The BCO was established by Environment Canada in September 1991 to coordinate Canadian involvement in the negotiations of the Convention. Following Canada's ratification of the Convention in December 1992, attention shifted to development of a Canadian response. Under the guidance of the BCO, a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group was charged by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment with developing the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. In 1996, all jurisdictions signed a statement of commitment to use the Strategy as a guide to implementing the Convention in Canada. In 2005, Ministers instructed the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group to develop a corresponding outcomes-based framework for guiding and monitoring implementation of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. This Biodiversity Outcomes Framework was approved by Ministers responsible for Environment, Forests, Parks, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Wildlife in October 2006.
