Parks Canada won't take over land for Ojibway National Urban Park

There's still no timeline on the official designation of an Ojibway National Urban Park — and a Parks Canada representative is asking the community to adjust its expectations.

"I want to shift the narrative a bit," said Maria Papoulias, a manager with Parks Canada's national urban parks program, in an interview with CBC Windsor.

"This is more of a continuum. You know, there isn't a date where we cut a ribbon and open the gates to the park. We are actually planning a partnership that's going to last for hopefully generations."

"There's been a lot of conversation in the media about when the park will be open. The park is already open: You can go to Ojibway Park or Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve today, and go for a hike on the trails... We're not really doing anything new here."

While Papoulias said Parks Canada is committed to an Ojibway National Urban Park, she explained that it won't result in the Ojibway areas becoming federally owned and supervised like Point Pelee National Park or Rouge National Urban Park.

"It was never intended to be a program where Parks Canada simply takes over land and is the sole administrator, like a conventional national park," Papoulias said.

Asked why people would have a different conception of the project, Papoulias acknowledged that "early on in this process," the private member's bill by former Windsor West MP Brian Masse did call for an Ojibway National Urban Park similar to Point Pelee National Park.

However, that bill died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025.

"I can fully understand why that would have created some confusion in the community," Papoulias said.

Last month, at a special meeting between local MPs, MPPs and city council members, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens expressed frustration with Parks Canada.

"I don't want to speak out of turn, but I'm not entirely sure what Parks Canada is doing," Dilkens said. "I just can't believe it's been so slow-moving — that we've made so little progress, at this point in time, after this conversation was started so many years ago."

Dilkens said it's his understanding that Parks Canada wants the lands involved to remain under their respective municipal and provincial ownerships, with the federal agency only having a managerial role.

Papoulias said the mayor's understanding of the current plan is accurate.

"These land administrators, including the City of Windsor, have managed this land competently, with very professional and knowledgeable staff, for decades," she said. "We don't want to simply come in and displace that and replace that."