Canada's Green Plan: Unique Approach to Preserving Environment

Abstract

Canada's Green Plan is one of the most comprehensive national environmental strategies in the industrialized world. Adding $3 billion (Canadian) over six years to the $1.3 billion Canada's federal government already spends annually on environmental protection, the Green Plan is designed to clean up polluted sites, prevent future pollution, and build national and international partnerships to confront the world's environmental problems. This strategy is based on sustainable development, the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the hopes of the future. The Green Plan incorporates the principles of sustainable development into decision making at every level of the Canadian government. By making environmental information accessible to the public, the Green Plan is also intended to influence decisions made by all Canadians. The Green Plan challenges Canada's 27,290,000 citizens and their neighbors across the border and around the world to take responsibility for how their actions affect the global environment.