Let me go back in time a little. Following a study in 1994-1995 to establish the position of Commissioner, a report from the then environment committee recommended there be an independent Commissioner mandated to carry out assessments, and make comments on government policies and so forth. The government decided not to adopt all the committee's recommendations and amended the Auditor General Act so that the Commissioner was part of the Auditor General's Office. The Commissioner had two obligations under the act: the first, to be petitioned, and the other, to audit sustainable development strategies. These are the only obligations of the Commissioner under the act.
Over time, we broadened the Commissioner's role to include reporting on all performance audits within the office. The Office of the Auditor General cannot, and must not, comment on policies. The Commissioner is not independent of the Office of the Auditor General. He or she is appointed by the Auditor General and is part of the Auditor General's staff and team. Under the current act, the Commissioner must comply with the constraints—that is, what some people perceive to be constraints— from the Office of the Auditor General. Some people would like the Commissioner to be far more proactive and comment on and assess the government's environmental performance. They would like the Commissioner to make comments on policy, which is something the Commissioner cannot do. These observations have been made to us in no uncertain terms during consultations we have had.