Brian Emmett, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to be here today. With me is Wayne Cluskey, the Principal in charge of the preparation of both the original stewardship chapter, tabled in the House of Commons in May 1996, and the recent follow-up audit that was tabled in December of 1998.
Environmental stewardship is an important stepping stone toward sustainable development. The concept of environmental stewardship, originally referred to as the "greening of government", was first introduced in 1990 in the Green Plan and then codified in 1992 in the Code of Environmental Stewardship.
As the single largest business and employer in Canada, the federal government has a big impact on the environment – both directly through its operations and indirectly through discharging its policy responsibilities. Through the Code of Environmental Stewardship, federal departments and agencies were expected to lead by example by integrating environmental considerations into all aspects of their operations. The Code did not apply to Crown corporations.
Following the 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act, 21 departments and three agencies were required to prepare sustainable development strategies. I am pleased to report that four other agencies did so voluntarily and have already benefited or will benefit from a detailed review by my Office.
However, 28 agencies with more than 100 full-time equivalents did not produce a sustainable development strategy and they continue to operate outside of this process. In effect, a "two-track" approach to environmental stewardship has been created.
Interviews conducted as part of the 1998 follow-up audit indicated that, in two large agencies not producing a sustainable development strategy, there was a significant risk that the environmental stewardship initiative had lost momentum and direction. Environment Canada is not supporting the Code of Environmental stewardship in these agencies and there appears to be little senior management support and commitment for stewardship activities within the agencies themselves.
Environment Canada agrees there is a gap between those agencies required to submit a sustainable development strategy under the amendments to the Auditor General Act, and those where it does not apply; and it agrees that it has an important role to play.
However, Mr. Chairman, the question of whether or not the Code of Environmental Stewardship is still in effect and whether it continues to apply to those agencies not required to produce a sustainable development strategy is still open.
Agencies not producing a sustainable development strategy form a significant part of the federal government. For example, those agencies with more than 100 full-time equivalents alone account for 8 percent of the total government’s work force – about 24,000 people.
In addition, federal Crown corporations continue to be excluded from both the Code of Environmental Stewardship (if it is still in effect) and the amendments to the Auditor General Act requiring the tabling of sustainable development strategies in the House. It is not clear how the federal government plans to encourage Crown corporations to adopt good environmental practices.
Given the present situation with respect to the majority of agencies and Crown corporations, there is a risk that the federal government will not achieve its original objective of government-wide greening, as was its original intention under the 1990 Green Plan.
My Office is committed to encouraging all federal organizations that are not required to develop a sustainable development strategy to do so, or to report on sustainable development issues using other means.
Thank you.