The Plan.

Remove Crown assets from ordinary Canadians. Especially real estate---farmland; thousands of bridges; military bases, penitentiaries; lighthouses, Veterans Affairs housing and hospitals, scenic driveways including the Sir John A. Macdonald and Aviation Parkway, post offices, Dominion Buildings, CBC land and buildings; the southern half of the Sparks Street Mall in Ottawa, Canada Mortgage and Housing properties; La Ronde at Expo 67 in Montreal; Major's Hill Park ---the Chateau Laurier Hotel is planning to integrate the hotel with Major's Hill Park---trees will be removed, pathways redirected and sewer facilities built beneath the Park, a National Historic Site. I suspect that members of the public will no longer be welcome at Major's Hill and will be kept away by tall gates and security guards.

Part of the National Research Council of Canada on 100 Sussex Drive is being sold or given away to the British Embassy which is next door.

The Americal Embassy on Sussex Drive was built on Parliament Hill property. The embassy is nicknamed "The Battleship","Fort Knox" and "The Bunker."

National Historic Sites of Canada that were either sold or given away: The Quebec Bridge between Levis and Quebec City; the Chateau Laurier Hotel; Ottawa Normal School on Elgin Street; Central Experimental Farm and Dominion Observatory adjacent to Carling Avenue, the Kingston Penitentiary and Prison for Women, located across the street from the Pen; the home of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald on Sussex Drive; 

A Timeline

Late 1940's and early 1950's - Prime Minister Mackenzie King and Jacques Greber dedicate 900 square miles of land in the National Capital Region to the memory of fallen Canadian soldiers.

1954 - The city of Ottawa wants Experimental Farm land for a new city hall.Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent refuses the request and states that the Experimental Farm "will be an open space in perpetuity."

House of Commons Ottawa July 13, 1956. Hayden Stanton (Progressive Conservative). Mr. Stanton: "In view of the fact that the central experimental farm cannot expand any farther on account of the building projects surrounding it, has the minister given any consideration to expanding the farm by way of an annex say 50 or 75 miles away from the central farm?"

Hon. James Garfield Gardiner (Minister of Agriculture) Liberal: Mr. Gardiner: "This question, of course, as to what will become of the experimental farm in Ottawa comes up nearly every year. The department is of the opinion that it ought to remain just where it is. We do not think it is going to help agriculture or anyone who comes here to get an idea of what is going on in Canada to have an experimental farm 20 miles away from Ottawa or even 10 miles away."

"We think one of the chief assets of our experimental farm system as well as one of the chief assets of Ottawa in general is the central experimental farm right where it is."

"The question came up recently when the city wanted to take a piece of it to make a highway, and we insisted on its being just as small a piece as they could get along with and still have a highway. We intend to continue that policy, we are not making any preparations to take anything away from the present experimental farm and we hope the farm will remain just where it is."

1974 - The head of the National Capital Commission Doug Fullerton pressures the Trudeau government for 600 acres of The Farm for housing. Member of Parliament Lloyd Francis and Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan refuse the request:

House of Commons Ottawa October 10, 1974. SPEECH FROM THE THRONE-CONTINUATION OF DEBATE: Mr. Francis (Ottawa West) Liberal: "I wish to pay tribute to Mr. Fullerton for his imaginative and innovative use of public funds and public lands. However, I wish to take issue with him on one score and express quiet but firm disagreement with him."

"He may have been right on a number of things, but I do not think he was right when he proposed that part of the Experimental Farm should be used for housing. Despite the fact that there is a serious housing shortage I do not think that my constituents would choose to sacrifice an open space which is such a precious thing for the community."

