Properties in Canada that are protected by UNESCO.

1.)  The town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
2.)  Historic District of Old Quebec- that includes the Plains of Abraham, the Chateau Frontenac Hotel, La Citadelle de Quebec and the Louis St-Laurent Building, Old Post Office.
3.)  The Rideau Canal National Historic Site.
4.)  Dinosaur Provincial Park - currently the focus of an agenda to sell-off Alberta landscapes.
5.)  Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.
6.)  Gros Morne National Park.
7.)  Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
8.)  Joggins Fossil Cliffs.
9.)  Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatschenshini-Alsek.
10.) Landscape of Grand Pre.
11.) L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site.
12.) Migausha National Park.
13.) NahinninNational Park.
14.) Red Bay Basque Whaling Station.
15.) SGang Gwaay.
6.)  Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Alberta:

The Waterton International Peace Park during the year 1990. My Mother is on the right, I an pictured on the left.

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In my opinion, the following sites are in dire need of protection from redevelopment and demolition.
1.)  Wellington Street buildings across from Parliament Hill. The government of Canada has launched an international design competition to modernize the Parliamentary Precinct. The I.M. Pei Company and an architectural firm from Spain have already signed onto the project.

The I.M. Pei Company from New York City designed the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France.

2.)  The Kingston Penitentiary, Prison for Women, Church of the Good Thief, Rockwood Asylum, Penitentiary Farm House, Corrections Canada Museum, Portsmouth Halfway House, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Isabel MacNeill Halfway House and the limestone tunnel that connects the Pen/the Big House and P4W. They are all located in the village of Portsmouth in Kingston, Ontario.

3.)  All of the buildings in the northern half of the Sparks Street Mall, Ottawa.
4.)  The 1,000 government lighthouses that were abandoned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
5.)  Sussex Drive, "Ottawa's Mile of History" - the following buildings are on a list of properties that the government of Canada plans to divest:
Connaught or Revenue Canada Building
Lester B. Pearson Building/ External Affairs.
Former Ottawa City Hall. John G. Diefenbaker Building.
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney stopped the demolition of the Royal Canadian Mint. The PM was driving by the Mint when he noticed that workers were dismantling it. He told the driver to stop the car, told the workers to go home and made phone calls to find out what was going on. The article is by Susan Delacourt.

My collection of Ray Munro photos and a letter.

I inherited the archives, except for the Marilyn Monroe photograph:

Ray Munro and Marilyn Monroe leaving a press conference at a Vancouver hotel. Ray Munro was a pilot during the filming of a Robert Mitchum/Marilyn Monroe movie "River of No Return."

           
                 
                               

Nova Scotia park land will be owned by ordinary people forever.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Parks Act.
Section 2 (2):
"All provincial parks are dedicated in perpetuity for the benefit of present and future generations of Nova Scotians."

"Ottawa may sell off billions in real estate." CBC News, September 21, 2004.

     ---350 buildings were on the hit list, the entire Public Works and Government Services portfolio.
     ---MP Jason Kenney approved of this theft of Canada's architectural history. Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney is now privatizing or partly divesting more than 20 provincial parks.
   ---Included on the 2004 list:
1.) National Library and Archives, Wellington.
2.) The entire northern half of the Sparks Street Mall.
3.)  National Film Board, 3155 Cote-de-Liesse Road and 120 Houde Street, Montreal.
4.)  The East Memorial Veteran's Affairs Complex,Wellington and Lyon, Ottawa.
The Minister of Public Works made a promise that the Parliament Buildings, Library of Parliament and Supreme Court would not be sold.
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House of Commons Debates, Ottawa          June 14, 1978
Mr. Arthur Huntington, PC:
Mr. Huntington:
     " Some years ago when the late Arthur Laing, a former Minister of Public Works retired he made a statement in Vancouver to effect that, if the Canadian people knew what was going on , there would be a revolt. I knew the man well and his statement troubled me. Therefore, when elected in 1974 I started to look around the Department of Public Works.
 In the late 1960's, I guess about the year 1968, a successful history of Crown construction with a system of checks and balances and accountability came to an end. We saw the evolution of politically well-connected developers moving in on the domain of the Department of Public Works to the point where, in the next decade, that department was reduced to little more than a real estate management function with the National Capital Commission acting as its agent in the capital region."
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Questions - Most of this information can be found on my other blog postings, but it bears repeating:
1.)  Why was the National Capital Commission permitted to donate 50 acres of publicly-owned land on Carling Avenue in Ottawa to a hospital corporation, despite the fact that:
---A 1954 Privy Council document approved by Prime Minister of Canada Louis St-Laurent declared that the land was untouchable;
---Letters were sent to H.R.H. Prince Charles and to UNESCO to try to try to stop the transaction. UNESCO sent a warning letter to Parks Canada because the project will have a negative impact on the Rideau Canal.
---The concerns of neighbourhood groups were ignored--- the Little Italy and Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Associations.
---Agriculture Ministers Bud Olson, Eugene Whelan and Gerry Ritiz refused to sell or give away even one acre of the site.
---The Farm is a National Historic Site of Canada and a National Interest Land Mass.
---Agriculture Canada employees wanted to transform the Cafeteria Annex into a museum and visitors centre, but the hospital is demolishing the building. AAFC employees were also forced to dig up an historic shrub collection near the DARA Tennis Club, and the hospital evicted the tennis club.
---A 33-acre park owned by Public Works was given to the Civic. The park surrounded the Sir John Carling Building. The land has been rezoned to facilitate the construction of residential towers. A wall of condos will line both sides of Carling---on the former Otto's BMW; Dow's Lake parking lot, and (in the future?) Commissioner's Park.
Why;
---Was the Greenbelt Research Farm sold to the National Capital Commission for $1 dollar.
Why:
---Is Gatineau Park a "regional" and not a National Park and entitled to all the legal and environmental protections accorded to other National Parks.
---Does the City of Ottawa believe it is entitled to 18,600 acres of the NCC-managed Greenbelt, which is a permanent memorial to Canadians who died while fighting in foreign wars.

