OTTAWA, 25 February 2015
Canada’s country report for a collaborative research initiative of the Southern Voice network, Post-2015 Data Test: Unpacking the Data Revolution at the Country Level,  was launched successfully, followed by an interactive panel discussion with representatives from the government, civil society and academia. André Plourde, Dean, Faculty of Public Affairs, Carleton University, moderated the panel discussion. The report viz. Canada 2030: An Agenda for Sustainable Development is a joint output of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and the Centre for the Study of Living Standards. The main objective of the report is to identify the opportunities and challenges that may arise for Canada from the implementation of a universal, country-relevant SDG framework, including those related to measuring progress. View report highlights The key findings of the report are as follows:

  • The proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are relevant for Canada.
  • Addressing the wellbeing of Aboriginal peoples is prevalent across SDGs. Issues related to gender equality are also cross-cutting. Global minimum standards are not particularly relevant for Canada’s national priorities.
  • Most Canadian stakeholders have little to no knowledge of the post- 2015 agenda.
  • Nevertheless, efforts to address sustainable development concerns in Canada are established and ongoing for many candidate goal areas.
  • Official data are available for 78 per cent of the 133 indicators examined in this study.
  • With the appropriate resources, Statistics Canada and other government departments and agencies have the capacity to address data gaps.
  • Data quality is excellent for goals related to poverty, education and employment and very good for all other candidate goal areas.
  • Lower data quality is associated with data sources from other departments and agencies while data from Statistics Canada are of excellent quality.
  • While Canada has an excellent statistical system, it has seen deterioration in recent years.
  • The enabling environment for civil society advocacy has become increasingly closed due to funding cuts and stricter regulations on the political activities that charitable organisations can undertake.

The report was presented by lead authors Andrew Sharpe, Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, and Shannon Kindornay, Adjunct Research Professor, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. The Post-2015 Data Test initiative, which is approaching its end, is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the International Development Research Centre’s Think Tank Initiative. For more information, visit www.post2015datatest.com

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