THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council will consider supporting plans for a building to house the soon-to-be-restored carousel at Chippewa Park, but several councillors questioned whether the park is ultimately the right location for the attraction.
Councillors spoke of wanting to “keep options open” on the carousel’s location, while one councillor says he’d prefer to see the park returned to adjacent Fort William First Nation - a move supported by Chief Peter Collins.
The Friends of Chippewa Park group came to council Monday evening, asking for support on the project, which it says will preserve the historic carousel and increase the park’s value as an attraction.
The group hopes to raise most of the building’s $1.6 million estimated cost through provincial and federal grants, asking the city to partner on an application to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) for up to 50 per cent of that total.
They also asked council to consider chipping in with $300,000 of city money, and endorse an application to Heritage Canada for an additional $500,000. The project is eligible for funding from the ministry’s Community Celebrations fund, as Chippewa Park will mark its 100th anniversary in 2021.
The group said the enclosure would leave the carousel visible from the outside, and could house a small wood-carving space, gift shop, and interpretive features.
“The structure will not only protect the $1.4 million investment that’s been made in restoration, but will ensure that it remains an attraction for many decades to come, both locally and for people coming into the city,” said the group’s secretary, Iain Angus.
The city’s parks manager, Cory Halvorsen, said enclosing the carousel was part of original restoration plans and would mean city staff no longer have to dismantle and reassemble the carousel each year, which results in some wear.
“Over time, we should see savings with respect to maintaining the asset we’ve restored, because we won’t see the wear and tear,” he said.
Coun. Mark Bentz said he believed a structure was “absolutely” needed to protect the carousel, which he called a “beautiful piece of heritage.”
However, he questioned whether Chippewa Park continued to be the best location for it.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto concurred, asking if the structure could be designed to be mobile, in case it later needed to be removed.
“I certainly am supportive, but I want to have all options open,” he said.
Coun. Shelby Ch’ng said the city should consider that the park is on Fort William First Nation “property,” though city manager Norm Gale noted the land is in fact considered part of the City of Thunder Bay.
That should change, says at least one councillor.
“I’d love to see that land returned to Fort William First Nation,” Coun. Brian Hamilton told Tbnewswatch, saying he considers the park to be on stolen land.
He supports restoring the carousel, but said the city should divest from the park and restore it to the neighbouring First Nation.
It's an option supported by Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins, who said the park was part of 1,600 acres of reserve land wrongly expropriated by the federal government in 1905 to serve as a railway terminus, which forced community members to relocate.
The First Nation settled with the federal government for over 1,100 acres of that land in 2016, not including the park.
"We've never relinquished that Chippewa Park property," Collins told Tbnewswatch. "It's an outstanding issue we'd love to settle with the city."
"You talk about reconciliation, well, that would be a good opportunity to reconcile."
However, councillors did not discuss the possibility at Monday's meeting. Collins said the issue had come up in discussions with the previous city administration, but had not seen significant attention since.
Instead, council referred the request from the Friends of Chippewa Park to city administration for a report back by Dec. 7. City Manager Norm Gale said staff were too overrun to provide a recommendation much sooner, despite some time pressure related to funding applications.
Hamilton cast a lone vote against the referral. Speaking with Tbnewswatch, he said he couldn’t support further developing the park given his belief the city should divest from it.
He also preferred to keep additional work off the plates of city administration, which he said was already overburdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