In perpetuity meaning forever.

1.) Harbourfront on the Toronto, Ontario waterfront. The Crown corporation was created in 1976 and originally encompassed 100 acres of land. A 99-year lease agreement was signed between the government of Canada and the City of Toronto and the lease is perpetual.
2.)  Central Experimental Farm, Carling Avenue, Ottawa - the government of Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent signed a March 19, 1954 Privy Council document declaring that the CEF would be "an open space in perpetuity."
3.)  The government of Sir John A. Macdonald gave the Canadian Pacific Railway $25 million dollars and 25 million acres of land on the condition that any land not needed by the CPR would revert to the Crown.
4.)  During the year 1932 "very substantial areas of land in the Turtle Mountain region were set aside" forever by the American and Canadian governments for an International Peace Garden. The garden encompasses Manitoba and North Dakota border land.
(work in progress)
The National Parks
1.) Rouge National Urban Park-'These lands will be protected forever. Once under the care of Parks Canada, park lands will be protected in perpetuity for countless generations of Canadians to enjoy.''
The Provincial Parks

Buildings on Wellington Street Ottawa and the north side of the Mall on Sparks Street. How will Senate Bill S-203 impact the future of these federal properties?
Will Commissioner's Park on Carling always be public? The King and Queen of the Netherlands did not visit the park on their last visit to Ottawa. The people of Canada own or owned  Mile Circle, Gatineau Park and the Major's Hill land that was sold to the American Embassy. You are a gatekeeper/ a protector of Crown land, National Capital Commission.
Will the NCC remove the National Interest Land Mass designation from the Greenbelt, Greenbelt Research Farm, etc.

How to animate the Sparks Street Mall without demolishing or selling off buildings.

1. Create museums in the empty buildings, that will be dedicated to showcasing the history of:
The CBC.
Ottawa musicians - Wayne Rostad, the Family Brown, Bruce Cockburn, Alanis, Bryan Adams.
Historical ballads - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" by Gordon Lightfoot.
Portraits by Karsh.
Terry Fox
Shania Twain
(work in progress)

Create restaurants that serve exclusively Canadian food.
Reopen the Tourist Information Centre
The CTV Network has archival documents and images from CJOH-TV---Peter Jennings interviewing Mahalia Jackson; Kreskin the Magician; the Galloping Gourmet.
I will donate all of my photos of Princess Diana; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau; foreign dignitaries visiting Parliament Hill; my Ray Munro collection; a tune created by my sister called "A Song for Terry Fox".
In front of the storefronts establish a National Walk of Fame. Encourage musicians, writers, actors, etc. to lend their awards, documents, copies of photographs, etc. to the museums.
The National Film Board probably has hundreds of never-before-seen vignettes and documentaries.
A museum could be devoted to famous animals, either fictional or real, including Winnie the Pooh from White River, Ontario; the groundhog Wiarton Willie; Jack London's dog Buck and wolf-dog White Fang and London from the TV show "The Littlest Hobo."

A plaque that honours Lotta Hitcschmanova at 56 Sparks Street.

Documents pertaining to the redevelopment of Wellington Street and the Sparks Street Mall.

1987

                             

"Possible expropriation of certain buildings facing Parliament Hill". March 24, 1971.

     There are several reasons why this topic is important today, on March 26, 2020:
1.)  The government of Canada expropriated buildings across the street from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wellington Street and the northern part of the Sparks Street Mall. For two reasons:
  to expand the Parliamentary Precinct and to save the heritage buildings. 
2.)  The National Capital Commission and Public Works are planning to redevelop Wellington and the Mall. There will be zoning changes, demolitions, infill projects, underground parking, office and residential towers and facadism (meaning that only the shell of a structure is retained.) Once a federal building is privatized it loses all heritage protection.
3.) The National Capital Commission, Public Works and the Ottawa politician for Somerset Ward want to "animate" the Mall by permitting the construction of high rise condominiums. I can think of many ways that the area can be transformed into a prime tourist attraction.

4.)  An international competition has been launched to find architects who can redesign and modernize the Parliamentary Precinct. This is the most important landscape in Canada, near the sacred Confederation Square, the Eternal Flame and Rideau Canal. I am sorry, this is a terrible idea, to let architects from a foreign country alter the Parliamentary Precinct-----
as a descendant of United Empire Loyalists who helped to create this country;
as a relative of Canadians who fought in World War 1 and World War 11;
as a former civil servant who was employed in Union Station/the Conference Centre;
as the daughter of a speechwriter for Members of Parliament...
I cannot fathom the possibility of any architects demolishing or altering Canada's built history.I do not want to see their design charettes or portfolios or awards.
This property belongs to all Canadians, and we are not going to sit back and let anyone remove Maple Leaf Flags and the names of prominent people from monuments that stood for over 100 years. This is not Expo or the Toronto waterfront...this is my country's seat of government.
5.)  Senator Serge Joyal created Senate Bill S-203 in November of 2019, to protect all of the buildings along Wellington Street including the Supreme Court and Library and Archives.
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House of Commons Debates, Ottawa        March 24, 1971.
Right Hon. J.G. Diefenbaker (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan)
     "Mr. Speaker, my question to the Prime Minister concerns reports to the effect that the government of Canada is giving consideration to the expropriation of blocks in uptown Ottawa with a view to assuring the maintenance of the majesty and grandeur of the Parliament Buildings and Parliament Hill. Is the Prime Minister in a position to state whether this direction is being considered?"

Right Hon. P.E. Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada.)
     "Mr. Speaker, it is not yet under consideration at cabinet level, but instruction has been given to the minister responsible to come forth with a plan for the future location of Members of Parliament and parliamentary offices on premises which are not now the property of the government of Canada."

Government buildings on the Sparks Street Mall in Ottawa:

Bank of Nova Scotia - 125 Sparks.
Bate Building - 109-111 "       "    .
Birks "         " -  107  Sparks.
Blackburn   " -    85   "       ".
Booth          " -  165   "       ".
Brouse        " -  181-183 Sparks.
Canada's Four Corners - 93     ".
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - 119 Sparks.
Dover "  "   -   185-187 Sparks.
Hope  "  "   -     61-63   "        ".
Postal Station B - 47-59 "      ".
Saxe  Building  -      75          ".
Slater "          "  -  177-179     ".

 

The Saxe, located at 75 Sparks Street.

Movies and tv shows filmed at National Historic Sites.

Experimental Farm, Ottawa - The Perfect Assistant.

Chris Potter and Josie Davis.

Rideau Canal, Ottawa - Undercover Angel.

Dean Winter and Yasmine Bleeth. The premiere of the film was held at the Coliseum theatre on Carling Avenue, close to where I live.

Chateau Laurier Hotel - Little Gloria, Happy at Last.
Banff National Park, Alberta - River of No Return starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. (1953).
Son of Lassie -starring Peter Lawford and Pal.(1945.)
Saint Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary, Laval, Quebec - Death Race.
Kingston Pen - Alias Grace.

Current threats to the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Recent developments prompted UNESCO to send a caution letter to Parks Canada:

• Various Federal Infrastructure Program projects along the length of the Rideau Canal World Heritage property;
• Rideau Canal Crossing pedestrian bridge (Ottawa);
• Chateau Laurier proposed expansion (Ottawa);
• Highway 417 bridge rehabilitation (Ottawa);
• Third Bridge Crossing (Kingston);
• Rideau Marina (Kingston); the marina was sold to a company that wants to build a 7-storey apartment building.
• Former Davis Tannery Brownfield Site Redevelopment (Kingston)'
• New Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus (Ottawa);

(Google: Rideau Corridor Landscape Strategy.)

The government of Canada wanted to demolish the Rideau Canal.

Canada Heritage Foundation - Measure to Establish Foundation   Ottawa  May 26, 1970.
Edmund Boyd Osler (Winnipeg South Centre) Liberal
Mr. Osler:
     "I have had the pleasure of boating on the Rideau Canal. All one has to do is spend an afternoon reading the historical background on the life of Colonel By, look at some of the stones on the banks of the canal and at some of the wooden gates to understand the wonderful craftsmanship, engineering skill and workmanship which went into this project. What a crime it would have been had all of this been allowed to go.It was nearly let go...I gather it was only a few years ago that the federal government decided it was worth preserving."
I hope that Parks Canada will not go ahead with their plan to privatize the infrastructure in Canada's National Parks. The Rideau Canal is a Parks Canada National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And all of the Rideau Canal locks and lock stations are classified as infrastructure.
Do not let the Chateau Laurier, Ottawa Hospital or the town of Smiths Falls construct buildings that  interfere with sight lines of the National Historic Site. 

