Gatineau Park – Make it a REAL park old

It’s hard not to fall in love with the extraordinary biodiversity of Gatineau Park. This beautiful wilderness has 118 rare or endangered species, numerous wetlands, and 50 lakes!

News

Read our Response to the March 2017 NCC Gatineau Park Visitor and Economic Impact Study (link to NCC study in resources section at bottom of page)
Read our Position Statement! Learn more about our recommendations to protect Gatineau Park: Click here
Sign the petition, and learn about our #makeitarealpark Community Partners. Visit our campaign page: makeitarealpark.ca
Show your support on your next hike! Get your “Make it a Real Park” t-shirt. click here to visit our online store

Make it a REAL park!

The Park

Did you know? Gatineau Park is at risk!
You may be surprised to find out that Gatineau Park is a park in name only.
It’s hard not to fall in love with Gatineau Park. Rich in biodiversity, Gatineau Park is comprised of 361 square kilometers of wilderness, 118 rare or endangered species, and 50 lakes! Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the opportunities that Gatineau Park provides for all sorts of activities, including hiking, cross-country skiing, camping, paddling, and rock climbing.
Most of Gatineau Park belongs to the federal government and the National Capital Commission (NCC) manages the land, but it does not have the permanent legal protection provided to “real” national parks.
Without governing legislation and full parliamentary oversight, the same oversight given to all our Canadian national parks under the National Parks Act, portions of the park will continue to be subjected to use for housing development, the construction of shopping centres, and the creation of new roads as in the past.
Gatineau Park has the potential to become a core protected area within a much larger region that protects natural ecosystems and maintains viable populations of all native species. It is important that the lands surrounding the Park are properly managed to allow for corridors and connections with other natural areas.
Calling on Parliament
- Establish Gatineau Park in legislation and dedicate it to future generations;
- Ensure that the priority of the Park’s management be conservation and ecological integrity;
- Stipulate that changes to Gatineau Park boundaries can only be made by parliamentary approval, as is the case for Canada’s national parks
- Help us by signing this petition!
Calling on Municipalities
- actively participate in the protection of Gatineau Park
- consider the ecological integrity and benefits of having a healthy, beautiful park in their backyard when planning development
- create wildlife corridors and buffer zones in their areas of jurisdiction
Calling on NCC
- Manage the park as an IUCN Class II protected area
- Stop all new roads and development inside the Park
- Acquire critical or ecologically sensitive lands around the park to serve as a buffer zone
- Work with local municipalities to define and establish viable ecological corridors between the park and surrounding lands
How you can help
- Contact the Minister responsible for Gatineau Park, Mélanie Joly, and ask her to introduce legislation which creates Gatineau Park in the legal context, defines the boundaries of the park, and protects its ecological integrity.
- Contact your local MP and ask them to push the government to introduce legislation, and to support any legislation that creates Gatineau Park in the legal context.
- Contact the mayors of the Pontiac, La Peche, Chelsea, and the city of Gatineau, as well as your municipal councillor and ask them what they are doing to ensure that Gatineau Park has an adequate buffer zone and corridors linking it to other natural areas.
- Contact the NCC and express your concerns about the pressures facing Gatineau Park
- Take personal responsibility for your park. Tread lightly, report any inappropriate activities or damage in the park, and become actively involved when decisions are being made about the park or its surrounding lands.
- CPAWS-OV hosts information booths at Mountain Equipment Co-op, local fairs and festivals, and other shopping outlets throughout the year. Contact us at ov-outreach@cpaws.org to find out when we’ll be hosting a booth near you.
- As a non-profit organization, CPAWS-OV always welcomes new volunteers! If you would like to help us spread the word about our Gatineau Park campaign or become involved with the campaign committee, please contact us at ov-outreach@cpaws.org
Resources
- Read the NCC Gatineau Park Visitor and Economic Impact Study (March 2017)
- Gatineau Park: A Threatened Treasure. This booklet highlights some of the qualities that make Gatineau Park so special. It explains how the park is seriously threatened and what must be done to protect it for future generations of Canadians. — PDF
- Print, sign and share this petition to parliament, then send it to us!
- Read Lorna McCrea’s article on the Ecological Corridors Report
- CPAWS-OV press release on Nycole Turmel’s announcement on Gatineau Park protection – [PDF], [HTML] – April 2012
- CPAWS Ottawa Valley comments on the draft plans for Sustainable transportation [PDF], cultural heritage [PDF] and outdoor recreation [PDF] in Gatineau Park — February 2012
- CPAWS Ottawa Valley comments on the draft proposal for ecological corridors between Gatineau Park and other natural areas — PDF February 2012
- Our Bill C-20 press release — PDF December 2010
- The Municipality of Chelsea and the National Capital Commission developed a concept plan for the Meech Creek Valley which could see the development of various tourist attractions in this picturesque sector of Gatineau Park. CPAWS-OV feels that this plan is outdated and we are proposing an alternative vision for this scenic valley. — PDF October 2010
- On October 19, 2009 CPAWS Ottawa Valley appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to provide committee members with comments on Bill C-37, An Act to Amend the National Capital Act and other Acts as it relates to Gatineau Park. Click here to view the submission to the Committee. — PDF October 19, 2009
- CPAWS Ottawa Valley Brief to the Senate on Gatineau Park protection — PDF March 27, 2007

Did you know?

Gatineau Park has the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Quebec, with the largest number of endangered species. It is a park of national importance that includes forests, lakes, streams, peat bogs, swamps, and the fragile Eardley escarpment.
The eastern wolf, black bear, beaver, lynx, fisher, northern flying squirrel, white-tailed deer, and otter can all be found within its boundaries, along with 230 species of birds and over 1000 species of plants.
Gatineau Park provides unsurpassed recreational opportunities on over 200 kilometres of hiking and ski trails and 125 kilometres of bike trails, only minutes from Parliament Hill.
In 1970 CPAWS-OV was founded specifically to fight for the protection of Gatineau Park. At that time the NCC development plan would have seen a series of roads, and even hotels, in the centre of the park. To learn more about the history of CPAWS-OV in Gatineau Park, click here.