Author and academic Andrew Cohen is to be commended for advocating creation of a national park in the Gatineau Hills.

Writing about creation of the Rouge Valley National Park in the April 24^th Ottawa Citizen, he says national parks are touchstones of democracy which provide educational and recreational benefits to the public and that more of them are needed.

Arguing for expansion of natural spaces throughout Canada, Mr. Cohen makes a bold proposal: “We should,” he says “[...] create a national park in the Gatineau Hills, where they are foolishly cutting down old-growth trees and building houses.”

Praiseworthy as it is, Mr. Cohen’s proposal is virtually unworkable, for a variety of reasons.

First, it would require expropriation of all private lands inside the park – section 5(1)(a) of the National Parks Act says Parks Canada must own all land inside park boundaries.

Second, federal government policy and legislation prohibit the federal government from expropriating to create parks. In fact, federal expropriations to create parks are a thing of the past. Today, the process for creating national parks stipulates the province must expropriate the lands before handing them over to the federal government [1]. Imagine the upheaval were the Quebec government to expropriate lands at Meech and Kingsmere Lakes for a Gatineau National Park. The Rhodesians would be out with their pitchfords and tar buckets …

So, that’s not happening anytime soon …

Third, whether it be in the press, or in its long-term plans, Parks Canada has repeatedly said it wants nothing to do with Gatineau Park.

And if the government still insisted on creating a Gatineau National Park despite all these hurdles, its only option would be to balkanize park territory by tracing a boundary around private lands – as was done for Newfoundland’s Gros Morne Park. Doing this would further limit public access to key sites such as Meech and Kingsmere Lakes.

Fortunately, creating a “people’s park” in the Gatineau Hills remains possible. The proposal made by NDP MP Nycole Turmel would do this by amending the National Capital Act to allow Gatineau Park to be managed in accordance with the philosophy of our national parks.

Ms. Turmel’s plan would mandate conservation and ecological integrity as top management priorities for Gatineau Park; enshrine its boundaries in legislation; respect Quebec’s territorial integrity; eliminate private property; and dedicate the park to future generations.

That’s precisely the recipe provided by Canada’s National Parks Act.

Unfortunately, in the absence of such protection, the NCC has removed 8 sq. km from Gatineau Park and allowed construction of 123 new houses inside it since 1992 – along with a new superstore, coffee shops, gas station, fire hall, hospital, crematorium, municipal pumping station and five new roads.

Mr. Cohen also deserves applause for saying that Canada’s national parks’ are as much about people as they are about conservation – that’s a key point rejected by many ecologists and the people running Gatineau Park.

Now if he could only write a full column on turning Gatineau Park into a real “peoples’ park.” As an expert on the political, social and cultural organization of Ottawa, I’m certain his contribution would prompt enlightened debate on the issue.

Read Professor Cohen’s column at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/Expanding+Canada+empire+opportunity/6504938/story.html

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[1] See “Constitutional Problems Related to Creation and Administration of Canada’s National Parks,” in J.Owen Saunders, Managing Federal Resources in a Federal State, Carswell, 1986, p. 215.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-OV) is applauding Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel for keeping her campaign promise by outlining a plan to introduce protective legislation for Gatineau Park.

In a release issued on April 22, CPAWS-OV said recent assault’s on the park’s ecological integrity – “including the construction of yet another house at Meech Lake and extension of Highway 5 near Wakefield” – confirm the need for strong legislation.

Ms. Turmel’s proposed legislation, says the CPAWS release, will “provide a number of protections identical to those afforded by the National Parks Act. Those provisions, according to CPAWS, would include boundaries set in legislation that can only be changed by legislation; a mandate requiring that maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity be the first priority for park management; and acquisition of private property inside the park.

Says Doug Anions, chairman of CPAWS Gatineau Park Committee: “Ms. Turmel’s proposed legislation is a definite step in the right direction. It addresses many of our concerns. A century ago, Gatineau Park was to become our first national park east of the Rockies. We are calling on the government to support this legislation as it moves forward.”

The release notes that growth of municipalities surrounding the park is destroying critical habitat in and adjacent to it. While I agree that urban sprawl is a threat to the park, I question the figure of 2.7 million visits per year that CPAWS uses in its release – that means an average of 7,417 visits per year! Funny thing is: both the Master Plan (2005) and the Recreational Services Plan (2010) for the park place that figure at 1.7 million visits per year.

