The NOSS Report.

"The Natural and Open Spaces Study (NOSS) was undertaken to provide the technical information necessary to enable informed decisions regarding the City's remaining natural areas and open spaces. The study recommends the protection of 57 natural areas city-wide." 

The Farm - The Natural Open Space Study (NOSS) report, prepared by the City of Ottawa, identifies a number of significant natural resources on or adjacent to the Central Experimental Farm site. The Arboretum ranks in the highest category for social value, reflecting the importance Ottawa residents attach to this area for its visual and natural relief, and for its contribution to the quality of life in an urban context. The NOSS study recommends protection of the Arboretum, an adjacent open water wetland habitat, two nearby watercourse reaches, and the CEF Woods near Fisher Avenue. It also provides management guidelines. (From: Central Experimental Farm Historic Site Management Plan (8 of 20) Date modified on 2019-09-17.)

City of Ottawa Department of Urban Planning and Public Works - June 4, 1999. Natural and Open Spaces, Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Protection Areas:

Portion of Mud Lake/Britannia Woods,  Pinecrest Woods,  Dechenes Rapids,  Hampton Woods,  Chaudiere Rapids,  Portion of Lemieux Island,  Arboretum,  Central Experimental Farm Woods,  Prince of Wales Woods,  Victoria Island Woods,  Brown's Inlet,  Patterson's Creek,  Rockcliffe Park Woods,  Leopold Woodlot,  Riverside Woods,  CNR Line,  Portions of Sawmill Creek,  RA Centre Woods,  Rideau River Park Woods,  Jim Durrell Arena Woods,  Coronation Park Woods,  Ramsey Creek Woods.

"The intent of intensification never contemplated using publicly owned lands...

...and particularly lands adjacent to the River." "Mr. E. found it disturbing that waterfront land along the Rideau River, next to a natural historic canal site would be lost for perpetuity. He felt that Ottawa was fortunate to have a lot of land in Federal ownership (as a result of the Greber Plan from the 1950's.)" (Google: "Report to/Rapport au:-City of Ottawa - Moffat Farm.")

A few years ago the City of Ottawa rezoned 12 acres of Experimental Farm land to "mixed-use" to facilitate the construction of 3 high rise buildings facing Carling Avenue. Residential towers are not permitted on a National Historic Site and a National Interest Land Mass. And Parks Canada will not permit views of the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site to be obstructed, nor the encroachment of buffer zones. Find another location for your world-class hospital.

Modify zoning from Waterfront Open Space to General Urban Area.

The Waterfront Open Spaces were Federal properties that protected parkland and Rideau River and Rideau Canal buffer zones. When the Ottawa Hospital is built on the Experimental Farm, Maple Drive and Prince of Wales Drive will be widened, and access by the public restricted. 

Comments about a real estate project on 1709 Prince of Wales Drive. 2002.

1.)  The NCC is not fulfilling its mandate to protect open space in the national capital area, nor upholding its obligations to the Canadian public, and especially the Carleton Heights community, by pursuing development of Moffat Farm. The NCC did not categorize the land based on NOSS. Access to water attracts visitors to the capital.

 The NCC should meet with and listen to the concerns of the local residents. Why must more land from Moffat farm be developed than is necessary for the Montfort Woods land exchange; the NCC should not set up a conflict between the two neighbourhoods. The area is needed for future generations. The development should be put out beyond the built up areas of the city. Under the proposed land deal the NCC gives Phoenix Homes 86 acres at Moffat Farm and gets back 16 acres at Montfort woods back in return, which is a bad deal for the NCC, especially since Moffat Farm is a better location. Why was only one developer given this "plum"? The land should be returned to the veterans.

2.)  The Moffat Farm open space should be protected because it enhances the neighbourhood and is a natural extension of the Mooney's Bay green space. Any development here will destroy the sensitive natural environment that includes not only just the plants and animals of the woods, ravines and Rideau River banks,but also the meadow, which is the only grassland environment in the city.

Residents of the new development will monopolize the remaining green space. This area has evolved naturally and is the last natural green space available along Prince of Wales Drive and within the urban area. The city's "Environmental Services" says this is the only area in the city to collect insects to monitor environmental change. Some of the plants on the property are of "local significance".

