Highway extension violates the only legal boundaries of Gatineau Park
MEDIA RELEASE
(French Version)
Ottawa ON – Clearing of forest along the eastern boundary of Gatineau Park, near Wakefield for the Highway 5 extension is set to resume this fall. The National Capital Commission (NCC) backed extension, outlined in a Quebec Ministry of Transport report, began in April this year. This project will see 88 hectares of forest cleared for the latest extension of Highway 5, connecting Farm Point in Chelsea to Highway 366 in La Pêche. Much of this is mature forest of white pine, Eastern hemlock, American beech and sugar maple.
Gatineau Park is treasured by Canadians not only for its extensive recreational activities, but also for its serene natural beauty and extraordinary biodiversity. The park provides habitat to 125 species that are of conservation concern in Quebec, of which 23 are listed as endangered. Over 1100 species of plants and 230 species of birds have been observed in the park. Despite its ecological significance, Gatineau Park has no formal protection.
“What many people don’t realize is that Gatineau Park is neither a national nor a provincial park,” says John McDonnell, Executive Director of the Canadian Park and Wilderness Society-Ottawa Valley (CPAWS-OV). “As such, portions of the park have been sold or used for housing development, the construction of shopping centres, and the creation of new roads.”
An NCC 1965 Gatineau Park map shows that the 88 hectares destined to be clear cut for the Highway 5 extension remain inside the park’s only existing legal federal boundary: a boundary that remains in force by virtue of Order in Council PC-1960-579.
“The boundaries of Gatineau Park were legally described for the first time in a 1960 federal Order-in-Council. Over the following five decades a new legal description was not undertaken despite the fact that large parcels of land had been exchanged, sold to developers and used for various urban projects such as new roads,” says Doug Anions, Chair of the CPAWS-OV Gatineau Park Committee. “In 1997, the NCC changed the boundary by a decision of the board of directors. They called it a Boundary Rationalization Exercise. However, a board decision cannot change the boundaries in law”
“However, some of the land continues to be under private ownership, or already exchanged, and there is no metes and bounds description of all the federal lands in a legal instrument. Without being a legal instrument, the 1997 boundaries are invalid.”
The alignment of the new highway will consume an inordinately large amount of hillside forested with mature trees. It will not only fragment vital feeding and living habitats for endangered wildlife, but it will have significant negative impacts on surrounding communities. These concerns were outlined in a January report by CPAWS-OV in response to the Transport Canada December 2010 final environmental screening report on the Highway 5 extension.
“Urbanization will rapidly move out to Wakefield and alter the character of the region,” the CPAWS-OV report states. “The highway project is also a key ingredient for the establishment of a major industrial/commercial park on the doorstep of the village of Wakefield – one of the National Capital Region’s most picturesque villages.”
Development along the park boundaries and a major new highway (Boul. des Allumettières) across the park have resulted in a significant loss of wildlife habitat, landscape connectivity, and reduced public accessibility to popular destinations within the park, affecting the ability for visitors to enjoy the park.
“The Highway 5 extension will further isolate Gatineau Park from its greater ecosystem,” says McDonnell. “Species in the park will be trapped in an island of extinction if we don’t work to establish connections between the park and other natural areas. By enclosing the park with development, we are destroying a sensitive piece of Canadian heritage loved by many for countless reasons.”
The Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Park and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-OV) urges Canadians to write to their Member of Parliament and to Marie Lemay, CEO of the NCC, to share their views on the development of the Highway 5 extension.
Letter writers can find contact information for their MPs at http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament. Letters to Mme Lemay can be sent to 202–40 Elgin Street, Ottawa ON, K1P 1C7 or info@ncc-ccn.ca, with copies to CPAWS-OV (ov-outreach@cpaws.org).
More information, including CPAWS-OV’s report on the highway extension, can be found at: http://www.cpaws-ov-vo.org/.
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada’s pre-eminent national community-based voice for public wilderness protection. CPAWS-OV works to protect public lands in the National Capital Region and surrounding areas
Media Contact:
Adrian Southin
Outreach Team
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Ottawa Valley Chapter
ov-outreach@cpaws.org
@cpaws_ottawa
T: 613-232-7297
Note: We are available for interviews on location or in Ottawa, and are willing to provide additional resources including reports, pictures, and testimonies on the Highway 5 extension.
