Poverty, Wealth and Ecology in Canada
A study for the Alternative Globalization Addressing People and the Earth (AGAPE) program of the World Council of Churches.
Abstract: Poverty persists in Canada amidst apparent wealth generated in particular by the petroleum and financial industries. Inequality in income distribution is increasing to the detriment not only of the impoverished but also the entire society. A booming petroleum extraction industry, centred on the Alberta tar sands, generates wealth for corporations but has harmful social consequences. Massive exploitation of the tar sands exacerbates ecological destruction and is incompatible with the urgent need to fight climate change. Financial industries in Canada also give rise to apparent wealth for some but do not deliver sustainable well-being for all members of society. Tax reform is needed to redistribute wealth and deter ecological destruction. The current trajectory of the world economy is socially and ecologically unsustainable. We must reorient the economy to live within the limits of the Earth‟s ecological carrying capacity.
