2001 October Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Planning

Developed a good understanding of many threats facing the basin.

Established plans and identified priorities for many issues.

Many commitments and priorities to deal with key threats to the basin's sustainability are general and vague, and results are difficult to measure.

Many specific long-term outcomes desired for the basin have not been identified, and related plans have not been developed.

Funding has declined, is unstable, and is insufficient to meet all commitments.

Using tools

Developed and implemented a range of tools to address specific issues in the basin.

Only some tools in the federal tool box are being used.

Whether the tools used are sufficient to manage threats to the basin has not been assessed.

A consistent, co-ordinated basin-wide approach to issues that span the basin is lacking.

Federal science activity is weakened. There are significant gaps in scientific knowledge needed to understand and manage threats to the basin.

Working with others

Established effective partnerships at the local, provincial, federal, and international levels.

Engaged local citizens.

Roles and responsibilities—who is responsible for what—are often unclear.

Accountability arrangements with partners to make sure federal objectives are met are weak.

Getting results

Achieved gains in several areas.

Many key commitments have not been met; many key initiatives have not been completed; departments are spreading their efforts thin.

Monitoring and reporting

Collected and disseminated information on a variety of topics.

Developed some environmental indicators.

Developed some indicators for measuring performance.

Data gathered to understand the nature and trends of key threats to the basin are insufficient and inconsistent.

Development of indicators of the state of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River is unco-ordinated.

How federal activities have improved the basin's sustainability has not been analyzed or demonstrated.

Information to Parliament and others does not afford a clear understanding of federal progress.