Given the gift of Glen Abbey that Minister Steve Clark gave Oakville and its residents last year; given that both the Planning and Municipal Acts have provincial oversight and serious controls, we don’t agree that issue management should be quite so one-sided. We do hear and agree with your messages – our Ontario government should do more to help Kanata North keep our community intact. And so, last week the KGPC wrote this letter to MPP Fullerton to explain why we feel she should do more.
The great gift of Easter is hope. Let’s work at being hopeful.
The lovely string of monthly long weekends begins again with Easter. Sigh!
We hope that you have been able to enjoy some good and safe time with family and friends this weekend. With such inhumanity on ongoing display against Ukraine and the Covid contagion always peeking, it can seem difficult and feel quite inappropriate to be cheerful. We hope you are coping valiantly. We cope at our place by heading out to the greenspace to the parade song of birds and poking around in the still cool garden earth to find the first signs of the daffodils and hostas. We encourage you to head outside for your favourite activity and take in the Spring! Enjoy the warming sun, walk our trails and connect with our open and greenspaces! Reach out to a friend or neighbour, for their benefit and yours. It may fill you with hope and cheer too.
Speaking of hope… let’s get back to our ongoing challenge of protecting our greenspace as we pursue the just solution for ClubLink’s nasty development plan.
Let’s work at being hopeful.
Tell the Ontario government to make things right and fair!
Our mailbox, voicemail and social media have been busy with your comments registering great displeasure with the recent Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) decision. Many of you watched the proceedings as we did and were disturbed with the process; some of you expressed concern about the costs; all of you seemed dissatisfied with the decision. While we certainly didn’t get the decision we wanted, what concerned us more was the lack of a reasoned analysis that fully parsed the multitude of issues presented during the hearing. It just wasn’t there.
We remind you that there are still a slate of legal proceedings in the works by the KGPC and the City and that closure is a long way away. But we heard your message, that the entire OLT thing just wasn’t right, and swallowing it was made worse by the government’s involvement and decision around Glen Abbey last year.
This past week both Councillor Cathy Curry and the KGPC were able to get some phone time on this matter with our very busy MPP Merrilee Fullerton. We both noted that while she registered disappointment with the OLT decision, she seemed to be of the mind that as a result of the decision, the City is now well-armed to continue to fight alongside the Coalition with the 192 (or so) outstanding conditions of Draft Subdivision Plan approval.
While we appreciate that there are a lot of conditions to be met and some, like a viable stormwater management plan, are so daunting that KNL has been unable to create one in over 8 years for its parcels 7 and 8 north of the Beaver Pond, we do not believe that the Ontario government should consider its obligation over in the fight to stop this ill-conceived development. Leaving the City, the KGPC and our community bootstrapped to this issue for years and years of uncertainty mired in all the wrangling ClubLink likes to engage in is unfair in our view. And as we said above, it’s particularly onerous given the gift of Glen Abbey that Minister Steve Clark gave Oakville and its residents last year. Given that both the Planning and Municipal Acts have provincial oversight and serious controls, we don’t agree that issue management should be quite so one-sided. We do hear and agree with your messages – our Ontario government should do more to help Kanata North keep our community intact.
And so, last week the KGPC wrote this letter to MPP Fullerton to explain why we feel she should do more. We were copied on this letter from Councillor Curry to our MPP as well. It sure sounds like we all agree. Now, we need your help.
Let the letter writing begin! Help us create the echo we need!
It is important that MPP Fullerton hears from you. And, we want to make it easy for you to do that. You’ll find a letter here that you can copy and paste into your email and take care of in a minute. Of course, you’re welcome to make changes or write your own letter. Our best advice… do it now! Today! Tomorrow for sure!
And please copy the KGPC at info@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
They’re almost gone! Only 19 golf & dinner and 5 dinner only tickets remain
Just a few spots left for Chip in For Greenspace – proudly presented by the CellPhoneCentre.ca
Get the info and your tickets TODAY ! Don’t miss out!
Fundraising Update
In February we asked for your help to raise $250,000 to cover the costs of the OLT hearing as well as projected costs including our legal action against ClubLink related to the restrictive covenants. We are so grateful for your response. By the end of March we raised almost $162,000 towards that goal. Thank you so much for these contributions.
We will continue the work. If you value what we do on your behalf, please help. If your donation slipped your mind, consider donating today. Thank you.
Celebrate Earth Day Eve… with the KGPC Stormwater Townhall
This Thursday, April 21 at 7pm — the SWM Virtual Townhall with Doug Nuttall, Professional Engineer with HDR Click here for the YouTube LiveStream!
Doug is our SWM expert and he will cover off some of the larger SWM issues Kanatians face and why development in this area is so problematic. He’ll be ready for your questions too! Send your questions in advance to townhall@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
We’ll take your questions during the event as well.
See you Thursday!
The Kanata North Tech Park (KNTP) is bustling …
Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) Executive Director Jamie Petten values our greenspace to support the Live. Work. Play. Learn. lifestyle that ensures our Tech Park will keep humming and its 540 plus members will remain competitive on a global scale attracting the world’s best tech talent. Here’s a CTV video spot shot this week following the Discover Technata exposition on April 6,7… it speaks to the real challenges that lie ahead for the KNTP as it works to attract our new next door neighbours. Congratulations to the entire team at the KNBA!
Wishing you and all of our peeps… a very fine Easter Weekend!
Don’t forget…we’re counting on your letter to MPP Fullerton. It’s important. Please find 5 minutes to take care of it today!
Remember, we’re only better together!
Barbara
Barbara Ramsay
Chair, Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition
T – 613-725-6595
E – chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca