Canadians use environmental petitions to get answers from ministers
Environmental Petitions Annual Report
Report metadata
- Tabling date:
- Report type
- Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development reports
Environmental petitions are a unique way for Canadian residents—acting as individuals or on behalf of an organization— to bring their concerns and questions about environmental and sustainable development issues to the attention of the federal ministers responsible and be guaranteed a response from them. The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development administers the environmental petitions process on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada.
The purpose of this annual report is to inform Parliament and Canadians about the number, subject matter, and status of petitions received during the reporting period, 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, as required by section 23 of the Auditor General Act.
2024–25 Results
Petitions received
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada received 22 environmental petitions during the reporting period. For the titles of petitions and provinces of origin, please refer to the list of 2024–25 petitions received.
In total, 24 federal organizations received petitions requesting a response. In many cases, a petition was sent to more than 1 organization. The 4 organizations that received the most petitions were
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (12 petitions)
- Health Canada (8 petitions)
- Transport Canada (7 petitions)
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada (4 petitions)
Key issues raised
Petitions submitted during the reporting period addressed a wide variety of environmental concerns and issues, including toxic substances, greenhouse gas emissions, protecting human and aquatic life, and protecting green spaces.
Organization performance and responses
During the reporting period, 23 organizations responded to 36 petitions. The Office of the Auditor General of Canada noted that 4 responses were sent to petitioners after the 120‑day statutory deadline.
2024–25 Petitions received
From 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, petitions originated from the following 4 provinces:
British Columbia
- 515B—Follow‑up to petition 515 on the use of leaded aviation fuel at Canadian airports including Qualicum Beach Airport
- 517—Action needed to address ship breaking on the east coast of Vancouver Island
- 518—Ship‑breaking activities’ effects on the aquatic environment
- 529—Fossil fuel subsidies
New Brunswick
Ontario
- 500B—Follow‑up to Public Services and Procurement Canada’s response to Petition 500 on the government’s plan to achieve net‑zero procurement by 2050
- 500C—Follow‑up to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s response to Petition 500 on the government’s plan to achieve net‑zero procurement by 2050
- 503B—Follow‑up petition on national urban park status for the National Capital Greenbelt
- 516—The sustainability of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s government‑owned, contractor-operated model
- 520—Leveraging an Environment and Climate Change Canada net‑zero procurement system
- 521—Sustainability of entombing Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s 2 small reactors as proposed by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
- 522—Questions related to electromagnetic hypersensitivity in the Canadian Community Health Survey
- 523—Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in pesticides in Canada
- 524—Environmental assessment conducted on Highway 69 in Ontario
- 525—Pickup trucks and large sport‑utility vehicles undermining hard‑fought climate and road‑safety gains
- 526—Request for an update or timeline on the implementation of Recommendation 9 of the Standing Committee on Health’s 2015 report, Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation and the Health of Canadians
- 528—Follow‑up petition on the subsidization of car parking at schools for teachers
- 530—Addressing mercury exposure from dental amalgam and protecting public and environmental health