Agriculture Canada was "the envy of the world" - statement by the Hon. Eugene Whelan, Minister of Agriculture in the Government of Prime Minister Trudeau.

 AGRICULTURE CANADA RESEARCH STATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL FARMS OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA IN 1985
                                        
From: "The Canadian Encyclopedia"  1985 by Hurtig Publishers Ltd.
National Research Institutes - with headquarters in Ottawa:

1. Biosystematics Research Institute
2. Chemistry and Biology Research Institute
3. Engineering and Statistical Research Institute
4. Food Research Institute
5. Land Resource Research Institute

Agriculture Canada Experimental Farms 

1. Nappan, N.S.
2. Buctouche, N.B.
3. La Pocatiere, Quebec
4. Normandin, Quebec
5. L'Assomption, Quebec
6. Ottawa, Ontario
7. Kapuskasing, Ontario
8. Thunder Bay, Ontario
9. Smithfield, Ontario
10. Fort Vermilion, Alberta
11. Indian Head, Sask.
12. Prince George, B.C.

Agriculture Canada Research Stations

1. St. John's, Nfld.
2. Kentville, NS
3. Charlottetown, PEI
4. Fredericton, NB
5. Ste-Foy, Quebec
6. St. Jean, Quebec
7. Lennoxville, Quebec
8. Vineland, Ontario
9. Delhi, Ontario
10. Harrow, Ontario
11. Ottawa, Ontario
12. London, Ontario
13. Lethbridge, Alberta
14. Lacombe, Alberta
15. Beaverlodge, Alberta
16. Swift Current, Sask.
17. Saskatoon, Sask.
18. Melfort, Sask.
19. Regina, Sask.
20. Winnipeg, Manitoba
21. Brandon, Manitoba
22. Morden, Manitoba
23. Summerland, BC
24. Kamloops, BC
25. Vancouver, BC
26. Agassiz, BC
27. Saanichton (Sidney), BC

DECOMMISSIONED OR ANNEXED AGRICULTURE CANADA PROPERTIES
-June 24 1995 - Disposal of Swine Station, 4 Buildings and Lands, Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario.
-June 29 1995 - Disposal of Property (Land) Swine Test Station, Kitchener Ontario.
-July 1995 - Disposal of Research Station, Vegreville Alberta. (My uncle worked at the Vegreville
station for 35 years.)
-August 1995- Disposal of Property/site of old inspection station - Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
-September 1995 - Decommissioning Regina Research Station, Weeds Greenhouse.
-November 1995 - Disposal of Lots 91 and 92 - West Val Marie Irrigation Project - sale of surplus land, West Poplar, Sask.
-November 1995 - Disposal of Swine Test Station - St-Cyrille de Wendover Quebec.
-December 19, 1995 - Disposal of Swine Test Station, Brandon Manitoba.
-January 1996 - Disposal of Property/Fort Erie Inspection Station, Welland Ontario.
-February 5, 1996 - Disposal of Property/Smithfield Research Farm, Belleville, Ontario.
-February 13 1996 - Disposal of Property/ Thunder Bay Experimental Farm Ontario.
-April 1996 - Transfer sale of land to the City of Swift Current.
-April 1996 - Disposal of Property - Lavaltrie, Quebec (Land) Montreal.
-Decommissioning of federal property at Victoria, British Columbia; lease of Park to Provincial Capital Commission.
-May 30 1996 - Kentville, Nova Scotia - Disposal of Burgher Hill property.
-May 30 1996 - Kentville, disposal of Land, north of Main Street.
-May 30 1996 - Disposal of Sheffield Farm House.
-August 1996 - Decommissioning the Prince George Experimental Farm, Kamloops.
-June 16 1999 - Disposal of Ridge Farm, Harrow Ontario. (Source of information: The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website). In 1985, Agriculture Canada owned more than 1 million acres of land. The document below is from "The Nielsen Report" Library and Archives Canada:

