Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal

Feb. 18, 2001

The Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative: The Renewal of the Land.

Texts: Leviticus 25:2-12 1 Corinthians. 15:35-38,42-50 Luke 6:27-3 8

God told Moses "When you come to the land which I will give you. . .six years you shall sow your field,. . .but the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest. You shall not sow or reap." As I was pondering the meaning of this text from Leviticus for our society, I came across the following interpretation: "God gave the land to human beings to work it and harvest it - but also to care for it. Like its human offsprings, the earth needs not only water and sunshine, but respect and rest. And so one of the fundamental laws of the Jubilee, is that "the land is to have rest."

After God completed his creation, we are told he gave humankind dominion over the earth. (Gen. 1:26) We humans received a magnificent gift. Over the millennia God sent the sun and the rain, and the earth has sustained us wonderfully, but God reminds us today, just as he did the Israelites, to care for his gift. As Christians, we acknowledge God as the creator, and so do our Aboriginal peoples. As part of their Christian belief aboriginal people use the same words that we do in describing creation, but others who follow traditional beliefs use a different language. They refer to "the great Spirit" or the Earthmaker, one who not only creates the earth and all its wonders, but whose spirit continues to be present throughout all parts of that creation. Creation is the work of God, of the "great spirit", who entrusted it to our care.

Some years ago I tutored a blind Inuit teenager who was studying Canadian history. One day we were talking about land, and how it can be owned in North America, and I was explaining forms of land tenure, buying and selling and having title, leasing, renting and such like. My young friend Loli was horrified: "Suzanne" she said "how can you possibly buy land or sell it? Land belongs to the 'great Spirit', and it is there for everyone to use. You cannot own it! Do you own the air or the water in the river?" I agreed I did not, and I am sure I went on to explain land tenure and settlement in our non-aboriginal Canadian history. I did not understand the significance of her words, but I never forgot them. The words stayed at the back of my mind like dormant seeds as though waiting for the Jubilee initiative to finally sprout and give me new insight. I have come to understand that aboriginal people are deeply attached to the land in very special way. Recently I have learned that many who are baptized and practicing Christians still maintain their traditional concept an ongoing relationship between the Creator and his creation.

We in the West are great consumers. We might even say we are addicted to consumerism. The global economy promises the resources that will maintain our standard of living at least in the developed world. But do we care for the earth, protect and nurture it as we are bidden or do we focus only on our dominion over it? The words of Genesis reflect the generosity of the Creator, for God gave us dominion over all the living creatures, to use them for our good. I sometimes wonder if God ever regretted his generosity. Certainly in Leviticus, He reminded the Israelites that they and we are responsible for caring for his gift of the earth. More than at any time in history, the earth needs our respect and care if it is to continue to sustain us as it has done in the past, and as we hope it will for those who come after us.

Do we love this land? - I believe we do - at least some of us! But it is many years since we first heard of Love Canal, but same kind of pollution exists today in Sidney, Cape Breton, and in contaminated land sites round many cities. Aboriginal people are outspoken critics of the pollution of lakes and rivers in the North. Heavy metals are now present in the food chain so they can no longer eat the fish on which they have always depended.

Last Sunday the Dean talked about our attachment to a past often seen through rose tinted glasses, and of our concerns and fears for the present and the future. We need to reflect upon the future, and look for new ways and fresh ideas to protect and preserve our heritage. The earth deserves a rest from the relentless exploitation it is experiencing. We clear-cut forests without replanting, and the soil erodes sometimes causing mud-slides that bury villages. The Grand Banks once the richest fishing ground in the world, may never recover from the over-fishing that went on for years. The greatest shortage anticipated in this brave new century is clean water. We enjoy it in abundance, but acid rain threatens it daily. We have more to learn about conservation from our Aboriginal neighbours that they have from us.

The theme for the third and final year of the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative is The Renewal of the Land. In Canada, a working group representing the national churches, various faith bodies, the Aboriginal Rights Coalition and some regional groups, agreed to explore this theme from an aboriginal perspective. This seemed a good choice for a number of reasons. The residential school issue has brought Aboriginal people to world's attention. It has pointed to the need for the building of new relationships, and to the need to recognize and accept differences among people. We know that, of all Canadians, Aboriginals are the poorest, have the lowest standards of living, the lowest life expectancy, have the highest infant mortality rate, the highest suicide rate and the highest rate of incarceration. Canada has been rated as the best place in the world to live, but our country would rank 65th if we were evaluated on the standards of the Aboriginal people. We would be a third world people living in a third world country.

The 1996 Report of The Royal Commission on Aboriginal People stated unequivocally that the Aboriginal people of this country will remain poor and disadvantaged until they have a land base that provides adequate resources for the sustainable development for their way of life. We tried to assimilate the First Nations for more than 300 years, but as a People they have by and large said "No, thank you." They are not trying to turn back the clock or rejecting progress, but they do claim the right to follow their own way of life, and the right to enjoy their fair share of the land. The most pressing problem they face today is the unresolved land claims, and until these claims are seriously addressed, they will continue to live as a third world people

When western Canada was settled, several major treaties were signed with First Nations, but the Aboriginal people in central and eastern Canada signed no treaties and never gave up their claim to the land. European settlers assumed it was their God-given right to take what land they wanted because they made better use of it than the Indians. Indians became the wards of the Federal Government and were placed on reservations, but in eastern Canada they never gave up their claim to the land they had always enjoyed.

According to a recent article in The Montreal Gazette (Jan.30/01) there are over 450 unsettled aboriginal land claims. Each year Federal government settles approximately ten claims, and each year approximately the same number of new claims is registered. Clearly under the present system, the claims will not be dealt with in this century. The focus of CEJI in year three is to pressure the Government to act immediately to establish a truly independent commission with the mandate to implement Aboriginal land, treaty and inherent rights.

Let us look at what has been achieved so far by the Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative. It has brought together an unprecedented number of people from every creed and culture, who are working for social justice, working for a world order that will enable all people to share in the earth's bounty. Through use of the Internet, the possibilities for outreach are virtually unlimited. Jubilee has challenged the multinational corporations, the IMF and the World Bank, and made them blink. Demonstrations at Seattle, Vancouver, Cologne, Montreal and Davos drew wide media coverage, making people better informed. Informed people pressure governments with their concerns, and governments are beginning to listen. Jubilee has publicized the negative aspects of globalization on poor countries and disadvantaged groups. At the recent meetings in Davos, CEOs and presidents of the IMF and the World Bank sat down with NGOs to hear about the negative impacts of their policies.

It is true there remains a tremendous amount to be done, because the debt still enslaves millions, but Jubilee has created a framework for action that I believe to be unique in being a truly democratic expression of concern about the power of multinational corporations whose responsibility is first and foremost to the bottom line.

In closing I will read the text of the petition addressed to the Prime Minister which we in the Social Justice Committee are asking you to sign.

"In keeping with the Jubilee theme of Renewal of the Earth, we the undersigned call for a renewed relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people based on mutual respect, responsibility and sharing.

As part of this ongoing process towards as new relationship, we are seeking justice for Aboriginal peoples.

We join the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the United Nations Human Rights Committee in calling on the federal government to act immediately to establish a truly independent commission with the mandate to implement Aboriginal land, treaty and inherent rights."