The straws that broke the camel's back.

•  Planning to remove 680 trees from the Experimental Farm and giving the land away to a hospital. 100 trees are already gone.
•  Permitting the loss of more Farm land when Carling Avenue, Maple Drive and Prince of Wales Drive are widened."Carling Avenue will be a prominent, beautiful and comfortable multi-modal 'great street' with wide sidewalks and bicycle lanes|tracks separated from vehicular movements." (Preston-Carling Secondary Plan.) And the City of Ottawa needs Baseline Road property for a transit project.
• Banishing vehicles from Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill.
• Permitting foreign architectural companies to redevelop the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa. I could not see one Canadian Maple Leaf Flag in a final concept drawing.
• Putting up road barriers in Gatineau Park especially near the Mackenzie King Estate. Prime Minister King gave his property to the people of Canada in perpetuity.
• Eventually banning private vehicles and OC Transpo buses from the scenic driveways that were created by Prime Minister King and Jacques Greber: "The parks and driveways are and will be located along the banks of the Rideau and Ottawa rivers, the Rideau Canal system and Dow's Lake...The areas were acquired by the Commission to ensure their retention and protection." I enjoyed travelling on the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway on OC Transpo buses and seeing the Ottawa River, Gatineau Hills and government buildings in Quebec. I do not enjoy travelling on subways or fast trains. I would rather see trees, waterways and people walking their dogs, than cement walls.
• The encroachment on the Greenbelt---for example Mer Bleue.

House of Commons Ottawa January 30, 1978 Mrs. Jean E. Pigott (Ottawa-Carleton) moved:

"That, in the opinion of this House, the National Capital Commission is not sufficiently accountable to those who live in the national capital region or the people of Canada, and exercises its powers in an arbitrary manner without adequate consultation with other levels of government and that, as a just step, there should be a permanent standing joint committee on the the national capital region."

"Mr. Speaker, sometimes it is said that it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back, and I am certain that the government is wondering at the the rash of editorials over the weekend and at the press coverage of the appointment of the new chairman of the National Capital Commission, the former hon. member for Westmount. I think it is the straw that breaks the camel's back, because of the things that the people who live and work in this city and who pay taxes have felt, that the NCC has become a political football to this government and has not taken in the cares and concerns of those who live and work in this whole region."

"It was Harold L. Ickes who said "I am against government by crony". Public office is a public trust, not a political prize. The recent appointments to the National Capital Commission suggest that the job qualifications for that position have more to do with partisan public relations and assembly of land than the long-range development of the national capital region. It seems that candidates for this position have to be former politicians who are closely linked with the present government."

"The future of this city and important relations involving many levels of government across provincial jurisdictions need strong and enlightened relationships. The federal government however, has completely ignored any but the most partisan considerations in the appointment of the NCC chairman. The ability of the former member for Westmount and of Mr. Juneau is not the issue. At a time when the NCC is at the centre of serious problems in this region, its whole operation must be an example of justice and accountability, both in fact and in appearance."

"The NCC has now become what is really a national capital corporation  in which the "capital" is represented in the dollars and cents of land management and powerplays, redirecting millions of dollars worth of buildings without the consulation of local elected people, and not in the creation of a meaningful symbol for our country."

"The National Capital Act passed in 1958 states that the purpose of the NCC is to prepare plans and to assist in the development of the national capital region "in accordance with its national significance." Is there national significance in the fact that no elected official of any of the regional or local municipalities of the national capital region sits on the NCC?"

"In April of 1977 Mr. Pierre Juneau said: "It is the duty of the NCC to nurture and expand the spirit of co-operation and good will which characterizes its relationship with the community of which it is an inseparable part."

"But in its 1975-76 annual report, the NCC maintained that municipal responsibilities "cannot be construed as representing the national interest." It is tragic. How is this statement expected, again in the words of Mr. Juneau, to "expand the spirit of co-operation and goodwill."

"For most of its history the NCC and its predecessors concerned themselves with the beautification of the capital area. During the 1950's the commission began to assume the job of over-all planning. As the owner of upwards of 40 per cent of the land in the national capital region, the NCC has exerted a strong influence here and has been able to build whatever it wanted on its own land without even getting a building permit."

"Local groups and politicians have faced a deaf ear when they tried to become involved in their own planning and decision making in their city. There are many examples. The situation at Carlsbad Springs is just one of them, and it is in a corner of my wonderful constituency of Ottawa-Carleton."

National Capital Commission expropriation of private farmland.

"In 1974 farmers at Carlsbad Springs who wished to discuss expropriation plans involving their lands were told to report their complaints to a tape recorder since no authorized person was available to answer questions. It is no wonder that people at Carlsbad Springs were prompted to say: "We are just not happy with the NCC's behaviour. Poor communication with the area residents was the standard pattern and often we would learn of events through press reports."