In the year 2005, AAFC planned to decommission four experimental farms: The Atlantic Cool Crop Research Centre, St. John's NL; The Crops and Livestock Research Centre, Nappan Nova Scotia; The Cereal Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Dairy and Swine Research Centre, Kapuskasing, Ontario. (Source of info: "CBC Ottawa - Feds closing 4 Experimental Farms" February 25/05). As of August 27 2012, the Farms are still operating.
The Fraser Institute wants to see all Agriculture Canada properties in B.C. devolved to the province of British Columbia, or privatized---google the exact phrase "Introduction When a Country".

Ray Munro, one of the most decorated Canadians in history.

     Ray Munro was born in Montreal in 1921, and joined the RCAF in 1940. He later became a bush pilot and a private pilot for Robert Mitchum, Errol Flynn and Marilyn Monroe. He was awarded the Order of Canada for helping to establish the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. Captain Ray Munro was a distinguished parachute jumper and balloonist.

     In 1970, he became the first person to fly across the Irish Sea in a hot air balloon. The following pictures were taken near Dublin, Ireland in 1970:

                                      

  

Rest in pieces - demolished and abandoned national landmarks.

1. The Sir John Carling Building on Carling Avenue in Ottawa - (1967-2013).
2. The Lorne Building in Ottawa - (1961-2011).
3. The Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a CPR hotel - (1906-1971).
4. One thousand lighthouses that were declared "surplus" by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2012. Photo on the right shows Peggy's Cove (1914-   ).

 

5.   The CNR train station on Montreal Street in Kingston, Ontario. See the YouTube video "Grand

      Trunk's Kingston Station".
6.   The original Denison Armoury at CFB Toronto.
7.   Two de Havilland aircraft hangars at CFB Downsview, Toronto. (1943-2010).
8.   The Bowmanville POW Camp, which later became the Ontario Training School for Boys.
9.   The Cold War Bunkers, also known as The Diefenbunkers, were located at CFS Carp, Ontario;
      Camp Nanaimo, British Columbia; CFB Penhold, Alberta; CFB Shilo, Manitoba; CFB Borden,
      Ontario; CFB Valcartier, Quebec and CFS Debert, Nova Scotia. (from: Wikipedia). An outlaw

      motorcycle gang, possibly the Hell's Angels, wanted to buy the CFB Penhold bunker, so the

      government systematically demolished it. Photograph of the Penhold Diefenbunker:

10. Expo '67 pavilions - the most popular display was the U.S.S.R. pavilion. It was dismantled. The French and Quebec pavilions form the Casino de Montreal, while the American biodome is now the

Montreal Biosphere.

The U.S.S.R. Pavilion is now part of the All-Russia Exhibition Centre in Moscow.

                     

                        

  

Facts about Marathon Realty, the real estate arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Over 100 years ago, Sir John A. Macdonald created the Trans Canada Railroad, or the Canadian Pacific Railway. Sir John A. wanted the CPR to connect all the provinces and territories of the Dominion of Canada; and he wanted to prevent the annexation of Dominion land by the United States.
The CPR received $25 million dollars and 25 million acres of Crown land from the federal government, to build the transcontinental railway.

The SUBSIDIARY LANDS were given to the CPR to deal with as they saw fit.
The REVERSIONARY LANDS were granted solely for railway purposes, reverting to the Crown should they cease to be used for those purposes.
Instead of returning reversionary land back to the Crown, the CPR created MARATHON REALTY.  Marathon Realty acquired millions of acres of land, train stations, rights-of-way, railway lines, warehouses, roundhouses...A 125-acre CPR manufacturing and repair shop in Montreal, the Angus Shops, is now a very high-density condo, apartment and townhouse development.
Former British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell is sometimes called "The Marathon Man" because he was a Marathon real estate executive. The other Marathon Man was actor Dustin Hoffman:

Marathon Man, a 1976 movie.

