Today, October 6,  is the last day to have your say on the location of a future hospital campus.

Heritage Ottawa remains concerned for the future of the Central Experimental Farm. There is a growing awareness of the Farm's significance, yet four of the twelve proposed hospital sites are located on the Central Experimental Farm.

We encourage you to review the issues and take the NCC's online survey to make your views known. 

Heritage Ottawa remains committed to a win-win solution that sees The Ottawa Hospital get the new campus that it requires, while The Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site remains intact and continues its important scientific research that benefits all Canadians and the global community at large.

 

HERITAGE OTTAWA, September 26, 2016

Potential Sites for New Civic Hospital Campus: What You Need to Know

Approximately 400 people attended last week’s Open House and Presentation hosted by the National Capital Commission (NCC) to learn more about the draft criteria and twelve potential sites currently being proposed for a new Ottawa Civic Hospital campus.

The Presentation launched a two-week public consultation period during which members of the public are invited to evaluate the twelve potential sites and selection criteria, and to have their say on a new hospital location by completing the NCC’s online survey. 

A question and answer session following the Presentation was dominated by expressions of concern for protection of the Central Experimental Farm. Representatives of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, The National Farmer's Union and individual research scientists spoke to the importance of the Farm's research - past and present - to the viability of Canada's agricultural sector and to globally important issues of climate change and food supply. The importance of not damaging the Farm's research capacity and not "setting the research clock back to zero" was also stressed.

Other key concerns expressed included that the hospital must be on the LRT line, that too-large a parking area is being considered by the hospital, and that the site review was limited to federal lands. NCC CEO Dr. Mark Kristmanson clarified that the NCC mandate limits its review to federally owned lands, but encouraged the public to propose any private lands they might know of that might be viable, and to inform the NCC of these lands via the online survey during the public consultation period.

Heritage Ottawa remains concerned for the future of the Central Experimental Farm.

There is a growing awareness of the Farm's significance, yet four of the twelve proposed hospital sites are located on the Central Experimental Farm.

We encourage you to review the issues and take the NCC's online survey to make your views known. 

Heritage Ottawa remains committed to a win-win solution that sees The Ottawa Hospital get the new campus that it requires, while The Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site remains intact and continues its important scientific research that benefits all Canadians and the global community at large.

Background

The Central Experimental Farm was established in 1886 by the government of Sir John A. Macdonald with a priority of conducting agricultural research to help Canadian farmers resolve production issues associated with crop disease and other challenges. Today the Farm is a National Historic Site of Canada and remains an active agricultural research facility. The ongoing experiments being conducted by scientists on the Farm's research lands relate to matters of global importance including food safety and climate change.

In November 2014, an announcement was made by then-Minister John Baird that 24 hectares (60 acres) of the Central Experimental Farm would be transferred to the Ottawa Hospital for construction of a new Civic Hospital Campus.

Heritage Ottawa, like others, acknowledged that a new Civic Hospital Campus was warranted but took the position that a new local hospital must not come at the expense of a National Historic Site of Canada and an active scientific research facility of global importance, and that other viable potential sites for a new hospital exist.

Since the 2014 announcement, Heritage Ottawa has advocated for protection of the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site and for protection of its ongoing scientific research.

The Coalition to Protect the Central Experimental Farm was formed in 2015, comprised of nearly fifty organizations, institutions, agricultural and climate change scientists, and heritage advocates, including Heritage Ottawa, with a shared concern for the preservation of the Farm and its ongoing scientific research.

On November 23, 2015 The Coalition sent a letter to Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly, and Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAuley outlining The Coalition’s concerns for the future of the Central Experimental Farm.

On January 6, 2016 Minster Catherine McKenna met with members of The Coalition.

On January 28, 2016, Minister McKenna told reporters of her concerns about the impending transfer of 24 hectares to the Ottawa Hospital, and indicated that she was looking into the matter.

On May 20, 2016, Minister Mélanie Joly asked the NCC to review all federally owned properties in central Ottawa ( west of the Rideau River but within the boundaries of the Greenbelt ) for their suitability as potential Hospital sites, to develop criteria for their assessment, and to make its hospital site recommendation by the end of November 2016.

Results of the NCC’s review of potential federal sites for a new hospital, and development of draft criteria to date were presented at last Thursday’s Open House and Presentation at the Canadian War Museum.

 

THE DRAFT CRITERIA

The NCC’s draft criteria for assessment of each potential site are divided into three categories as follows:

 

• Capital Interests

• Compatibility with existing federal plans, including the Plan for Canada's Capital and related land use plans
• Impact on cultural resources, such as UNESCO World Heritage sites, national historic sites, designated buildings and archaeological sites
• Impact on existing federal government facilities and functions, including displacement and fragmentation of office or research functions
• Cost implications for the federal government related to land value, demolition and relocation of facilities
• Impact on protected and important views in the Capital
• Impact on the natural environment, including valued ecosystems, species at risk and ecological corridors
• Impact on publicly used Capital including valued ecosystems green spaces

• Regional and Local Interests

• Compatibility with the municipal plans of the City of Ottawa
• City building: integration with the character of existing communities
• Integration with the transportation network, including access for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists
• Integration with the public transit network
• Availability of municipal infrastructure and utilities
• Impact on agricultural lands
• Preparedness and responsiveness to major emergencies, including a number of access points

• Functional and Operational 

• Size of site supports hospital's functional needs
• Site is within the urbgan area and close to amenities
• Site is configured to permit flexibility for location of facilities
• Optimal distance from other hospitals
• Emergency access to arterial roads, major highways and air ambulance
• Scope of constructability issues, such as soil conditions and potential demolitions
• Proximity and synergies with complementary functions, health services and academic institutions

 

THE TWELVE POTENTIAL HOSPITAL SITES

The NCC proposes twelve federally owned sites within the designated boundaries of central Ottawa. The proposed sites are Tunney’s Pasture, Lincoln Fields, West Hunt Club Road North, West Hunt Club Road South, Woodroffe Avenue, the existing Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus, Central Experimental Farm at Merivale Road, Central Experimental Farm at Carling Avenue West, Central Experimental Farm at Carling Avenue Cenral, Central Experimental Farm at Carling Avenue East, and the Booth Street Complex.

An interactive map with aerial footage of all twelve potential federal sites is available here on the NCC website.

 

ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL SITES

Here is an example of how the draft criteria might be applied to assess one particular site:

The Booth Street Complex

Capital Interests:

• Site consists of several federally owned buildings which are now declared surplus / no functions would be displaced
• No negative impact on protected or important views
• No negative impact on ecologically-sensitive areas, species at risk, recreational pathways, etc.

Regional and Local Interests:

• Close to major arterial roads and accessible via two Queensway off-ramps
• Close to public transit (walking distance to the O-Train) and suitably zoned to fit with Ottawa’s planning and transportation priorities
• Room for expansion onto privately-owned adjacent properties
• Area already has municipal servicing

The Hospital's Functional Requirements

• Location in the city core
• Close to amenities and green spaces
• Good access for emergency vehicles
• Optimal distance from other hospitals, etc.

 

Heritage Ottawa remains concerned for the future of the Central Experimental Farm.

There is a growing awareness of the significance of the Farm, yet four of the twelve proposed hospital sites are located on the Central Experimental Farm.

We encourage you to review the issues and take the NCC's online survey to make your views known. 

Heritage Ottawa remains committed to a win-win solution that sees The Ottawa Hospital get the new campus that it requires, while The Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site remains intact and allowed to continue its important research that benefits all Canadians, and the global community at large.