41 Agencies Removed from Federal Sustainable Development Act

Summary#

The Order Amending the Schedule to the Federal Sustainable Development Act removes 41 named federal organizations from the list of bodies that must prepare departmental sustainable development strategies under the Federal Sustainable Development Act. The Order took effect when it was registered on February 13, 2026.

What it does#

• Removes, by name, 41 federal organizations from the Act’s schedule. Those are mostly small bodies (39) plus 2 security‑related organizations.
• Stops those organizations from having to prepare a Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS) and the related annual progress reports required by the Act.
• Leaves 59 other designated entities still subject to the Act and its reporting rules, so the government says the overall “whole‑of‑government” approach to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy remains.
• The change is administrative. The government did not hold public consultations on the Order and says the exempted organizations generally do not have mandates tied to the Act’s three pillars (environment, social, economic).

Examples of organizations exempted (not a full list): Office of the Auditor General, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Communications Security Establishment, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Parole Board of Canada.

Who's affected#

• The 41 named federal organizations that are removed from the schedule. These are mainly smaller agencies and two security‑related bodies.
• The 59 remaining designated entities, which will continue to prepare DSDSs and progress reports.
• The general public and businesses are unlikely to see direct effects. The change mainly reduces internal reporting duties for the exempted organizations.
• The Order states it does not affect Indigenous rights or modern treaties and did not involve Indigenous consultation.

Why it matters#

• It reduces paperwork and reporting time for the 41 named organizations that the government judged not well positioned to contribute meaningfully to the federal sustainable development strategy.
• It lets Environment‑led reporting focus on departments and agencies with direct mandates related to sustainability.
• There could be a small loss of transparency about sustainability commitments at the exempted organizations, although the government says much of the same information is reported elsewhere and any impacts are expected to be negligible.
• Overall, this is an administrative adjustment to lower internal burden rather than a change to the government’s obligation to publish the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.