The petition follows up on the responses provided by federal ministers to petition 477 on the Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic Campus. The petition covers developments on the environmental, health, and legal aspects of the subject matter brought forward in the original petition.
The petition states that, except for 1 department, federal responsibility over unceded Indigenous lands was not addressed by departments. The petition claims that there is no evidence of an Indigenous-led environmental assessment or consultation conducted with the Grand Chief of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. It also mentions that all questions posed in petition 477 must be reassessed using an Indigenous-led perspective following the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of assessments conducted by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. The petition therefore questions how departments have conducted their duty to consult regarding the use of unceded land for the hospital garage project. The petition additionally inquires about whether an Indigenous-led environmental assessment has been conducted and whether it was incorporated into the federal environmental assessment.
The petition notes that the hospital’s lease includes provisions regarding the environmental condition of the property. The petition inquires whether departments have given the hospital conditions for the sustainable use of the property and additionally questions the federal duties for monitoring the use of this land. The petition claims that draining groundwater as part of the demolition of the Sir John Carling West Annex building led to the release of toxic water into Dow’s Lake. The petition questions whether the Fisheries Act applies to this water network and how Fisheries and Oceans Canada is enacting its responsibility. The petition further highlights that the environmental remediation of the land is the hospital’s responsibility. However, the petition claims that $11.8 million of public funds were allocated for the remediation process, with $3.31 million currently unaccounted for. The petition asks whether Public Services and Procurement Canada has requested or received information and data related to decontamination activities between 2014 and 2023. The petition also asks how the funds were spent and whether the government has accounted for the missing $3.31 million.