Properties that should not be on an affordable housing list.

 

The Isabel MacNeill Halfway House for Women, 525 King Street West, Kingston.

House of Commons Ottawa April 18, 2007 Mrs. Irene Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe, NDP): "Mr. Speaker, the government recently announced the closure of Canada's only minimum security prison for women. The Isabel MacNeill House provided a transitional environment for incarcerated women offenders. It provides training to enhance their employment skills. The inmates at the prison had to take the government to court and challenge the closure under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is an equality issue and another example of of government's disregard for the welfare of women." The limestone building is located in Portsmouth Village, across the street from the Prison for Women and the Pen. It is a Federal Heritage property and protected by Part 1V of the Ontario Heritage Act. Part 1V covers the exterior and interior of the halfway house.

Stone Gables 

Located on 462 King Street West. "Once the federal government ceases to own St. Helen's and Stone Gables, the federal heritage protection will be removed, making it susceptible to demolition or remodeling." (MHC-14-017-City of Kingston.) 

I have no doubt that attempts will be made to demolish these buildings. Developers will appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (Ontario Land Tribunal) for demolition permits and air rights. The City is desperate for new housing--- forget about your tourism industry, political and architectural history and park land. 

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Intension to pass a Bylaw to Designate 462 King Street West, also known as Stone Gables to be of Cultural Value and Interest. Pursuant to the Provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act. (R.S.O. 1990). November 25, 2014.

The Ontario Regional Headquarters on 440 King Street West includes the Red Cross Lodge and St. Helen's. Listed for sale on September 23, 2024:

Stone Gables and St. Helen's are worth $17 million according to the document "A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety" by Rob Sampson, page 208.

Half of the Kingston Pen will be flattened to create housing.

Despite the fact that:

1.) The Kingston Pen is the most popular tourist attraction in the city.

2.) The buildings were created with limestone and will last for thousands of years.

3.) The landmark is known as Canada's Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower.

4.) Guard towers, exterior walls and 10 buildings are scheduled for demolition. Including the South Workshop where an episode of Murdoch Mysteries was filmed:

5.) "Selective demolition of the Main Walls can provide entrances for automobiles and buses." (City of Kingston Project---Kingston Pen and the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, page 74.)

6.) The Pen and the Prison for Women are National Historic Sites of Canada.

7.) 

8.)  

Government of Canada heritage designations.

9.)

A guard tower overlooking Lake Ontario.

10.) City of Kingston Official Plan---Page 368/569. Potential Heritage Conservation Districts in the City of Kingston---May 1, 2018. The City intends to investigate areas for designation as heritage conservation districts including but not limited to:

• King Street West from Portsmouth Village to Barrie Street.
• Portsmouth Village.

The immediate benefit of a Heritage Conservation District is a planning process that respects a community's history and identity. The City has a concentration of heritage buildings, sites, structures, and designed landscapes that are linked by aesthetic, historical and socio-cultural contexts or use. (Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport website, page 10.)

11.)

12.) "It is not inconceivable that they could level the entire site." ( A statement by Sydenham councillor Bill Glover. "Group tries to get Kingston Penitentiary heritage status" by Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun, September 2012.)

13.) "The federal government has the power to demolish them. However, we have concluded that would be absolutely atrocious, grievous and scandalous." (Floyd Patterson, President of the Frontenac Heritage Foundation, a statement to Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun, September 2012.)

Natural and Open Spaces are protected areas:

• Hampton Woods
• Pinecrest Woods
• Portion of Mud Lake/Britannia Woods
• Prince of Wales Woods
• Chaudiere Rapids
• CEF Woods
• Arboretum
• Portion of Lemieux Islands

"The Natural Open Space Study report prepared by the City of Ottawa identifies a number of significant natural resources on or adjacent to the CEF. The Arboretum rates in the highest category for social value, reflecting the importance Ottawa residents attach to this area for its visual and natural relief, and for its contribution to the quality of life in an urban context." (CEF Historic Site Management Plan, part 8/20. 2019--09--17.)

 

Broken promises.

1.) The Cole and Rochester families sold Maplelawn on 529 Richmond Road to the Federal District Commission (the NCC). But the Deed stipulated that all the land, including the 9 acre Rochester Field would remain a greenspace.

2.) "The Humane Society property on 101 Champagne will be an extension of Ev Tremblay Park"

3.) "The Rideau Canal will always be maintained by Canada."

4.) National Interest Land Mass properties are untouchable.

5.) 1976---The Portsmouth Olympic Harbour adjacent to the Kingston Pen should always be public and owned by the citizens of Canada:

 "Since the facility would later remain available to the public, the government of Ontario provided funds for the purchase of the land, and the federal government shared the cost of the installation...The Olympic Yachting Centre, buildings and land cost $6.4 million tax dollars." (Montreal Olympics Official Report, Volume 1" page 85/275) and (Montreal Olympics Official Report, Volume 2, page 215/238.)

