Big changes are on the horizon for the Rideau Canal. (The former title of this article.) As of June 9 2021 the title is now "The Rideau Canal and surrounding lands are untouchable."

The National Capital Commission, City of Ottawa and Parks Canada wanted to change the character of the Rideau Canal and land surrounding the waterway. Public Works wanted to give the Dow's Lake parking lot to the Ottawa Hospital and the City of Ottawa rezoned 12 acres of Farm land to General Urban Area:

Application # D01 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT ---520 Preston Street, 930 Carling Avenue - Official Plan Amendment - No Appeal - Adopted July 16, 2018.
     "Description - The purpose of the amendment is to facilitate the use of the selected site for a new Hospital. The amendment would remove approximately 5 ha. (12 acres) of land designated as Agricultural Research Area within the current Central Experimental Farm boundary and designate these lands as General Urban Area."

This is what the zoning term General Urban Area means in the Nation's Capital:
"General Urban Area - Section 3.6.1.  The General Urban Area designation permits the development of a full range and choice of housing types to meet the needs of all ages, incomes and life circumstances, in combination with conveniently located employment, retail, service, cultural, leisure, entertainment and institutional uses...New taller buildings may be considered for sites that front an Arterial Road and are in an area already characterized by taller buildings or sites that are zoned to permit taller buildings.(Note: Carling Avenue is an Arterial Road.) The General Urban Area permits uses that may generate traffic, noise or other impacts that have the potential to create conflicts with the surrounding residential community."

An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada document outlines which activities are prohibited on properties adjacent to the Rideau Canal: Residential intensification; infill projects ( Infill is an urban planning term meaning rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space to new construction), and the widespread destruction of healthy trees:

The Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site Management Plan ((7-20.) Government of Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada:

"Parks Canada's Rideau Canal Management Plan serves as a key land use planning document for lands situated in the immediate vicinity of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada i.e. CEF lands abutting Dow's Lake and the Rideau Canal....In particular, backshore land use and development is expected to protect open space and ensure compatible activities with the historic character of the Canal. ...Views of the Canal from the Arboretum and from other lands east of Prince of Wales are also to be protected."

 (Prime ministers of Canada, several Members of Parliament, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli and local politicians, Canadian Senator Anne Cools, urban planner Jacques Greber and environmentalists never wanted to see residential and commercial development along the Rideau Canal. The United Nations may remove the designation UNESCO World Heritage Site from the Rideau Canal if the Chateau Laurier Hotel addition and Civic Hospital relocation plans proceed.)

The Ottawa Hospital cannot go ahead with plans to chop down 680 trees on the Experimental Farm, including all of the trees adjacent to the Dow's Lake parking lot; along both sides of the O-Train from Carling to Prince of Wales, etc. See my June 4, 2021 article on this blog savecfbrockcliffe entitled "Experimental  Farm Trees."

"Honourable Senators, this inquiry is about the destiny of our national capital city's parklands, the vocation of parkland to serve Canadian mothers, fathers and children's needs to interact with nature, Ottawa's greenspaces and the historic Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal, its waterfront parklands, greenspaces, historic locks, bridges and stonework are part of the heritage and beauty of our capital city."

"...Honourable Senators, this inquiry is about the National Capital Commission and its endeavours to sell a national capital parkland...These are public lands. They are not the private land holdings of a private developer...The public has great affection for Moffatt Farm and the other parklands, like Vincent Massey Park and Hog's Back Park which are similarly zoned and similarly at risk. The public fears that many other public parklands, like the Experimental Farm and the Arboretum are on the NCC's list for sale." The Hon. Anne Cools, a Canadian Senator---Proposal to Sell Moffatt Farm-Inquiry-Debate Adjourned. Senate Debate, April 23, 2002.