"A wise nation preserves its records, gathers up its monuments, decorates the tombs of its illustrious dead, repairs its greatest public structures and fosters national pride and love of country, by perpetual reference to the sacrifices and glories of the past." Joseph Howe, a Nova Scotia journalist, politician, public servant and poet.

Parks Canada 2012 Rideau Corridor Landscape Character Assessment and planning and Management Final Report
1.)  Understand and respect the local landscape character.
2.)  Conserve historic buildings and cultural heritage features.

The town of Merrickville and Rideau Canal locks.

3.)  Conserve, protect and enhance wetlands.
4.)  Maintain and retain natural shoreline.
5.)  Locate development back from shoreline.
6.)  Work with the landscape, not against it.
7.)  Design buildings to complement the site.
8.)  Design residential docks and boathouses for low impact.
9.)  Protect the water quality.
10.)Prevent hazards and property damage.

The Bytown Museum. The photo is from ottawatourism.ca.

Government owned real estate during the year 1970.

House of Commons Debates, Ottawa     December 14, 1970.
Mr. Fortin, Ralliement Creditiste
     1.)  What is the area of land owned by the federal government in each province?
     2.)  Is there a complete and perpetual inventory of federally owned properties?
     3.)  What actions have been taken since the Glassco Report to improve the management of real property?

Hon. Arthur Laing (Minister of Public Works.) Liberal.
     1.)  The area of land owned by the federal government in the Central Inventory of Federal Properties, by province, is:
Province Number of Acres
Newfoundland                  96, 041
Prince Edward Island         1, 353
Nova Scotia                      22, 514
New Brunswick              318, 532
Quebec                           280, 485
Ontario                           268, 283
Manitoba                          51, 707
Saskatchewan                  77, 445
Alberta                          101, 751
British Columbia           164, 158
Yukon Territories            21, 125
Northwest Territories      90, 193 (includes only property that is being utilized by federal departments or agencies.)

     2.)  There is a perpetual inventory of federally owned lands.   3.)  Several of the recommendations made by the Glassco Report to improve real property management have been acted upon...

My 1979 visit to Greece.

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens. 

The Temple of Sounion.

The sale of all federal real estate in Canada.

     "It concerns me that in one year, with the support of this bill, it is possible that there will be no Crown land assets left." Mr. Dennis Mills,( Broadview-Greenwood, Toronto) Liberal - November 22, 1991. Regarding changes to the Federal Real Property Act.

House of Commons Debates, Ottawa      November 22, 1991.
 Mr. John Nunziata (York-South Weston):
      "Madam Speaker, I would like to ask a general question about the disposition of publicly owned land or publicly owned assets...We know that the NDP government in Ontario has sold the public interest in the SkyDome. The taxpayers of Ontario had an interest in the SkyDome. It was revealed this week that the proceeds of that particular sale would be used to reduce the deficit."

Mr. Dennis Mills (Broadview-Greenwood):
      "Madam Speaker, when I got up this morning and headed to the House I actually had no intention of speaking. Then in my office I read part of Bill C-3, an act respecting the acquisition, administration and disposition of real property by the Government of Canada...as I started to reflect on what is really going on in this bill I became concerned. There is another aspect of this bill which disturbs me immensely. It concerns me that in one year, with the support of this bill, it is possible that there will be no Crown land assets left...I think of Toronto, my own city, of Toronto, and the way this government has disposed of Harbourfront land...and of the disposition of the CBC lands. This is a bill that is going to make the developers of every region and every city of Canada ecstatic...We could find that we sold off a piece of land and then 10 years from now we may say "Why did we do that? We could have used that for parkland. We could have used it for public housing."
 In my opinion, the Government of Canada should buy the 20 provincial parks that the Province of Alberta no longer wants...that includes the UNESCO protected Dinosaur Provincial Park. Alberta politicians know exactly what is going to happen to the provincial parks that they are currently selling:

---multinational resource companies will descend upon Alberta and cut down thousands of trees,siphon away the water which is known as blue gold; extract the minerals and oil and gas; build housing subdivisions for thousands of workers; put up "NO TRESPASSING" and "PRIVATE PROPERTY" signs and chain link fences and shoot any wild animals that dare to trespass on their own habitat.  The dinosaur bones will be scattered to the winds or dump trucks will haul them away to a museum, perhaps the Drumheller Museum.
I visited Peace River, Grande Prairie and several other Alberta cities not long ago. Sometimes my family and I drove for an hour without seeing another vehicle on the road. A park located near Peace River is on the hit list.

I am in front of the World's Largest Honeybee located in the village of Falher, Northern Alberta.

Friendly extraterrestrials in the middle of nowhere, Northern Alberta.

Harbourfront was a government of Canada Crown corporation created in 1972 . The Trudeau government expropriated 100 acres of waterfront land in Toronto, Ontario, in order to clean up industrial land and return it to the citizens of Toronto, as parkland and a cultural and artistic mecca. Eventually Harbourfront  land holdings were reduced from 100 acres to ten acres.
 As I have said before on this blog, I lived in Parkdale during the year 1978, and the waterfront was beautiful. There were thousands of trees, sandy beaches that were staffed by lifeguards; picnic tables and hibachis; nature and bicycle trails, and I saw people riding horses. Nearby there were chip wagons, hot dog and hamburger stands and venues to buy ice cream and popsicles.
I could hear children laughing as they played on the playgrounds; the wind whistling through the trees; birds and chipmunks; and dogs barking as they ran after Frisbees.
It was a paradise, an oasis.

The 100-acre Harbourfront during the 1970's.

No wonder Bill Gates wanted to buy CN Rail.

1.) Bill Gates acquired billions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure, including:
The Grand Trunk
The Grand Trunk Pacific
Canadian Northern
Transcona
Hudson's Bay Railway
Intercolonial Railway of Canada.
Prince Edward Island Railway.
6,000 bridges, train stations and tracks that were later abandoned or sold. He balkanized a crown jewel that was created to unite this country from coast to coast.
2.)  The government of Canada is lifting restrictions on the ownership of CN; the world's richest man may be permitted to own 25% instead of the current 12%.
3.) The passenger train service Via (the taxpayers of Canada) gives the global corporation millions of dollars a year to use railway tracks. During the year 1995 Via gave the Crown corporation $50 to $55 million a year for that "privilege." (See my blog from March 21, 2020.)

4.) Bill Gates controls Cascade Investments. Cascade is a John Deere and Company investor and Berkshire Hathaway investor.
John Deere manufactures railway equipment along with many other endeavors.
Berkshire Hathaway owns BNSF, a railroad focused on the western 2/3 of the United States.
When CN was Canadian-owned, railway cars and equipment were manufactured and repaired at facilities in Toronto; Moncton, New Brunwick; Transcona in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Montreal: Below: The shops in Point-Sainte-Charles, Montreal:

Moncton Shops, New Brunswick.

                                                 

      House of Commons Debates, Ottawa        May 15, 1995.           
     Hon. Douglas Young: "I am pleased to open debate on Bill C-89, an act to commercialize the Canadian National Railway...In 1923 the federal government completed the amalgamation  and takeover of five privately run railways:
The Grand Trunk
Grand Trunk Pacific
Canadian Northern
Transcona and the Intercolonial.  CNR was the result.
With the help of the deep pockets of Canadian taxpayers, CN grew into what it is today...Under this bill, 100% of the government's share in CN will be sold in a public offering. A maximum of 15 percent of shares may be held by any one individual or company; there will be no restrictions on foreign investors."

The People's Railway. (1918-1995)

1.)  The Crown corporation CN Rail owned the American Grand Trunk Railway which operated in Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont:
     Mr. Nault: "Yes, I have one question about the American railroad you own, the Grand Trunk. Is any real estate going to be siphoned off that particular railroad when the decision is made? (to privatize.) Are non-rail assets included with that portion of CN's business?"
     Mr. Tellier: "No, it's basically rail assets."( From: A Wednesday May 17 1995 House of Commons Committee.)

2.)  Thousands of people in Quebec did not want the Quebec Bridge that connects Laval and Quebec City to be part of a $1 real estate deal. The Federal Order-in-Council transferring federal government property to CN Rail was signed on July 22, 1993. In 1992 discussions were well underway to denationalize Canada's oldest Crown corporation.
Quebec politicians were concerned that a company run by foreign investors would not maintain the bridge. Their concerns were justified:
House of Commons Debates  Ottawa December 1, 2009.
     Mr. Thomas Mulcair (Outremont-NDP). "CN got infrastructure and projects worth billions of dollars in exchange for $1 dollar and a few undertakings, including maintaining and repairing the Quebec Bridge, which it did not do. Now it has the nerve to drag this matter through the courts...We in the NDP have always maintained that we cannot trust private enterprise and give it control over assets that once belonged to the Crown."
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 The Americans call the Pont de Quebec "the eighth wonder of the world."
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     The $1 dollar real estate deal that transferred billions of dollars of property to the Crown corporation CN, two years before it was privatized:
     PC Number 1993-1603
     Date: 1993-07-22
     Precis: "Authority to enter into an agreement with CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY COMPANY and to dispose of all rights, title, and interest in the Canadian Government Railways lands to the Canadian National Railway Company and termination of the management and lands entrusted to CN."
CGR subsidiaries were:
Intercolonial Railway of Canada.
Hudson's Bay Railway.
National Transcontinental Railway.
Prince Edward Island Railway.

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3.)  The federal government corporation Via  paid CN $50 million to $55 million dollars a year to use railway tracks that were built and paid for by Canadian taxpayers:
      Mr. Tellier: "Privatization should have no effect on our relationship with Via. Via is a good customer of ours. Year in, year out, Via gives us between $50 million and $55 million of revenue."  Via also has to pay CP to use their tracks, and freight trains have priority over passenger trains. CP Rail was supposed to be a passenger operator in perpetuity.

