God's Little Green...Hectare?

 
The land must not be sold permanently, 
because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 
Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, 
you must provide for the redemption of the land.

  Leviticus 25:23-24
 
I don't like being deceived by politicians and there aren't many people who do. One of the reasons the Liberals were humiliated in the last provincial election in Ontario is that they "cooked the books" in some instances and probably lied to us in others. Unlike many Ontarians I appreciated Kathleen Wynne in many respects but her government screwed up in too many ways and they deserved to be turfed. 

A couple of important decisions the Libs did make were getting rid of coal-fired power plants and establishing the Green Belt. The Green Belt has been maligned by some, including those who are frustrated by laws which impede development and profit for a few. 

When it was implemented there were also farmers angry that they would lose their retirements -- 43 per cent of the Greenbelt is farmland -- but some of the concerns have abated. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture was opposed to the Greenbelt then, but current OFA vice-president Keith Currie has a different outlook today: “The Greenbelt is doing essentially what it planned to do — curbing development — and it hasn’t really affected the day-to-day activities of farmers.”

We know too that by protecting the headwaters of many streams and rivers within the Green Space it ensures the clarity of water in spawning areas for fish and for human consumption. 




 Ella Haley and Richard Tunstall asked that their organic farm in Brant County
be included in the Greenbelt in 2015


Enter the Regressive Conservative Party, whose leader told developers before he was elected that there would be development in the Green Belt, then back-tracked and promised to protect it when there was a public outcry. Now Premier Ford is insisting that the Green Belt is safe, even as legislation has been introduced which loosens restrictions on development. One of the many concerns about this sneaky legislation is that contamination of water sources could result in another disaster along the lines of Walkerton, where more than 2,000 people were sickened and six died because of E coli.

The bible has lots to say about caring for the land as a precious trust given by God and while our governments are secular, they are accountable. Protecting green spaces, restricting greed, and making sure that there is arable land for agriculture are the essential work of government and an aspect of living faithfully as Christians. When I was a part of Oshawa/Lakeridge Presbytery we wrote to the federal government about protecting proposed Pickering Airport lands which are within the Green Belt as part of our work as the Faith in Action committee. We can all be vigilant that we don't "pave paradise and put up a parking lot." (thanks Joni)