Canadian Rivers

Every day I travel across the Moira River in Belleville on my way to work, and back again to our temporary accommodation. When I drive I don't notice in nearly as much as I do when I'm on my bicycle. I am more inclined to see the swans and gulls and other critters when I am cycling, and I smell the river as well. So far it is quite fresh!

A couple of people have joked since we arrived that the Mighty Moira of the Spring becomes an anemic and sometimes odiferous trickle by late Summer, especially if it has been dry. But Belleville is bisected by the river and even the real estate ads say "west of the Moira" or "east of the Moira."

So many Ontario communities have been created around rivers and streams. My former community, Bowmanville, still has the substantial mill building by the creek, and remnants of the water flume which drove the machinery is still visible. This province once depended on waterways as the highways for commerce and the Rideau canal system connecting Kingston and Ottawa was an engineering wonder of the 19th century, developed in large part for military purposes.

Sunday was Canadian Rivers Day (didn't I say that there is a day for everything?) and while the use of rivers has changed, their importance remains. In a moment of Canadian history where the federal government is weakening legislation protecting waterways and we hear from First Nations peoples about the effects of being downstream from toxic sources such as the Oil Sands we really do need to pay attention to the "cricks" and streams and rivers, everything from the tiniest to the mightiest.

Scripture is full of river imagery, even though there aren't many in the Middle East and a fair number of them dry up to nothing in certain seasons. They are equated with beauty, life, abundance, and even justice. As Christians we can enjoy and care for our rivers.

Do you have a favourite river or stream? Would you drink from it? What about different levels of government working to protect and rehabilitate our waterways?