Walter David Baker (Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition,Progressive Conservative Party, Deputy House Leader.)
Mr. Walter Baker:
"Mr. Speaker, on Oct 7 I directed a question to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs (Mr. Danson) regarding something which had arisen on a television program, namely a theory advanced in the course of "Question Period" that the government certainly would have to consider the adoption of a trade-off in respect of green spaces in Canadian cities.
"At that time this indicated that the minister was at least considering the intrusion of development into green space. Subsequently the minister in the course of his answer, indicated that at least in so far as the two places I have mentioned in the National Capital Area, namely the Experimental Farm and the Ottawa green belt, he regarded these as areas of special sensitivity, and shared my view and the view of many others of this House in respect of the necessity to preserve them."
"I want to say that when we are dealing with the National Capital Area, which is certainly an area of special sensitivity, or with any other urban area in this country, we must regard, and government policy must look at green space in urban areas as a very precious commodity. It is becoming more precious each day as there is a tendency in our society, and in the planning of our society, to pack more and more people into fewer acres of land. Municipal government is becoming vertical rather than horizontal. Indeed we must consider the impact that this type of development will have on open space, a particularly agricultural land. The green belt and the Experimental Farm are precious for the reasons I have mentioned. I do not want the minister or the government to regard these areas as sterile, or believe that they ought to remain dormant or fallow.
"I feel, however, that there are institutional uses to which these lands could be put. I want to make clear that we regard the trade-off in respect of the Experimental Farm, the green belt or any other area in an urban part of Canada as a principle we would have to approach with great caution in order to ensure that there is open space available.
"There really is no open or green space available to those who live in high-rise housing, row housing, in condominiums or in densely populated areas.
Pierre De Bane (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs) Liberal.
Mr. Pierre de Bane:
"Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. .member that the National Capital Commission is fully aware of the matter which he has raised, namely that we must preserve the green spaces of this area.
"I can assure the hon. member that there is no question of replacing the green spaces already existing in the national capital region with buildings. On the contrary, proposals are presently under study in order to link these green spaces together and have them penetrate further into the urban area, so that they are not isolated and remote. This approach might require an increase and certainly not a decrease of green spaces and an adjustment of the limits of the limits of the green spaces already existing.
"As I said, some adjustments might be necessary at certain times, which means that parts of existing open spaces could be traded against new ones in order to achieve a better integration. But I can tell the hon. member that both quantitatively and qualitatively, green spaces are going to increase in the capital region.
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For several decades public property has been sold to the American government, British government (Earnscliffe, the former home of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald) and residential developers.
I believe that Ottawa Community Housing is lobbying for a property on 1010 Somerset Street West:
1.) During the year 2009 Corrections Canada reversed plans to relocate a parole office to this building.
2.) The building was on a list of properties that Minister of Public Works Michael Fortier wanted to sell.
The following information, photo and map of 1010 Somerset are from the Directory of Federal Real Property website:
Property 08830
Plouffe Park Site.
Organization: Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Use (s): Warehouse, Storage and Workshops.
Interest: Crown Owned.
Address: 1010 Somerset Street West.
Municipality: Ottawa, Ontario.
Land Area: 2.5487 (ha) 6.29797486 acres.
Buildings: 4
Floor Area: 2,679
Exterior Parking: 292 spaces.
Record Created On: August 12, 1990.
Record Last Modified On: April 18, 2019.
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