Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to table petition e-3071, which was initiated by Bronwen Brice in Nanaimo—Ladysmith. It has 1,188 signatures.
The petitioners are concerned that the fixation on profit and growth is taking us down a dangerous path leading to a widening gap between rich and poor, spiralling poverty, environmental breakdown and a mental health crisis. They note that GDP growth has been a poor measure of success. It counts polluting factories and the manufacture of weapons, but tells us nothing about the quality of education our children receive, the availability of well-paid and secure jobs or the number of species threatened with extinction, yet GDP growth is still the government's main economic goal.
The petitioners state that a well-being economy would prioritize public health and well-being indicators, reorienting our economy toward what matters most. Scientists have called on governments to shift away from pursuing GDP growth and affluence and toward sustaining ecosystems and improving well-being to tackle the climate crisis. Well-being economics has already been adopted by several jurisdictions.
The petitioners therefore call upon the Government of Canada to discontinue GDP measurement and shift to a well-being economy.