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18 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca March 20 - 26, 2018 The Chronicle Community The long battle of the Pickering Lands The land where we stand is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. Uncovering the hidden stories about the land our community is built on is what the Chronicle's new feature series, the Land Where We Stand, is about. Kirsten Jerry The Chronicle “We’ve lived here on the federal lands since 1980,” said Mary Delaney, describing how she came to be involved with advocacy group Land over Landings (LOL), which she chairs, “so I raised my family here and we turned what was a rundown farmhouse into a lovely home.” Delany is one of many people living on what is commonly known as the airport lands, or simply The Lands. Feeling the need to build an airport to relieve congestion in Toronto, the government did a survey of the Pickering area lands over a seventy-two-hour period in Jan. 1972, according to The Paper Juggernaut: Big Government Gone Mad by Walter Stewart. On Feb. 1, the Cabinet Committee of Government Operations accepted the proposal to build in Pickering. By Feb. 7, the whole Cabinet accepted. The Lands were expropriated by the government on March 2, 1972 for the airport. On the same day, a protest group, People Or Planes (POP), was created. A note made by POP secretary Pat McClennan on page 37 of The Paper Juggernaut recounts the effects of the expropriation on people living on the lands: “… Another time a woman called and said, ‘Well, they’ve won; my husband had a heart attack today.’ ” According to the book The Village of Brougham: Past! Present! Future? by Robert A. Miller, the people of A sign in a field protesting the building of an airport on the Pickering Lands. Brougham, a community in the northern part of Pickering, reacted by holding a protest meeting, which turned into POP. The Lands are located in the “ideal” position for a new Toronto airport, according to page 203 of The Paper Juggernaut, which is why they were chosen but not everyone wants an airport built. Those against the airport are fighting for food production, soil and conservation of The Lands. All of the goods produced in the Lands before expropriation included 4 million gallons of milk, 200,000 eggs, more than 1 million pounds of beef, 375,000 pounds of pork, 30,000 chickens, and 45,000 bushels of wheat, according to page 9 of The Paper Juggernaut. The Lands are also full of class one soil. Class one soil, when managed well, has almost no limitations for the number of crops that can be grown in it. The soil holds in moisture well, and can be used to grow many types of crops. For these reasons, Land over Landings fights to protect The Lands. “We changed the name of the advocacy group from People or Planes, which was very much a protest group, to Land Over Landings, which is all about advocating for something,” Delaney said. LOL has 12 people in unpaid executive positions, some of which are held by original members of POP, and its many supporters include up to 14,000 supporters on its mailing list and 2.6 thousand likes and followers on Facebook. In an interview at her home, Delaney said Brougham Recreation society, Voters Organized to Cancel the Airport Lands (VOCAL), and what was left of People Or Planes gathered in 2005. “We realized we needed to work together… so we got together.” Land Over Landings got a sizable push in membership in 2013 after the creation of the Rouge National Urban Park was announced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the Harper government. The government had every intention to actually build the Pickering airport. Over half of the original Lands are now part of the Rouge National Urban Park, which covers roughly 79.1 square kilometers. “That’s when our new executive was formed and that’s when we realized we needed to be a much more official body,” according to Delaney, who went on to say the city council often seems to fight against them. “The leading economic driver is agriculture in Ontario and yet they [city council] keep advocating for an airport that in almost half a century has never been proven to be needed. If it were needed, it would be here.” Since expropriation, Transport Canada became the landlord of the airport lands. This does not include the sections of land now in the Urban Park. Media Relations Advisor, Julie Leroux, for Transport Canada, wrote in an email correspondence, “The Government of Canada is taking a balanced approach to the management of the Pickering Lands, ensuring environmental, community and economic demands are being met.” Lands were handed over by Transport Canada to the Rouge National Urban Park twice. Once in 2015, then in 2017. Parks Canada is the landlord of all of Rouge Urban National Park. Parks Canada works closely