[Ottawan]

Remember the purpose of the NCC. They exist for the sole purpose of looking after/improving the capital of Canada, not the City of Ottawa. It would be perverse for them to have bought the SMH - what value does this land out in Kanata have to Canadians as a whole??? If arguably it does (biodiversity, unique nature of the ecosystem, endangered species, whatever), this is certainly no different an importance than similar plots elsewhere in the country, and should be covered by Parks Canada rather than the NCC.

The Greenbelt, whether you agree with it or not, is justified on federal grounds. The reasons may seem lame, but they are coherant: a belt of farmland and wilderness that must be passed through to enter the capital, representing the agrarian and rural life of Canadians. It is to be used for national priorities (this is how research labs & agricultural research land has been built there) and for transportation purposes (the airport, in future perhaps HSR) that connect the capital to the rest of the country.

The Greenbelt could continue to serve these purposes even with chunks sold off, but I think it's appropriate to use the money raised from that to serve other Federal priorities in Ottawa, whether that be improving the Greenbelt through purchase of more important lands, or potentially otherwise. What it should not do is use these proceeds to bail out/scapegoat what are City problems. If the SMH land in Kanata was to be saved, the only appropriate body to do so would have been the City.