What if introducing new measures that take quality of life into account made it possible to better meet the environmental challenges we face? The reflection has begun.
According to fall forecasts from major banks, Canada will likely be in recession in 2023, starting in the first quarter. This means that economic activity will suffer a sustained and widespread decline which should translate into a contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), THE measure of our collective well-being and prosperity. Or not. Because, like any indicator, GDP has significant blind spots, especially from an environmental point of view. To ignore this reality is to make economic growth at all costs a sacred cow in a world with limited resources.
“Let’s be clear: the current economic scenario is dramatic for many people. The rise in interest rates particularly affects those who already had little room for maneuver, galloping inflation obliges, “says Béatrice Alain, director general of the Chantier de l’économie sociale, which promotes and develops collective entrepreneurship. in Quebec.
In the same breath, she asserts that repeatedly brandishing the word “recession” confirms our narrow view of progress. “It is not because the GDP is doing well that society is doing well, and vice versa”, she decides.
Money doesn’t buy happiness, the saying goes.
You should know that GDP has been used since the Second World War to assess national performance. To calculate it, the Government of Canada takes into account the total market value of all goods and services produced in the country over a given period. In doing so, he disregards all forms of “work” that do not have a “piasse” sign attached to them, such as maternal care and volunteering. Above all, the GDP ignores everything about pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, among others.
Alternative methods discussed
Faced with this observation, different ways of measuring wealth are emerging. Bhutan was the first country to pilot a Gross National Happiness Index in 2008 — New Zealand followed suit in 2019. For its part, the United Nations Environment Program has suggested, ten years ago, the green GDP, which integrates the evolution of natural capital into the classic measure. The International Institute for Sustainable Development, a Canadian non-governmental organization, presented in 2018 the Global Wealth Index, a refined form of GDP of sorts.
In Quebec, the G15+ collective launched, in mid-October 2022, the second version of Well-being Indicators in Quebec, a series of 72 economic, social and environmental indicators to measure the level of well-being in Quebec. The composition of this left-right alliance is surprising; it brings together the Quebec Employers Council and the Quebec Federation of Labor as well as the David Suzuki Foundation! “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked ourselves this question: what economic recovery do we want?
The idea is to stimulate social dialogue,” emphasizes Béatrice Alain, from the Chantier de l’économie sociale, which is a member of the G15+.
The organizations undertake to make the link with these indicators as often as possible in their respective statements. The stated goal is for the governments of Quebec and Canada to integrate them into their public policy development processes. For now, only the federal government seems to want to go down this road. “Looking ‘beyond GDP’ requires adopting a broader perspective taking into account quality of life, equality and sustainability,” reads a comprehensive report on the subject published in 2021 by the Department of Finance of Canada.
And with us? “There is no indication of any reflection on this subject in Quebec,” says François Delorme, professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Sherbrooke, who co-piloted the G15+ process. At issue, according to him: a reluctance to see our wealth gap with Ontario widen rather than shrink. And yet… “The exercise has shown that Québec’s overall progress in the three pillars [économiques, sociaux et environnementaux] exceeds that of Ontario and Canada as a whole, notes the expert. It is a validation of the Quebec model. »
Capitalism’s fault
Proposing new ways of measuring problems does not, however, change them. “It’s as if we said to ourselves: ‘Let’s change the thermometer, it will change the weather conditions’!” illustrates Yves-Marie Abraham, professor in the Department of Management at HEC Montréal. Basically, the observation remains the same: we live in profoundly capitalist societies where we all have an interest in the economy growing constantly to ensure a high level of comfort. His observation is severe: the debate on alternative indicators is a matter of “complete smoke-out”.
This specialist in degrowth thinks rather that it is necessary to redefine the very foundations of our societies, by making the satisfaction of our basic needs take precedence over the unbridled accumulation of wealth. “Imagining forms of society that are both different and desirable is quite a challenge, I am aware of that. This requires a radical reduction in our production, the implementation of measures to redistribute our wealth and decision-making as democratic as possible to achieve these first two objectives”, he lists. Extensive program.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.