Environment Committee on Feb. 8th, 2007

[Sheila Fraser]

I'm really afraid, Mr. Chair, I can't answer that. We haven't done a review of organizations that might receive funding that do environmental advocacy. Obviously there are many groups out in what we call civil society that do that kind of promotion, and education role as well, and whether they would receive government funding or not I really don't know.

If I could just add, certainly from the comments of members that we've received, I think they view our reports as credible and useful, and I would certainly hope we would be able to continue that work as we do now.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

I'm not sure, maybe this is a quick yes or no. Because the national round table does receive federal funding, are they under the scrutiny of the Office of the Auditor General?

[Sheila Fraser]

They can be subject to audit by us. I don't believe we have actually audited them, not that I know, but yes, they would be part of the agencies and organizations that we could audit.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

I just want to be clear, Mr. Chairman, that I'm not going after the national round table here; I'm just trying to draw some comparisons on where tax dollars are going and where they should be going.

If you were to do an audit of the national round table, with a mandate of advocating on behalf of the environment, how would you as an auditor audit the advocacy capabilities of the national round table?

[Sheila Fraser]

We would have to look, as at any organization, at how did they interpret their mandate, what do they see as their objectives, how would they measure that, and then what kinds of resources do they have to do that and what plans do they have in place to do that?

Obviously there are many objectives that are difficult to quantify, and we would really look at how any organization manages itself and how it establishes its own practices and objectives.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

How much time do I have left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

You have 30 seconds.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

I'll go really quickly here.

I was really impressed with the comment you made that the Auditor General's office here in Canada is a world leader. If the mandate of the Auditor General's office or the environment commissioner were changed to include an advocacy position, what effect would that have on our international credibility?

[Sheila Fraser]

If the mandate of the Office of the Auditor General were somehow changed to include advocacy, we would have a very serious problem with that, because we would not then comply with the standards that govern our work.

We have a standards-setting body in Canada that sets all of the standards for audit, and there is a very clear standard that talks against advocacy, and we would not comply with those standards. So I would obviously object very strenuously to that, and we would not be able to do that kind of work.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Mr. Lussier.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Madam Auditor, the commissioner's role is to monitor sustainable development and to report on the departments' progress. Each department must bring forward an action plan either periodically or annually. Do you have to comment on these action plans? Does each department actually submit an action plan? Are you able to reprimand departments that fail to table their plan or are late in doing so? Have you ever been called upon to engage in such commentary?

[Sheila Fraser]

Under the changes made to the Auditor General Act in 1995, some, but not all, departments are required to submit a sustainable development plan every three years.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Every three years.

[Sheila Fraser]

There are about 25 or 26 departments that are required to prepare the plans and to table them. The most recent ones have just been tabled or are about to be.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Where are they tabled?

[Sheila Fraser]

In Parliament.

We audit these plans, which contain a number of measures. We choose some of these measures and audit them to determine whether the departments have implemented them as they had promised. We also comment on the quality of the plans. The commissioner is required each year to devote part of the report to sustainable development strategies.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Are you saying that the current government has already tabled or will be tabling many of these action plans?

[Sheila Fraser]

They were tabled in December.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Is there a deadline for doing this every time there is a new government? When a new government comes to power, can there be a three-year delay before the action plans are tabled?

[Sheila Fraser]

No. This is mandatory. Departments must table these plans. The plans were supposed to be tabled in 2006, and they were tabled in 2006.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

I see. So departments have less than 12 months to table their action plans.

[Sheila Fraser]

The plans have to be tabled every three years. The officials who work on these plans must table them according to the schedule set out in the act.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

I was talking about tabling the plans in the context of a new government.

[Sheila Fraser]

Departments are required to table the plans, just as they must table financial statements every year, even if there is a change in government. The only factor that could affect the tabling of the plans would be whether or not Parliament is sitting.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

I see. There have been two environment commissioners, Mr. Emmett and Mr. Gélinas, and Mr. Thompson is performing the duties of the commissioner in an acting capacity at the moment.

How long does it take to replace an environment commissioner? Should we expect to see a new commissioner within 12 months, 6 months or a week?