Julie Gelfand

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Julie Gelfand was appointed as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in March 2014.

Before joining the Office of the Auditor General, Ms. Gelfand held the positions of Chief Advisor at Rio Tinto Canada and of Vice-President of Environment and Social Responsibility at the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).

Prior to joining IOC, Ms. Gelfand was Vice-President, Sustainable Development at the Mining Association of Canada and co-chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Centre of Excellence, under the federal CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector.

From 1992 to 2008, she served as President of Nature Canada. She also founded and chaired the Green Budget Coalition.

Mandate

The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is appointed by the Auditor General of Canada for a seven year term.

On behalf of the Auditor General, the Commissioner provides parliamentarians with objective, independent analysis and recommendations on the federal government’s efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development.

The Commissioner conducts performance audits, and is responsible for:

• monitoring sustainable development strategies of federal departments;
• overseeing the environmental petitions process; and
• auditing the federal government’s management of environmental and sustainable development issues.

Past Commissioners

• Neil Maxwell (Interim, 2013-2014)
• Scott Vaughan (2008-2013)
• Ron Thompson, FCA (Interim, 2007-2008)
• Johanne Gélinas (2000-2007)
• Rick Smith (Interim, 2000)
• Brian Emmett (1996-2000)