What's new
On October 6, 2020, the Honourable Navdeep Bains and the Honourable Mélanie Joly tabled ISED's Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2020 to 2023 in the House of Commons.
The strategy includes ISED's forward-looking commitments to sustainable development across its programs and operations in support of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada — 2019 to 2022, from Environment and Climate Change Canada. The federal strategy outlines 13 aspirational goals, targets, indicators and clear action plans to promote clean growth, ensure healthy ecosystems and build safe, secure and sustainable communities. It is a Canadian reflection of the environment-related goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The most common definition of sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," which comes from the United Nations study that first brought this issue to the world's attention (Our Common Future, The World Commission on Environment and Development — Brundtland Commission, 1987). It is an approach to growth that considers the impacts of policies, programs and operations on economic prosperity, environmental quality and social well-being.
The 2020 Speech from the Throne highlights clean growth as a Government of Canada priority. The COVID-19 pandemic generated a global health crisis and an unprecedented economic shock, with profound impacts on Canadian households, communities and businesses. In its response to the pandemic, ISED recognizes the need to advance an economic recovery that leaves no Canadian behind and that accelerates the transition to a prosperous, low-carbon and circular economy.
You can also consult ISED's past Sustainable Development Strategies.