Next steps are being taken for the preparation to complete the Ojibway National Urban Park in Windsor-Essex.
The Executive Director for Protected Areas Establishment at Parks Canada says they're hoping the Urban Park can open months earlier than expected now that the finishing touches continue to come together.
She says the next steps for the park now include moving into the Planning Phase with the City of Windsor, and all of the partners involved.
She adds that it has been confirmed that the National Urban Park is feasible, which makes the next steps easier, and following the Planning Phase, Parks Canada will move to make it operational.
The Urban Park was slated to be completed and open in 2025, but Macintosh says with the speed of things right now they're opening to be operational by 2024.
Macintosh says they have to now go into the Planning Phase, which is the heavy lifting.
"We have to work through all of the details of how the park will be managed operationally. We have a study area but we do not have a conclusion on exactly what the boundaries of the park will be, so that has to be finalized and determined based on a series of studies as well. And co-governance, co-management, what that's going to look like with the Indigenous partners."
She says they it was originally slated to be completed in 2025.
"Although because of the level of acceleration here and the work that's going on, the foundation investments we've been able to do, and the enormous support from the community, we do expect that we may be able to accelerate that into 2024. So it remains to be seen with the Planning Phase going forward, it's very exciting."
Macintosh adds that things are moving very quick.
"This is the interesting thing too with the Urban Park projects, they're very, very different from National Parks, right? We're working with a lot of different parcels of land, a lot of some provincial land, some municipal lands, some private land, a whole bunch of things in the mix here. But, there's a real groundswell of support, so it is moving quickly."
Once complete, the proposed Ojibway National Urban Park will be over 900 acres wide and would include Ojibway Shores, Ojibway Park, Spring Garden Natural Area, Black Oak Heritage Park, the Tallgrass Prairie Park and the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve.
The private member's bill introduced by Windsor West MP, Brian Masse, will go to the House of Commons for one more reading on Friday.
Following the last reading, a vote on Bill C-248 to establish the Ojibway National Urban Park will take place on Wednesday, April 26.
-with files from AM800's Rob Hindi