Knowledge Resources & Publications

ISBN (Print) : 978-1-77368-183-2 | ISBN (Online) : 978-1-77368-184-9

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Indigenous Peoples in Canada

October 2018

In 2015, the United Nations released a new 15-year agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unlike its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals Agenda, which focused on eradicating hunger and poverty in only the poorest countries, the SDGs Agenda aims to eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere, while also addressing the global challenge of sustainable development. This report provides a brief history of the SDGs and an overview of Indigenous peoples in Canada. It then assesses the current state of progress on the SDG targets for Indigenous peoples in Canada and suggests ways that the SDG agenda can be used to improve Indigenous peoples’ socio-economic and health outcomes. The report underscores the role that poverty plays in the health disparities Indigenous people face and the need for comprehensive poverty alleviation strategies that address the various situations that lead to and result from poverty to ensure Indigenous people in Canada are not left behind during the period of the SDGs. This includes addressing issues related to environmental conservation and development, Indigenous peoples’ self-determination, governance, and land rights, as well as socio-economic inequities.

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