Report 7—Environmental Petitions Annual Report
At a Glance
Why we did this audit
- 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 issues to the attention of the federal ministers responsible and be guaranteed a response from them.
- The purpose of this annual report is to inform Parliament and Canadians about the number, nature, and status of environmental petitions and responses received from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, as required by section 23 of the Auditor General Act.
Petitions and responses
- The Office of the Auditor General of CanadaOAG received 14 environmental petitions from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. The petitions originated from 4 provinces: British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec.
- The 4 federal organizations that received the most petitions requiring a response were Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Health Canada.
Performance and responses of departments and agencies
- From 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, 19 federal organizations responded to 12 petitions. Six of these petitions were submitted during the current reporting period (1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021), and the other 6 were submitted in the previous reporting period (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020). All but 1 of the petition responses were provided within the 120‑day statutory deadline.
OAG reports published in the past are available through Publications.gc.ca.