Sustainable Development Strategies

Central direction needed to drive change

Chapter 5, 2002 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Ottawa, 22 October 2002 — The federal government has yet to provide a clear picture of what a sustainable Canada would look like 20 years from now, concluded the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Johanne Gélinas, in her Report tabled today in the House of Commons.

"Direction from the highest levels of government would help departments work together toward coherent and common sustainable development objectives. Asking federal departments to achieve these objectives without the vision and support they need from central agencies is like asking them to complete a jigsaw puzzle without the picture box to guide them," said Ms. Gélinas.

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Canada and many other countries committed to establish national strategies for sustainable development. This was seen as a way to translate the concept of sustainable development into a reality. Canada's response to this commitment was to require its federal departments and agencies to develop sustainable development strategies, starting in 1997, and to update them every three years.

The federal government's sustainable development strategies are meant to be used as tools used to influence change toward sustainable development. But after five years and two generations of strategies, they still fall short of their potential as drivers of change—although they play a useful role as a communications tool and are a starting point for further change. Opportunities exist to improve their use as strategic documents.

"The federal government can no longer allow itself to be satisfied with a 'business as usual' approach in regard to its sustainable development strategies. To make the strategies more effective, departments also need to include commitments that will push them beyond the status quo," said Ms. Gélinas.

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The chapter Sustainable Development Strategies is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada web site (www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/environment).

Information:

Communications
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E-mail: communications@oag-bvg.gc.ca