Gatineau Park Legislation Update
The Ottawa Citizen today contains a contribution from Jean-Paul Murray critical of the coming legislation intended to govern Gatineau Park and critical of the New Democratic Party who he claims "betrayed their principles" and "reversed its former position."
My discussions with an NDP representative led me to believe that the advancement of this Bill was more in line with politics as "the art of the possible." The numerous opposition amendments that had been proposed before Parliament was prorogued were unable to achieve enough support in inter-party horse-trading to have been included and wouldn't have been successful anyway. On the other hand, the government introduced amendments to its own Bill (something I'm told is fairly unusual) to go some way toward some of the objectives of the earlier opposition amendments.
The two specific government amendments that address the two points I mentioned yesterday are:
That Bill C-20, in Clause 10, be amended by adding after line 5 on page 6 the following:
MANAGEMENT OF GATINEAU PARK
10.3 The Commission shall manage any property of the Commission that is an immovable located in Gatineau Park for the enjoyment of the people of Canada, including allowing for the pursuit of recreational activities.
That Bill C-20, in Clause 10, be amended by replacing lines 11 to 15 on page 6 with the following:
(2) In the management of any property of the Commission that is an immovable located in Gatineau Park, the Commission shall consider as one of its priorities the maintenance or restoration of the ecological integrity of that property through the protection of natural resources and processes.
This is the very tippy-top document that will govern how the NCC manages Gatineau Park. More important than the Gatineau Park Master Plan, more important than the Ecosystem Conservation Plan.