 However, the City of Kingston wants to build condos: "Petition: Save the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Greenspace and Character. The parkland should not be sold for condo/residential development. WE DO NOT WANT TO GIVE UP THIS GREAT WATERFRONT PARK TO DEVELOPMENT."

Red Flags--- Zoning laws, land use regulations and environmental assessments may be removed from federal properties on the Canada Public Land Bank list---"Because they create significant delays."

Land Use Regulations that should always be respected, in my opinion:

• National Historic Site of Canada
• Heritage Conservation District
• Canadian Heritage Landscape
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
• 900 square miles in the National Capital Region are dedicated to the memory of Canadian soldiers. That includes the Ottawa Greenbelt.
• National Interest Land Mass
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Parks Canada Act
• Museums Act
• Classified and Recognized Federal Heritage Building
• By-laws---"File contains material regarding by-laws to protect Sparks Street; commercial development on Zellers Building Site; controls on urban development, height and slant restrictions on buildings (Brouse, Slater, Bate and Birks Buildings); Simpson's; The Bank of Canada; and St. Andrew's Church development." ( The Hon. Romeo LeBlanc, NCC, March 1983 to May 1984, page 11/19.)
• Zoning in Gatineau Park---"The NCC has prepared a new zoning plan for Gatineau Park which, among other things, will preserve strictly the park's wilderness area." (1975-1976 Annual Report of the NCC, page 21/52.)
• Dominion, Ordnance and Admiralty Land---Stanley Park in Vancouver was Dominion, Ordnance and Admiralty Land in 1992, reserved for the defence of Canada. 
• Conservation Authority Act of Ontario (1990)---Conservation authorities are mandated to ensure the protection, restoration and effective management of Ontario's water resources, wetlands, woodlands and natural habitats.

Stanley Park encompassed 384 ha in 1992, or 950 acres.

 

"The Experimental Farm forms a central park within a residential area of the City of Ottawa."

From: The Greber Report of 1950, page 167/395 and a photo is included. 

"Under no conditions whatever should the ground now occupied by the Experimental Farm be used for other than park purposes, should its present use as a farm be abandoned." (Ottawa Improvement Commission, 1915, page 126/238.)

Parks, Parkways and Playgrounds These parks will be accessible to the people, on the principle that parks should be brought to the people, instead of people being forced to travel long distances to the parks. (OIC, 1915, page 180/238.)

Capital Parks in 1992

• Confederation, Laurier Ave. W.--- 2.5473 ha
• Bronson Ave. and Sparks Street--- 0.4000 ha
• Commissioners, Rideau Canal--- 6.8000 ha
• LeBreton Flats---70.0900 ha
• Vincent Massey, Riverside Dr. and Heron Road---29.5600 ha
• Moffat Farm, Prince of Wales Drive and Melfa Crescent---2.0900 ha
• River Road Park, River Road in Ottawa-Vanier---14.0500 ha
• Dow's Lake, Rideau Canal---4.000 ha
• Greenbelt Ottawa South, Hwy 417 and Walkley Rd. (land reserve)---47.6300 ha
• Rideau Canoe Club---1.67 ha
• Nepean Point, St. Patrick Street and Sussex Drive---1.4600 ha 
• Riverside Dr. Park, Ottawa South, Queensway to Bronson Ave.---22.14 ha
• Victoria Island, Middle St.---7.9120 ha
• Hog's Back Park, Hog's Back Rd. & Riverside Drive---24.2300 ha
• Stanley Ave. Park, Ottawa Vanier, Minto Bridge, Maple and Green Islands---5.0400 ha
• Wellington, Albert, Commissioner and Slater Street---0.6300 ha
• Rochester Field next to Maplelawn, Richmond Road
• Rockcliffe
• Dundonald
• Major's Hill  more

A reposting from the 1992 Directory of Federal Real Property.

 

MSN News---Today, May 1 2025. "The Best Places in Canada to See Cherry Blossoms" by Emma Yardley.

6. Ottawa. When: May. Where: Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site's Arboretum boasts more than 2,000 varieties of trees and shrubs-including flowering cherry. Some of them date all the way back to the first plantings in 1889. Trails along Dow's Lake and the Ottawa River Valley also provide pops of pink thanks to pockets of flowering trees." 

Threats to the Arboretum:

The Arboretum will be partially excavated: "It has come to our attention that the City of Ottawa is proposing to claim several meters of the Farm's southern border along Baseline for a rapid transit route. Moreover, it is understood that a part of the Arboretum next to the O-Train will be dug up." (A letter from Judy Dodds, President of the Friends of the CEF, to Federal Environment Minister McKenna, January 6, 2018.)

