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Transcript
Tobi Nussbaum: Good day and welcome to this episode of Capital Stories, as we explore the NCC and its history. This year, our 125th anniversary of the NCC and its predecessors. And I’m very happy to be joined today by three guests: starting on my left, Anita Tenasco, who is the Director of Algonquin Initiatives at Algonquin College, or Indigenous Initiatives, I guess is the right title. So Anita, welcome. To my right, Cristina Wood, who is a Ph.D. candidate at York University. And to her right, Gary Meus, who’s a senior landscape architect and one of my colleagues at the NCC. So, welcome to all of you. So, the NCC is celebrating 125 years, and the waterways are so important in terms of how Ottawa came to be, why Ottawa was chosen to be the capital of Canada, and has been really central to how the Capital has evolved. And so, while I do want to spend a good amount of time talking about the NCC and its relationship to the water, the waterways existed before the NCC was formed in 1899, and I thought it was important to really start our conversation today with a little bit of an understanding of the waterways and how they were used for thousands of years by the Algonquin people, who, of course, were stewards of this land and still are, and have a rich history and a rich understanding of the importance of those waterways. So, Anita, I want to start with you, and maybe you can help situate us a little bit in terms of understanding the role of our waterways. Obviously, we’re sitting at the junction of the Gatineau River and the Rideau River and the Ottawa River. Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the waterways for the Algonquin people, how they were used and their importance?
Anita Tenasco: Kwey, good morning and thank you for allowing me to share about the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, my nation. I’m from Kitigan Zibi and so our nation is the host nation for the Ottawa area, and the waterways in Ottawa and surrounding Ottawa are our home. We have been here since time immemorial. We’re a nation of over 11,000 people and we’ve never left this area. We’ve always occupied this area. We have a large community here in Gatineau and in Ottawa. We love the waterways. We love the Kichi Zībī. The Kichi Zībī, or what is now known in English as the Ottawa River, is so very important to us. This is the river that has sheltered us, that has fed us, that has clothed us, that has allowed for us to celebrate and have ceremony. This is where we traded. The word Ottawa comes from “adawe” in our language, which means to trade. So this area and its waterways have always been a part of our history and will continue to be so.
Tobi Nussbaum: Great. And so we know that this important junction of three rivers was the basis of this notion of “to trade.” Can you give us a little bit of a sense of how your understanding… of how your ancestors were using the water? Were there temporary settlements here? Were there certain times of year where people would come to this area? Tell us how it would look if we were to, you know, move back a thousand years. What would we be seeing?
Anita Tenasco: Right. So our traditional unceded territory is vast. It makes up a huge part of Ontario and western Quebec. And so historically our people would paddle the waters along the Kichi Zībī. And we would meet here in what is now Ottawa. We would have huge gatherings here. We would have governance meetings, we would have trading opportunities, we would celebrate births, we would honour deaths, we would have marriages, we would have huge feasts, we would fish, we would hunt, we would gather in this important area. And so we would always return to this area. So when settlement started to happen and non-Indigenous peoples… settlers started to arrive, this caused some turmoil in our nation, right? We said, you know, this is an important place for us and now we’re here sharing it with non-Indigenous peoples. And there was a huge struggle in our nation. So many of our people then started to retreat to less occupied areas of our traditional territory and we knew that development was happening and we weren’t consulted about this development. We never gave permission for this development and yet it was happening. So there were very challenging times and we had to work through those times. We had to stay strong as an Anishinabe Algonquin people. We had to keep our culture alive. We had to feed our people. We had to educate our children in our ways. We had to continue occupying the lands as much as possible, as our ancestors have always done since time immemorial.
Tobi Nussbaum: Great. Thank you. That’s important to situate sort of the early history of the Ottawa River. And then we fast forward to the early 1600s, and the first French explorers start to paddle in. They’re thinking, of course, about fur. They’re thinking about ways in which they can commodify the area around the Ottawa River. And at that time, Cristina, would the river have looked pretty similarly 400 years ago when we have Champlain and others paddling from Montreal? Or do you think it would have looked different from how it looks now?
