On October 6, 2010, Canada?s first Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) was
tabled in Parliament. The Strategy responds to the limitations of Canada?s previous approaches
to sustainable development planning and reporting and makes three key improvements:
1. An integrated, whole-of-government picture of actions and results to achieve
environmental sustainability
2. A link between sustainable development planning and reporting and the Government?s
core expenditure planning and reporting system
3. Effective measurement, monitoring and reporting in order to track and report on progress
to Canadians
It creates a decision-making system that is transparent and accountable and supports the
continuous improvement of the management of sustainable development. It conveys a strong
commitment to addressing the sustainable development priorities of Canadians and establishes
sustainability as a long-term, government-wide priority across federal departmental mandates. In
addition, in terms of accountability, the Strategy identifies the Minister responsible for each
target.
Internationally, Canada also works to further sustainable development goals, which is reflected in
its international development efforts. As part of our commitment to provide our fair share of faststart
financing under the Copenhagen Accord, Canada announced on June 23rd, 2010 that it is
contributing $400 million for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. This financing will go towards supporting
developing countries? efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the adverse
impacts of climate change, with a focus on three priority areas - adaptation, clean energy, and
forests and agriculture. This investment of $400 million represents Canada's largest ever
contribution to support international efforts to address climate change. Combined with other
committed contributions from the Government of Canada, the total amount of Canadian
international public climate financing is projected to reach approximately $441 million for the
2010/2011 fiscal year.
In 2008, the Government of Canada passed the Official Development Assistance Accountability
Act. The Act applies to all federal departments providing official development assistance and
seeks to ensure that all Canadian official development assistance abroad is provided with a
central focus on poverty reduction and in a manner that is consistent with Canadian values, the
principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and sustainable development.
Environmental Integration is a key aspect of Canada?s international development planning
processes and involves three core elements: The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
(CEAA) (under federal review); the Cabinet Directive on the Strategic Environmental Assessment
(SEA) of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (under federal review) and the current policy on
Environmental Sustainability (1992) which recommends the systematic analysis and integration of
the environment in all decision-making. A review is being conducted of Canada?s international
development policy suite and associated directives, guidelines and training modules in order to
ensure that the incorporation of environmental sustainability into development programming is
strengthened. (www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/eng/JUD-12129440-KAK).
The Government of Canada also supports gender equality, including in its overseas
programming. Gender-based analysis (GBA) must be conducted so that gender implications
outlined in the GBA can be effectively integrated into the design and performance measurement
of projects for effective international development results.