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Of the barrels of ink newspapers have consumed fixating on Justin Trudeau — the hair, the flair, the charm, the celebrity — plenty of precious blotches were also spilled fawning over some ink of his own.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is far from the only elected official in Ottawa who wears his philosophy on his sleeve.
The Haida-inspired design tattooed on Trudeau’s shoulder is said to symbolize his reverence for Canada’s indigenous people.
True to that spirit — perhaps illustrating the parallels between image and ideology, between the persona and the policies — some of his first significant acts as PM sought reparation and reconciliation.
But Trudeau isn’t the only high-profile politico strutting around town with his heart tattooed on his sleeve.
There are other politicians who sport their ink with pride, each carrying its own special significance, and each piece with its own tale to tell.
We asked some members of Parliament and Ottawa councillors to share their stories.
With her chic style, purple-streaked hair and four-month-old daughter, Daphnee, toddling around in a playpen or hopping in a jolly jumper in her Hill office, MP Christine Moore, 32, is helping tear down the notion of the Old Boys’ Club ruling the halls of power.
Riding the crest of Quebec’s so-called Orange Wave — which may well be seen as a distant early warning of today’s youth movement on the federal scene — Moore was first elected in 2011, and the voters of Abitibi-Temiscamingue in southwestern Quebec sent her back to the Hill in 2015, despite the lengthy break she took from the campaign trail to give birth to her daughter.
She rolls up her sleeve, and throws down the gauntlet.
Abitibi-Temiscamingue MP Christine Moore: Always ready to do battle.
The tattoo she sports features a coat of arms and traditional fencing weapons the épée, foil and sabre she once wielded in her former life in competitive fencing. The slogan inscribed below — inked on her left arm when she was a 19-year-old working as a medical technician at a Quebec military camp — translates from the French as “Always ready to fight.”
She wastes no time proving that motto hasn’t lost any of its lustre in the transition to her new role — and has indeed taken on a whole new significance — when she publicly challenges Trudeau to a fencing duel.
“I tried to get (Conservative MP) Pierre Poilievre for two years to accept my challenge, but he would never agree to it,” Moore laughs. “Maybe some day the prime minister will agree to a sabre fight with me — I would issue the challenge.”
Taking on men in the ring, whether the fencing ring or the political one, is nothing new for Moore, and the tattoo she proudly displays plays a big part in her story.
“Fencing was a sport that was not very permissive to women … it took a long time for fencing to open up to women everywhere,” Moore says.
At first, she explains, women were only allowed to compete with foil — considered primarily a practice weapon — and while male Olympians had been fencing with all three weapons since the turn of the century, it wasn’t until the 1996 Atlanta Games that the sport’s governing body allowed women to duel with the épée.
Until the 2000 Sydney Games, women were barred from using the sabre.
“Only a few women in Canada were doing that (sabre fencing) at the time, often we were only six or eight for tournaments. So, often we would compete against the men, to make sure we’re practising and getting better by competing against different opponents.”
It’s the same sort of competition she continues to face in her political career, and that “always ready to fight” creed applies now, more than ever.
“For me, it was never to mean ‘always ready to fight’ in terms of a physical confrontation,” Moore says.
“It means always ready to fight for what you think, what you trust in, for your values. It’s a way to stand up on your feet when something bad happens in your life, to say, ‘OK, it’s not a good day, but I can continue my work.’ Maybe that’s why I survived a delivery in the middle of a campaign, I have that way of thinking, that obstacles are sometimes a way to prove to ourselves that we are able to compete against the things we run into.
“In fencing, I had to compete against men to get better. And it’s the same thing here, and I’m not shy to say, ‘Yes, I’m a woman and I can be a good politician, just as good as you.’ It seems like (politics) is a competition — you can’t be afraid to fight for your values, and the values of the people in your riding.”
As for being part of the changing face of the Hill, Moore downplays the notion of a youth movement being a new phenomenon, pointing to her provincial counterpart, Abitibi-Ouest MNA Francois Gendron.
