I, too, would like to share my sincere welcome to Bill Walker. I had the pleasure of serving with Bill in the 40th, 41st and 42nd Parliaments, from 2011 to 2022. Bill was an amazing representative for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound. He is now back in the House, wearing the very proud title of president and CEO of the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries.

It’s great to have you back in the House, Bill.

I move that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should consider integrating the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve with adjacent lands under the management of Parks Canada to facilitate the creation of Ojibway National Urban Park as part of an overall strategy to protect local endangered species and natural heritage areas, aid flood mitigation efforts, create publicly accessible green space, and further encourage ecotourism in Windsor-Essex.

I’m honoured to rise today to support and to conclude the good work begun here by the member for Windsor West to partner with the federal and municipal governments, Indigenous communities and adjacent landowners to create the Ojibway National Urban Park. I know the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve very well, as well as the Ojibway complex as a whole. These lands are collectively being proposed for inclusion in the national urban park. The initiative to create a national urban park is a good practice, in that multiple sites that are home to a rare but rich biodiversity would be managed as one.

The largest protected parcel in the Ojibway complex is the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve. It is a place of renewal and a place of peace. It is bounded on all sides by various types of land development: residential, industrial and commercial, and other parkland. It is home to significant tall grass prairie and oak savannah, which are critically endangered ecosystems in Canada. Less than 0.5% of the original prairies and savannah remain in all of southwestern Ontario.

In addition to critically endangered ecosystems, Ojibway Prairie provides critical habitat for almost 200 rare plants, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals, several of which are found nowhere else in Canada. In fact, the Ojibway Prairie is listed in the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database as a protected area.

The most threatened part of the Ojibway complex is a federally owned property named Ojibway Shores, located at the Detroit River. It has numerous rare and threatened species on site. Despite that, it has been repeatedly vandalized, and it is also a go-to spot for illegal dumping. For 15 years, the federal government resisted protecting this land and actively marketed it for industrial development. The federal government has since had a change of heart, which led to their announcement that the Ojibway National Urban Park would be created.

Nearby Ojibway Park is operated by the city of Windsor and is located across the street from the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve. It is not only host to some of the best natural environments in Windsor and Essex county, but also to some of the most passionate and committed champions of biodiversity that we could ever have.

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to two incredible stewards of Ojibway, Karen Cedar and Tom Preney, who spend long hours, day and night, working to protect our remaining natural environment throughout the city of Windsor. Their work doesn’t stop within the boundaries of protected land. They work hard to ensure that man-made changes to land development areas and municipal projects are completed in a manner that respects and enhances the viability of the precious natural environment that we do have.

Our government is committed to protecting nature reserve lands from harm, and the province has been doing so at the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve since 1977—the province’s protection as a nature reserve from adverse human development is the strongest among all regulation nationwide.

As human development continues downstream along the Turkey Creek, a sound management plan for the collective of lands is needed for the existing natural environment to ensure that our conserved areas will not be adversely affected. This is the best outcome for our natural environment, and it would reinforce the significance of the lands that we have here.

I’m confident that this House will see the wisdom in supporting this motion that will demonstrate that the province of Ontario is a willing and supportive partner in the creation, development and governance of the Ojibway National Urban Park, located in both the city of Windsor and the town of LaSalle.

The House previously debated motion 1 on October 25, in which the member for Windsor West solicited support from the House to transfer the ownership of the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve to Parks Canada. The national urban park model set out by Parks Canada is different than existing national parks in that it is proposed to be a way to bring multiple landowners in an urban setting together under a common management plan. Parks Canada has made it very clear that the governance of a national urban park does not require a transfer of the ownership of lands. In some cases, this may not be the right outcome.

Ontario Parks is already taking part in the partner committee established by Parks Canada, which will initially develop the governance model for the park.

The materials for the November 17 public meeting regarding the park hosted at the Ojibway Park Nature Centre noted the desire of Parks Canada to manage national urban parks under a range of flexible governance models. Potential models being considered include:

—federally administered places, in which the national urban park is administered by Parks Canada, such as the Rouge National Urban Park;

—partnership models, in which the national urban park is administered by collaboration between Parks Canada and other partners;

—places administered by third parties, in which the national urban park is administered by other governments or organizations, which may include municipal, provincial or Indigenous governments or other organizations.

Further, it was reported at the public meeting that, “The national urban park in Windsor will be created under policy, although legislation may be brought forward in future. Policy allows flexibility, suited to a partnership model for the governance of national urban parks in these ways:

“—current land administrators can retain responsibility for their lands, rather than transfer them to Parks Canada;

“—shared park operations and management are more cost effective and efficient;

“—park governance is more flexible, allowing for a partnership model, including co-operative management by Indigenous peoples and the exploration of an Indigenous protected and conserved area;

“—long-term protection can be achieved through a mix of legal and other tools.”

A prospective passage of motion 1 would have signalled that this House disputes the recommendation provided at the public meeting. As the area’s most significant landowner of protected lands, the province of Ontario is a major stakeholder in this discussion, and I took the opportunity to consult with the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to gain a greater understanding of the work of the civil service on this file.

It is vital to support Ontario Parks in its participation in the partner committee established by Parks Canada to complete the pre-feasibility assessment for the park and to discuss a range of models for the proposed national urban park, including shared governance arrangements. The Parks Canada direction does not benefit from being restricted to delivering a specific land management strategy.

Speaker, at the foundation of national urban park projects is partnership. Our colleagues at the government of Canada have acknowledged the importance of, and have committed to, engaging in collaborating with local stakeholders and community partners on the Ojibway National Urban Park project each and every step of the way.

Parks Canada has been working diligently to ensure that national urban parks provide space for Indigenous stewardship, promote Indigenous voices and stories, and offer opportunities for connections to lands and waters based on Indigenous knowledge and values. The process aims to advance reconciliation with the traditional territory holders, Caldwell First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation, and other Indigenous peoples, including those with historic and linguistic connections to the area.

Ontario Parks already has a significant record of co-managing provincial parks with Indigenous peoples. For example, work is under way to operate Mississagi Provincial Park by a joint foundation that includes the city of Elliot Lake, Serpent River First Nation and Mississauga First Nation.

At Short Hills Provincial Park, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, consisting of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, has held traditional white-tailed deer harvests since 2013. And the Algonquins of Ontario are working with Ontario Parks to support additions to Hungry Lake Conservation Reserve, Whiteduck Provincial Park and Lake St. Peter Provincial Park. These partnerships protect the ecological, historical and cultural features of value while still maintaining recreational opportunities for people to enjoy.

Speaker, momentum for the Ojibway National Urban Park has continued to grow across our community. Two weeks ago, Windsor West MP Brian Masse’s private member’s bill, Bill C-248, which establishes Ojibway National Urban Park, passed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, and I look forward to seeing even more progress at the federal level.

Parks Canada is currently in the pre-feasibility assessment period in which they will explore the properties under consideration for being a fit within the objectives of the national urban parks program, as well as identification of the appropriate partners and the conducting of relevant studies.

I invite all Ontarians to contribute their feedback to the national urban park. The meeting materials are available right now and submissions will be received at citywindsor.ca until December 15.

Speaker, in closing, I ask all members of this House to consider supporting the inclusion of Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve in the broader management of the future Ojibway National Urban Park. Our natural environment in Ojibway is special and is irreplaceable. The Parks Canada national urban park model for Ojibway that considers the management of the natural environment as a whole, regardless of individual ownership, is crucial to ensure that our tall grass prairie and oak savannah vegetation communities, together with the numerous rare plant communities and significant species contained within it, will thrive for generations to come.

Point of order.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’ll be sharing my time with the members from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke and Brampton North.

In Essex county, we have a road called County Road 50. It goes down by Lake Erie, and there’s a big curve in the road, and when you get to the big curve in the road you get to a place called the John R. Park Homestead. That is located directly on the north shore of Lake Erie. The homestead is a fascinating place. It’s managed by the Essex Region Conservation Authority. The curator is Kristin Ives, and she was just recently named president of the Ontario Historical Society.

Now, the John R. Park Homestead has many interesting buildings. They all date back to the 19th century—that’s the 1800s. There’s a home, of course, and there’s a barn, but the most fascinating part of the homestead, in my opinion, is the sawmill. It’s pretty fascinating for a few reasons. First of all, it’s fully operational. You can actually start up that saw and cut wood with it. But you might not appreciate how rare that is if you’re not from Essex county. Il se peut que vous n’appréciez pas l’importance de la scierie si vous ne venez pas du comté d’Essex.

Les habitants originaux d’Essex étaient des fermiers français. C’étaient les habitants originaux qui ont défriché la terre. Actuellement, il existe beaucoup de fermes actives, mais cela veut dire aussi que les forêts n’existent plus à Essex. Le comté d’Essex a plusieurs petits boisés, mais on ne pourrait pas dire que nous avons des forêts.

La scierie est importante car il y avait un temps dans notre histoire qu’on pourrait construire une scierie et on pourrait faire des bonnes affaires. La ferme John R. Park est importante parce que vous êtes près d’une vraie scierie. C’est une marque de l’époque passée.

Ça, c’est le passé, mais aujourd’hui, Essex est bien différent. That was the past, but today Essex is very different. For example, you can walk about 800 feet from my house, stand at the corner of the second concession and Middle Side Road, and look north, and if you do that at night you’ll see some lights in the distance. Those lights are actually 33 kilometres away, and they’re the lights on the Ambassador Bridge, which spans the Detroit River and joins Windsor and Detroit. You can literally stand at the corner of the second concession and Middle Side Road and see 33 kilometres without any obstruction. That is how flat Essex county is, and that tells you something about the topography of the area.

As you travel north from that point, you go past the River Canard watershed, and you arrive at what we often call the Ojibway Prairie. That’s a pretty unique space, as my friend the erudite member from Windsor–Tecumseh was speaking about. It bears the name of one of the First Nations of the area. That nation was among General Isaac Brock’s allies during the War of 1812. It’s fitting they should give their name to the area.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about Ojibway Park, according to the Ontario Parks website, because it is an official park. It consists of native prairie, savannah and open woodland. It has layers of sand, silt and clay that cover the bedrock—in some areas, 30 metres deep. That’s rare. Many of those layers were laid down 10,000 years ago or more.

In the springtime, it’s wet, and in the late summer, it’s dry, and that makes it ideal for prairie vegetation. It includes over 500 flowering plants. Some of those are mints, lilies and figworts, and 18% of those plants are considered rare in Canada. It also has interesting fauna, including Butler’s garter snake and the bobwhite.

But the extremely important point to remember is that it’s already a park. It’s a provincially protected park. It was established in co-operation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the province of Ontario and the city of Windsor. And I’d like to congratulate my colleague from Windsor–Tecumseh for his forethought by bringing this motion, and I’d like to recognize, also, the member from Windsor West for her concern about this issue.

I think this is a motion we can all get behind. I’ll certainly vote for it myself and encourage others to do so as well.

I rise today to discuss the important motion in front of us, creating the Ojibway National Urban Park.

I would like to begin by noting the incredible work that my colleague from Windsor West has done to make the Ojibway national park become a reality. She has worked and continues to work with the city of Windsor, Caldwell First Nation, the member of Parliament, Brian Masse, constituents and various environmental groups to get this project done.

I truly commend her work, which has paved the way to where we are today, and I want to acknowledge her tireless effort and willingness to work with everybody in this House for the Ojibway National Urban Park initiative that is in her riding of Windsor West. It’s a perfect example of a member going into their community, listening, gathering support, working with their federal counterpart and bringing forward legislation that should be supported by all in this House. So thank you for all the hard work that was put into this previous motion. It’s always great to see multiple levels of government working together to serve the best interests of their communities.

Speaker, I’d really like to start with something fundamentally important: the protection of the significant environmentally sensitive land. The climate crisis that we face in Ontario, in Canada and right across the world only adds to the urgency of projects like the one in front of us today. The project is going to take several important pieces of land, including the Ojibway Park, Spring Garden Natural Area, Black Oak Heritage Park, the Tallgrass prairie park, the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve and Ojibway Shores, all into 900 acres of national park.

While I know the member from Windsor West has highlighted how many of these areas are significant, the transfer of the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve to Parks Canada will allow this important ecosystem and green space to be properly protected. It will include protecting local endangered species, aiding flood mitigation efforts as climate change increases flooding events, and creating publicly accessible green space that will encourage ecotourism and preserve natural heritage sites. The benefits of this park creation are well founded and hard to not support.

But I know the protection of significant environmental lands is not something this government is too concerned about. We can see that with the passing of Bill 23 and the gutting of our greenbelt in Ontario, including my community of Niagara, because we know that’s what Bill 23 does. That legislation will not solve the housing crisis; in fact, it will make the housing crisis even worse, especially for seniors and our young people. It will tear up some of the most important wetlands, farmlands and green space in the country. We saw that through the—

It will tear up some of the most important wetlands, farmlands and green space in the country. We saw through the pandemic the importance of our local farmers and having our own food supply. This bill is a slap in the face to our farmers, and quite frankly, we have an—

Speaker, I think we should also really focus on ecotourism benefits that could be created with the passing of this motion. In my riding of Niagara Falls, I’ve had the honour of living among the most prominent ecotourism destinations in Ontario: the Niagara parks, the stretch of land around the Niagara River. We also have beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake in my riding, and the natural heritage they have preserved is a major reason for tourism. So I’ve seen first-hand how preservation of natural areas can really boost your tourism industry. This will likely be the case with the creation of this national park.

Speaker, I want to be clear on this. I’d like to wrap up by briefly discussing how hard I know the member from Windsor West has worked on her motion related to this issue. The member from Windsor West worked hard in speaking with stakeholders, with local First Nations groups, with her federal counterpart to bring this bill together and put this before the House. I want to be clear on this, because it has happened before in this House: It’s unfortunate that the PC member has ridden in at the eleventh hour to get some attention with this legislation. It’s unfortunate that they did not work constructively together with the member from Windsor West. That’s what we’re supposed to do in this House—work together—and this is a perfect example of how we could’ve done it a lot better.

Thank you very much for giving me a few minutes of your time.

Further debate?

It’s my pleasure to rise to speak to this motion. It’s basically like speaking to my motion all over again because, aside from eight words, nothing has changed since my motion.

It’s interesting the member from Essex is thanking the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for his foresight. Actually, we’ve been working on this for years now with the community, with my federal counterpart, through environmental organizations and Caldwell First Nation. So really, they’re the ones that should be getting the thank you for the work that has happened to get it to the point where it is today.

Speaker, I had a speech prepared, but listening to debate from my colleagues around the House, both on our side and the other side, I just have some thoughts. I have some big feels now that I’m going to share.

When you look at the original motion, the motion I tabled back in August, it said, “That, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should transfer ownership of the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve to Parks Canada to facilitate creation of the Ojibway National Urban Park as part of an overall strategy to protect local endangered species and natural heritage areas, aid flood mitigation efforts, create publicly accessible green space and further encourage ecotourism in Windsor-Essex.”

I’ll just read the portion of the member for Windsor–Tecumseh’s motion that’s different from mine: “That, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should consider integrating the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve with adjacent lands under the management of Parks Canada.”

Now, Madam Speaker, my colleague from Niagara Falls was talking about the greenbelt and what we’ve just seen happen with a bill here in the House. We are talking about a provincially protected space right now, Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve. It’s under the umbrella of Ontario Parks. Bill 23—and this is the concern of my community. I had a conversation with the leaders from Friends of Ojibway earlier today. I’ve had conversations with Chief Mary Duckworth from Caldwell First Nation; I just had another conversation with her this morning. I’ve had conversations with ERCA; I’ve had conversations with community members; I’ve had conversations with those from the Unifor Local 444 environmental group. I’ve had lots of conversations since the government tabled Bill 23.

The concern is that if the province doesn’t transfer this land to Parks Canada so that it would be protected under the federal legislation, what we are going to see happen is that this government is going to open up this incredibly environmentally significant land for whoever wants to come along and build on it. There are very real concerns.

Interjections.

Interjection: Including the Indigenous communities.

Interjections.

Madam Speaker, I want to take an opportunity to talk about consultation. As I said—

Madam Speaker, at the end of the day, this is incredibly important. It is environmentally significant. It is important to my community. We have done years and years of community engagement and consultation.

The city of Windsor is going to be transferring land. The federal government will be transferring land. Caldwell First Nation wants this land protected, and they want to be partners—they are partners, and they need to be treated so.

Another concern that has come forward is the fact that this motion that the member for Windsor–Tecumseh brought forward was done with no consultation with Caldwell First Nation, with the Wildland League, with ERCA, with the Unifor environmental committee, with the Friends of Ojibway Prairie. Any conversations that have happened from the government side have happened after this motion was tabled.

All through this process, whether it was my motion coming forward or my federal riding mate bringing forward Bill C-248, it was community-led, community-driven—their input, every single step of the way, and they’re still included. They’re still included; at least they are with me. And they’re still included and consulted by my colleague the MP for Windsor West.

We have not seen that from the Conservatives to date, and there are very real concerns from all of those stakeholders that, going forward, this is what they will continue to see: a government who treats them as an afterthought. It’s something we had to point out yesterday. They treat First Nation communities as an afterthought: “We’ve passed this bill, and now we’re going to talk to them. We’ve passed this bill, and now we’re going to share the spoils of the bill.”

Madam Speaker, I cannot overstate how important this is to my community, to the people within my community and to this natural green space, this very significant environmental space. I would hope that the Conservative members, instead of heckling about it, would actually consult with all the affected parties.

Further debate?

I will allow the member to continue.

It’s preposterous.

My son-in-law is the head of security in the biggest national park in the country, Wood Buffalo National Park, some 44,000 or 45,000 square kilometres. This is not obviously a park of that nature—not an urban national park but a national park.

What I will commend the member for Windsor–Tecumseh on is he did the research to see what was doable and what was not doable. Unfortunately, the member for Windsor West wanted it her way, which is how she acts in this House—always wants it her way. But we know that you’ve got to work with the partnership.

I want to thank the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for understanding what is actually necessary to get this done. The insinuation, quite frankly, from the member for Windsor West that somehow the way we’re doing it, without transferring the property, puts this land in jeopardy—quite frankly, she invents that scenario because it works for her narrative and she’s very upset that it’s not her motion that is being debated today and that her motion—

Point of order.

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to stand here today in support, strong support, of a motion brought forward by the phenomenal member from Windsor–Tecumseh, a motion that would see our government build on our strong relationship with the federal government to deliver the Ojibway National Urban Park for the people of Windsor in a way that integrates the adjacent lands of the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Natural Reserve. I want to thank my colleague for his leadership on this file for protecting this land for generations to come.

Myself, I’m fortunate to represent Brampton North where we have tons of beautiful green space and access to water enjoyed by many of our communities. We have beautiful Professor’s Lake, beautiful Loafer’s Lake with access to the Etobicoke Creek Trail. We have the beautiful wildlife and scenery at Heart Lake. And that’s to say, Speaker, that Ontario is blessed with breathtaking scenery and wildlife that captivates people from all over the world.

One of the best resources we have in Ontario is our biodiversity. What’s so important for this motion that we’re talking about here today—this is a motion that protects that space for generations. Speaker, I would put forward to all members of the House, we have one planet. We all have a responsibility to be humble stewards of the planet. On this side, on the PC side, we understand our responsibility to be responsible stewards of planet Earth.

Now, the biodiversity with the Ojibway Prairie Complex is no secret. It’s home to a variety of vegetation and animal life. This includes a diverse ecosystem of wetlands, forest, savannah and prairie. It’s home to a number of rare plants, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. Among these include some of my favourite animals, which are turtles. The complex is home to spotted turtles, Blanding’s turtles, among others. It’s also home to my favourite turtle in all of Windsor: the snapping turtle.

As the member from Windsor–Tecumseh has said, the city of Windsor, the town of LaSalle and the government of Ontario have already laid the groundwork for protecting these lands. Now it’s time to take it to the next level by completing the corridor and seeing the Ojibway National Urban Park come to fruition.

Speaker, this absolutely needs to be done in a way that supports flood mitigation efforts, in a way that protects endangered animals and in a way that protects natural heritage areas.

Traditionally, Ontario has worked closely with municipalities, not the federal government, in achieving best outcomes for protected and conserved areas; however, our government never shied away working with different levels of government and working with those across the aisle to provide Ontarians the best service and results possible.

I would end it by just making a plea to the members of the House: Don’t let partisan politics get in the way of a good idea. We have a real opportunity to protect biodiversity in the Windsor area. I hope you use your voice that the people elected you to—

I apologize. I’ll interrupt the member and remind the members that we can’t attribute motive. So I would ask the member to be careful in his remarks.

The member for Windsor–Tecumseh has two minutes to reply.

Mr. Dowie has moved private members’ notice of motion number 15. Is it the pleasure of the House the motion carry? I declare the motion carried.

Motion agreed to.

We have a late show, but I don’t see the member present to move it.

There being no further business, I declare this House adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow.

The House adjourned at 1739.

This is the motion that the House will get to vote on today. You know, we’re not dealing in the past. We’re dealing with a motion today that will protect that land in a very special way, and I want to thank the member for doing that. He listed all of the criteria. As the member for Windsor West said, her motion was only different in a few words.

Interjection: Eights words exactly.

I truly want to thank the members from Niagara Falls, Essex, Windsor West, Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke and Brampton North for their comments.

I really would like to emphasize the importance of collaboration. Being new to this House, I am learning every day. I hope in the future, when the opposition tables a motion, that I’ll have the opportunity to collaborate on it before it’s tabled and finalized. That gives an opportunity to work within our government to find the best possible outcome.

I do want to tell Windsor-Essex that this government is four-square behind participating in the Ojibway National Urban Park, and I believe the will of this House will be to see this project moved forward and to get the job done.