How to preserve Canada's sovereignty.

1.)  Preserve the symbols that define Canada---our Maple Leaf Flag, Coat of Arms and Official Anthem "O Canada."

2.)  Do not let Parks Canada privatize $8 billion dollars worth of infrastructure in the National Parks.

3.)  Do not privatize any more Crown corporations; the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada Post and Via Rail should always be owned by the citizens of this country.

4.)  If the Alberta government wants to sell or lease dozens of provincial parks, give the federal government an opportunity to buy the properties. Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5)  Try to convince the UN to designate Portsmouth Village in Kingston, Ontario a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kingston Pen, Prison for Women, land surrounding the Church of the Good Thief, St. Helen's, Isabel MacNeill Halfway House, Portsmouth Olympic Park and Rockwood should not be sold to housing developers.

6.) Give the Historic Sites and Monuments Board the power to protect historic buildings and landscapes.

7.) Do not let the City of Ottawa use federal property as a land bank. The Greenbelt should be off-limits.

8.)  Do not denationalize the National Parks or Rideau Canal:

House of Commons Ottawa March 19, 1998. Bill C-29, an Act to Amend the National Parks Act. Mr. Nelson Riis (Kamloops, B.C.) New Democratic Party: "...Members can probably tell that I do not support Bill C-29 at his point....This bill involves a great deal of Canada: 31 national parks, 786 historical sites, a number of historical canal systems (Rideau Canal), 661 sites that are managed by third parties that are ecologically or environmentally significant, 165 heritage railroad stations and 31 river systems."

Mr. Howard Hilstrom (Selkirk-Interlake, Manitoba) Reform: "Mr. Speaker, I am quite interested in the financial aspects of this bill. Is there a possibility of foreign interests getting involved in our parks systems?"

Mr. Nelson Riis: "Obviously the answer is yes. We lack a national parks policy just as we lack a national waterways policy or a national highway policy."