A hospital cannot be built on a National Historic Site located in Ottawa.

And the taxpayers of Canada are not responsible for the $11 million dollar cleanup of the Sir John Carling Building site for a municipal project.

"The National Interest" - 1975-1976 NCC Annual Report, page 9/52.

"Up until recent years, the NCC and its predessors were in effect the only long-range planners for the National Capital Region. But as Ottawa and Hull and their surrounding communities grew, other jurisdictions began to assume their own and proper responsibilities for planning. Naturally, administrative conflicts have resulted."

"Under the National Capital Act, the Commission is responsible for protecting and promoting the national interest in the Capital. The objectives and purposes of the Commission are set out in the Act: 'To prepare plans for and assist in the development, conservation and improvement of the National Capital Region in order that the nature and character of the seat of the government of Canada may be in accordance with its national significance.'

"It has been argued by some that only municipal authorities have the responsibility for promulgating and implementing region-wide planning in the National Capital Region. The Commission holds that this view is unconstitutional." (Emphasis mine.)

"Provincial and municipal authorities have responsibility for local concerns in their respective jurisdictions in the Region. But their responsibilities cannot be construed as representing the national interest. Neither can they be substituted for national concerns and interests. If Parliament had not wanted to see a national character for the Capital, it would not have created a national agency for that purpose, and there has been such a national agency since 1899."

"An important aspect of this agency-now the NCC-has always been its non-partisan character. The agency has always enjoyed the confidence of successive Parliaments and governments since Laurier's day and progress in the National Capital has never been identified with the policies of a particular government. The resultant continuity and stability are at least partly responsible for the quality of development so far."

"The Commission has functions different from those of a government department. Its special advisory committees---on planning, on design and on property transactions---are able to assess federal projects in the Region from a national viewpoint. The committees, like the 20 Commissioners themselves, are drawn from all regions and provinces of Canada and they give Parliament and the government independent professional advice in the fields of architecture, urban planning, environment, transportation and land use and development."

The Constitution Act, 1867 remains in full force in Canada. Federal Responsibilites:

• national defence.

• foreign affairs.

• employment insurance.

• banking.

• federal taxes.

• the post office.

• copyright law.

• criminal law.

Provincial Responsibilities:

• provincial taxes.

• hospitals.

• prisons.

• education.

• marriage.

• property and civil rights.

• rules of the road.

• age of majority.

Municipal Responsibilities:

• building permits and zoning.

• city parks.

• public transportation.

• collection of garbage and recycling.

• water and sewer services.

• fire prevention.

• city roads and sidewalks.

• licencing and control of pets.

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The National Capital Commission may be prohibited from selling or leasing government property if the Government of Canada receives a petition with more than 1,000 signatures: Senate of Canada May 8, 2002: Regarding the proposal by the National Capital Commission to sell federal parkland near Mooney's Bay to developers-Inquiry-Debate: Senator Noel Kinsella: "Honourable Senators, I would like to make a few remarks with reference to this matter now before the Senate...The matter relates to the National Capital Act, which created the National Capital Commission."

"It seems to me we require a provision for a recall mechanism. Section 10 (4) of the (National Capital) Act, which gives the power to the National Capital Commission to sell lands held in trust, could be amended by Parliament to provide for a review mechanism (if) Parliament or a parliamentary committee...receives for example, 1,000 signatures of citizens from any part of Canada."

Petitions that were sent to the Auditor-General of Canada, by Member of Parliament Elizabeth May.

The Federal Todd Report of 1903."A Capital City belongs to a certain extent to the whole country, and should not be placed in such a position that any one man, or company of men, can have it in their power to seriously mar its beauty, and thus throw discredit to the nation. As a Capital City, the park and open spaces should be numerous, and ample boulevards and parkways should skirt the different waterways as well as connect the principal parks and different public bridges." (The Todd Commission later became the Holt Commission; the Federal District Commission and then the NCC. Frederick Todd was designated a National Historic Person on October 21, 2020 by the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.)

The Holt Commission of 1915 was a joint undertaking on the part of the Federal Government and the cities of Ottawa and Hull: "Extensive parks and playgrounds were recommended including the acquirement 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." (Greber Report of 1950, page 199/395.)

The Federal Greber Report of 1950. "The Experimental Farm forms a central park within a residential area of the City of Ottawa, and its avenues constitute a part of the driveways of the Federal District Commission." (Page 167/395, and a photograph of the site is included.)

The Rideau Canal Promenade includes the Ottawa Locks, the Shaw Centre, Pretoria Bridge, Lansdowne Park, Dow's Lake, the Experimental Farm and Hartwells Lockstation:

The Rideau Canal Promenade.

The Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site is designated in its entirety as part of the National Interest Land Mass.
 The 1,000 + acre property cannot be subdivided or sold and will be owned by the citizens of Canada forever. "These lands are essential for the long-term symbolism, functions, physical structure, and natural and cultural landscapes of the Capital."

"Implicit in a NILM designation is a formal interest by the Federal Government in the long-term use of these lands. Most NILM lands are, or should be under the custody of the Federal Government to ensure they are protected and enhanced. Generally, the majority of these lands are, or will be, owned by the NCC, while some NILM land will also be under the custody of other custodians or departments."(From: "CEF National Historic Site Management Plan", part 7/20.)