Canada’s prosperity plan
Carney’s major projects are underway, raising concerns for the environment.
In an attempt to secure economic sovereignty in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal Party say they are focused on “nation-building” that will establish long-term prosperity for the country. Bill C-5, passed by parliament on June 26, gives unprecedented power to the Canadian government to implement projects they believe are in Canada’s national interest. The plan includes doubling production at the LNG (liquified natural gas) facility in Kitimat, B.C., a nuclear project in Bowmanville, Ontario, increased zinc- and copper-extraction and an expansion of Montreal’s port.
The proposal paints a positive future for Canada: a larger trade market, new infrastructure for jobs and the opportunity to be a leading nation in the energy sector. But this plan to strengthen Canada’s long-term economic resilience raises concerns about whether the environment’s future prosperity has been considered, too.
CC interviewed The King’s University environmental studies and geography professor Dr. Joanne Moyer about these nation-building projects. An advocate for simple living and a close follower of current events, Moyer was able to offer a unique biblical perspective on our responsibility as Christians and Canadians in this moment.
From the earth
“If we love God, then we should be caring for that gift and using it well, right? But there’s all this evidence that we’re not doing things in a way that honours the gift that God has given us,” she says, mentioning the earth’s planetary boundaries and how several of them have progressed past their high-risk zone. The Planetary Boundaries Framework was developed in 2009 by researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. It illustrates the limitations of our earth and explains the connections between processes like climate change, ozone health and ocean acidification.
Moyer says the Bible offers us a framework for understanding the earth, too. In scripture, God invites us to consider the kinship between all aspects of creation and our calling to take care of it. This framework begins with the commandment to love God and is built on his declaration that his world is good. This good creation has enough to fulfill the needs of all living creatures.
The second part of the great commandment, loving our neighbours, does not just include our human counterparts; since humans were created on the same day as the land animals, a special kind of kinship connects us to the natural world. In fact, Adam is closely related to the Hebrew word adamah, which translates to “earth.” Quite literally, Adam was formed from the soil, connecting him and all of humanity to creation.
Concerns and action
Moyer is concerned that Bill C-5 and the nation-building projects will threaten this kinship, and she is not the only one. Although Carney has campaigned as an environmentally-conscious economist, a third of respondents in a recent Walrus survey are worried about his commitment to the environment. His project statement contains phrases such as “clean energy,” as well as a proposal for a critical conservation area. But the development of some of these major projects could pose risks to ecosystems, breeding territories and migration routes.
With emphasis on building one united nation that serves as an energy leader, Carney wants these projects finished quickly. Although this is largely due to rapid changes in the global economy and the U.S.-instigated trade war, the current government may also be motivated to rush projects for political reasons. As a minority government, it’s likely that the Liberals will be forced to call another election before a full four year term is up and getting projects done could help win over voters.
Consultation
At the First Nations Major Projects Summit this summer, the Liberal party promised to consult Indigenous nations at every step and offered loans to support Indigenous groups who want to become owners of major projects. The government also committed to complying with Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, which recognizes the treaty and land rights of Indigenous peoples. A September 11 press release from the Prime Minister’s Office states that the goal of this bill is “to help create long-term economic opportunities and build lasting prosperity for Indigenous Peoples across Canada.”
But some First Nations don’t buy it. “The way the Act was introduced has caused concern for many chiefs,” said National Chief Cindy Woodhouse at the annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations in September. “Despite the promises made by the new government, chiefs wonder if the Crown–First Nations relationship is moving backwards in this new age of U.S. colonialism.”
Moyer told CC she is particularly worried about Bill C-5’s implications for indigenous sovereignty. “If you’re really going to take the process of consulting with people seriously, it takes time,” she says, “and this whole Bill C-5, major projects thing, is about trying to get stuff done fast.”
Elbows up?
Another issue with getting new projects done at the rapid rate proposed by Bill C-5 is the potential for environmental disasters.
“It’s much harder to clean messes up after you’ve done them,” Moyer says. “It’s so much better to not make the mess in the first place.” When a mess is made, such as an oil spill, taxpayers pay the price to clean it up, and the rapid trajectory of this bill will inevitably cause environmental disasters. Technically, she says, environmental disasters are good for the GDP, as is divorce, cancer and anything else that moves money around. GDP isn’t always the best measure of a country’s success, especially since it fails to recognize the distribution of wealth. Moyer recommends working with other indexes that measure quality of life instead of GDP when weighing the costs and benefits of new nation-building projects.
“If we’re engaging in nation-building projects to try and respond to what’s happening geopolitically, then surely we can use this as an opportunity to build towards a future that does a better job of honouring the creation that God placed us in,” says Moyer.
All of these nation-building efforts are coming on the heels of Trump’s threats to annex Canada and Canada does need to establish its sovereignty, “elbows up” or otherwise.
“We’re in a very vulnerable position as a country,” Moyer points out, “so we have to respond to it somehow.” People need jobs, trade deals must be established, and Canada needs to come together as a united nation in the face of uncertainty.
If Carney’s nation-building efforts are going to be effective, the future of the environment must be considered alongside the people who live here. There will be no prosperity for Canadians if the environment’s health is compromised.
I am a bit out of my depth writing about things relating to mega-economics. The real ‘program’ of Mr. Carney (and an important one, I think) seems to me to be confidence.
Things boil down to the old-fashioned born-out-of-the-industrial-by-way-of-the-Enlightenment way of thinking that goes something like this: If we generate wealth through economic development of the country, we’ll be happier and will have the resources to maintain social programs and all the appurtenances of the good life.
When I was a student at the late Trinity Christian College we learned from transformational philosophical profs that both liberal and conservative are dead ends, ‘polar opposites’ in some way, two brands of the same humanistic philosophy.
So, more power to Mr. Carney’s confidence building. Even more power to those who re-investigate their own lives and see how their definitions of the good life affect the environment, their indigenous hosts, and so on.
May we all have the wisdom to search for a true alternative to left/right divisions.