If CN was still owned by the citizens of Canada:
--A compromise would have been worked out, permitting Via to use the tracks for $1 dollar a year perhaps, because passenger transport is an essential public service. How could a publicly-funded Crown corporation be so greedy, that they would charge millions of dollars a year for the use of infrastructure. 
--The CN Headquarters in Montreal would never have been sold to Homberg Investments.
--1,000's of miles of railway tracks would never have been abandoned or sold-for example, the Hudson's Bay line was divested to a Denver-based company during the 1990's.  The company left the inhabitants of Churchill, Manitoba stranded after they refused to repair washed-out tracks. The government of Canada eventually nationalized the tracks and bought a few railway cars. 
--Canadians would still own CN Towers in Toronto; Edmonton, Alberta; London, Ontario and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; more than 6,000 bridges (see my January 17, 2020 blog.); tunnels; thousands of stations that automatically lost all heritage protection and designation in 1995---the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act only applies to buildings that are still under federal control.








   

Enlightening YouTube videos.

1.)  David Icke.
2.)   Project Camelot by Kerry Cassidy.
3.)   H.A. Goodman.
4.)   Crowdsource the Truth - Jason Goodman - especially the videos "Ghost town NYC-Columbus Circle subway station virtually empty" and "I am a Coronavirus Legend - Walking the Streets of NYC in the Wake of the Pandemic."
5.)   Ole Dammegard.
6.)   George Noory, Coast to Coast AM. Paranormal topics.

The never-ending sale of public property.

--We have already lost 2 veterans hospitals: the Rideau Veteran's Home on 363 Smyth Road, and Wallis House, 589 Rideau Street.
--the Lees Avenue armoury and the 933 Gladstone armoury.
--half of the buildings on the Sparks Street Mall, ever since the National Capital Commission bought the buildings in the year 2000; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau expropriated the Mall in 1973 in order to preserve the architecture and expand the Parliamentary Precinct.
-- approximately 1/3rd of Tunney's Pasture - the Virus Lab; Eldorado Nuclear and Atomic Energy of Canada Building are gone.
--The Energy, Mines and Resources Complex on Booth.
--Dow's Lake parking lot on Preston and Prince of Wales.
--the 88-acre Moffat Farm that Mayor Chiarelli and 17 councillors wanted the City of Ottawa to buy, for a city park.
--the Daly Building.
--the 806-acre CFB Rockcliffe, where my Dad was stationed during the early 1950's.

The airman who is second from the left is my Dad. National Archives photo.

--CBOT-CBOFT station - 250 Lanark.
NOW THE CONFEDERATION HEIGHTS GOVERNMENT COMPLEX IS BEING DEMOLISHED. Read the documents. The National Capital Commission and Public Works Canada are spearheading the project.
Confederation Heights
---256.99 acres.

The Brookfield Road apartments will be located at Riverside Drive and Brookfield. See the Ottawa Business Journal article from June 25, 2019.

In the year 1980 the Department of Public Works was known as "the country's largest realtor." (See my March 14, 2020 blog.)
Now the Department of Public Works is "where federal buildings go to die."
PWGSC Buildings in Confederation Heights 
 RA Centre - also known as the Recreation Association Centre.
Canada Revenue Agency.
Former CBC National Headquarters.
Sir Leonard Tilley Building.
Sir Charles Tupper Building.
Insurance Building.
Taxation Data Centre.

Sir Leonard Tilley Building, 719 Heron Road, Ottawa.

Sir Charles Tupper Building, 2720 Riverside Drive, Ottawa.

Taxation Data Centre, 875 Heron Road, Ottawa.

There is a reason why several Canadian politicians are telling us "The government of Canada does not need bricks and mortar to govern." We are not that gullible, you sold our land to multinational corporations including the Marriott Hotel chain, Walmart, an American amusement park operator...You are telling us that our grandchildren do not deserve to own Crown property, but the royal families of Europe are entitled to millions of acres of land, forever.
 The masses can live in tiny high-rise condominiums, boxes in the sky; while aristocrats and criminals inhabit private islands and mansions that are protected by high walls, electronic gates and armed security guards. The so-called upper classes can fly on private jets to their bunkers and private golf courses, visit their Soho clubs, play polo and shoot defenseless animals on their massive estates.

Parks Canada wants to privatize the infrastructure in our National Parks, and the Fraser Institute wants to see the devolution of all the National Parks in British Columbia to the BC provincial government. The Alberta government is selling or partly selling 20 provincial parks. That was announced a week ago. Even the City of Ottawa is part of this agenda to steal green space from ordinary citizens. They can't wait to rezone Confederation Heights, Lebreton Flats and land behind the High School of Commerce, which I attended during the year 1980.

