Mr. Speaker, today, in honour of Earth Day, I am seeking unanimous consent to move the following motion.
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take the necessary steps to integrate into the calculation of GDP a natural capital accounting system, as recommended by the World Bank's WAVES project:
by recognizing that Canada's natural resources, such as forests, water, earth, air, minerals and other energy sources, are vital to the economy and recognizing the delicate relationship between economic progress, the health of the environment and the well-being of the population;
by recognizing that GDP is not an appropriate indicator for responsible decision-making;
by re-evaluating how the common well-being and the progress of Canada's economy are measured;
and finally, by committing to examine the implementation of a natural capital accounting system in Canada and look into the possibility of integrating such a system into the calculation of GDP to encourage true growth of the green economy and long-term progress in terms of prosperity and common well-being.