Thread by @Sharon_Okeno

A friend asked me to share posts from my Instagram about @cmckenney's promise to turn Ottawa's Greenbelt into an urban national park. For context, I had no idea what that election promise actually meant and assumed I wasn't alone! So here's a quick little breakdown for you!

So the Greenbelt in Ottawa is the largest in the world. Greenbelts are meant to protect natural areas (forests, wetland, streams, etc) that sustain biodiversity A.K.A good for sister girl planet et al.

Greenbelts are also meant to protect from urban sprawl (expanding urban areas), but this doesn't always work well. Ottawa has seen increasing urban sprawl on and around the Greenbelt despite having the largest in the world.

So this is where national parks enter the group chat. It is nearly impossible to build or develop in a national park because they are federally/provincially protected. So this is why @cmckenney election promise is being celebrated by some! But wait, there's more...

It would be incredibly irresponsible to talk about land, place making and national parks without talking about Indigenous rights, sovereignty and #LandBack. So let's get into it a little...

Parks Canada has a violent history of displacing Indigenous Peoples to create national parks. National parks are created under the premise that Canada is the best caretaker of the land despite Indigenous Peoples holding 20% the planet containing 80% of the world's biodiversity.

Indigenous Peoples have a rightful aim to the unceded land Ottawa is on the land and this election and this greenbelt to national park commitment is being made. I'll be voting for @cmckenney but we all need to insist that any next steps are done within a #LandBack framework.

Remember it's ok not to know things! But you do have a responsibility to figure out what things mean especially during an election. I didn't know what a greenbelt even was and I'm still no expert but at least now I feel empowered enough to understand what is being proposed.

Also remember, progressive candidates are great but they're only human. Councilors are literally YOUR employees - hold them accountable and put their feet to the fire! But also be active in community because voting alone won't save us from the shit storm that is capitalism.