2023 to 2024 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy Report

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Cat. No.: IP51-10E-PDF
ISSN: 2818-6060

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Introduction to the 2023 to 2024 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy Report

The 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) presents the Government of Canada’s sustainable development goals and targets, as required by the Federal Sustainable Development Act. This is the first FSDS to be framed using the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and provides a balanced view of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development.

In keeping with the purpose of the Act, to make decision-making related to sustainable development more transparent and accountable to Parliament, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) supports the goals laid out in the FSDS through the activities described in its 2023 to 2027 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS). This Report provides a report on progress related to the OPC’s DSDS in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Commitments for the OPC

FSDS Context: While the OPC is not a lead key contributing department or horizontal lead identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy or in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Office nonetheless takes into account the Government of Canada’s commitments and strive to make a meaningful contribution towards advancing the reconciliation with indigenous peoples and take action on inequality. The OPC invested in training to increase awareness and understanding of issues related to First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada.

Target theme: Advancing reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis communities.

Target: Between 2023 and 2026, and every year on an ongoing basis, develop and table annual progress reports on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada).

Implementation strategy	Departmental action	Performance indicator Starting point target	How the departmental action contributes to the FSDS goal and target and, where applicable, to Canada’s 2030 agenda national strategy and SDGs	Results achieved
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.	Provide all managers with Indigenous cultural competency training. Program: Internal services	Performance indicator: Percentage of managers who have completed Indigenous cultural competency training (internal or external). Starting point: In 2022-23, 6% of managers have completed training on Indigenous cultural competency (internal or external). Target: 90% by March 2027.	Public servants are in a unique position to help build respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples in Canada. This action encourages public service employees to increase their cultural competency skills and awareness of issues related to First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada, and their knowledge of the UN Declaration. This action contributes to the development of necessary cultural competency knowledge and skills to implement the UN Declaration.	Indicator result: In 2023-24, almost 9% of managers completed the mandatory training on Indigenous cultural competency. Notes: Since the publication of its Sustainable development Strategy in November 2023, the OPC added the Canada School of Public Service online course — A Brief History of the Relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada (IRA102) — as mandatory training to the manager’s learning roadmap. With the addition of this mandatory training, the OPC expects to make important progress towards meeting this target in the coming years. Beyond this mandatory training, the OPC promoted other Indigenous cultural competency training for employees. In 2023-24, 40% of OPC employees participated in a KAIROS Blanket Exercise on the loss of Indigenous lands and the cultural assimilation policies to deepen their understanding of the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.

FSDS Context: The OPC recognize the importance of contributing to the air quality improvement to ensure a healthy and productive environment for all fostering well-being and sustainability. To lower emissions from transportation, the Office encouraged all employees to adopt a work arrangement.

Target theme: Air Quality.

Target: Increase the percentage of the population across Canada living in areas where air pollutant concentrations are less than or equal to the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards from 60% in 2005 to 85% in 2030 (Minister of Environment and Climate Change; Minister of Health).

Implementation strategy	Departmental action	Performance indicator Starting point target	How the departmental action contributes to the FSDS goal and target and, where applicable, to Canada’s 2030 agenda national strategy and SDGs	Results achieved
Develop, administer and enforce measures addressing air pollution.	Ensure that all employees have a work arrangement in place. Program: Internal Services	Performance indicator: Percentage of employees who have a work arrangement in place. Starting point: 73% of employees have a work arrangement in place. Target: 85% by March 2024 (this target takes into account that a work arrangement may not be possible in all cases for instance, employees on extended leave, secondments, etc.)	Hybrid work models play an important role in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. By encouraging employees to work from home part of the time, there’s a decrease in the need for daily commuting, leading to fewer cars on the road and lower emissions from transportation. This contributes to a greener and more sustainable air quality.	Indicator result: 81% of employees had a work arrangement in place as of March 31, 2024. Notes: While the target was narrowly missed, it is important to note that in addition to the employees who had an active work arrangement in place as of March 31, 2024, approximately 4% of employees had a work arrangement awaiting approval or requiring renewal. Please note that the date to achieve target will be revised during the next strategy update. The OPC will continue to strive towards all employees having a work arrangement, while recognizing that it may not be possible in all cases for instance, when employees are on extended leave, on a secondment, etc.

FSDS Context: The OPC strive to make a meaningful contribution towards reducing waste by continuing to use, where appropriate, Public Services and Procurement Canada’s procurement instruments into which environmental performance considerations are already integrated. Furthermore, the OPC continued to invest in training to raise awareness of environmental considerations in purchasing decisions among financial delegates and acquisition cardholders.

Target theme: Federal Leadership on Responsible Consumption. 

Target: The Government of Canada’s procurement of goods and services will be net-zero emissions by 2050, to aid the transition to a net-zero, circular economy (All Ministers).

Implementation strategy	Departmental action	Performance indicator Starting point target	How the departmental action contributes to the FSDS goal and target and, where applicable, to Canada’s 2030 agenda national strategy and SDGs	Results achieved
Strengthen green procurement criteria.	Ensure that employees with financial delegation of authority and acquisition cardholders are trained on green procurement (such as the Canada School of Public Service course on green procurement, or equivalent). Program: Internal Services	Performance indicator: Percentage of employees with financial delegation of authority and acquisition cardholders that are trained on green procurement. Starting point: In 2022-23, 14% of eligible OPC employees completed training on green procurement. Target: 90% by March 2027	Green procurement incorporates environmental considerations into purchasing decisions and is expected to motivate suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of the goods and services they deliver, and their supply chains.	Indicator result: 12.5% of acquisition cardholders and managers with financial delegation completed mandatory training on green procurement in 2023-24. Notes: The result for this indicator in 2023‑24 is lower than the 2022-23 baseline. This is due to staff turnover where some of the employees who had taken the training have left the organization. Since the publication of its Sustainable development Strategy in November 2023, the OPC added the Canada School of Public Service online course — Green Procurement (COR405) — as mandatory training to the learning roadmap for employees with financial delegation of authority and acquisition cardholders. With the addition of this mandatory training, the OPC expects to make important progress towards meeting this target in the coming years.

FSDS Context: While the responsibility for real property management, the implementation of energy consumption and waste diversion management programs at OPC facilities rests with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the OPC continued to support and amplify messaging from PSPC aimed at reaching net-zero carbon and climate-resilient operations.

Target theme: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption. 

Target: Achieve 40 to 45% greenhouse gas emission reductions below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (Minister of Environment and Climate Change supported by all other Ministers).

Integrating Sustainable Development

The OPC will continue to ensure that its decision-making process includes consideration of FSDS goals and targets through its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process. An SEA for a policy, plan or program proposal includes an analysis of the impacts of the given proposal on the environment, including on relevant FSDS goals and targets.

Public statements on the results of the OPC’s assessments are made public when an initiative has undergone a detailed SEA (see here). The purpose of the public statement is to demonstrate that the environmental effects, including the impacts on achieving the FSDS goals and targets, of the approved policy, plan or program have been considered during proposal development and decision making.

The OPC did not complete any detailed SEAs in 2023-24.