[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by Dado

I support the use of the former CPR corridor running along the Parkway for LRT, but clearly the City's communications/consultations with the NCC are out to lunch.

It's one thing to have a philosophical issue with the NCC or how it conducts itself, but to get angry with the NCC because of your own failings to deal with it in a proper manner is absurd. A casus belli this is not.

And besides, suppose it wasn't the NCC that owned the Parkway land but rather the Province through a Provincial Park or a Conservation Authority (it's in the flood plain, after all...). Or even Parks Canada for that matter. Since it's a former railway corridor, it could even be in the hands of a linear utility like a railway, hydro company or pipeline and would similarly be out of expropriative reach of the City. The point being that the same issue would exist for the City in all those circumstances, and the City's same failings would show themselves up then as well.


As for the other issues listed, the Convention Centre art wall and the tourism office, what of them? You can't just put up huge lit signs near the MTO's highways either... and we don't see Jim out there taking on the MTO to have its powers curtailed (which might actually be a useful fight). As for the tourism office, is something stopping the City from setting one up? Since when is it up the feds to promote tourism in Ottawa. Sure, it's in their interest in some regard to do so, but it's not exactly up to them to do it, either.

If Mayor Watson wants to signal that the City of Ottawa should get more respect from the feds, perhaps he should start by trying to deprovincialize the City through such things as getting rid of the OMB's role. After all, it's rather absurd to be complaining about the relatively minor annoyances the NCC sends our way when the OMB's very existence routinely distorts decisions of the City.

Very good points.