April 6, 2023 at 4:58 pm
MP Brian Marth is celebrating after the Liberal government agreed to support a bill introduced by his private members to create the Ojibway National Urban Park.
“It’s a good development because we want the bill to be united with all of Parliament, and the more we get involved, the more we can get it through the Senate right away and be done before Gordie opens up because we only have a limited amount of time,” Maas said. explain.
Previously, the Liberals did not support the private MP’s bill because it had launched its own process to develop national urban parks across the country. While the process is not yet complete, there has been some discussion about whether the park will be protected by legislation.
“We want this to be done right. My process is actually a legislative process. The one they’re looking at, they still haven’t figured out what that is,” Maas said. “It was done behind closed doors, without the safeguards we wanted, and without a partner.”
The bill is scheduled for a third reading in the House of Commons at the end of April. It is the final step in the legislative process before entering the Senate.
“When all parliament is in favor of something, it sends a message to the Senate. We’re already working with the Senate as well, so that will ensure that it hopefully gets through the Senate quickly,” Masse said.
Ojibway National Urban Park will include Ojibway Park, Spring Gardens Nature Area, Black Oak Heritage Park, Tallgrass Prairie Park, Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve and the Ojibway Coast.
Property purchased outside Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve on April 6, 2023. (Photo: Maureen Revait)
The Commonwealth Government has just purchased a home on Titcombe Road as part of the process of creating the park. The house is just outside the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve, across from Ojibway Park. The property will form part of a park development.
