Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - Citizenship and Immigration Canada


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

Sustainable Development

Implementation of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) fourth Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) started in 2007–2008, and had the following goals:

  1. Promote awareness of sustainable development principles and objectives among departmental staff, clients and stakeholders;
  2. Strengthen governance and decision making to support sustainable development;
  3. Contribute to building sustainable communities that enjoy a prosperous economy, a vibrant and equitable society, and a healthy environment for current and future generations; and
  4. Minimize the negative environmental impacts of departmental operations.

The main accomplishments in 2007–2008 include:

  • Implementation of the communications plan developed during SDS III;
  • Development of new management tools for SD;
  • Preliminary work to review CIC’s SD requirements, clarify roles and responsibilities, and strengthen procedures; and
  • Development of a training course on SD.

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:
  • Principles of SD
  • Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs)
  • Waste Management
  • Green Procurement
  • Fleet Management
  • Optimal Use of Information Technologies (IT).
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:

  • Creation of a SD Newsletter (two (2) issues were distributed; one on environmental sustainability, one on socio-economic development).
  • Coordination of three (3) awareness campaigns: Environment Week, Socio-Economic Development Week and a panel of Equity in the context of Immigration.
  • Promotion of the new introductory course on sustainable development offered by the Canada School of Public Service and of the strategic environmental assessment course offered by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
  • Presentation on green procurement at the 2007–2008 Administrative Assistant Conference.
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 20072008

In 2007–2008, CIC held 2,897 citizenship ceremonies and realised an increase in the number of community-based ceremonies.

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 20072008

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.
  • Funds invested.
  • Training material reviewed.
  • Contribution to the development of the training material.
  • Input for 100% of material submitted for review by March 2007 and thereafter.
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 20072008

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 20072008

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:

  • Research and evaluation initiatives enable CIC to gather data essential to understanding complex issues inherent to its mandate and to strengthening the sustainability of its programs;
  • The Integration Program contributes to a sustainable Immigration Program by providing newcomers with the tools and assistance they need to ease their transition into life in Canada;
  • The Immigration and Temporary Resident Programs contribute to an enriching and ongoing exchange between Canada and the rest of the world by facilitating the movement of people across our borders while protecting the health and safety of Canadian society;
  • By participating in programs such as the Global Forum on Migration and Development and through its Refugee Program, CIC recognizes that Canada is part of the global community and has an active role to play on the international scene to further global sustainability.

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).
  • Number of branches in which the Plan is implemented.
  • Amount of paper purchased per branch.
  • Number of ink cartridges purchased per branch.
  • TGWR Plan is implemented in at least six branches at CIC NHQ by March 2008.
  • Previously achieved waste reduction levels are maintained.
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 20072008

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.

Revise CIC’s procurement practices to incorporate new government-wide directions on green procurement.
  • Description of tracking and monitoring methodologies.
  • Number of SD/green procurement working groups or meetings where CIC is represented.
  • CIC administrative assistants receive information on green procurement twice a year through CIC’s Administrative Assistants Conference.
  • 100% participation in SD/green procurement working groups.
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 20072008

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.

Investigate technologies that would help reduce the energy consumption of IT equipment at NHQ.
  • Number of options identified.
  • A list of options is drafted and presented to senior management.
  • Number of technologies introduced/proposed.
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 20072008

Three initiatives were identified in 2007–2008:

  • Optimization of the performance of the cooling system to reduce energy consumption of the air conditioning units.
  • Replacement of 1,134 cathode-ray tube monitors with liquid crystal display monitors for an estimated total saving of 123,092 KWh per year.
  • Consolidation of underutilized servers into one centralized virtual centre server environment, for a reduction of electricity consumption by an estimated 10,000 watts per year.
Continue to implement the Fleet Management Program to maximize opportunities to achieve the sustainability of the Department’s vehicle fleet.
  • Fleet’s fuel performance and emissions.
  • Number of vehicles that meet new emissions (or other SD) standards.
  • Fleet performance is maintained or improved.
  • Number of vehicles is maintained or reduced.
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 20072008

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%.