Reports tabled by the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development highlight deficiencies in Government of Canada’s initiatives

On April 20, 2023, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada notified the Speaker of the House of Commons about the release of Reports 1 to 5 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the Parliament of Canada. The Commissioner’s latest reports reviewed federal programs and policies for the 2019 to October 2022 time period to ensure they were achieving their stated objectives.

The Reports highlight the following criticisms of government initiatives:

• Environment and Climate Change Canada is not proactive in prompting action to protect species under urgent threat
• Federal government’s efforts to recover species at risk are falling short
• Natural Resources Canada unlikely to plant 2 billion trees by 2031 unless the program sees significant changes
• More work is needed to fully incorporate climate-related risks in financial supervision
• Federal government does not know the extent to which greenhouse gas regulations are reducing emissions

The Government of Canada tabled a response to the report. Available here

Canadian Water and Wastewater Association