Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Highlights

The health of Canadians and the country’s social and economic progress are highly dependent on the quality of the environment. Recognizing this, efforts are being directed towards providing more accessible and integrated information on society, the economy and the environment to help guide the actions of Canadians and their governments.

Environment Canada, Statistics Canada and Health Canada are working together to further develop and communicate national environmental indicators of air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater quality—measuring sticks that can track progress by governments, industries and individuals in protecting and improving the environment. These indicators were first reported in Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) 2005 and have been updated and further developed in this year’s report:

The greenhouse gas emissions indicator tracks the annual releases of the six greenhouse gases that are the major contributors to climate change. The indicator comes directly from the greenhouse gas inventory report prepared by Environment Canada for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The freshwater quality indicator reports the status of surface freshwater quality at selected monitoring sites across the country, including the Great Lakes and, for the first time in this report, northern Canada. The indicator uses the Water Quality Index, endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, to summarize the extent to which water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life (plants, invertebrates and fish) are exceeded in Canadian rivers and lakes. The focus on protection of aquatic life provides the most broadly based indicator of water quality, best reflecting the level of ecosystem health in freshwater bodies across Canada.

These Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators are designed to supplement traditional social and economic measures, such as employment levels and the Gross Domestic Product, so that Canadians can better understand the relationships that exist among the economy, the environment and human health and well-being. They are intended to assist those in government who are responsible for developing policy and measuring performance, as well as offering all Canadians information about environmental sustainability in Canada.

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