Do not ban the public from the Tulip Festival.

"NCC considering fences to keep people away from blooming tulips this year." You are promoting virtual reality, I would rather see the real thing and not an image on my computer and television set..I want to smell the flowers and read the historic plaques and actually see the Rideau Canal. Smell-o-Vision was created by Mike Todd Jr. during the 1950's for the movie "Scent of Mystery." The public was disenchanted with this imitation of reality and they stayed away from the movie in droves.
  Walmart has placed brightly coloured tape on the floor to indicate how far apart customers have to be, and there are disinfectants on several tables. And only a small number of customers are permitted in the store at one time
 Government employees could place brightly coloured tape on six foot intervals on Commissioner's Park pathways; and restrict the number of people entering the Park at one time. 

 Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard visit the Dow's Lake, Ottawa Tulip Festival.

A mid-1960's Ottawa Journal newspaper article.

     "Olympian Sue Holloway is leading a group of fitness advocates who are trying to get the NCC to open up more parkways, trails and Gatineau Park to residents so they can get some fresh air, exercise and keep their sanity during the pandemic." (From: "Fitness advocates urge NCC to open trails, parkways, Gatineau Park safely." by Kelly Egan, Ottawa Sun newspaper, April 29, 2020.")


                                                 

During the summer of 1983 I photographed Princess Diana on Parliament Hill.

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 Fences around federal property--- that should be preserved as green spaces for the people of Canada, and for visitors from around the world.

530 Tremblay Road, Ottawa.

Lebreton Flats.

933 Gladstone, Ottawa.

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The former post office on 59 Sparks Street on the Mall is a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Why on earth has it been completely blocked off by a tall fence for years? It could be transformed into a national museum.

"The 20,600 hectare Greenbelt belongs to the people of Canada."

From "Canada's Capital Greenbelt Master Plan" National Capital Commission, November 2013, page 38/196.
     "The Greenbelt will forever protect natural systems, agriculture and opportunities for outdoor recreation that will inspire Canadians and contribute to the sustainability and quality of life in Canada's Capital Region." (Page 53/196 of the above mentioned document.)
     "(There will be) a focus upon federal facilities while discouraging non-federal facility development on Greenbelt lands, particularly municipal roads or infrastructure, or non-federal types of facilities (Institutional, commercial or residential.) (Page 55/196 of the above mentioned document.)

Why the Greenbelt should be preserved.

The National Capital Greenbelt is one of the largest in the world and the only one that is publicly owned in its entirety.
Shirley's Bay - (800 ha.) - A provincially significant wetland; migratory bird staging and nesting area and fish habitat. The causeway acts as a bird watching venue.
Shirley's Bay Shoreline - Provides opportunities for year-round public activities.
Bishop and Sandstone Quarries - Provided stone for the construction of the Parliament Buildings.
Bruce Pit (300 ha) - A re-naturalized sand pit with diverse wildlife habitat. Outdoor recreation and interpretation potential.
Conroy Pit (110 ha) - Abandoned sand pit, recreational and development potential.
Silver Springs Farm - Historic Landmark (1867), and working farm.
Agriculture Canada Research Farms (1,700 ha.) - 1740 Woodroffe. Centre for Food and Animal Research (CFAR) monitoring research croplands and conducting animal nutrition studies for over 20 years. Animal Disease Research Institute (CADR), one of two animal health and rabies prevention/detection laboratories in Canada. (Note: During the mid-1990's the Farm was decommissioned, the animals were auctioned off and barns were demolished. The National Capital Commission paid $1 dollar for the Agriculture Canada property. Now the NCC is renting land to a film studio and a futuristic testing lab. The City of Ottawa has indicated that vacant agricultural land, situated between established neighbourhoods, is earmarked for residential development. The federal government has the power to remove the following designations:
National Interest Land Mass
National Historic Site of Canada
Classified Federal Heritage Building
Recognized Federal Heritage Building.

Ottawa-Nepean Tent and Trailer Park - Almost 300 sites accommodating visitors from across Canada and around the world.
Bell Northern Research and Northern Telecom - Telecommunications research with 8,000 employees in future. Home to the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre. (1992).
National Capital Equestrian Centre - Riding school and training centre, site of international riding and jumping events.
Farms in the western Greenbelt benefit from large areas of high-quality agricultural soils.
Hornets Nest Soccer Fields - 11 sports fields host local and provincial tournaments.
Nepean Sportsplex (1973) - Regional scale sports and recreation facility.
Pine View Golf Course - A 36-acre public course, operated by the City of Gloucester.
Log Farm - Restoration of the Bradley Farm of 1857.
Pinhey Forest (300 ha.) - Managed woodlot begun in the 1930's to prevent sand erosion. Wildlife habitat and recreational open space.
The Royal Swans, a Centennial gift from Queen Elizabeth 11, winter here in the Greenbelt.
The Greenbelt's environment has been improved by community organizations that have planted many thousands of trees.
Pine Grove Forest (1,200 ha.) Largest block of 2,600 hectares of natural and plantation forest managed by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Multiple-use area:timber production, nature trails and wildlife habitat.
Ramsayville Hamlet - Founded in the mid-1800's. Remaining buildings form an important cultural landscape.
Over 3.6 million trees have been planted in the Greenbelt since 1966.
Black Rapids Lockstation and the Rideau Canal (1830's) - Historically and environmentally significant site at the geographic centre of the Greenbelt. Provides important boating access to the Capital.
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(Note: A few nights ago I watched a wonderful documentary on television called "Tripping the Rideau Canal." It was produced by TVOntario and can also be viewed on YouTube. The program documents a 27-km journey from Manotick to Parliament Hill and features:
1.) the Long Island Locks
2.) Vimy Memorial Bridge
3.) Black Rapids Locks
4.) Mooney's Bay
5.) the Hog's Back Locks
6.) Hartwell Lock's
7.) Dows Lake
8.) Parliament Hill 
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I never fully appreciated the beauty of my own country before and I frequently broke down in tears.)
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Jack Pine Trail (1969) - A popular winter bird feeding area with a trail and birdwalks.
Richmond Road - One of the oldest roads in the region. (1819).
Southern Greenbelt Farms, on the best soil in the Greenbelt, form a major part of the 5,000 hectares leased to about 70 farm tenants.
16 soccer fields, 6 ball diamonds, 3 golf courses, a sailing club and other recreation facilities are found in the Greenbelt.
Carlsbad Forest Reserve (1,100 ha.) Acquired in 1974 as a green buffer for the now defunct Southeast Urban Community. Mineral springs made the Carlsbad community a popular turn of the century destination, but the water was unfit for human consumption.

Keep your hands off the Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt is a National Interest Land Mass. Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Erik Nielsen designated many properties NILM for several reasons including:
1.) To stop the sale or giveaway of federal Crown assets.
2.) To prevent the City of Ottawa from using federal land as a land bank.

National Interest Land Mass holdings.
"Land forming part of the NILM will be retained by the National Capital Commission in perpetuity for purposes which lie at the core of the NCC's mandate." (Google: "1988-09-15-TB-re-NCC.)
Greenbelt Research Farm - 1740 Woodroffe Avenue.

The annex of the Central Experimental Farm is located in Nepean, Ontario and is bounded by Woodroffe Avenue and West Hunt Club, Fallowfield and Greenbank Roads.

Central Experimental Farm near Carling Avenue - "The Central Experimental Farm shall be an open area in perpetuity".---A 1954 Privy Council Order-in-Council approved by Canadian Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent.

Gatineau Park.

The Greenbelt - 14,000 ha. approximately.

Victoria Island

Shoreline behind Parliament Hill

Chambers Building, Elgin and Queen.

Confederation Square

Pts of Wellington in front of Chateau Laurier and the Conference Centre and land to the E of the Conference Centre; also lands N. of Wellington between the Rideau Canal lock and the Chateau Laurier & Major Hill Park. Also, the approach to the Alexandra Bridge & the new Art Gallery site.

Lady Grey Drive and the Ottawa River W of Sussex Drive.

Lady Grey Drive is behind the Royal Canadian Mint and several other landmarks. Photo is from the 1920's.

Daly Bldg. corner of Rideau and Sussex.

8 parcels of land E of Sussex (Mile of History) from Rideau Street to MacDonald Cartier Bridge.

Pt of the Mint property W. of Sussex Drive.

2 Parcels W. of Sussex Drive N of MacDonald Cartier Bridge, Parking lot at Earnscliffe to water lot.

4 Parcels on the Rideau River around City Hall 

4 Parcels E of Sussex Dr. between Stanley Avenue & Rideau Gate.

PM's residence.

7 Rideau Gate (Guest House).

G.G.'s residence, Rideau Hall.

Ottawa River Parkway Wellington St. to Carling Avenue.

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 and Rockcliffe Park from Sussex Drive to Greenbelt.

Lower Duck Island Ottawa River.

