Recommendations to the NCC Mandate Review Panel
Action Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment
November 14, 2006
Mandate
The mandate of the NCC as laid out in the NCC Act, includes development, conservation and improvement of the National Capital Region (NCR). Development and conservation goals are often in direct conflict, and "improvement" is a nebulous term that means vastly different things depending on one's perspective. This unclear and conflicting mandate has inevitably led to planning and decision-making challenges for the agency, and confusion for the public about NCC decisions. With such a conflicting mandate, compromises between development and conservation occur regularly, which will lead, over the long run, to a "death by a thousand cuts" erosion of the natural and cultural values of the NCR.
ACRE recommends that the NCC mandate be amended to focus clearly on the priority of stewardship, conservation, and celebration of the natural and socio-cultural values of the National Capital Region for present and future generations of Canadians. All decisions on "development" and "improvement" should be made within a primary mandate of stewardship and conservation in order to protect and enhance the region for the future.
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