A plan to turn the former Ontario Reformatory property into a national urban park has the support of the city’s tourism advisory committee.
During last Wednesday’s meeting, the committee unanimously approved a motion backing the effort to preserve the site for public use, referring to it as a “potential driver for tourism and destination development.”
“It made a lot of sense to us,” explained committee chair Stacey Washington. “Given the water that’s there, the historical building, the massive piece of property, it was just basically screaming out to be a prime candidate for (a national urban park).”
A coalition of local organizations formed last year in support of the urban park plan, which is seen as a way to preserve nature and the historic jail buildings, continue Indigenous reconciliation and enable the site is publicly accessible.
Parks Canada announced the National Urban Park Program in 2021 to support the creation of a network of 15 urban parks across Canada. The parks are part of the federal government’s commitment to protect biodiversity and conserve 25 percent of land and inland waters and 25 percent of marine and coastal areas by 2025, working toward 30 per cent by 2030.
“If you look at some of these older penitentiaries around, people actually go to tour them,” added Washington. “You could incorporate something like that into it as well.
“To me it was a no-brainer.”
At this point there’s no indication the motion will make its way to council for consideration. Committee motions only flow to council if/when staff is presenting a report on the issue, staff told GuelphToday.
“There are currently no reports scheduled at council,” Alex Jaworiwsky, the city’s manager of tourism, wrote in an email.
However, any member of council can force the issue by pulling the committee’s minutes from a future information package, posted every Friday afternoon on the city’s website, and raising it for discussion.
During last week’s meeting, the committee approved minutes for its meeting held in July. It’s next meeting is set for April 24.
"Through this motion, passed unanimously, the committee is advising council that if they are considering matters pertaining to the O.R. property that the Tourism committee sees an Urban Park as an opportunity to leverage the city's tourism aspirations by creating tourist destinations," said committee member John Fisher in an emailed statement.
It was Fisher who put the motion forward for the committee's consideration.
Earlier in the month, officials announced the proposed project had received its first government endorsement from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Chief Claire Sault has penned a letter of support for the initiative.
One of the criteria under the National Urban Park Program is that selected sites not only have the support of Indigenous partners, but work alongside them to provide space for Indigenous stewardship, promote Indigenous voices and stories, and offer connections to the lands and waters.
In addition, the plan has been endorsed by more than 20 local and provincial organizations.