Lebreton Flats.
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House of Commons Debates    Ottawa      November 26, 2007
Mr. Marcel Proulx (Hull-Aylmer, Liberal).
     "Mr. Speaker, the Greber Plan gave us the greenbelt to create a green, modern and avant-garde capital. The greenbelt contains farms, forest and wetlands, which provide opportunities fot recreational and outdoor activities as well as for learning....Now, the new president of the NCC, Russell Mills, wants to promote urban development in the greenbelt. Does the government plan on letting Mr. Mills do what he wants...?"
Hon. John Baird (Minister of the Environment, CPC).
     "Mr. Speaker, as a member from the Ottawa region, from the national capital region, I am well aware that this was a very good policy. I completely agree with the member."
House of Commons Debates  Ottawa    September 16, 2009
Hon. Gordon O'Connor, (Carleton-Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Conservative.)
     "Mr. Speaker, I am one of the great supporters of the greenbelt. I believe it is part of our heritage and must last as long in the future as possible."
Hon. Mauril Belanger (Ottawa-Vanier, Liberal.)
     "Mr. Speaker, I will ask the member for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell the same question I asked the member for Carleton-Mississippi Mills. Would he support an amendment to this bill that would address the concerns of many citizens vis-a-vis the greenbelt? That is, if there were an amendment proposed that would ask that the ecological integrity of the greenbelt also be protected, and not just of Gatineau Park."
House of Commons Debates   Ottawa     June 22, 1992
Mrs. Beryl Gaffney (Nepean, Ontario, Liberal.)
     "The greenbelt was established to control urban sprawl, provide beauty to the nation's capital, assist municipalities in local improvements such as the cycling paths, the Stoney Swamp, the Pinhey Forest and the Log Farm...The people of Nepean are most concerned that the NCC is moving away from that premise...The majority of us in Nepean clearly don't want the greenbelt chipped away for residential or commercial development."
House of Commons Debates   Ottawa         August 11, 1987
Mr. Don Boudria (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Liberal.)
     "...It is the responsibility of the NCC to protect and maintain the Greenbelt."
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THE CITY OF OTTAWA WANTS TO SELL GREENBELT LAND TO DEVELOPERS
City of Ottawa White Paper on Development in the Greenbelt    May 27, 2008
     "The City is undergoing an Official Plan Review which, among other things, examines the need for additional land for urban purposes. The Greenbelt contains a large range of facilities that are well used by local residents. These facilities include 100 kilometers  of trails used for skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and bird watching; the Stony Swamp and Mer Bleue nature areas; the boat launch at Shirley's Bay Landing; the lock station at Black Rapids on the Rideau Canal; the campground on Corkstown Road; several toboggan hills; and the the National Capital Equestrian Centre..."
Development Scenarios for the the Greenbelt 
"It is estimated that of the 20,800 hectares in the Greenbelt, at least one quarter (approximately 5,560 hectares) might be eligible for development consideration if the Greenbelt designation was removed and the development policies of the City's Official Plan were applied to these lands. This estimate assumes that lands currently designated for agricultural and other rural activities that are currently wedged between two adjacent areas would be re-designated for urban uses."(Emphasis mine.)

Front page Ottawa Journal newspaper article, 1976.

Union Station.

Union Station, 65 Front Street, Toronto Ontario - sold by CN and the CPR to the City of Toronto during the year 2000. The City is selectively demolishing parts of the Classified Federal Heritage Building. Toronto politicians David Crombie and John Sewell and many other people saved the landmark during the early 1970's.




          

Statements by Members of Parliament, Ottawa Ontario.

June 16, 1995.

Mr. Richard Belisle, La Prairie, Quebec, BQ.

     "Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in the House of Commons the fourteenth report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. This report deals with the management of federal buildings.

Their value has been estimated at between $40 billion to $60 billion in 1985 dollars."

June 5, 1970.

Mr. Jack Sydney (Bud) Cullen, Sarnia, Ontario,Liberal.
     "Would the government give consideration to the passage of legislation requiring the CNR and CPR to return property to the people of Canada each time they reduce a service?"

The St. Clair Railway Tunnels between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. The tunnels are an American National Historic Landmark. They should be Canadian landmarks. "The People's Railway". RIP CNR 1918-1995.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada we stand on guard for thee
O Canada we stand on guard for thee.                 

Do not privatize the LeBreton Flats.

     During the year 1988 Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Erik Nielsen designated the property a National Interest Land Mass, to be owned by the citizens of Canada in perpetuity. Former federal politicians John Manley and John Baird want to see the LeBreton Flats preserved as an urban park, similar to London, England's Hyde Park and Central Park in New York City. ("John Manley, John Baird urge NCC to keep land public" - CBC News, September 4, 2019.)

We have already lost armouries; lighthouses ,1,000, including Peggy's Cove; Dominion Buildings; the Victoria, British Columbia Dominion Observatory.