The NCC — or someone — needs firmer role in planning capital
Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: March 20, 2015, Last Updated: March 20, 2015 12:32 PM EDT
Once again we discover that the federal government has ignored the expert advice of the National Capital Commission. And once again, the subject was the controversial Memorial to the Victims of Communism.
The latest news comes this week from the Citizen’s indefatigable Don Butler, who reported that back in 2009, the NCC’s External Committee of Experts on Commemorations stated that the five-member committee — which included Mark Kristmanson, now chief executive of the NCC — unanimously agreed that “the topic, as outlined, did not meet the criteria set out in the NCC’s policy on commemorations.”
The government was apparently not too fussed by that advice. In 2009, the NCC’s board of directors agreed to a monument that would soon be planned for the Garden of the Provinces, a decision that delighted Minister Jason Kenney, who had been involved in the memorial almost from that start.
A few years later, Public Works wrote to the NCC to approve a land-use change to allow a commemorative monument on the Judicial Precinct site, land that was supposed to be set aside for a future federal court building. Again, the NCC board approved the request, without officially conferring with its own advisory committee on planning, design and realty, which had reservations about the use of the site.
According to an interview with Maclean’s magazine earlier this year, the NCC’s planning committee chair — renowned urban planner Larry Beasley — told the government that “the chosen site was not a good site, and that it was needed for a higher priority government purpose over the next few years.”
All this expert advice has fallen on deaf ears at the federal government.
There are two distinct issues at play here, although they are related under the broader thematic umbrella of the autonomy of the NCC.
The first is that the federal government too often ignores the advice of the experts on the commission. It appears the feds are only happy to let the NCC do its jobs if it’s a project in which the government of the day doesn’t have a political interest. The obvious question is why we have these experts if we’re only going to heed their advice when it suits us.
The second problem is the apparent acquiescence of the board of directors to the requests of government. This is a real conundrum. As cabinet is allowed by law to overturn any NCC decision it doesn’t like, there is little to be gained (other than possibly a moment of fleeting glory) for the board to deny a request from a government minister.
But there also needs to be some checks and balances on NCC board. As it stands, the directors are all political appointees — only two of the current 14 members are women! — who are named to the board by the minister responsible for the NCC. Many of them have plenty of expertise and ideas to contribute, but do we really want to give an appointed body the very last word on how we plan the capital?
What we actually need is to reform the NCC board to somehow make it more accountable to the public. There have been several suggestions on how this could be accomplished, from including the mayors of both Ottawa and Gatineau on the board, to electing several members at large. Whatever the solution, we need to find a way to take long-term planning of the national capital out of partisan hands.
And if there were more public representation on the NCC board, if the NCC answered more directly to citizens, then there’d be validity in the concept that government should be more bound to the NCC’s expert advice and decisions.
The recent agreement between the city and the NCC over a contentious bit of the proposed western LRT route shows why we need the NCC. Healthy opposition, when backed by the political will to come to a solution, can result in success. Indeed, while there will be some who don’t approve of the new plan to run the train under the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway while expanding the riverside greenspace, many agree it’s by far the best option for the route presented so far.
The NCC plays a vital role in conserving, planning and enhancing the national aspects of our capital, both for us locals, and all Canadians. The NCC cannot be a partisan tool, ignored when its advice doesn’t suit the government of the day, its board all-but-handcuffed by legislation from making truly independent decisions. And it’s time for that to change.
jchianello@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/jchianello
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/col...-col-chianello
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