Protect Mother Earth GEORGE BEAVER As a young boy growing up at Six Nations, I was exposed to the Haudenosaunee concept of conservation of our natural environment for the sake of our future generations. I remember reading the community newsletter called The Pine Tree Chief. It was a forerunner of the present weekly newspaper, the Tekawennake. In it, Andrew Jamieson, a teacher, writing about an old native hunter, said, "He never took more than he needed." The operative word here is "need" not "want." When hunting we may want to kill more than we can eat but if we remember our future generations, they, too, will need a share of nature's bounty. And that bounty extends further than just to animals, fish and birds. Clean water, pure air and rich soil for growing food is also a part of our environment that needs our protection. Our ancestors believed that it was their responsibility to protect Mother Earth. When their generation passed on, this responsibility was passed down to the next generation. This idea of stewardship of the Earth is also found in most First Nations of North America, not just among the Six Nations. This may be the reason history tells us the indigenous people had such a horror of selling land. In their philosophy, land, water and air were all regarded as necessities of life. As such they are priceless and not to be bought or sold. All of the present generation of all races should be taught that when we conserve our natural resources we are helping our children and grandchildren to survive. Furthermore, the unpolluted land, air and water we pass on to them will provide a healthy and happy environment in which they can live and thrive. What a shame on our present generation if we pass on polluted water, land and air to our future generations. It would be especially shameful for this to happen here in Canada, one of the richest countries on Earth. Surely polluting factories and businesses could set aside some of their great wealth and clean up the messes they create before it gets into our water and air. It is especially crucial that the earth itself is not polluted. To many people, the planet Earth is not just our home, it is Our Mother. After we are born we live on milk which indirectly comes from food grown on the earth. As we grow and develop teeth, we learn to eat the meat of animals that ate plants that grow on the earth. We also eat plants that grow on the earth. In a real sense the earth sustains us and keeps us alive. Many native people, both here and in the U. S. take very seriously their responsibility to protect and conserve the natural environment and Mother Earth.

BRANT COUNTY: Committee overrides provincial policy, rezones farmland.

The committee was willing to override its own planning department and provincial policy, and proceed with the rezoning of about 400 acres of farmland.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1415057 Cainsville a developer's paradise? Posted By MICHAEL-ALLANMARION Updated 14 hours ago Some major plots of farmland just north of Cainsville are yielding an unusual harvest of social conflict. Three outside development companies -- Alberta-based Hopewell Development Inc. and two Toronto area companies, First Urban of Concord and the Sorbara Group of Vaughan -- have raised the ire of some local residents and the political temperature of Brant council with their plans to build homes and a business park on farmland they've acquired on the east side of Garden Avenue, north of Highway 403. First Urban, Hopewell and Sorbara propose three separate development areas, including two residential neighbourhoods and a business park that would dramatically transform the cash crop fields that surround Cainsville. Overall, the plan includes about 1,700 housing units, surrounded by parks, a trail system and businesses. The largest parcel proposed for development, is a 218-acre site owned by First Urban that could accommodate up to 1,116 housing units. North of that, Hopewell developments wants to create a 135-acre business park that would include more than 2 million square feet of space for businesses. Sorbara wants to build between 590 and 704 homes on a 184-acre site, located north of Lynden Road. The land is zoned for agricultural uses and is still designated that way in the county's official plan update. When some of those plans came up for scrutiny in two meetings of the county's planning advisory committee during the past two weeks, a lot was heard about a bright future for Cainsville. A lot more was revealed, however, about the suddenly professed peril of the county's fiscal soul and the ebbing political will of councillors. According to the discussion being carried on by agents for the developers, several councillors and some of the residents, it would appear that the land whose fate they were pondering is marginal from an agricultural standpoint. Its best crop would be houses and business buildings, and its true value is to be found in the development charges and tax revenues.

And of course, that's all that matters ... money for developers and the council. Quality of life? Greenspace? Phhht ! ... Green...money!money!money! BRANTFORD CITY

Calnan quits committee http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1416374 City Coun. James Calnan says he has no choice but to resign from a committee that deals with First Nations issues to avoid rules that continually would muzzle him. Read Tuesday's Expositor for the full story.