Policy
Consultations, recommendations and advocacy
As a network organization, BCCIC regularly convenes its membership and the larger BC community for consultations, input on national initiatives, policy recommendations and feedback on matters that involve Canadian civil society. As a coordinating body, BCCIC is able to represent and advocate on behalf of the network to the Provincial and Federal governments.
Below is a list of some policy documents BCCIC has released or projects that are currently underway. A full list of our resources and publications, including publications by the BCCIC Climate Change team, can be found under Publications.
Young Voices, Powerful Choices
BCCIC’s Youth Delegation Selection and Support Guidelines
Many organizations and institutions require guidance in order to learn how to effectively channel youth’s unique perspectives, talents for innovative thinking and creative problem-solving, while also providing them with effective learning and mentorship opportunities that foster inclusion, diversity and meaningful participation. For this reason, BCCIC youth volunteers have undertaken primary and secondary research in order to develop a set of guidelines and a user-friendly checklist for the selection and support of youth delegates in the context of the 2030 Agenda.
Localizing the 2030 Agenda in British Columbia
On March 3rd, 2020 BCCIC invited representatives from lead provincial CSOs to provide input on Canada’s interim national SDG strategy.
This report details a British Columbian civil society response to the Government of Canada’s current interim national Sustainable Development Goals strategy. The report provides feedback on the interim strategy and Canada’s engagement with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including recommendations linked to the interim strategy’s key actions. At this time it represents the only provincial scale civil society consultation on the strategy in Canada. While the following section on “What we heard” captures common themes on how to improve the strategy and Canada’s engagement with the SDGs, the report then concludes with recommendations synthesized from these suggestions on the ways in which we can strengthen and enact the interim national SDG strategy.
Coalitions Research
Having a range of stakeholders in a coalition ensures broader societal participation in realizing the SDGs and improves access to resources, but also creates more synergies.
Multi-stakeholder 2030 Agenda coalitions are emerging around the world and making valuable contributions to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In partnership with Cooperation Canada, Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD) and Forus International, BCCIC conducted quantitative and qualitative research on coalitions. This included a literature review, desk-based review of 72 coalitions focused on the 2030 Agenda and interviews with members of 13 coalitions (10 national, one regional and two global in scope) in Argentine, Bangladesh, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Ghana, India, Italy, Kenya Nepal and the United Kingdom. This brief provides a series of good practices followed by evidence-informed recommendations to strengthen governance and overall efforts of 2030 Agenda coalitions to trigger accelerated and transformative actions for sustainable development.
Reading Between the Lines: Accelerated Implementation of Agenda 2030
The report reflects on the progress that Canada has made when considering interlinkages and the 2030 Agenda.
With only ten years remaining to achieve the SDGs, Reading Between the Lines: Accelerated Implementation for Agenda 2030 focuses on key mechanisms and considerations that can accelerate SDG implementation. This report ultimately describes how interlinkages have been understood and utilized by policymakers and practitioners in different sectors and at varying scales across the country. The report offers concrete examples of transformative principles in action. Each of the report’s seven chapters were researched and written by subject matter experts from across Canada.
Raising Ambition: Young Canadians’ recommendations for an enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement
Increased NDC ambition is absolutely critical for bringing the transformative change to ensure that the IPCC recommendations are met.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are countries’ official climate commitments to the Paris Agreement. Canada submitted its first NDC to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2017, however it does not reflect Canada’s fair share of emissions reductions and climate finance to meet the Paris target of halting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Civil society around the world are calling upon governments to submit revised, more ambitious NDCs to the UN.
This policy brief was published by BCCIC’s youth-led delegation to the UN Climate conference in Madrid (COP25). It outlines specific recommendations for Canada to include in an enhanced NDC, spanning topics from a new emissions target, putting Indigenous rights at the forefront of climate action, and considering how Canada’s climate finance, gender equality, agriculture and nature conservation policies can be part of a progressive commitment to the Paris Agreement.
Where Canada Stands
In terms of achieving peace, justice and strong institutions, Canada has made a considerable amount of progress, as it established the SDG Unit to coordinate efforts across ministries and departments to address the achievement of the SDGs.
In order to provide a fuller picture of sustainable development in Canada – one that takes into account our country’s geographic and demographic diversity – BCCIC decided to complete the Where Canada Stands Report Series from the perspective of civil society in Canada. These reports assesses SDG implementation in Canada through the guiding question: “who is getting left behind?” For each SDG under review, both the national and sub-national contexts were considered through regional analysis and the presentation of case studies. Each report reviews the portion of the 17 SDGs that are being focused on at the HLPF – except for SDG 17, which is reviewed every year. The year 2019 marked the end of a review cycle whereby all the goals will have been formally reviewed on a global scale.
Canada’s 2030 Agenda: National Strategy and Implementation
A key element in ensuring whole-of-society approaches to 2030 Agenda implementation is the establishment of formal arrangements for effective multi-stakeholder engagement.
Formal arrangements for effective multi-stakeholder engagement are a key element in ensuring whole-of-society approaches to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Based on a review from around the world, this policy brief provides a series of recommendations for how the Canadian government can develop effective mechanisms for multi-stakeholder engagement. This policy brief outlines emerging standard and good practices with respect to the establishment of long-term mechanisms for multi-stakeholder engagement on the 2030 Agenda with the aim of informing Canada’s approach.