It’s Election Time – eNews

People have June 2 on their radar and keep reminding us that the number one issue in their minds is greenspace protection and the ClubLink development issue specifically.    That’s not surprising given this quote from Dr. Mark Winfield,  a professor of environmental and urban change at York University, “The 2022 election looms as the most important for Ontario’s environment in modern era, and its impact may echo for generations to come.”

It’s Election Time in Ontario …

There will be no voting in a snowstorm this time!  Such great weather to start May and the summer months off with a bang.   We hope you are out and about and finding ways to enjoy it.   April’s rain has surely helped the gardens and trees flower quickly and they are responding beautifully to the heat of the past week.   Lots of pollen!  Loads of mosquitoes!!  Yikes!  And we have heard from Kanata-Carleton’s candidates who are also campaigning in this lovely weather.  More on that below.

Legal Update: 40% Agreement

The last update on this aspect of our fight in the court of Justice Labrosse was in our March 29 e-news.  A discussion between the parties and Justice Labrosse was triggered by ClubLink who insisted on beginning the next steps in a decision process on the 40% Agreement even before the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) makes a decision on the City’s appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) decision.  As a result, Justice Labrosse requested that the parties produce factums regarding the viability of the 40PA post the ONCA decision for future consideration in his court.   ClubLink’s factum on that matter arrived recently.   The reply factum from the City and the KGPC is due on June 9 and the final ClubLink response is due on June 16.

Be reminded, that little will happen here until the Supreme Court signals whether or not it will hear the City of Ottawa appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision.  If it agrees to hear the matter, a hearing date is not expected before 2023.
Less than a month to go ‘til our inaugural fundraising golf tournament, Chip In for Greenspace, presented by TheCellphoneCentre.ca on June 1 at The Marshes.
Preparations are well underway, and we can’t wait for you to join us.
Only 5 tickets leftget yours today online. We would love to sell this event out!

Thank you to our very generous sponsors…

Presenting Sponsor 

The CellPhoneCentre.ca

Partner Sponsors: 

RE/MAX Affiliates – Geoff & Bobbie McGowan Realty
Kanata North Business Association (KNBA)
TRANE Heating & Air Conditioning

Reception Snack Sponsor: 

Rycraft Construction Inc.

Contest Sponsors:    

Hyatt Place
Lépine Parklands & Farms

List of Hole Sponsors.

Chip In For Greenspace Hole SponsorsThanks also to our generous donors, we’ve got some great Live Auction items for you to bid on.  We’ll be posting them on our KGPC Facebook page, so you can take a closer look.

We need all participants to update their registration information at Eventbrite before May 24th, so please make sure you’ve added names, meal choices and dietary restrictions if you haven’t done so already.

Don’t forget to WEAR GREEN FOR GREENSPACE!  There will be prizes for the best dressed GREEN golfer as well as GREEN foursome.

As we said… it’s Election time again!

People have June 2 on their radar and keep reminding us that the number one issue in their minds is greenspace protection and the ClubLink development issue specifically.    That’s not surprising given this quote from Dr. Mark Winfield,  a professor of environmental and urban change at York University in Toronto in an article in The Conversation
    The 2022 election looms as the most important for Ontario’s environment in modern era, and its impact may echo for generations to come.

In our matter on urban greenspace protection, the ball is now firmly in the province’s court with Ottawa City Council’s recent unanimous support of Councillor Curry’s motion demanding provincial action.  Our provincial government can and should intervene to stop this development, which beyond its failure to our health and environment, fails to provide any social benefit for our City. Last year, the government did so successfully in the Glen Abbey situation for the benefit of Oakville.
We understand that the Mayor had multiple meetings booked and cancelled with Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing before the election writ dropped.  The Minister has the power to stop this application, and we remain hopeful he or his successor will do so after the election.

In the meantime, we’ve received lots of calls and notes asking us to identify the candidate with the most commitment to our issue and the one we think the community can count on to support the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition (KGPC) and our cause at Queen’s Park.   We appreciate the nod but  truly believe the choice is yours and so we’ve been working to get you information and let you decide which candidate best deserves your vote on June 2.

To help with that, we emailed all of the candidates early last week and asked them to reply to the following question:
If elected, what can our supporters count on you to do to help the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition stop the ClubLink development of the Kanata Golf Club lands and protect our urban greenspace?

The only limit placed on the responses was a receipt deadline of yesterday, in time for our planned publication today.  We are publishing them in the order that they were received and without any amendments and have added the candidates’ campaign URLs should you want to check them out for more information.

 Pat Freel – Green Party of Ontario  https://gpo.ca/candidate/pat-freel/

To start, I’d like to reassure you that I am fully supportive of maintaining this beautiful green space. This position comes not only as a Green party candidate, but as an individual. With the continued development of forested area enclosed by Campeau Drive, Kanata Avenue, and Maritime Way, preserving the golf club green space is more important than ever. As a student of horticulture and of environmental economics, I recognize more than the other candidates the importance this space plays in preventing flooding, storing carbon, and raising the real estate value of the surrounding neighbourhoods. 

