G21-P019 A Well-Being Dashboard for Canada — Measuring What Matters Most | VGM-2 Amended Version

Submitter Name

Arleigh Luckett

Ratification Vote Results: Adopted

Proposal

This is the amended proposal adopted by GPC membership at the VGM-2.

The Green Party advocates implementation of a Well-Being Dashboard for Canada to replace GDP and measure Canada’s implementation of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. This would track natural, social, financial and human capital including physical, mental and financial health, social equity and the strength of political voice, and be used as a measure of progress to guide policy development and budgeting.

This policy replaces existing policy: G14-P42 “Replace GNP with parameters which better measure the wellbeing of present-day Canadians”

Additional Information:

G14-P42 Replace GNP with parameters which better measure the wellbeing of present-day Canadians BE IT RESOLVED THAT The Green Party of Canada will use a series of holistic measures of well-being such as the Genuine Progress Indicator, the Human Development Index in use by the United Nations Development Programme and a Measure of Canadian Progress to be developed through consultation about Canadian priorities, based on the model developed in Australia. The Green Party will seek expert advice as to the most suitable indicators or variants to advocate. The Green Party of Canada will stop using GNP as a measure of prosperity, recognizing that GNP will continue to have utility in measuring only the size of the economy, rather than its health or ability to deliver good quality of life. 

Objective

To adopt a Well-Being Dashboard to provide a more comprehensive measurement than GDP alone to guide policy development and decision making based on optimizing well-being.

Benefit

Gross Domestic Product has long been our default measure of national success, but it doesn't correlate closely with overall well-being in high-income nations. A Well-Being Dashboard will enable us to consciously define and measure progress towards achieving our overarching vision of success as a country.

Supporting Comments from Submitter

The New Zealand treasury has successfully created a Well-Being Dashboard, and uses it, along with GDP, to inform budget decisions.

https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/higher-living-standards/measuring-wellbeing-lsf-dashboard

India is currently developing an Ease of Living Index, which measures quality of life, economic ability and sustainability. (GDP Is Not a Measure of Human Well-Being by Amit Kapoor and Bibek Debroy October 04, 2019, Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2019/10/gdp-is-not-a-measure-of-human-well-being

The Canadian Index of Well-Being was developed using an extensive consultation process and takes into account many of the above elements.

uwaterloo.ca/canadian-index-wellbeing/

These examples allow GDP to continue to be taken into account, but compensate for its weaknesses. These include the fact that GDP ignores volunteer work and unpaid work within the home, counts as positive elements such as disaster clean-up, averages out inequalities that harm individual and societal health, and does not itself correlate well with well-being in high-income countries like Canada.

Note: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has generally replaced Gross National Product (GNP) internationally.

Green Value(s)

Ecological Wisdom, Sustainability, Participatory Democracy, Social Justice, Respect for Diversity, Non-Violence

Relation to Existing Policy

This proposal would rescind and replace current GPC policies 1996 - Economic Measurement and G14-P42 Replace GNP with parameters which better measure the well-being of present-day Canadians.