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Share this Story : Adam: Bill to protect Gatineau Park is badly needed, but also badly timed Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links Opinion Columnists Adam: Bill to protect Gatineau Park is badly needed, but also badly timed Gatineau Park's future isn't a priority for any federal politician, be it local MPs or cabinet ministers. Thirteen unsuccessful bills to protect it prove the point. Author of the article: Mohammed Adam Published Oct 17, 2024 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 3 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here .
Or sign-in if you have an account. Cars travelling on Highway 5 head in the direction of Gatineau Park earlier this month. Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia Article content A decade after a bill to protect Gatineau Park was defeated in the House of Commons, two lawmakers are back at it, but sadly, the exercise may end in tears once more.
Independent Sen. Rosa Galvez and Pontiac Liberal MP Sophie Chatel introduced a bill in the Senate last week to establish clear boundaries for the shrinking park, ban the sale of parkland for development, and bring it under parliamentary oversight. Surprisingly, 86-year-old Gatineau is the only federal park that’s not part of the national park system, and this will be the 14th bill to try to redress that wrong.
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Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content Thirteen previous efforts failed because influential local politicians, including Conservative and Liberal cabinet ministers, have never cared enough to fight for Gatineau Park’s protection.
Ottawa-Gatineau has had powerful politicians, including former foreign ministers Lawrence Cannon and John Baird, as well as former environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna and Treasury Board president Mona Fortier, but none has championed the protection of Gatineau Park. The work has often been left to MPs such as the NDP’s Paul Dewar or Nycole Turmel, and outsiders such as B.C.
Liberal MP Joyce Murray, who couldn’t get it done. Laudable as the latest effort is, the timing is all wrong. There is no question that the 360 sq.
-km. Gatineau Park needs legal protection. Under the National Capital Commission’s watch, it has shrunk in size as portions of it have been given up for urban development.
A lack of legally defined boundaries has meant that over the years, particularly in the 1990s, hundreds of acres were chopped off for new homes or roads, as well as commercial and industrial activities, often in violation of commitments made in the park’s masterplan. Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content But introducing a bill to protect it into a dysfunctional Parliament, when the minority Liberal government could fall any day, is inopportune.
Chatel says she “strongly believes” the bill will pass, noting the support of a dozen MPs from the National Capital Region, as well as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. But her confidence is misplaced. If the Liberals wanted to protect Gatineau Park, they would have done so long ago.
Answering a question in the House of Commons on whether the prime minister would heed a request to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park and establish its boundaries in law, Justin Trudeau answered by calling the park a “true jewel,” then adding, “We will continue to work with the National Capital Commission and various partners to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.” That was in 2018, and six years later, nothing has been done. And it won’t be done now by a Liberal minority government fighting for its life.
As well, when you have opposition parties jostling to be the first to bring down the government and trigger an election, protecting an Ottawa-area conservation park is irrelevant. Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Galvez and Chatel should not have left it so late to introduce the bill, given the history of private members’ efforts.
Between 2005 and 2013, 13 bills were introduced in Parliament to amend the National Capital Act (which established the NCC) in order to protect Gatineau Park. Most died on the Order Paper when Parliament was dissolved, which is likely to be the fate of the latest effort. One bill that came to a vote was from Hull-Aylmer NDP MP Nycole Turmel; it was defeated by the Conservative government in 2014.
Gatineau Park is the federal park politicians of all stripes seem to care very little about. There doesn’t seem to be any political capital to gain in protecting it, so nothing happens. Will it be protected in the next Parliament, when, if you believe the pollsters and commentators, Pierre Poilievre will become prime minister? Highly unlikely.
Though a local MP, park protection doesn’t seem like the stuff that moves Poilievre. But we just have to keep trying — because Gatineau Park does need our protection. Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator.
Reach him at [email protected] Recommended from Editorial Chelsea loses Gatineau Park tax fight to NCC in Federal Court of Appeal Pellerin: What Ottawa really needs to tackle flooding is a few 'sponge parks' Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Adam: Bill to protect Gatineau Park is badly needed, but also badly timed Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments. Create an Account Sign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion.
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