Tale of the deer who crashed an Oshawa MPP’s office and a local bar gets re-told in the Legislature

Sometimes the jokes write themselves, such as the time a couple of deer paid a visit to an MPP’s downtown Oshawa office before one decided politics is boring and headed over to a nearby bar for karaoke.

Never a dull moment in Oshawa.

The story was so good Toronto-High Park MPP Chris Glover, after hearing about the ‘Oshawa Kangaroo’ who enjoyed a weekend on the lam on the first weekend of December and citing the tale of the escaped capybaras from his riding that captivated Torontonians in 2016, wanted Oshawa MPP Jennifer French to regale the Legislature with the Feb. 10, 2019 saga of the deer who walked into a bar … after his buddy crashed through the glass window of French’s office and having a proper smash-up just for kicks.

“You talked about the Kangaroo in the Shwa,” Glover teased his NDP colleague, “But there’s another story of a deer who showed up to work that day … “

Mr. Deer went for a stroll through Oshawa MPP Jennifer French’s office one Sunday morning

So French obliged, after first being recognized by Acting Speaker Patrice Barnes (protocol, you know). “We serve all sorts in Oshawa,” French began to a few chuckles, noting that it was her staffer who got the call from police that maybe he should go to work on a Sunday morning because someone, or something, already had.

“He didn’t know what he would find but there were five or six cop cars and a deer had run through my glass window and done a lap around my office, left me a message and left again.” she said. “We saw the security footage and it was quite a day. That deer had some stories to tell.”

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French telling tales in the Legislature

There were three deer in all who were spotted downtown that day. One disappeared back into the valley lands as quickly as he appeared and another heard of his politics-loving buddy in the MPP’s office (who apparently decided he had enough excitement for one day and went back into the woods) and wanted some of that excitement in his life too,

Or maybe he was told about buck-a-beer and was just looking for a good time, so he headed into the downtown core and found a bar with a sign that said ‘Karaoke.’

Mr. Deer couldn’t read (and likely wasn’t much of a singer either) so it’s only speculation why he went into the Atria Bar & Grill that morning but French remembers hearing that one of the patrons “never missed a sip” while watching the deer wander through the bar, scaring the bejeesus out of the boss’ mom (who barricaded herself in the kitchen) in the process.

“That deer,” recalled French only half in jest, “then went on stage for four or five hours while waiting for Karaoke.”

Mr. Deer, now sedated, is off for a check-up with the vet after being banned from the Atria in Oshawa

The Ministry of Natural Resources had to be called to tranquilize the intruder, who really did go up on the stage for several hours until the arrival of the veterinarian.

And after a little TLC from the vet and a few hours rest at a local rehab centre, the deer was released back into the wilds of the Oshawa Creek with, as French notes, “plenty of stories to tell.”

French’s office was closed for a couple of days for the cleanup. The Atria? A bit of a sweep (after the boss’s mom was released from the kitchen) and they were back in business in time for the Sunday night crowd.

And nobody asked for a buck-a-beer.