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Supplementary Information Tables

Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits

Response to the Auditor General (including to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Auditor General

June 2011

Chapter 3 - Internal Audit: examined guidance and oversight provided to the internal audit function of departments and agencies by the Office of the Comptroller General. The audit also looked at a sample of internal audit activities to determine whether 24 of the largest departments had established independent audit committees.

A recommendation made to all departments had already been implemented by Environment Canada. The audit may be found here.

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

October 2011

Chapter 1 - Climate Change Plans Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act: examined whether climate change plans include all the information required by the Act and analyzed progress made in implementing the plans and in meeting Canada's greenhouse gas emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol, and followed up on Environment Canada's progress in meeting commitments made in response to the audit published in 2009.

Five recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

Chapter 2 - Assessing Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil Sands Projects: examined whether the federal government has considered the cumulative environmental effects of major oil sands projects in northern Alberta, in accordance with the environmental assessment process established by the Act.

No recommendation was made to Environment Canada in this audit. The audit may be found here.

December 2011

Chapter 2 - Environmental Science: examined how Environment Canada manages the quality of its science activities and communicates scientific evidence to decision makers. It also examined strategic and operational planning for science in support of departmental priorities and outcomes.

Four recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

Chapter 3 - Enforcing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: examined whether Environment Canada's enforcement program was managed to adequately enforce compliance with CEPA 1999. It assessed whether the Department has applied a risk-based approach to plan its enforcement activities and target the greatest threats to human health and the environment; enforced the law in a fair, predictable, and consistent way, as the Act requires; measured the results of its enforcement activities; and acted on identified opportunities for improvement.

Six recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

Chapter 5 - A Study of Environmental Monitoring: was conducted to develop an inventory of systems the federal government uses to monitor the state of the environment; to identify the challenges associated with environmental monitoring; and to highlight good environmental monitoring practices. It will serve as a basis for criteria for future audits of environmental monitoring conducted by the federal government.

No recommendation was made in this study. The study may be found here.

May 2012

Chapter 1 - Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act: examined progress made in implementing the government's climate change plans and whether Canada is on track to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations.

No recommendation was made in this audit. The audit may be found here.

Chapter 2 - Meeting Canada's 2020 Climate Change Commitments: examined whether Environment Canada had established an implementation plan designed to meet the 2020 national GHG emission reduction target.

Two recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

Chapter 3 - Federal Contaminated Sites and Their Impacts: examined how the federal government manages and reports actions taken to address the contaminated sites in its inventory, including the financial impact of environmental damage arising from them.

Two recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

External audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Public Service Commission

October 2011

Chapter 11 - Audit of Environment Canada: examined whether Environment Canada had an appropriate framework, systems and practices in place to manage its appointment activities and whether appointments and appointment processes complied with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER), the Public Service Commission (PSC) Appointment Framework and other governing authorities.

Five recommendations were made to Environment Canada in this audit and the audit and the Department's response may be found here.

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