In fairness to CPAWS, however, the 2.7 million figure is drawn from the NCC’s web site… I have made inquiries with the NCC.

“Without strong legislated protection,” says CPAWS, “Gatineau Park, as we know it today, will cease to exist.”

In an earlier release (May 2010), CPAWS had outlined conditions it believed to be essential for strong park legislation:

1. Establishing Gatineau Park in legislation and dedicate it to future generations;

2. Ensuring that it be managed primarily for its ecological integrity;

3. Providing the National Capital Commission with a legislated mandate to acquire private property located inside Gatineau Park;

4. Stipulating that changes to Gatineau Park boundaries can only be made by statute, as is the case for Canada’s national parks.

The environmental group “is calling on all parties in the House of Commons to support Ms. Turmel’s proposed legislation, much as they did when a bill to expand Nahanni National Park was passed with broad support.”

Other groups backing Ms. Turmel’s initiative are the Sierra Club, the Outaouais’ Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Nature Québec, the Vélo Plaisirs bicycle club and the Gatineau Park Protection Committee.

See full press release in English and French at www.cpaws-ov-vo.org

Edited French release below:

La SNAP Vallée de l’Outaouais applaudit l’intention de la députée Turmel de protéger le parc de la Gatineau

Ottawa, le 22 avril 2012 – La Section Vallée de l’Outaouais de la Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada (SNAP VO) félicite la députée de la circonscription de Hull-Aylmer, Nycole Turmel, d’avoir tenu sa promesse électorale en annonçant son intention de déposer un projet de loi pour protéger le parc de la Gatineau.

Tel qu’illustré par les récentes attaques sur l’intégrité écologique du parc de la Gatineau – soit la construction d’une autre maison au lac Meech et le prolongement de l’autoroute 5 dans le secteur de Wakefield – le temps est venu d’adopter une loi solide pour protéger le parc.

Par ailleurs, la SNAP-VO incite les autres partis politiques à appuyer ce projet de loi, comme ils l’ont fait en adoptant une loi pour agrandir le parc national Nahanni.

La proposition madame Turmel ne créera pas un parc national; néanmoins, elle donnera au parc de la Gatineau plusieurs protections semblables à celles accordées aux parcs nationaux, y compris des limites fixées dans la loi ne pouvant être modifiées que par un loi du Parlement. À l’heure actuelle, la Commission de la Capitale nationale (CCN) peut vendre des portions du parc comme bon lui semble sans l’accord du Parlement. De plus, le projet de loi de madame Turmel prévoit que le parc sera géré avant tout pour le maintient et la restauration de son intégrité écologique, et obligera la CCN à acquérir les terrains privés situés à l’intérieur de ses limites.

Aux dires de Doug Anions, président du Comité du parc de la Gatineau de la SNAP-VO, « La proposition de Madame Turmel est un très bon pas dans la bonne direction. Cette proposition de projet de loi répond à plusieurs de nos objectifs quant à la protection du parc. Comme on le sait, le parc de la Gatineau était sensé être notre premier parc national à l’est des Rocheuses, et nous incitons le gouvernement à appuyer ce projet de loi ».

Selon la CCN, le parc de la Gatineau reçoit 2,7 millions de visites annuellement, faisant de lui l’un des parcs les plus achalandés au pays. De plus, la ville de Gatineau et les municipalités rurales ne cessent de grandir et des habitats critiques disparaissent tant dans le parc que sur sa périphérie. En l’absence d’une loi fédérale rigoureuse, la SNAP-VO craint que le parc de la Gatineau, tel que nous le connaissons aujourd’hui, n’existera plus.

Nous félicitons la députée Turmel pour son engagement envers la protection du parc de la Gatineau.

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Pour de plus amples informations sur la SNAP Vallée de l’Outaouais et au sujet de menaces au parc de la Gatineau, veuillez visiter notre site internet au www.cpaws-ov-vo.org. Cliquez ici pour la version PDF de ce communiqué.

Pour informations supplémentaires ou requêtes médiatiques, communiquez avec :

John McDonnell
Directeur général
613-232-7297 ou par courriel : jmcdonnell@cpaws.org

NDP MP Nycole Turmel unveiled a plan to give Gatineau Park the legal protection environmentalists have been demanding for several decades.

