"Kathleen to Play Dominion Day on The Farm Ottawa" July 1, 2017.

Agriculture Canada has lost another Experimental Farm.

The property was sold through a Privy Council Order-in-Council.
Date-2019-04-12
Federal Real Property and Immovables Act.
Subject: Sale of the REGINA SASKATCHEWAN RESEARCH FARM.
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The Government of Canada is keeping it's promise to "get out of the business" of running experimental farms. During the 1970's Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan told a news organization that Canadian research farms were the envy of the world.We are witnessing the collapse of a century-old government institution because of greed, apathy and Crown corporations including the National Capital Commission and the Canada Lands Company.Dignitaries from all over the world visited the CEF in Ottawa:

Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan.

H.R.H. Princess Anne and Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan.

Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan. The William Saunders Building, seen in the background, may be demolished because the Ottawa Hospital will expand and does not want "irregularly-shaped parcels of land."

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The Privy Council Order-in-Council that resulted in the loss of historic Crown property that belonged to the people of Canada.
PC Number 2018-0013.
Date: 2018-01-11.
Department: PCHPSAAFCNCC.
Act: Financial Administration Act.
Subject: Federal real property located at the Sir John Carling Site. **Transfer**.
Precis- Order transferring the administration of the federal real property located at the Sir John Carling Site from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada and the transfer of title from the National Capital Commission to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Public Services and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement at a nominal value.
Attachments
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, pursuant to Subsection 15(2) of the National Capital Act and Subsection 99(2) of the Financial Administration Act, authorizes the disposal by the National Capital Commission to Her Majesty in Right of Canada of approximately 19 447 m2 of lands as described in the annexed Schedule A and as shown in the annexed Schedule B.

Celebrities and royalty visit iconic Canadian landmarks.

John Candy in front of the CN Tower, Toronto.A scene from the 1995 movie "Canadian Bacon."

Olympic ski champion Nancy Greene and the Hon. Allan MacEachen during a Chateau Laurier press conference. 

John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, Parliament Buildings Ottawa, December 1969.

Most of the photos are from the National Archives.

More Experimental Farm land transactions and expansions.

The Greenbelt is a National Interest Land Mass that surrounds Ottawa. In 1958 the Government of Canada decided to expand the Central Experimental Farm by creating a "Greenbelt Research Farm" in Nepean, Ontario. The farm encompassed several thousand acres of land and was a thriving animal research facility. The Chretien government decided to decommission the Farm and give all of the land to the National Capital Commission. The parcel is bordered by Hunt Club Road, Woodroffe Avenue, Fallowfield Road and Greenbank Road.
A map of the research farm, 1970's:

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The Widening of Carling Avenue resulted in the loss of the Dominion Observatory's North Azimuth Building; the removal of park land at 870 Carling Avenue and the loss of part of Field No. 1. If the Civic relocates to the Farm the following roads will be impacted in a negative way:

Prince of Wales Drive

The NCC Driveway

Maple Lane

Also, the City of Ottawa is planning to remove a strip of Experimental Farm land along Baseline road in order to create a transportation corridor.

Privy Council Cabinet Conclusions from 1955.

The loss of park land in Little Italy, Ottawa.

The former Ottawa Humane Society property on 101 Champagne was sold to a developer who created two residential towers.
933 Gladstone is destined to become "Gladstone Village" a high density housing development.
The popular Queen Juliana Park was given to the Ottawa Hospital Corporation by PWGSC.
50 acres of Experimental Farm land was given to the Ottawa Hospital.
Liitle Italy is facing:
noise pollution, light pollution; a massive increase in population. Shadows from 50-storey residential towers will cast a pall over tourist venues.
A 2002 traffic impact study determined that Carling Avenue, Preston and nearby streets could not handle any more traffic. A traffic impact study has not been conducted to find out how the Civic relocation and Booth Street development will affect nearby highways and roads. People visiting sick and dying relatives and friends in a hospital, and sick and injured individuals do not use the O-Train to get to an emergency room. Massive parking lots are envisioned for the new Civic and all of their auxiliary buildings---research laboratories; intern residences; doctors clinics, etc.

"National Historic People" who were affiliated with the Observatory and the Farm.