The CP Tower in Calgary, Alberta is now called the Husky Tower. The Husky Tower was built on the grounds of a demolished CPR train station, and a tunnel linked the train station to the Palliser Hotel:
A multinational corporation called Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is the owner of most of Canada's CPR hotels and castles:
The Algonquin, St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
The Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, Quebec.
The Chateau Montebello, Montebello, Quebec.
The Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.
The Palliser Hotel, Calgary, Alberta.
The Chateau Lake Louise, Lake Louise, Alberta.
The Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Alberta.
The Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia.
The Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Samuel de Champlain built a fort on the site where the Chateau Frontenac Hotel is now located. The fort was built on high ground, to protect the property from invaders. But high ground could not protect the Chateau Frontenac from a foreign invasion, created by the privatization of railway property.

The Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City, Quebec.

In her books "The Rage and the Pride" and "The Force of Reason", writer Oriana Fallaci criticised the foreign takeover of landmarks and treasures in her beloved Italy. And George Jonas wrote an article called "Will we become Canarabia?" in the National Post on March 31, 2006.

Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot wrote and sang "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" about the building of the CPR, and many YouTube videos feature the song.
Many books have been written about the Canadian Pacific Railway:
The National Dream (1970) and The Last Spike (1971) by Pierre Berton.
Steel of Empire: The Romantic History of the Canadian Pacific, the Northwest Passage of Today (1935) by J.M. Gibbon.
A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1923) by H.A. Innis.
History of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1977) by W. Kaye Lamb.
Canadian Pacific: A Brief History (1968) by J.L. McDougall.
(From: The Canadian Encyclopedia by Hurtig Publishing, 1985).

The Marathon Realty property portfolio included:
Metro Centre in Toronto.
Citibank Place in Toronto.
Atria Phase 1,11,111 in Toronto.
100 boulevard Rene Levesque in Montreal.
Place Laurier in Quebec City.
Place d'Orleans
Dufferin Mall in Toronto.
Orchard Park in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Northland Village in Calgary.
Southtown lands in Toronto.
Coal Harbour in Vancouver.
Wentworth in Montreal.
The Yonge/Summerhill lands in Toronto.
Windsor Station, CPR real estate in Montreal, was sold via a Privy Council Order-in-Council:

January 28, 1993 - Heritage Railway Stations Act - Canadian Pacific Limited to sell Windsor Station and land in Montreal." The former CPR Station is a National Historic Site of Canada.

Windsor Station entrance.

    

Canadian Pacific Railway land is rich in natural resources. This is what MP John Soloman said about Canadian Pacific Limited and Marathon Realty in the House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Ontario:

 "The Liberal government and its predecessors, the Tories, allowed, persuaded and encouraged the CPR to take its Comincos, its mining companies, its Pan Canadian Oil Company, the second largest oil company in Canada and hive them off into subsidiaries, and not use those revenues or profits to sustain the railways and the transportation to western farmers, to our western population. Literally billions and billions of dollars have been hived off." (Yahoo: type in "Hansard Marathon Realty" - Edited Hansard - 1650, no. 058).

Canadian Pacific Limited owned Canadian Pacific Holdings Ltd.; Pan Canadian Petroleum and Fording Coal.
 In 1996, Marathon Realty was sold to the multinational General Electric Capital Group and to Oxford Properties, for $952 million dollars Canadian. Remember, Sir John A. Macdonald decreed that all CPR reversionary land would return to the Crown, to the people of this nation. Never happened.



Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker talking to George Shaw.

Prime Minister Diefenbaker thought orders-in-council were undemocratic

For many years, Privy Council Orders-in-Council have been used to funnel government real estate to well-connected individuals and companies, foreign and domestic.

Former Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker thought OIC's were undemocratic, and should be scrutinized by a Parliamentary Committee before they are approved. In a 1949 speech to the Empire Club at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Mr. Diefenbaker said:

     "The trend in consequence of two wars in one generation has been the direction of by-passing Parliament by passing orders-in-council which interfere with individual rights...which too often deny the right of appeal to the court."

