2022 Reports 6 to 10 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the Parliament of CanadaCanadians use environmental petitions to get answers from ministers

Ottawa, 4 October 2022—Today, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry V. DeMarco released the 2022 Environmental Petitions Annual Report to inform Parliament and Canadians about the number, nature, and status of petitions and ministers’ responses.

From 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada received 14 environmental petitions raising concerns in a number of areas, including compliance with and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, toxic substances, the protection of endangered species, and the effects of construction on biodiversity. The 4 federal organizations that received the most petitions were Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, and Natural Resources Canada. Departments have 120 days to respond to a petition. This year, only the Department of Finance Canada failed to provide its response within the 120‑day statutory period.

Environmental petitions are a unique way for Canadian residents—acting as individuals or on behalf of an organization—to bring their concerns and questions about environmental issues to the attention of federal ministers and be guaranteed a response. The Commissioner administers the petitions process on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada.

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The 2022 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Report 10—Environmental Petitions Annual Report is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.

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