We need parks in urban areas to bring aesthetic value, help us maintain healthy minds and bodies, and to protect biodiversity. We need this green space to preserve one of the last most significant natural spaces in Kanata. Only the Green Party will fight tooth and nail to realize this. If Clublink wishes to abandon the golf course, then perhaps it’s time to invest in Kanata’s own version of Montreal’s beautiful botanical garden.

Sending me to Queen’s Park would guarantee a champion in the legislature who is committed to permanently protecting green and blue spaces. The Green party is the only party that is promising to grow and enhance public parks by introducing legislation that permanently protects natural spaces, and I will proudly bring this promise with me to Queen’s Park.

Merrilee Fullerton can say she supports preserving this space as much as she wants, but her track record proves that she abides by the interests of the PC party more than the interests of her constituents. Her party represents the biggest threat to this area in this election. The Ontario PC’s have a complete disregard for the importance of natural spaces and participatory democracy, which is quite evident in their Brampton Bypass proposal. We can also see heedlessness in the Ontario PC’s use of Ministerial Zoning Orders to get their way when it comes to forcing development projects. It is no secret the amount of developer money that goes into funding the PC’s campaign – money that will certainly have influence in the unfavorable outcome of these golf lands.

As for the NDP, I just have to look to British Columbia to know that this party is not a leader in the fight to protect the environment. The John Horgan government has continued the unsustainable logging of BC’s old growth forests, continued with the spraying of toxic glyphosate, and failed to respect indigenous communities that rely on these spaces. Any significant commitment BC’s NDP had to the environment during their time in office was due to the Green Party holding the balance of power for them. In light of this, I refuse to trust anything the NDP says when it comes to issues on the environment.

As your MPP, you can count on my unwavering commitment to protect what matters most to you. It’s time for our leaders to stop playing games with us. This election, let’s get real. Vote Pat Freel!

Shahbaz Syed – Ontario Liberal Party  https://www.shahbazsyed.ca/

There is no doubt in my mind that as your Member of Provincial Parliament, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the Kanata Golf and Country Club lands are saved and the 40 percent agreement is respected. It is blatantly apparent what needs to be done, as the Mayor and Councillor Curry have articulated already. What is needed is an MPP with the ability to now execute on these requests. The ball is currently with the Province. The Mayor has asked the Province to intervene and has asked that legislative powers be used to protect these lands. If I have the honour of serving this community, I will ensure this is done and look forward to a collaborative working relationship with Councillor Curry in seeing this to its end.

Melissa Coenraad – Ontario New Democratic Party  http://melissacoenraad.ca/

I support the community’s campaign to retain the ClubLink lands as greenspace. I was pleased to see Councillor Curry’s motion calling for Provincial intervention unanimously accepted by City Council.  This issue is one of preserving greenspace as well as upholding binding contracts with the community.  I support the use of a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) here. If elected as MPP of Kanata-Carleton I would pursue an MZO with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for these lands.  There is clear public support in Kanata for preserving the Golf Course lands, and greenspace is advantageous for businesses to be able to draw potential employees to the Kanata area.  I am committed to the success of this challenge and the 40% agreement being upheld.  

Jennifer Boudreau – New Blue Party  https://www.newblueontario.com/kanata-carleton

Thank you for your email, having come from Victoria BC, I saw everything and anything being developed.

That being said, I do know that Ottawa and surrounding areas are growing at a rapid pace.

I would be in favour of keeping the green space, while trying to find solutions for housing. 

Should I be elected, I make myself available to sit down with you and any other person you think would have great input so that we may explore a collaborative approach while also allowing me to better understand the needs and how I may be if assistance to the cause. We have lost tremendous amounts of green space and we need less screen time for children and adults and more outdoor areas for all of us and the ecosystem supported by the greenery. 

Dr. Merrilee Fullerton –  Ontario PC (Progressive Conservative) (Incumbent)      https://kanatacarleton.ontariopc.ca/meet-merrilee/

From day one I have been supportive of Kanata residents’ fight to preserve their  greenspace and stop this development. As a long-time resident of Kanata I love the beauty and greenspace in our community. Over the years I have been actively involved with the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition to support the local residents in their work to preserve Kanata’s 40 percent greenspace. I will continue to speak out on behalf of the Kanata residents in their fight against ClubLink. I remain committed to stopping this development and preserving our greenspace. 

Kanata -Carleton All-Candidates Virtual Meeting

To hear more from your candidates on issues in advance of the June 2 election and certainly more questions about greenspace, we recommend you mark May 24 on your calendar.   The Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association will host the debate.
Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 7:00 pm 
YouTube Livestream Link: https://youtu.be/rVuRSN-kYQE

And if you have a specific question you wish to ask of the candidates, please send it in advance to info@kanatabeaverbrook.ca

We’re always Fundraising …

and will be out in force during May with a door-to-door campaign looking to connect with those folks who have not heard our message as yet.   We need everyone’s support to finish this fight.

We hope to see you soon at Chip in for Greenspace!

Stay safe and take good care,

Barbara

Barbara Ramsay
Chair, Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition
T – 613-725-6595
E – chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca

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