Ms. Turmel revealed the details of her plan at an Earth Day news conference on April 22, surrounded by municipal officials, environmental groups and other park supporters, saying the NDP will be tabling legislation to protect the park, as well as organizing public consultations and launching a petition drive on the issue.

Called “Together, let’s protect Gatineau Park,” Ms. Turmel’s plan will, besides providing for direct public involvement, offer Gatineau Park protection similar to that enjoyed by all other Canadian national parks.

In the absence of proper legal protection, the National Capital Commission has removed nearly eight square kilometres of Gatineau Park land, while allowing construction of 123 new houses and five new roads inside its boundaries.

Recent violations of the park’s territorial and ecological integrity include the building of Highway 5 through it as well as construction of a new house at Meech Lake.

A translated version of Ms. Turmel’s Earth Day speech is provided below. As well, the original French version will be posted as a comment to this article.

Nycole Turmel, MP for Hull-Aylmer and Opposition Whip: Press Conference, April 22, 2012, 10:00 am (unofficial translation by Jean-Paul Murray, MA, LTAC):

Hello and welcome to Relais Plein-air. Thank you for accepting my invitation.

As you can see, Relais Plein-air is a gateway to Gatineau Park. Each week, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people pass through here on their way to discover the natural beauty and rich heritage of this Canadian jewel.

This is where I wanted to tell you about my intentions regarding Gatineau Park.

But before going into the details of my announcement, allow me to introduce the people joining me today.

All of you will have all recognized NDP MPs Françoise Boivin (Gatineau) and Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac).

I also welcome Pierre Ducasse, who is president of the NDP Hull-Aylmer constituency association.

As well, from the City of Gatineau, Mr. Patrice Martin, STO Chairman and councillor for the district of Wright-La-Montagne, and Mr. Pierre Philion, councillor for the district of St. Raymond-Vanier.

We are also fortunate to have representatives from civil society organization, including:

• Nicole Desroches, Executive Director of the Outaouais’ Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CREDDO);

• John McDonnell, Executive Director, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ottawa Valley Chapter (CPAWS-OV);

• Jean-Paul Murray, Secretary of the Gatineau Park Protection Committee (GPPC);

• Bertrand Daigneault, president of the Vélo Plaisirs bicycle club.

• Two other NGOs support our initiative, but couldn’t be here today: the Sierra Club and Nature Québec.

***

Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, we are gathered around a simple idea: Gatineau Park is a national treasure that we must protect and preserve for future generations.

If we want to bequeath a healthy park to generations that will follow us, a park like the one we know today, we must act now.

And I intend to do my part.

That’s why I’m announcing the launch of my campaign today, a campaign whose theme is: “Together, Let’s Protect Gatineau Park.”

The campaign has three components:

First, as I promised in the last election, I will table a bill to protect Gatineau Park.

For seven years now, the NDP has been proposing legislation to protect the park, and this latest initiative must be the right one. The status quo is no longer acceptable for the park.

As we speak, Gatineau Park continues to lack legal status and boundaries properly enshrined in federal law. Portions of its territory can be sold to private interests without Parliament having any say in the matter.

Is this normal? Not in my view. The bill I’ll be tabling will aim to correct these anomalies.

My legislative proposal will also give statutory mandate to the NCC’s policy for acquiring private lands inside park boundaries.

Finally, unlike bills tabled by my predecessors, my initiative will not include a right of first refusal.

***

These are great ideas; I adhere to them and wish to transpose them into my private bill. Before going ahead, however, I want to consult the public.

Which brings us to the second component of my campaign – organizing a public consultation on the park’s future, to take place next May 26^th at 2:00 pm, here at Relais Plein-air (397, Boulevard Cité des jeunes, Gatineau).

I’m doing this because I want the public to take ownership of the bill I’ll be tabling and to participate in its creation. I’ve underlined the principles I hold to – but the public also have a thing to say about the park’s future.

I want to hear from them, to draw inspiration from their views and submit a bill reflecting their expectations.

So I’m encouraging people to attend this public consultation in large numbers. They can register on my website or by contacting my constituency office.

Public participation is also a feature of my campaign’s third component, a petition entitled “Together, let’s protect Gatineau Park,” to be released tomorrow throughout Canada.

This petition will be available at my riding office, on my website and through organizations supporting us here today.