Cristina Wood: The waterscape and the landscape has been changed in the last 100 years in some ways that, you know, Samuel de Champlain would notice. For example, with major dam projects, reservoir projects up and downstream from where we are. The topography of islands has changed, which affected Indigenous foodways throughout what is now Canada. And so those are elements that are different. Of course, now, Samuel de Champlain couldn’t navigate upstream as easily because of those interruptions, particularly downstream. But in some ways, there are a lot of similarities. The Rideau Falls which, you know, gave this place such significance to the French settlers, remain, you know, staggering and beautiful and different. So yeah, there’s some similarities and some differences for sure.
Tobi Nussbaum: Right. So we fast forward and because we want to get at some point to the NCC and its role in interacting with the Capital waterways. But before that, we have a period of industrialization. We have a period where the river and the waterways are very much used as a junkyard by those who came, who saw it either as a place to send lumber down downstream or to use it for an industrial wasteland. So if we move into the 1800s and we imagine again casting an eye on what the capital looks like, Gary, what would we see and what would surprise us about what the capital looks like, say, 150 years ago?
Gary Meus: It’s an interesting question, because there are so many stratas. Even now, when you take a walk on one of the pathways and you actually go, for example, to Victoria Island, the stratas of development that have occurred showcase how the river has truly transformed, not just on its own. It’s basically because of how we’ve treated it. We’ve taken the chance to see opportunities and to see how development can actually really occur in a manner that is succinct with the ways of how people were living at the time. But as you look at it now, there are remnants of how the river really still battled through. Still, with the amount of different levels of development that have occurred. The river has stayed strong and it has been the source for so many people to just be able to take advantage of on any type of level. And so there are remnants, but the river now speaks highly of itself as promoting itself as much as it can, and I think that’s how we all now become stewards of it.
Tobi Nussbaum: One of the areas that has an association, a darker association with the NCC, due to the expropriation of residents in the 1960s, is LeBreton Flats. But if we go back to, let’s say the late 1800s, Cristina, it was a bustling area, industry train yards. What would we see and characterize for us a little bit the relationship between LeBreton Flats and the river adjacent?
Cristina Wood: Yeah, as you say, bustling, which is really different from how I’ve grown up knowing that area in the aftermath of that dark history that you mentioned, or that dark chapter that you mentioned, of expropriation and clearing of that place, which is again part of that sacred territory where the rivers meet that lowland. And so what would we see? We would see piled-high lumber ready to ship to market. Earlier, that market was overseas and in the mid-19th century that changes. We’re shipping that lumber to the United States. We would see businesses, we would see sort of outfitters for that industry. That’s where a lot of settlers came to make their way to outfit the people who were going to participate in this industrial activity. And then people beginning to settle families and beginning to intensify the development there. Another thing that I like to remind people of and thinking about the past, what would we see, what would we smell? What would we hear, particularly around that area and downstream from the Chaudières Falls as pollution intensifies with the industrial activity? This is a huge thing that we find in the historical sources. People report the stench of the pollution and that affects the way people interact with the water as a place of recreation and enjoyment. You know, the idea being to settle here… we have the beautiful vista, the Parliament buildings, and you know, MPs begin to debate pollution, in part because they can smell it in the 1870s and 1880s.
Tobi Nussbaum: So if I were to read the Hansards from the 1870s, I would hear a discussion of smells from LeBreton flats.
Cristina Wood: Yeah, sorry, I shifted a bit away from LeBreton flats there, but because it’s a bit upstream, because I really wanted to talk about smell. But yeah, that’s the first discussion in Canada about pollution… has to do with the smell from the river being used as a wasteland. But yes, at LeBreton Flats, you know, we’d smell horse manure, we’d smell an urban centre without the plumbing, the kind of plumbing that we’re used to now. And we’d hear a really, really, busy, bustling place.
Tobi Nussbaum: Yeah. So despite the impact of colonialism, the Algonquin Anishinabe people were still here. As you said, they didn’t go anywhere. And Anita, we hear a lot about the importance of Victoria Island, which I understand continued to be a place of ceremony and importance. And so do you want to speak a little bit about that and other ways in which Cristina’s reference to the sacredness of the falls, that boiling falls, that Chaudières, can you talk a little bit about the importance of that area to the Algonquin people?
Anita Tenasco: Yes, I can. I was going to share that even in the late 1880s, our people were still coming to the area, trying to connect with our sacred sites and trying to connect with the waterways, trying to connect with the land. We were aware that development was happening and it was not good for the land and the territory, but we were very concerned about the falls and where we would make our offerings and where our people would gather for ceremony since time immemorial. So our people never left, and as difficult as it was to leave the reserves that were created by that time, including Kitigan Zibi, that was created in the early 1850s, our people made the journey, and they made it here to the Ottawa area. We never left and we’re still here. And our people are proud of that fact. They wanted to reconnect with the falls. They wanted to see what is now LeBreton Flats. They wanted to see where the Parliament is now located, the cliffs, you know, the water, the trees. This is all in our memories and they remain in our memory.
Tobi Nussbaum: Thank you. So we’re going to fast forward a little bit because I want to get to this issue of what has the water meant to the NCC and its history? How has the NCC’s position on the waters changed over the last 125 years? And I guess without spending too much time on the planning history — we did that in another episode — by the 1950s and with the Gréber Report, we start to see a recognition that the waterways do have important significance. We get these parkways that are built on the east and west side of Ottawa and building on some of the earlier plans, the Todd plan and the Bennett plan, we see an evolution of this idea that actually the rivers in the waterways can be an attraction, can be a place that we need to take advantage of. So, Cristina, maybe I’ll start with you. We start to see that in the 1950s… and at the same time the beginning of a de-industrialization of the Ottawa River. Is that a fair parallel?
Cristina Wood: Yes, yeah. Because with that plan, the part of the vision is to move the railways to the outskirts of town where previously the development of the city had the railways as integral and central. So we see that movement and in terms of the kind of industry that is happening on the river, there’s been a major shift by then, in part due to the ravenous environmental exploitation of timber upstream, that literally means the supply has been reduced for this industry. You see a shift from enormous old growths on lumber, beautiful ancient forests being exploited through the 19th century into the 20th century that transitions into, first, sawn lumber, which is sort of for construction, and then into pulp and paper. And that industry continues, sort of up until the 1950s. It continues to this day up and downstream. But yes, because of this vision for the Capital and the prescribed importance of a capital that is globally recognized, you know, significant, worthy of standing alongside Washington, D.C. and Paris, and that is worthy of a planner so eminent, we do see, you know, yeah, there is the partnership between that de-industrialization and this new vision of this place.
Tobi Nussbaum: Gary, one of the things, as a landscape architect, I’d be interested to hear you talk about, is the fact that our waterways really are a central feature in situating the capital physically and topographically. And I think planners over the course of the last 125 years have really used that as a way of understanding how the Capital can represent Canada. Can you talk a little bit about the topography, about the importance of the water and some of the features that you think are particularly important in terms of understanding the geography of the capital?
Gary Meus: So the interesting portion really reverts back to how the industrialization period came into, like, into a rapid stance of being very prompt about the development. “City beautiful” movement came in with, okay, let’s revert back. Like we’ve industrialized, we’ve developed, we’ve formed all of these different shapes within cities, but now people also need places of repose. And so what occurred with those types of movements and where we are today, is the fact of finding those places that actually make people take advantage of being outdoors and being in a place that actually means more than just being a nice park or a retreat. It actually has a sense to what those places are. And so, when we speak of the variety of different landscapes that are being designed and developed, we tend to really focus the attention on what the significance of those landscapes truly mean. And I think that that’s where the change actually is occurring from the industrialization of how cities have grown to where they are today. When we talk about topography, for example, we talk about topography because cities are always… have a backbone, and those backbones are the river, and being able to, being able to have that type of relationship is crucial to how people enjoy the fact of being in the cities. And so, now it’s not just a visual type of aspect. We want a tactile type of situation, how it was used before, and it’s coming back in the sense where people will take advantage of waterways in a variety of different ways. It does not have to be physical. It can also just be visual. It can also be in an audio form. Like, it’s a variety of different ways that people will take advantage of things. And I think that that’s what makes cities now actually really revert back to getting to their backbone again and focusing their attention on how to take advantage of these.
Tobi Nussbaum: Yeah, I like your sense, your description of the different ways in which waterways and rivers are considered. Before we move to sort of the 21st century and some of the things the NCC is doing now, I want to talk about one physical manifestation of human use of the river, which is recreation. And I know I have a cursory understanding of the ways in which recreation manifested, but I know others may know more. Cristina, you’ve done, and I think in your Ph.D. research, you’ve got a pretty good understanding of some of those. Do you want to speak to ways in which there was a recognition that the river could be not just a place of repose but of activity?
Cristina Wood: Yeah, absolutely. And, and I think just to build on what Gary is saying, that the reverting back to that is, I think what you’re saying, is sort of on the official level of planning. Because something I found in my research is that for certain people, and that’s often people who have the luxury of being able to think about where to vacation, or to have some free time, recreation and sort of an orientation or relationship with the waterways has been sort of a through line. But that hasn’t been part of the official vision of the city, which is what I think is so great and what we’ll get to. But yes, through its history, even through the history of, sort of, the shameful chapter of the pollution, settlers are using the river and relating to the river in a way, in a way of recreation, in a way of, sort of, a holiday-scape, a holiday landscape. There’s steamships that are a major part of patterns of colonialism and that continues with, sort of, the occupation of this land and water as a space for recreation. So, in the city itself and in the landscape that we now know is the National Capital Region, through the 19th and 20th century, there are these things called end-of-the-line attractions that are being developed, either by the railways or by steam steamship companies. And these are sort of entrepreneurial spirits who are thinking, okay, how can I make money from the ticket prices of my railway? I’ll build an end-of-the-line attraction. So in Aylmer, and now it’s sort of the Aylmer Marina area… that was called Queen’s Park. And there was an enormous waterslide there, and you’d go all along the northern shore of the river to shoot the shoot and to picnic with your family on Kettle Island. There was in 1910 through to 1920 or so, an amusement park there, with a merry-go-round, with a moving picture show, with a restaurant. And that was an end-of-the-line attraction for a steamship company. So these are places that you, again, if you’re a certain type of person who can think about this, would be able to access as a pastime in the summer. And, in the wintertime, the recreation is a… it’s a big part of people’s lives as well. And, I think there, in my experience, that can be a little bit more informal. It’s hard to capture, you know, where people are swimming in the summer, in the sources. You know, there’s little bits and bobs here. But certainly in the winter time, there are snowshoe associations, there are sleigh races on the ice in the urban centre of Ottawa now, and canoe associations, yachting associations, that are… that demonstrate this connection of the water and the city as a space for recreation. And as the city becomes more intensified, more intensely developed, even Kettle Island is removed from the dusty, unhealthy, polluted city. And you can go for a healthy fresh summer air to Kettle Island or downstream to Hiawatha Park, which is just sort of before Petrie Island, Besser’s Grove area at Green’s Creek — another point of confluence, which just demonstrates the ways that the waterways’ points of confluence are so significant. And that’s really a through line. But yeah, for certain types of people, there’s holiday landscape and then in more informal ways, people are swimming, people are skating in the wintertime, and that can be a bit more accessible for all kinds of people.
Tobi Nussbaum: Skating is a good segue-way to think a little bit about some of the other waterways, including the Rideau Canal. And you did mention it earlier as a place that had been adjacent to railway lines that were started to be removed in the 1940s and 50s. But one thing that I want to move to is… so obviously when the Rideau Canal Skateway started in the early 1970s, you can see that as being sort of the early formalization of recreation. You get beaches, you get other activities, but I want to fast forward to the 21st century and talk a little bit about what’s happening now.And in my mind, there are three important factors that are setting the stage for how certainly the NCC’s consideration of the capital waterways are changing. And in my mind those three are one, reconciliation. And I want to talk about some specific examples of that in a minute. Anita, I’m going to ask you about that. The second is maybe a greater awareness of the ecological importance of waterways and a recognition that in order for us to be able to appreciate and use them properly, we have to make sure that they are as pristine and clean as possible. And the third is this understanding, and it’s a little bit back to the future.
And I loved your references, Cristina, to what was happening in Aylmer and what was happening on Kettle Island. And I feel like for the NCC, there’s a rediscovery of thinking about the waterways, not only in a passive way, but again, as an active way, as a place where people can enjoy nature in sustainable ways. So those three elements, reconciliation, ecological importance and recreation, I think are forming the basis of a new relationship and a real stimulus for different ways in which NCC projects are advancing. One of those projects is the revitalization of the former Nepean Point. I’m going to let Gary and Anita talk a little bit about how that project touches, I think on all three of those areas, but particularly on the reconciliation part. So Gary, can you set the stage a little bit for how Kìwekì Point, sorry, I just gave away the name… sort of gets established as a project. And then Anita, I’m going to ask you to speak a little bit about your involvement and how you think the Algonquin involvement in that project was important. So Gary set the stage for us.
Gary Meus: So back in 2017, the NCC actually put forward an international design competition and that competition regrouped firms from everywhere that had very bodacious-like designs, that to revitalize the area [that] at that time was known as Nepean Point. The firm that was chosen was Janet Rosenberg Studios as a very 21st century, avant-garde type of design that kind of related back to the relationship of the area with the river. And that was really key into how the design progressed and how everyone really gravitated toward how the big river landscape was now viewed as an important and significant piece of how this would be a rebirth of an area that can now host so many different people to not just learn about the river, but experience it. And so you know, we broke ground with demolition in 2020, construction started in 2022, and we are fastly approaching how the opening is going to come very, very soon. The design itself really is poised as an experience. It’s not just a beautiful landscape, it’s actually taking the time to focus on the visitor experience way of going and walking through a site. And this is done by the design elements that are included, by the vegetation, the landscape, the forms of the site itself. There are also elements of architecture that basically act as a backdrop to the river and different heights within the park to have similar experiences, but all with which to focus on the river itself. And so the way that the site is designed, the pathways themselves, they always have this inclination of the river’s movements, of how people moved along the river. So from the perimeter pathway that goes around the site to the ridge pathway that basically links the pedestrian bridge that now is actually making its life back from the 1954 bridge that was removed because of the Alexandra Bridge.
Tobi Nussbaum: It crosses Saint Patrick between Major’s Hill Park.
Gary Meus: Exactly. Exactly. And so having that pedestrian bridge link itself to the north-south pathway of the park is an inclination of further pedestrianizing how the area can take advantage of the river even more.And the meandering pathways and the step pathways that are within the internal structure of the park mirror again how the river has all of these different kinks that basically make it this energy piece that kind of flows within the area. But along all of these different pieces and along how the landscape speaks to the variety of different design ideas that actually are being promoted, we also have the interpretive layer that comes in, that basically capitalizes on, not just the design portion, but how it relates back to the river and the people.
The design itself was focused on being able to be an aspect of Canadianism, meaning being able to relate and regroup all Canadians together in order to be able to take advantage of the river.
Tobi Nussbaum: And an important part of that also was the relationship with the Algonquin people. And I know that there were early discussions and conversations and involvement through a working group. Anita, you were a part of that process. Can you speak to us a little bit about the interpretation Gary mentioned and how the park will reflect and respond to the important Algonquin history and role as stewards of these lands?
Anita Tenasco: Right, so Anishinabe Algonquin voices need to be heard. And I want to say, migwech, thank you to the NCC for hearing us and working with us in this particular project. Through the Kitigan Zibi Cultural Centre, elders and knowledge keepers were engaged to learn about the project, to contribute to the project, to offer history and language within the project, to engage with Anishinabe Algonquin artists within the project, and we were really on site and present in the project. Through the work of Rene Tenasco at the NCC, through Joan Commanda Tenasco's work in contributing language, in engaging with Pikwàkanagàn as well. Kirby Whiteduck was always with us in this work. It was a great way for two communities within the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation to come together to talk about our collective history, to talk about our connection to the land, to really have our people represented in this park so that Canadians from across the land and visitors to Canada who will visit the park will learn about our nation as the host nation of the Ottawa area. That is so important. That is a part of reconciliation. That is making concrete change on the landscape in the city, in the capital of Canada — so important.
Tobi Nussbaum: Yeah, no. Well said. So that’s one very big and important example of this evolution that I spoke of, of really thinking about how we’re interacting and viewing the river differently. There are a couple of other projects. The NCC River House opened last year, which is an opportunity for people both to enjoy the landscape. There was a lot of attention on changing the shoreline so that it was people-friendly, so that people could sit and enjoy. There are swim docks which have been a real hit. And it’s been really interesting for me to watch because you’ve seen… and Cristina, you alluded to sometimes there are barriers to recreation. NCC River House is free. And what that means is people who may not have a cottage or who may not be able to pay for waterfront access in other circumstances are really becoming the beneficiaries and great users and appreciating this free access. And, so what I’m curious about… we’ve got that project, Westboro Beach is probably nine months or so away from opening. So that will be another important riverfront project. Ottawa and the National Capital Region is not alone in rethinking its relationship to waterways. Gary, I know you’ve worked in other cities. What do you think is happening? Is it coincidence that cities worldwide are rethinking this? Are there connections and similarities between the ways that cities are turning to face their waters and what do you think are some good examples of successful regeneration projects worldwide?
Gary Meus: Oh, there are a lot, but I think that you just point… you just touched on a very important point… is that cities are wanting to face the river. And I think that that’s something that, in more of a historical sense, cities have turned their backs to the river because it was more of a transportation channel than anything about enjoyment. And so what occurred was now to be able to actually feel and really experience the river is now being part of what is important to people. And so not just people, but cities worldwide are actually really focusing their attention on being able to take advantage of these. One perfect example is in Washington, D.C., for example, in Georgetown, there is… they’ve done an amazing job of being able to revert the C&O canal trailway leading into Georgetown to be able to actually have a boating-kayaking type of situation where now you bleed into K Street, and then all of a sudden you have this opening of a gateway park that really lends itself to the views of the Potomac River. I mean, those are examples that cities are taking now, that they are really focusing their attentions on. And I mean, it’s in the… I guess you might say the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, the Potomac River has now viewed itself as being like the significant piece of attraction for a variety of different developments of many, many kinds. And so seeing what we’re doing here, now, with the Kichi Zībī, is right there with those types of visions. But we’re doing it in our way. It’s not… a mimicking what other cities have been done. The Kichi Zībī is actually getting itself to be recognized as its own entity. And also speaking, like we were talking about interpretation for Kìwekì Point. Now the river is the one narrating the experience that people are going to take on a site, which is a completely different way of actually experiencing things. And so I think that each of these cities are taking their own way of having that type of experience being felt. And that’s what excites. That’s what’s exciting.
Tobi Nussbaum: Yeah. Another way in which certainly the NCC is trying to face the river, as you say, is also offering opportunities for people to sit and enjoy. I talked about recreation, but some people like to enjoy things passively, myself included from time to time. A cold glass of beer or something to eat is a wonderful thing to do on the shoreline of many of the Capital’s rivers. And that’s another way in which I think certainly the NCC’s relationship with the water has evolved, from understanding it as a place that people either bike along or walk along or drive along, to a place where people can stop and, you know, really enjoy it. And facing the river is an important part of that. Cristina, from your perspective and from the research you’ve done, are there other components of the evolution of the river and the waterways that you would want to remark on? Is there anything that we’re missing in this storyline?
Cristina Wood: Well, I’ll move us out of the 21st century for a second.
Tobi Nussbaum: Sure. Yeah.
Cristina Wood: But not too far. I think one thing we have to remember and maybe, well, it definitely builds on what Gary is just saying, is the environmental movement in the 1960s and the 1970s and the way that that changes a global conversation about relationship with the environment. Indigenous leaders are huge in driving that conversation. And there are, sort of, these major — I love water puns — watershed moments, in that time that changed conversations of, you know, globally, for people, for cities, about the river. And there’s sort of… there’s one anecdote that I think is important to share, which is a funeral for the river, which occurred… the group of student activists at Carleton University who had a conference and basically a funeral for the river. And this was sort of a student activist movement. There was a film created, as well as sort of environmental advocacy in that period, which changed the way, then, we all, and the city and the NCC as well, understood, you know, people’s understanding of the river and people’s relationship with the river, and that continues to this day. I know with the NCC and, as sort of as a layperson, a resident of the region, to talk about swimming in the river. Sometimes people can be scandalized — as in really, is that — are you okay to swim in the river? Because we have these memories, not very distant memories, of the waterways feeding into the river. Brewery Creek, on the Gatineau side, on the Quebec side, on the North Shore, that was extremely polluted not too long ago. And that we have all been working, sort of at various government levels at the federal, at the municipal, at the provincial levels, to rehabilitate. So I think those things… and just to talk of connections to other rivers, this funeral movement that happened on the Don River in Toronto as well, as a big display to gain attention, sort of a publicity stunt to gain attention to the environmental cause. So I think that’s an important thing to remember and it’s [an] important thing to be… you know, grateful for those, those forebearers who in the environmental movement, who shifted our collective awareness and reoriented our relationship as one of gratitude and of relationship of interdependence with waterways, which has always existed on Turtle Island. And how… you know, and then now is part of what you describe as the NCC vision.
Tobi Nussbaum: Yeah. I think that’s so important. And I realize one thing that we hadn’t mentioned up until now is the fact that life literally comes from the river. Our drinking water is sourced in the National Capital Region from the Ottawa River. So, also a very important, as you say, interdependence and function. And I’m really glad, Cristina, that you mentioned the environmental movement and its roots. And we should say that even now, the Ottawa Riverkeeper, which is an organization that’s very active in terms of monitoring and advocating for the health of the Ottawa River, is also a tenant of the NCC. They exist. Their offices are at the NCC River House. So we very much appreciate the work that they’ve done. So, yeah, a very, very important point. And I think the relationship between reconciliation and understanding the role of the Algonquin people, the environmental movement, this sort of landscape architecture and planning tendency to want to face the rivers. They’ve all sort of happened. They’re all happening at the same time, and I think represent a huge opportunity for the NCC and other levels of government, really, to do the right thing from an environmental point of view, from a reconciliation point of view. And also, you know, from the purpose of improving life in the Capital, both for residents and for visitors to create a more inviting environment, which, by the way, also in an era of a climate crisis where we’re experiencing these, you know, much more frequent extreme weather events. You know, to think about that, to think about mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, to think about adaptation, to think about ways in which the river will continue to play a role for us in the capital is also important. So, despite the challenges, I remain hopeful. I think there is an opportunity for us to do even more in those areas. And so I think if we look at the first 125 years, which is mixed in terms of some real missteps, some real abusing of the waterways functions, I think I’m more optimistic about the next 125 years in terms of our ability to establish more of a symbiosis with our water. And I’m hopeful that that happens. So thank you to the three of you for helping us understand a little bit about the history to situate the different parts of it. So Anita, Cristina, Gary — really enjoyed this conversation today. Thank you for, yeah, again, helping us interpret the NCC’s waterways and the NCC’s role in addressing them. So thank you for joining me.
Cristina Wood: Thank you
Anita Tenasco: Migwech.
Tobi Nussbaum: And that wraps up this episode of Capital Stories. Join us next time as we continue to celebrate the triumphs, reflect on the challenges, and peer into the future of the National Capital Region. Thanks for joining us.