Editor’s Note: This story is a part of our series, The Gift, which appeared in the March 2026 issue. Once Chris Hunt overcame his bias, he discovered a talent for connecting with those who needed it most I didn’t […]
Memoirs of a New Dad
High on the Hog
For columnist Chris Hunt, there’s no city like Ottawa — and no place like Hog’s Back Falls Boring. Pompous. Elitest. Bland. I’ve lived in the Ottawa area my entire life and people’s opinion of it seems to run the […]
You’ll get there, champ
It took some tough love from his son to get this dad on the path to good health The world is often a place of harsh truths. Like many parents, I do my utmost to cushion the hard times in my […]
The ruins
Nudists, caterpillars and blisters, oh, my! It’s all in a day’s hike for this columnist When asked where my favourite place to hike around Ottawa is, I’ll usually lie and say Hogsback. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hogsback. There’s […]
It’s the little things
It doesn’t take much to teach kids how to give back My son Riley was kneeling in a sea of shredded Christmas paper and discarded ribbons. In front of him, a small mountain of toys loomed. Nestled around him was […]
Unscripted opportunities
Adding a dash of fun to a daily routine is the key to a stable, happy life during the pandemic It’s so dark I can barely see my son. The faint flickering from the streetlamps below barely find their way […]
New school, new experiences
Changing schools was tough for a young Chris Hunt. Decades later, his son potentially faces the same situation […]
Adventures of yesteryear
Columnist Chris Hunt recalls a favourite pre-COVID destination I had a brief conversation with my son Riley recently that quietly broke my heart. I’d been both working from home and homeschooling Riley for a few weeks, and I was […]
Parenting outside the box
When I was young, I came into possession of a worn copy of the Faber Book of Reportage. Nestled within its brittle pages, I found a most intriguing instance of creative parenting, dating back some 500 years. It was a […]
Stranded!
With nowhere to go, columnist Chris Hunt finds himself right where he belongs – with the people he loves Years ago, I read an autobiography of a New Zealander who decided city living was no longer what it was […]