1988 - Agriculture Minister Doug Wise tells the House of Commons that CEF land will never be privatized under his watch. However, 91 acres of the Clyde/Merivale lands are purchased by the city of Ottawa for Walmart and the Central Park subdivision:

1988 - Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Deputy Prime Minister Erik Nielsen introduce the National Interest Land Mass designation to protect hundreds of properties in the National CapitalRegion. That includes Gatineau Park, the Greenbelt, national parkland, the Experimental Farm, Greenbelt Farm; scenic highways, the banks of the Rideau River and Ottawa River, 24 Sussex Drive, the Royal Canadian Mint...NILM land will be protected by the National Capital Commission in perpetuity.

1991 - Bill C-3, the Federal Real Property Act - House of Commons Ottawa November 22, 1991: MP Dennis Mills (Broadview-Greenwood,Liberal) "In one year, with the support of this bill, it is possible that there will be no Crown land assets left."

1995 - "The government is getting out of the business of running experimental farms." 50 historic buildings on the CEF are slated for demolition, Google: "The fight for the Farm goes on". Heritage Ottawa newsletter, Spring of 1997.

1998 - The Department of Agriculture transfers thousands of acres of the Greenbelt Research Farm at 1740 Woodroffe Avenue to the NCC for $1 dollar. During the 1960's the land mass was 4,000 acres.

The owner of the Quebec Bridge is American Bill Gates. Bill Gates refuses to paint or refurbish the landmark. MP Chuck Strahl tells the House of Commons "Why should the government pay for this, we don't even own the bridge."

The Quebec Bridge between Levis and Quebec City.

2001 - 81 acres of Veterans Affairs land adjacent to the Rideau Canal near Mooney's Bay are sold for a housing subdivision called "Prince of Wales on the Rideau.". Senator Noel Kinsella remarked that a holding mechanism should be introduced---a petition with 1,000 names, presented to the Senate, will prevent the NCC from automatically divesting Crown property.

The city of Ottawa wants the National Capital Commission to transfer thousands of acres of Greenbelt War Memorial property to the city. "It is estimated that of the 51,397.919 acres in the Greenbelt, at least one quarter, 13,739 might be eligible for development consideration if the Greenbelt designation is removed." Google: "Beyond Ottawa 20/20. Tabling of the Official Plan Review-White Paper on Development in the Greenbelt. 27 May, 2008."

"Parks Canada to look at divesting highways, bridges, dams" by Dean Beeby, CBC News, August 26, 2017. "Parks Canada is considering whether to give up as much as $8.3 billion of its highways, bridges and dams." 

Parks Canada operates 46 national parks, a national urban park, 4 national marine conservation areas and 171 national historic sites including historic canals. I believe that the Rideau Canal is on the hit list:

1.) The United Nations Agency UNESCO told Parks Canada that the designation UNESCO World Heritage Site will be removed from the Rideau Canal if a hospital is built near Dow's Lake, and a new addition to the Chateau Laurier Hotel interferes with views of the waterway. Parks Canada told UNESCO that they do not have enough money to monitor development projects along the Rideau Canal.

2.) The Rideau Canal has 52 dams and 45 locks.

3.) In the year 1995 the National Capital Commission gave the Mackenzie King Bridge and Laurier Avenue Bridge to the city of Ottawa. Both of the bridges cross the Rideau Canal.

4.) The Rideau Canal cannot be sold. House of Commons Ottawa June 1, 1950. MP George Taylor Fulford (Leeds) Liberal: "...There was a rather quaint treaty signed between Great Britain and Canada when the canal was handed over to Canada. One of the clauses said that Canada would maintain the canal system as long as the grass was green and the skies were blue."

The National Capital Commission cannot privatize, de-pave or ban automobiles from the National Capital Region parkways.  "Federal, scenic highways in the National Capital Region are dedicated to the memory of Canadian soldiers who died fighting in foreign wars. They will be owned by the citizens of Canada in perpetuity" (From: The Greber Report of 1950, page 228/395.)

Scenic Parkways

Ottawa River Parkway - now called the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway - Wellington Street to Carling Avenue, 254 ha.  Airport Parkway.  Queen Elizabeth Drive. Sir George Etienne Cartier Parkway. NCC Experimental Farm Parkway. Gatineau Parkway.