At 71, Gendron stands as the longest-serving member of Quebec’s national assembly, but he was first elected in 1976 at the age of 32 (coincidentally, Moore’s current vintage).
“Sometimes we keep politicians for a long time, and we forget that they might begin with careers in municipal politics, or by getting involved politics in another way in their 20s and 30s,” said Moore.
Still, she acknowledges her fresh face and fresh take has its advantages.
“I’m coming from a different experience (than the older generation of MPs), and maybe we are more able to relate to the realities people face. I still have a lot of friends who are unemployed, they’re still students or going back to school, some are young mothers.
“To have those kinds of people to relate to, I may be able to understand the impact of politics, compared to (an older politician) who might not be able to put a face on the cuts or the bad policies,” she says. “When we’re talking about bad policies, I’m able to just think about one of my friends facing a different reality.”
Conservative MP Cathy McLeod got herself inked for an entirely different, though no less significant reason.
While Moore got her tattoo at age 19 as a celebration of her former life — the symbolism carrying over to her current one — McLeod opted for a more universal symbol to celebrate her victory in the 2008 election that first sent her to the House of Commons.
“I had thought about having a tattoo before, but I had never settled on what would be the right symbol for me,” says McLeod. The choice would soon make itself clear.
In the fall of 2008 she had just turned 51. Though born and raised in Kingston — she had spent 30 years living in British Columbia, working as a registered nurse and serving as mayor of Pemberton before entering federal politics — her new gig facilitated one of her first trips to Ottawa, now her home away from home.
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod: Inspired by Ottawa’s fall colours.
“I was elected in 2008, and of course it was the fall,” she recalls. “As you walk towards the Hill, not only do you have the Peace Tower flag, the flags in front of the Supreme Court, but you also have the trees turning colour. Seeing the Canadian flags, but also the red maple leaves throughout Ottawa at that time, it just seemed like the right tattoo.”
There was no fanfare, no great anticipation, no sense of trepidation, and virtually no advance planning required as she picked out one of the many Rideau Street ink-slingers (she can’t recall precisely which parlour) and walked out a little while later, her shoulder adorned with a small red maple leaf on a bed of green foliage.
“I was walking down Rideau Street one day, and it was very impulsive, very spontaneous. I just walked in and told them what I wanted and walked out a little while later,” she says.
“I got it as my symbol of pride and patriotism, and being very thrilled with my new role in the world.”
If she worried at first what her husband, Gord, or their three young adult children might think, she needn’t have.
“Two of my three children have tattoos, and I think they just laughed at it more than anything. They just thought it was interesting that Mom had decided to get a small tattoo.”
Now, with another significant milestone approaching, McLeod is considering a small enhancement that would speak to that same sense of pride and patriotism.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I was wondering if I might do a small enhancement to celebrate our 150th anniversary. I’m not sure what yet, but it might be nice to do a little something to celebrate 150.”
At the age of 40, Osgoode Coun. George Darouze decided what he wanted for his birthday was a tattoo.
So that’s what he gave himself, and loves the gift, proudly displaying a scorpion on his back.
“The scorpion is my astrology sign. I was 40 and every man goes through a mid-life crisis! Some men get a bike or something like that. I talked to my wife and she was OK with it, better that than a woman!” he joked in a recent interview.
He thought about a variety of ideas for his tattoo.
“I thought about it a lot. You hear horrible things, some people put their wife’s name on. But things change in our life. This is my sign, I can’t change the date of my birth,” he said.
Osgoode Coun. George Darouze: ‘I talked to my wife and she was OK with it.’
It’s something he’d wanted for a long time.
“I always wanted one since I was young. I wasn’t allowed to have one. I’m Lebanese and my parents didn’t like the idea,” the now 51-year-old councillor said.
But he has absolutely no regrets.
His brother, a body builder, has several tattoos, so he spoke to him before getting it.
“He took me through the process. And he bought it for me. It was kind of like going through surgery. I was so excited. It was a big thing and I’m really happy with it.”
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney is a little more reticent than some of his colleagues to show off his tattoo.
But the politician of Irish descent eventually agrees to take his T-shirt off and display a symbol representing just that — a tasteful bright green shamrock.
It appears getting the shamrock was a little easier than convincing his wife, Jenny, of the idea.
“It took a lot of negotiating with my wife. I said I wanted to get one, convinced her it wouldn’t normally be visible,” he explained.
The shamrock is on his back shoulder.
“She likes it, well, she’s fine with it. It’s only visible at the beach or at the backyard pool.
“But no, she would never get one, never,” he admits.
For Tierney, the shamrock works perfectly.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney: A shamrock on his shoulder to honour his Irish roots.
“We always celebrate our Irish heritage. My grandfather was from the Cork region, my grandmother was from the Mayor region. We have lots of Irish pride, and I wanted to keep it simple,” he said.
In fact, he’s so proud of his Irish heritage, his son, Liam Patrick David Tierney, was born on St. Patrick’s Day.
And yes, he’s thought about getting another one, but clearly that won’t pass the marital muster.
Mention the idea of tattooed city councillors, and everyone brings up Innes Coun. Jody Mitic, who has several works of art on his body.
He’s proud of them, and happy to show them off.
“My first was a Celtic dragon. I just didn’t want tattoos for the sake of tattoos. But I was never against them,” Mitic said.
His brother was the first to choose the Celtic dragon in the 1990s, considered a symbol for the military.
Mitic soon followed suit with the dragon, followed by his sister.
Innes Coun. Jody Mitic: A soothing process.
And he hasn’t looked back from that point in his life, enjoying every tattoo and every experience of getting them inked, he says.
Each one means something to him.
He once got his name tattooed on his arm.
“I got it when I was 24, it was done before Afghanistan. I thought it all they found was my name, then they’d know it was me. Before that I wasn’t a tattoo guy,” he said.
He had his name on his arm on the day he was wounded, Jan. 11, 2007.
Mitic served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a sniper. He lost both legs in a landmine accident while fighting in the war in Afghanistan.
And he found, after that, the process of getting a tattoo was almost soothing.
“It was a bit of a healing process. One day I woke up, and decided I just had to get a tattoo,” he said, adding there are more tattoos to come.
When it comes to showing off tattoos, no one was happier to do so than Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper: Among many tattoos, the Ottawa coat of arms.
In fact, when Postmedia paid an unexpected visit to his office this week asking to see his tattoos, Leiper quickly obliged, taking off his shirt before the interview even had a chance to begin!
“I love showing my tattoos,” Leiper said.
If only all interviews were this fun — and that easy!
The first tattoo he got was a maple leaf, done in Greenwich Village. The tattoo artist had no idea what a maple leaf looked like, apparently.
On his back, he has the length of a marathon written out in script, 26 miles, 385 yards — to mark his accomplishment of running one.
But perhaps the most special tattoos is the one he had done after the election in 2014 to mark his win as councillor of Kitchissippi.
He had tattoo artist Alex Neron of Railbender Studio, someone he knows and admires, do a version of the city’s coat of arms.
“He’s a real artist, so he did it his way. And I’m pretty sure the man in the tattoo is a likeness of him! He’s a great artist,” Leiper said.
Not surprisingly, given her personality, Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney is a bit nonchalant about her tattoos.
“I really don’t have a real reason for getting what I did,” she admits.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney: A snake and a gecko, but no heavy symbolism.
Her first tattoo is on her leg, a gecko that runs down her calf.
After deciding to get a tattoo several years ago, she went through several books of tattoos and settled on the gecko, liking the way it would look going down her leg.
“I joke it only comes out in the summer,” she said.
The second tattoo is a snake, running down her arm from her elbow.
She just likes the way is looks, elongated and somehow mirroring the gecko.
McKenney jokes that her wife’s name was first done beneath the snake.
“I like to tell her that,” she laughs.
For McKenney, the tattoos are just something fun, void of any heavy symbolism.