Consideration should be given to the bio-diversity study of the Rideau River being done by the Canadian Museum of Nature and others. The area should be designated as a wildlife habitat; the ecological diversity of the area should be preserved. The green space provides a source of relief from the stress of urban life and helps off-set pollution. Diminished quality of the environment drives up the cost of soft surfaces for people to compensate for the loss.

Won't a higher future population mean that more green space will be needed? Ottawa's reputation as a beautiful green city must be maintained. Less green space will lower the quality of life in Ottawa and make it less attractive to businesses. If the area is developed pesticides and fertilizers will pollute the river...Pressure to stabilize the shoreline will destroy bio-diversity. If the development goes ahead improved river access will destroy the important and sensitive small wet-land and marsh area along the river, which must be protected.

Runoff from asphalt streets is not as clean as from the existing natural area. Some wildlife will not visit a park---only a natural area. Moffatt Farm is the only grassland environment in the city and should be allowed to mature as it is. The NCC should do an environmental assessment of the area. This green space is important to people from beyond the local neighbourhood. It makes no sense to be actively seeking to increase the inventory of public waterfront lands outside the Greenbelt while allowing development to remove such lands inside the Greenbelt.

3.)  The development will generate more traffic and construction which will cause pollution and have a bad impact on Mooney's Bay and the water quality and attractiveness of the Rideau River.

4.)  The property should be used as a veterans memorial garden or park. The windmill could be put there. There should be more respect for an area of homes of war veterans.

Similarities between the Moffat Farm and the Central Experimental Farm:

a.)  Both of the properties were part of Jacques Greber's memorial in perpetuity to Canadian soldiers.

b.)  Thousands of animals have lost or will lose their habitat.

c.)  The Ottawa Hospital Corporation ignored a massive National Capital Commission report that recommended another location for a medical centre. Regarding Moffat Farm "The NCC should meet with and listen to the concerns of local residents." 

d.)  Concerns were raised about ecological damage to the Rideau River created by a subdivision. Many people are worried about buildings blocking the view of the Rideau Canal; the future of Winterlude and the Tulip Festival and the threat of pollution on the waterway.

e.)  The Carling Avenue farm will be inundated by noise pollution from years of construction, helicopters, ambulances, mass transit and thousands of people per day accessing the mega-hospital. The Moffat Farm was a popular location for hikers, people walking their dogs and the Boy Scouts.

Congratulatory messages to the Friends of the Farm on their 25th anniversary.

 From Governor General David Johnston, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Suzanne Viner:

The December 16, 2021 Mandate Letter to the Federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Ministers receive mandate letters following a general election, a throne speech or a cabinet shuffle. They are written by the PMO and the Privy Council Office.

(I only included parts of the letter that pertain to national urban parks, the protection of heritage properties and the preservation of old-growth forests.)

Dear Minister Guilbeault:

Thank you for agreeing to serve Canadians as Minister of Environment and Climate Change....The science is clear. Canadians have been clear. We must not only continue taking real climate action, we must also move faster and go further. As Canadians are increasingly experiencing across the country, climate change is an existential threat. Building a cleaner, greener future will require a sustained and collaborative effort from all of us. As Minister, I expect you to seek opportunities within your portfolio to support our whole-of-government effort to reduce emissions, create clean jobs and address the climate-related challenges that communities are already facing.

• Recognize the "right to a healthy environment" in federal law and introduce legislation to require the development of an environmental risk strategy and the examination of the link between race, socio-economic status and exposure to environmental risk.
• Establish 10 new national parks and 10 new national marine conservation areas (NCMAs) in the next five years, working with Indigenous communities on co-management agreements for these national parks and NCMAs.
• To ensure all Canadians have access to green space, establish at least one new national urban park in every province and territory, with a target of 15 urban parks by 2030. You will also invest in existing national parks, with more Canadians than ever before visiting these sites. 
• Support the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance in developing a national trails tourism strategy.
• Work with the Minister of Natural Resources to help protect old growth forests.
• Introduce comprehensive legislation to protect federally owned historic places.

Sincerely,

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada.

"Why I love Ottawa." Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson's favourite places.

