Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
As my colleague from Public Works and Government Services has just said, the Department of the Environment and other departments are engaged with them in clarifying the roles and responsibilities having to do with greening government operations. We're committed, for our part, to working with PWGSC under their leadership.
Perhaps it would be useful to the committee if I briefly outlined the four specific roles that Environment Canada has in regard to greening government operations.
First of all, we provide advice to Public Works and Government Services on priority areas for action. Greening government is, of course, about putting into effect what the government is talking about in policy terms. There should be a relationship between the government's environmental priorities and the actions it takes as a corporate citizen. Environment Canada, therefore, will advise Public Works and Government Services on making the choices that square well with environmental priorities.
Secondly, we are engaged with them in providing technical support. In the example of greening commodity management, which is another topic within chapter 10, Environment Canada was one of the sponsors for the April 2006 federal policy on green procurement. As part of our role in sponsoring this policy, we provided technical expertise on environmental issues to those who procure the goods and services on behalf of the Government of Canada. This expertise is provided to the office of greening government operations in PWGSC as one element in their work to issue procurement instruments for the goods and services purchased most frequently.
Third, as you know, we are the coordinating lead for the sustainable development strategies. In that role Environment Canada works with Public Works to ensure that greening government operations is appropriately integrated into the sustainable development process.
Fourth, and finally, Environment Canada can use its regulatory power when that is appropriate, when the circumstances call for it, to further the greening of government operations. For example, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act gives the government the authority to issue regulations concerning government operations on federal and aboriginal lands. One such regulation pertains to storage tank systems for petroleum products and allied petroleum products. In fact, a new proposed regulation being worked on now will have a broader scope of application, and it will provide a more comprehensive framework to effectively prevent pollution from storage tank systems of federal government operations. I offer that as one example.
We look forward, of course, to working with PWGSC in their leadership role through these functional roles that we have as we move forward on greening government operations.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.