Environment committee  I'd say that it went even further. This didn't concern one commissioner in particular, but a number of people go back to the report the committee prepared at the time when it was recommended that there be an independent commissioner, and they would still like that to happen. So t

Environment committee  No.

Environment committee  What is unfortunate is that we really did start this as a consultation process. No hard, fast decision has been made, and we wanted to come before the committee to consult. One of the advantages that we saw was reporting more frequently throughout the year—not to have one report

Environment committee  I do have a bit of a breakdown. I caution that this may not be a perfect measure. I would say that the reports from the Office of the Auditor General average somewhere around 45% to 50%—which we find unacceptable and have been trying to improve. On the commissioner's report, the

Environment committee  I suspect that some of it may be due to the recommendations themselves. They may be too general and not specific enough. Some of it may be because of the kinds of areas we looked at. Quite frankly, some of it may just be due to a lack of commitment to deal with some of these issu

Environment committee  As I said earlier, it's very important that the audit function remain independent. We cannot give advice on policy development on the one hand, and audit those same policies on the other. Those are incompatible roles. The auditor's role must be independent, and a role of advising

Environment committee  That's a question that we're raising in committee. Would there be grounds for considering that? We submit that question to your attention. It's not up to me to say whether you should do it or not. It's really up to parliamentarians to decide whether this is a question that should

Environment committee  I cannot answer the specifics, but what I will say is that everything I said yesterday I believe to be true.

Environment committee  Would you like me to...? I have the act with me, if you would like me to quote what the actual—

Environment committee  The initial draft of the bill would have had us, the Office of the Auditor General, conducting both of those functions. That is why we came back to the committee to say that this was an issue for us and it would be a problem for us. We have worked with the member to modify the bi

Environment committee  Based on The Globe and Mail reports at 12:59, I would have to answer yes, but I can only surmise from newspaper articles and certain information that is attributed to certain members of the committee. But those are also available to the chair and to others, so I do not think it w

Environment committee  That is correct.

Environment committee  Essentially, yes. We can't do program evaluation. The act states very clearly that we can audit whether departments and agencies have put measures in place to conduct evaluations, but we don't conduct the program evaluations. We examine the systems, management methods, to determi

Environment committee  And that it does it in an efficient, effective and economic manner, and in accordance with the laws, of course.

Environment committee  Obviously, the Commissioner's mandate will depend on what Parliament tells the Commissioner to do. The Commissioner's present role is more like that of the Auditor General. Ultimately, the Commissioner must comply with certain provisions of the act, but the other duties, as well