Ottawa Magazine, June 20, 2017. 

277 Sussex Street.

The Central Experimental Farm.

Rideau Hall.

The National Arts Centre and the Precinct of the War Memorial.

The long-term preservation of green spaces in the Capital.

 House of Commons Ottawa November 4, 1974. Mr. Pierre De Bane (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs) Liberal: "Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member (Mr. Baker) that the National Capital Commission is fully aware of the matter which he has raised, namely that we must preserve the green spaces of this area..

I can assure the hon. member that there is no question of replacing the green spaces already existing in the national capital region with buildings. On the contrary, proposals are presently under study in order to link these green spaces together and have them penetrate further into the urban area...

I also wish to remind the hon. member that the NCC will very soon make public its planning concept for the whole region. This document, along with the proposals it will contain, will be studied by a joint special committee of the Senate and the House of Commons and of course members will have the opportunity to express their views.

The long-term preservation of these resources must be ensured, and at the same time the public must have access to them. The achievement of this objective implies the cohabitation of certain urban and rural environments. A typical example of this is, of course, the Experimental Farm in the centre of Ottawa."

Parliamentary debates pertaining to the CEF.

House of Commons Ottawa June 2, 1989. Mrs. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West): "...Clearly, the Government does not believe in Canada. It does not believe in government except as a framework in which to serve the interests of commercialization...."

"I mention the sale of experimental farm lands in Ottawa West in the last two years. These lands that were appraised at $5.5 million sold at $3.5 million. (91 acres of forested land between Clyde and Merivale north of Baseline.) "A subsequent reappraisal said they were really only worth $1.5 million to start with."

 (Federal Minister of Agriculture John Wise never wanted to see any Farm property sold.  House of Commons May 13, 1988: Hon. John Wise: "...Agriculture Canada, my Department, has no plans or thoughts whatsoever concerning disposing of any portion of that property at any time. There is no question about that...")

House of Commons Ottawa April 22, 1996. ( The Central Experimental Farm, Gatineau Park, the Greenbelt, Greenbelt Research Farm, Commissioners Park,  Majors Hill Park and many other properties are part of a 900 square mile National War Memorial dedicated to the memory of Canadian soldiers.---Plan for the National Capital, 1950 by Jacques Greber "The Master Plan is dedicated as a National War Memorial" Page 11/395. "The Master Plan herein set forth organizes and protects a vast area of urban, rural and wooded territory." Page 7/395.)

Ms. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West, Liberal.) "Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition signed by close to 1,000 people. It arises from a situation that occurred in our nation's capital last year when the National Capital Commission was looking at selling off parts of green space and open corridors..."

"The petitioners call to the attention of the House that when Jacques Greber released his plan for the national capital in 1950 it was dedicated, at the direction of the cabinet, as a national memorial to those who had fought in the wars in the defence of Canada."

"Therefore the petitioners call on Parliament to ensure that this committment and the greenspaces of the capital are maintained as a war memorial and are not disposed of or sold."

House of Commons Ottawa February 9, 1998. Ms. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West-Nepean, Liberal): " Mr. Speaker, last week the secretary of state for Parks and the minister of agriculture designated the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa as a national historic site. This does not mean that the farm will be frozen in time. It will continue to evolve as it has for 111 years but it will evolve in a way that is consistent with the important contribution it has made to agriculture in Canada and internationally.

It will be a permanent visible reminder... to all Canadians of the importance of agriculture to our economic and social development. The people of this region are proud of the capital and its national institutions. I know they will want to contribute to and be part of planning the Central Experimental Farm..."

The Canadensis Red Barn near Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa. Very close to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.

I would not be surprised if the entire Farm is fenced off in the very near future, thanks to the Ottawa Hospital, Canadensis, Heritage Canada and Environment Canada. The public will have to pay admission fees and interior roads and bicycle laneways will be off-limits. 

Stanley Park in Vancouver is protected from commercialization and redevelopment.

Why are National Historic Sites in Ottawa not granted the same rights.

House of Commons Ottawa June 17, 1988.  The Right Hon. John N. Turner (Leader of the Opposition):" Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, June 19, the Board of Parks and Recreation of the City of Vancouver will be celebrating a century of service and marking the 100th anniversary of Stanley Park.

