Canada’s commitments to United Nations pacts have motivated policy decisions in many ways over the years.
In September, Canada ratified the U.N.’s new Pact for the Future, a broad agreement that aims to strengthen previous pacts and sets goals for many areas of governance, including the internet, artificial intelligence, plastic waste, and weapons.
The wording of U.N. agreements is often broad and it can be hard to tell how they will be enacted in each member state. A look at Canada’s actions on previous U.N. agreements may give an idea of what is to come under the Pact for the Future.
While Canadian policy has historically been influenced by pacts such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, policy related to the more recent agreements may give a better idea of what’s ahead. Such pacts include the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Paris Agreement
Canada ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 which has as its primary goal to limit the global average “temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” by 2050. It doesn’t specify national emissions targets, but sets out the expectation that each nation will make increasing cuts based on its capabilities.At the time, Canada committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Ottawa increased that target in 2021 to at least 40 percent and by passing legislation, committed Canada to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Several provinces have also legislated targets.
The Paris Agreement says developed countries should provide international climate finance to developing countries. It does not specify an amount, but says “mobilization of climate finance should represent a progression beyond previous efforts.” Canada dedicated $5.3 billion between 2021 and 2026.
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The agreement says efforts to decrease emissions must include “a just transition of the workforce,” referring to energy sector workers. Ottawa introduced “just transition” legislation in June 2023. Bill C-50, or the Sustainable Jobs Act, received royal assent on June 24 this year. It met with pushback from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called it an attempt to shut down Alberta’s oil and gas industry.
Canada made further policy announcements in December last year at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference, including a cap on oil and gas industry emissions. The cap requires at least 35 percent lower emissions from 2019 levels by 2030, and allows companies to buy carbon offset credits or pay into a “decarbonization fund” to help meet the requirements.
Participants walk under banners on day six of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference at Expo City Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 5, 2023. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The initiatives faced opposition by the energy-rich provinces. Smith again called it an attack on Alberta’s economy and a “de facto production cap” on the province’s oil and gas sector. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also condemned the framework. Moe and Smith have said their provinces are reducing emissions in other ways, including through investment in renewable energy. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it’s an “attack on Canadian workers and Canada’s world-class energy industry.”
Ottawa said in its announcement of the policy that cutting emissions is critical and it is a “limit on pollution, not production,” since the latter would be in the provincial jurisdiction as resource development. The ability to buy carbon offset credits, it said, will allow for the flexibility to continue meeting global demand for oil and gas.
The Pact for the Future calls for the acceleration of emissions cuts and reaffirmation of the Paris Agreement.
Sustainable Development Goals
Canada was among the U.N. member states that adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015. It sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be met by 2030; they include eradicating extreme poverty, fostering peace and justice, and reducing inequality.The government’s 2024 Annual Report on Canada’s progress toward meeting these goals names many policies and funding decisions.
Some initiatives, particularly foreign aid commitments, have been established directly to meet SDG commitments. It’s not clear in all cases, however, if policies are developed to follow U.N. guidelines, or if they would be introduced regardless.
The government’s annual report counts many of its own core policies toward SDG progress, including the Dental Care Plan, Disability Benefit Act, National Child Care Plan, Housing Accelerator Fund, and National School Food Program.
The first goal is to eliminate extreme poverty—defined as people living on less than US$1.25 daily—and decrease the overall number of people living in poverty by 50 percent. Ottawa says many of these programs will help reduce poverty levels.
The Disability Benefit Act that was passed last year, for example, aims to pull some disabled Canadians out of poverty by topping up provincial payments. It has also been hailed as a way to fulfill the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Canada signed in 2007.
The report focuses on a few of the SDGs that were up for review this year. One of them is No. 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The report includes Canada’s Online Harms Act as contributing to SDG 16. The act is intended to “hold online platforms accountable and keep Canadians safe from hateful and harmful content online, including strong protections for children.” The Online Harms Act, Bill C-63, was tabled in February.
The "Palais des Nations", which houses the United Nations Offices, is seen at the end of the flag-lined front lawn in Geneva on Sept. 4, 2018. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
The Pact for the Future includes a “Global Digital Compact” and seeks to reaffirm the U.N.’s Internet Governance Forum as the primary multi-stakeholder platform for discussion of Internet governance issues. This may signal further U.N.-influenced policy changes about online activity in member states in the years to come.
The Pact for the Future says states should “address the risks to sustaining peace posed by disinformation, misinformation, hate speech and content inciting harm, including content disseminated through digital platforms, while respecting the right to freedom of expression and to privacy and ensuring unhindered access to the internet in accordance with international law, domestic legislation and national policies.”
Under SDG 16, Ottawa’s report lists several other federal policies. One is Bill C-75, passed in 2019, that the Liberal government says will address the “overrepresentation of Indigenous persons and of individuals from vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system.” The Conservatives say it has made it easier for repeat violent offenders to get out on bail.
Another is Bill C-66, currently in the second reading in the House of Commons, which would “make additional historically unjust 2SLGBTQI+ offences eligible for expungement.” Others include the National Action Plan to End Gender‑Based Violence, Truth and Reconciliation initiatives, and Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.
The Pact for the Future asks members to reaffirm commitments to the SDGs.
“We will urgently accelerate progress towards achieving the goals, including through concrete political steps and mobilizing significant additional financing from all sources for sustainable development, with special attention to the needs of those in special situations and creating opportunities for young people,” it says.
UNDRIP
Canada’s 2007 Conservative federal government rejected the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), but it was adopted in 2016 by the Liberal government. UNDRIP sets standards for the “survival, dignity, and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the worlds.” It includes directives on ensuring “free, prior and informed consent” for actions affecting them.The Conservative government said it rejected the framework because it “is fundamentally flawed and lacks clear, practical guidance for implementation, and contains provisions that are fundamentally incompatible with Canada’s constitutional framework.” It added that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms already sufficiently protected the rights of indigenous Canadians.
The Liberal government, however, said that adopting UNDRIP “confirms Canada’s commitment to a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples” and would advance reconciliation.
UNDRIP legislation passed into law in Canada in 2021. The declaration requires members to prepare and implement action plans nationally. Canada’s plan was released in 2023 and includes 181 measures to address “injustices, prejudice, violence, systemic racism and discrimination” toward indigenous peoples.
The symbol of the United Nations at U.N. headquarters on Feb. 28, 2022. AP Photo/John Minchillo, File
UNDRIP was a subject of controversy ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election. The B.C. Conservatives vowed to repeal it, with party leader John Rustad saying it was “established for conditions in other countries—not Canada.”
Rustad said in a Sept. 30 statement, however, that the Conservative Party would honour UNDRIP “as it was intended: not as an obstacle to development, but as a guiding principle for recognizing Indigenous rights and aspirations.”
The provincial government proposed amending B.C.’s Land Act earlier this year to allow for shared decision-making with indigenous governing bodies on public land use.
Opposition arose due to concerns that the move would effectively give those bodies the power to veto how Crown land is used, impacting farms, mines, hydro, and forestry projects.
Rustad criticized the proposal as an “assault” on property rights and major industries in the province. To achieve reconciliation, B.C. should focus on “returning land to First Nations, who do not currently have sufficient property rights needed to secure prosperity,” he said in a Feb. 1 statement.
Following stakeholder and public consultations between January and February, the government decided not to proceed with the proposal, citing the need to take the time to further engage with people.
WHO Pandemic Treaty
The World Health Organization, which is part of the U.N. system, proposed a pandemic preparedness treaty earlier this year.Ottawa supports the agreement, which has yet to pass, and has said it’s working with other countries to strengthen Canada’s pandemic response.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Canada in 2022 as a “leading voice” on making it through the pandemic as well as on preparation for “future pandemics.”
Conservative MP and former party leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis, however, has said the agreement could erode Canada’s sovereignty. In December 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing, all 194 WHO member states agreed to launch an intergovernmental negotiating body to create a new convention or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Lewis said that under the treaty, the WHO could impose a range of measures in Canada, including lockdowns and other restrictions, and mandate vaccines. In a May 2022 YouTube video, she said if Canada signed on, “it would result in turning over our health-care sovereignty” to the WHO. Lewis said Canada stated its support for at least a partially legally binding treaty in official comments provided to the WHO in September 2022.
WHO, for its part, says it would be up to each country to decide “if and what compliance mechanisms would be included in the new accord,” and that those mechanisms would have to be performed by the countries in “good faith.”
The report from the negotiating body’s July 2022 meeting said it was agreed that “the instrument should be legally binding and contain both legally binding as well as non-legally binding elements.”
A man enters the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 15, 2021. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Pact for the Future
The Pact for the Future emphasizes the strengthening of “multilateralism.”“Today, our multilateral system, constructed in the aftermath of the Second World War, is under unprecedented strain,“ it said. ”We will take action to strengthen and reinvigorate multilateralism and deepen international cooperation.”
It lists 56 wide-ranging pledges. Among them is a recommitment to nuclear disarmament, greater funding for developing countries to meet the SDGs, changes to global financial institutions, expansion of the U.N. Security council, and more.
It includes a pledge to “work towards the conclusion of an international legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution” by the end of the year. The United States has pushed back on a U.N. Plastics Treaty due to its focus on limiting production of plastic, not just recycling. But the United States has reportedly shifted its position on the matter.
The pact and pledges are broad, making it difficult to know how they will impact Canadian policy in coming years. During the U.N. General Assembly in September, where the Pact for the Future was adopted, Canada made some funding announcements.
The largest was $112 million “to help protect the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls worldwide.” Trudeau emphasized the role of gender equality in achieving sustainable development.
The pact has met with opposition from Republicans in the United States, but no loud voices of opposition have emerged among elected officials in Canada.
“We can’t give up any more of our sovereignty, any more of our geopolitical integrity, or any more of our economic integrity to foreign actors who have no concerns for the United States of America other than to take our power and money away,” said Republican Congressman Andy Biggs during a press conference criticizing the pact ahead of its adoption in September.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
