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Ottawa Citizen

Deachman: Gatineau park deserves some love, so please pass this bill

Article content When Parliament was dissolved ahead of last month's federal election, one of the bills that died on the order paper was Bill S-289 — a.k.a. the Gatineau Park Act. Article content Article content Co-sponsored by Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi Liberal MP Sophie Chatel and Independent Quebec Sen. Rosa Galvez, the bill proposed to amend the National Capital Act to have Gatineau Park designated a national park. Article content Article content It may come as a surprise that the federal park is the only one in Canada that ISN'T a national park with all the attendant ecological and environmental protections. It is, after all, one of the most popular parks in Canada, with more than 2.6 million visitors a year, which, according to ranks it second in the country, only behind Banff National Park. Article content Article content To most paddlers, hikers and cross-country skiers who use it, it sure looks and feels like a national park. Yet its governance by the NCC through the agency's master plan lacks the force of law, leaving it open to potential development, particularly from private landowners within, who might not prioritize conservation. Article content If enacted, the bill would formally identify the park's boundaries and put in safeguards to guarantee its ecological integrity and restrict further development. Technically, the bill wouldn't make it a national park under the National Parks Act, but it would give it all the same protections while keeping it under the NCC's jurisdiction. Article content Article content This ought to be a slam-dunk, especially in these days of concern over climate change. It's not an especially contentious idea. It's not about pipelines or carbon taxes or gun control. It's about recognizing the significance of a 361-sq-km. park (larger, incidentally, than the island of Grenada) that is often described as the 'jewel' in the National Capital Region, and ensuring it remains that way. Article content Article content Over the past two decades, politicians of all stripes have brought forward similar bills to protect the park. Ottawa Centre NDP MPs Ed Broadbent and Paul Dewar both tried, as did Conservative/Independent Sen. Mira Spivak. Hull-Aylmer NDP MP Nycole Turmel took a couple of kicks at it. Conservative governments tried in 2009 and '10, with Ottawa West-Nepean Conservative MP John Baird leading those efforts.