The first resolution of the First City of Vancouver petitioned the then Dominion Government to grant what was at the time a government military reserve to the city for a public park. Ottawa consented to lease the park to the city for 99 years, and Lord Stanley of Preston, then Governor General of Canada, gave his name to the park with these memorable words " To the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds and customs for all time, I name thee Stanley Park."

You and I know, Mr. Speaker, that Stanley Park is famous for its many features, from the zoo and the acquarium, to Lumbermen's Arch, Pauline Johnson's Memorial, the beautiful totem poles and, of course, the Lord Stanley monument.

But it is the park itself, an island of green shining like an emerald jewel in the middle of a large urban setting, which is the major attraction for tourists and citizens alike. The fact that Stanley Park has retained much of its original natural and uncluttered beauty is a tribute to the people of Vancouver who have been vigilant over the years in their efforts to protect the park from overdevelopment and from commercialization.

I am sure I speak on your behalf as well, as a neighbouring Member of Parliament, Mr. Speaker, when I say that all of our constituents in Vancouver Quadra, Vancouver South, and other constituencies of Vancouver join me in congratulating the Vancouver Park Board on its role in preserving Stanley Park over the last century and for future generations."

It is unconstitutional, for a municipal hospital and a business to take over an Agriculture Canada property in Ottawa.

 The Central Experimental Farm is a National Interest Land Mass. Municipal, provincial and private endeavours are banned on NILM properties. The only buildings permitted on the CEF are Agriculture Canada laboratories, museums, greenhouses, barns, silos, heritage buildings and visitor's centres. 

The National Interest. (From: The Annual Report of the NCC 1975-1976 - page 9/52.) Up until recent years, the NCC and its predecessors were in effect the only long-range planners for the National Capital Region. But as Ottawa, 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 unconstitional. 

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 an 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 succesive 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 committee, 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 Hartwell Locks are part of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, and the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buffer zones cannot be breached, the Lockstation and trees removed, or the docks altered to facilitate tourism activities.

A satellite image of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.

Ottawa Citizen August 3, 2001, page 33.

Has Canadensis already started their project? How many trees in the Arboretum and Fletcher Wildlife Garden are being sacrificed?

The blue gates are blocking the entrance to the Arboretum on the Experimental Farm. As I mentioned before, the sign reads "New project." 

"In cooperation with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Arboretum, the Fletcher Wildlife Garden and the Experimental Farm, Canadensis Garden will be a showcase for our changing times."

 The Arboretum Woods are untouchable, Google: "urban natural features strategy City of Ottawa, April 11, 2006." How many trees will be chopped down for Canadensis, a fenced-in commercial enterprise?

 I thought you were going to save what was left of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi. 

Canadensis is presenting its Annual General Meeting on June 16, 2022 from 7 pm to 9 pm, a virtual meeting via Zoom.

 The Red Barn, adjacent to Prince of Wales Drive is apparently now owned by Canadensis.

And buffer zones protect the Rideau Canal. But Parks Canada does not care about the Rideau Canal designation and viewscapes---evidenced by the fact that the agency permitted the occupation of Dow's Lake property by the Ottawa Hospital Corporation; and Parks Canada is permitting a multinational corporation called Fairmont to build condos behind the Chateau Laurier Hotel.The Chateau Laurier is being integrated with the federal Major's Hill Park. Members of Parliament and a report from ten years ago recommended that a fence separate the hotel from Major's Hill. 

Queen Juliana Park on Carling near Preston was dedicated to the memory of the more than 7,000 Canadian soldiers who were killed during the liberation of the Netherlands during World War 11. I never saw "No Trespassing-Private Property" signs on the park until very recently, nor did I ever see a tall fence encircle the landscape. The park was a venue for Canada Day, indigenous Pow Wows, the Tulip Festival and Italian Week, and fundraising events were held for Juvenile Diabetes and the animal shelter. A carnival featured a ferris wheel and games. 

The four-storey parking garage that will be built on Queen Juliana Park, part of the Experimental Farm in Ottawa.