For this project to succeed, the public must be involved, it must tell political representatives to make park protection a priority.

By working together, I’m convinced we will change things.

Happy Earth Day to all.

International development expert Denise Deby, who also writes about social and environmental issues, posted a succinct article on a variety of issues facing Gatineau Park at Green Living Ottawa.

She notes that park managers talk the talk, but …

The National Capital Commission, which manages Gatineau Park, says conservation and environmentally-respectful recreation are priorities for the Park. Sounds like it’d be protected—but that protection is somewhat precarious.

Read full post at: http://greenlivingottawa.com/

The Quebec Superior Court granted the provincial department of transportation (MTQ) a provisional injunction on February 27, preventing A5X protesters from obstructing construction of the Highway 5 extension near Wakefield.

Arguing that the MTQ had obtained all necessary permits, the judge said he had no other option but to grant the 10 day injunction. His decision, he said, rested on the urgency of the situation – given the trees had to be cut before April 1 – on protesters blocking access to the sight, and on their causing safety problems.

The injunction orders defendants, members of A5X and all other persons to stop undermining and disrupting deforestation and other work either by blocking the access road,by being present on the site or by sitting in trees along the Highway 5 construction zone in the municipalities of Chelsea and Wakefield.

Although members of A5X were disappointed by the decision, they said they had no intention of engaging in civil disobedience, and have asked all members to respect the injunction. However, they’ll continue protesting by setting up a camp and demonstrating on nearby private lands whose owner has given them permission to do so.

As well, they’ll continue lobbying Premier Jean Charest, citing serious issues with the project. Says spokesperson Anne Winship: “This court ruling doesn’t make the highway right. We need a re-design, and the premier has to be made to see this out-dated 25-year-old highway plan will create huge problems for people, the landscape and the tourist economy.”

About 50 A5X supporters attended the February 27 hearing at the Hull courthouse. Defendants are to return to court on March 5, to present their case in more detail at a hearing on an interlocutory injunction.

Clearcutting inside Gatineau Park began on February 28 – less than a day after the court decision. Work along the north side of Brown Lake Road is likely to begin February 29. Word is the Mother Tree – the 300 year old pine – will be cut in late afternoon.

As it was about to cross Brown Lake Road, heavy machinery knocked down a power line late Tuesday afternoon, forcing Hydro-Quebec to stop all construction work temporarily.

The photo of the tree harvester was snapped on February 28, 2012 inside Gatineau Park. The Valmet Komatsu was less than 100 metres from Brown Lake Road.

French version of this post available in comments section.

Clearcutting of Gatineau Park to make way for extension of Highway 5 began at 6:00 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Protesters and media began trickling in at about 11:00 am; although a Couillard Construction employees tried to kick them out, they stood their ground. Two people climbed the 300-year-old Mother Tree to voice their opposition to the project, while others took journalists up Brown Lake Mountain to get a view of the road an excavator bulldozed through the valley.

At about 12:00 pm, a Couillard Construction foreman told protesters that things would get rough if they tried to set up a picket.

The Occupy Gatineau Park group says it intends to continue protesting in the days ahead. Below is the press release they issued today.

Wakefield, Quebec, February 21, 2012 – Heavy logging equipment rolled into Gatineau Park today to begin clearcutting for the La Pêche phase of the controversial A5 highway near Wakefield Quebec.

A coalition of environmental groups and citizens known as A5X had anticipated the assault for several weeks.

Contractor personnel hauled in tree-harvesters, hydraulic excavators and other industrial logging machinery to begin deforesting inside and outside the eastern boundary of Gatineau Park.

Soon after they heard that work had begun, demonstrators showed up to speak to the press, with some climbing the trees to voice their protest. They confirmed they intend to block access to ecologically sensitive areas inside the park.

Last January 5, opponents to the highway erected an incident command post on Brown Lake Road to train protesters in tree-sitting and other methods of civil-disobedience.

Highway 5 consists of four lanes and has a minimum width of 150 metres. Construction of the section that will link Chelsea and La Pêche will require clearing over 88 hectares of mature forest and the blasting of Brown Lake Mountain. As well, it will cut off public access to Brown Lake and seriously affect local wells and the regional aquifer servicing Wakefield.

