My name is Julie Gelfand. I'm the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. My office is located in the Office of the Auditor General.
Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to participate in the discussions as part of your study of the nuclear sector. This panel is timely in light of my recent audit report on the inspection of nuclear power plants, which was tabled in Parliament as part of my 2016 fall reports. Joining me at the table is John Affleck, the principal responsible for the audit.
My role as commissioner of the environment and sustainable development includes conducting performance audits to independently assess how well the federal government is fulfilling its commitments to protect the environment and to foster sustainable development.
Within my seven-year mandate, one thing that I have been doing, which may be of interest to your committee, is a series of audits relating to Canada's natural resource sectors. In addition to my audit of the inspection of nuclear power plants, which I will talk about today, I completed an audit last year on the regulation of oil and gas pipelines. I also intend to examine in the future more resource sectors, which may include mining and aquaculture.