The Dominion Arboretum in October of 1963. The Arboretum is an 86-acre parcel of public land located between Prince of Wales Drive and the Rideau Canal. A National Archives photo.

Disneyland North, a new project on the Experimental Farm.

During the month of April in the year 2020 plans were underway to redevelop 34 acres of land on the Experimental Farm Woods near the Rideau Canal Hartwell Locks. The Woods are a protected land mass, and federal laws ban inappropriate construction near the Rideau Canal. The botanical garden venue includes a visitor's centre, laboratory, amphitheatre, tower, a huge parking lot and a plaza.

Maude Barlow, Honorary Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, and the Friends of the Central Experimental Farm were adamantly opposed to a 2001 version of the endeavour: Maude Barlow:

"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. (Ottawa Citizen, August 3, 2001.,"Botanical plan alarms Farm fans.") The government of Canada was prepared to give 108 acres of Agriculture Canada and Public Works and Government Services land to the botanical garden in 2001.

The National Capital Commission, Parks Canada and the City of Ottawa support this loss of public federal land.The City of Ottawa is planning to remove Farm land next to Baseline Road for a transit route. And a medical centre recently cut down more than 100 trees near Dow's Lake.

 Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre Yasir Naqvi promised to save the Experimental Farm from any further encroachment. "Naqvi proposes protection law for Experimental Farm while Civic Hospital project rolls on." (Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen September 3, 2021.)

Concerns about the location of the botanical garden in 2002:

1.) It must not include any use of land or facilities on the west side of Prince of Wales Drive.

2.) The use of any land or facilities on the east side of Prince of Wales Drive must meet the Canadian Heritage (Parks Canada) criteria (e.g. it must not have a negative impact on the heritage values of the Canal nor impede the operation of the Canal, specifically at Hartwells lockstation but also navigation in general.)

3.) The Arboretum, if included, must remain open and free to the public.

4.) The Fletcher Wildlife Garden must remain as it is.

5.) The Commemorative Integrity Statement must be observed.

6.) The land use must be compatible with other jurisdictions (e.g. NCC, Parks, City of Ottawa, etc.) and designations (National Interest Land Mass of the CEF) and,

7.) It must clearly demonstrate financial viability/self sufficiency. (Google: General Meeting-12 June 2002-Greenspace Alliance.)

Don't change the Arboretum: The Ottawa Botanical Garden Society has been wanting to put a botanical garden on the site of the Arboretum in the Central Experimental Farm for some time. This would be a commercial venture including fencing of the Arboretum and the adjacent land south. That would mean everyone would pay to use the property for running, tobogganing, walking (dogs or otherwise) even if those activities are allowed at all. 

I am writing to inform as many people as possible who use the Farm to please write to Agriculture Canada to put a stop to any changes to this heritage property. I think there is a great need to let Agriculture Canada know how people feel about the grounds being changed and fenced. Even if not fenced (which I feel it would be), there would be many changes to the site that I think would affect all runners and walkers to this wonderful space. (Google: The Glebe Report, August 17, 2001.)

"Under no conditions whatever should the ground now occupied by the Experimental Farm be used for other than park purposes."

From: Report of the Ottawa Improvement Commission on a general plan for the cities of Ottawa and Hull, 1915, page 126/238. The Ottawa Improvement Commission became the Federal District Commission and then the National Capital Commission.

The City of Ottawa is responsible for the Experimental Farm Driveway.

The road is also known as the NCC Driveway. I believe that private vehicles will be banned from the parkway.

I was denied access to the 2,400 page lease agreement between the government of Canada and the Ottawa Hospital because I "do not have a valid reason" to read the document. This $1 real estate deal will have a negative impact on a National Historic Site, more than 700 trees and the Historic Hedge Collection, the Rideau Canal, Arboretum, Dominion Observatory, the Hartwell Lockstation, Maple Drive, Prince of Wales Drive, Ornamental Gardens, the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, the William Saunders building, NCC Driveway, Queen Juliana Park and Commissioners Park.

The Hartwell Locks are part of the Farm:

House of Commons Ottawa March 20, 1968:The Hon. Jean Casselman Wadds (Grenville-Dundas) Progressive Conservative: "What new buildings have been built at the Experimental Farm in the last five years, and what was the cost of each?"

