An Unfortunate Obstacle

When Finance Minister Paul Martin wrote to Joe Jordan in March of 2000, thanking him for "providing the inspiration for a very important measure introduced in the 2000 budget", it looked like Canada was going to get a Genuine Progress Index (GPI). Mr. Martin had given $9 million "to develop environmental and sustainable development indicators". This is more than 10 times as much money as the principle researchers of either the GPI Atlantic or the Alberta GPI figured it would take to create a functional index for the whole country. Unfortunately, a genuine progress index doesn't seem to be the vision of those who gained control of the money: the Environmental and Sustainable Development Indicators Initiative (ESDII) of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).

Many people see the concept of sustainable development as a betrayal of the environment to interests promoting perpetual economic expansion. However, when faced with a program that was funded partly as a result of our lobbying, but which interprets its mandate very narrowly, Mr. Martin's reference to sustainable development is our best hope for turning this around. Sustainable development is frequently described as having three aspects; social, environmental and economic with the well-being of society depending on all three.

There were numerous members of the ESDII Steering Committee who are advocating citizens' participation and the inclusion of the full range of social, economic and environmental considerations. Whenever their arguments appear to be making headway, however, the Co-Chairs asserted that this is not what Mr. Martin wanted. They said he only wants environmental measures, and perhaps some social ones that will help explain economic performance when the Budget is presented.

The ESDII spent the money and came up with a few indicators that might be useful in the overall measurement of well-being. You might be able to find details at their site: http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca They are no doubt eager to gain the contract for further indicator development. I would be more lost time if they continued with the attitude that professional economists and administrators know all that is important to a country and that there is no need to involve the public. Their sights are set far short of an institution to harness the dedicated perception of concerned citizens and provide regular, non-partisan reports on the full range of factors that affect long-term well-being.

When the time comes, we will have to watch closely to make sure that the key elements of citizens' participation in determining what should be measures and reporting of the indicators free of any political filters are not again passed over.

Questions and comments are welcome.

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Last Update: June 29, 2003
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