And she does think there might just be at least one more tat in her future.
aedan.helmer@sunmedia.ca
查看原文...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is far from the only elected official in Ottawa who wears his philosophy on his sleeve.
The Haida-inspired design tattooed on Trudeau’s shoulder is said to symbolize his reverence for Canada’s indigenous people.
True to that spirit — perhaps illustrating the parallels between image and ideology, between the persona and the policies — some of his first significant acts as PM sought reparation and reconciliation.
But Trudeau isn’t the only high-profile politico strutting around town with his heart tattooed on his sleeve.
There are other politicians who sport their ink with pride, each carrying its own special significance, and each piece with its own tale to tell.
We asked some members of Parliament and Ottawa councillors to share their stories.
With her chic style, purple-streaked hair and four-month-old daughter, Daphnee, toddling around in a playpen or hopping in a jolly jumper in her Hill office, MP Christine Moore, 32, is helping tear down the notion of the Old Boys’ Club ruling the halls of power.
Riding the crest of Quebec’s so-called Orange Wave — which may well be seen as a distant early warning of today’s youth movement on the federal scene — Moore was first elected in 2011, and the voters of Abitibi-Temiscamingue in southwestern Quebec sent her back to the Hill in 2015, despite the lengthy break she took from the campaign trail to give birth to her daughter.
She rolls up her sleeve, and throws down the gauntlet.
Abitibi-Temiscamingue MP Christine Moore: Always ready to do battle.
The tattoo she sports features a coat of arms and traditional fencing weapons the épée, foil and sabre she once wielded in her former life in competitive fencing. The slogan inscribed below — inked on her left arm when she was a 19-year-old working as a medical technician at a Quebec military camp — translates from the French as “Always ready to fight.”
She wastes no time proving that motto hasn’t lost any of its lustre in the transition to her new role — and has indeed taken on a whole new significance — when she publicly challenges Trudeau to a fencing duel.
“I tried to get (Conservative MP) Pierre Poilievre for two years to accept my challenge, but he would never agree to it,” Moore laughs. “Maybe some day the prime minister will agree to a sabre fight with me — I would issue the challenge.”
Taking on men in the ring, whether the fencing ring or the political one, is nothing new for Moore, and the tattoo she proudly displays plays a big part in her story.
“Fencing was a sport that was not very permissive to women … it took a long time for fencing to open up to women everywhere,” Moore says.
At first, she explains, women were only allowed to compete with foil — considered primarily a practice weapon — and while male Olympians had been fencing with all three weapons since the turn of the century, it wasn’t until the 1996 Atlanta Games that the sport’s governing body allowed women to duel with the épée.
Until the 2000 Sydney Games, women were barred from using the sabre.
“Only a few women in Canada were doing that (sabre fencing) at the time, often we were only six or eight for tournaments. So, often we would compete against the men, to make sure we’re practising and getting better by competing against different opponents.”
It’s the same sort of competition she continues to face in her political career, and that “always ready to fight” creed applies now, more than ever.
“For me, it was never to mean ‘always ready to fight’ in terms of a physical confrontation,” Moore says.
“It means always ready to fight for what you think, what you trust in, for your values. It’s a way to stand up on your feet when something bad happens in your life, to say, ‘OK, it’s not a good day, but I can continue my work.’ Maybe that’s why I survived a delivery in the middle of a campaign, I have that way of thinking, that obstacles are sometimes a way to prove to ourselves that we are able to compete against the things we run into.
“In fencing, I had to compete against men to get better. And it’s the same thing here, and I’m not shy to say, ‘Yes, I’m a woman and I can be a good politician, just as good as you.’ It seems like (politics) is a competition — you can’t be afraid to fight for your values, and the values of the people in your riding.”
As for being part of the changing face of the Hill, Moore downplays the notion of a youth movement being a new phenomenon, pointing to her provincial counterpart, Abitibi-Ouest MNA Francois Gendron.
At 71, Gendron stands as the longest-serving member of Quebec’s national assembly, but he was first elected in 1976 at the age of 32 (coincidentally, Moore’s current vintage).
