Ojibway National Urban Park Push Gains Momentum as Bill C-248 Passes First Hurdle

By: Ken Pastushyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeshore News Reporter

PROTECT MY OJIBWAY National Urban Park FOREVER … Pass BILL C-248.

Is what’s was stated on lawn signs created by the Friends of Ojibway Prairie and the Wildlands League.

And they were distributed by the office of Brian Masse, NDP MP for Windsor-West, who co-hosted a

launch event with the help of Unifor and an elementary-school teacher’s union at Mic Mac Park. Supporters of the proposed Ojibway National Urban Park picked up their signs, posters and free bbq during the rainy afternoon.

Bill C-248 which Masse introduced in 2022 on the floor of the House of Commons has finally passed.

Now, it must be approved in the Senate to receive a national urban park designation.

And the Friends of Ojibway Prairie, the Wildlands League and other environmental groups want to keep

up the momentum to get Bill-C248 passed in the Senate in anticipation of an upcoming election and potential new government.

Quite a few friends came to Mic Mac Park to thank Masse while under a picnic shelter on that rainy day.

“Your original report to me is the Bible,” said Masse to some of the members of the Essex County Field

Naturalists Club who compiled the initial 2014 Ojibway Nature Centre and Prairie Complex BioBlitz

report of natural and endangered. “Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s really amazing.”

What they did initially – and do annually – is to document within 24-hours, the biodiversity of plants and

animals found in the forests, prairies, wetlands and woodlands of the Ojibway Prairie Complex. Many are

rare in Ontario, which is why Masse included the BioBlitz report in a package to educate members of the House and Senate.

Bill C-248 is now in committee and Masse thinks he can finally convince the senators to vote in his favour with all the amendments that were made.

“With amendments, there is politics,” said Mike Fisher, president of Friends of Ojibway Prairie, to more

supporters inside the picnic shelter. “I’m learning all the things about how legislation works.”

Legislation works within all levels of government. One issue is the Ojibway Prairie Reserve owned by the

Province of Ontario. Masse is working closely with Windsor-West NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky to designate the land and attended the event.

While waiting for that designation, it can still be built around Ojibway Shores, Black Oak Heritage Park, the Ojibway Park and Nature Centre, the Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park and the Spring Garden Natural Area, all owned by the City of Windsor.

There still must be approval from Parks Canada. So far $40 million has been allocated. There is also the

proposal of additional local lands like the Chappus Natural Area, Malden Park, the South Cameron

Woodlots, Oakwood Natural Area and the St. Clair College Prairie and Woodlots being added. In LaSalle, the Reaume Prairie, Turkey Creek, Stanton Woods, the Town Centre Woodlot, Villa Marie Woodlot and the LaSalle Woodlot/Brunet Park can also be connected.

“It would be nice to see the second national urban park in Windsor,” said Fisher, with an emphasis on

Truth and Reconciliation and the involvement of the First Nations people working together with Parks Canada to manage the lands.

Toronto’s Rouge Park established in 2017 is Canada’s first national urban park. The Wildlands League

who came up with the idea for the Protect My Ojibway sign launch are trying to get an urban park of their own in Guelph just like members of Wildlife Preservation Canada did for Windsor when they first contacted Masse in 2012.

One constituent who came to pick up a sign was Marty Gervais, Windsor’s poet laureate. He wrote and

photographed his book Walk in the Woods: Portrait of the Ojibway Prairie Complex during the pandemic.

Masse also included this book in his package to members of Parliament.

“This is why I’m very passionate about this,” said Masse, who often walks through Ojibway with his family.

When asked how many signs were picked up, Fisher estimated 200. Masse said a minimum of 150 people came but a more accurate gauge for him was the number of hotdogs given away.

The final count was a little under 300 signs given out first weekend.