Public Works and Queen Juliana Park.

NO BUILDINGS WILL BE BUILT ON THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM EXCEPT BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

  1.) The Federal Minister of Public Works and Members of Parliament wanted the land to remain vacant, when the World War 11 Temporary Buildings were removed the Farm and the Dow's Lake area. House of Commons Ottawa June 16, 1958 The Hon. George James McIlraith (Ottawa West) Liberal: "Mr. Chairman, I wonder if the Minister is now prepared to make the statement he said he would make concerning the policy of the government with respect to building on the central experimental farm."

The Hon. Howard Charles Green (Minister of Public Works; Leader of the Government in the House of Commons; Progressive Conservative Party House Leader): "The policy is that no buildings will be built on the central experimental farm except buildings for the Department of Agriculture."

Mr. McIlraith: "If I may pursue the first question a bit further, has the minister come to any conclusion as to what will be done with the land on the experimental farm now occupied by the temporary buildings when they are removed?"

Mr. Green: "I take it that the hon. member for Ottawa West refers to temporary buildings Nos. 5 and 8. For some years the policy has been that when these temporary buildings are torn down nothing will be constructed on the site."

2.) Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the National Capital Commission and PWGSC gave Queen Juliana Park to the people of Canada in 1976: Stop the rezoning of Parks to Condos-Queen Juliana Park in Little Italy: "The City of Ottawa Planners are rezoning Little Italy to medium to high density condos for the area bounded by the 417 north to Carling south to Rochester east and the railroad tracks west. By doing this rezoning it is elimination of one park in our area used by the community at large. The park is Queen Juliana Park located at 870 Carling Avenue."

"The Queen Juliana Park was founded in 1976 when the Federal government tore down the Temporary Buildings. The purpose of the Historical was to honour Queen Juliana of Holland who donated thousand of tulip bulbs to Ottawa and to relocate community uses of Commissioner Park to Queen Juliana Park in 1976 when Italian Week and St. Anthony's Church used Commissioner Park for its activities to celebrate Italian Canadian Culture. In 1976 Mr. Edes of the NCC convinced Public Works to create the Park for Community Use because the NCC was not going to allow Associations to use Commissioner Park for its festivities. Accordingly the local Community has used Queen Juliana Park for many of its festivities including the Victoria Day May 10 to 24th, the Native Indian Pow Wow June 16th to 20th and the Canada Day Festival June 27th to July 2."

"It would be very shameful for the City of Ottawa Planners to Rezone these two Parks  for high rise condos. Our local Community has very few parks for the amount of residents in the area. If they were destroyed the Community would have to go to the Experimental farm or Vincent Massey Park to which locations they would have to drive. This is defeating the Policy of not driving and going green implemented by the City of Ottawa Councillors. Please sign our petition to keep the parks in little Italy. Thank you for your support in this matter."

 Angelo Filoso, President. Italian Canadian Community Centre of the National Capital Region Inc.

3.) Municipal politicians Katherine Hobbs and Jeff Leiper tried to save QJP: City of Ottawa Planning Committee June 24, 2014. Proposed Motion No. PLC 77/4 submitted by Councillor K. Hobbs. WHEREAS the Preston-Carling Secondary Plan proposes a Carling O-Train (future LRT station).

AND WHEREAS the provision of expanded and enhanced greenspace is a key pillar in creating a sustaining, attractive and liveable neighbourhood. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Planning and Growth Management Department when reviewing development applications for the properties currently owned by Public Works and Government Services Canada municipally known as 870 Carling Avenue and locally known as "Queen Juliana Park" that staff seek to maximize usable, programmable greenspace to create a district park and ensure safe and convenient pathways for cyclists and pedestrians to move through the space from the study area and greater Civic Hospital area. (Google: Planning Committe ottwatch June 24 2014.)

4.) House of Commons Ottawa June 14, 1978 Mr. Arthur Huntington, Progressive Conservative: "...In the late 1960's, I guess about the year 1968, a successful history of Crown construction with a system of checks and balances came to an end. We saw the evolution of well-connected developers moving in on the domain of the Department of Public Works to the point where, in the next decade, that department was reduced to little more than a real estate management function with the National Capital Commission acting as its agent in the capital region..."

QJP in 1983. The Sir John Carling Building can be seen in the background.

The image is from Reimagine Ottawa. On June 16, 1958 the PWGSC Minister told the House of Commons that no buildings would ever be constructed on land that was inhabited by Temporary Buildings # 5 and # 8. The Dow's Lake parking lot was occupied by Temporary Building #5. Public Works told MP Pierre Poilievre that the parking lot, owned by all Canadians, was worth more than $4 million dollars. Public Works donated the property to a hospital but some of land has been rezoned Mixed Use.

A March 13, 1954 Privy Council Order in Council that was approved by the highest levels of the Canadian government. The decree was approved by the Governor General of Canada and Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent: The Central Experimental Farm should remain an open area in perpetuity. Land where Temporary Buildings #5 and #8 were located were part of the Experimental Farm.

Temporary Building # 8, near the Sir John Carling Building, and Temporary Building #5, near Dow's Lake can be seen. The photo is from West Side Action.