National Background

Introduction
The Major Players
The Canadian Secretariat
The Canadian process towards WSSD
The Canadian Major Groups players and process
National Canadian intiatives

Introduction

The involvement of the Canadian government in the WSSD inevitably requires the involvement of many government departments and this both at the federal and provincial level. The issue of sustainable development, which is of concern to a particularly large number of departments, requires the development of a structure that allows these departments and the federal and provincial levels to communicate in order to ensure adequate Canadian participation.

In the context of the WSSD, the job of the government is twofold. First it must undertake a review or an assessment of the work accomplished since the first Earth Summit in 1992 - a national report - and second, it must participate in the exercise of defining directions, developing positions, proposing actions, a task that is ongoing and, to a large extent, influenced by the views, positions, directions, taken by other countries during the preparatory process.

The Major Players

• The main Ministers:
  David Anderson, Minister of the Environment
  William Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs
  Susan Whelan, Minister for International Cooperation
• WSSD Bureau member: Richard Balhorn, DFAIT (also head of the Canadian Delegation)
• Canadian Earth Summit Secretariat: Harvey Lerer, Executive Director
• Canadian Earth Summit Coalition (CESC): a national civil society coalition
• The ENGO Steering Committee: 5 members administered by the CEN and coordinated by One Sky.
• Youth Agenda 2002 and the Youth Summit Team: 21 youth members coordinated by UNAC.
  

The Canadian Secretariat
The Canadian government has chosen to work under a Secretariat composed of Environment Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Earth Summit 2002
Canadian Secretariat
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière, 2nd Floor
10 Wellington
Hull, Québec, K1A 0H3
Phone: 1-819-956-5212
Fax: 1-819-956-5964
Email: canada2002earthsummit@ec.gc.ca

The Canadian process towards 2002
Canada began to develop a National report for the UN Secretariat with cross-Canada consultations. Many criticized the consultation process for being tokenistic and not a partnership between the government and Major Group representatives. Upon completion of the consultations, Stratos Inc. put together a draft document that was reviewed by a reference group of civil society representatives. The final draft was then open for comments and is still under final edit before being released.

The Inter-departmental committee
Sustainable development is a concept that touches the work of many federal departments, if not all. Hence, many Ministers may wish to get involved in the process. In 1992, beyond the core federal departments involved in the coordination of the process, very few departments wanted to take part in the preparations and discussions between departments. With the WSSD, this seems to have changed since many departments are now interested and involved in the process (see list of Cdn delegation at Prep Com II at http://www.canada2002earthsummit.gc.ca/en/prepcom_delegates_e.cfm ).

The Canadian Major Group players and process
Currently environmental NGOs are working under the umbrella organization of the CEN, while youth groups and individuals are working under the Youth Summit Team. Development groups are affiliated with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation or regional affiliates while labour and women's groups have been working independently. Other networks that may also be involved or have an interest in the WSSD include groups such as CANet.

National Canadian initiatives (those known and in no particular order):

Youth Summit Team
Contact: Claudia Octeau, Coordinator
Since March 2001, the YST has developed a document on how to do effective consultation with youth; reports on governance, globalization and Ch.25 of Agenda 21 (on youth); and are involved in educational outreach and developing kits.

Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD)
Contact: Zonny Woods
Working in conjunction with the Sierra Club of Canada on a Population and Environment policy, and advocating to put population and development, migration and sexual reproductive health on the WSSD agenda.

Sierra Club of Canada
Contact: Angela Rickman
Working with ACPD. June 5th-9th they will be hosting the "People and Planet" conference in Kingston, ON and releasing its annual report card on how well (or poorly) Canada has met its environmental agreements. They are also working on an international report card on meeting Climate Change and Biodiversity commitments. Angela also chairs the ENGO steering committee.

Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP)
Contact: Anne Mitchell
Released a paper entitled: "Sustainable Development in Canada: A new federal plan". They will also be hosting the conference "Partnering for Sustainability", April 8th-9th in Toronto. Anne is also a member of the ENGO steering committee.

