The New Economy Sat. May 21

The New Economy

At the CUSJ workshop during the Canadian Unitarian Council Conference, Saturday May 21st, Session C, we want to share the latest ideas on how we can build an economy that is sustainable for the long haul.

Dr. Peter Victor, Author of "Managing without Growth. Slower by Design, not Disaster"

Dr. Peter Victor  is a professor in environmental studies at York University. He has worked for over 40 years in Canada and abroad on economy and environment as an academic, consultant and public servant. Dr. Victor was the founding president of the Canadian Society of Ecological Economics and a past-president of the Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science. Currently he is a member of the Board of the David Suzuki Foundation and several advisory boards in the public and private sectors.  See his Website: www.pvictor.com

Managing without Growth. Slower by Design, not Disaster

Economic growth is the over-arching policy objective of governments worldwide. Yet its long-term viability is increasingly questioned because of environmental impacts and impending and actual shortages of energy and material resources. Furthermore, rising incomes in rich countries bear little relation to gains in happiness and well-being. Growth has not eliminated poverty, brought full employment or protected the environment. Results from a simulation model of the Canadian economy suggest that it is possible to have  full employment, eradicate poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintain fiscal balance without economic growth. It’s time to turn our attention away from pursuing growth and towards specific objectives more directly relating to our well-being and that of the planet.

Ann Emmett, Member of the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform:

Ann Emmett

* Retired secondary school teacher

* Began to be politicized while working in the Canadian High Arctic for the Department of Northern Affairs.

* Bumped into economics in the early seventies, as a branch representative in the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) when the government began to shrink the education budget.

* Came to realize that education was not the only issue related to economic policies.

* Campaigned vigorously against “FREE” trade.

* Became better informed as co-chair of the Toronto chapter of the Council of Canadians

* Improved my understanding of economics as a member of the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (Comer), thanks largely to the late Dr. John Hotson, professor of economics at Waterloo University

* Ran in two federal elections for Paul Hellyer’s Canadian Action Party.

Speaking to:

* The urgent need for monetary reform if we are to solve any of our outstanding problems, and to the threat to our national sovereignty posed by Paul Martin’s call for “global economic governance”.

* The present system is obsolete, dysfunctional and unsustainable. It DEPENDS on growth, exploitation, waste and the destruction of human and environmental capital

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