2016-Apr-28
A Phone call with the Commissioner of Environment & Sustainable Development.
Julie Gelfand, the Commissioner, works within the Auditor General of Canada’s office to provide the federal government with objective analysis and recommendations on efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development.
Commissioner Gelfand openly discussed some of her office’s most recent work. Of interest were their investigation of pesticides and pipelines. On the former, the timeline between identifying a harmful pesticide and banning its use can be up to 15 years.
Regarding pipelines, there are 73,000 kilometres of pipelines under the NEB oversight, with 100 companies involved. The biggest concern is verifying that NEB is overseeing the conditions that were placed on the construction of pipelines when the pipelines were approved. Out of 49 cases that the AG randomly audited, 50% were not in compliance.
Commissioner Gelfand also mentioned that her department may be used by individuals or organizations to petition a minister or ministry if a direct approach does not work. Ministries are legally required to respond to such petitions within 120 days.