A need for more parking by the Civic Hospital: "There is a high probability that car arrivals at the campus in 2028 will far exceed the parking capacity. My best guess is that mitigation will eventually include TOH asking the NCC for more acreage on the Experimental Farm--probably in the Arboretum and along Maple Drive and even Commissioners Park for another parking garage and more surface parking lots." (The Glebe Report, 'Risk Management and the new Civic Hospital campus': by Barbara Popel, March 18,2022.)

A huge section of the Arboretum was rezoned, without public input or consent for the new Civic Hospital. (The Glebe Report, September 13, 2024, page 5.)

"Friends of the Farm raises concerns about future hospital impact on gardens, arboretum." (Ottawa West News, Melissa Murray, March 13, 2017.)

Encroachment on historic, irreplaceable landscapes. A letter to the head of the National Capital Commission: "Friends of the Central Experimental Farm were very supportive of the NCC process and review of a new site for the Ottawa Hospital. Unfortunately, the decision to choose a site at the Central Experimental Farm has prevailed. We believe that the potential impact of this decision on the grounds of the CEF needs to be stated."

"The specific site chosen for the hospital will challenge the public areas that are an integral part of the history and raison-d'etre of the Farm, and that objective is reinforced in the National Historic Site Management Plan."  

I am reposting this document, the CEF became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1998.

(Continuation of the letter to NCC Chair Dr. Kristmanson) "The Dominion Arboretum provides many benefits to residents and visitors to the Capital, removing air pollutants, reducing stress, cleaning groundwater, providing a cool retreat, reducing climate change, supporting wildlife and much more. In addition the Arboretum provides a living historic record of trees planted on the site since 1889."

"The Ornamental Gardens are of historic importance and national significance to all Canadians, as explained in the new FCEF publication Blooms: An Illustrated History of the Ornamental Gardens at Ottawa's Experimental Farm. These gardens comprise unique plant collections found nowhere else in Canada. FCEF volunteers provide thousands of hours annually, under the direction of AAFC staff, demonstrating invaluable community involvement." 

"The first challenge to both of these areas by the intended development can be seen in the layout plan for the new hospital, including the location of the parking area. Buildings and paved surfaces will be located across Prince of Wales Drive from the Arboretum, changing both the sight and sound of the area. The construction will also displace many trees and hedges that were planted on the northwest side as an extension of the Arboretum. (Emphasis mine---savecfbrockcliffe.) It's also worth noting that while a number of Farm buildings i.e. the Dominion Observatory complex and other heritage buildings will be in the buffer zone between the research fields and the new construction, there won't be a similar buffer zone on the east side of the development."

"The second significant challenge will come from the re-design of roads and traffic management on the repurposed site. Any widening of Prince of Wales Drive to accommodate increased traffic will diminish both the Arboretum and the Ornamental Gardens. (Emphasis mine---savecfbrockcliffe.) Any change to the NCC Driveway, Birch Drive or Maple Drive will have a similar impact. Both will interfere with the intended landscape design as specified in the CEF National Historic Site Management Plan."

"A third and most significant threat will come from the precedent set that this project will make for future development. New encroachment could come from another border of the Farm, or it could come from the hospital administration's interest in continuous improvement to its facilities."

"The Friends of the Farm are dedicated to preserving and enhancing the public areas of the Farm. We believe that the NCC should be very specific in its guidance on this project, drawing on the NHS Management Plan, the CEF Advisory Council, and all resources available to protect these invaluable grounds. The NCC will be in a unique position to influence the design and construction so as to minimize the damage and additional encroachment on this National Historic Site. We urge you to exercise your full oversight responsibility to ensure the Farm is preserved for all  Yours sincerely, Judy Dodds, President, Friends of the CEF.

The Civic Hospital plans to expand - The federal parcel donated to the Civic is bounded by Carling, Maple, Birch, the CEF Pathway, Queen Juliana Park and Prince of Wales Drive. POW Drive is across the street from the Arboretum. An official document proclaims that adjacent land "Meets criteria to support future expansion." and "Traffic access will increase on Prince of Wales Drive and the NCC Scenic Parkway."

(From "The New Civic Campus: A 21st Century Hospital in the Heart of Canada's Capital"---April 2016, page 10/75.)

A July 20, 1946 article in the Ottawa Journal.

The following woods on the Farm are protected by the City:

• Arboretum Woods --- Federal
• Central Experimental Farm Woods---Federal
• Prince of Wales Woods---Federal, City (Google: "urban natural features strategy" City of Ottawa, April 11, 2006.)