You have a lot of very useful questions there.
One of the things we have to distinguish between is reporting on how the whole country is doing--this idea of a portrait--and understanding that the Government of Canada is not responsible for everything that happens in the country but it is responsible for at least letting the country know how we're doing. That's one aspect on the reporting.
The other aspect is how is the federal government itself doing--that is to say, not only how do federal departments behave, as we've asked them for their sustainable development strategies, but what is the consequence of their polices? I think that's what we've been missing. No one has asked, for example, in the last ten years the Department of Finance to give an account of what its tax breaks for the oil sands have meant for the environment. It's not simply about government operations. It's about the impact of government actions on the whole national picture.
In terms of your question on other countries, there is a very useful document. I'm going to suggest we circulate this--en français et en anglais--if we haven't done so, since this was the source of what we're talking about. It is from the David Suzuki Foundation. This document from January 2007 is called Toward a National Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada. In that document there are examples given of countries that already have national sustainable development strategies. In fact, Canada is the only country of 19 countries reviewed in a recent evaluation of sustainability planning that does not have an integrated national sustainable development strategy.
For example, the United Kingdom has a single comprehensive strategy and uses a senior government coordinating committee to prepare and implement the strategy. The U.K. coordinates national and regional strategies. Sweden and Denmark also have sectorally integrated strategies that are coordinated by central agencies and with local governments. There are lots of examples out there, many of which are quoted in the Suzuki document.