Numerous federal and provincial government departments dismissed measures proposed by conservation biologists and citizens to limit the number of lanes and size of the traffic interchange into Wakefield – measures that would have minimized the project’s “Amazonian” impact on Wakefield and Gatineau Park (see www.a5x.org for alternate design proposals).

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Information: Anne Winship (819) 459-4452, cell.: (613) 290-9010; Jamie Roberston (613) 863-4667; Jean-Paul Murray, (819) 827-1803; Ian Huggett (819) 665-2937.

On Monday, the A5X group held a demonstration in front of the Gatineau office of Stéphanie Vallée, parliamentary secretary to Quebec Premier Jean Charest. They wanted to hand her a letter asking the Quebec government to freeze all preparatory work and clearcutting in Gatineau Park. Unfortunately, no one was in Ms. Vallée’s office — at 10:30 am — so the letter was left in the mailbox.

The photos shown above were snapped on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Transport Quebec officials have sent a formal notice to protesters they intend to dismantle the Occupy Gatineau Park Camp beginning at 12:00 pm, Thursday, February 16.

Members of Occupy Gatineau Park have responded by urging local residents to gather at the camp site to exercise their democratic rights and voice their protest.

Citizens erected the camp in early January to oppose extension of a four-lane highway through Gatineau Park. About 75 acres of mature forests, including 300 year old trees, will be cleared for the road.

Environmental groups tried to persuade Transport Quebec to reduce the width of the highway exchange from six lanes to two lanes, and to eliminate one of the two traffic circles. Those efforts having failed, citizens are now asking for a freeze on construction of the Wakefield section of Highway 5 pending completion of the Chelsea portion.

Furthermore, protesters argue construction will violate a 2010 federal environmental assessment which says work can only begin when four area homes have running water from individual wells. None of the homes are hooked up yet and clearcutting is to begin on Monday, February 20.

News reports have confirmed several protesters are planning to sit in the trees.

Below are the press release just issued by Ian Huggett and Transport Quebec’s demand letter telling protesters to remove their camp.

Emergency Alert: Transport Quebec intends to tear-down Brown Lake protest camp on Thursday, Feb. 16

Wakefield, February 15, 2012 – Transport Quebec Director Jacques Henry emailed a demand letter to the Wakefield protest group known as A5X on February 14, requesting that material such as a banner and ropes be removed from the area currently within the A5 highway alignment on Brown Lake Road.

The notice gave a dead-line of Thursday February 16, at 12:00 noon. Any material left on site after this date will be confiscated and destroyed by the MTQ.

While the letter and its content have no legal force, the intent is clear: Transport Quebec intends to secure the protest site with heavy equipment and possibly establish a shelter for its employees. Machinery would be brought on site the following day, Friday, February 17, 2012, in preparation for cutting Monday morning February 20.

This area is currently claimed by A5X as an “incident command post” under the old-growth pines…

Unless people opposed to the highway show-up on February 16 by 12:00 noon and uphold their rights under the Charter to associate, gather, and express themselves to protect part of our Canadian heritage, Transport Quebec will commandeer the protest site and attempt to cut the 300 year old pines to diffuse opposition against the highway. If you care, show up tomorrow when Transport Quebec workers plan to tear down our camp!

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Information: Ian Huggett, Eco-Watch: (819) 665-2937; ichuggett@gmx.com; Jamie Roberston (613) 863-4667; wildadventurescanada@yahoo.ca; Anne Winship: (819) 459-4452; info@beanfair.ca. For more details: www.a5x.org.

* * *

Transport Quebec Demand Letter

From: Henry, Jacques Jacques.Henry@mtq.gouv.qc.ca
Date: 2012/2/14
Subject: Mise en demeure
To: admin@a5x.org

PAR COURRIEL

SOUS TOUTES RÉSERVES

Aux membres du groupe A5X,

Le 13 février dernier, lors d’une visite sur l’emprise routière du 2e tronçon de l’autoroute 5, dans la municipalité de La Pêche, nous avons constaté la présence de matériel, notamment des cordes dans les arbres. Selon les informations se retrouvant sur votre site internet, le matériel a été installé par vos membres sur les terrains du ministère des Transports du Québec.

Nous désirons vous informer que ce matériel y est installé sans droit et que, par conséquent, il doit être retiré d’ici 12 h, le 16 février 2012. À l’expiration de ce délai, le matériel sera retiré sans autre avis ni délai. Il pourra être récupéré en communiquant au 819 772-3849.