National Historical People are designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of this country.
The Astrophysical Observatory
1.)  Sir Sandford Fleming - Engineer and Inventor, Standard Time.
2.)  William Frederick King - Surveyor, astronomer, civil servant. Established the Geodetic Survey of Canada and Dominion Observatory.
3.)  Otto Julius Klotz - Astronomer, geographer Dominion Observatory.
4.)  John Stanley Plaskett  - Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
(work in progress)

Sir Sandford Fleming (wearing the tallest hat) looks on as the last spike was driven into the CPR.

A plaque that honours Sir Sandford Fleming and is located in front of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Maple Drive, Ottawa.

The Farm
1.)  Sir John Carling - Brewer, politician, founded the Dominion Experimental Farms.
2.)  Carrie Matilda Derick - A botanist and geneticist.
3..)  James Fletcher - Entomologist, botanist and author who gave Ottawa it's Arboretum and the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
4.)  John Macoun - Botanist, advocate of the West.
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"The Marquis of Wheat"Sir Charles Edward Saunders conducted experiments at the Farm for years. Sir Charles
Saunders was knighted by King George V in 1934 for his contributions to agriculture.

Surplus federal properties in the National Capital Region.

Site 143-Public Works Canada - Queen Juliana Park, 870 Carling Avenue was sold for $1 dollar to the Ottawa Hospital Corporation.
Site 145-Public Works Canada - Plouffe Park, 933 Gladstone is the future site of a housing project called "Gladstone Village." The land was probably donated to Ottawa Community Housing because of a recent CMHC policy.
Site 163 - The Telecommunications Engineering Lab was located near Clyde and Baseline, close to the Laurentian High School before 91 acres of Experimental Farm land were sold to the Municipality of Ottawa.
Site 169 - The Central Experimental Farm is a National Interest Land Mass and a National Historic Site.However, the Ottawa Hospital Corporation is paying $1 dollar for 50 acres of Agriculture Canada, Public Works and National Capital Commission land on the Farm.
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Proof that the Dominion Observatory Campus is doomed, if a hospital relocates to 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa.

The yellow lines signify the current boundary of the Ottawa  Hospital property. The DARA Tennis Club is depicted on the lower right hand corner. DARA has been evicted by the Civic and Agriculture Canada employees have been forced to uproot and relocate the historic hedges. The Observatory Campus is depicted on the upper left hand corner of the photo.

1.) Astronomer Arthur Covington wrote a letter to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1970 asking the Prime Minister to save the Observatory.
2.)  During the mid-1990's plans were underway to demolish the Dominion Observatory, Booth Barn and at least 40 other buildings. The Government of Canada planned to "get out of the business" of running Experimental Farms.
3.)  The Federal Dominion Observatory located at 302 Denison Road, Victoria, British Columbia was sold to a provincial government agency through a Privy Council Order-in-Council.
4.)  TOH does not want "irregular shaped parcels of land."
5.)  The Observatory, South Azimuth and Photo Equatorial Building are Classified Heritage Buildings. But properties automatically lose all heritage protection when they are privatized.
6.)  The City of Ottawa is planning to widen roads and pathways including Maple Lane. The South Azimuth will have to be removed or flattened when Maple Lane is widened.
7.)  TOH is planning to expand and that is exactly why the Sir John Carling Building site was chosen, read the National Capital Commission's "Site Review for a new Campus for the Ottawa Hospital."
8.)  The photo zenith transit telescope was removed in 1963.

The photo zenith transit telescope was removed from the Observatory campus.This Archives photo is from 1959 and the Photo Equatorial Building can be seen on the left in the distance.

This relocation of a hospital to the Farm will cause incalculable damage to:
---the integrity of the 1,000 acre National Historic Site of Canada.
---major tourist venues including Dow's Lake, the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site and Commissioners Park.
---the landscape of the Farm; former Ottawa Mayors Jacquelin Holzman and Jim Durrell wrote a letter to the NCC after documenting how many trees will be clear cut; they stopped counting at 500.
---the morale of scientists; the Friends of the Farm; the Ottawa Field Naturalists Society; the hundreds of volunteers who maintain the gardens; work as tour guides and organize events; the volunteers at Heritage Ottawa who spent decades saving the Booth Barn and other endangered heritage buildings.
The losers are:
The people of Canada, who never wanted to see the Farm carved up and given away to a corporate entity; who never wanted to see all the green spaces paved over.

Experimental Farm real estate transactions.

