Downsview Park

This two part email was sent to our elected electoral district The Honourable Ken Dryden, Hon Lawrence Cannon,Monte kwinter MP, Stephane Dion and Senator Art Eggleton... and received no replies or support.
now is the time for the governing party supported by community to come through for the community.

I wanted to convey my personal thoughts to the Honourable Ken Dryden at the meeting I attended on April the 22nd at the a local Church; due to the question and answer period following the presentations I could not convey the message from other residents that unfortunately could not attend. Please accept the following as the message:

We are pursuing the non-development of housing or industrial or commercial building on the Downsview Park land solely based on the trust that the elected government at the time when the park was given to the community and I will repeat your quote you reiterated at the meeting: . . .[the] Downsview site will be held in perpetuity and in trust primarily as a unique urban recreational green space for the enjoyment of future generations. this quote has been repeated over and over since the day that the Rt. Hon. Joseph Jacques Jean Chrйtien said it; and the residents of Downsview and respectfully Toronto, Ontario and across Canada want it honored.

I do ask that we take the time to reconsider the non-development.
The short vision to develop the parkland into a tax or other money generating scheme to support the maintenance of the shrunken portion of the land calling it a park, does not make a lot of sense and to build housing and other structures to generate taxes, so it can maintain itself doesn't make sense either, unless there is some other intention that has not been made public, it only makes residents of the area and other concerned citizens across this province and country increasingly mystified by the relationship that governments can develop with urban builders.

The original intent when the Downsview Lands was established, was to build Canada's first Urban Park; whatever happened to that idea? The park is a good thing, it will make people happy; building housing or other structure will not make people happy, they will be angry at the lack of support they're currently getting from our elected officials, when the same people supported our elected officials.

Since 1994 and through 1995 I was the chairman of a citizen group residing in Downsview , always looking out and listening to what the residents around the Downsview land had to say regarding the future of the lands. Without a doubt all the residents I always talked to wanted the green space to be left alone. No housing development, no industrial development and no commercial development, the residents of Downsview wanted to share the park to the people of Toronto and everybody else in Ontario. I made that my agenda.
Back in May 1995 the first press release was sent out to the media, by the Downsview Lands Community Voice an organized group of Downsview residents representing the future of the CFB Downsview lands development. By then the group was better organized and continuously gathered information and support with timely press releases.
As part of the commitment lines of communication, meetings were held with the Hon Art Eggleton MP of York Centre and his staff, then also President of the Treasury & Minister of Infrastructure. The gathered information during community consultations and other more formal meetings with Mr. Eggleton MP, Annamarie Castrilli MPP, Councillor Maria Augimeri and Councillor Mike Feldman, representatives of Boeing and Bombardier, TTC, North York Mayor office, and others did exactly what the residents of Downsview wanted: the land was to be left alone with no development and matured to what is now considered the urban park within the city. Later statements and announcements were made that the land was offered in Perpetuity to the people of Canada. Mission accomplished.

2006, almost some 10 years later, enter a new breed of developers hungry to rip lands apart, pour concrete, lay asphalt, ruin what was an historical site and make it disappear so that our future generation will never know where our great heroes were trained, were our greatest airplanes were built, where our Royal canadian Air Force once proudly had air and helicopter squadron to watch over Toronto and Southern Ontario; were our local largest employer was; to take away our only park that means so much to our residents and wanted to share with the rest of Toronto and Ontario. Why can't these developers just leave a good thing alone? is it money? money isn't everything.
Family enjoying a day out, couples jogging, retired persons walking thier dogs, cyclists on the paths all this on the same roads that once our proud military soldiers marched on; and then during the last few years kites a growing number of enthusiasts filling the Downsview skies with wanderful parades of kites, radio control airplanes; baseball games and soccer games, live Canada Day concerts, enjoying the re-use of the old hangars with the movie production companies, the flea market, the reforestation program undegoing along side Keele Street...........keep the park a park.......keep the promise a legacy; Maria Augimeri quote in the North York Mirror December 8, 2006 "Initially over 10 years ago, then Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced the formation of the park and offered it in perpetuity to the Canadian people" is very correct; and I will as a Downsview resident (and past DLCV chairman) will also fight the developent plans.

Regards,
Thomas Ricci