The Kingston Penitentiary and the Prison for Women are still standing.

Despite the fact that: the Government of Canada wanted to demolish Kingston Pen guard towers, perimeter walls and 11 limestone buildings.

---The Village of Portsmouth is not a Heritage Conservation District protected by Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.

---The Village of Portsmouth is not a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.

---A developer bought the Prison for Women on 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard and wants to convert the National Historic Site into condominiums and commercial space. Residential towers and a parking lot will encompass the surrounding 8 acres of land.

The Penitentiary, Prison for Women, Church of the Good Thief, Penitentiary WaterTower, Rockwood Hospital, Corrections Canada Museum, Isabel MacNeill Halfway House, Portsmouth Halfway House, Corrections Canada Training Centre and Stone Gables were built by KP imates.All of the buildings were made with local limestone and they can last 4 thousand years. Similar to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

The Corrections Canada Museum. The Prison for Women can be seen in the background.

The Museum was "The Governor's Mansion" in a television miniseries called "Alias Grace". It was an adaptation of a Margaret Atwood novel.

 Isabel MacNeill Halfway House for Women, 525 King Street West, Kingston, Ontario.

The tunnel during filming of "Alias Grace."

Video for the song "Leave it All Behind" by The Headstones was filmed at the Kingston Penitentiary.

 Photo is from bravewords.

 The "Leave it All Behind" Official video is on YouTube. The tunnel connecting the Prison for Women with the Big House can be seen. I am familiar with P4W, I was inside.

This is what happens, when Dominion Observatories in Canada are privatized.

 House of Commons  Ottawa December 7, 1987. Gonzales Hill Observatory transfer of public land.

Hon. Allan Bruce McKinnon, (Victoria) Progressive Conservative.

     "Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and pleasure to present petitions filled out and signed by 377 members of the Canadian public. The petitioners pray and call upon Parliament to transfer to the City of Victoria the entire parcel of public land surrounding the Gonzales Hill Observatory heritage site in order to officially create a park and thus preserve the scenic, irreplaceable land for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future residents of British Columbia."

The Gonzales Observatory had already been sold in 1987, to the City of Victoria for $35,000 dollars. The transaction was carried out via a Privy Council Order-in-Council, which means that ordinary Canadians were never consulted about the sale of public property; and the matter was never discussed in the House of Commons. 

The "parkland" is now the Gonzales Neighbourhood, an enclave of luxury houses and townhouses. Even the Gonzales Hill Observatory is on the radar of housing developers, because the City of Victoria refuses to designate the property a Heritage Conservation Area:

"A Heritage Conservation Area is no longer being explored for Gonzales as part of the neighbourhood planning process." 2017.The City is encouraging the readaptive use of heritage properties and that does not preclude demolition or facadism.

The Gonzales Observatory, 302 Denison Road, Victoria, British Columbia.

301 Denison Road is right next to the Observatory and it was obviously part of the campus. Sold in 2020.

Google: 302 Denison Road, Victoria Heritage Foundation.

"The building was given federal heritage protection in the 1980's ,with the highest rating of "classified federal heritage building."..In 1987 the federal Public Works department announced a plan to sell off most of the land to the north of the Observatory for housing development, and to sell the building itself and the land immediately surrounding it to the City of Victoria for $1 dollar.

"Both the Victoria and Oak Bay councils joined the Gonzales Hill preservation society in opposing this plan, a very important aspect of this protection was that the area provides habitat for quail and other birds, as well as for some rare plant species.

"Eventually the entire property was sold to the Capital Regional District for $35,000 dollars and Gonzales Hill became a regional park."

"Hold Back the River" by Miss Emily was filmed in the Kingston Penitentiary.

Miss Emily. YouTube photo.

 

The possibilities are endless...

...if the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa is reopened to the public.

The Dominion Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia.

1.)  Reinstate Canada's Maple Leaf Flag on the Astrophysical Observatory.

2.) Do not permit the demolition of the Sir John Carling Building cafeteria annex. Agriculture Canada employees want to convert the annex into a visitor's centre and a museum for a world-class collection of insects. Line the walls with portraits of royalty and world leaders who visited the farm-HRH Princess Anne; Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev; the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

 Activities that could take place at the visitor's centre:

---hand out brochures providing a history of Canada's Farm and the Observatory Crescent. Research conducted at the Farm helped a group receive the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

---Astronauts and astronomers can greet visitors and give presentations. I interviewed American astronaut James Irwin, see my blog "My interview with Apollo astronaut James Irwin."

---reserve one table so that members of the public can rent or buy binoculars and disposable cameras and buy souvenirs. Rent special cameras to Startrackers.

----another table can display magazines and books. Canadian Geographic magazine has a 2010 article entitled "Tour the International Space Station with Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield" and throughout the years many more articles about outer space were featured in the publication.

Sell or give away post cards that feature drawings and photos of buildings on the property---the greenhouses, Booth Barn, Agriculture Museum, the Azimuth, Photo Equitorial Building...etc.

Interesting Ottawa signs.

 Image is from waymarking.

Out of this world street names in CFB Rockcliffe, Ottawa.

Jupiter Avenue.  Via Venus.  Mars Avenue.  Polaris Avenue.

Via Vega - Vega is the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra.

Arcturis Crescent - Arcturis is a giant red star in the Northern Hemisphere.

Castor Avenue - Castor is a binary star in the constellation Gemini.

RCAF Rockcliffe in 1950. The airman who is second from the left is my Dad. National Archives photo.

The Farm.

Government of Canada real estate holdings that will be sold or flattened.

The information is from a document called "PWGSC Awards Contract with Respect to Certain Real Estate Assets" News Release September 15, 2006.

1.)  Tunney's Pasture Complex, Ottawa.

2.)  Place du Portage Phase 111, 11 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Quebec.

3.)  Place du Portage Phase 1V, 140 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec.

4.)  Major-General George R. Pearkes Building, 101 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa.

My Dad was the creator and editor of a magazine called "Canadian Armed Forces Review." This article is from a 1968 edition of the magazine.

5.)  National Printing Bureau, 45 Sacre-Coeur Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec.

6.)  Place du Portage Phase 1 & 11, 50 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec.

7.)  Skyline Tower 1 to V11, 1400 Merivale Road, Ottawa. Sold to Larco.

8.)  Lester B. Pearson, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa.

9.)  Nicholson Building RCMP HQ & Trailers, 1200 Vanier Parkway, Ottawa. Will most likely be handed over to Ottawa Community Housing. Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Erik Nielsen created the National Interest Land Mass law in 1988, in order to protect the integrity of Gatineau Park, the Rideau Canal, Greenbelt, Lebreton Flats, Rideau Hall...etc. And to keep the City of Ottawa from getting its hands on RCMP, DND, Agriculture Canada, Greenbelt, Public Works, CMHC, National Capital Commission...etc. properties. Google: 1988-09-15-tb-re-ncc.

10.) Taxation Data Centre, 875 Heron Road, Ottawa.

11.) Asticou Centre, 241 de la cite-des Jeunes Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec.

12.) Thomas D'Arcy McGee Building, 90 Sparks Street. Sold to Larco.

13.) National Library & Public Archives, 395 Wellington Street - Is it being divested, and is that why a new archives building is being constructed on the Lebreton Flats?

14.) Plouffe Park (includes Dome), 1010 Somerset Street West, Ottawa. The Public Works property is being earmarked for Ottawa Community Housing.

15.) Sir William Logan, 580 Booth Street, Natural Resources Canada complex Ottawa - Tall buildings along Carling Avenue and on the NRC campus will interfere with interplanetary communications when the Dominion Observatory is reopened. And the Observatory campus will be a mecca for stargazers.

House of Commons Debates Ottawa April 13, 1965. DOMINION OBSERVATORY OTTAWA - ABILITY TO RECEIVE RADIO EMISSIONS FROM OUTER SPACE?  MP John Angus MacLean (Queen's). "I would like to direct a question to the Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys and ask him if the Dominion Observatory has the ability to listen to and evaluate radio emissions from outer space, which a Russian astronomer claims are transmitted by intelligent beings...Will the Minister consider providing the Dominion Observatory with such capability."

16.) Wellington Building, 180 Wellington Street, Ottawa.

17.) Sir John Carling Building, 930 Carling Avenue - gone.

18.) John G. Diefenbaker Complex, 111 Sussex Drive, Green Island. The building was officially opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1958.

The Princess is greeting Mayor of Ottawa George Nelms and Mrs. Nelms in the colour photo. Images are from Archives Canada.

19.) East Memorial Building, 284 Wellington Street, Ottawa - is dedicated to Canadian Veterans.

20.) Gatineau Preservation Centre, 625 du Carrefour Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec. Was created to preserve irreplaceable historical, archival documents, portraits, and photographs in temperature-controlled conditions. 

21.) Government of Canada Building, Joseph Shepard, 4900 Yonge Street, Toronto- sold to Larco.

22.) Taxation Data Centre, 1050 Notre Dame Avenue, Greater Sudbury, Ontario.

23.) Dominion Public Building, 1 Front Street West, Toronto - sold to Larco.

24,)  Fairmont Complex, 657-37th Avenue West, Vancouver, British Columbia.

25.)  Sinclair Centre, 757 Hastings Street West, Vancouver, British Columbia. Public Works decided not to sell the landmark.

26.)  Federal Building, 715 Peel Street, Montreal.

27.)  Edifice des douanes, 400 Place d'Youville, Montreal, Quebec.

28.) Federal Building, 305 Rene-Levesque Boulevard West, Montreal, Quebec - sold to Larco.

29.) Federal Building, 4225 Dorchester Boulevard, Westmount, Quebec - sold to Larco.

30.) National Film Board, 3155 Cote-de-Liesse Road, Montreal is vacant.

31.) Canada Place, 9700 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta - sold to Larco.

32.) Harry Hays Building, 220-4th Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta. Sold to Larco.

33.) Winnipeg Taxation Centre, 66 Stapon Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

34.) RCMP K Division Headquarters, 11140-109th Street, Edmonton, Alberta.

  

"Disposals or Demos'"

The information is from a 2013 document. All of the properties are located in Canada's Capital.

 1.) Constitution Building, 305 Rideau Street at King Edward. Privatized.

 2.) Insurance Building 770 Heron Road was an annex to the Tilley Building across the street. Slated for demolition.

 3.) Plouffe Park, Little Italy. 

 4.) Nicholson Building, RCMP National Headquarters, 1200 Vanier Parkway. Flattened so that affordable housing can be constructed. 

5.) Agriculture Canada Headquarters designed by Hart Massey. Sir John Carling Building. - gone.

 6.) Campanile Complex, Federal Study Centre, 1495 Heron Road.

 7.) Film Storage 167,167 Codd's Road.A demo.

 8.) Bentley Lab.

 (Google: "Identification of material buy and sell.gc.ca. Carling Campus" Page 60 out of 464 pages.)

Paul McCartney at Chateau Laurier Hotel July 27, 2013. YouTube video.

 

The image is from YouTube.

Government of Canada properties that were privatized within the past 20 years.

Jean-Charles Chapais Experimental Farm, Levis Quebec - Agriculture Canada.

1,000 federal lighthouses including Peggy's Cove and the Bonavista Lighthouse - Fisheries and Oceans.

Constitution Building, 305 Rideau Street, Ottawa - DND.

The Oak Park Armoury, 933 Gladstone in Little Italy, Ottawa - DND.

Queen Juliana Park, 870 Carling Avenue, Ottawa - Public Works.

Kitsilano Coast Guard Base, Vancouver, British Columbia - Fisheries and Oceans - reopened by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Booth Street campus, Carling Avenue, Ottawa - Natural Resources.

Frelighsburg Experimental Farm, Quebec - Agriculture Canada. Reopened by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Prison for Women, 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard, Kingston Ontario. Corrections.

Senator Herve J. Michaud Research Farm, Bouctouche, New Brunswick. Agriculture Canada. MP Domenic LeBlanc was opposed to the sale.

Senneville Lodge, Senneville Quebec. Veteran's Affairs.

Federal Study Centre, 1495 Heron Road, Ottawa. Public Works.

Upton Experimental Farm, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Agriculture Canada.

Kapuskasing Beef Research Farm, Northern Ontario - Agriculture Canada.

The 88-acre Moffat Farm near Mooney's Bay and Hog's Back, Ottawa - Veteran's Affairs.

National Capital Commission Headquarters, 291 Carling Avenue, Ottawa - NCC.

CFB Rockcliffe, Ottawa - DND.

Almonte Post Office, 73 Mill Street, Almonte Ontario - Canada Post.

John D. Higinbotham Building, 706 - 4th Avenue, Lethbridge, Alberta. Housed Canada Post, Manpower, Canada Customs.

Dominion Public Building, One Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Located next to Union Station. More than 1,000 government employees, mainly Revenue Canada employees were evicted.

The National Capital Commission demolished 106-116 Sparks Street, Ottawa so that a luxury residential tower could be constructed. The government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau bought the entire Sparks Street Mall in 1973, so that the heritage buildings would be preserved and no high rises would be built. The NCC owned the properties on the south side of the Mall; while PWGSC owns the north side properties.

Thomas D'Arcy McGee Building, 90 Sparks Street, Ottawa. Public Works then National Capital Commission. 

CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre, 181 Queen between Queen and Sparks Street. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Skyline Campus, 1341 Baseline Road, Ottawa. Agriculture Canada.

Harry Hays Building, 220 4th Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta.

Canada Post Mail Processing Plant, 495 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.Canada Post.

Montgomery's Tavern National Historic Site of Canada, 2384 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario. Canada Post.

Graham Spry CBC Building, 250 Lanark Avenue, Westboro, Ottawa. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Rochester Field, also known as Rochester Park. Part of Maplelawn, 497-529 Richmond Road, Westboro, Ottawa. National Capital Commission.

RCMP Headquarters, 4225 Boulevard Dorchester Ouest, Westmount, Quebec. Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Revenue Canada Building, 305 Rene Levesque Blvd. West, Montreal.

Joseph Shepard, 4900 Yonge Street, North York, Toronto, Ontario.

Canada Place, 9700 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta.

(See the YouTube video "PSAC National President John Gordon delivers speech.")

 The government cancelled their plan to sell the Sinclair Centre to Larco:

Janet Sinclair, daughter of the Hon. James Sinclair after whom the building was named.(Photo is from pressreader.com and Vancouver Sun.)

Why the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa should be protected by the United Nations.

   The campus is endangered because of encroaching development.

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England and the Jodrell Bank Observatory in northern England are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Ottawa's Observatory was modeled after the Greenwich, England monument designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

One day the Dominion Observatory will be reopened. 

All of the satellite buildings are clustered in one area. more...

They are classified as federal, provincial or municipal heritage buildings, in some cases all three:

Federal Heritage Designation.

The Dominion Observatory is bounded by buffer zones including Queen Juliana Park.UNESCO designated properties have buffer zones.

Senate Bill S-203, introduced in November of 2019 by Senator Serge Joyal, will stop any demolition, alteration, etc. of National Historic Sites. But the National Capital Commission has the power to remove the designations National Historic Site of Canada; National Interest Land Mass; Classified Federal Heritage Building and Recognized Federal Heritage Building.

Criteria for inclusion as a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site: more...

                                                                   A 1966 photo.

 

The 33-acre Queen Juliana Park is outlined in blue while the Sir John Carling site is outlined in red.

The Dominion Observatory campus was part of the Experimental Farm long before March 19, 1954. On that date Prime Minister of Canada Louis St-Laurent declared that the Farm should remain an open area in perpetuity. A Cabinet document.

Reopen the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa.

