The many reasons why Canada's national libraries must be saved.

1. When he was Canada's Minister of National Defence from 1963 to 1967, Paul Hellyer saw files relating to unidentified flying objects. Mr. Hellyer believes that evidence confirming the existence of UFO's is being covered up. Former American Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter; USSR Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Professor Stephen Hawking believe in the existence of alien races; and the following American astronauts actually saw UFO's:

 Major Gordon Cooper; Donald Slayton; Major Robert White; Joseph A. Walker; Commander Eugene Cernan; Ed White and James McDivitt; James Lovell and Frank Borman; Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin; and Maurice Chatelain and Scott Carpenter. If the Defence Department throws away its archives, all DND reports about extraterrestrial sightings and alien encounters with human beings will be lost forever. 

The Honourable Paul Hellyer (third from left) with the Rt. Hon. Lester Pearson, 14th Prime Minister of Canada; the Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada, and the Honourable Tommy Douglas, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada from 1961 until 1971.(From: The Shaw Family collection of photographs.)

2.  Historical documents could explain why the Diefenbaker government scrapped the Avro Arrow. February 20, 1959 is known as "Black Friday" in Canadian history. The $400 million dollar Avro Arrow became a pile of scrap metal; 14,525 aviation employees lost their jobs, and the Avro Arrow is known as "Canada's Broken Dream". According to legend, parts of the delta-winged interceptor plane were smuggled out of the country, or buried in Toronto; and some of the blueprints may have been rescued from shredding machines.  Dan Aykroyd starred in the four-hour miniseries "The Arrow" (1997) which I have not seen in years, I hope the CBC will rebroadcast the miniseries, it was excellent:

The Avro Arrow, built at Malton, Ontario.

 3.   The Chibougamau military base in Quebec sat on top of the Chibougamau Goldfields; coincidentally, the radar base was decommissioned, and bought by Remax and a metal company.
In 2006, the EnCana Corporation planned to drill 1,275 new shallow gas wells, and install pipelines within the CFB Suffield Alberta National Wildlife Area. I hope the British Columbia government NEVER  gets ownership of the Pacific Rim; Gulf Islands; Mount Revelstoke; Kootenay; Glacier; Yoho and Gwaii Haanas National Parks. However, the Fraser Institute is quite influential, and their recommendations are taken seriously . (Google "Introduction When a Country").

       

Canada's Fahrenheit 451 - the destruction of our national libraries.

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel by Ray Bradbury, about a totalitarian society where books are burned, by a government that wants to suppress ideas.
German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine once said: "Wherever books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too."
Canada's collective written and photographic history is being gutted---Library and Archives Canada; and the Agriculture Canada, Environment Canada, Transport Canada, Citizenship and Immigration, Industry Canada, National Defence, Public Works and Government Services, National Capital Commission and Public Service Commission of Canada libraries have been told to decentralize, photograph, and get rid of their collections.
The National Capital Commission is the custodian of Canada's official residences, including 24 Sussex Drive, Rideau Hall and 7 Rideau Gate. I know for a fact that Library and Archives Canada has hundreds of historic photographs of NCC buildings in Ottawa.

 Pierre Berton used LAC material for his books about the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Dionne quintuplets.

According to "Canadian Geographic Contributors-Charlotte Gray" - "Charlotte Gray has been exploring Canada in the 1800s since she began writing biographies of 19th century women eight years ago...She spends months researching her books in the National Archives of Canada..."

The house where Sir John A. Macdonald lived for so many years in Ottawa is owned by the British Consulate. The only way Canadians can see Earnscliffe is through photographs at the National Archives, and in books.
It is considered an act of war, to destroy a country's historic buildings, iconic statues and museums.
The destruction of the greatest library in the world, the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, is still lamented by historians. According to the article "The Burning of the Library of Alexandra" by Preston Chesser:   "The real tragedy of course is not the uncertainty of knowing who to blame for the Library's destruction but that so much ancient history, literature and learning was lost forever."

Between 1996 and 2001, Conrad Black's company Hollinger paid over $9.6 million dollars for American president Roosevelt's  documents.

Every year, thousands of tourists from Japan make a pilgrimage to Lucy Maud Montgomery's farmhouse in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. I am sure that "Anne of Green Gables" memorabilia could fetch a high price at Sotheby's auction houses.

Photographs of the Ballroom at Rideau Hall,  and the Royal Suite at Government House in Ottawa:

 

The Right Honourable Robert Stanfield, leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and George Shaw.

Prime Minister of Canada Joe Clark in 1980.



June 1980 photo with Prime Minister Joe Clark.







Political campaign buttons, collected by my family.

