OTTAWA — Members of the House of Commons are getting amped to hear emergency testimony from committee witnesses … about whether a tree should be cut down. The procedure and House affairs committee is seized with the fate of a centenarian elm tree set to get the axe as construction begins on Centre Block renovations. MPs on both sides of the aisle want a say in the planning and seem eager to investigate the tree situation. Probably phase one of a tree massacre,” said Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital. It’s the only shade on the whole Hill.”The elm tree itself is special because it has been there since around the time Parliament was being rebuilt after the 1916 fire that ravaged most of the Hill.

Source: National Post March 26, 2019 23:05 UTC