     "There should be a standing committee of the House of Commons whose responsibility it would be to vigilantly examine and report on all orders-in-council that would diminish the freedom of the individual."

     "Without an Opposition, decision by discussion would end and would be supplanted by virtual dictatorship, for governments prefer to rule by order-in-council to Parliament, and bureaucrats prefer to be uncontrolled by Parliament or the courts."

(From an October 27, 1949 speech given by Mr. Diefenbaker to the Empire Club at the Royal York Hotel.) The former prime minister probably never dreamed that an order-in-council would give foreign billionaires ownership of the Royal York and all the other CPR and CNR hotels. At one time, a tunnel connected the Royal York to Union Station, on the opposite side of the street:



Union Station



Royal York Hotel



 The Hon. Judge Gomery said that the concentration of power in the office of the prime minister was a threat to democracy.
The Gomery Commission investigated several Crown corporations, including Canada Post and Via Rail.

 Crown corporations are run like dictatorships---the CEO's and directors never have to consult with Canadians when:

• parking lots are built on museum land. The Museum of Nature in Ottawa is going to be surrounded by asphalt parking lots, much to the chagrin of nearby homeowners. I believe the parking lots are paving the way, no pun intended, for high-rise condo developments. My sister, my niece and I visited the Museum of Nature in the summer of 1984:

• social housing, built with federal money, is privatized. Examples are Regent Park in Toronto and the Kingstonian Apartments in Kingston, Ontario.
• iconic buildings are sold. In 1985, the Mulroney government privatized the Habitat apartments in Montreal, for $10 million dollars. A few weeks later, the owner flipped the property.
• public money is transferred into foreign bank accounts.
• mail delivery to rural Canadians is discontinued. Canada Post is a national, democratic institution, a right and not a privilege.
• prime waterfront property is sold/funneled to well-connected real estate magnates. Harbourfront in Toronto is a concrete sea, the polar opposite of what Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau envisioned for the land. Hundreds of millions of taxdollars were used by the Canada Lands Company to decontaminate  CNR land and the Moncton Shops. Terry Jacks lamented the concrete sea of high-rise condos in Vancouver: "No one is meant to be living here in a concrete sea/everyone including me, wishes he could be set free".

The Consolidated Revenue Fund is an Aladdin's Treasure Chest for Crown corporation executives--- Canada Post  can borrow $500 million dollars or more from the CRF; the Royal Canadian Mint can borrow $75 million or more, and The Broadcasting Act gives the CBC the power to borrow $220 million dollars or more from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and to keep all the money from the sale of property.

Why does a foreign prince own the Queen Elizabeth Hotel?

John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded "Give Peace a Chance" on June 1, 1969 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The song became an anthem for a generation, one of the most powerful anti-war songs ever written.

Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

"Give Peace a Chance" .

       



                              

On December 22, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned to Canada and met Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The international peacemakers were very impressed by Mr. Trudeau, and Yoko Ono said:
    "Right now we are just overwhelmed meeting Mr. Trudeau because he is such a beautiful person, more beautiful than we expected." and John Lennon said:
     "We talked in generalizations...we all have views...we want hope for the future and in that respect our views are similar...Talk is the basic start to any communication." (See the YouTube video "John Lennon after meeting Prime Minister Trudeau".)

On the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon, crowds gathered at the Centennial Flame at Parliament Hill, held candles and sang "Give Peace a Chance and "Imagine".  People sang "Give Peace a Chance" at the Moratorium to End the War in Viet Nam during the 1970's; and at the Occupy Wall Street encampments. I find it bitterly ironic that Carl Icahn, the Wall Street investor, owned the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where "Give Peace a Chance" was recorded. Gordon Gekko, a character in the movie "Wall Street" is based on Carl Icahn.