Why government buildings should be owned by the people.

1. GOC buildings were built by the people of Canada...they are Crown assets.
2. The C.D. Howe Building in Ottawa houses Industry Canada, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Passport Office. Canadian passports are a hot commodity on the black market; identity theft is a major international problem. Privatizing federal buildings is tantamount to handing criminals the keys to the kingdom, a treasure trove of documents that can be forged.
3. GOC buildings store and produce classified documents, they own machinery that prints money, and the Royal Canadian Mint stores tonnes of gold. The vaults at the Revenue Canada Building, the Connaught Building, store millions of Canadian tax dollars. I often visit Library and Archives Canada,  LAC is now "divesting" thousands of documents; photographic material, maps, letters---
    Glenn Gould a voluminous amount of material to the Archives, including his hats and fingerless gloves, diaries, letters... An American woman stole Glenn Gould documents from LAC, and tried to sell them on E-Bay, LAC officials flew down to Texas to retrieve the items. Many Canadians donated their archives to LAC, including architect Arthur Erickson, Malak Karsh, Moshe Safdie, Roloff Beny and Douglas Cardinal. Cultural property, donated in good faith, should remain in Canada; not scattered to the wind, or sold on the Internet.
4. Many federal buildings, in particular post offices and the CNR train stations, were heritage buildings. Once a heritage building is transferred from a federal Crown corporation or agency, the museum, armoury, aircraft hangar, etc.  loses all heritage protection. The Grand Trunk railway station on Montreal Street in Kingston, Ontario is crumbling, and blue tarp covers the roof.  What a shameful way to treat Canada's architectural history. In the United States, federal buildings are called "symbols of democracy".





1973 photographs of the Grand Trunk Railway Station in Kingston, Ontario.

 People contact Service Canada if they want to apply for, or get information about:  Permanent Resident Cards; Temporary Resident Cards; Work Visas; Social Insurance cards; GST/HST credits; Canadian passports; Employment Insurance; Apprenticeship grants; the Canada Pension Plan; the CPP Disability Plan; Old Age Security; Maternity Benefits; Universal child-care tax benefits; The Guaranteed Income Supplement; the Veteran's Disability Fund; the War Veteran's Allowance...the list goes on. The Joseph Shepard Building is also a Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre.The Americans would never sell their FBI National or Regional Headquarters; the National Archives in Washington D.C.; the Pentagon; the Smithsonian or any other world-renowned American government institution. The reason? National security. In Canada, a former RCMP building in Toronto is a luxury hotel:

The Grand Hotel on Jarvis Street in Toronto, Ontario.



Foreign dignitaries visit Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1967.

My father aboard the HMCS Bonaventure, a Royal Canadian Navy aircraft carrier, in 1968.

                                    

Canada Post is being dismantled.

The Harper government is finishing what the Mulroney government started---the complete dismantling of an important, necessary Crown corporation, Canada Post.

During the early 1980's, Canada Post owned 2,200 buildings with an approximate market value of $1.4 billion dollars. (See the 1984 Report of the Auditor General of Canada - Chapter 13 - 13.6).
A law created by the Mulroney government, The Canada Post Corporation Act (1985) encouraged the privatization of thousands of CP buildings, land, vintage equipment, photographs, stamp collections...
At one time, a National Postal Museum was going to be constructed in Ottawa, but the museum was never built. 
The Canadian government is currently selling four Canada Post properties in Toronto, Ontario; many Torontonians are protesting the decision, because they know exactly what will happen to the properties---they will be bulldozed to make way for condo developments:



50 Charles Street in Rosedale, Toronto.





Postal Station K at 2384 Yonge Street is The Montgomery's Tavern National Historic Site of Canada, an important site at the Rebellion of 1837. The Tavern was the headquarters of William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion.



722 Dovercourt Road...The silver Canadian Coat of Arms plaque will be removed from the building when CB Richard Ellis sells it.

The 1992 Directory of Federal Real Property includes the three Canada Post properties that are currently on the market---772 Dovercourt Road; 50 Charles Street and 2384 Yonge Street. CP is also selling 1780 Avenue Road. The 1992 Directory of Federal Real Property can be found at Library and Archives Canada on Wellington Street in Ottawa:



For over 20 years, Canadians have bitterly complained about the removal of postal services from government buildings--- to pharmacies, gas stations and 7-11 stores:
                                        COMMONS DEBATES  February 1, 1988
                                            CANADA POST CORPORATION
                                      Complaint regarding parcel service in Kenora

Mr. John Parry (Kenora---Rainy River):  Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not being fooled by Canada Post's efforts instigated, aided and abetted by the Conservative Government to convince them that the removal of postal services from post offices across the country and placing them in private businesses is in their best interests.
     A growing percentage of our mail is now being handled in places where people do not give their undivided attention to it, as they are committed to running their business, and where the mail is placed in areas which are not secure. In many cases the locations of these outlets have changed with little notice, as exasperated operators give up this time consuming customer service.     
_______________________________________________________________________________
Back in 1981, I had to swear an Allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, before I was allowed to work at the Conference Centre in Ottawa. I also wore a uniform, and  had a name tag. I cannot tell you how honoured, how proud I felt to be working in a federal government building.
I wonder if federal employees are still required to swear an Allegiance to the Queen...
"I...do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors So help me God." 
My mother used to say "You cannot serve two masters". All Canada Post employees should wear uniforms and name tags, and they should never leave their stations-the Canada Post counter-to ring up items on the store cash register, or take out the trash, or clean and stock the shelves. And I'd like to see a few Canadian Maple Leaf Flags at Canada Post outlets.

The train doesn't stop here anymore...

The Canadian National Railway survived the Great Depression and two World Wars. The Mulroney government started the derailment of CN Rail, with the privatization of subsidiaries (CN hotels, CN Marine, Terra Nova) and the sale of train stations:
Augiust 16, 1991 - Order-in-Council - 1480 - Authority for the sale of the CNR Railway Station in Aurora, Ontario to GO Transit.

January 18, 1991 - Canadian National Railways Act - Approval of the entry into a sales agreement between Via Rail Canada Inc., Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Limited of the Ottawa Station Building.
The CN Commercialization Act of 1995 led to the demise of Canada's first Crown corporation, a major industry that throughout its history employed thousands of Canadians.
 The mega-corporation is constantly removing railway lines, and train stations have been re purposed, abandoned or demolished...The other day, I saw a photograph in the newspaper of a train station being hauled away on a flatbed truck to a new location. At least the building was not vandalized, set on fire or left to rot (CN offered to give the Grand Trunk Railway Station in Kingston, Ontario to the City of Kingston, but the offer was turned down.)
Via Rail recently built a new station in Smiths Falls.

A Via Rail "stationette" in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

I'll show you what a REAL train station looks like:

Via is selling four acres of land surrounding the Halifax station.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario train station.

During the early 1970's I bought a  CNR  railway pass for only $120 dollars. The trip was unforgettable; my fellow travelers and I sang; knitted; talked endlessly; ate cheese sandwiches, granola (horse food) and potato chips; wrote letters and marveled at the scenery. I find it difficult to accept the fact that Bill Gates is a major CN Rail shareholder. Bill Gates even has the gall to appear on television programs and boast about how much he has profited from his investment. Our ancestors built the railway, physically and with their tax dollars. He, and Prince al Waleed bin Talal and Carl Icahn must think that Canadians are fools, to let a treasure like the CNR fall into their greedy hands.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh greeting dignitaries at an Ottawa airport in 1967.

                                       

                                                                                                                                         

    

Why Downsview Park should not be selling land to developers.

A 1999 Privy Council Order-in-Council transferring part of CFB Downsview to Canada Lands Company. (From an Order-in-Council book, located at Library and Archives Canada, Wellington Street, Ottawa Ontario.)

In 1992, CFB Downsview in North York, Ontario encompassed 341.7486 hectares of land. (From: "The Directory of Federal Real Property"---Library and Archives Canada, Wellington Street, Ottawa Ontario.)

   There are many reasons why Downsview Park land in Toronto should not be sold to housing developers:
1.  The Canadian Department of National Defence may reclaim the Canadian Forces Base Downsview. In 2009, DND reclaimed most of CFB Shearwater. The Hon. David Collenette, the Minister of National Defence who decommissioned CFB Downsview said in 2001:
         "When we closed those bases, in particular Downsview, we said that the land would be retained in perpetuity for future generations, primarily as a unique, open, recreational green space. The reason we put primarily in there is that other ongoing uses would still be permitted...It was always intended for that portion of the land to remain in the title of National Defence so that if, God forbid, we were in an emergency situation whereby that land would be required for emergency defence operations, it would be there." (Google: "Points of Order June 11 2001 Downsview Collenette").

    2.  DND did not want the government to decommission RCAF/CFB Downsview:
            "A number of Senators wanted to obtain some information on Parc Downsview Park...usually, when the federal government declares a land surplus, it is turned over to Canada Lands Company Limited...However, ND did not want to divest itself of the Downsview military base". (Google: "Journals Issue 97, November 22 2005.")

