Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

	Department and agency strategies Environment and sustainable development Petitions Catalogue

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.