Open for signatureElectronice-7638 · Parliament 45

Legislate protection for Gatineau Park

Sign on the House of Commons website

Petitioners ask Parliament to enact federal law dedicating Gatineau Park to Canadians, enshrine legal boundaries and ecological integrity as top priority, prohibit new or intensified residential development, and enable NCC land acquisition to prevent fragmentation.

Why we would sign this petition

  • It would legally secure the park with clear boundaries and make ecological integrity the management priority, helping preserve habitats and natural values for future generations.
  • Banning new or intensified residential development and enabling NCC acquisition of private parcels would reduce fragmentation and cumulative environmental impacts.
  • Legislation protecting public access compatible with ecological goals would secure recreational use while enforcing measures against degradation.

Why we wouldn’t sign this petition

  • Gradual acquisition of private properties could be costly, raise compensation issues and face resistance from landowners, complicating implementation.
  • Requiring parliamentary acts and Quebec approval for boundary changes may create jurisdictional and political obstacles that slow conservation action.
  • A broad ban on residential intensification may affect current owners and uses, possibly prompting legal challenges or calls for more flexible, targeted measures.

The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Gatineau Park is a conservation area of national significance that lacks its own federal legislation; The protection of the park requires legally established boundaries, the primacy of ecological integrity and measures to prevent fragmentation, ecological degradation and residential intensification; Private properties fragment ecosystems and hinder the gradual consolidation of park lands into the public domain; and The park should be dedicated to Canadians and preserved intact for future generations. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to enact legislation that: 1. Dedicates the park to Canadians for their benefit, enjoyment and enrichment of their knowledge and ensures its preservation for future generations; 2. Makes the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity the top priority in the management of the park; 3. Establishes the park’s boundaries by law, requires an Act of Parliament for any reduction in those boundaries and requires the approval of the Government of Quebec for any expansion; 4. Prohibits new residential construction and any expansion, replacement, redevelopment or intensification that increases the footprint, scale or environmental impact of an existing residence; 5. Empowers the National Capital Commission to gradually acquire private properties within the park through a right of first refusal or equivalent offer mechanism upon their sale, transfer, subdivision or parceling; 6. Protects public access and recreational activities that are consistent with ecological integrity; and 7. Provides for permanent and enforceable measures to prevent ecological degradation, residential intensification, fragmentation and the erosion of the park’s boundaries.

Government response

No government response is available yet.