volunteering — at places such as the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Christie Lake Kids, and St. Vincent Hospital.

Chevannes grew up in a single-parent home. Her father lives in Ottawa, but he’s not an influence.

“It sucks that my dad is not there, but still I’m not going to let that keep me down from getting my dream job or getting where I want to be,” she said.

It’s been a challenge from the beginning of her life.

“I was alone when I had her, and ever since it was just me and her,” said her mother, Simone Chevannes. “I had to teach her to ride a bike, to skate … ”

“All the things you would expect from a dad,” Latoya said. Things her mother didn’t even know how to do herself.

“I taught her to be her own person and follow her dreams,” Simone said. At the top of that list is becoming a police officer.

Insp. Pat Flanagan will be on hand for the award presentation. A police officer for more than three decades, he is working in the east division district directorate.

Flanagan’s path to policing was quite different from the one Chevannes is on.

“A lot of influence, right from the beginning,” he said.

Flanagan’s is the most storied policing family in the city’s history. The scholarship, named after his father, former chief Thomas Flanagan, speaks to that history and what has been widely regarded as his dad’s foresight into what those who vow to serve and protect would eventually have to be to their communities.

Pat’s brothers Mike and Steve became cops, too. Mike is a superintendent and Steve a retired sergeant. Brother Curt is a Crown attorney in Brockville and nephew Avery, Thomas Flanagan’s grandson, is a patrol officer.

Pat’s mother Alma encouraged them all and was the backbone of a family committed to the community. Both Thomas and Alma died in 2002, just three months apart.

“I watched my father throughout the years, and some of the stories he brought home, we listened around the table with great interest.”

He took with him his father’s simple philosophy on the job: “Police work is really all about helping people.”

His dad was a compassionate cop — even the suspects he collared thought so. A convicted armed robber would bring his Christmas greeting in person to the Flanagan home in Overbrook for years.

“He knew police work was not just about chasing and catching bad guys and putting them in jail,” Flanagan said. “But there’s always ordinary problems with ordinary people.”

His father built bridges with communities and the scholarship is a testament to that vision and legacy, Flanagan said. He developed race-relations training for officers, insisting that they reach out to the gay and lesbian communities.

The application essays for the scholarship usually touch on how important it is for Ottawa police to have genuine conversations with people who have been marginalized.

“That’s who my father was,” Flanagan said.

Of the 22 women who have received the scholarship, Chevannes included, only two have ever gone on to work for Ottawa police. One went on to work for another force.

“The face of our community is changing drastically,” said Const. Yolande Jaques of the diversity and race relations section, which awards the scholarship.

By 2031, 36 per cent of Ottawa’s population will be non-white. Right now, it’s about 19 per cent.

“Let’s face it. It’s been a male-dominated profession for quite a while,” Jaques said.

Chevannes was chosen because she was driven, and continued to apply despite not getting the award when she first applied last year.

Sometimes even drive is not enough, especially in a competitive market where hiring has been frozen for years. The force continues its efforts to recruit women — hosting women-only information sessions and fitness-prep. It’s unclear where the disconnect is between interest and the number of women being hired. Are women not meeting the standards required to be hired? Or are they moving on to other job possibilities in greater numbers than their male counterparts?

Flanagan is clear: The scholarship is a great tool, but it’s not the only one. Work still needs to be done.

The force also continues to combat traditional thinking ingrained in both policing culture and the cultures of racialized women that policing isn’t a job for women of colour.

It’s a reality not lost on Chevannes.

“I know it’s hard for people of my ethnicity and other ethnicities to get into policing, but in the end, I know what I want.”

syogaretnam@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/shaaminiwhy

Outside Algonquin College’s Perth campus, 16 sweaty students in hard hats are wielding chisels and stubby hammers in the hot sun to cut and tap together 24 tonnes of limestone into a sturdy dry stone wall.

“Structurally, this is going to last hundreds of years. It will be here for our grandkids and their grandkids,” says Darrin MacDonald,  co-ordinator of the college’s heritage and traditional masonry program and foreman on the all-male crew who are building the 40-foot-long wall as a class project.

Each stone must be cut to fit, then smaller rocks are packed into every gap and crevice to bind the wall together.

A masonry technique that was commonly used to enclose farm fields and church cemeteries in early Ireland and Scotland, dry stone walls are built by hand without mortar. Instead, slabs of rock are pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, then packed tightly with smaller stones — called harding — to fill all gaps and crevices. Large slabs — known as through stones — will sit across the top of the stacked rock to pull together both sides of the wall.

Darrin MacDonald, co-ordinator of Algonquin’s heritage masonry course, walks down the centre of the wall to check for wobbly stones.

“The wall works on friction. The more friction you have (between the stones), the stronger the wall is,” says MacDonald, a licensed mason who has been teaching at Algonquin for 11 years.

To test its strength, he walks down the centre of the wall to check for wobbly stones. “No stone should move if it’s packed right. The more contact the stones have, the stronger the bond.”

Hank Purcell came all the way from Baltimore to take the 45-week heritage masonry course at Algonquin in Perth.

With no shade to shield him from the sweltering rays, Hank Purcell crouches over a hefty slab of limestone, carefully chiselling along the thick edge to create a perfect right angle. If all goes as planned and the slab doesn’t crack or split, it will form the corner stone on the end column — known as a cheek — built to stabilize the three-foot high wall.

Purcell, 23, came from Baltimore to take the masonry course, which had previously been a two-year program, but was condensed to 45 weeks this year. When it wraps up in August, he’s hopeful he’ll land a job “anywhere” doing restoration work.

MacDonald says most of his graduating students get jobs on Parliament Hill or work as apprentice masons. Depending on their experience and skills, stone masons can make anywhere from $16 to more than $50 an hour, he says.

Cutting stone by hand, student Chad Dagenais risks nicking his fingers or getting blood blisters, two common hazards for masons.

But the centuries-old trade is not for the faint of heart.

“You’ve got to have a bit of muscle,” says MacDonald, who estimates some of the larger stones strewn across the college lawn weigh 60 pounds each. “You also need to have a good eye for stone work and patience for good detail.”

And calluses, nicked fingers and painful blood blisters are all common hazards of the labour-intensive work, he says.

“There’s no filler (binding the stones together). Just a bit of blood,” quips MacDonald. “Everyone’s DNA is on this wall.”

Darrin MacDonald was hired to build a dry stone wall in front of an 1830s home in Merrickville.

For more information about the heritage and traditional masonry course, visit algonquincollege.com/perth-ce .

It’s Sunday afternoon at Vancouver International and Rand Peppler is headed home to Los Angeles after a short visit with family.

At the gate, “Rand Peppler” is what his Canadian passport says and what he answers to with immigration officials, as well as family and friends back home in Ottawa, where he’s better known as the co-founder of defunct ’80s indie band, the Randypeters.

But south of the 49^th, he has a whole other story. And a whole other name.

Down in Los Angeles, Rand Peppler is Pilot Peppler: innovator, entrepreneur, creator of PilotWare — widely viewed as the biggest software innovation in TV — and the man Kevin Hamburger, CBS supervising producer for Daytime Emmy-nominated program, The Talk, refers to as “the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain.”

Not bad for a guy whose computer training and post-secondary education ended after one bleak year at Algonquin College, after which he dropped out to form the Randypeters with childhood friend, Piet Botman, Gilles Mantha and the late Derek Campfield.

“I always say the only thing they taught me at Algonquin that I still use today is that the star symbol means multiplication,” laughs Peppler, 51, who was handed the moniker Pilot by friends when he first moved to Los Angeles.

Waiting for Ellen: Pilot Peppler has a deal developing with the makers of the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Still, something must have stuck. His software system is now used on The Apprentice, Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, Hollywood Game Night, Jimmy Kimmel Live and at least 500 other programs. He’s helped Sean Connery’s production company get up to speed and is working with Warner Bros and Ellen DeGeneres on a new game show.

And yet PilotWare came into being, in a sense, because of his crappy handwriting.

After breaking up the band in 1989 — they recorded two albums in their heyday and have since played two reunion gigs — Peppler headed west, eventually landing in California where a mail order business hired him to stuff marketing envelopes, a decision the owner initially regretted.

“One day she said, ‘I need to talk to you. Your handwriting is atrocious and I feel bad sending out this material to customers,’” he recalls. “I thought she was going to fire me, but instead she said, ‘I am going to buy a computer so you can figure out how to print labels.’”

Within a year, he’d automated the company and developed a system for tracking the return on advertising investment that so impressed clients, they hired him to do the same for them. From there, he started PilotWare, initially writing customized software for the kinds of businesses you’d expect in L.A. — mostly cosmetic surgeons and yoga studios — until one day, he realized that until he moved into ‘vertical marketing’ or developing one product adapted for one industry, he’d never make real money.

And that’s when his first big break showed up in the form of a TV game show called Debt, hosted by Tic Tac Dough’s Wink Martindale. The show was desperate for a way to track questions and answers for contestants, while other shows were looking for a way to easily and quickly search through hours of VHS.

“I got there and I thought they’d have their act together in TV. But they were basically planning to put their questions on cue cards. I realized there was nobody else doing what I could do in this field — this was the vertical market I needed. I pretty much decided I would change how the television industry runs. I never worried about having qualifications because I came into this knowing it was a new world, so I had no problem going to an executive producer and saying, ‘I don’t understand this or that.’ There weren’t any rules yet; I was inventing things as I went along.”

It’s a bit of a cowboy mentality, but one Peppler has admired from his earliest days of attending first Ashbury, then Colonel By High School, where he learned to play guitar and was a nationally ranked competitive swimmer.

Endlessly curious and fascinated by trivia, he would spend hours with friends watching Jeopardy, a show he later revolutionized with his software.

And for the TV industry, ‘revolutionized’ is hardly overstating the impact. Unbelievable as it seems now, it wasn’t that long ago that reality TV programs, game shows and talk shows had to manually search through hours of footage to find key moments. For example, Survivor might shoot 5,000 hours of footage to get 13 hours of content, all of which has to be edited. With PilotWare, producers can access cross-referenced footage and other information so that it can be quickly searched and updated in real time, from their desktop.

No wonder then that by the time Peppler signed up in the summer 1999 to manage Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s massive catalogue of questions, answers and footage, the industry was beating a path to his door. And for good reason, says Jimmy Kimmel Live producer, David Craig.

“The interconnectivity and integrated systems of PilotWare has transformed the culture of our production because we all operate as one large, interconnected and interdependent system that all pulls on the rope at the same time. Anything I want to know or see about anything we have ever done on our 2000-plus shows lives on PilotWare,” says Craig. “Pilot is the magician behind PilotWare.”

Although he’s met a few of the celebrities who’s shows he’s helped — Howie Mandel is “just a normal guy”, Donnie Osmond is “the most unpretentious, down-to-earth person” and Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler “had the greatest way to defuse my ‘Oh My God It’s the Fonz’ into ‘Henry’s Just a Guy’” — his next big thrill is more about expansion than being star struck.

As more and more TV shows become franchises, led by the ground-breaking business model of Millionaire, it seems PilotWare is about to go global.

“It’s hard to roll out software internationally because a US show might spend $20,000 on software, but that’s the whole budget for a show in Portugal. But as these franchises go international, we’ll be part of the package. Before long, we’ll be in 20 countries. And that’s pretty exciting for a kid from Ottawa.”

More than 1,200 former Algonquin College students may have had their personal information — including their social insurance numbers — compromised back in December, the school confirmed Friday.

One of Algonquin’s computer servers was hacked around six months ago and the school is now offering to pay for credit checks to ensure students have not been victims of identity theft.

The college confirmed they suspected suspicious activity in December 2014, but “did not know with certainty what was involved until they received the expert report in April 2015,” said the college’s spokesman Phil Gaudreau.

Some of the personal information that “may have been unlawfully accessed” include the student’s name, date of birth, social insurance number, student number, email and mailing address, visa status and citizenship, as well as academic history, according to a statement released by Algonquin. The files did not contain any personal health information or credit card information.

Letters are now being sent out to 1,225 students who were either in the joint Bachelor of Information Technology degree program with Carleton University from 2008 to 2012; or the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program with the University of Ottawa from 2004 to 2008, warning them their personal data may have been compromised by “unauthorized cyber intruders”.

“As soon as this discovery was made the server was shut down by the College and a security investigation was undertaken by a cyber-forensics firm,” said the statement. “Although our investigation uncovered no direct evidence that any data was actually taken, it did reveal additional intruders. Algonquin College is taking the matter seriously because some student personal information was accessible to intruders.”

The school has notified the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario about the matter they say is an “isolated incident” and that did not affect the rest of the college.

The college is covering the costs for affected students to receive credit bureau monitoring and identity theft protection. Students can 1-866-921-5763 or email roresponse@algonquincollege.com to learn about the services they are providing.

Related

• The Gargoyle – House of Commons warns its employees under cyberattack

pmccooey@ottawacitizen.com

One day after councillors voted unanimously to approve Stage 2 of Ottawa’s light rail transit project, the city has formally asked for more than $2 billion in funding from the provincial and federal governments.

The announcement was made by Mayor Jim Watson, who was accompanied by councillors, and academic, business and tourism representatives at a news conference inside Algonquin College’s Centre for Construction Excellence. The state-of-the-art building is within sight of the Baseline station and was built atop a tunnel constructed in anticipation of the coming light rail lines.

Watson underscored that the Confederation Line — the first stage of Ottawa’s LRT construction — is on time, on budget and scheduled to open in 2018. Securing the funding for Phase 2 will keep the momentum going, Watson said.

“We cannot cut short our investments for our efforts, we need to keep building east, west and south with our LRT system,” he said before giving the media a tour of the new tunnel that will replace the buses that move through the station at street level.

Stage 2 will add 30 kilometres of rail and 19 new stations to the LRT network. It would also connect the city’s four main post-secondary institutions, including Algonquin College, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and La Cité Collégiale, while bringing 70 per cent of Ottawa residents within five kilometres of a rail line.

“For a mother and father in Orléans or Nepean, it means reducing their commute time so they can spend more time at the dinner table or at their kids’ soccer games,” said Watson. “For businesses, it means a stronger, more competitive economy as Ottawa stays ahead of gridlock. ”

Phase 2 is expected to cost $3 billion, about $900 million more than the Confederation Line. The city will pay $1 billion and has now formally asked the provincial and federal governments to each contribute $1 billion. Watson says he’s confident the province is already on board for its share, given it committed to the funding during the last provincial election and the funding was “reaffirmed by the premier to me.” Watson said the city expects an answer from the federal government “within the next six months.”

In letters to Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the city also asks for help funding another $315 million to pay for two additional rail line extensions: One east to Trim Road costing $160 million and a $155-million rail line to the Ottawa’s Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. (Letters with Watson’s signature that were released to the media Thursday transposed those figures — and misspelled Macdonald as MacDonald. When contacted, an official for the mayor’s office said the letters were only drafts and the errors were corrected before being sent to Harper, Wynne and a number of area MPs and MPPs).

Zachary Dayler, executive director of the Wellington West BIA, who attended Thursday’ news conference, said expanding light rail doesn’t just cut commuter travel time, it will also encourage residents of different neighbourhoods to explore areas they may not have before.

“Something like light rail will open up those neighbourhoods to people, where it’s that idea of, ‘Let’s hop on the train, have breakfast in Wellington West, head downtown,’ ” he said. “It just opens up the city in a really exciting way.”

Ottawa dates have been set for R&B singer/rapper Akon and activist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco.

Akon, the Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling performer and producer, will play the Bronson Centre Sept. 2. Guests Karl Wolf, Bae and Peter Jackson will open the show.

The Promo tour is stopping in smaller, intimate venues to support Akon’s pending album, Stadium. The tour will also promote Akon’s charity Lighting Africa, which brings solar energy to households on the continent.

Tickets for Akon’s tour, $65 plus fees, go on sale Friday, July 24, though ticketweb.ca, or spectrasonic.com, or at the shops Vertigo Records and NRML.

Ani DiFranco is back on the road to support her new album, Allergic to Water, and will play the Algonquin Commons Theatre at Algonquin College on Sept. 18. The date falls in the middle of Cityfolk, Ottawa’s folk festival, a choice that’ll surely flummox some folk fans in the city.

Tickets for DiFranco’s show are $42.50 plus fees, and go on sale at 10 a.m., Friday, July 24 through ticketmaster.ca.

DiFranco will also play the Empire Theatre in Belleville on Sept. 17.

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