Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
The position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
is the result of important changes to the Auditor General Act in 1995.
These amendments encourage stronger performance by the federal government
in environmental and sustainable development areas.
The Commissioner provides parliamentarians with objective, independent
analysis and recommendations on the federal government's efforts to protect
the environment and foster sustainable development
Encouraging the government to be more accountable for greening its policies,
operations, and programs is a key to the Commissioner's mandate. The Commissioner
also assists the Auditor General with auditing of environmental and sustainable
development issues.
More specifically, the Commissioner has responsibilities in four main
areas:
- Monitoring sustainable development strategies
Twenty-eight federal departments and agencies are required to
prepare sustainable development strategies and update them every three
years. The Commissioner monitors the extent to which departments have
implemented the action plans and met the objectives outlined in their
strategies.
- Audits and special studies
The Commissioner conducts audits and special studies on the
federal government’s performance in areas such as climate change, ozone
depletion, management of toxic substances and greening government operations.
- Environmental petitions
The 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act created an environmental
petitions process. Under this process, residents of Canada can forward
a written petition to the Auditor General. Petitions must relate to environmental
matters that are the responsibility of specific federal departments and
agencies. The Commissioner monitors the status of these petitions and
the government’s response to them.
- Annual Report to the House of Commons
On a yearly basis, the Commissioner reports on environmental
and sustainable development matters that she believes should be brought
to the attention of the House of Commons. The report can include chapters
on audits and studies, sustainable development strategies, and environmental
petitions.
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