CNHS - New Dominion Parks Branch - Ottawa, Ontario
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Weathervane
N 45° 25.359 W 075° 41.879
18T E 445394 N 5030140
The New Dominion Parks Branch was designated a National Historic Event on May 17, 2011. The first offices were located in the Birks Building, 107 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario. There is no plaque for this Event.
Waymark Code: WMD9N4
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 12/10/2011
Views: 35
"In 1908, the federal government had decided that parks would be administered centrally, placing them under the care of the Forest Branch of the Department of the Interior. Three years later, legislative changes clarified federal rules for forestry management and tourism with the existing Rocky Mountain parks. New legislation was introduced in the House of Commons on January 1911, went through final reading in April 1911, and received Royal Assent on May 19, 1911."
"In September 1911, the new Dominion Parks Branch offices opened in the Birks Building on Sparks Street in downtown Ottawa. It had seven employees, a budget of $200,000, and very little direction on how to administer or promote the National Parks. James B. Harkin led the young Branch as commissioner. In the 1890s, Harkin had been a successful journalist. In 1901 he was appointed to work in the Department of the Interior. With strong and progressive views on environmental preservation, Harkin was a natural choice for the new position at the Parks Branch."
The coordinates provided are for the Birks Building, 107 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario.
Source of information: (
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