Environment committee  In the fall we will be looking at all the measures the government has said it would do to mitigate and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment committee  I can tell you that that the Auditor General feels very strongly that his act indicates that he has access to all information except cabinet confidences.

Environment committee  Because the Department of Finance didn't do a really good job at establishing what the population may or may not be, it's hard for me to tell you whether or not there's a lot of work to do on the tax side. On the non-tax side, it's clear that the government does not have a clear idea of how it is subsidizing the industry through loan guarantees and research and development.

Environment committee  The G20 commitment indicates that we are going to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and take care of the poor while we do so. The sustainable development goal has a similar target.

Environment committee  To be perfectly precise, the Department of Finance redacted that information. We also found it surprising. The Auditor General himself found it surprising, something as simple as the strategic environmental assessment, which we have been auditing for five or six years. We've been going into each department to ask if they have been following the cabinet directive on strategic environmental assessment.

Environment committee  In this audit we looked at the straight tax measures and the non-tax measures, which were, as I said earlier, loan guarantees, better interest rates, and research and development. The issue of regulation that you're talking about, we are looking at right now, and we will be tabling a report on mitigation.

Environment committee  Yes, it is—

Environment committee  Yes, we've actually put a “projected impact on budgetary balance” in the table.

Environment committee  I don't think we added them up.

Environment committee  Unfortunately, in the role that I play, my job is to audit what the government has said it will do. If a government makes a commitment to reduce inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, my job is to go in and let you know whether or not they're getting it done. Your question is really a policy question, and the government has to make a decision about where and what it should spend its money on.

Environment committee  Another audit I will be tabling in the fall will be about funding new green energy sources, so I'll be able to give you more information on that this fall. Here we looked specifically at whether or not they had defined what an inefficient fossil fuel subsidy was and whether or not they were on track to meeting the commitment of reducing or phasing them out and rationalizing them.

Environment committee  The commitment the government made was on fossil fuel subsidies.

Environment committee  I'm not the department.

Environment committee  We can't provide you with an assurance regarding whether or not Finance Canada has done a thorough review of the potential population of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, because that's not really the way they looked at it. First of all, they haven't defined it yet, so they have to do that.

Environment committee  That is correct. In our audit, we mentioned that they told us there was about 243 pages of information which they felt at the time they could not provide to us, and that it would have the information we required. Now, as a result of the new order in council, we have written them a letter asking to see that information.