Actor Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, who uttered the immortal words "Greed is good".

The Chateau Laurier, Jasper Park Lodge, Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton, Newfoundland Hotel, the Bessborough in Saskatoon, the Hotel Beausejour in Moncton and the Hotel Vancouver should belong to  Canadians not to foreign billionaires, who have have no respect or love for Canada's history and its people. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal supposedly rescued the Fairmont Hotel chain.

Canada is not the only country in the world that is selling its cultural history to the highest bidder.Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promised that he would not sell the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Uffizi Gallery; but everything else was up for grabs--an 800-page document listed beaches, the island of Pinosa; the San Vittore Prison in Milan, Italy; archaeological sites, museums, castles, the remains of Villa Jovis, where Emperor Tiberius stayed in Capri...(see The Colosseum is not (yet) for sale-The Economist-November 28 2002.)

Larco Investments, owned by the Lalji Family, formerly of Uganda, bought the following buildings:
Joseph Shepard Building in Toronto
 Thomas D'Arcy McGee Building in Ottawa - Canadian politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation, was assassinated in 1868 near the site of the McGee building.
Sinclair Centre in Vancouver
Government of Canada Building at 401 Burrard in Vancouver
Harry Hays Building in Calgary, Alberta
Canada Place in Edmonton, Alberta
The Skyline Complex in Nepean, Ontario
The Revenue Canada Building in Montreal
RCMP Headquarters in Montreal. 
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) was opposed to the sale of the federal buildings, see the YouTube video "PSAC National President John Gordon delivers speech". NDP MP Peggy Nash said:
     "Our job representing Canadians on the Government Operations and Estimates Committee is to ensure that spending from the federal government is in the best interests of Canadians. We are the democratic custodians and stewards of the tax dollars paid by Canadians. So you would think, that with a sale like this, hundreds of millions of dollars of Canadians assets, public assets, that we would be informed as to the details of such a huge sale that is going to affect the well-being of Canadians. Why do I say the well-being of Canadians? Well, because not only us, but our parents and grandparents have worked very hard over the years and our tax dollars have paid for the buildings, for the assets of the people of Canada. These are our buildings."

Old Toronto Post Office/Old Bank of Canada National Historic Site - Canadian financier E.P Taylor bought the federal building in 1959; the building became the headquarters of Argus Corporation. The Greek Revival building later became headquarters of Hollinger Inc.

The Expo '86 land - A Hong Kong billionaire bought the Expo '86 land in Vancouver,175 acres, for a bargain price.
.
-1984 Report of the Auditor General of Canada
Chapter 6
Management of Real Property
6.90 - Reversionary interests under the National Parks Act - In December 1980, the Department of Justice advised Parks Canada that the Crown had a reversionary interest under the National Parks Act in certain lands situated in the Banff National Park townsite and owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The property is part of the former CPR station grounds. It consists of several hectares in downtown Banff and, based on appraisals of similar properties in Banff, it has a value of over $1 million.
6.91 - According to the Department of Justice, the property, although owned by the CPR, is subject to a reversionary interest on the part of the Crown pursuant to Section 6 of the National Parks Act, which states that if any lands in Federal Parks granted for "right-of-way or station grounds cease to be used for that purpose, they shall revert to the Crown."

The town of Banff, Alberta.

-1984 Report of the Auditor General of Canada
6.82 - Lands entrusted to Canadian National Railway (CN)

The  Canadian National Railway Act of 1919 gave the government the power to entrust the management and operation of certain lands to CN. According to an inventory prepared by CN in 1979, the entrusted lands total some 32,000 hectares. In 1980, the Department of Transport reported that the total value of the entrusted lands and railway equipment was $820 million. That report did not provide separately the value of the lands and equipment.




