Our current economic system relies on the take-make-waste model. It is a system that concentrates wealth in the hands of an elite few, while the rest of us, and the Earth, pay the price — biodiversity loss, climate instability and increasing toxic loads of chemicals.
We are told that regulations are sufficient to protect people and the environment from these impacts, but the proof to the contrary is everywhere. The reality is that the cost of “economic development” under the current linear and extractive model is too high and is being borne disproportionately by racialized and equity deserving communities.
The economy is not something that exists outside of human influence; it is a concept and a system designed by humans, and we can redesign it as necessary to meet our needs. Governments can work with citizens to chart a new path forward that puts people and the planet at the heart of decision-making.
The current linear landscape: Prioritizing profits before people and planet
In June 2025, before the Spring Parliamentary session ended, newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced and quickly passed the controversial Building Canada Act proposed in Bill C-5. Touted as a means to expedite development amid growing economic pressures from the ongoing U.S.-led trade war with Canada, the law gave sweeping and potentially unconstitutional powers to the federal Cabinet to bypass environmental laws and legal safeguards.
Ecojustice, along with our partners, voiced concern that this legislation would be a dangerous step backward and would strip away critical environmental protections and silence public participation in decisions that impact nature, wildlife, and communities.
The federal level is not the only place where we’ve seen the economy being used as a smokescreen to expedite development — environmental deregulation is a growing trend across the country.
In B.C., the Eby government introduced and passed the Infrastructure Projects Act. Pitched as a path to “cut red tape”, what the law actually cuts is processes that ensure we understand the impacts of major projects on local economies, communities and ecosystems before we build them. As it stands, B.C. has the most species at risk in Canada — and the weakest laws to protect them. B.C. is also making moves to facilitate LNG expansion in the province, including the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline — a project Ecojustice is working hard to ensure undergoes a new environmental assessment.
While in Ontario, the Ford government passed Bill 5: the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, legislation that aims to fast-track industrial project by gutting the Endangered Species Act and silencing Indigenous voices — and we are already seeing issues with the law’s implementation when it comes to the draft regulations for “special economic zones”.
We know that environmental deregulation will worsen the problems caused by the linear economic model — deepening human, environmental and climate inequities, and doing nothing to address the current affordability crises.
We need governments to start envisioning and implementing laws and policies that prioritize communities, workers, and the planet. This means moving away from outdated, linear solutions like pipelines and fossil fuel expansion, towards circular, regenerative economies that live within the limits of the natural world, prioritizing the health and well-being of people and planet.
A strong economy can go together with a healthy environment and thriving communities
We need an economic approach that protects the ecological foundations we all depend on, ensuring long-term social and environmental well-being for both current and future generations.
At Ecojustice, we say this shift starts with embedding key guiding principles that inform a shared vision for a circular economy.
We recognize that Indigenous economies have long offered proven models for better ways of living — they thrived before colonization and continue to be practiced and revitalized today. An important pathway forward is prioritizing support for the revitalization of Indigenous economies, while also learning from Indigenous Peoples and centering their leadership in reforming the dominant economy. However, this learning must take place in relationships of reciprocity, not relationships of extraction.
Redefining economic policy in Canada is possible
A regenerative circular economy focused on well-being aims to address the unsustainable extraction and waste of our current model and ensure we live within the limits of the natural world in relationships of reciprocity.
There are already examples where the foundation for economic transformation is being laid – including in Canada with the new Quality of Life and Well-Being cabinet committee and the work that has been done on developing the Quality of Life Framework.
The Quality of Life Framework was developed in 2021 and monitors key determinants of well-being for Canadians, including health, environmental and social outcomes. The Framework has the potential to be used by decision makers as a planning tool to inform priorities and develop policies, programs and budgets that support broader well-being objectives.
The Framework has already been incorporated into some budgetary analysis via the annual Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statement — though further work is needed to create legal obligations that will more fully embed well-being objectives in government policies, programs and budgets.
Earlier this month, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer issued a report highlighting the importance of implementing a well-being approach in Canada, stating that “health, social, economic, and planetary well-being… are essential for thriving, resilient, and equitable societies over multiple future generations.”
There are also examples of Indigenous Nations codifying this approach. For example, the Nisg̱a’a Lisims Quality of Life Strategy and Framework is used by the Nisga’a Lisims government to inform actions that enhance the living conditions of Nisg̱a’a citizens. The strategy was developed through a participatory approach and includes key socio-economic performance indicators.
Progress is also being made by other countries, such as in New Zealand, where the government introduced its Well-Being budget that puts peoples’ well-being and the environment at the heart of its policies. The Well-being Budget uses social and environmental indicators, along with economic and fiscal ones, to guide the New Zealand government’s investment and funding decisions. It breaks down government agency silos to better assess, develop and implement policies that improve well-being. It also tracks the government’s progress on a broader range of measures of success, including the health of the environment, people, and communities.
In other words, a better way is possible. It’s time for governments across the country to recognize that a transformation from a linear to a regenerative and circular economy that centres wellbeing is not only possible, it is essential. Let’s build on the growing momentum that exists and work together to create an economy that truly supports the wellbeing of people and planet, for current and future generations.
