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The Narwhal initially revealed this story based mostly on data from a supply with firsthand data of the bulletins, who was not licensed to talk publicly on it. The federal authorities has since made the bulletins that affirm our reporting.
Rouge Nationwide City Park will develop by 1000’s of hectares, preserving a part of a wildlife hall connecting Lake Ontario to protected land northeast of Toronto.
The enlargement information got here in twin bulletins from the federal authorities Monday as Transport Canada abandons a plan to construct an airport subsequent to the park in Pickering, Ont., east of Toronto. For the final 50 years, Canada has deliberate to assemble the airport on an expanse of agricultural land and inexperienced area often called the Pickering Lands — now, most of will probably be transferred to Parks Canada as an alternative.
Including many of the land to the park is a win for conservationists, Indigenous leaders and farmers who’ve been pushing for many years for the Pickering airport plan to be cancelled. It additionally ensures safety for an enormous slice of inexperienced area in a area that’s additionally been hunted for city improvement.
Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation Chief Kelly LaRocca — whose group is one in all 10 in Rouge’s Indigenous advisory circle and has lengthy opposed the Pickering airport — stated she hopes the transfer marks the beginning of a greater path ahead. That would embody co-management of the land and a First Nation Guardians program, she stated in a press launch, including that her nation has requested Parks Canada to work with First Nations to develop a harvesting settlement for the park.
“The region’s natural and agricultural lands are disappearing at an alarming rate,” she stated. “This land is a precious resource that can never be replaced.”
For years, Transport Canada has been holding onto a tract of land for a deliberate airport east of the Scarborough space of Toronto. Nearly all of that land is now set to be transferred to Parks Canada. Map: Wildlands League
The federal authorities first expropriated the Pickering Lands in 1972, taking possession of about 7,500 hectares of prime farmland with plans for a global airport. However the authorities put that plan on maintain in 1975 amid backlash from residents, as an alternative increasing Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport and leasing the Pickering properties to residents and farmers, together with some who had owned them earlier than expropriation.
As Transport Canada left the plan in limbo for many years, the Pickering Lands have remained undeveloped, a uncommon pocket of biodiversity near Toronto. Nearly all of the land is now inside Ontario’s Greenbelt, which the province created in 2005.
The federal authorities underneath former prime minister Stephen Harper launched about 4,100 hectares of the unique Pickering Lands to assist type Rouge Nationwide City Park, which was established in 2015. Different ranges of presidency chipped in as nicely, and at the moment, the park spans greater than 7,900 hectares, straddling Toronto, Pickering and the neighbouring communities of Markham and Uxbridge.
Up till now, Transport Canada held onto about 3,500 hectares in case it wanted to construct the Pickering airport. However its option to axe the airport plan completely means nearly all of that land — together with the areas with the very best conservation worth — will now be transferred to Parks Canada. The federal authorities’s intent is for the land to be added to Rouge Nationwide City Park, pending session with Indigenous communities.
It’s not clear precisely how a lot land shall be going to the nationwide park, although the supply stated Transport Canada intends to carry onto some for now and seek the advice of the general public about how finest to make use of it.
Parks Canada additionally introduced plans Monday to construct a brand new customer centre for Rouge Nationwide City Park.
The federal authorities made the bulletins Monday to provide the general public a solution on the way forward for these lands earlier than a snap provincial election, a supply with firsthand data instructed The Narwhal. Premier Doug Ford has stated he intends to name that election on Wednesday, with voting set for Feb. 27. Typically, the federal authorities avoids making native bulletins whereas a provincial election is underway there.
The federal authorities might also face an election of its personal this spring.
Federal choice will preserve extra land in an necessary wildlife hall
Varied governments have been hinting for years that the writing was on the wall for the Pickering airport thought. A Transport Canada report commissioned in 2016 concluded a brand new airport wouldn’t be wanted in southern Ontario earlier than 2036. The federal division introduced a brand new examine in April 2023, saying it might in the end conclude the challenge wasn’t essential.
Across the similar time, Pickering Metropolis Council withdrew its assist for the challenge. All of the whereas, advocates have been pushing for the airport lands to be added to Rouge Nationwide City Park.
The Pickering Lands are a part of the final intact wildlife hall between Lake Ontario and the Oak Ridges Moraine, a protected rocky ridge to the north that’s additionally a part of the Greenbelt. The hall permits wildlife — together with species in danger — to maneuver between habitats, giving them a stronger probability of survival. The lands are instantly beside the prevailing Rouge Nationwide City Park, and linked to a different a part of the Greenbelt to the south often called the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Protect.
The Pickering Lands are a part of an necessary wildlife hall connecting to the prevailing Rouge Nationwide City Park and the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Protect. It’s one of many final intact routes for wildlife to maneuver from Lake Ontario to protected land farther north. Images: Christopher Katsarov Luna / The Narwhal
However through the years, builders and politicians have additionally stated the final space is a major location for housing improvement, given how shut it’s to Toronto’s red-hot housing market. The world was within the highlight throughout the 2023 Greenbelt scandal after the Ford authorities opened the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Protect for housing improvement. On the time, federal Setting Minister Steven Guilbeault warned Ontario the biodiversity of the city nationwide park may very well be harmed by improvement in shut proximity.
“If there was a large commercial industrial project that was announced on the edge of Banff National Park or Jasper National Park, I think that most Canadians would be outraged from coast to coast to coast,” Guilbeault stated in 2023, as he launched a examine to take inventory of the impacts.
Ford ended up reversing the Greenbelt modifications later that 12 months, however his authorities has continued pushing for extra housing development in Pickering outdoors of protected areas.
Up to date on Jan. 27, 2025, at 5:13 p.m. ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate remark from the chief of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and to replicate that the federal authorities has confirmed the bulletins.
