| Good environmental policy is vital to achieving sustainable development. More important, perhaps, is ensuring that all policy, regardless of its focus, supports sustainable development. The federal government has two requirements to support the inclusion of environmental factors and sustainable development in its policies, plans and programs: the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (Government of Canada, 2004a) and the sustainable development strategies required by the Auditor General Act, 1985. The Directive requires that federal proposals be subject to strategic environmental assessments. Sustainable development strategies establish environmental, economic and social objectives for federal departments and guide policy development. Using a grounded-theory approach and a survey of federal policy advisors, the researcher evaluates the level of awareness and consistency of application of these tools within six federal departments. The research supports sustainable governance by assessing benefits of increased interaction among these tools and by proposing actions to increase their effective application. |
