Intermission

Posted on February 4, 2013 by michael

This blog is in intermission mode.

Meaning, this blog hasn’t been update in awhile and I do apologize for that. The reasons for this are multiple but the most important to are: this is a period wherein Gatineau Park’s politics is on a bit of a hold (the issues might be brought to a close if MP Turmel’s Private Members Bill is tabled — a crap-shoot if there ever was one). Meanwhile, the NCC is being secretly operated by a clandestine technocrat, residences continue to be built inside the park at enormous cost to the tax-payer, and the Highway A5 extension is almost fully built. The second reason is that I have turned to completing my academic studies, with apologies to my supervisor for not contacting her awhile. So I can’t keep up a blog on the politics when there is no politics — for now — and I need to complete several essays on how space, time, and politics coalesce and are mutually implicated and co-constitutive…

I’ve benefited immensely by this blog and thank Dave Woodbridge for hosting it on Outdoor Ottawa.

Cheers

 

Posted in Blog's Purpose | 1 Comment

Elephant in the Gatineau Park: And what the NCC could do about it (if it really wanted to)

Posted on June 29, 2012 by michael

There’s been a flare up in the public relations battle between the Gatineau Park Protection Committee, the NCC, and the Meech Lake neigbourhood association.

Having conducted research on the NCC’s powers [Link to PDF], my position aligns with those of conservationists, who are all familiar with the many difficult entanglements produced by park expansion. The historical lesson of Parks Canada is to avoid expropriation through negotiation. The legal solution for Gatineau Park, in my view, is giving the NCC right-of-first refusal, allowing existing in-holdings to be passed along genealogical lines, but giving the NCC first dibs if the owner decides to put it on the open market. To me, this seems to be the most reasonable, as it ensures negotiation takes precedence.

Posted in Current Events | 2 Comments

Sign the petition for Gatineau Park legislation!

Posted on April 24, 2012 by michael

Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel spoke to a crowd of non-profit and conservation representatives on Earth Day to announce her plans for Gatineau Park legislation.

See video of her speech here.

Download and sign the petition here (English version,_PDF). (French version, PDF)

Posted in Current Events, Park Legislation | 1 Comment