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LeBreton Flats lies within sight of the picturesque Ottawa River, which the Algonkians used to call the “Kitchissippi” — The Great River. Besides providing them with the necessities of life, the river also served as an important trade route for those that lived along its banks.
In 1613, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed down this river, establishing the river as an important route for the burgeoning fur trade in Europe. Shortly thereafter, the British followed, and for two centuries the main economy of the region revolved around the fur trade.
In the early 1800s, the area became a lumber town, and the people living along the river began to call it Ottawa, a mispronunciation of the Algonkian word for trade. The river took on this name. With the War of 1812, Colonel John By began building a canal to connect the Ottawa River with the Rideau River so that military supplies could be brought closer to the American border. Most of those who worked on the Canal stayed, living on the south side of the river in what is now known as LeBreton Flats; the Flats may be considered one of Canada’s oldest industrial and residential neighbourhoods.
In 1900, a huge fire, which was visible from as far away as Kingston, Ontario, consumed the entire area and reduced it to ash and rubble. Rising from the ashes was a community of tradesmen, merchants and their families, who shared the Flats with industries such as sawmills and rail yards.
The oils and chemicals associated with industry that existed there, combined with the remains of the Great Fire, contaminated the soil. The presence of these contaminants meant that the NCC had to remediate LeBreton Flats before redevelopment could proceed.
Recent History
The NCC acquired the land in 1962 for new government buildings; however, roadways remained under municipal and regional ownership, and three-way negotiations about the future of LeBreton Flats stalled. Since then, the location continued to prove its value as a site for occasional festivals and public events.
In 1989, a partnership was forged among the NCC, the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton and the City of Ottawa to create a concept plan for LeBreton Flats. The goal of the plan is to create a vibrant, mixed-use community, linked to the downtown core.
The Flats and adjacent areas would then be connected to the cultural, institutional and natural resources within the National Capital Region. The following characteristics formed the foundation of the plan:
- Alive (drawing people back to the centre)
- Functional (serviceable systems of roads and sewers)
- Celebrational (provide sites for important gatherings and festivals)
- Accessible (making natural resources like the river front accessible to the public)
- Connected to the rest of Canada’s Capital Region (recreational and commuter routes, pathways and public transportation)
- Meaningful (with national institutions on beautiful riverside sites)
- Green (environmentally sound and linked to the regional network of green spaces)
Decontamination began several years ago at the site of the former Ottawa Paint Works (corner of Broad and Albert streets). The technique used in that case was biodegradation (the use of solvent-eating bacteria).
In 2002, the NCC adopted the more stringent of the federal and provincial standards to clean up the site and ensure the protection of the environment during the remediation process. Since the start-up of the LeBreton Flats Infrastructure and Remediation Program in 2002, approximately 310,000 cubic metres of soil have been remediated, of which about 15 percent have been recycled on-site.
In addition, significant infrastructure has been constructed, with the complete replacement of the infrastructure of Booth Street and new infrastructure and roadways for Wellington and Fleet streets in 2004, including a new bridge at the west end of Wellington and a storm water management pond.