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Bill C-203

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2nd Session, 36th Parliament,
48 Elizabeth II, 1999

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-203

An Act to amend the Auditor General Act (Poverty Commissioner)

R.S., c. A-17; 1992, c. 54; 1994, c. 32; 1995, c. 43; 1998, c. 31

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. (1) Section 2 of the Auditor General Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

``Poverty Commissioner ''
« commissaire à la pauvreté »

``Poverty Commissioner'' means the Poverty Commissioner appointed under section 15.2.

(2) The definition of ``Commissioner'' in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:

``Commission er of the Environment and Sustainable Development' '
« commissaire à l'environneme nt et au développemen t durable »

``Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development '' means the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development appointed under subsection 15.1(1).

2. The portion of subsection 7(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Annual and additional reports to the House of Commons

7. (1) The Auditor General shall report annually to the House of Commons and may make, in addition to any special reports made under subsection 8(1) or 19(2), the report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development under subsection 23(2) and the report of the Poverty Commissioner under section 28 , not more than three additional reports in any year to the House of Commons

3. Subsection 15(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Duties of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

(2) The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development shall assist the Auditor General in performing the duties of the Auditor General set out in this Act that relate to the environment and sustainable development.

4. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 15.1:

Appointment of Poverty Commissioner

15.2 The Auditor General shall, in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act, appoint a senior officer to be called the Poverty Commissioner who shall report directly to the Auditor General.

5. The portion of section 21.1 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Purpose

21.1 The purpose of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is 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 environment concerns, and which may be achieved by, among other things,

6. (1) The portion of subsection 23(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Duty to monitor

23. (1) The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development shall make any examinations and inquiries that the Commissioner considers necessary in order to monitor

(2) The portion of subsection 23(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

(2) The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development shall, on behalf of the Auditor General, report annually to the House of Commons concerning anything that the Commissioner considers should be brought to the attention of that House in relation to environmental and other aspects of sustainable development, including

7. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 24:

POVERTY

Purpose

25. The purpose of the Poverty Commissioner is to

    (a) analyse the causes and effects of poverty in Canada;

    (b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken by the federal government to reduce or eliminate poverty; and

    (c) to advise the federal government on measures that it could take to reduce or eliminate poverty.

Public consultations

26. The Poverty Commissioner may hold public consultations on the causes and effects of poverty and on the measures to be taken to reduce or eliminate poverty.

Verification

27. The Poverty Commissioner shall conduct whatever examinations and inquiries the Commissioner considers necessary

    (a) to verify whether the federal government has taken measures to eliminate or reduce poverty; and

    (b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken, if any.

Report of the Poverty Commissioner

28. (1) The Poverty Commissioner shall report annually, on behalf of the Auditor General, to the House of Commons on the activities of the Commissioner during the preceding financial year under this Act, and the report shall contain

    (a) an analysis of poverty in Canada and of its causes and effects;

    (b) an evaluation of the effectiveness of measures taken by the federal government to reduce or eliminate poverty;

    (c) a description of the measures proposed by the Poverty Commissioner to the federal government to reduce or eliminate poverty; and

    (d) a description of the measures taken by the federal government in response to the proposals under paragraph (c).

Submission and tabling of report

(2) The report required by subsection (1) shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Commons and shall be laid before that House on any of the next fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the Speaker receives it.

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