The Hon. J.J. Greene (Minister of Agriculture) Liberal: "Department of Agriculture, 1964, Storage building (prefab), $14,765.

1965, Plastic greenhouse, $10,794, Lath house, $4,339; 2 Plywood silos, $4,700.

1966, 8 Screen-houses, $2,600.

1967, Greenhouse, $34,202, 2 Plastic greenhouses, $64,900."

"Department of Public Works, 1963, East west headerhouse, $322,213; Seismograph vault (Energy, Mines & Resources), $90,421; Honey house addition, $165,039.

 1966, Irrigation pump house, Hartwell locks, $40,360; Sir John Carling building, $9,962,579; Addition to apiculture building, $46,243.

 1967, Plant growth building, $135,220.

A Privy Council Order in Council from 1990. PC Number 1990-2807. Authority for the NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION to enter into a number of real estate transactions and agreements with the CITY OF OTTAWA which, in summary, provide for: (a) the sale or transfer to the City of several pieces of land (including the baseball stadium lands at Coventry Road and Vanier Parkway), several streets, parks or bridges including Clemow Avenue, Linden Terrace, Central Park, Minto Bridge, Echo Drive and the Driveway, as well as the perpetual responsibility for the maintenance of several major public boulevards, local streets, structures and parks, namely Lakeside Avenue, Heron Road Bridge, Bronson/Heron interchange, Vanier Parkway, Bronson Park, Island Park Drive, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Colonel By Drive and the Experimental Farm Drive." 

The City of Ottawa believes that "Parks do not have to be grassy to be green" and that the public is entitled to parkettes that are less than 1 hectare in size. We are disrespected--- when important meetings about public land are conducted behind closed doors and when documents are witheld.

Information that is included in the 2,400 page agreement, in my opinion:

1.) A wall of condos will line Carling Avenue from Commissioners Park to the old Civic.

2.) The important reasons why the Dominion Observatory is being obliterated. The telescope was removed a few years after my high school class and I looked through it in 1965. 

The Dominion Observatory campus.

3.) The sale of air rights.

4.) The medical centre is being expanded vertically as well as horizontally. Maple Drive, Prince of Wales and the NCC Driveway are being widened to four lanes and restricted to emergency and staff vehicles. Checkpoints are being designed, so that drivers can show machines their identification papers and proof of Covid 19 and monkeypox vaccinations.

5.) Trees are being relocated to a tree museum that is accessible virtually on a computer screen. The powers that be want us to shun human contact and to teletravel, teleshop, etc. Already the NCC told us to "enjoy" the Canadian Tulip Festival virtually, on our computers.

6.) Eventually the public will be banned from the Farm for "security reasons" or because of the catchall excuse Covid 19. Just as Wellington Street, the grounds of Parliament Hill and the House of Commons are being restricted from ordinary people in a futuristic scenario.

7.) I can envision the fish pond, creeks and wooden bridges being removed from the Fletcher Wildlife Garden so that real estate corporations can build residential housing.Ottawa has been facing an emergency housing crisis for years--- in 1974 the head of the National Capital Commission Doug Fullerton wanted to remove 700 acres from the Experimental Farm for a subdivision. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Agriculture Minister Whelan told the NCC to keep their hands off the Farm.

A National Historic Site is not appropriate for a medical centre, residential development or Disneyland North--a 34-acre endeavour, at one time 108 acres-- near the Hartwell Locks and inside the Arboreum. 

The Rideau Canal Hartwell Locks are part of the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site.

8.) Restrictive designations that prevent demolitions and redevelopment are eventually being removed---National Historic Site of Canada; UNESCO World Heritage Site; Classified Federal Heritage Building; Recognized Federal Heritage Building and Part 1V of the Ontario Heritage Act.

9.) The 22-acre Commissioners Park has been earmarked as a parking lot for hospital employees, visitors and patients. 

 

Family owned photos from the 1960's.

 Smiths Falls, Ontario.

A park near the Tay River, Perth, Ontario.  

The Eastern Ontario countryside. 

The government of Canada is very concerned about the location of a new medical centre.

 A letter that was sent from Parks Canada to the City of Ottawa in the year 2022: