Thursday, November 21, 2013

The B.C. government dissolved the Provincial Capital Commission.

The Provincial Capital Commission, a Crown corporation, owns many iconic properties in Victoria, British Columbia, including:
 The CPR Steamship Terminal,
 Crystal Garden,
Victoria's Inner Harbour,
The Belleville Ferry Terminal,
St. Ann's Academy
 The Wharf Street tourist centre.
Ship Point

 Architect Francis Rattenbury designed the Parliament Buildings in Victoria; the CPR Empress Hotel and the CPR Steamship Terminal.
Victoria's Inner Harbour.The Fairmont Empress Hotel, a former CPR hotel, can be seen in the background.

The CPR Steamship Terminal in Victoria, British Columbia.
B.C. NDP MLA Carole James said: "There's a concern you could see the commercialization of these heritage buildings or the selling off of these assets that belong to everyone."(From: MetroNews Canada-Luke Simcoe,November 21 2013.)


Post Offices are sold through a multinational real estate company, CB Richard Ellis. I saw the CB Richard Ellis high-rise office building in Newport Beach, California,which is across the street from a high-end shopping mall, Fashion Island.


In 1991, the BC government managed 379 provincial parks covering 5,364,000 hectares of land.(From a 1991 Environment Canada directory.)





The City of Ottawa designated the B.A. International Building a heritage property.

The Canadian Bank Note Company, 145 Richmond Road Ottawa.(Wikipedia).
In August of 2013, the Canadian Bank Note Company purchased the B.A. International Building:
The British American Bank Note Company Building, 975 Gladstone Avenue, Ottawa.


1892-CPR Engine.
From: The Ottawa Public Library (A Carnegie Library), downtown.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Privatization benefits the rich, not ordinary citizens.

A February 1980 article in Macleans Magazine by Liberal Senator Eugene Forsey.
Many individuals and corporations profited from the sale of Canadian Crown property:
Prince al Waleed bin Talal - owned Canada's CN and CPR hotels.
Carl Icahn - owned the CN and CPR hotels
Bill Gates is a major shareholder of a privatized Crown corporation, the Canadian National Railway.
The Six Flags Corporation - the American amusement park company bought La Ronde, part of Expo 67 in Montreal.
Donald Trump bought Canadian National Railway land in Toronto and built the Trump Tower on it.
The Slemon Park Corporation was practically given the massive Canadian Forces Base in Summerside Prince Edward Island.

 At one time, "The Universal Man" stood at the base of the CN Tower-- the statue is now relegated to a shopping centre parking lot:
"The Universal Man" by Gerald Gladstone, in Toronto Ontario.

Former CPR properties that are National Historic Sites of Canada.

New Brunswick
The McAdam Railway Station
Quebec
Montebello-Manoir Papineau, home of Louis-Joseph Papineau.
Montreal- Windsor Station. In the year 2007, Canadian Pacific marketed Windsor Station.The classified ad is from the Globe and Mail newspaper:
Quebec City- The Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel.
.Sainte-Genevieve-de-Berthier- The Berthier Railway Station.
Trois-Rivieres- The Canadian Pacific Forest Product Mill. (Demolished in 2002).
Ontario
Toronto- The John Street Roundhouse, built in 1929.
Toronto - Union Station - Once owned by Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk, now owned by the City of Toronto, which is ruining the building.
Manitoba
Canadian Pacific Railway Station- sold to the Province of Manitoba.
British Columbia
Banff National Park- The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is a National Historic Site of Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kelowna- The Myra Canyon Section of the Kettle Valley Railway. The Kettle Valley railroad bed is now part of the Trans Canada Trail.
Victoria- The Fairmont Empress Hotel.



Saturday, November 9, 2013

The war against Canada's architectural history.

The following laws are responsible for the scorched earth policy that destroyed many symbols of Canada's railway ,military, industrial, broadcasting and maritime history:
Federal Laws
The Canada Post Corporation Act
The Museums Act
The Surplus Crown Assets Act
The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act - The loophole: Section 3.4: "This Act applies to lighthouses that are the property of Her Majesty in right of Canada."
The Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act - The loophole: Only designated heritage railway stations that are still owned by a railway company under federal jurisdiction are subject to the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.

