Port Authority jump-starts Ojibway National Urban Park
It was a pivotal day for the creation of the Ojibway National Urban Park.
“Today does mark a moment in the development and creation of the Ojibway National Urban Park,” said Port Authority CEO Steve Salmons.
The Port Authority is promising to donate two parcels of land in Ojibway shores, totaling 10 acres, to Transport Canada and Parks Canada. The land is valued at about 4-million dollars. The real estate will be combined with 16 acres of Crown land.
“What is happening at the same time right now is negotiations, discussions between Parks Canada, Transport, and Port Authority, on the transfer of those three parcels of Crown lands,” said Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk, who is looking forward to making an announcement on that acquisition soon.
The Ojibway Shores area is about 33 acres, 26 of which is land with roughly seven acres of shoreline waterfront.
Two years ago, the federal government selected Windsor as one of six communities in Canada to build a new national urban park.
Kusmierczyk wouldn’t confirm nor deny speculation that landowners in the area of the proposed park are interested in offering their properties.
He did say he hopes the boundaries of the park will be bigger than what was originally planned for.
“I really hope that other land owners, private property owners, public property owners, step forward and be part of really, truly, this legacy that we are building here for generations to come,” Kusmierczyk said.
The Port Authority land transfer will not come with any financial gain, but it does give the Port an opportunity to be environmental stewards.
“If we are going to disrupt a shoreline for the necessary and essential construction of a port to move goods and services across our port we have a duty to replace that 2 to 1,” said Salmons.
The Port Authority plans to do that by committing to further develop seven acres of waterfront in the future into a fish habitat on their dime.
“Windsor has some very exciting and significant plans that we’ll be announcing over the next few months that will most likely obligate us to develop the shoreline and to replace the work we’re doing,” Salmons said.
Kusmierczyk hopes the project, which he said is on an accelerated timeline, can be done as soon as possible. He doesn’t anticipate the park taking more than two years to create.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.