The man behind a petition to move the HMCS Haida to Ottawa is not deterred by those here who strongly disagree with him.

The mayor, the volunteer Friends of the Haida, Parks Canada which owns it, and former Hamilton East MP and heritage minister Sheila Copps - who spearheaded bringing the ship to Hamilton - all say such a relocation should not, or cannot, be done.

But Patrick White, an Ottawa native and McGill University law student who started Project Naval Distinction to petition the government to consider relocating the Haida to Ottawa's Canadian War Museum, is not giving up.

"One hundred and fifty years ago a conversation was started about another ambitious idea that many said would be 'costly' and 'unnecessary': the creation of Canada," White argues.

He says it's important for a ship like the iconic Haida to be in Ottawa where "there is a distinct lack of naval presence in national ceremonies . including Remembrance Day."

The online petition also asks the federal government to make the Haida the ceremonial flagship of the Canadian navy and to commission a commemorative coin of it - two honours that would elevate its status.

Copps, while heritage minister in 2001, single-mindedly strove to bring the Haida from Toronto to Hamilton and have Parks Canada buy the ship for $1 from the province and to commit $5 million for its restoration. The ship, now a national heritage site, was moved to Pier 9 in 2003.

Copps, who was also responsible for the reinvention of the Canadian War Museum, said on Thursday that moving the Haida to Ottawa "is not physically doable" - or if some way were found, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build a dock for it.

The museum sits beside the Ottawa River but, Copps said, the river is too shallow and too narrow at that spot - and there are rapids nearby.

"The clearance would require a deep dock to be built . It's just absolutely absurd," she said, adding, "Do you think Ottawa needs another memorial?"

Copps says Hamilton, with its military and naval history, is the perfect home for the Haida. Its location beside the active navy's HMCS Star, is also perfect, she says.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger agrees the Haida is a national treasure and should be recognized as such, but he draws the line at moving it to Ottawa.

"It's a classic piece of (Second World War) history that fits nicely with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (here)," he said, adding the Haida is part of the city's stable tourism attractions.

Friends of HMCS Haida president Walt Dermott says the Haida "gets great and tender-loving care where she is," and Parks Canada's Lisa Curtis maintains the Haida "can no longer be sailed, and moving her even short distances is challenging, costly and difficult."

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But White, a naval reservist doing this on his own, says the online petition, open until Feb. 27, is intended to give both the Haida and the Royal Canadian Navy their "due recognition" by Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation.

"We are delighted that we have sparked a public conversation about the Haida and how to achieve a level of recognition it deserves."