Buffer zones will stop the Civic Hospital from relocating to the property.
1.) National Historic Site of Canada protective zone ---500 metres. New construction is banned within 500 metres of National Historic sites, according to Senate Bill S-203, an Act to Amend the National Capital Act. (November 2019, First Reading.) The CEF was designated in 1998.
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| The 1998 document. |
2.) Astrophysical Observatories---have a wide protective area:
House of Commons Debates Ottawa June 26, 1972. The Hon. Gaston Clermont (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board.) Liberal."...The Dominion Observatory near Penticton BC was chosen for its freedom from man-made radio interference, a requirement for the detection of 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 serving that site." (My comments: The Astrophysical Observatory in the Capital will reopen one day, unless the Civic Hospital, Natural Resources Canada and Councillor Riley Brockington fail to protect it. The telescope has been transferred to the Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa for safekeeping; historical documents were retained by the NRC, and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is calling for the reopening of the site. On a personal note, my classmates and I looked through the Ottawa telescope in 1965---I believe that thousands of school children are being robbed of an unforgettable experience by being denied access to a fully functioning observatory.)
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| A YouTube video presented by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. |
3.) National Parks General Regulations---30 metres or 100 feet. Commissioners Park is federal land and QJP was a gift to the people of Canada from the Director of Gatineau Park Eldon Eady in 1976. National urban parks operated by the NCC:
House of Commons Debates Ottawa November 2, 1964. The Hon. Arthur Laing (Minister of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources) Liberal. "...A buffer zone has already been provided by virtue of a 100 foot reservation along the shore of the river for use by the public as contained in the National Parks General Regulations."
4.) The Greenbelt - Commissioners Park is part of the National Capital Commission's Greenbelt. "Without being buffered our parks are being compromised." MP for Ottawa South David McGuinty, House of Commons, September 16, 2009.
5.) The UNESCO buffer zone is 30 metres or 100 feet. Part of the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site is located at Dow's Lake. UNESCO said it will remove heritage designation from the Rideau Canal if an extension is built onto the Chateau Laurier Hotel and if a medical centre is built on the Farm.
House of Commons Debates Ottawa June 3, 2016. MP Wayne Stetski (Kootenay-Columbia) New Democratic Party. "Mr. Speaker, last week UNESCO's world heritage committee called on Canada to better protect Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park from industrial development if it is going to keep its world heritage designation...Will the government not agree to put a buffer zone in place?"
The Hon. Catherine McKenna (Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Lib.) "Mr. Speaker, we believe in the ecological integrity of our national parks and we are committed to maintaining the ecological integrity of them. That applies to all parks including Gros Morne National Park."
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Ottawa Hospital New Civic Campus-CheckPoint Newsletter December 17, 2020.
"When it opens in 2028, every day, thousands of patients,staff and visitors will come to the Ottawa Hospital's new Civic hospital campus...Perched on the edge of Dow's Lake on Carling Avenue, the Ottawa Hospital's new Civic development will be a jewel in the region's health system...the hospital will be among the largest and most advanced in Canada."
"The federal government has graciously leased us a 50-acre piece of land that we find very inspiring. We imagine this futuristic health-care centre sitting up on the hill, looking out over the Central Experimental Farm and Dow's Lake, embedded organically into the landscape." (My comments: The Government of Canada stated that when the World War Two temporary buildings were removed the land would always be an open space. Temporary building #8 was located on 870 Carling and # 5 was near the lake.)
CheckPoint Newsletter December 17, 2020."The site is bounded by...the scenic Prince of Wales to the east and Maple Drive to the west. (My comments: New buildings cannot be constructed within 500 metres of the Astrophysical Observatory campus. Maple Drive cannot be encroached upon because of Senate Bill S-203, an Act to Amend the National Capital Act.
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| The South Azimuth, Maple Drive. The City of Ottawa wants to flatten the landmark so that the lane can be widened. Prince of Wales Drive is being widened to four lanes from two. And the Sir John Carling Building cafeteria is slated for demolition by the Civic in 2021. The William Saunders Building is vacant. (Photo is from "Canada's Historic Places.") |
House of Commons Debates Ottawa September 16, 2009. MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South) Liberal: "...In 1899, Parliament created the Ottawa Improvement Commission. It's focus was to beautify Ottawa as the national capital. It created driveways along the Rideau Canal and Rockcliffe Park, and Minto bridges and several new urban parks..."
"From 1927 to 1959, the Federal District Commission built the Champlain Bridge, the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Gatineau Park and the famous Greber plan which set out and maintains...green space in this region...We know that our parks need to be protected but they need to be buffered...without being buffered our parks are being compromised."
House of Commons Debates Ottawa March 10, 1986. MP Barry Turner (Ottawa Carleton) Progressive Conservative."...The Mile Circle land has been held in trust since 1904 by the federal government as parkland. I cannot believe that today, in 1986, with all of our collective knowledge and experience, that the commission is actually threatening to destroy these parklands."
"I cannot accept the arguments that any development will be done in such a way as to maintain open spaces and a parkand setting. That is impossible since thousands and thousands of tons of concrete and steel will be sewn together by architects, engineers and construction workers to build embassies on the Mile Circle."
"My professional background is in conservation and tourism development, and I know what impact infrastructure can have on parkland. If parks are for people, and I truly believe they are, then you put any and all development outside of them."
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