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Appendix III: Consultations

Appendix III-1: Stakeholder Consultations

In the development of its first sustainable development strategy, Industry Canada employed a stakeholder consultation approach that was based on three principles:

• involve stakeholders early;
• concentrate on efficient and effective consultations, rather than elaborate consultations; and
• adopt an interactive and iterative approach with stakeholders.

In 1999, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development reviewed the sustainable development strategy consultations and found high levels of satisfaction among stakeholders. The Commissioner identified Industry Canada as one of the seven departments with the best consultation process.

Industry Canada's stakeholder consultation for SDS II builds upon the experience gained from the first strategy. The consultation plan for the second strategy comprises three phases: 

• early consultation activities;
• review of draft strategy by a committee of expert advisors; and
• second review through stakeholder consultations.

Early Consultation Activities

Industry Canada engaged in a number of early consultation activities to determine the general scope of the strategy prior to the development of a draft document. The Department held preliminary meetings with external stakeholders, conducted internal and external issues scans, conducted a mid-term evaluation, and participated in other important fora. These activities were used as the basis from which to develop the broad sustainable development themes discussed in the strategy. Two key activities are discussed below.

External Issues Scan

The External Issues Scan was conducted to obtain initial views from stakeholders outside the Department on key sustainable development issues, opportunities for action and constraints. The scan exercise was completed in December 1999 and is summarized in Appendix II-2. The results of the scan, with the results of the other two foundation pieces (the Internal Issues Scan and the Mid-Term Evaluation) were made available and were considered in the expert advisors' review, as well as the second review by stakeholders.

Leaders' Forum on Sustainable Development

The Leaders' Forum on Sustainable Development was held in Ottawa, April 4, 2000, as a coordinated launch of consultations by federal government departments. Industry Canada participated in the forum at the senior management level.

The purpose of the forum was to bring together a group of both government and non-government leaders to discuss the sustainable development challenges and opportunities facing Canada. In this respect, the government was seeking advice and feedback on a proposal to better coordinate its approach to advancing sustainable development across departments in eight theme areas (e.g. productivity through eco-efficiency, knowledge and information, sustainable government operations), using the updated sustainable development strategies as the primary vehicle. The participants expressed a common desire to have the federal government: 

• articulate a vision, goals and objectives for sustainable development;
• establish focus, integrate decision making and coordinate activities; and
• engage Canadians in decision-making processes.

Review of Draft Strategy by Expert Advisors Committee

The Expert Advisors Committee is a group of experts invited by the Department to provide specific guidance and advice on the draft strategy. The seven members reflected the Department's broad range of clients, including industry, industry associations, academia, and environmental and consumers groups. The consultation session was held in Ottawa, June 13, 2000.

The advisory group concluded that Industry Canada is on the right track and is much further along than it was at this point three years ago. The general themes that emerged from the committee were as follows: 

• The sustainable development strategy should be more explicitly aligned with the overall departmental strategic objectives.
• The Department should be more proactive, ambitious and broader in its vision for sustainable development and should move from incremental thinking to "breakthrough" thinking.
• To achieve this broader vision, leadership and engagement from the top is critical. In addition, a senior departmental champion should be specified in the sustainable development strategy.
• The Department should endeavour to consider, measure and report on the sustainable development results it is achieving in Canadian society, not only the completion of discrete activities.
• Areas that require more work and could possibly form new objectives are market influences on sustainable development and the social dimension of sustainable development.
• The Department should communicate and collaborate more with other agencies within the Industry Portfolio and across government to help achieve its objectives.

Coordinated Consultation Event on Sustainable Development with the Canadian Environmental Industries Association On August 21, 2000, Industry Canada joined with 12 other federal departments in hosting a one-day coordinated consultation with members of the Canadian Environmental Industries Association (CEIA). The purpose of the event was to provide a forum for dialogue between federal departments and the environmental industry sector, regarding the federal government approach to sustainable development, departmental sustainable development strategies and the related interests of the environmental industry sector. The event drew together representatives from 13 federal departments and close to 30 members of the CEIA. It provided for a valuable exchange of views and was a step forward for collective thinking on sustainable development. Participants discussed opportunities for future collaboration, and identified barriers and possible solutions to advancing sustainable development.

Members of the committee received revised versions of the draft strategy in September 2000.

Second Review Through Stakeholder Consultations

The objective of the consultation process was to seek the perspectives of clients, partners and stakeholders on departmental priorities and how to achieve them. The stakeholders included industry, industry associations, non-governmental organizations, environmental non-governmental organizations, Aboriginal groups, business groups, academics, provincial government officials, and conservation and wildlife groups. Industry Canada used a wide variety of tools to consult outside the Department. The Department organized regional consultation meetings to seek perspectives on the draft strategy. A revised strategy was sent to a list of 245 potential participants in early September, with an invitation to attend a regional stakeholder consultation session. In addition, those unable to attend in person were invited to respond by means of a feedback questionnaire posted with the draft strategy on Strategis, the departmental Web site. The first consultation was held in Montréal, September 26, 2000, and a second consultation was held in Toronto, September 28, 2000. In addition, the Department conducted a series of bilateral telephone interviews with key individuals it considers to have important perspectives on sustainable development.

In summary, the views of the stakeholders consulted for the second review are the following: 

• There should be more integration with the Department's mandate and strategic objectives and more emphasis on implementation and the measurement of results.
• The Department needs to raise awareness of environmental and sustainable development challenges among industry and the public, as well as provide opportunities for partnerships with stakeholders.
• Some areas that could be further developed include the social dimension of sustainable development; the use of voluntary, economic and information instruments to advance sustainable development; the significance of competitiveness; and recognition of industry progress.
• Industry Canada should increase its efforts to promote, develop and advance eco-efficiency through voluntary measures, as well as through research, development, demonstration and education initiatives.
• Environmental technology innovation should have a higher profile delivery in program vehicles, and the knowledge base on the benefits of environmental technologies should be expanded.
• The Department should strengthen the role of senior management, the progress reporting capacity, as well as the awareness and expertise of staff to more effectively integrate sustainable development into decision making.

Participants also made numerous comments on the specific initiatives and commitments within the document. Industry Canada recorded and documented all the input it received and has drawn upon this information in the preparation of the final version of the sustainable development strategy.

Appendix III-2: Consultations within Industry Canada and with Other Departments

In the preparation of its strategy, Industry Canada provided a number of avenues for staff to comment and contribute inputs. The steering committee, which represented different parts of the Department and was established to guide the development of the strategy, played a key role in seeking and integrating staff comments. In addition, the sustainable development training course, the Internal Issues Scan, the Mid-Term Evaluation conducted on the first strategy, and a direct appeal to all staff on a draft of the strategy were used as vehicles to obtain staff comments. Finally, the draft strategy was posted on the Sustainable Development Web site, where staff and external stakeholders could provide comments.

Industry Canada also sought inputs from other government departments through a number of means. These included the Interdepartmental Network for Sustainable Development Strategies, bilateral meetings, focussed multilateral meetings and workshops, and interdepartmental senior management committees.