Proposed National Urban Park Project Hits Milestones
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Parks Canada has provided $1.3M to the City of Windsor for the purchase of a strategic property on Titcombe Road.
Several major milestones toward a proposed new national urban park in Windsor were announced Monday morning including the completion of the Ojibway Shores land transfer from Transport Canada to Parks Canada.
The Ojibway Shores lands are currently vacant, undeveloped, and accessible to the public. They are adjacent to the Gordie Howe International Bridge Canadian plaza site and to land within the Ojibway Prairie Complex, a collection of five closely situated municipal and provincial parks and natural areas.
These lands and waters are also culturally and historically significant to the First Nations peoples who have stewarded them for millennia. The creation of a national urban park in the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy is an opportunity to support and foster First Nations’ leadership and stewardship in conserving and restoring these lands and waters.
With this transfer, the federal Government can now begin the process of remediation through cleanup operations that will benefit the local environment and the many species of plants and animals that depend on it for survival.
Irek Kusmierczyk, Member of Parliament for Windsor—Tecumseh also announced the completion of the pre-feasibility phase for the proposed park. This confirms that the candidate site aligns with the National Urban Parks Program objectives.
Parks Canada recognizes the important work undertaken by the Windsor Partner Committee and partners’ commitment to advancing the program objectives. This includes Caldwell First Nation, Walpole Island First Nation, the City of Windsor, the Town of LaSalle, the Province of Ontario, and Hydro One. The partner committee’s work is reflected in the pre-feasibility report and will inform future planning for a national urban park in Windsor.
Parks Canada has also provided $1.3M to the City of Windsor for the purchase of a strategic property on Titcombe Road. The property was acquired because it is the only developed residential property on this road and is surrounded by the proposed national urban park study area.
As well, Parks Canada released a background document and discussion paper today to solicit input from partners, stakeholders, and the public to inform a new National Urban Parks Policy.
This new policy will guide the designation and management of new national urban parks across the country to ensure that they meet the program objectives of conserving nature, connecting people with nature, and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
“Today we protect Ojibway Shores forever and take a giant historic step towards an Ojibway National Urban Park – it is a day that unites our community, and a day we have fought for decades to bring about. As we preserve the last piece of undeveloped shoreline on the Detroit River in our area and formally complete the first phase of the Parks Canada process, we see Ojibway National Urban Park becoming reality,” said Irek Kusmierczyk, Member of Parliament for Windsor—Tecumseh and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion.