The Royal Canadian Mint Act (1985) - The Mint has the power to "do all things" (melt down, I presume) to medals, commemorative plaques and tokens made of gold, silver and platinum. Every federal government building in this country featured Canada's Coat of Arms, which contained gold, silver and platinum. Thousands of Coats of Arms were stripped from Dominion Buildings when they were privatized during the 1980's and 1990's. The Air Canada Centre in Toronto was a federal buildings ,Canada Post Headquarters.

The Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay Street in Toronto, was a Canada Post building.
The Broadcasting Act-The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation sold the Jarvis Street Headquarters in Toronto to the National Ballet School of Canada and developers. In 1979 I appeared on the TV show "Take 30" and the walls were lined with portraits of CBC radio and TV luminaries.

The National Capital Act (1985) applies to National Capital Commission properties in Ottawa.

Federal heritage laws supersede provincial and municipal heritage laws.
The Ontario Realty Corporation owned, or still owns, the Bowmanville Prison of War Camp, Toronto's Don Jail, Guelph Reformatory, the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital and Kingston Psychiatric Hospital.

Individuals who fought to save Canadian landmarks in the past; and people who are currently trying to save historic buildings.
 A Mayor of Toronto John Sewell.
A Federal Minister of Agriculture Bud Olson.
A Federal Minister of Agriculture Eugene Whelan-The Hon. Bud Olson and the Hon.Eugene Whelan
prevented the sale of the Experimental Farm in Ottawa to developers.
Kingston,Ontario Councillor Bill Glover is trying to prevent the destruction of the Kingston Pen.
Writer Andy Russell, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Agriculture Minister Bud Olson at the Lethbridge, Alberta airport.(1972) I took this photo.
Organizations that are preserving Canadian National Historic Sites and Monuments and heritage buildings:
The Heritage Canada Foundation.
The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.
Save the Peggy's Cove Lighthouse - Nova Scotia.
Friends of Windsor Station - Montreal.
Friends of the Farm Ottawa and Friends of the Experimental Farm Ottawa.
The Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society saved the Georgia Cannery in Steveston village, Richmond, British Columbia. The Cannery Row in Monterey, California is immortalized in a John Steinbeck novel; a 1982 movie starring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger, and a Bob Dylan song ---"Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".

Save the Toronto Railway Museum! John Street Roundhouse, 255 Bremner Blvd.,Toronto, Ontario.
The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society.
Save Postal Station K - Toronto, Ontario. See the Globe and Mail article "A new uprising at Montgomery's Tavern."
Save the Notre-Dame-de-Grace and Snowdon post offices - Montreal.

Historic properties that should be preserved:
 The Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, railway hotels, grain elevators, lighthouses and Cold War Diefenbunkers should be saved from wrecking balls.

Government of Canada Buildings-When a federal building is transferred to a Crown corporation, the building loses all heritage designation and protection. The de Havilland Aircraft Building at CFB Downsview in Toronto ,Ontario was a Recognized Federal Heritage Building. Downsview Park is a Crown corporation.
The Prison for Women in Kingston was a Classified Federal Heritage Building when it was owned by Corrections Canada.
The Canadian Bank Note Company Building, 145 Richmond Road, Westboro Village Ottawa.

The Quadrant in London, England-The Dominion Public Building in Toronto is similar in design to buildings in The Quadrant, Regent Street, London England.( Wikipedia).

The Dominion Public Building, 1 Front Street West Toronto.The building apparently is worth $74,153,000.

"The Score" was filmed in the Montreal Customs House:

The Montreal Customs House,105 McGill Street - Montreal, Quebec.

Forestry Canada fire lookout towers-The CBC television program "The Forest Rangers" was filmed in Kleinburg, Ontario from 1963 until 1965.

Dominion Observatory Ottawa.
Dominion Observatories-During the 1990's the federal government planned to bulldoze Ottawa's Dominion Observatory,, because of budget cuts. The Gonzales Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia was sold to the Capital Regional District in Victoria, B.C.
Gonzales Observatory, Victoria.

Armouries- The Windsor Ontario Armoury was sold to the University of Windsor. A condo developer bought Wallis House in Ottawa, which was built in 1873.
 The Bessborough Armoury and Seaforth Armoury in Vancouver are Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings.
My Dad is walking past the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa during the 1940's.