One Sky - The Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living
Contact: Michael Simpson or Nikki Skuce
In October 2001, One Sky held the conference Expanding Horizons for Canadian ENGOs and their international partners and dedicated a day to WSSD strategizing. One Sky initiated collaborative efforts with other NGOs around the Earth Summit and continues to coordinate a steering committee of ENGOs.

Canadian Environment Network (CEN)
Contact: Chantal Bois
The CEN is supervising the ENGO efforts around the WSSD, circulating information to members and acting as a liaison with the Secretariat.

Sierra Legal Defence Fund
Contact: info@sierralegal.org
Produced a report entitled "The Lost Decade: Conservation in Canada since the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity" about Canada's failure to implement its international obligations, specifically the Convention on Biological Diversity and Endangered Species Act domestically.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Contact: Bill Glanville
- Provides daily coverage of official UN PrepCom meetings, the Summit, and official side events through the Earth Negotiations Bulletin and on the Linkages Web site: http://www.iisd.org/linkages/
- Created a special IISD Linkages Web Portal that contains a wide range of Summit and Summit-related information: http://www.iisd.org/linkages/wssd/portal.html
- Application of its Dashboard of Sustainability, a set of aggregated sustainable development indices at the national level, to a ten-year assessment of progress since Rio.
- Development of a Sustainable Development Briefcase, a set of resources that will provide WSSD watchers, commentators, and participants with the essential background needed to follow the debates at the Summit.

Canadian Labour Congress
Contact: Dave Bennett, National Director
Department of Health, Safety and Environment
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions' (ICFTU) documentation on international labour participation in Rio + 10: labour themes, labour issues and proposals and the likely role of labour at Johannesburg (including our place in the Conference agenda).
CLC participation is likely to be (i) part of the ICFTU; (ii) part of the Canadian ENGO network; and (iii) contact with the Canadian delegation. Our contribution may include healthy workplaces; sustainable communities, Green Job Creation, Just Transition for workers during environmental change, economic instruments, Pollution Prevention and trade and environment. These reflect some but not all of themes proposed by the Canadian government.

Alternatives
Contact: Alex Hill
Coordinating a Quebec coalition around the WSSD. Organizing a panel for Earth Day around the Earth Summit.

Kairos/Canadian Council of Churches
Contact: Joy Kennedy or Nancy Pallardy
The Kairos Ecological Justice Committee is hosting:
"Canadian Interfaith Consultation on The World Summit on Sustainable Development"
Monday, March 11, 2002, United Church Offices, 3250 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON

British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC)
Contact: Jen Deveney
Working on making links between war/human security and sustainable development. Coordinating a local WSSD committee, and working with development NGOs around the Summit.

Solidarité Canada Sahel
Contact: Ms. Rosario Ortiz
Advocacy around desertification for the WSSD agenda.

North-South Institute
Contact: Viviane Weitzner
Involved in managing an IDRC-funded project in Colombia and Guyana (with an upcoming Canadian component) on Indigenous perspectives to consultation and engagement with the mining sector. Each country team is guided by a National Indigenous Advisory Committee. One of the suggestions/recommendations emerging from our work so far is that we write a policy brief toward the WSSD on the major outcomes and recommendations of our project. In addition, we will be trying to link up with other international Indigenous peoples/NGO initiatives around the WSSD.

ETC Group (formerly RAFI)
Contact: Julie Delahanty, Researcher/Programme Manager
Most of the activities are a continuation of our ongoing work, such as on the Terminator Technology, but also includes some new initiatives, including The Treaty Initiative to Share the Genetic Commons and an initiative calling for an International Convention on New Technologies.

Forum international de Montréal (FIM)
Contact: fim98@cam.org
Global Governance 2002: Civil Society and the Democratization of Global Governance. The dates for the conference are now set for October 13-16 2002 (at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal).