A Step Back for the Environment?
As many of you know Johanne Gélinas, Canada's environment commissioner, has claimed she was fired from her position. Gelinas is generally popular with the environment critics, and is considered a valuable member in the field.
This situation is supposedly due to Gelinas 'advocacy' approach to her position. There is dispute over how this approach fits into the Commisioner's role.
The reporting of this event, in my opinion, has relied entirely on the testimony of parliamentarians and 'personal whims' about Gelinas, whether they be negative or positive. As far as I have seen, nobody is considering whether in fact Gelinas was or was not doing her job, and thus was appropriately dismissed. There is also the issue that the two parlimentarians widely quoted, McGuinty and Cullen, are both members of opposition parties and as such the may have an interest in implying the presence of political pressure in Gelinas departure.
According to Auditor-Generals website, the Commisioner of the Environment's role is as follows:
The position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is the result of important changes to the Auditor General Act in 1995. These amendments encourage stronger performance by the federal government in environmental and sustainable development areas.
The Commissioner provides parliamentarians with objective, independent analysis and recommendations on the federal government's efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development
Encouraging the government to be more accountable for greening its policies, operations, and programs is a key to the Commissioner's mandate. The Commissioner also assists the Auditor General with auditing of environmental and sustainable development issues.
More specifically, the Commissioner has responsibilities in four main areas:
Monitoring sustainable development strategies
Twenty-eight federal departments and agencies are required to prepare sustainable development strategies and update them every three years. The Commissioner monitors the extent to which departments have implemented the action plans and met the objectives outlined in their strategies.
Audits and special studies
The Commissioner conducts audits and special studies on the federal government’s performance in areas such as climate change, ozone depletion, management of toxic substances and greening government operations.
Environmental petitions
The 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act created an environmental petitions process. Under this process, residents of Canada can forward a written petition to the Auditor General. Petitions must relate to environmental matters that are the responsibility of specific federal departments and agencies. The Commissioner monitors the status of these petitions and the government’s response to them.
Annual Report to the House of Commons
On a yearly basis, the Commissioner reports on environmental and sustainable development matters that she believes should be brought to the attention of the House of Commons. The report can include chapters on audits and studies, sustainable development strategies, and environmental petitions.
Clearly from this there is room for debate over the appropriateness of advocacy. Furthermore, one could contend whether Gelinas' actions are advocacy (for instance, Gelinas condemnation of the Conservative act can certainly be argued to be the core role of the Commisioner).
My personal position on this is that we simply are not being given the information on this topic. There is hint that a review will be released at a later date regarding the issue, but the finger pointing has already been done and no reporting on the genuine story has been accomplished. I feel that this type of reporting is what leads Canadians to political assumptions about our reality which are based on uncertainty at best.
I also think that this comes down to an issue of accountability. If Gelinas was fired, the reason should be reported without delay. If the Auditor-General doesn't have a good enough case to present to the public, she shouldn't be firing anyone. If the issue is that the Commisioner has overstepped the perceived boundary of her position, this too can be addressed, but in a professional fashion which inspires a sense of legitimacy.
To close, I really want to poiint back to my comment about the way in which this issue has been reported. Regardless of the real story, this is the story which we read and on which political opinions are based.
This situation is supposedly due to Gelinas 'advocacy' approach to her position. There is dispute over how this approach fits into the Commisioner's role.
The reporting of this event, in my opinion, has relied entirely on the testimony of parliamentarians and 'personal whims' about Gelinas, whether they be negative or positive. As far as I have seen, nobody is considering whether in fact Gelinas was or was not doing her job, and thus was appropriately dismissed. There is also the issue that the two parlimentarians widely quoted, McGuinty and Cullen, are both members of opposition parties and as such the may have an interest in implying the presence of political pressure in Gelinas departure.
According to Auditor-Generals website, the Commisioner of the Environment's role is as follows:
The position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is the result of important changes to the Auditor General Act in 1995. These amendments encourage stronger performance by the federal government in environmental and sustainable development areas.
The Commissioner provides parliamentarians with objective, independent analysis and recommendations on the federal government's efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development
Encouraging the government to be more accountable for greening its policies, operations, and programs is a key to the Commissioner's mandate. The Commissioner also assists the Auditor General with auditing of environmental and sustainable development issues.
More specifically, the Commissioner has responsibilities in four main areas:
Monitoring sustainable development strategies
Twenty-eight federal departments and agencies are required to prepare sustainable development strategies and update them every three years. The Commissioner monitors the extent to which departments have implemented the action plans and met the objectives outlined in their strategies.
Audits and special studies
The Commissioner conducts audits and special studies on the federal government’s performance in areas such as climate change, ozone depletion, management of toxic substances and greening government operations.
Environmental petitions
The 1995 amendments to the Auditor General Act created an environmental petitions process. Under this process, residents of Canada can forward a written petition to the Auditor General. Petitions must relate to environmental matters that are the responsibility of specific federal departments and agencies. The Commissioner monitors the status of these petitions and the government’s response to them.
Annual Report to the House of Commons
On a yearly basis, the Commissioner reports on environmental and sustainable development matters that she believes should be brought to the attention of the House of Commons. The report can include chapters on audits and studies, sustainable development strategies, and environmental petitions.
Clearly from this there is room for debate over the appropriateness of advocacy. Furthermore, one could contend whether Gelinas' actions are advocacy (for instance, Gelinas condemnation of the Conservative act can certainly be argued to be the core role of the Commisioner).
My personal position on this is that we simply are not being given the information on this topic. There is hint that a review will be released at a later date regarding the issue, but the finger pointing has already been done and no reporting on the genuine story has been accomplished. I feel that this type of reporting is what leads Canadians to political assumptions about our reality which are based on uncertainty at best.
I also think that this comes down to an issue of accountability. If Gelinas was fired, the reason should be reported without delay. If the Auditor-General doesn't have a good enough case to present to the public, she shouldn't be firing anyone. If the issue is that the Commisioner has overstepped the perceived boundary of her position, this too can be addressed, but in a professional fashion which inspires a sense of legitimacy.
To close, I really want to poiint back to my comment about the way in which this issue has been reported. Regardless of the real story, this is the story which we read and on which political opinions are based.
posted by AcceptanceSpeech at 6:42 PM
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