The Greenbelt in Ottawa should not be a national urban park.

1.)An urban park or metropolitan park is also known as a municipal park. The 50,000 acre Greenbelt is a National Interest Land Mass and it should be owned by the citizens of Canada in perpetuity, not by the City of Ottawa Corporation. The City wants the Greenbelt for housing:

BEYOND OTTAWA 20/20: TABLING OF THE OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW WHITE PAPER ON DEVELOPMENT IN THE GREENBELT-MAY 27, 2008: "It is estimated that of the 20,800 ha in the Greenbelt, at least one quarter, 5,560 ha. might be eligible for development if the Greenbelt designation was removed."

2.) House of Commons Ottawa May 25, 2010 Mr. Marcel Proulx (Hull-Aylmer, Liberal) "...The Liberal members from the National Capital Region, the member for Ottawa-Vanier and I have good reason to call for enhanced protection of the greenbelt. There are, as a matter of fact, no major regulations protecting this area. Together the City of Ottawa and the NCC could do what they like with it. We believe this greenspace must be protected from developers."

 3.) The Greenbelt National Urban Park will be modelled after the Rouge National Urban Park. The Rouge National Urban Park Act raises many red flags,and the Rouge is not "national", it is not included in the official list of National Parks in Canada. The term national urban is an oxymoron.

4.) The City of Ottawa is not a champion of urban green space; they issued tree cutting permits for:

At least 750 trees on the Experimental Farm/Queen Juliana Park. 200 trees are already gone.

All 165 specimens on Sylvia Holden Park on Lansdowne.

40 trees on 563 Richmond Road near Maplelawn. Hundreds along Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard. 

If Major's Hill Park becomes an annex to the Chateau Laurier the landscape of the park will change. 

The City of Ottawa promised that the Humane Society land on 101 Champagne would be an extension of Ev Tremblay Park. But the Envie Condominiums were built.

4.4.2. Parks and Open Spaces - "The City requirements for parks and open spaces may have to be revisited to ensure that the types of spaces required by developers reflect the need for quality spaces of all sorts (active, passive, programmed, soft-surface and hard-surface) at the right sizes. The goals of a review of parks and recreational land should be: "Quality over quantity of space should be the guiding principle." Parks don't have to be grassy to be green. One of the many appropriate types of green space is the plaza. The city should accept parkettes as part of the 5% parkland dedication."  (Recreational Land Strategy for Ottawa 2006-2031). Parkettes or pocket parks are less than one hectare.

 Protesting the loss of 165 trees on Sylvia Holden Park.

5.) The 22-acre Commissioners Park at Carling and Preston is a Greenbelt property. There is a reason why 265 Fairmont Avenue was re-named Princess Margriet Park.

6.) The former head of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation wanted to see a million people live in the Greenbelt.

7.) National Interest Land Mass properties cannot be sold or subdivided. The NILM designation was created to protect federal properties in the National Capital Region---from being transferred or sold to the municipality of Ottawa or to a foreign country. "...Land forming part of the NILM will be retained by the National Capital Commission on behalf of the government in perpetuity for the purposes which lie at the core of the NCC's mandate; and will be managed by the NCC with little or no further management involvement by the Treasury Board Secretariat." (Google: 1988-09-15-TB-re-NCC Land holdings.)

8.) The Greenbelt is untouchable. House of Commons Ottawa November 3, 1981 Mr. Jean-Robert Gauthier (Ottawa-Vanier) Liberal: "Last week Ottawa newspapers headlined that that NCC was prepared to give up land located in the Greenbelt, the untouchable zone surrounding the National Capital."

9.)  Prime Ministers of Canada and Members of Parliament were opposed to the sale of Greenbelt land to the City of Ottawa, to developers, the province, organizations, etc. They wanted to preserve the integrity of the 50,000 acre landscape:

Prime Minister Mackenzie King

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney - Prime Minister Mulroney created the National Interest Land Mass law in 1988, to prevent the sale and takeover of important federal government properties. NILM land and buildings that are protected by the designation:

• The Central Experimental Farm
• The Greenbelt
• The Greenbelt Research Farm on 1740 Woodroffe Avenue
• 24 Sussex Drive
• Land beside the scenic parkways---Sir John A. Macdonald; Queen Elizabeth Driveway; Colonel By...the list goes on.
• The Royal Canadian Mint
• 7 Rideau Gate
• Rideau Hall
• The Parliament Buildings and Parliament Hill 
• more than 50 more federal holdings in Ottawa.

Members of Parliament who wanted to preserve Ottawa's Greenbelt:

MP Marlene Catterall

MP Gordon O'Connor

MP Jean-Robert Gauthier

MP Marcel Proulx

MP Beryl Gaffney     

MP Don Boudria

MP Mauril Belanger

MP John Baird

MP Walter Baker

MP Jim Abbott

Environment Minister Jim Prentice