House of Commons Ottawa October 7,1974. Mr.Walter David Baker(Grenville-Carleton) Progressive Conservative.(Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition; Progressive Conservative Party Deputy House Leader.) "Mr. Speaker, in view of the statement yesterday by the Minister of State for Urban Affairs about trade-offs in respect of green spaces in Canadian cities, will he inform the House how this trade-off will affect specifically the experimental farm in the city of Ottawa and the greenbelt surrounding it, and indicate whether the government is now actively planning to intrude development into these areas?"
Hon. Barnett Jerome Danson (Minister of State for Urban Affairs)Liberal: "Mr. Speaker I was just speaking about the general picture in Canada, trying to make people aware of the necessary considerations we have in attempting to deal with growth in our cities. Certainly the city of Ottawa in particular has to be treated with special sensitivity. There will be further discussions on this subject before the special joint committee of the House and the Senate announced in the Speech from the Throne."
House of Commons Ottawa November 4, 1974. Mr.Walter David Baker(Grenville-Carleton) Progressive Conservative. (Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition; Progressive Conservative Party Deputy House Leader.) "Mr. Speaker, on October 7 I directed a question to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs (Mr. Danson) regarding...a theory he advanced in the course of "Question Period", that the government certainly would have to consider the adoption of a trade-off in respect of green spaces in Canadian cities."
"...The minister, in the course of his answer, indicated that at least in so far as the two places I had mentioned in the National Capital Area, namely the Experimental Farm and the Ottawa greenbelt, he regarded these as areas of special sensitivity, and shared my view and the view of many other members of this House in respect of the necessity to preserve them."
"...Government policy must look at green space in urban areas as a very precious commodity. It is becoming more precious each day as there is a tendency in our society...to pack more and more people onto fewer and fewer acres of land. Municipal development is becoming vertical rather than horizontal. Indeed we must consider the impact that this type of development will have on open space and particularily agricultural land.The green belt and the Experimental Farm in the National Capital Area are precious for the reasons I have mentioned."
Comments about the Experimental Farm, from a 1950 document by Jacques Greber:
The Agriculture, Scenic Beauty and Wealth of the National Capital Region.
"Speaking agriculturally, the Capital City is and should be the logical headquarters for research for the Ottawa region and the larger territory in this climatic zone. Equally, it is but logical that it should be the administrative headquarters for agricultural research, which is a Federal responsibility for all Canada. Thus, Ottawa is particularly favoured by having such institutions as the Central Experimental Farm, the headquarters for Science Services in Agriculture, including the most valuable research unit in animal diseases located in Hull, and the Biological Division of the National Research Council."
"It is of particular interest to note that these phases of research, which have grown with the years, have existed in or near the Capital City for nearly seventy years, while it is only within the last two decades that our great neighbour to the south has realized the great need of a similar federal institution and has established on the outskirts of Washington a tremendous and beautifully equipped research unit at Beltsville, Maryland.That institution, just as the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, is more and more appreciated by city and rural people as a research centre where valuable information is acquired for the benefit of the region itself as well as the nation as a whole." (Prepared by Dr. E.S.Archibald, Director of Experimental Farms Services, Department of Agriculture Canada.Pages 39 to 42/395, the Greber Report.)
History of the National Capital.
"...The Capital revealed herself a tourist centre of rare attraction...Residence of the governor general, a university and episcopal city, she can offer convention members hotels with every modern comfort, to spcialists the Parliamentary Library, the National Archives and the scientific museums; to the ordinary tourists the Royal Canadian Mint, historical museums, the Archives and the National Gallery. For hikers here are Rockcliffe, the Driveway and the gardens of the Experimental Farm. On leaving the city, the visitor finds himself, within a few minutes, in the Gatineau Park, at the gateway to a hunting and fishing paradise..."(Prepared by Dr. Gustave Lanctot, President of the Royal Society of Canada and former Deputy Minister of the Public Archives, Page 58/395, the Greber Report.)
From the Holt Report of 1915.
"...Extensive parks and playgrounds were strongly recommended, including the acquisition of lands in the Laurentian Hills for a National Park, and the development of Dow's Lake and its adjacent lands as a recreational centre was strongly urged..." (From Page 196/395, the Greber Report.)
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| Canada's Farm encompassed 1,200 acres in 1983. |
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