A landmark.

 Attempts to demolish the Dominion Observatory on Carling Avenue in Ottawa. Reposting.

• 1970 - The building was saved by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, astronomer Arthur Covington and heritage societies.
• 1997 - More than 50 properties on the Farm including the Observatory were facing extinction. ("The fight for the Farm goes on". A Heritage Ottawa newsletter from the spring of 1997.)
• 2016 - The Sir John Carling location. "On this site we have at least 24 buildings, including Buildings 1 to 9, the Natural Resources Campus including the Dominion Observatory...Extensive demolition or relocation of buildings is required for the new build to proceed." (From: New Civic Campus. A 21st century hospital in the heart of Canada's capital. April of 2016, page 10/76).   Currently protected:

• K.W. Neatby #20
• Laboratory Services #22
• Nutrition building #59
• Arboretum Horticulture Centre #74
• Swine barn #91
• Engineering Research #94
• Carpenter Shop #98  (Google: Federal Directory of Real Property website, Agriculture Canada no. 08615. Land area (ha) 409.8200. Building count is 87.)

My classmates and I visited the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in 1965 and we all looked through the telescope. savecfbrockcliffe.  

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 The Carling Towers cannot be built because the Observatory is an annex of the Parliamentary Precinct---- high rises are banned and buffer zones cannot be breached:

"The popularity of the Observatory occurred when it opened in 1905, due to the support of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Laurier's advocation reinforced the idea that this Observatory was to be considered an arm of the parliamentary precinct. At the time it was recognized as a national achievement where the nation's time would be kept and would be a symbol of Canada's progress in astronomical science." ("Journal of the Study of Architecture in Canada" and "Astronomer Mary Grey and the Architecture of Canada's Dominion Observatory." Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Sharon Odell page 10/67.)

The Parliamentary Precinct includes:

• The Parliament Buildings and Parliament Hill
• The Library of Parliament 
•  Supreme Court of Canada
• Senate of Canada (former Union Station across from the Chateau Laurier)
• Library and Archives Canada
• Federal buildings on Wellington Street across from Parliament Hill
• The northern half of the Sparks Street Mall
• The Lebreton Flats House of Commons Ottawa November 23, 1967 The Hon. George McIlraith (Minister of Public Works): "The Lebreton Flats were envisioned as a western extension of the Parliamentary Precinct."  What this means in my opinion---savecfbrockcliffe:
• public festivals are encouraged on the Lebreton Flats---for example Canada Day, Bluesfest, music and comedy festivals. Also permitted: Museums, libraries and commemorative statues. Condominiums are banned, also hospitals and athletic arenas.

• foreign architects cannot redevelop the buildings across from Parliament Hill and remove my country's Maple Leaf Flag, Coat of Arms, the names of prominent people and the statue of Terry Fox. 
•  Ottawa's Parliamentary Precinct---Wellington Street, the Sparks Street Mall, Lebreton Flats and Dominion Observatory: House of Commons Ottawa July 20, 1973: The Hon. Jean-Eudes Dube (Minister of Public Works): "Concern has been expressed about the danger of visual encroachment on the beauty of the present parliamentary precinct which is one of the great symbols of Canada. We must ensure that nearby developments do not adversely affect it...I have today, on behalf of the government, filed a notice of intent to expropriate all the land and buildings in the area bounded by Wellington Street, Elgin Street, Sparks Street and Bank Street...The purpose this expropriation, as I have indicated is to protect the environment of Parliament from any development which could adversely affect it."
• going forward, properties along Wellington Street across from the Hill should be owned by all Canadians---not by foreign embassies or by a sector of Canada's population.
• land cannot be removed from Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court of Canada for an Ottawa/Gatineau tram project.
• buffer zones will prevent the loss of the Observatory Campus:

The government of Canada is selling federal armouries "to combat homelessness".

Already decommissioned---Lees Avenue Armoury; Wallis House; Oak Street on 933 Gladstone. 

, Armouries in Niagara Falls and Windsor, Ontario:

The National Interest Land Mass.