“Sometimes we keep politicians for a long time, and we forget that they might begin with careers in municipal politics, or by getting involved politics in another way in their 20s and 30s,” said Moore.
Still, she acknowledges her fresh face and fresh take has its advantages.
“I’m coming from a different experience (than the older generation of MPs), and maybe we are more able to relate to the realities people face. I still have a lot of friends who are unemployed, they’re still students or going back to school, some are young mothers.
“To have those kinds of people to relate to, I may be able to understand the impact of politics, compared to (an older politician) who might not be able to put a face on the cuts or the bad policies,” she says. “When we’re talking about bad policies, I’m able to just think about one of my friends facing a different reality.”
Conservative MP Cathy McLeod got herself inked for an entirely different, though no less significant reason.
While Moore got her tattoo at age 19 as a celebration of her former life — the symbolism carrying over to her current one — McLeod opted for a more universal symbol to celebrate her victory in the 2008 election that first sent her to the House of Commons.
“I had thought about having a tattoo before, but I had never settled on what would be the right symbol for me,” says McLeod. The choice would soon make itself clear.
In the fall of 2008 she had just turned 51. Though born and raised in Kingston — she had spent 30 years living in British Columbia, working as a registered nurse and serving as mayor of Pemberton before entering federal politics — her new gig facilitated one of her first trips to Ottawa, now her home away from home.
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod: Inspired by Ottawa’s fall colours.
“I was elected in 2008, and of course it was the fall,” she recalls. “As you walk towards the Hill, not only do you have the Peace Tower flag, the flags in front of the Supreme Court, but you also have the trees turning colour. Seeing the Canadian flags, but also the red maple leaves throughout Ottawa at that time, it just seemed like the right tattoo.”
There was no fanfare, no great anticipation, no sense of trepidation, and virtually no advance planning required as she picked out one of the many Rideau Street ink-slingers (she can’t recall precisely which parlour) and walked out a little while later, her shoulder adorned with a small red maple leaf on a bed of green foliage.
“I was walking down Rideau Street one day, and it was very impulsive, very spontaneous. I just walked in and told them what I wanted and walked out a little while later,” she says.
“I got it as my symbol of pride and patriotism, and being very thrilled with my new role in the world.”
If she worried at first what her husband, Gord, or their three young adult children might think, she needn’t have.
“Two of my three children have tattoos, and I think they just laughed at it more than anything. They just thought it was interesting that Mom had decided to get a small tattoo.”
Now, with another significant milestone approaching, McLeod is considering a small enhancement that would speak to that same sense of pride and patriotism.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I was wondering if I might do a small enhancement to celebrate our 150th anniversary. I’m not sure what yet, but it might be nice to do a little something to celebrate 150.”
At the age of 40, Osgoode Coun. George Darouze decided what he wanted for his birthday was a tattoo.
So that’s what he gave himself, and loves the gift, proudly displaying a scorpion on his back.
“The scorpion is my astrology sign. I was 40 and every man goes through a mid-life crisis! Some men get a bike or something like that. I talked to my wife and she was OK with it, better that than a woman!” he joked in a recent interview.
He thought about a variety of ideas for his tattoo.
“I thought about it a lot. You hear horrible things, some people put their wife’s name on. But things change in our life. This is my sign, I can’t change the date of my birth,” he said.
Osgoode Coun. George Darouze: ‘I talked to my wife and she was OK with it.’
It’s something he’d wanted for a long time.
“I always wanted one since I was young. I wasn’t allowed to have one. I’m Lebanese and my parents didn’t like the idea,” the now 51-year-old councillor said.
But he has absolutely no regrets.
His brother, a body builder, has several tattoos, so he spoke to him before getting it.
“He took me through the process. And he bought it for me. It was kind of like going through surgery. I was so excited. It was a big thing and I’m really happy with it.”
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney is a little more reticent than some of his colleagues to show off his tattoo.
