Backgrounder

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

During its 131-year history, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada has conducted many audits of environmental and sustainable development matters. Since 1995, it has had a specific mandate in this area, thanks to amendments to the Auditor General Act.

The 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act

• created the position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and gave the Commissioner specific monitoring and reporting duties on behalf of the Auditor General;
• added environmental impact to what the Auditor General takes into account when determining what to report to the House of Commons;
• required departments to prepare sustainable development strategies and update them every three years; and
• authorized the Auditor General to receive petitions on environmental and sustainable development matters, and required ministers to respond to them.

Under the terms of the 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

• is appointed by the Auditor General of Canada (the Commissioner holds the rank of Assistant Auditor General);
• assists the Auditor General in carrying out her environmental audit responsibilities;
• monitors and reports on federal departments’ progress in implementing their sustainable development strategies; and
• administers the petitions process on behalf of the Auditor General.

The Commissioner conducts performance audits of the federal government’s management of environmental and sustainable development issues, and reports to Parliament on behalf of the Auditor General.

Two new Acts of Parliament conferred additional responsibilities on the Commissioner:

Federal Sustainable Development Act—The 2008 Federal Sustainable Development Act requires the Minister of the Environment to develop an overarching Federal Sustainable Development Strategy with sustainable development goals and targets, as well as an implementation plan for meeting each target. The strategy will also identify the minister responsible for meeting each target. Departmental sustainable development strategies must now have plans and objectives that comply with and contribute to the new Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development will provide comments to the Minister of the Environment on whether the targets and goals in the draft strategy can be assessed. He will monitor and report on the extent to which federal departments have contributed to meeting the targets and goals that will be set out in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. The Commissioner will also report to Parliament on the fairness of the information in the federal government’s progress report on the implementation of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act—The 2007 Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act requires the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to report at least once every two years up to 2012 on Canada’s progress in implementing climate change plans, and in meeting its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In May 2008, Scott Vaughan was appointed Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

Previous Commissioners

• Brian Emmett (June 1996 to January 2000)
• Rick Smith (Interim Commissioner, January to August 2000)
• Johanne Gélinas (August 2000 to January 2007)
• Ron Thompson, FCA (Interim Commissioner, January 2007 to May 2008)