Government cannot support some of its claims of reduced air pollution

(Chapter 1—Managing Air Emissions - December 2008 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Ottawa, 5 February 2009—The federal government cannot demonstrate that certain air emission reductions it has reported have actually been achieved or will be achieved, says the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Scott Vaughan, in his Report tabled today in the House of Commons. The audit looked at examples of four key measures chosen by the government to reduce air pollution—regulations, pollution prevention plans, economic measures, and voluntary agreements.

“Air emissions not only contribute to smog and climate change but also to health problems such as asthma, lung irritation, and cardiovascular disease. The federal government has made commitments at both the national and international levels to combat air emissions,” said Mr. Vaughan.

The audit found that Environment Canada has done almost no enforcement of the regulations limiting the release of carcinogenic vapours at service station gas pumps. As a result, it does not know whether this regulation is working.

The Report notes that the Public Transit Tax Credit will have a negligible impact on Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions despite the cost to date of $635 million. Another economic measure examined was a trust fund that transferred more than $1.5 billion to the provinces and territories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The audit found that Environment Canada used flawed analyses and assumptions to arrive at the reductions it expects the provinces and territories to achieve. Although it has claimed those reductions in federal climate change plans, it will be difficult for Environment Canada to support its claims given that the trust fund has no conditions requiring provinces to report on how they used the money and what was achieved.

“In order to be credible to Canadians and the rest of the world, the government’s plans for reducing air pollution must be able to produce measurable results. In that respect, most of what our audit found was disappointing,” said the Commissioner.

- 30 -

The chapter “Managing Air Emissions” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada Web site. Also see “A Study of Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories,” Chapter 1 of the Report of the Auditor General.

For more information, please click here.