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Implementation of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) fourth Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) started in 2007–2008, and had the following goals:
The main accomplishments in 2007–2008 include:
SDS Departmental Goal: Promote awareness of sustainable development principles and objectives among departmental staff, clients and stakeholders. | ||
Federal SD Goal: Sustainable Communities | ||
Activity |
Performance Measure from Current SDS |
Department’s Expected Results for 2007–2008 |
Develop and implement an SD training plan for CIC covering the following topics:
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A list of training needs and existing material is drafted by December 2007. | An SD training plan for CIC that covers the principles of SD, SEAs, waste management, green procurement, fleet management and optimal use of IT. |
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 Several existing courses, training modules, tutorials, an information-sharing forum and learning activities have been identified for potential inclusion in the SD training plan. For instance, human resources-related courses, such as Diversity and Respectful Workplace training, support workplace sustainability by fostering a healthy working environment for employees. The Administrative Assistants Conference is an ideal forum to share information on green procurement practices and green meetings. CIC has also undertaken a fundamental review of overall departmental requirements for sustainable development. In 2008–2009, work will continue to focus on examining roles, responsibilities, and supporting tools such as training, that are required to support the implementation of sustainable development. The following activities were held at CIC in 2007–2008 to foster a better understanding of SD, its objectives and implications:
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Develop an integrated policy framework for citizenship to raise the profile of citizenship among newcomers and Canadian-born individuals and to promote active citizenship. | Number of community-focused citizenship ceremonies. | At least one additional community-focused citizenship ceremony. |
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 In 2007–2008, CIC held 2,897 citizenship ceremonies and realised an increase in the number of community-based ceremonies. |
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Distribute information on sustainable development and environmental issues to visa-ready immigrants, newly settled immigrants, and prospective citizens. | Number of copies of Welcome to Canada and A Newcomer’s Introduction to Canada distributed to immigrants and prospective citizens. | Maintaining distribution to 100% of immigrants. |
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 A Newcomer’s Introduction to Canada and Welcome to Canada are publications distributed to new permanent residents as they prepare to move to Canada. The distribution of these publications contributes to the sustainability of the Immigration Program by ensuring immigrants have access to basic and important information on life in Canada to help them through the first few challenging months of settling in a new country. These publications provide an overview of life in Canada, including information on essential services, health care, Canadian weather, the environment, the Canadian way of life and government. They also include information on sustainable development, its purpose and the importance of protecting the environment. |
SDS Departmental Goal: Strengthen governance and decision making to support sustainable development. | ||
Federal SD Goal: Same as SDS Departmental Goal | ||
Activity |
Performance Measure from Current SDS |
Department’s Expected Results for 2007–2008 |
CIC will contribute to a joint initiative with other government departments and the Canada School of Public Service to design and deliver new Government of Canada SD training material. |
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Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 CIC contributed $2,000 towards the development of the course, and participated in all stages of development, including taking part in an interview process with the developers, participating in the working group, reviewing the training material and attending the pilot. The course was advertised broadly from the moment delivery started in February 2008 and CIC employees have attended every session to date. |
SDS Departmental Goal: Contribute to building sustainable communities that enjoy a prosperous economy, a vibrant and equitable society, and a healthy environment for current and future generations. | ||
Federal SD Goal: Sustainable Communities | ||
Activity |
Performance Measure from Current SDS |
Department’s Expected Results for 2007–2008 |
Ensure that programming supports the successful integration of newcomers into Canadian society and their contribution to a prosperous economy. | CIC’s immigration, citizenship and refugee programs support the successful integration of newcomers into Canadian society and their contribution to a prosperous economy. For details on CIC’s performance, see previous sections of the 2007–2008 DPR. | |
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 Sustainable development goes beyond greening initiatives and environmental concerns. In fact, sustainable development is about how initiatives are carried out, regardless of the degree to which they impact the environment. CIC programs often have a very diffuse environmental impact while their impact on Canada’s socio-economic development is significant. For instance, the influx of people in Canadian cities through immigration is not very significant environmentally speaking, as it represents a small fraction of the overall population growth. However, the impacts of immigration on the source country, the host community and the immigrants themselves are much more significant and need to be carefully managed in order to be viable in the long term. Several initiatives undertaken by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as part of its regular business contribute to the sustainability of its programs. For example:
For more details on CIC’s activities please refer to Section II of this report. |
SDS Departmental Goal: Minimize the negative environmental impacts of departmental operations. | ||
Federal SD Goal: SD and use of natural resources: “Federal SD Goal V” and reduce greenhouse gas emissions | ||
Activity |
Performance Measure from Current SDS |
Department’s Expected Results for 2007–2008 |
Implement CIC’s Think Green Waste Reduction (TGWR) Plan developed and piloted under SDS III at CIC National Headquarters (NHQ). |
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Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 Five branches have developed green plans. Three of these have formed committees and have action plans as well as tracking mechanisms for greening their operations. Results to date include the development of a guide entitled Organizing Green Events at CIC, which outlines ways to green departmental conferences and meetings. |
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Revise CIC’s procurement practices to incorporate new government-wide directions on green procurement. |
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Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 Green procurement was discussed at the Administrative Assistants Conference, where a presentation was made on how to use CIC’s financial system to track green purchases. Detailed guidelines will be developed in 2008–2009 to ensure the information is tracked accurately. |
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Investigate technologies that would help reduce the energy consumption of IT equipment at NHQ. |
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Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 Three initiatives were identified in 2007–2008:
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Continue to implement the Fleet Management Program to maximize opportunities to achieve the sustainability of the Department’s vehicle fleet. |
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Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007–2008 CIC continued to track data related to its fleet of vehicles throughout 2007–2008 and set up a management system to monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using the 2005–2006 fiscal year as a baseline, CIC has reduced the GHG emissions for its fleet by 18.2%. |