Politicians scrap over Mounties' move
Liberals say Poilievre flip-flopped over use of JDS building
Patrick Dare, Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Mounties' change of headquarters is proving to be a political football, with Liberals accusing Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre of flip-flopping on the merits of occupying the former JDS Uniphase complex on Merivale Road.
In return, the Conservatives are challenging the Liberals to say where they stand on the issue.
Liberals in Nepean-Carleton are reminding Mr. Poilievre that he opposed the federal government's proposed move of its military headquarters to Merivale Road and Prince of Wales Drive. In May 2004, Mr. Poilievre sent a letter to then-defence minister, and MP for Nepean-Carleton, David Pratt - reprinted last week in the Barrhaven Independent newspaper - questioning the move on several grounds.
Mr. Poilievre, then a candidate seeking to replace Mr. Pratt, argued the move would just shuffle jobs around the region, cause a "massive increase in traffic" on already congested roads and impose new costs on municipal government.
He accused the Liberals of timing the move for political gain and failing to consult the public. The government never made the move.
"Mr. Poilievre went ballistic," said Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty. "He got himself caught here."
Now Mr. Poilievre, who is parliamentary secretary to the president of Treasury Board and represents Nepean-Carleton after defeating Mr. Pratt, is hailing the move of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, from its headquarters on the Vanier Parkway to the JDS Uniphase site, as wonderful news - "the most important event in the history of our community."
Mr. Poilievre, in a letter to constituents, says the Mounties' move will bring thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in business and boost property values. He argues the new headquarters will become an anchor for a boom in business park development nearby. South Nepean and Manotick will become the engine of the region's economic growth, he says. And people working at or near the new Mountie headquarters will buy homes in Barrhaven.
Wednesday, Mr. Poilievre said the difference between then and now is that the Mounties' move is being done with full public consultation, including public meetings. And he said the three-year staging of the move will mean that any impact on the neighbourhood can be managed by the city. "We can handle the traffic and growth that results," he said.
Mr. Poilievre said the Liberals, when in power, "left the building empty for four years."
The JDS complex, once the workplace of 11,000 employees, was a golden opportunity created by the meltdown of the technology market a few years ago. JDS wanted to sell the campus to the government for $125 million.
The property, built for $200 million, included 900,000 square feet in eight connected buildings with 38 hectares of land, playing fields, a gym and an auditorium.
When the government didn't buy the property, Minto Developments bought it for $28 million and will lease it to the RCMP in a $600-million, 25-year deal.
The president of the Nepean-Carleton Liberal Riding Association, Gordon Shields, said Mr. Poilievre has been posturing on the issue.
Mr. Shields said the DND and RCMP moves were essentially the same in their effect on the community, yet the Defence Department deal supported by the Liberals died, while the Mounties' move wins approval.
Mr. Poilievre - along with MPP Lisa MacLeod and city councillors Jan Harder, Steve Desroches and Glenn Brooks - recently wrote a letter to Liberal MP Marcel Proulx of Hull-Aylmer, challenging him to clarify what the Liberal party's policy is on the move. Mr. Proulx has criticized the move in the past.
Mr. Poilievre said he hasn't received a reply. Mr. Proulx could not be reached Wednesday.
Mr. McGuinty said Wednesday the JDS complex is "a wonderful facility," but that he's not able to judge the merits of moving the Mounties there because he hasn't seen details of the deal and doesn't know whether it represents good value.
Mr. McGuinty said the site is near the Ottawa Airport and therefore might not be ideal, from a security standpoint, for a national police force.
Mr. Shields said the RCMP move should be good for the economy of south Nepean.
But he said the increased traffic the headquarters will generate would have been offset by the proposed north-south light-rail commuter service, a project that was delayed by senior Conservative cabinet minister John Baird, then cancelled by the new city council.
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