2. Canada and the post-2015 process
Open Working Group (OWG): Canada in a troika with
United States and Israel
Canada contributed financially to the UN consultations
organized between October 2012 and March 2013 in
over 100 countries and on 11 thematic issues
[conflict and fragility, education, energy, environmental sustainability, food
security and nutrition, governance, growth and employment, health,
inequalities, population dynamics, and water]
Canada co-sponsored the UN consultation on education
3. Post-2015 within DFATD
Department-wide post-2015 thematic working groups
(mirroring OWG process) - monthly meetings and
discussions on following themes:
• 1) health, MNCH (including nutrition), 2) food security and
nutrition, 3) children and youth (including education), 4)
gender equality, 5) environmental sustainability (including
natural resource management, energy and climate change), 6)
fragile and conflict affected states and security, 7) governance
and human rights, 8) the private sector, jobs and growth,
extractives and infrastructure, 9) financing for development,
and 10) accountability, measurement and results
4. Post-2015 within DFATD
In addition there are also focal points for discussions
related to the following:
• program coherence,
• partnership,
• legal,
• trade,
• key UN Missions.
5. Post-2015 within DFATD
To coordinate these processes, there is a DFATD Core
Coordination Team.
There is also an inter-departmental working group at the
Director-General level which has met five or six times so
far. Given the focus on sustainable development,
Environment Canada is involved in this.
6. Canada’s priorities for post-2015
• Lynne Yellich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and
Consular), laid out some guiding principles in
September 2013 when she delivered a speech at a
High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the
realization of the MDGs.
• The principles have helped inform DFATD’s work
looking ahead to 2015.
7. Four thematic priorities for post-2015
1. The poorest and most vulnerable people, including
women and children, should continue to be at the
core of the post-2015 development agenda.
2. Advancing maternal and child health - building on
Canada’s flagship Maternal Newborn and Child Health
(MNCH) initiative.
3. Focusing on job creation (including decent work) and
economic growth, to reflect current realities and what
was missing from the MDG agenda
8. Four thematic priorities for post-2015
4. Strengthening results and accountability. Working
with Stats Canada, Canada is working with Stats
Canada and supporting the UNDP to administer a
global round of consultations, including co-sponsoring
the United Nations dialogue on Participatory
Monitoring for Accountability, in collaboration with
others.
9. More details from Open Working Group-11
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/owg11.html
Emphasis on:
• targets should be formulated in a way that puts the
emphasis on outcomes rather than on inputs
• strong support for stand-alone goals on gender
equality and food security
• importance of private sector-led growth, of a
favorable business climate and of women’s
economic empowerment
• importance of clear and measurable targets
10. Canadian consultations
There has been some consultation of civil society on
post-2015 through round tables in Ottawa and Mexico
recently (March-April 2014).
DFATD is planning to engage in more consultations over
the coming months around post-2015, but there is no
concrete plan for that yet.
Government officials are open to various forms of formal
and informal consultations with civil society – especially
through the leads of the thematic working groups.
11. Upcoming activities
• Listserv for civil society on post-2015 (write to
dcote@ccic.ca to be added)
• Brief on post-2015: the international process and
Canada’s plans and priorities
• Civil society meetings in Ottawa, Montreal and
Toronto
• Learning events, webinars