Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Highlights

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Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Highlights

Canadians’ health and their social and economic well-being are fundamentally linked to the quality of their environment.  Recognizing this, in 2004 the Government of Canada committed to establishing national indicators of freshwater quality, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of these new indicators is to provide Canadians with more regular and reliable information on the state of their environment and how it is linked with human activity.  Canadians need clearly defined environmental indicators — measuring sticks that can track the results that have been achieved through the efforts of governments, industries and individuals to protect and improve the environment.

Environment Canada, Statistics Canada and Health Canada are working together to further develop and communicate these indicators.  Reflecting the joint responsibility for environmental management in Canada, this effort has benefited from the cooperation and input of the provinces and territories.

These Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators supplement traditional health and economic measures, such as gross domestic product, so Canadians can better understand the relationships that exist among the economy, the environment, and human health and well-being. They are intended to help those in government responsible for developing policy and measuring performance, as well as offering all Canadians more information about the trends in their environment.

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