   3.  In 1994, the federal government promised that 600 acres of the former military base would be an urban park, in perpetuity. Councillor Maria Augimeri said: "Despite the assurance of a 'huge urban park', the community discovered plans to sell off 300 acres of this land immediately following the federal election in January 2006." See, also "Toronto Star, Downsview doomed" by Christopher Hume, January 15 2010."

 4.   Downsview Park officials promised that Canada's military and aviation history would always have a presence at the the Park. The official Parc Downsview Park logo has images of airplane propellers:



The Official Parc Downsview Park logo.

However, in 2010, two de Havilland aircraft hangars were bulldozed: the de Havilland Aircraft Building may be "repurposed"; the original Denison Armoury was demolished to make way for Costco and PDP plans to dismantle The Bunker in 2024. The Bunker was built to withstand a nuclear blast.
During World War 11, American President Franklin Roosevelt called Canada "The Aerodrome of Democracy" because the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan trained 100,000 aircrew at dozens of bases in Canada. de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. manufactured the thousands of airplanes that BCATP pilots trained in. The de Havilland Aircraft Building is a symbol of democracy, and it should not be deconstructed, to make way for an apartment building or a  hockey rink. Canadian history is more important than a hockey rink.
 The Calgary Airport Authority gave an aircraft hangar to the Aero Space Museum of Calgary---rent-free, in perpetuity. During their summer tour of Canada in 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Aero Space Museum of Calgary; a grandfather of the Duchess trained BCATP pilots in Calgary, Alberta during World War 11; Captain Peter Middleton spent time in the building where the aviation museum is now located.
PARC DOWNSVIEW PARK ANNUAL REPORT 2010/2011  PAGE 3
Industrial/aerospace history
"The cluster of buildings at 60, 65 and 75 Carl Hall Road, comprised of historic airplane hangars and buildings, afford fantastic opportunities to develop an active cultural and recreational hub."

5.   The Humber River Regional Hospital and Coroner's Complex is being constructed at Wilson Avenue and Keele Street. The hospital will have 656 beds, and 3,000 staff members and 600 doctors will be employed at the institution. Keele Street is already a busy street, and green space is desperately needed in the vicinity.

6.  The Downsview Urban Park is morphing into the Downsview Urban Jungle.  The City of Toronto is encouraging intensification, the densification of inner-city neighbourhoods. The Downsview Area Secondary Plan, which was approved by the Ontario Municipal Board on August 17 2010 "provides for a modest increase in overall future population from the previous Secondary Plan - from 38,000 to 42,000."

        Park plan going off the rails fast by Amy Chung
"Plans are still in the works and details are sketchy - its ever been thus at Parc Downsview Park (PDP) - but it seems the urban park promised by the federal Libs in 94 is about to be served up to developers. And there's little the City can do about it, even if they wanted to. What has area councillors and city planners freaked is the possibility of a major sell-off of the Crown-owned land."

7.  The federal government made a commitment, that the Downsview military base would be transformed into a Central Park or Hyde Park. The following comments are from the "Save Downsview Park" website:
"I remember when this park was first opened, there were great aspirations for it to become our 'Hyde Park', our 'Central Park'. What is happening...where have all these ideals gone?"
"Leave this greenspace for all Canadians to enjoy."
"Save Our Park!"
" Please do not do this!!! SAVE THE PARK!!!
" Parks like this should never be taken away from the children...and from other living animals in the park."
"This park is very important to provide people and pets with an oasis in the midst of a very busy area in the fomer city of North York."

Save Downsview Park in Toronto.

8.  The Bombardier Option: According to officials at PDP, "If the lands currently occupied by Bombardier become available for sale, PDP intends to execrcise the Crown's options to purchase the lands." The only thing preventing the construction of high-rise condos at Downsview is a zoning law called "Airport Hazard Zone". If Bombardier leaves Downsview, that law will no longer exist. Donald Trump recently constructed a 60-storey condo in downtown Toronto. The former military base will be inundated with high-rise apartments, just take a look at Toronto's lakeshore---a harbinger of what is in store for the "park".
See the "Save Downsview Park" petition, and the YouTube video "downsviewpark".
Soon, YouTube videos will promote;
"The Gated Communities of Downsview Park"
"From military base to millionaire's row"
"Own a piece of Canada's history---the de Havilland Building apartments".
9.  Officials at PDP believe that Park land is exempt from Municipal and Provincial planning laws, as long as the Park retains ownership. "The minute we sell land, all the rigour of the Planning Act falls on it." (From: "What does the future hold for Downsview Park?" Openfile January 2012). Theoretically, Park land can be rented out to casino operators, waste disposal companies, recreational vehicle parks...

Privy Council Order-in-Council



More photographs of Ray Munro, author of "The Sky's No Limit".