             

Canada's Coat of Arms will be removed from Government Buildings

August 2, 2005 - The Government of  Canada is planning to remove Canada's Coat of Arms from the 365 office buildings that the feds are planning to denationalize. (See "Should Canada's Coat of Arms be Removed upon Disposal of Federal Buildings?"-The Edifice Complex - Volume 6 - Number 2; July 2005 Treasury Board).

    This impending desecration of Canada's most historic buildings --- the removal of our Maple Leaf Flag and national crest ---is similar to the actions of the Barbarians when they conquered foreign countries.
     According to "The Canadian Encyclopedia" by Hurtig Publishing Ltd.:
     "Heraldry - An arrow showing direction elicits no emotional response, but grasping the symbolic value of a flag requires emotional involvement: pride, devotion, patriotism or admiration." Author - Auguste Vachon. Reading: C. Swan, Canada: Symbols of Sovereignty (1977).

     The Americans have tremendous respect for their national symbols - one of the most famous photographs in history shows American soldiers planting an American Flag at Iwo Jima.
     The American Pledge of Allegiance begins with the words:
     "I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag, of the United States of America..." American schoolchildren stand and recite the Oath of Allegiance every morning before class, with the right hand placed over the left chest, the heart.
     When medals are handed out at Olympic Games, athletes often cry, when they stand on the podium and see their country's flag raised, and their national anthem is played.
     American astronauts planted "Old Glory" on the moon;  and every American government building---post office, FBI Building, national museum, court house...the list goes on...proudly displays an American Flag.
     During Canada's Centennial Year, 1967, my classmates and I sang "O Canada" and "God Save the Queen" every morning before class, and "Ca-na-da" by Bobby Gimby was added to the repertoire during assemblies. Many YouTube videos feature "Ca-na-da".

     In 1967, I lived in the "Dominion of Canada", and Dominion Day was celebrated every July 1st. The word Dominion means "sovereignty, control...the territory of a sovereign or a government."  The Coat of Arms of Canada is present on paper currency, 50 cent coins and the cover of Canadian passports. 

The Coat of Arms of Canada.







Queen Elizabeth 11 and The Duke of Edinburgh at Expo '67.

Federal laws encourage the sale of Crown corporations, museum property and government real estate.

 The National Capital Act (1985) - 10. (2) The Commission may, for the purposes of this Act,  (b) sell, grant, convey, lease or otherwise dispose of or make available to any person any property, subject to such conditions as it considers necessary or desirable.
(The Greenbelt that surrounds Ottawa was envisioned by a French planner, Jacques Greber, as a memorial, a living tribute to Canada's war dead. Yet the City of Ottawa is already planning massive residential and commercial developments on Greenbelt land:
     "The City of Ottawa White Paper, Development in the Greenbelt, proposes to develop up to 25% of the Greenbelt for residential development; as well, the Ottawa Airport Master Plan suggesting business parks and other commercial developments in the Greenbelt, some of them in wetland areas. "(From: April 2010 the FLASH, www.trendarlington.ca.)

Broadcasting Act (1991) - 48 (1) - subject to subsection (2) the Corporation may purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any real or personal property that the Corporation deems necessary or convenient for carrying out its objects and may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of any property or any property acquired by it. (Glenn Gould recorded albums at the CBC Jarvis Street Complex in Toronto. The huge parking lot at CBC Headquarters in Vancouver B.C. was sold to a Hong Kong developer, who constructed TV Tower 1 and TV Tower 2 on the land.)

The Teleglobe Canada Reorganization and Divestiture Act - (1987).

The Telesat Canada Reorganization and Divestiture Act  (1991) ( The Trudeau government created the ANIK satellite in 1972. ANIK is an Inuit word meaning "little brother").

The Surplus Crown Assets Act (1985) - Surplus Property - 3. (b) subject to such terms and conditions as the Treasury Board may prescribe, sell, exchange, transfer to another department, lease, lend or otherwise dispose of or deal with the assets, either gratuitously or for consideration.
( Nine hundred-acre military bases and government buildings are classified as "Surplus Crown Assets". ORDER-IN-COUNCIL - October 23, 1986 - Surplus Crown Assets Act - the former CFS FALCONBRIDGE. Authority for the Minister to sell 259 ha. of land to General Leaseholds Ltd.


