A new fence built about halfway up Signal Hill in St. John’s, N.L., is being criticized as an eyesore.

“Parks Canada have built a fence designed to block the view,” comedian Rick Mercer said on Twitter Tuesday.

“Welcome to N.L.,” he quipped. “Nothing to see here.”

Nick Whalen, St. John’s Liberal MP, is calling for the “travesty of a fence” at the national historic site to be removed.

“We have a beautiful interpretation centre built in the same architectural standard as the other elements of the park, and then we have this fence,” he said. “It blocks the views, and there’s some stated safety concerns, but it’s just simply not in keeping with the concerns of the public and no proper consultation was done.”

He said he reached out to Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan, the MP responsible for the area, and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to express his concerns.

The area near the Signal Hill Visitor Centre in May 2018, before a controversial fence was built, as shown on Google Street View.

“It seems in this instance there was honestly held belief that there is a safety concern,” he said of why the fence was built.

Parks Canada has yet to respond to a Global News request for comment, but a spokesperson told the Telegram that the fence was built to improve safety for visitors, as well as those performing in events taking place nearby such as the Signal Hill Tattoo.

The fence is located next to the Signal Hill Visitor Centre, located about halfway up the hill.

Views of the city — as well as the Atlantic Ocean — from the top of the rugged cliffs are unaffected.

Signal Hill, one of the city’s best-known landmarks, is a scenic hiking destination home to Cabot Tower. It’s also where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.

“People across the country might not appreciate how emotionally connected Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and certainly St. John’s townies are, to their view of the harbour,” Whalen explained.

With files from Tristram Clark

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