 I am sure that world bankers and billionaires have a keen interest in our National and Provincial Parks, historic sites which are deliberately not protected by heritage laws; Crown corporations including Via Rail and the CBC and former Olympic villages...
Canada's sovereignty, history, environment, architecture and customs mean nothing to the global financial elite and ruling families. Future generations of Canadians are just as important as "Their Royal Highnesses" and "Their Majesties." 
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A private company called CP Rail was given 44 million acres of Crown land.
The Italian writer Oriana Fallaci was incensed about the fact that foreign corporations took over landmarks in her beloved Italy, read "The Rage and the Passion."
After 9-11 Canadian politicians were debating whether the public should be banned from Parliament Hill.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario on October 28, 1991,

Troubled waters in Kingston, Ontario.

The province of Ontario gave the Olympic Yachting Centre and surrounding land to the City of Kingston after the 1976 Olympic Games. "Since the facility would later remain available to the  public, the government of Ontario provided funds for the purchase of the land, and the federal government shared the cost of the installation." (From: Montreal Olympics Official Report 1976 - Volume Two - Page 215/238.)
The federal and provincial governments would never have built a $6 million dollar venue and donated land, if they had known that high-rise condos would eventually dominate the site. (Montreal Olympics Official Report 1976 - Volume One - Page 85/275.)
A petition has already been launched to protest the devolution of public land to private enterprise:
Save the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Greenspace and Character.
     "The park land owned by the city should not be sold for condo/residential building development. WE DO NOT WANT TO GIVE UP THIS GREAT WATERFRONT PARK TO DEVELOPMENT."
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Exploration 1 - From The Kingstonian. The park is on the left and the Penitentiary is on the right.

Exploration 1 - Tall buildings (+/- 18 storeys) on west side of marina; Portsmouth Olympic Harbour building is removed and rebuilt on north west side of harbour; marina remains on west side of harbour; park/parking along north end of marina; townhouses along east and west edges of former Penitentiary; signature tall buildings at the south side of the former Penitentiary site.
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HOWEVER:
Corrections Canada prohibited the construction of any buildings along the following edges of the  Pen:

All of the property within the red lines will remain public.

Correctional Service of Canada - Kingston Harbourfront Property - Environmental Assessment Result.
     Update - After the environmental site assessment and risk assessment were completed, clean up options were presented to CSC. The option chosen was to excavate and replace the impacted soil so that the land would be revitalized and restored to green space. The re mediated area will no longer be leased for boat slips or long-term boat storage, so the refreshed space will be open for the public to have access to and enjoy!  2015-16-29.

My sister wrote a song called "There's no such thing as coincidence."

Rachel Lipsky performed the song when she was an opening act for the "John Corbett Band", at the Coach House, San Luis Capistrano, California. To view on YouTube, Google: "U-Report: Rachel Lipsky performs-2009-01-29." Nancy and Rachel mailed a copy of "There's no such thing as coincidence" to George Noory of Coast to Coast AM and it was part of a broadcast.

John Corbett and Rachel.

My sister is on the right, Nashville, Tennessee.

An update - politicians who opposed the privatization of Canadian government property.

An Experimental Farm in Ottawa.
Prime Minister of Canada Louis St. Laurent - Privy Council Cabinet Conclusions-March 19, 1954.
 Member of Parliament Marlene Catterall.
 City politician Clive Doucet.
 City politician Katherine Hobbs.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
Agriculture Minister Bud Olson.
Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan.
Sparks Street Mall, Ottawa, Ontario.
Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau.

Lebreton Flats, Ottawa.
Former Member of Parliament John Baird.
Former MP John Manley.
The Greenbelt that surrounds the Capital.
Hull-Aylmer Member of Parliament Marcel Proulx.
Ottawa MP John Baird.
Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice.
100 acres of railway land on the Toronto, Ontario waterfront.
Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau who created a Crown corporation called Harbourfront.

Downsview, Toronto, Ontario.
Municipal politician Maria Augimeri.

CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia.
Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay.
Minister of National Defence Gordon O'Connor.
Member of Parliament Bill Casey.
MP Peter Stoffer.

The Senneville Veteran's Lodge, Senneville, Quebec.
Former Senneville mayor Jane Guest.

The Upton Experimental Farm in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Charlottetown mayor Clifford Lee.
Member of Parliament Shawn Murphy.
Prince Edward Island Premier Pat Binns.
PEI Premier Robert Ghiz.

The Ravenwood Experimental Farm in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. 
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. The farm is still operating.

CN Rail.
Former MP Bill Blaikie from Manitoba: Who said in the House of Commons when the railway was privatized "This is a sad day for Canada."

Kingston Penitentiary.
Local politician Bridget Doherty: "I believe it is our responsibility to preserve historic sites for future generations and ensure there are physical reminders from all aspects of the lives that came before us." (November 2018 interview.)
Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu.
Sydenham politician Bill Glover.

The proposed sale of $8 billion dollars worth of roads, nature trails, bridges, culverts, dams, etc. in our National Parks.