Definition -The National Interest Land Mass (NILM) consists of "National shrines, the river and canal banks, the Confederation Boulevard, the Gatineau Park and the Greenbelt in the National Capital Region...considered essential to the realization of the vision of the Capital. There are 37 individual parcels of property in this category currently owned by the NCC totaling some 44,200 ha. in area. Land forming part of the NILM will be retained by the NCC on behalf of the government in perpetuity, for 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.)  Ontario 

• Victoria Island - 6.35 ha.
• Part of Lebreton Flats N. of the Transitway -65.37 ha.
• Shoreline behind Parliament Hill - 2.91 ha.
• Chambers Building, Elgin & Queen - 0.27
• Confederation Square - 0.15 ha.
• Parts of Wellington in front of Chateau Laurier and the Conference Centre and land to the east of the Conference Centre.Also lands North of Wellington between the Rideau Canal locks and the Chateau Laurier & Major's Hill Park. Also the approach to the Alexandra Bridge & the new Art Gallery site.
• Lady Grey Drive at the Ottawa River W. of Sussex Dr.
• Daly Building corner of Rideau & Sussex
• 8 parcels of land E. of Sussex (Mile of History) from Rideau Street to MacDonald Cartier Bridge.
• Small park on W. side of Sussex Dr. South of the MacDonald Cartier Bridge
• Pt of the Mint property West of Sussex Drive
• 2 parcels West of Sussex Drive North of MacDonald Cartier Bridge. Parking lot at Earnscliffe & water lot.
• 4 parcels on the Rideau River around City Hall
• 4 parcels East of Sussex Drive between Stanley Ave. and Rideau Gate
• PM's residence
• 7 Rideau Gate (Guest House)
• G.G.'s residence, Rideau Hall
• Ottawa River Parkway Wellington Street to Carling Ave.
• Champlain Bridge, Island Park Drive
• Rideau Canal lands, from downtown to Hog's Back Rd.
• Rideau River lands Green Island to Revelstoke Dr.
• Airport Parkway
• Eastern Parkway Hemlock Rd. to Hwy 417
• Eastern Driveway & Rockcliffe Park from Sussex Drive to Greenbelt
• Lower Duck Island Ottawa River
• Greenbelt, 14,000 ha (approx)

Quebec

• 3 parcels, Ottawa River shoreline at Portage Bridge & land beside Eddy Street
• Parts of Laurier St in front of Place du Portage
• Ottawa River shoreline at the Alexandra Bridge approach
• Hull wharf Ottawa River water lot only
• Museum site Laurier Ave
• Ottawa River shoreline South of Brewery Creek
• 8 parcels on the East side of Brewery Creek
• 4 parcels, Jacques Cartier Park
• Ottawa River shoreline proposed Voyageur Parkway
• Leamy Lake and part of the Philemon Wright Corridor.
• Gatineau Park, 32,000 ha (approx.)

Minister of Public Works Erik Nielsen and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, both of whom created the policy and Prime Minister Joe Clark. The photo is by Peter Bregg.

"The Central Experimental Farm is designated in its entirety as part of the National Interest Land Mass. These lands are essential for the long-term symbolism, functions, physical structure, and natural and cultural landscapes of the Capital."

"Implicit in a NILM designation is a formal recognition of the Federal Government's interest in the long-term use of these lands. Most NILM lands are, or should be under the custody of the Federal Government to ensure they are protected and enhanced. Generally, the majority of these lands are, or will be, owned by the NCC, while some NILM land will also be under the custody of other federal custodians or departments." (From: "CEF National Historic Site Management Plan." Part 7/20.)

 

Why does a foreign monarchy own Canada.

A statement by MP Dennis Mills in the House of Commons, May 15, 1992.

 The government of Canada is planning to sell off thousands of office buildings, armouries and post offices: House of Commons Ottawa March 22, 2023 MP's were talking about the future of 6,000 federal buildings. 

In my opinion many Crown properties are facing privatization and demolition. My husband was a Public Works and Government Services employee for 28 years. He worked at Cooper Street in downtown Ottawa and Place du Portage Phase 4 in Gatineau, Quebec.

"Much of the government-owned Ottawa-Gatineau portfolio is obsolete. There is room for the private development sector to create new space."(A statement about government buildings that was presented to an Ottawa business meeting. L'Esplanade Laurier and the northern half of the Sparks Street Mall are surplus.) 

The Mulroney government created the designation National Interest Land Mass in 1988 to prevent the sale of:

• Gatineau Park
• the Greenbelt
• Experimental Farms in the National Capital Region including Gamelin.
• the Lebreton Flats
• 24 Sussex Drive
• the Royal Canadian Mint
• Scenic parkways along the Ottawa River, Rideau River and Dow's Lake.
• more...Google: 1988-09-15-TB-re-NCC.

 Scores of lighthouses, train stations, post offices and CBC buildings in Canada have already been privatized and flattened or repurposed. 

 Lighthouses, train stations, post offices and Martello Towers in Britain either disappeared or they were converted into housing, hotels, community centres and pubs..(The information is from British television programs---"Location, Location, Location" with Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer; and "Escape to the Country".)