Please take a moment to share this update with people in your networks and urge them to sign the petition. We will deliver news of the petition to Minister Qualtrough today, and we’ll be reaching out across Canada to gather 1,000 signatures by early April. Your help is important and necessary!

Yesterday, an unnecessary clear cutting of trees and vegetation devastated the area next to the centenary elm tree on Parliament Hill. The onslaught came without warning and during a moratorium on cutting the elm tree agreed to by Minister Qualtrough at the request of a House of Commons committee.

A large maple tree, many smaller trees, and all vegetation next to and around the centenary elm were razed on March 26.  

“It looks like the last enclave of greenspace on Parliament Hill has been demolished in an act that I can only describe as confrontational and mean-spirited,” said Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital. He and other local groups have been concerned about the fate of a 100-year old elm tree that the feds say must be destroyed as part of the Centre Block rehabilitation project. Phase 2 of that project involves building a massive underground compound to house a visitor welcome centre.

“I was on site, and today’s actions by her officials have created what looks like a war zone, with heavy machinery moving onto the site, churning up the earth and then workers erecting high fences around the area to turn it into a construction zone,” said Johanis.

The Greenspace Alliance got word Monday March 25 that officials at Public Services and Procurement Canada would respect the moratorium on cutting the elm tree issued on March 19 by the Standing Committee on Procedures and House Affairs (PROC).

“It’s inconsistent for the Minister to agree to a moratorium on cutting the elm tree one day and to then wreak havoc on all of the nearby trees the next. She may have observed the letter of the moratorium but it’s clear she doesn’t care a whit about its spirit.”

·         Representatives of environmental groups will speak at the House of Commons emergency committee meeting on April 2.  “We’ll be pressing for a serious reassessment of the trade-off between preserving and restoring greenspace on this part of the Hill and building the next phase of the visitor centre there,” Johanis said in a press release.

·         The March 26 devastation around the elm disrespects the organizations that are working to preserve greenspace on the Hill during a time of climate emergency. “And it’s not respectful of the Canadian public, which has never in any way been consulted about these plans, and about which there is not a shred of public information available.”