Canada to get new index to track wellbeing

Move over GDP. A new index that experts say offers a new and better way to measure quality of life for all Canadians was introduced today. The new made-in-Canada index will report regularly on our country’s progress – or lack of it.

The Honourable Roy Romanow unveiled the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) and presented its first report which brings together research findings in three important areas of wellbeing: Living Standards, Healthy Populations and Community Vitality.

“Most Canadians realize that our wellbeing is not measured by just narrow economic measures like the GDP,” said the Honourable Roy Romanow, who chairs the Institute developing the new Index. “Right now Canada lacks a single, national instrument for tracking and reporting on our overall quality of life, on the things that matter to Canadians. The Canadian Index of Wellbeing will change that. It will give a quick snapshot of how we as Canadians are really doing.”

Researchers say using measures such as the GDP as a surrogate for wellbeing are misleading because they make no distinction between economic activity that creates benefit and that which causes harm. They also ignore many genuine contributions to wellbeing, such as volunteer work and unpaid care-giving.

The CIW will also shine a spotlight on the interconnections among these important areas: how, for example, income and education are linked to changes in health.

One of the key findings of the first report is that even in so-called economic good times, Canadian workers failed to reap their share of the benefits of productivity growth, with hourly wages rising at only half the rate of the GDP. And now with the downturn those numbers become even more stark.

The report also found that while Canadians are living longer, they are not necessarily living better – and income and education play a big part in how we fare. The Canadian Index of Wellbeing will cover eight areas of life in Canada:

our standard of living, our health, the vitality of our communities, our education, the way we use our time, our participation in the democratic process, the state of our arts, culture and recreation, and the quality of our environment. These areas were chosen as the right things to measure, based on the values of Canadians, through an in depth public consultation process across Canada.

By 2010, all eight domain reports will be made public. Once the overall index is completed in 2010, it will measure, track and report on wellbeing trends regularly and as new information is available.

Institute of Wellbeing Launched

Also announced today is the creation of an independent and non-partisan Institute of Wellbeing, affiliated with the University of Waterloo. The Institute’s work is guided by an advisory board of accomplished Canadian and international experts. The board is chaired by the Honourable Roy Romanow, former Commissioner on the Future of Health Care in Canada and the Honourable Monique Bégin, Canada’s Commissioner to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, is Deputy Chair. Its signature product is the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW). It will also commission research and issue reports on Canadian wellbeing, and identify gaps in knowledge relevant to measuring wellbeing.

The Institute is viewed internationally as a global pioneer in developing an integrated approach to measuring wellbeing.

“Indicators are very powerful and the GDP cannot be seen as our only national quality of life indicator,” said Monique Bégin, Deputy Chair of the Institute of Wellbeing.

“The CIW will connect the dots between Canadians’ quality of life and public policy decisions. Canadians want policy decisions to reflect what really matters to them.”

For more information please go to www.ciw.ca.

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