1950 - The north west section of the Farm was suggested as a site for a new Ottawa City Hall."Farm site rejected" Ottawa Citizen, February 2, 1950.
June 1953 - The National Capital Commission wanted to move the Farm out of its urban area, according to a Citizen newspaper article, Google:"Ottawa Citizen 2007-12-31/150 years of memories-PressReader."
1954 - The Government of Canada declared that the Farm "should remain an open area in perpetuity."Cabinet Conclusions, March 19,1954.
1974 -  National Capital Commission Chairman Douglas Fullerton approached Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan to see if 700 acres of the Farm could be annexed, so that thousands of housing units could be constructed. Mr. Whelan refused to consider the recommendation
1988 - 91 acres of land were sold to the Municipality of Ottawa, the Clyde/Merivale lands.
1998 - The National Capital Commission bought the Greenbelt Farm for $1."Behind closed doors, with no one allowed to watch and listen, members of the NCC ponder making deals with Nortel, battling El Nino and buying the Experimental Farm for $1 dollar." Tom Spears, the Citizen, August 24, 1998.
2008 - Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz refused to give the Civic 50 acres of Experimental Farm land that is located across Carling Avenue from the current hospital, Field Number 1.
2016 - The NCC rejected the Sir John Carling site as a location for a new health care facility.
2016 - A few days later the NCC reversed that decision.

Ottawa Journal, July 23,1965.

It's all in the details.

The City of Ottawa owns the land beneath the current Ottawa Civic Hospital The City is envisioning a wall of condos that line both sides of Carling Avenue. Intensification is inevitable because of the "tens of thousands" of new residents that politician Jeff Leiper anticipates will inhabit the Carling/Preston/Experimental Farm area during the next decade. (Reimagine Ottawa illustration.)

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said: "The ground lease with the hospital includes important requirements such as maintaining 207 parking spaces for the Dow's Lake Pavilion and surrounding area." However, the parking spaces will be underground, surface parking or above ground according to the lease agreement. Underground parking lots are usually located beneath residential towers and office buildings.(Reimagine Ottawa illustration.)

Zoning changes.
Widening of roads.
The eventual loss of heritage protection for buildings that are "in the way" of the hospital's expansion: William Saunders Building; CFIA Lab and K.W. Neatby Building at 960 Carling; the Observatory Campus, Genetics Building and the greenhouses.
A traffic impact assessment study has not been conducted.

Interesting National Film Board pictures.

Toy Shop-1961. Lunney Gar photo.

Queen Elizabeth 11 and Prince Philip, Prime Minister of Canada Lester Pearson and Mrs. Pearson-1964.

Lunney Gar photo from 1961.

Mont Tremblant, Laurentians, Quebec-1961.

Jonathan Logan Factory, Montreal-1961.

Dr. J.L.Locke, Chief of the Stellar Physics Division of the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa-1960.

An update-more $1 dollar federal real estate transactions.

1.) 50 acres of land located on 960 and 870 Carling Avenue were given to The Ottawa Hospital Corporation. The Dow's Lake parking lot is worth more than $4 million dollars.
2.)  The Paul Martin Senior Federal Building on 185 Ouellette Avenue in Windsor, Ontario was sold to the City of Windsor for $1 dollar.
3.) " The City of Ottawa is hoping to buy a parcel of land on Carling Avenue near Dow's Lake for a dollar"Kate Porter, CBC News. The "Federal Lands Initiative for Affordable Housing|CMHC" is a policy whereby government land is given to community associations, non-profit groups, etc. Ottawa Community Housing was probably granted the armoury site on 933 Gladstone.
4.)  Ottawa Community Housing is building affordable housing units on the billion-dollar CFB Rockcliffe, Ottawa. CFB Rockcliffe should have been preserved as a commemorative park.
5.)  In 1967 the 614-hectare Blair Rifle Range in North Vancouver, British Columbia was transferred to CMHC. Canada Mortgage and Housing privatized several properties including Habitat 67 in Montreal; the Kingstonian Apartments; Toronto's Rochdale College and Ottawa's Pestalozzi College.
6.)  The Ballet School of Canada was given the CBC Jarvis Street Headquarters:
Order in Council:
Grant approval for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (a) to sell some 4,898 square metres of land at 263 and 303 Mutual Street in Toronto to Context Real Estate Inc. and (b) to convey another 4,970 square metres of land at 354 and 372 Jarvis Street in Toronto to the National Ballet School for a nominal sum.
In 1979 I appeared on the television program "Take 30" and I remember walking through the massive parking lot, and the halls of the heritage building were lined with portraits of Barbara Frum, Pierre Berton, Fred Davis, Betty Kennedy, newscasters...
7.)  CFB Summerside in Prince Edward Island was given to a corporation, see the book "On the Take" by Stevie Cameron.
8.)  Shortly before CN Rail was privatized a bridge that spans the St. Lawrence River was transferred to "The People's Railway." For quite a while CN Rail owner Bill Gates refused to refurbish the Quebec Bridge, see the hashtag #PaintYourBridgeBill."