with 10 Indigenous peoples, including the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nations. The land has a diverse Indigenous history. Parks Canada’s Communications and Public Relations Officer, Jeffrey Sinibaldi, wrote in an email, “This partnership was formalized in 2012 with the creation of the Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle, which is comprised of representatives from these 10 First Nations with an expressed interest, and historic and cultural connection to the area of the national urban park.” The email continues to list Markham, Pickering, Toronto, and Uxbridge as housing Park land and says “these lands will be protected forever.” Julie Leroux is Transport Canada’s Media Relations Advisor. Transport Canada is still looking into the possibility of building the airport. In a recent email, Leroux wrote, “A study based on 2010 data predicted that an airport would be needed between 2027 and 2037. That data needs to be updated.” To update the information, Leroux says, “Transport Canada has initiated an aviation sector analysis to obtain updated data on aviation demand and capacity.” The analysis would look into information on the future needs of Southern Ontario’s air traffic, Photograph by Kirsten Jerry including passengers, and cargo, which type of airport would be best for the area, how the airport would affect the environment and how it would make money. This analysis is expected to be completed sometime next year. Transport Canada currently holds 8,700 acres, while about 10,000 acres are in the Rouge National Urban Park. While some of The Lands have been moved into the Park, the rest are still being debated over. Some say an airport is the better choice, while others, like LOL, say the lands should be left for farming use. “Really,” Delaney said about LOL, “what we’re advocating for is the protection of the land itself, because these are class one soils, the best in the world, next to the largest market in Canada, and now the Rouge National Urban Park.” On the other hand, Leroux wrote, “The Government of Canada will continue to engage directly with business, community and government stakeholders on the Pickering Lands as work progresses to determine the need and business case for the development of the Pickering Lands.” The 46-year-old story of The Pickering Lands is not over. The debate between farming and development continues to this day. Follow us @DCUOITChronicle and use #landwherewestand to join the conversation, ask questions or send us more information.
Community chronicle.durhamcollege.ca March 20 - 26, 2018 The Chronicle 19 55 rooms of history at Parkwood Estate The land where we stand is the traditional territory of the Mississauga's of Scugog Island First Nation. Uncovering the hidden stories about the land our community is built on is what the Chronicle's new feature stories, the Land Where We Stand, is about. Kaatje Henrick The Chronicle “Our morning routine would be to go to the garden and pick the strawberries for Mr. McLaughlin’s breakfast,” says Brian Keys, 73, the kitchen gardener who worked at Parkwood in the 1960’s. Parkwood Estate has been a National Historic Site since 1989. The 55-room mansion was built on 12 acres in 1917. Col. Sam McLaughlin and his wife, Adelaide Mowbray bought Prospect park which used to exist where the estate now stands. Parkwood Estate was not just a home for the McLaughlin’s and their five daughters, it also contributed to the Second World War. Tours of the McLaughlin home are open to the public. “Mr. McLaughlin would usually take the stairs down in the morning, but being 90 at the time, he would take the elevator,” says Samantha George, curator of Parkwood, National Historic Site. The McLaughlin home tour starts with the self-supporting staircase in the front hall which was made from steel in 1917. The carpet on the old squeaky wood floor is a one of a kind from Scotland. “The elevator in the main hall was used up until Col. McLaughlin’s death in 1972,” says tour guide, Elizabeth Glenney. She is one of the 150 volunteers who take the public on tours. “One of the most famous rooms used in the McLaughlin’s home is the billiard room,” says Glenney, who has volunteered for seven years. The billiard room has paintings of all sports McLaughlin took part in including, swimming, croquet, snow shoeing, canoeing, soccer and horse racing. The billiard room is also famous for gatherings of the officers from Camp X. Camp X was created in 1941, it was a special training school for agents who were involved in the Second World War. Before the war began, supplies and recourses needed to be collected for the military. The war effort was a way of raising those things needed. In 1939, Elizabeth and father King George were on their royal tour of Canada and the United States to bring attention to the war