Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-229, An Act to amend the National Capital Act (Gatineau Park).

I want to thank Senator Rosa Galvez for introducing this bill and also recognize the support of all the members of Parliament from the National Capital Region who have been long-time supporters of this idea.

As a senator who lives in the National Capital Region, I have a particular interest in this bill. Having been a resident of Ottawa for many years now, I have often had the opportunity to enjoy Gatineau Park.

Indeed, the park has a special place in the hearts of my family members. Over many years, we have been there many times, and the photographs we have taken over those years record the history of our family and the growth of our children. Often we would go with other friends and family, who were often visitors from beyond the National Capital Region. This is indeed what thousands of people and families do in this region.

This enormous green space of 361 square kilometres perched on the doorstep of our national capital contains the legendary Meech Lake and over 50 other lakes; world-class trails for cross-country skiing, hiking, and mountain biking; three rock-climbing areas; three large campgrounds; several unique ecosystems; and the historic Mackenzie King Estate.

I urge you to visit Gatineau Park when you are here in town. If you are really short on time, come and visit my office. I have done many paintings of the area, and you can at least get a sense of them. I assure you, I am not selling these paintings; this is not a promotion.

The stunning Eardley Escarpment, the southern edge of the Gatineau Hills, divides the Canadian Shield from the Saint-Lawrence Lowland. It is host to a large number of rare plant and animal species; about 90 plants and 60 animal species found in the park are at risk. Gatineau Park is a critical conservation area with a biodiversity that merits attention and protection.

This park is one of the jewels of the National Capital Region, and it is time to protect and preserve it for future generations. Gatineau Park is a major attraction for the National Capital Region. It improves residents’ quality of life and strengthens their sense of pride in their region. This is the second-most visited federal park in Canada after Banff National Park, with 2.6 million visits annually. However, despite its popularity, it is not a real federal park because it is not enshrined in federal legislation. Bill S-229, which is before us today, seeks to remedy that situation.

This bill puts the park on a secure legislative footing. Gatineau Park is not included in the national parks system. This needs to change. To correct this, Bill S-229 would make a series of amendments and additions to the National Capital Act.

Let me just quote from one clause of the bill. This is clause 3 in Bill S-229, where they are amending section 10 of the National Capital Act. The proposed section 10.01 says:

Gatineau Park is dedicated to the people of Canada, including the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation, for their benefit, education and enjoyment, subject to this Act and the regulations, and the Park shall be maintained and made use of — and its ecological integrity protected — so as to leave it unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

Passing this bill and putting Gatineau Park on a statutory footing should be the first significant step to advancing the vibrant, integrated national capital that Canada needs for the 21st century and beyond. I hope that the successful passage of this bill will inspire further infrastructure and beautification improvements to our national capital.

Colleagues, I want to situate Gatineau Park in a larger or grander vision to enhance a proud national capital. Here are a few ideas that I would like to put forward. Indeed, I think in some ways our national capital is looking a little tired and needs some serious invigoration.

In addition to this idea of the national park, I want to support the idea that has been put forward by many to pedestrianize Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, thereby enhancing the security of Parliament Hill and making the Hill and the area more beautiful and attractive for visitors.

I would like to suggest the need for a new museum of science and technology which is modern, new and located downtown rather than in a random former bread factory and industrial park in the south end of Ottawa. I have nothing against the south end of Ottawa, but you know what I mean.

Another suggestion is for a graffiti and street art museum. One of the places where that could be housed fairly quickly is in the Hudson’s Bay department store which is across the street and sitting empty and will likely be empty for some time.

There have been ideas for a portrait gallery that have been put forward by many over the years. A good spot for it would be this very building when we move out of here in about 2032-33.

It’s a good idea.

Another idea that had been put forward by many is to have a botanical garden in the National Capital Region. These would contribute enormously to preserving and enhancing our cultural heritage and promoting our country.

Gatineau Park is one of our great national treasures. We owe it to our children to ensure that Gatineau Park is preserved for them.

Colleagues, this bill is about the environment, biodiversity, recreation and enjoyment for visitors from across Canada and around the world. These are the objectives that this bill will fulfill.

I hope that you will join me in voting to send Bill S-229 to committee for appropriate consultation and review.

Thank you, colleagues.

Right now, it doesn’t have legislative authority. It is simply a park that can stop being a park at any time. You could change the nature of the park. You could allow it to have any amount of development. When you have a national park, then it puts a stop to the threat of that kind of development and ensures that it is there for a long period of time. It certainly enhances the ability and the importance that are given to it by governments and communities to constantly maintain it and advance its various facilities.

Actually, no. In comparison to Banff National Park and many of the other national parks in various areas of Canada, it isn’t that large. It is large in terms of it being close to an urban or suburban area like Gatineau and Ottawa. There are, in fact, some residences in the park which are kind of grandfathered in there. At various times, the National Capital Commission has had first right of refusal if anybody wants to sell their property. So there is a move to try and not so much move residents out of there but to decrease the number of residents within the park over time.

I don’t think it is too large. I think it is a reasonable size. One of the things it does is say this is where it is going to be. There are pages and pages in Schedule 2 of language that I certainly don’t understand, but it has a whole lot of very detailed descriptions of the boundaries of the park. So it is not going to be fenced in, but it is a series of roads and sometimes streams or mountains that define the area that will be the park. Essentially, it maintains the area that is currently considered to be Gatineau Park.

Sure.

I think streams more than mountains.

The current owner of the park is the National Capital Commission. It is not the City of Gatineau or the City of Ottawa. It is an area that has been defined by the National Capital Commission. What this does is take that area and make it into a national park, put it under both authorities.

Sure.

Certainly, the point of this bill is to take what is more of a practice and an understanding in terms of the National Capital Commission authority and raise it to the level of being a national park. It requires legislation for that to happen. As you know, that legislation could begin in the House or in the Senate. Senator Galvez has been working with the members of Parliament from the National Capital Region. Together, they decided it would be more convenient to begin that bill here in the Senate, and that’s what Senator Galvez has done.