Nous comptons sur votre collaboration.

Jacques Henry, ing.

Directeur

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society today issued a press release supporting the NCC’s decision to close a section of Gamelin Street that runs through Gatineau Park.

The NCC confirmed on January 25 its intention to close the road, highlighting this will restore habitat, reduce the number of roads and traffic in the park, and fulfill a 2005 Master Plan commitment.

Although Gatineau municipal council voted 15 to 3 in support of closing the road at an August 2011 meeting, it has decided to reconsider its decision, given public opposition to it. Meanwhile, the NCC is standing its ground and says it will close the road next spring.

Below is the CPAWS release.

CPAWS supports NCC closure of Gamelin: wants fewer roads in park

Ottawa, February 7, 2012 – The Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) fully supports the National Capital Commission (NCC) in its decision to close a 500 metre stretch of rue Gamelin that runs through Gatineau Park. The NCC agreed to this road closure in 1983 as a minor mitigation measure for the construction of the four-lane boul. des Allumettières.

Closure of this road is a welcome step in the right direction that will help restore the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. In the 2005 Gatineau Park Master Plan the NCC declared ecological integrity to be its top management priority. With 40km of parkways and 60km of municipal roads cutting in and through Gatineau Park, this expansive road network is one of the greatest threats to the Park’s ecological integrity, causing wildlife fatalities and habitat fragmentation.

At 500m in length, the soon-to-be closed section of rue Gamelin is relatively small, but CPAWS sees this road closure as significant because it will recombine 420 acres of natural space. Like any other road crossing through Gatineau Park, rue Gamelin fragments the habitat of many small animals. This road closure will benefit the area’s species at risk, including the Milk Snake, Water Snake, Snapping Turtle, and Western Chorus Frog.

“Since the early nineties, some 1,842 acres have been removed from Gatineau Park, with 334 acres falling prey to road building. So this closure is a clear signal the NCC is making efforts to restore the park’s ecological integrity,” said CPAWS-OV Executive Director John McDonnell.

CPAWS urges the NCC to take further bold actions in line with its 2005 Master Plan commitment to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. When addressing the sprawling road network in Gatineau Park, such actions should include a moratorium on all future road construction, a study on the need for existing roads, and opening negotiations with municipalities over other possible road closures.

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Information: John McDonnell, Executive Director, Ottawa Valley Chapter, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society; tel.: 613-232-7297; email: jmcdonnell@cpaws.org.

As you can see, precipitation in the winter has fallen from around 220mm to under 175mm over the past 100 years, or, assuming a 10:1 precipitation:snow ratio, about 2.2 metres to 1.75 metres. This, despite overall precipitation and that in other seasons has risen. What could this mean for skiers, snowshoers, and other snow-hounds?

A 2005 report by the NCC actually predicted that by 2050 there might not be enough snow to offer XC and snowshoe trails in Gatineau Park!

Scary stuff indeed. Read Charles’ full post over at GuideGatineau.

Really, the NCC deserving praise?

After hacking off 8 sq. km of Gatineau Park over the last 20 years through land deals and road building, is it possible the NCC has seen the light and is now keeping master plan promises to secure the park’s integrity?

A CBC news report suggests it is. The report says the NCC is standing firm and will close the stretch of Gamelin Street that cuts through the park. See report at: http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2012/01/25/010-fermeture-troncon-gamelin.shtml.

This road closure, announced at the NCC’s January 25 public meeting, will restore habitat by reducing the number of roads and traffic in the park. It will also fulfill a 2005 Master Plan commitment.

Over 2,000 people signed a petition to stop this NCC road closure. Thirty or so of them voiced their opposition at the January 24 Gatineau council meeting.

At an earlier meeting in August 2011, municipal officials voted 15 to 3 in support of closing the road, those opposed being Denise Laferrière, Maxime Tremblay and Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin.

Though praiseworthy, this move pales in comparison to the NCC’s promise to add 2,400 hectares to the Greenbelt by 2067.[1]

And it’s too bad the NCC hasn’t shown the same commitment to protecting the Gatineau Park habitat soon to be clearcut to build Highway 5.

[1]As reported in the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/moves+forward+grand+plan+expand+Greenbelt/6052079/story.html