Deferred repairs along the Rideau Canal has left it in dire need of attention.
Many of its most costly fixes are found in Centretown, according to a Parks Canada 2012 National Asset Review. The Ottawa Locks – the eight steps which open the historic waterway to the Ottawa River – run a price tag of $5.2 million in restoration repairs while the walls that stretch from them to the Pretoria Bridge run upwards of $14.4 million.
Underinvestment due to federal budget cuts, the review says, has left Parks Canada with a hefty bill of an estimated $104 million in deferred repairs in total. Canal walls, locks, bridges and dams represent the infrastructure that must be restored.
Parks Canada’s 2012 National Asset Review disclosed that 20 per cent of canal assets were in poor and very poor condition.
Government negligence can be blamed for the upkeep failure and the longer initial repairs are delayed the higher the expense later on, says Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.
“If maintenance activities are not done now they can lead to more serious problems and inevitably future costs will be higher than today’s.”
In 1925, it was designated a National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
The United Nations designations means certain obligations must be upheld in order to maintain and preserve the honour.
“The concerns are two-fold,” says Hunter McGill, chair of Friends of the Rideau. “The deterioration of physical assets and heritage preservation. Physical maintenance are symptomatic of a bigger set of issues.
“When Canada proposed the canal as a candidate for World Heritage Site status and received it, it accepted certain responsibilities. Part of the government’s responsibility is in fact to preserve, protect and present these important natural and cultural features of history.”
Parks Canada, the administers the canal, invested $4.85 million in 2013-14 as stated in the review and they intend on allotting the same amount the following year.
“Funding is allocated on a yearly basis to address priority infrastructure requirements,” said Geneviève Patenaude, media relations officer for Parks Canada, in an email. “Parks Canada is supporting the sustainability of heritage canals and quality tourism opportunities with responsible fiscal management while investing taxpayer dollars wisely.”
The canal draws tourists from across the country and the world. As of late, however, fewer people have been visiting – 2000 fewer visits over the past year, says Dewar.
“The Conservatives seem to be setting up the canal and Parks Canada to fail in that the reduction in operating hours and increased fees has discouraged visitors,” says Dewar. “Sadly, the Conservatives have just treated this as another line item that they’re going to underfund – in this case, one of the jewels of our country.”
Says McGill: “Telling the story of the canal is an important part of the telling of the history of Canada. No one’s talking about gilding the lily. This is to make sure dams don’t fail, locks can operate, canal walls don’t crumble and history is preserved.”