effort. Col. McLaughlin’s is also known for the McLaughlin Car Company, a family business of creating vehicles. The company also supported the war effort by making a car specifically for the royal family’s arrival and tour, as well as giving families a place to stay. Many other guests frequented Parkwood. One person was Col. William Eric Phillips who later married one of the McLaughlin’s daughters. Col. William Phillips also started Research Enterprises Ltd, which was a building in Toronto that made espionage tools for the war. “Lipstick cameras, lipstick knives, and even bicycles that turned into suitcases,” says George, who has now spent 17 years learning about the history of Parkwood. One of the McLaughlin’s neighbours was William Stevenson, the creator of Camp X. Every Sunday night, the officers of Camp X would come to Parkwood to discuss future plans and play some pool. “If only the pool cues could come alive and tell me what was discussed over brandy and pool,” says George. “Col. McLaughlin was doing everything he could before the war started,” says George, who dedicates her life to Parkwood. Col. McLaughlin’s company also supplied the war with mosquito bombers, which is an aircraft that sits a pilot and passenger, often used in World War 2. Adelaide, Col. McLaughlins wife, loved to throw parties and fundraisers for the war effort at Parkwood. “The McLaughlin’s would have an annual tea fundraiser where a hat or shoe would be passed around and people would give money for the sailors who went to war,” says George. Six men who served Col. Mc- Laughlin and his family from 1930-1940 were sent off to fight in the Second World War. All six men returned and were greeted with thanks. “Sam McLaughlin gave all six men that returned, a key to a brand-new house for them and their families which to this day are still standing,” says George. Col. McLaughlin was also involved in the Ontario Regiment located in Oshawa. In 1921, Col. McLaughlin became the president of the Ontario Regiment. Which helped him become the producer of a film. Produced in 1941, There Too Go I is about the support from women and children in Canada during the war time. The film was played locally in late 1941 in Oshawa and all earnings were put towards the war effort. After the war ended in 1945. Shortly after, Adelaide, the wife of Col. McLaughlin fell ill and passed in 1958. “After the death of his wife, Col. McLaughlin had then realized he was getting old and decided to write a will,” says George. She says the hospital contributed to Parkwood and helped Adelaide quite a bit in the end, and in return, Sam left Parkwood Estate to the hospital. In 1960, the hospital had plans to turn Parkwood into the new Cancer centre, but Col. McLaughlin out lived his will. Col. McLaughlin passed in 1972 at the age of 101. The hospital was still trying to turn Parkwood into a Cancer centre but was unsuccessful because of Heritage Oshawa. Heritage Oshawa owned Parkwood until the late 1980’s. The National Historic Site company then bought it and made it official. Marking Parkwood with the title of National Historic Site, it became a place where the public could come tour the 55-room mansion, home to Col. McLaughlin who created General Motors. “We’re not owned by Parks Canada, so we don’t have a big boss we can go to and ask for money, so we have to earn it all ourselves by fundraising and throwing events,” says Photograph by Kaatje Henrick Parkwood is a mansion in Oshawa. Built in 1917, it is still open today and offers tours to those who are interested in Oshawa's history. George. To this day, Parkwood is still being used for film making. “Since 1980, I bet there’s been over 500 different films, not just movies but TV shows as well,” says George. Popular films like X-men and Billy Madison and TV shows like Bomb girls and Anne of Green Gables have been filmed at Parkwood. Actress Anna Kendrick stars in the new role as ‘Anne’ in Anne of Green Gables, filming took place this past summer at Parkwood. The tours that take place in Parkwood are another way the Estate earns money. With 11 gardens, an indoor pool, along with a bowling alley is just a couple of things that make Parkwood special. The smell of antiques and dust will tickle your senses. The original furniture was from the 1930’s. The carpet flown in from Scotland is also an original. Tourists like Jane Elliot and her husband Tom who are from Edmonton, Alberta are one reason Parkwood is still functioning today. “We came here to visit my sister who’s always lived in Oshawa, she told us about this place and how old it was and we were so intrigued we just had to come see it for ourselves," says Elliot. Follow us @DCUOITChronicle and use #landwherewestand to join the conversation, ask questions or send us more information.
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