A coalition of civil society organizations argues that Canada will not meet the 2030 targets it set for itself under a United Nations initiative to reduce inequalities around the world.
The “Sustainable Development Goals” are a set of benchmarks around issues such as poverty and gender equality that states have agreed to pursue at home while funding programs to help developing countries.
In an address Wednesday to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said Ottawa is making good progress toward these goals in Canada, particularly through its national child care program.
But a coalition of civil society organizations, which also sent a delegation to New York, says Canada lacks adequate data and consultation procedures to paint a picture of what certain groups, particularly Indigenous and disabled people.
These organizations, which also advocate for women and seniors, note that Canada is not on track to meet several goals by the seven-year deadline of 2030.
Minister Gould replied that she is open to such criticism and that she will follow up with the organizations.
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