Hundreds of Canadians participated during the National Capital Commission’s cross-country tour on the future design of the nation’s capital, despite criticism from local residents last year that the project was just another bureaucratic plan with nothing to deliver.
More than 100 people gathered at the Museum of Nature on Feb. 22 for a brain storming workshop to build on the ideas expressed by Canadians in the fall. The goal was to use local knowledge to come up with concrete ideas that would create a vibrant, sustainable capital for all Canadians.
Ideas ranged from creating more space for First Nations on Victoria Island, to investing in “small gestures,” such as the red Muskoka chairs which were set out last summer in front of the National War Memorial, overlooking the canal.
People also spoke about the need to showcase Ottawa’s water front and link communities together such as Lower Town with Elgin Street.
“Canadians really do care about their capital,” said Marie Lemay, the CEO of the NCC during the meeting. “The experience was absolutely rewarding and the generosity of Canadians and their interest in the capital is inspiring.”
The NCC published its cross-country findings on Jan. 25 in a report called Horizon 2067: Plan for Canada’s Capital.
The project is expected to help Ottawa become a world-class city in time to celebrate Canada’s bicentennial anniversary in 2067. It will also replace the original city plan that gave birth to a modern Ottawa in the 1950s.
“To have this kind of input is crucial to the future of Ottawa,” said Derek James, a workshop participant at the Museum of Nature. “You’re talking 50 years down the road. We need this big time.”
Despite the strong response from Canadians, locals such as Eric Darwin, president of the Dalhousie Community Association, described the plan as “airy-fairy.”
“If they had less lofty ambitions and applied themselves to the task at hand, I think they could deliver better results,” he said.
“When you ask Canadians about how they feel about their capital, they rate Ottawa better than the French rate Paris, Americans rate Washington and the English rate London,” Lemay said, citing a survey conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of the NCC.
The NCC plans on producing a preliminary draft plan by the summer and conducting more regional consultations before a final draft is completed by the fall. The plan is expected to be approved in early 2013.
Once completed, Horizon 2067 will guide the NCC’s three other master plans including strategies for the Greenbelt, Gatineau Park and urban capital lands, which are reviewed every 10 years, said Lemay.
“The plan for Canada’s capital guides the other plans and we felt strongly, for example, that to start an urban lands master plan without this process wouldn’t make sense,” she said. “We needed to be informed by this plan before we could move forward on the other plans.”