Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

2001 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Chapter 2 - Sustainable Development Management Systems

Chapter 3 - Reporting on Sustainable Development: Is the System Working?

Thank you Mr. Chairman. With me are my colleagues John Reed and Tedd Wood.

The position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development was created by Parliament in 1995, through amendments to the Auditor General Act. These amendments obligated federal departments to prepare sustainable development strategies and gave the Commissioner responsibility to report to Parliament on the progress made by departments in implementing their strategies.

Despite the importance attached to sustainable development by Parliament, years of work by the Office has led me to question the federal government’s ability and resolve to adopt sustainable development as a governing priority. I am concerned that it is only a paper exercise. To me, sustainable development offers a way to ensure that current and future Canadians have a sustainable way of life¾ including a prosperous economy, vibrant social systems, a clean environment, and good personal health and well-being. And I believe the stakes are quite high if the government fails to deliver on its promises.

So what exactly am I concerned about?

First, managerial capacity for sustainable development in departments is low. For several years now, we have promoted well-functioning management systems as being critical for sustained success. And yet, only 4 of the 16 departments we audited this year have systems that are fully sufficient to manage and meet the commitments in their strategies. In too many departments, senior management leadership and commitment is missing. Also, a Government of Canada perspective is lacking; there is no common management approach, or a timetable for implementation. Most critically, central-agency oversight to guide and hold departments accountable for their sustainable development programs is lacking.

My second major concern is that reporting by departments is so poor that it inhibits Parliament’s ability to hold departments to account for their progress, or lack of it. In Chapter 3 of our Report, we ask the question "Is the system working?" The quick answer is NO! It’s broken and it needs fixing.

Part of the problem is that weak management systems impede effective tracking and reporting of results. But the causes are broader than that. There are concerns about the very nature of the reporting Guidelines, such as the half-page limit for sustainable development reporting provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat. Moreover, three-quarters of departments don’t fully comply with the Guidelines that have been provided. There is no enforcement.

Perhaps most problematic is the quality of the reporting. The deficiencies we found include disregarding gaps, using vague information and most critically, reporting more on activities than on results.

We have been working on solutions to these problems and would be pleased to describe these to members of this Committee.

Mr. Chairman, at the heart of my findings are issues of leadership and priority. For Canada to become a sustainable society, leadership from the federal government is needed. Commitments made in the departmental strategies need to be real, to be results-based, and to be kept. And progress needs to be reported accurately. The Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat need to strengthen the present governance structure.

Mr. Chairman, our work to date has focussed on whether the government has laid a solid foundation for future success in sustainable development. We will seek to determine whether the government is making genuine progress in this regard. Currently, we see too much "business as usual" dressed up in "sustainable clothing". This will not lead to real change as Parliament intended.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, in response to the issues and recommendations we raised in chapters 2 and 3, we would like to see the following:

• greater central agency leadership in dealing with this government priority;
• improved reporting to Parliament by departments in implementing their sustainable development strategies; and
• clearer responses from the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office on exactly how and when they will implement our recommendations (see Chapter 2, paragraph 2.59, page 15 and Chapter 3, paragraph 3.53, page 12).

To the extent that members of your Committee share our concerns, the support and involvement of your Committee will significantly help in our work. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. We look forward to your questions.