In order to make the choices that can advance sustainable development, it is essential to have the required information to support sound decision-making and the ability to use it. Building Canada’s capacity for sustainable development is about improving knowledge and ability at all levels of Canadian society, so that social, economic and environmental considerations are thoroughly integrated in decision-making processes. Building capacity is about creating the conditions for advancing sustainable development by improving our ability to make better decisions. It is the foundation for sustainable development. For NRCan, the focus is on decisions made about resource development and use.

Sound decision-making requires the support of comprehensive, integrated, and available information. NRCan is constantly working to improve Canada’s knowledge bases related to the natural resource sectors. NRCan also contributes to the development of knowledge in other areas crucial to sustainable development, for example, by mapping seafloor data for better ocean management. Better science and improved knowledge bases must be linked to functional tools for decision makers in order to support sustainable development. NRCan is dedicating significant effort to providing integrated and accessible data, coupled with decision-support tools that enable planners and resource managers to make better decisions. Assessment and evaluation tools are required to ensure that the decisions made effectively deliver the expected results.

Capacity building must also include consideration of human resources. The social component of sustainable development indicates a need for the informed participation of all stakeholders in decision making about natural resources development. This may include several governments and businesses, affected communities, non-government organizations, and concerned citizens. NRCan works to improve the capacity of all Canadians to be informed participants in decision making about resource development and use, for example, by working with resource industry leadership to promote sustainable development within the private sector, by helping communities to develop the tools and skills they need to improve decision making for resource management, and by providing public information about Canada’s natural resources and sustainable development.

Better science, integrated and accessible data, assessment and evaluation tools, technology innovation, informed leadership, outreach and education-these are priority action areas for NRCan because knowledge and ability, together with commitment, create the conditions under which sustainable development can take place. NRCan also has a role to play in shaping the regulatory environment that governs resource development and use in Canada, fostering dialogue and contributing to the evolution of government policy that supports sustainable development.

Building capacity to support sustainable development in Canada includes a host of activities within all sectors of the Department, related to all of Canada’s natural resource sectors, and addressed to diverse audiences that include governments, communities, the private sector, and all Canadians.