ORDER-In-COUNCIL- March 10, 1994 - Financial Administration Act - Agreement with the University of London Library - transfer to the University Library the title and possession of the Canada House Library Collection at the Canadian High Commission in London, England.

1992 June 29 - TB - Surplus Crown Assets Act - Sale to the City of Montreal of some 14 hectares of surplus land in Lafontaine Park, Montreal, Quebec.

 Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act (1985) - 6. A railway company that plans  (a) to remove, destroy or alter or to sell, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of a heritage railway station owned by it or otherwise under its control - shall file an application for authorization to do so with the Minister...
(During the 1990's there were plans to convert Union Station in Ottawa into a hockey museum. The building is still owned by the  government. Railway stations were converted into banquet halls, museums,, day care centres...)

Union Station in Ottawa, Ontario.

Union Station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Museums Act (1990) - The National Gallery of Canada, The Canadian Museum of Civilization, The Canadian Museum of Nature and the National Museum of Science and Technology may:...sell, exchange, give away, destroy or otherwise dispose of objects of historical or cultural interest and other museum material in its collection and use any revenue therefrom to further its collection.


National Arts Centre Act (1985) - 10. In carrying out its objects under this Act, the Corporation may (b) acquire by gift, bequest or devise real, personal, movable and immovable property, and, despite anything in this Act, expend, administer or dispose of any such property, subject to the terms, if any, on which it was given, bequeathed or devised to the Corporation.

Canada Post Corporation Act (1985) - Property - 16 (2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Corporation may acquire, hold, lease, sell or dispose of any real or personal property. In 1984, Canada Post owned 2,200 buildings, worth $1.4 billion dollars, see the 1984 Auditor General of Canada Report, Chapter 13.

Forestry Act (1985) - The Governor in Council may establish a Forest Experimental Area and may withdraw lands or add lands to a Forest Experimental Area.

Canadian National Parks Act (2000) - "public lands" means lands, that belong to Her Majesty in right of Canada or that the Government of Canada has the power to dispose of, whether or not such disposal is subject to the terms of any agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of a province.

The Experimental Farm - an urban oasis

     The people of Canada own the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa---not federal politicians, bureaucrats or real estate developers. The Farm is an urban oasis, a "country in the city" "a museum without walls"...and a developers dream. In 1975, a former head of the National Capital Commission wanted to see 7,000 housing units on 700 acres of  CEF land. The project never materialized, thanks to Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan, "Save the Experimental Farm" and many other concerned individuals and groups.

     In 1965, my classmates and I visited the Experimental Farm, and we were fascinated by the Dominion Observatory---the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles is featured in the James Dean/Natalie Wood movie "Rebel Without A Cause":



The Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Ontario---a Classified Heritage Building that a former government wanted to demolish.

Federal officials said in 1998 that the Farm may be radically changed, and there could be major controversies.  What does the term "radical changes" mean? A chain link fence barring the public from the grounds? A major selloff? Demolitions?

In 1983, the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa encompassed 1,200 acres of land. The Clyde/Merivale lands were sold to a developer.

 The public was barred from the grounds of Rideau Hall from 1986 until 1990, when the new Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Ray Hnatyshyn reopened the gates.

      Will joggers, bird watchers, dog walkers, bicyclists...have to pay admission fees?

 A few weeks ago, Ottawa city councillors were discussing the possibility of a "wall" of high-rise condos lining both sides of Carling Avenue near Dow's Lake. The National Capital Commission, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Public Works and Natural Resources Canada are major landowners in the vicinity of Dow's Lake and Little Italy.  I would like to know if Agriculture Canada is planning to sell more property in the nation's capital.