Enact Gatineau Park law

AI summary

Petitioners ask Parliament to enact legislation dedicating Gatineau Park, establish boundaries by law (reductions only by Act of Parliament; expansions require Quebec approval), prioritize ecological integrity, ban new or intensified residential development, and allow NCC land acquisitions.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Gatineau Park is a conservation area of national significance that lacks its own federal legislation; The protection of the park requires legally established boundaries, the primacy of ecological integrity and measures to prevent fragmentation, ecological degradation and residential intensification; Private properties fragment ecosystems and hinder the gradual consolidation of park lands into the public domain; and The park should be dedicated to Canadians and preserved intact for future generations. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to enact legislation that: 1. Dedicates the park to Canadians for their benefit, enjoyment and enrichment of their knowledge and ensures its preservation for future generations; 2. Makes the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity the top priority in the management of the park; 3. Establishes the park’s boundaries by law, requires an Act of Parliament for any reduction in those boundaries and requires the approval of the Government of Quebec for any expansion; 4. Prohibits new residential construction and any expansion, replacement, redevelopment or intensification that increases the footprint, scale or environmental impact of an existing residence; 5. Empowers the National Capital Commission to gradually acquire private properties within the park through a right of first refusal or equivalent offer mechanism upon their sale, transfer, subdivision or parceling; 6. Protects public access and recreational activities that are consistent with ecological integrity; and 7. Provides for permanent and enforceable measures to prevent ecological degradation, residential intensification, fragmentation and the erosion of the park’s boundaries.

Government response

No government response is available yet.