Canada should set development goals — for itself
It’s hard to lecture the world when there are problems here, write Shannon Kindornay and Purbita Sengupta.
This year marks the end of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal framework. It is a moment for the global community to redefine a new set of sustainable development priorities and ensure equitable growth is achieved for all.
Negotiations are already underway to replace the MDGs with a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will apply to all countries, not just developing ones. This means high-income countries, such as Canada, will be expected to implement the framework by 2030 that will cover goals related to social, economic and environmental aspects of well-being. The SDGs, which will be decided on in September, will also aim to ensure that all members of society benefit from progress, to “leave no one behind.”
So far, Canada’s attitude toward the SDGs has been to treat them as something that matters for countries “over there,” essentially championing its current foreign aid priorities. Focusing on ending extreme poverty and improving maternal, newborn and child health is laudable — and these are areas in which Canada should push for more progress globally. But the universal nature of the SDG framework also presents an opportunity to address its own development priorities at home.
There is no question that Canada is a great place to live. We do well when compared to our peers on both the UN Human Development Index and the OECD Better Life Index. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have our own shortcomings.
It’s time to start some soul searching on Canada’s vision for sustainable development.
Recently Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and the Centre for the Study of Living Standards released a report looking at how the SDGs could apply to Canada. The two key challenges for Canada are structural inequalities, most evident in the case of aboriginal populations, and our more obvious environmental commitments, or rather the lack thereof. On nearly all major indicators of well-being such as poverty, health, education, employment, and access to justice, Canada’s aboriginal populations fall behind — and by quite a large margin.
A key aspect of the sustainable development agenda for Canada will be addressing the ongoing marginalization and inequality faced by aboriginal people.
Canada has become a laggard when it comes to addressing climate change. Government policies to reduce GHG emissions have shown little to no progress. As momentum builds up for the SDG summit in September as well as the Paris COP21 in December, leaders across the world are preparing to set a new global standard for combating the damaging impact of climate change. Over the next year, Canada will need to decide whether it will continue to be a laggard or emerge as a leader.
Canada’s approach to the sustainable development goals requires leadership on all levels as noted in a recent article in the Citizen by John McArthur, and it needs to move beyond how much foreign aid we give.
The impacts of climate change, the financial crisis, and the Ebola outbreak have all shown that local and global challenges can no longer be defined separately.
Action in Canada to sustainably manage our resources and address climate change will contribute to a better Canada and a better world for our generation and future generations. Ensuring that no Canadians are left behind at home gives Canada the credibility to lead the call for action to improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable abroad.
It’s time to start doing some soul searching on Canada’s vision for sustainable development both at home and abroad — and citizens, businesses, and provincial and municipal governments need to be involved. It will take actions by all levels of government and across sectors to realize a Canadian vision for sustainable development by 2030.