But the politician of Irish descent eventually agrees to take his T-shirt off and display a symbol representing just that — a tasteful bright green shamrock.
It appears getting the shamrock was a little easier than convincing his wife, Jenny, of the idea.
“It took a lot of negotiating with my wife. I said I wanted to get one, convinced her it wouldn’t normally be visible,” he explained.
The shamrock is on his back shoulder.
“She likes it, well, she’s fine with it. It’s only visible at the beach or at the backyard pool.
“But no, she would never get one, never,” he admits.
For Tierney, the shamrock works perfectly.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney: A shamrock on his shoulder to honour his Irish roots.
“We always celebrate our Irish heritage. My grandfather was from the Cork region, my grandmother was from the Mayor region. We have lots of Irish pride, and I wanted to keep it simple,” he said.
In fact, he’s so proud of his Irish heritage, his son, Liam Patrick David Tierney, was born on St. Patrick’s Day.
And yes, he’s thought about getting another one, but clearly that won’t pass the marital muster.
Mention the idea of tattooed city councillors, and everyone brings up Innes Coun. Jody Mitic, who has several works of art on his body.
He’s proud of them, and happy to show them off.
“My first was a Celtic dragon. I just didn’t want tattoos for the sake of tattoos. But I was never against them,” Mitic said.
His brother was the first to choose the Celtic dragon in the 1990s, considered a symbol for the military.
Mitic soon followed suit with the dragon, followed by his sister.
Innes Coun. Jody Mitic: A soothing process.
And he hasn’t looked back from that point in his life, enjoying every tattoo and every experience of getting them inked, he says.
Each one means something to him.
He once got his name tattooed on his arm.
“I got it when I was 24, it was done before Afghanistan. I thought it all they found was my name, then they’d know it was me. Before that I wasn’t a tattoo guy,” he said.
He had his name on his arm on the day he was wounded, Jan. 11, 2007.
Mitic served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a sniper. He lost both legs in a landmine accident while fighting in the war in Afghanistan.
And he found, after that, the process of getting a tattoo was almost soothing.
“It was a bit of a healing process. One day I woke up, and decided I just had to get a tattoo,” he said, adding there are more tattoos to come.
When it comes to showing off tattoos, no one was happier to do so than Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper: Among many tattoos, the Ottawa coat of arms.
In fact, when Postmedia paid an unexpected visit to his office this week asking to see his tattoos, Leiper quickly obliged, taking off his shirt before the interview even had a chance to begin!
“I love showing my tattoos,” Leiper said.
If only all interviews were this fun — and that easy!
The first tattoo he got was a maple leaf, done in Greenwich Village. The tattoo artist had no idea what a maple leaf looked like, apparently.
On his back, he has the length of a marathon written out in script, 26 miles, 385 yards — to mark his accomplishment of running one.
But perhaps the most special tattoos is the one he had done after the election in 2014 to mark his win as councillor of Kitchissippi.
He had tattoo artist Alex Neron of Railbender Studio, someone he knows and admires, do a version of the city’s coat of arms.
“He’s a real artist, so he did it his way. And I’m pretty sure the man in the tattoo is a likeness of him! He’s a great artist,” Leiper said.
Not surprisingly, given her personality, Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney is a bit nonchalant about her tattoos.
“I really don’t have a real reason for getting what I did,” she admits.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney: A snake and a gecko, but no heavy symbolism.
Her first tattoo is on her leg, a gecko that runs down her calf.
After deciding to get a tattoo several years ago, she went through several books of tattoos and settled on the gecko, liking the way it would look going down her leg.
“I joke it only comes out in the summer,” she said.
The second tattoo is a snake, running down her arm from her elbow.
She just likes the way is looks, elongated and somehow mirroring the gecko.
McKenney jokes that her wife’s name was first done beneath the snake.
“I like to tell her that,” she laughs.
For McKenney, the tattoos are just something fun, void of any heavy symbolism.
And she does think there might just be at least one more tat in her future.
aedan.helmer@sunmedia.ca
查看原文...
