Section 3 of the above-mentioned Act establishes that the Governor in Council shall, by commission under the Great Seal, appoint an Auditor General of Canada. This Auditor General shall appoint a senior officer to be called the “Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development” who shall report directly to the Auditor General. The purpose of the Commissioner is, inter alia, to provide sustainable development monitoring and reporting on the progress of category I departments towards sustainable development, which is a continually evolving concept based on the integration of social, economic and environmental concerns, and which may be achieved by, among other things, a) the integration of the environment and the economy; b) protecting the health of Canadians; c) protecting ecosystems; d) meeting international obligations; e) promoting equity; f) an integrated approach to planning and making decisions that takes into account the environmental and natural resource costs of different economic options and the economic costs of different environmental and natural resource options; g) preventing pollution; and h) respect for nature and the needs of future generations. The Act consists of 14 sections.
Canada · 1985-01-01