Lying for the Good Cause and hurting the poor

Vincent J. Curtis

8 Aug 21

RE: Urban Boundary debate engaging Hamiltonians.  Hamilton Spectator editorial 7 Aug 21.

At a time when Big Tech is on the alert to stop in its tracks misinformation to advance evil causes, misinformation for the Good Cause is, nevertheless, permitted.  In the case of Hamilton’s urban boundary expansion, the argument of The Good Cause against it has rested heavily on the mantra of “Save Our Farmland!”  and 3300 acres of prime Ontario farmland is going to pass out of production, etc.

However, the land in question is farmland only in a technical, zoning sense.  As revealed by Alice Plug-Buist, executive director of Helping Hands Street Missions, the urban expansion land “isn’t prime farmland.  It’s sod field, and fallow/minimally farmed land that has already been purchased years ago in preparation for urban expansion.” (“A different take on urban boundary expansion.” Hamilton Spectator 6 Aug 2021.)

The Save Our Farmland cry was, in short, deceptive and bogus.

Everyone is said to be wondering how could city councillors be so benighted as to ignore the grassroots campaign featuring thousands of emails and letters and surveys to Save Our Farmland?  It’s because city councillors are better positioned than most to know who owns what, and what is really going on in the city.  A campaign to save farmland that no longer is being seriously farmed and never will be again is just vicious and stupid, and the organizers involved ought to be ashamed.  Other people have a right to feel used and deceived.

Truly good causes don’t rest on lies.

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Faithful readers of this space will find many of my arguments for urban expansion because it benefits the poor echoed in Plug-Buist's article.