Planning, Expropriations, Planning…

Abstract

Abstract The 1970s saw increased development activity throughout the Outaouais, and National Capital Commission (NCC) Chair Fullerton’s successors became mired in Gatineau Park expropriations, not only from residential subdivisions but also from the government’s own initiatives. This chapter begins by describing the expropriations of landowners in the Meech Creek Valley by the Outaouais government for a planned national zoo which never realized although the area would be annexed to Gatineau Park in the 1990s. The second section turns to the NCC's expropriation of a local real-estate developer who subdivided nearby parklands. This latest episode prompted NCC officials to attempt to change the NCC's land acquisition program, which is detailed in the third section. The fourth section describes the events that unfolded as the Outaouais government imposed a freeze on development in the park territory as the NCC began its second planning process for Gatineau Park. As pointed out in the fifth section, it was becoming clear in the 1980s that the NCC was experiencing institutional drift, and a federal task force recommended transferring park governance from the NCC to Parks Canada to safeguard the park from future development. This recommendation was never acted upon, and, as shown in the next chapter, the NCC would continue to struggle to prevent urbanization in the park on privately-owned lands.