Canada

Overview

Canada has a long history as an innovator in Green Planning and sustainable development since the 1970s. Canada pioneered many approaches to government/community action as it relates to environmental conservation and the balance with economics. Canada was an early adopter of Green Plans, including Canada's Green Plan for a Healthy Environment which was enacted in 1990. After the Rio Summit in 1992, Canada began working even harder on sustainable solutions to environmental issues and has continued to be a leader in the developed world by example and theory. For an extensive summary of Canada’s history and work with green planning through 1995, refer to Canada’s Environmental Policy Review in the Resource Renewal Institute archives. The summary below discusses the updates since 1995.

Recent News

Canada’s Budget 2003 commits the largest investment in the environment in Canadian history, specifically to:

• Implement the Climate Change Action Plan - $2 billion (Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002);
• Address critical environment and health issues – over the next two years will spend $40 million on clean air, $75 million on the management of toxic substances, $175 million on the clean-up of federal contaminated sites, and over the next five years $600 million to improve water quality in First Nation communities;
• Over the next two years spend $74 million to protect Canada's unique spaces and species through the creation of new National Parks and new National Marine Conservation Areas while ensuring the integrity of existing Parks and $33 million to implement the new Species at Risk Act.

Refer to the speaking notes of the Environment Minister, Hon David Anderson for more detail,.

Sustainable development is about how we meet the needs of people today, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It is not an end point, but rather an approach to decision making. It recognizes that social, economic and environmental issues are interconnected, and that decisions must incorporate each of these aspects if they are to be good decisions in the longer term. It is an approach that will help us to achieve a healthy environment, a prosperous economy, and a vibrant and just society for current and future generations.
—Environment Canada

The 2003 Budget recognizes that:

• Economic investments must support environmental objectives;
• Environmental action is essential to long term economic growth and sustainability; and
• Environmental action achieves social objectives such as good health and more livable communities.

Based on a review of the first Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), Canada has set several goals that will continue to move the country forward in the realm of green planning. Environment Canada has set specific goals based of the four areas of increased focus noted below.

Some of the more notable goals set forth include:

• Increased knowledge through the use of a more robust environmental information system
• Incorporation of traditional knowledge from Aboriginal peoples
• Consistent consideration of social and economic impact resulting from decision-making
• Development of an Environment Canada Monitoring Strategy
• Creation and implementation of an integrated “Business Plan on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development” with the other federal natural resource departments
• Updating the “GreenLane” website (Environment Canada’s public site) to make sure it suits the needs of its users
• Better understanding of market-based incentives
• Working closer with the Department of Finance to evaluate problem sources, limit damage at its source and study the possible use of incentives to increase environmentally-friendly practices
• Shifting “market signals” to better represent Canada’s natural capital
• Adopting innovative practices and tools
• Improving the capacity of business and industry to help them implement “eco-efficient” tools and practices
• Integration of various groups within society (community, business, government, etc.) for decision-making that is balanced
• Addressing knowledge and information gaps and find appropriate solutions
• Developing a “sustainable communities initiative” for federal programs that deal with community issues to achieve maximum positive impact on economic, societal and environmental impact

Canada continues to set a great example of leadership in green planning and sustainable development. Canada has discovered many challenges along the way, but it is acknowledging those issues and is trying to correct them. While implementation can be difficult, it is essential to understand that this philosophy is an organic model that changes with the social and physical environment. To be effective, working to solve challenges, rather than avoiding or working around them, will be critical. Canada is trying to find solutions.

One of the most significant advances since the last Resource Renewal Institute summary was written were 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act which strengthened Canada’s approach to green planning. First, the amendments require each department of the federal government to develop a sustainable development strategy with concrete goals that would be used as benchmarks for regular progress reports. The strategies are analyzed and updated every three years. Second, the position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development was created. The commissioner reports to parliament annually on important environmental issues and is responsible for monitoring the progress of the sustainable development strategies that are developed by each of the departments of the government. For more information, read the Commissioner’s perspective from the last annual report, You can also read the complete text of the 2002 report, as well as those from previous years.

In 1997, Environment Canada (the Canadian governmental department responsible for the preservation of environmental quality and resource use) developed its Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). The SDS helped Canada lay the groundwork for the integration of sound environmental thinking into the decision-making process. In 2001, after benchmark analysis, Environment Canada developed a second SDS focusing on specific areas from the first SDS that needed more emphasis. The four main areas of increased focus are:

• Knowledge for decision making
• Incentives
• Partnerships for sustainable communities
• Managing for sustainable development

A detailed breakdown of objectives and goals of each of these four areas is available.

In 2000, a document entitled Sustainable Development in Government Operations: A Coordinated Approach (270K PDF) was released that laid out best practices in areas such as waste management, water conservation, energy efficiency, land use management, etc. Over the following three years, Environment Canada set out incorporate targets and performance measures from this document into various programs to further their planning efforts.

Environment Canada understands the philosophy that “longer term success will depend on an ability to find creative solutions that contribute not only to a healthy environment, but to a prosperous economy and a vibrant and just society at the same time.” By acting as both a leader by example and a facilitator of sustainable development initiatives with partners outside of the department, Environment Canada is aiming to continue to keep green planning at the forefront of its work.

More online resources

Visit the Canada links page to find out more about the green plan of Canada, and review the RRI archives for additional information.