 Government buildings worth billions of dollars:
MP Mark Holland - (Ajax-Pickering, Ontario.) Liberal.
MP Diane Bourgeois - (Terrebonne-Blainville, Quebec.) BQ. "You sold the seven most beautiful buildings."
MP Charlie Angus - (Timmins-James Bay, Ontario.) NDP.
(Google: Evidence OGGO (39-2) Number 7, House of Commons-December 10,2007, 39th Parliament.)
MP Peggy Nash - (Parkdale-High Park, Toronto.)

Toronto, Ontario City Councillor Jack Layton.
Federal Minister of Public Works and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Erik Nielsen.
The Royal Canadian Mint, Sussex Drive:
Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney was driving by the Royal Canadian Mint when he noticed that workers were demolishing the building. The prime minister told the driver to stop the car, told the workers to go home, and then phoned the Minister to find out what was going on. The news article is by Susan Delacourt.

Moffat Farm.
On April 10, 2002 the City of Ottawa offered to buy the Moffat Farm from the National Capital Commission, so that the 88-acre park could remain an open space in perpetuity. The proposal by Mayor Chiarelli and 17 councillors was rejected.

Expo 67, Montreal.
Mayor of Montreal Jean Drapeau wanted to see all of the pavilions and La Ronde preserved.

Public Works Canada was the country's largest realtor in 1980.

The Harry Hays Federal Building was privatized during the year 2007. (National Archives document.)

Controversies.

1.)  Giving the Walt Disney corporation the right to market the RCMP image.
2.)  Naming a brand-new hotel in Montreal the Hilton Queen Elizabeth during the 1950's.
3.)  Canada Post issuing a Winnie the Pooh stamp that included an image of Disney World. It is analogous to placing Smokey the Bear in Banff National Park. A statue and plaque in the London, England zoo honour the little black bear from White River, Ontario.

Save the Kingston Pen and Prison for Women.

A postcard that I purchased from the Corrections Canada Museum, across the street from The Big House.

Recent News

The federal government is now charging the City of Kingston $1.1 million dollars a year to lease the Kingston Pen, instead of $1 dollar a year.
The television programs "Murdoch Mysteries", "Titans" and "Star Trek: Discovery" were recently filmed in the Pen and a Danielle Aykroyd video entitled "Small Minds by Vera Sola."

Individuals and organizations trying to save Kingston, Ontario's architectural history:
Friends Of Kingston Penitentiary.
Frontenac Heritage Foundation
Coalition of Kingston Communities
Kingston Municipal Heritage Committee

Chris Ball, a municipal candidate in the Portsmouth District, told a local reporter:
"The biggest thing that everyone's mentioned when I'm at their door is change, between all the redevelopment that has been happening in Portsmouth District: the Kingston Pen, the Provincial campus and the Prison for Women. There's a big concern about the changing character of neighbourhoods." (To see the YouTube video Google "Kingston Municipal Election Candidates: Portsmouth Village" by Elliot Ferguson, Whig Standard.)

Bill Glover, a city councillor for Sydenham District:
"It's not inconceivable that they could level the entire site." ("Group tries to get Kingston Penitentiary heritage status" by Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun, September 2012.)

The Taylor Hazell Architects Report recommends that the entire KP site be given heritage designation.

Politicians Ted Hsu, Mark Garretsen and Bridget Doherty.
Petitions
ipetition - Don't Erase History, Protect the Kingston Penitentiary.
#ygk Challenge - Save Kingston Penitentiary and the Regional Treatment Centre.

Floyd Patterson, President of the Frontenac Heritage Foundation:
"The federal government has the power to demolish them. (All of the Penitentiary Buildings.) However we have concluded that would be absolutely atrocious, grievous, scandalous." ("Group tries to get Kingston Penitentiary heritage status" by Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun, September 2012.)
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The Kingston Penitentiary proposal- "The proposal...recommends preserving roughly half of the existing federally owned penitentiary grounds as is, for tourism and heritage purposes. The other half of the grounds-mostly closer to the waterfront-could be re purposed for commercial or residential development, including towers as high as 25 storeys." (Sailing Centre, waterfront park touted for Kingston Penitentiary redevelopment" by Trevor Pritchard, CBC Radio, All in a Day, 2017.) Three of the four perimeter walls surrounding the site will be demolished and the guard towers will be preserved if possible.
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YouTube videos 
Music from The Big House - Rita Chiarelli.
He's 38 years old and never kissed a girl - Tragically Hip.
I've come to get My Baby Out of Jail - The Rattlesnake Choir/ Handsome Ned.
We become our own wolves - an animated video by Rae Spoon. Words and art by women prisoners at the Isabel MacNeill Halfway House, across the street from the Pen and P4W.
Time Off for Good Behavior by Neil Young:
     "My brother went to prison
      He's in Kingston doin' time
      He got seven years for sellin'
      What I've been smokin' all my life."
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Local historian Jennifer McKendry stated that ten irreplaceable limestone buildings at the Pen are slated for demolition. ("Concern raised regarding the Penitentiary planning process" by the Coalition of Kingston Communities.) Books by Jennifer McKendry: