1.) Were the billions of dollars realized from the sale of federal property deposited into Swiss bank accounts? Canada is one of the richest countries in the world---why are government leaders always telling us that we have to prepare for "budget cuts". Parks Canada cannot afford to maintain the infrastructure in our National Parks, and that is why $8 billion dollars worth of bridges, roads, culverts, etc. are being sold off. Follow the money.
2.) Does the royal family in England profit from the privatization of "Crown assets" in Canada? The royal family is one of the biggest landowners in England. The Thatcher government denationalized British Rail, lighthouses, Martello Towers and subsidized housing complexes...Crown property that the citizens of Great Britain collectively owned.
3.) Why are government buildings that house Revenue Canada, the Passport Office and other departments being sold to private real estate corporations? We are becoming tenants in our own country. An American-based real estate entity called C.B. Richard Ellis is the agency that markets Crown assets; I saw their high-rise office building in Newport Beach California, which is right across the street from a high-end shopping mall called Fashion Island. (My sister lives in Orange County.)
4.) Why is the Department of Public Works responsible for decontaminating/ cleaning up military bases, prisons, etc. before they are transferred to the private sector.
5.) The National Capital Commission does not have to deposit the proceeds from the sale of GOC buildings and land into the nation's treasury:
Marcel Beaudry testimony before a Senate Committee:
"The NCC has an acquisition and disposal fund that enables us to to retain the proceeds from selling surplus property that no longer plays a capital role, and for acquiring and rehabilitating assets." (Google: "Consolidated Revenue Fund, Senator Lowell Murray NCC",)
The National Capital Commission is always consulted whenever GOC property in the National Capital becomes "surplus", yet the citizens of this country are not. During the year 1998 the NCC tried to buy the Central Experimental Farm for a dollar, see the August 24, 1998 Ottawa Citizen newspaper article by Tom Spears.
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According to the 1986 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons:
Managing Space - Page 497:
"A national program to dispose of surplus properties was announced in April 1985. Phase 1 and 2 of the program have resulted in the sale of over 200 properties, for which the proceeds totaled some $50 million dollars. The Department has provided information on the current status of properties that the PAC (Public Accounts Committee-ASC) expressed specific interest in, including Block 56 in Vancouver; the Daly Building, the Mulligan Building, the Teacher's College and Canlands in Ottawa; the parcel of land in Downsview; and the Dominion Public Building in Toronto".
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Block 56 in Vancouver
The Daly Building - Demolished by the National Capital Commission in 1992 because the building was structurally unsound. Several people in Ottawa wanted to see the land remain public, and designated a "John Lennon International Peace Park". John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed at the nearby Chateau Laurier Hotel during their "Bed-Ins for Peace" tour in 1969. Their visit to the Parliament Buildings is documented in the YouTube video "John Lennon & Yoko Ono meet Trudeau", and the song "Give Peace a Chance" was recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The Chateau Laurier and Queen Elizabeth Hotels were Canadian National Railway Crown assets--- according to a 1980 inventory by the Trudeau government, the CNR owned 32,000 hectares of land, almost 80,000 acres.
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| The Daly Building. |
Teacher's College-Now part of Ottawa City Hall. The Gothic Revival building was a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974. The Trudeau government bought the site in 1978, and the Mulroney government sold it to the City of Ottawa in 1986.
Canlands
Downsview
Dominion Public Building - Sold less than a year ago.
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During the early 1980's, Canadians owned 2,200 Canada Post buildings with a market value of $1.4 billion dollars. (From: "The 1984 Report of the Auditor General of Canada"-Chapter 13-13.6). The Mulroney Conservatives created the Canada Post Corporation Act (1985), which legalized the sale of thousands of post offices, stamp collections, etc.
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| Toronto, Ontario CP properties during the early 1990's. |
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| Montreal CP properties - early 1990's. |
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| Erik Nielsen report, 1986. The Hon. Erik Nielsen was a Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and a Minister of Public Works. When National Historic Sites are privatized (for example Kingston Penitentiary) they lose all heritage designation and protection. |
"...the largest chunk of money in the federal government is in its real estate holdings. My guess, based on preliminary research I had gathered was that it was pushing $60 billion." (From: Page 268 of the book "On the Take", paperback edition.)
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