With Parliament prorogued, what happens now to Windsor’s national urban park?

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to prorogue Parliament, Windsor MP Brian Masse’s private member’s bill to establish Ojibway National Urban Park has died.

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But a local member of the Liberal government is confident Canada’s second national urban park will still open by year’s end.

“We will have an Ojibway National Urban Park,” MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh) told the Star.

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“We have the funding to open and operate (the park) and it’s important that the community remains united towards that goal. I know Parks Canada is committed.”

Governor General Mary Simon on Monday granted Trudeau’s request to prorogue Parliament until March 24. The suspension halts House of Commons activities and all business before the Senate while the Liberals move to replace Trudeau as both party leader and prime minister.

A spokesperson for the Senate of Canada confirmed Tuesday that Windsor West MP Brian Masse’s private member’s bill — Bill C-248, which seeks to cement protection for the green space into law — has “died on the Order Paper.” 

“If and when the bill returns to the Senate following prorogation, it would do so as if no work had been previously done in Senate committee,” the spokesperson said in an emailed response to the Star. “This would not preclude a decision to accelerate the bill.” 

However, according to the Parliament of Canada website, once the Senate is reconstituted in March, a senator could make an order of reference motion to have the bill brought back for study at that same committee so that they do not have to re-do the full process.

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“If we don’t have a chance to do it in this Parliament, I’m prepared to bring all that work back and hope that all the goodwill that’s been developed will get it passed in the future,” said Masse, who has been lobbying for the creation of an urban park in Windsor for more than a decade.

The member of the NDP had been preparing to present his amended bill to the Senate for a third and final vote, which if passed would ensure the Ojibway land receives the highest level of protection, on par with other national parks in Canada.

“The problem has been the process to get it through the Senate with the amendments, where it’s currently sitting ready to go,” Masse said. “I’ve been waiting for us to go back, but now with prorogation, that takes another time period.

“Provided the tradition is upheld and legislation is resurrected for private members’ bills, we will be ready to try to move that as quickly as possible.”

The proposed park sits at the city’s southwestern border and the northern boundary of the Town of LaSalle. Ojibway National Urban Park would become only the second of its kind in Canada, after Rouge National Urban Park in Toronto.

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Let’s get it done

Windsor was one of six municipalities chosen for Parks Canada’s National Urban Park program. In its 2024 budget, the Liberal government allocated more than $36 million over five years towards creation of Windsor’s national urban park.

“With or without Bill C-248, we have the funding secured for Parks Canada to open and operate Ojibway National Urban Park, and I am 100 per cent committed to working with all partners to open (the park) in Windsor,” said Kusmierczyk. 

“I am confident we will be able to do that this year.”

Regardless of the route to establish the city’s national urban park, Masse previously stated that both approaches were complementary.

“It’s always been worrisome in terms of the clock for me on this because I’ve seen time just evaporate Parliaments,” Masse said. “What I am proud about is how the community has rallied around this.

“It’s just about whether it’s through this bill now or having to do some more work in the future.”

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All indications now are for a spring federal election, with the Conservatives far ahead in the polls. Local Conservative MP Chris Lewis (C — Essex), who has also supported Masse’s private member’s bill, did not respond to the Star’s request for comment.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty coming up,” said Mike Fisher, chair of the Friends of Ojibway Prairie National Urban Park committee. “If the park is not yet created, you just don’t know what could change.

“We’re eager to see the park established — let’s do it while our local representatives and everyone in the House of Commons is fully behind us. 

“Let’s get it done.”

In the meantime, Fisher is urging Windsor-Essex residents to keep their lawn signs supporting the proposed national park on display.

mholmeshill@postmedia.com

— With files from Madeline Mazak

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