The development and release for consultation of the draft ‘Planning for a Sustainable Future: A Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada’ is very much appreciated, as are the increased consultation efforts that have accompanied it. As we prepare to take on the challenge of ensuring that our economy and society move forward in a way that is environmentally sound, the government of Canada is to be congratulated for providing Canadians with a stronger say in how to make this happen.
Sustainable Prosperity's comments on the draft FSDS are provided from the perspective of a wide array of academics, policy experts, business, labour, and environmental leaders. These individuals and organizations have come together through Sustainable Prosperity (including under the Smart Prosperity green growth banner) to identify the linkages between Canada’s environmental and economic opportunities, and explore the policies that could make our markets, institutions, and communities work for a clean and prosperous future.
We hope our comments will be helpful to inform further federal deliberations on this draft Strategy, and to identify future directions for finalizing it. Overall, this commentary is focused on ways for the 2016-19 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy to reset the dialogue on the environment and economy in Canada, and present a practical but ambitious roadmap for Canada’s sustainable development. This roadmap should be built around proactive and achievable goals, targets, and actions, backed up by internal and external engagement mechanisms that will permit the federal government to maximize its success.