House of Commons Debates Ottawa  April 29, 1974. Alleged denial to public of access to telescope at observatory at Experimental Farm.

MP Peter Reilly (Ottawa West) PC:

     "Mr. Speaker, this question should really be directed to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources but in his absence I will direct it to the right hon. Prime Minister. It has to do with the telescope at what used to be called the Dominion Observatory at the experimental farm and for all I know may now be called Stars Canada. Why has government decided to deny further access to this telescope by the general public, including as many as 10,000 students each year, by packing it up and getting rid of it?"

Right Hon. P.E. Trudeau (Prime Minister):

     "Mr. Speaker, calling it Stars Canada shows the little regard that the hon. member has for bilingualism in this country. As to the rest of the question, I am afraid I must refer it to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources who is addressing the Canadian Manufacturers Association in Montreal today, but his parliamentary secretary will be glad to refer this interesting question to him."

"Let's share and celebrate the Dominion Observatory" by Michael Wolfson, PhD University of Ottawa-January 23, 2019, Ottawa Citizen.

     " .....The Dominion Telescope could be taken out of storage and returned to its original home. The building could become a public space and museum and its old seismometers, precision clocks, transit telescopes and other irreplaceable artefacts could be displayed in their original locations. Public viewing and stargazing on clear nights could resume... Don't make the hospital building so high that it blocks the sight lines for the planet views from the dome." (Note: The hospital is going to be 20 storeys high. The nearby Booth Street campus is a National Interest Land Mass and new buildings cannot be tall or they will interfere with astronomical data. Also, the National Capital Commission cannot subdivide or sell NILM properties. There are wide buffer zones that surround  the observatory Victoria B.C. and the Griffith Park planetarium in Los Angeles, California. savecfbrockcliffe.)

Buffer zones are necessary for the transmission of signals between planetary systems.

House of Commons Ottawa  June 14, 1972.

Mr. Randolph Harding (Kootenway West) NDP.

     ".....That the matter of the White Lake Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory and the severe damage which will result to its outstanding research facilities from encroaching land subdivisions be referred to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Estimates for study and report."

House of Commons  Ottawa June 26, 1972.

Mr. Randolph Harding (Kootenay West) NDP.

     "The future of this site and its research potential is in serious danger from possible land developments...We can have both an outstanding research facility and a park area,"

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Dr. Wolfson: ".....Don't install unnecessarily bright lights facing the observatory or anywhere else around the hospital." (Note: Bright lights will be installed for safety and security reasons. During the year 2008 a new Royal Ottawa Hospital was built on Carling Avenue. Nearby residents complained about light pollution or light trespass from the sign "Royal Ottawa Hospital". The interior of their houses were invaded by the light. Their comments:

"The Royal Ottawa is a mental health facility, not a hospital with emergency services."

"I just think its bizarre they put it up. It's not Vegas."

"We spent a year asking them nicely and they spent a year ignoring us."Google: Ground lease agreement, Greenbelt Alliance of Canada's Capital, 2018, page 10/70. A local resident photographed the ROH sign at night:

"Royal Ottawa's glowing sign sparks anger". Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

The ancient ginkgo trees are located near the tennis court and the vacant William Saunders Building. An August 18, 1977 Ottawa Journal article. A medical centre will have an impact on Prince of Wales Drive, Maple Lane, Birch Drive, the ginkgo trees, Old Hedge Collection and crabapple trees.

A 1924 discovery.

 

An Urban Oasis.

 

Experimental Farms in Canada that were sold or given away.

 Central Experimental Farm, Carling Avenue Ottawa - "Canada's Farm", "The country in the city" "A Crown jewel".National Capital Commission and PWGSC.

Gamelin, including the Animal Virus Laboratory - 100 Gamelin, Gatineau Quebec. Transferred to the National Capital Commission.

Greenbelt Research Farm, Woodroffe Avenue, Nepean. Transferred to the National Capital Commission.

Jean-Charles Chapais Farm, Levis, Quebec.

Delhi Research Facility, Ontario.

Kapuskasing Beef Research Farm, Ontario.

Upton Farm, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The song "Help Save Old Upton Farm" is on YouTube.

Ravenwood, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz refused to shut it down.

Fort Vermilion Farm, Alberta.

Cereal Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Smithfield Farm, City of Quinte West, Ontario.

Vegreville Research Facility near Edmonton, Alberta.

Senator Herve J. Michaud Research Facility, Bouctouche, New Brunswick - MP Domenic LeBlanc was opposed to the sale. April 13, 2012.

Frelighsburg Experimental Farm, located 90 km south-east of Montreal. Reopened by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Vineland Research Centre, Lincoln, Region of Niagara, Ontario.

Kamloops Research Farm, British Columbia,

L'Assomption Research Farm, Quebec. L'Assomption is an off-island suburb of Montreal.

La Pocatiere Facility, Quebec.

Sheffield Research Facility, Upper Canard, Nova Scotia.

Dominion Observatory Ottawa-Ability to Receive Radio Emissions from Outer Space?

House of Commons  Ottawa  April 13, 1965. 

MP John Angus MacLean (Queen's) "I would like to direct a question to the Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys and ask him if the Dominion Observatory has the ability to listen to and evaluate radio emissions from outer space, which a Russian astronomer claims are transmitted by intelligent beings?"

Hon. W.M. Benidickson (Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys) Liberal Labour. "I want to assure my hon. friend that up to now the Observatory has not indicated to me it has such capabilities."

MP John Angus MacLean (Queen's) "Will the Minister consider providing the Dominion Observatory with such capability, especially in light of the fact that the Government apparently does not listen to intelligent beings elsewhere?"

All Dominion Observatories had buffer zones - the observatories were located in Ottawa; Victoria BC; Penticton BC; Gatineau Park and Kingston, Ontario:

House of Commons  Ottawa  June 26, 1972.

The Hon. Gaston Clermont (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board) Liberal. "The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, BC was chosen about 15 years ago for its freedom from man-made radio interference, a requirement for the detection and study of the extremely weak radio signals from astronomical objects. Considerable land was acquired at that time and the government of British Columbia, by order-in-council, placed a map reserve on all crown land within a much larger buffer zone surrounding the site. (more)

Save the Dominion Observatory campus.

Astronomers at the Dominion Observatory discovered Planet X in 1928.

House of Commons   Ottawa  June 1, 1961

MP William Peters (CCF) "Do we carry out regular tracking of satellites and other phenomena? Do we do this from the dominion observatory and correlate reports that are submitted from other observatories on the continent and from across the world? Do we now have facilities for communication between those observatories in order to maintain our share of a world-wide observatory system?"

Hon. Paul Comtois (Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys) "Yes, we do track satellites...we collect and compute all the information which is obtained from other observatories in the world."

MP Douglas Mason Fisher (CCF) "...I am interested in the whole question of defence from missiles of various kinds. I know this may sound fantastic but there is speculation that space platforms may be built, or that satellites from which attacks may be made may be sent into space. I am wondering if there is any intention of building up the dominion observatory so that in time it can be part of the whole space study program."

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At least 24 buildings in the vicinity of the Sir John Carling Building grounds may be flattened so that a redevelopment can proceed:

  "Located on the northeast portion of the Central Experimental Farm. The parcel is bounded by Carling Avenue, Maple and Birch Drives, Prince of Wales Drive and the CEF Pathway and Queen Juliana Park." It is noted that there are 24 buildings on the site. "Extensive demolition and/or relocation of buildings is required..."(From a 2007 report.) Google: "The Sir John Carling site-Greenspace Coalition of Canada's Capital."

 I believe the National Capital Commission has little interest in preserving the Observatory campus:

 1.)  The NCC divested many historic properties in Ottawa including The Mackenzie King and Laurier Avenue bridges that span the Rideau Canal;

 a Ladies College that is part of Ottawa City Hall;

 a famous address in Canada---"This is Lotta Hitschmanova of the Unitarian Service, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa 4."

2.)  The new owner does not want irregularily shaped parcels of land. The William Saunders Building can be seen at the very bottom/centre of the photo below. And it is vacant.

3.)  The Astrophysical Observatory faced demolition in 1995. And intervention by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Astronomer Arthur Covington and many other individuals saved the telescope and artifacts during the 1970's.

My Dad (right) with the Hon. Paul Hellyer and another Parliamentarian:

 

The William Saunders Building on the Experimental Farm is vacant.

Other buildings in the vicinity have already been demolished or they are facing extinction:   The Sir John Carling building and cafeteria annex. The DARA Tennis Club, recently evicted. The RCN Curling Club near Dow's Lake. The North Azimuth was removed when Carling Avenue was widened. The South Azimuth will be flattened when Maple Lane is widened, to accomodate the increase in traffic when condominiums and a medical centre are constructed.

 Dominion Observatory - Astronomer Arthur Covington wrote a letter to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1973 asking the PM to save the landmark. Google:" RASC 2019 GA - National Heritage of the Dominion Observatory" YouTube. My schoolmates and I visited the Observatory in 1965 and we looked through the telescope.

The federal government donated 50 acres of our land to a hospital corporation. The City of Ottawa zoned the property as Institutional. Twelve acres were then rezoned as Mixed-Use. Changes are on the horizon for Prince of Wales Drive, Birch Drive and Maple Lane. Thousands of trees are endangered including Isabella Preston's crabapple trees and the Old Hedge collection. 

To see drone footage of the area Google: "The Sir John Carling site - Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital" The video is 25 seconds.

The Hogs Back Bridge may be divested.

 See "Future of Hog's Back Bridge a hot topic after NCC audit reveals need for repairs" CBC News August 25, 2017; and "Parks Canada to look at divesting highways,bridges and dams." CBC News August 26, 2017. As I said in my previous blog, the Rideau Canal has 53 dams.

Two Rideau Canal bridges in Ottawa are no longer owned by the National Capital Commission:

The governments of Great Britain and Canada signed a treaty stating that Canada would maintain the Rideau Canal in perpetuity: House of Commons  Ottawa   June 1, 1950. Member of Parliament George Taylor Fulford (Leeds, Ontario) Liberal:Mr. Fulford: "...There was a rather quaint treaty signed between Great Britain and Canada when the canal was handed over to Canada. One of the clauses said that Canada would maintain the canal system as long as the grass was green and the skies were blue."

Bridges in Ottawa that span the Rideau Canal.  Mackenzie King. Laurier, Hogs Back; Corktown Footbridge; Queensway; Pretoria; Flora Footbridge; Bank Street; Heron Road; Bronson; Rail Tunnel (just west of Dow's Lake, used by Ottawa O-Train Trillium Line, connecting Carleton and Carling Station). Information is from Wikipedia.

The Rideau Canal may be privatized.

It should be owned by the people of Canada in perpetuity.

A treaty was signed between Great Britain and Canada when the waterway was transferred to the Canadian government.

House of Commons  Ottawa  June 1, 1950.

George Taylor Fulford (Leeds, Ontario) Liberal.

Mr. Fulford:

     "...As we all know, the Rideau canal is of particular historic importance. It was built after the War of 1812 by British army engineers. There was a rather quaint treaty signed between Great Britain and Canada when the canal system was handed over to Canada. One of the clauses said that Canada would maintain the canal system as long as the grass was green and the skies were blue."

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The Rideau Canal lands from downtown Ottawa to Hog's Back Road are part of the of the National Interest Land Mass. They encompass 90 hectares or 222 acres. National Interest Land Mass properties can never be sold or subdivided and they include:

the Lebreton Flats.

the Central Experimental Farm.

the Greenbelt.

Gatineau Park.

Victoria Island.

Pts of Wellington in front of Chateau Laurier and the Conference Centre and land to the E. of the Conference Centre, also lands N. of Wellington between the Rideau Canal locks & the Chateau Laurier and Major Hill Park. Also the approach to Alexandra Bridge and the new Art Gallery site. 9.45 ha.

PM's residence.

7 Rideau Gate (Guest House).

G.G.'s residence Rideau Hall.

more...

"Land forming part of the NILM will be retained by the NCC on behalf of the government in perpetuity, for purposes which lie at the core of the NCC's mandate." Google: 1988-01-15-tb-re-ncc.

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My grandparents home was located near Merrickville, Ontario, part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The area was founded by the United Empire Loyalists. I spent many years of my life in towns and villages adjacent to the Rideau Canal... Merrickville, Portland and Smiths Falls. You will privatize the Rideau Canal over my dead body. I am standing in front of my grandparents home in 1956:

Why I believe that the government of Canada is planning to sell the Rideau Canal:

1.)   "Parks Canada to look at divesting highways, bridges, dams" (CBC News August 26, 2017.) The Rideau Canal has 53 dams and many bridges.

2.)   Google: "May 2018 State of Conservation Report, Rideau Canal" go to "November 14, 2019."

3.)  Parks Canada did not intervene when a developer bought land that was owned by Veterans Affairs  near Hog's Back. Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli and City Council wanted to buy the 88-acre Moffat Farm so that it could remain a green space but the National Capital Commission turned down their offer. The NCC appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board when there was a reluctance to rezone the Moffat Farm.

4.)  Foreign entities profit from the denationalization of Canadian Crown assets. 

Bill Gates and Company - Canadian National Railway.

Six Flags -is renting La Ronde from the City of Montreal. La Ronde was the Expo 67 amusement park.

(Barry Diller of Paramount and Fox News was interested in acquiring the CBC's transmission towers, more than 600, and thousands of transmitters. The eventual buyer signed a non-disclosure agreement.)

Fairmont - Canadian National Railway hotels including Chateau Laurier, Hotel Macdonald, Hotel Vancouver, Jasper Park Lodge, Fort Garry Hotel, Bessborough, Nova Scotian and Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

The Trudeau government refused to sell the Chateau Laurier to Hilton during the 1970's. The Canada Pavilion at Epcot in Orlando, Florida is a replica of the Chateau.

5.) A Fraser Institute document from the late 1990's. 

The Rideau Canal will lose designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If the government of Canada does not care about our history, why should the United Nations.UNESCO received a State of Conservation Report in May of 2018 regarding the following projects:
1.)  Various Federal Infrastructure Investment Program projects along the length of the Rideau Canal World Heritage property.
2.)  Rideau Canal Crossing pedestrian bridge. (Ottawa.)
3.)  Chateau Laurier proposed expansion. (Ottawa.)
4.)  Highway 417 bridge rehabilitation. (Ottawa.)
5.)  Third Bridge Crossing (Kingston.) (Note: It proceeded.)
6.)  Rideau Marina (Kingston).
7.)  Former Davis Tannery Brownfield Site Redevelopment (Kingston.)
8.)  New Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus (Ottawa.)
Parks Canada cannot protect the Rideau Canal. Google: "May 2018, State of Conservation Report, Rideau Canal" go to "November 14, 2019".

 The National Capital Commission and Public Works have the power to remove heritage designations: National Historic Site of Canada; National Interest Land Mass; Classified Federal Heritage Building and Recognized Federal Heritage Building. 
 Parks Canada stated that they want to privatize billions of dollars worth of infrastructure in the National Parks. 

 Steamboat cruises were a popular tourist attraction on the waterway and I would not be surprised if the Disney Corporation buys it.  

  Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but the Alberta government is closing it. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas can create their own Jurassic Park. The government of Canada should create the Dinosaur National Park. 
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 The TV Ontario documentary "Tripping the Rideau Canal" is on YouTube. I never fully appreciated the beauty of the waterway before and I cried a few times. Because I believe it will be sold off. Our grandchildren have the right to inherit this property. Where are the gatekeepers?

 Many federal politicians want to preserve the Rideau Canal for all Canadians:
House of Commons  Ottawa  February 19, 2007.
Mr. Gord Brown (Leeds-Grenville, Ontario) CPC.
     "Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that I am speaking about the Rideau Canal on Heritage Day...It encompasses many communities, all with unique heritage: Seeley's Bay, Newboro, Westport, Portland, Perth, Rideau Ferry, Smiths Falls, Merrickville, Kempville and Manotick..It is a heritage river, a national historic site and, hopefully, will soon be a world heriage site."

House of Commons  Ottawa  June 1, 1994.

Mr. Jim Jordan (Leeds-Grenville, Ontario).

     "..the Canal offers 202 kilometres of clear, pristine waters through a total of 47 locks."

The RCN Curling Club, Dow's Lake, may have to close.

Their rent was increased 1,000%, from $7,500 dollars a year to $77,000 dollars a year.The club is 3 minutes (1.5 km) away from the DARA Tennis Club which was recently evicted from the Farm.

The Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club, 41 Navy Private, Ottawa.

Why a new Civic Hospital will not be constructed near Dow's Lake, Ottawa.

Too many people and organizations are opposed to the project.The following individuals and organizations tried to save Crown property in the national capital:
Politicians who wanted to preserve the Lebreton Flats as a green space.
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada. (1988-09-15-tb-re-ncc.)
The Hon. Erik Nielsen, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Public Works.
MP Barry Mather, House of Commons October 22, 1969.
The Hon. John Baird.
The Hon. John Manley. ("John Manley, John Baird urge NCC to keep land public." CBC News, September 4, 2019.)

An individual.

Lindsay Lambert "...LeBreton Flats should remain public property and be devoted entirely to public and social use..." (The Province, August 5, 2020.)

The Central Experimental Farm.
Mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson - "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." (friendsofthefarm newsletter, summer of 2013, page 10/12.)

The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada.

The Hon.Erik Nielsen, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Public Works.

The Right Honourable Louis St-Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada - a March 19, 1954 Parliament of Canada document stated that the CEF will "remain an open area in perpetuity".

A March 19, 1954 Cabinet document.

Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition Mr. Walter David Baker, House of Commons Nov. 4,1974.
 Elizabeth May, MP and Leader of the Green Party wrote a letter to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Google "Celebrating Earth Day Heritage Ottawa."
Hon. Anne Cools, Senate of Canada  April 23, 2002. "The public fears that many other parklands, like the Experimental Farm and the Arboretum are on the National Capital Commission's list for sale."
MP Marlene Catterall, Ottawa West-Nepean.
Ms. Maude Barlow, Honourary Chairperson of the Council of Canadians."This is a place where families go, it's a place where people have gone for years." (Ms. Barlow) said the project would create a theme park atmosphere and lead to the privatization of the Experimental Farm. (Note: PWGSC and Agriculture Canada were prepared to annex 108 acres of the land for an enterprise that I call Disneyland North.) Ottawa Citizen article, August 3, 2001.
Hon. Howard Charles Green (Vancouver.) Minister of Public Works, PC House Leader, Secretary of State for External Affairs. House of Commons, August 1, 1958.

Hon. George James McIlraith, House of Commons, August 1, 1958.
City of Ottawa Councillor Katherine Hobbs.
City of Ottawa Councillor Clive Doucet.
MP Pierre De Bane, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs - House of Commons, November 4, 1974.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
Agriculture Minister Bud Olson.
Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan.

Agriculture Minister James Garfield Gardiner, House of Commons, Liberal, June 18, 1954.

Agriculture Minister Douglas Scott Harkness, House of Commons, August 1, 1958.

Agriculture Minister John Wise, House of Commons, May 13, 1988. "Agriculture Canada, my Department, has no plans or thoughts whatsoever of disposing of that property at any time."

MP David Bruce Daubney (Ottawa West) House of Commons, May 13, 1988.

MP Hazen Robert Argue, (CCF) House of Commons, August 1, 1958.

The Hon. Eldon Eady, member of the National Capital Commission and Director of Gatineau Park. Mr. Eady saved Queen Juliana Park located on 870 Carling Avenue. 1976.

The Rideau Canal.

Save Our Rideau-A campaign to save the heritage of the Rideau Canal..

The waterway will no longer be a UNESCO World Heritage Site if a medical centre is built on the Experimental Farm. A letter from the United Nations agency UNESCO to Parks Canada.

 "Canada's Farm" and the Rideau Canal Hartwell Locks, Ottawa. Photo is from smallpond.ca.

Organizations that want to save the Farm.
Protect the Farm - Home|Facebook.
Save the Central Experimental Farm - Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.
Saving the Central Experimental Farm - Heritage Ottawa.
Save the Farm - Protest to save our trees and greenspace.
Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association.

The National Trust for Canada.
Petition: Protection of the Central Experimental Farm as a research facility and a national historic site of Canada.

Petition: Save Ottawa's Precious Urban Greenspace - Change.org.
Petition sent to the Auditor General of Canada, by the Coalition to Protect the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site of Canada.  Report #5. Date received 28 January 2016.

Friends of the Central Experimental Farm.

The Dominion Observatory Campus.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is concerned about the future of the campus. Google "RASC 2019 GA - The National Heritage of the Dominion Observatory" YouTube. "Preservation of the Dominion Observatory-A Proposal." RASC.

Organizations that are opposed to what is happening in Westboro.
Save Rochester Field.
Stop Over-Intensification in Westboro.

The Sparks Street Mall.
The Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.
 Hon. Jean-Eudes Dube, Minister of Public Works.
Prime Minister Trudeau expropriated the properties on Wellington Street across from Parliament Hill, and the entire Mall in 1973 in order to:
1.)  Expand the Parliamentary Precinct.
2.) Protect the heritage buildings.
3.) Prevent the construction of high rise apartments near Parliament Hill.

House of Commons   Ottawa   July 20, 1973.
Mr. Jean-Eudes Dube (Minister of Public Works) Liberal.
     "Mr. Speaker, for a number of years it has been recognized that Parliament faces a severe space problem creating a limitation of it's effective operation...Moreover, concern has been expressed about the danger of visual encroachment on the beauty of the present parliamentary precinct...I wish therefore to announce Mr. Speaker, that I have today, on behalf of the government, filed a notice of intent to expropriate the land and buildings in the area bounded by Wellington Street, Elgin Street, Sparks Street and Bank Street. The purpose of this expropriation is as I have indicated to protect the environment of Parliament from any development which could adversely affect it...The property of the United States Embassy has been excluded from this expropriation but discussions are well advanced for it's acquisition."
(Note:Local politicians believe that a cluster of residential towers would "animate" the Mall. Only the facade or outer shell of the heritage buildings would be saved.)
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Save Little Italy.
Save the Mooney's Bay Park.

The Greenbelt.
"City of Ottawa White Paper on Development in the Greenbelt" May 27,2008:
     "It is estimated that of the 20,000 hectares in the Greenbelt, at least one quarter (approximately 5,560 hectares) might be eligible for development consideration if the Greenbelt designation was removed and the development policies of the city's Official Plan were applied to these lands."
(Note: The Greenbelt is a National Interest Land Mass, it is untouchable, Google: 1988-09-15-tb-re-ncc).
Federal politicians who preserved the Greenbelt:
MP Marcel Proulx (Hull-Aylmer) - House of Commons  November 26, 2007.
Minister of the Environment John Baird.
Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice.
The Hon. Gordon O'Connor (Mississippi Mills, Ontario) House of Commons September 16, 2009.
MP Beryl Gaffney (Nepean, Ontario)  House of Commons June 22, 1992.
MP Don Boudria (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell) House of Commons August 11, 1987.

Moffat Farm.
Senator Anne Cools.
Mayor of Ottawa Bob Chiarelli and the entire city council.

"UK offers British citizenship to nearly 3m people." Hong Kong.

From: the telegraph.com, July 1, 2020.
Is that why an Ottawa politician predicted that "tens of thousands" of new residents will flood into Centretown West? Is that why condominium towers as tall as 65-storeys are being built on  "surplus" federal property in the nation's capital?
The Governor General of Canada is the official representative of Queen Elizabeth. The Governor General has the power to privatize Crown property in Canada.

Diane Holmes is trying to save Little Italy.

City of Ottawa Planning Committee - June 24, 2014: "Somerset Ward Councillor Diane Holmes noted that work on the Preston-Carling Secondary Plan had been underway for the past decade, at which time tensions in the neighbourhood had risen. She noted that the area's residents were prepared to accept increased intensification along Carling Avenue, but she wanted to ensure that the district known as "Little Italy" would continue to be supported and preserved and would not be undermined by the plan."
(Note: I do not want to see a "wall of condominiums" along Carling Avenue. 
I was denied access to hundreds of pages pertaining to the lease agreement between the Civic and the National Capital Commission, Public Works and Agriculture Canada ---because I "do not have a valid reason to see the documents." Of course I have a right to see the documents, I am a Canadian citizen, this is Crown land that is being transferred to builders, and Carling Avenue is "my street." I really feel as if my city has been invaded by (foreign? hostile?)elite entities that do not care about Centretown West;
the landscape
history
the danger to pedestrians and people in cars, created by a mass infusion of residents and vehicles;
loss of park land
negative impact on tourism
loss of important views- Dow's Lake;; heritage buildings on the Farm;
loss of thousands of trees;
the exodus of original Little Italy residents and business owners.

I want to see a moratorium on new construction in Centretown West;
I want to see a public inquiry established to find out why so many government of Canada properties are being privatized; to discover who is running Ottawa City Hall especially the planning/zoning department; to find out why Somerset Ward is the victim of an unbelievable, massive land grab. It is ongoing, unstoppable and a malignant cancer that has overtaken a Crown jewel in the Capital City of Canada.)

Centretown Buzz - Feature - The OMB and Norman Street, an inside look by Eric Darwin.
"Readers with a high pain threshold will recall the very controversial and adversarial Preston Carling  plan the City developed in 2013. It recognized the ongoing land stampede by developers to acquire lands along the O-Train Trillium corridor and the intersection of Preston and Carling. Some parcels were upzoned several times, sometimes while buildings were still under development."
"Local residents in the Little Italy neighbourhood felt patronized, pushed and ignored."

Another Ottawa neighbourhood victimized by intensification.

Westboro.

Maplelawn also known as Rochester House, 529 Richmond Road.

Westboro Community Association|Facebook. "Say goodbye to Rochester Field." The property was sold to the National Capital Commission during the 1950's. The park is located between Richmond Road and Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. 

Stop Over-Intensification in Westboro - Home|Facebook.
Save the Byron Linear Park
Save Rochester Field (they could not.)