Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Fall Report: appearance before the Standing Committee (November 4, 2020)

Review of the Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies

Tabling of the CESD Fall 2020 Reports

Issue/Question: On Tuesday, October 27, 2020, the Auditor General’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) will table his Fall 2020 Reports. This includes:

• Report 1: Follow-up audit of Transportation of Dangerous Goods within the purview of Transport Canada and Canada Energy Regulator
• Report 2: Review of the Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies (related to Goal 13 of the FSDS: Safe and Healthy Communities)
• Report 3: Environmental Petitions Annual Report

Considering the content of the reports do not include anything controversial and do not present any contentious issues; that the two previous reports have not drawn much media attention; and finally, noting the current public environment, the tabling is not expected to generate media coverage.

The interim Commissioner will issue a news release and hold a press conference following the tabling. We will have a reactive statement ready to issue if needed, along with the following key messages.

Key messages

• The recent Speech from the Throne reiterated the Government of Canada’s commitment to ambitious climate action, advancing reconciliation and conservation objectives, and protecting Canada’s lands and oceans.
• We welcome the Commissioner’s recommendations and we are taking action to address them.
• While the government is focused on fighting COVID-19, work continues on effective, transparent, and efficient policy approaches that will help the economy recover, create conditions for new green jobs, and continue to reduce emissions across the country.
• Climate action will be a cornerstone of our plan to support and create a million jobs across the country.
• Canadians also know climate change threatens our health, way of life, and planet. They want climate action now, and that is what the Government will continue to deliver.

Supplemental messages

Report 1: Follow-up Audit of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods

• The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the safe and efficient transportation of goods, people, and energy. We are doing so through developing and implementing legislation, and supporting regulations that are rigorous and based on sound analysis, which inspire the trust and public confidence of all Canadians. 

Report 2: Review of Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies -- Safe and Healthy Communities

• We are pleased that the overall assessment found that departments and agencies contributed to the goal of safe and healthy communities in Canada.
• Canada is committed to achieving its sustainable development priorities, as set out in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, and works collaboratively across departments and agencies to do so.
• The Government of Canada will continue to improve its departmental sustainable development reporting to make it clear for all Canadians.

Report 3: Environmental Petitions Annual Report

• We acknowledge that the petition process is an important mechanism for responding to Canadians’ concerns on environmental and sustainable development issues.
• Even though departments and agencies were impacted by COVID, we remain committed to responding to questions raised by petitioners within the prescribed timelines.

Background

Report 1: Follow-up Audit of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods

Key findings

• Transport Canada (TC) has made improvements in implementing a national risk-based oversight system and is addressing issues with following up on violations, understanding the national rate of regulatory compliance for the transportation of dangerous goods, and addressing delays in the final approval of emergency response assistance plans.
• The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has improved compliance information management through the implementation of an improved database and is addressing the one finding by improving the documentation on how approval conditions were met.

Key considerations

• TC is expanding on already-planned program improvements that will be guided by a co-ordinated strategy with measurable performance indicators to report on progress.
• CER reviewed its procedures and quality controls and is making appropriate improvements to ensure a consistent approach to the documentation of the analysis of company submissions for pipeline approval conditions.

Report 2: Review of Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies - Safe and Healthy Communities

Key findings

• The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development found that departments and agencies contributed to Goal 13: Safe and Healthy Communities of the 2016-2019 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS).
• While the 12 Federal organizations in this review contributed to meeting the goal, the findings noted that two of ten FSDS contributing actions were not reported on.
• The report also identifies several instances in which performance indicators for departmental actions were incomplete.

Key considerations

• Canada is committed to achieving its sustainable development priorities, as set out in the FSDS, and works collaboratively across departments and agencies to do so.
• The FSDS (during the time of this review) contained 10 actions by 17 departments and agencies that contribute to the goal of safe and healthy communities. Two of the 10 contributing actions were not addressed as they did not fall under the mandate of the 12 departments and agencies in this review, including ECCC.

Report 3: Environmental Petitions Annual Report

Key findings

• The Office of the Auditor General received 16 petitions during the 2019-20 reporting period. Eleven federal departments and agencies received petitions for a response. In many cases, a petition was sent to more than one department or agency.
• All petition responses were submitted within the 120-day statutory deadline, except for one.
• Petitioners raised various issues, such as:
  • Pollution from plastics, textile waste
  • Toxic substances in the environment
  • Concerns about climate change, endangered fisheries, nuclear regulations, and more.

Key considerations

• The environmental petitions process continues to have value and relevance for Canadians because it raises questions or concerns about environmental issues.
• The Office of the Auditor General takes into consideration petitions and the related responses when developing its multi-year performance audit plan.