Buster Keaton on The Quebec Bridge, a road, rail and pedestrian bridge. The Chateau Frontenac Hotel can be seen in the distance.(Photo from blog.nfb.ca.)

Glenn Gould recorded albums in the CBC Headquarters on Jarvis Street in Toronto, Ontario.(Photo from Robert Ragsdale/Library and Archives.)

The Natural Resources Canada Booth Street land was part of The Farm.

Save Kilmorie, 21 Withrow Avenue - William Wilfred Campbell was a Person of National Historic Significance.

"William Lyon Mackenzie King and Friends". Front, left to right-Norman Duncan and William Wilfred Campbell.
 Back-W.L. Mackenzie King and Henry A. Burbidge. 

The homes and landscapes of many other Canadian National Historic Persons are preserved. For example:
Bliss Carman House - Confederation Poet- 83 Shore Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Emily Carr House National Historic Site of Canada - 207 Government Street, Victoria British Columbia. Now an art gallery and an arts centre.
E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) - Chiefwood, Brantford, Ontario.

Chiefwood is now a National Historic Site. Pauline Johnson grew up in this house. The adjoining park encompasses 20 acres of land. (The article is from 1962.) 

The Marshall McLuhan House - 11342 64 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta - to see a video of the restored property Google: "Renovations complete on Marshall McLuhan House"cbc.ca.
L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish National Historic Site, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. - Lucy Maud Montgomery was the author of Anne of Green Gables.
(more)
Archibald Scott built the house and the Scott family donated land along Merivale Road to the nearby Experimental Farm.
 Fairfields Heritage House located at 3080 Richmond Road was donated to the City of Nepean (which later became the City of Ottawa) by Ruth Bell in the year 2000.The gift included 1.84 acres of land and many trees.

The Writer's Trust of Canada owns the domicile where Canadian writer Pierre Berton grew up in Dawson City,Yukon. The Canada Council for the Arts and fundraising dinners cover the cost of maintaining the historic site.
Contact The Canada Council

A photograph of my Dad and Pierre Berton at CJOH-television, 1500 Merivale Road, 1962.

 91 acres of open space a mile away were lost forever, when Experimental Farm land was sold to the Municipality of Ottawa in 1988.

I live about 15 minutes away from Fairfields House, 3080 Richmond Road. When the property was designated as historic under Part 1V of the Ontario Heritage Act the grounds were included in the description:
Legal Description: CON 2 (of) Pt Lot 18. The grounds encompass half a city block. Two acres of land were excluded from the historical designation of 21 Withrow Avenue. (This 1968 photo of the Bell House at 3080 Richmond Road is from the Archives )

"City of Ottawa Individual Designation under Part 1V of the Ontario Heritage Act-Historical or Associative Value because it has direct association with a theme, event, belief, person, activity or institution that is significant to the community; contributes to the understanding of the community; demonstrates the work or ideas of an architect, artist or builder, designer of significance to the community."
In my opinion, the grounds of Kilmorie should be protected by the Ontario Heritage Act because:
1.)  The poet  William Wilfred Campbell was inspired by the landscape surrounding his home, by the nearby Merivale Road and (probably) the Experimental Farm.
2.)  W.W. Campbell spent a few years planting trees and flowers on the grounds of 21 Withrow. More than 100 mature trees will be sacrificed.
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Down the Merivale Road - A poem by W.W. Campbell.
At morning down the Merivale Road
When all the world is June
Of woods and fields the blest abode
And meadow larks atune,
Under the maples in the sun
The world is fair and sweet;
For miles the field and meadows run
A paradise complete.
In fields where daisies blink their eyes,
And molten sunlight sifts,
The buttercup into the skies
Its golden chalice lifts
And out beyond the valley,
The mighty river lies,
Dim, blue and misty, vast and fair,
The lone Laurentians rise.
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There were only a handful of Confederation Poets:
W.W. Campbell
Bliss Carman
Frederick George Scott
Archibald Lampman
Isabella Valancy Crawford
Sir Charles G.D. Roberts
The home of Bliss Carman is a National Historic Place of Canada:

 Confederation Poet Bliss Carman resided at 83 Shore Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

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W.W. Campbell was an Officer of the Canadian Club of Ottawa in 1904-1905.

Cultural Heritage Impact Statement regarding 21 Withrow Avenue, presented to the City of Ottawa, October 2017.
Negative impacts:
"The grounds of Kilmorie factored into the writings of Wilfred Campbell. As such, the loss of the expansive grounds surrounding the heritage home could be said to negatively impact the property's historical value." (Page 27/40.)

Southwest court-views up laneway to historic house-views lost.
View of southeast corner of the house-view lost. (Page 28/40.)
The three "gateway" trees are lost as part of the proposed development. (Page 28/40.)

Famous Canadian animals.

Wiarton Willie
The Beaver
The Moose
The Royal Swans
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Irish Terriers all named Pat.
Governor General Vincent Massey's dog Duff.
The Son of Lassie who lived in the Banff Springs Hotel.
The Fairmont Canine Ambassadors. Daphnie greets visitors to the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
Jack London's dog "Buck" in the novel "Call of the Wild."
The dog from The Littlest Hobo television program.
Burmese, a horse given to Queen Elizabeth 11 by the RCMP.

I am standing in front of the World's Biggest Honeybee in Falher, Alberta, one hour south of Peace River.

"Keep developers off the Farm, public says." Ottawa Citizen poll.

A front-page Ottawa Citizen newspaper article from August 3, 1998.

                                                                 A CITY GEM
     " A 1998 survey found that 74% of Ottawa-Carleton residents wanted to keep housing subdivisions off the Central Experimental Farm land, and even more (78%) did not want major office or commercial buildings there. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson was not surprised by the results, saying "I think the Central Experimental Farm is a real gem in the city and I don't think the public wants to take open and green space and have it developed." Results of the survey by the COMPAS research firm were reported in The Citizen on August 3, 1998." (Friends of the CEF Summer 2013 newsletter, page 10.)
In my opinion, the Carling Building cafeteria annex should be preserved and converted into a museum for Agriculture Canada's enormous and world-famous insect collection, and a visitor's centre..Which is what AAFC was planning to do.Also, the SJC Building housed one of the greatest agricultural libraries in the world:

I copied the pages from a book in Library and Archives, Wellington Street, Ottawa.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada never wanted to see the demolition of the Sir John Carling Building, removal of the Dominion Observatory, or the construction of a health care facility on the landscape.

Land that should be preserved:
---a 33.5 acre park that surrounds the former 960 Carling Avenue. The park was the site of Temporary Federal Buildings during World War 11.
---the $4 million dollar Dow's Lake parking lot, the site of Temporary Federal Buildings during World War 11.
---the entire CEF. There will be no clear cutting of trees, widening of roads and pathways, or removal of shrubs near the recently evicted DARA Tennis Club.

A December 17, 1946 Ottawa Journal article.

Buildings that have been removed from Ottawa's Experimental Farm.

Sir John Carling Building, the Headquarters for Agriculture Canada. 3611 Carling Avenue.(cbc.ca.)

The photo zenith transit telescope (PZT), a National Research Council atomic clock. (Ingenium photo is from 1963.)

An Art Deco design, Building #2 was a Naval Radio Station.(Photo is from Jerry Proc.)

During the mid-1990's the Booth Barn Building #1 was slated for demolition. The barn was saved by Heritage Ottawa, the Province of Ontario, Ottawa Mayor Jacquelin Holzman and the Heritage Canada Foundation.(Map from Ernie Brown.)

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 Major's Hill Park, Dow's Lake,the CEF, World Exchange Plaza, Chateau Laurier Hotel, Museum of Nature and Confederation Park were Tulip Festival locations.(Ottawa Citizen newspaper, May 18, 1994, page 15,

Musical performers in Canada.

Alfie Zappacosta, Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, Rik Emmett of Triumph and Lisa dal Bello-Toronto, 1980's.

John Dankworth, Cleo Laine perform at Ontario Place, Toronto in 1982.

Motley Crue visit a radio station Q107 in Toronto 1985.

The Cars, Toronto Ontario.

Connie Sinclair (CFTR Radio),Ric Ocasek of The Cars and Mike Gaitt (Branch Manager WEA) Toronto.

Alanis Morissette wins the Most Promising Female Vocalist of 1992 Award, Juno Awards.