A nearly two-hour grilling of Auditor General Sheila Fraser ny MPs failed to clear up the murky circumstances of Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas' ouster.
"I will not comment on Ms. Gelinas' departure from her position," Fraser told the House of Commons environment committee on Wednesday.
"I would be glad to discuss any of the other issues I have brought forward, but there are reasons I cannot give the kind of answers I think the member would like to hear."
Fraser then had this exchange with Liberal MP Geoff Regan:
Regan: Can you tell us whether she was in fact dismissed?
Fraser: Ms. Gelinas continues to be an employee of the office of the Auditor General?
She was again asked for clarification.
"I would prefer not to get into that discussion," Fraser said, adding later, "lawyers are involved."
However, she said the decision wasn't tied to Gelinas' fall report.
Fraser also told the committee that there was no government interference in the decision.
Liberal environment critic David McGuinty said: "We don't know what's happening. We don't know whether the commissioner's been fired. We asked whether she's been fired. We're told she's not fired but she's fired!"
Gelinas speaks
In an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½ in Montreal, Gelinas said Wednesday that her firing didn't come as a surprise, but the timing did.
"I knew the Auditor General wanted me to leave the office at some point, but that that time, we had not come to an agreement ... time-wise, I did not expect that (announcement)."
Fraser issued a news release on Tuesday saying Gelinas had left the position to "pursue other opportunities.
"Madame Gelinas and her team have done valuable work assisting parliamentarians through their audits of government's management of its environmental and sustainable development responsibilities."
Reports say that Gelinas, who held the position for five years, was fired for being too much of an advocate on policy.
Gelinas admitted a "difference of opinion" with Fraser, but also said the government had nothing to do with her termination.
The former commissioner explained her job this way: "My job was not to say if signing the Kyoto agreement was a good decision or not. My job was to make sure that when the government signing the agreement ... it was delivering on those commitments."
Gelinas' report last September caused a major stir as it slammed the previous government's record on the environment and outlined measures the new government should take to address climate change.
For the last six years, "my team and I can be proud of what we have accomplished," she said.
Issues and weaknesses raised by their reports led to action, she said.
However, Fraser said her recommendations have an implementation rate of 45 per cent, while only 15 to 20 per cent of Gelinas' were.
Gelinas worked as part of the Office of the Auditor-General, an independent office, and examined the government's effectiveness in its environmental programs.
Fraser also appeared before the committee in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
She informed MPs on the environment committee that she would like a review of the role of the environment commissioner, particularly the extent to which he or she should be involved in "advocacy" regarding government policy.
That would be complete by autumn, at which point a permanent replacement would be named, she said.
The Canadian Press reported Tuesday that Ron Thompson, an assistant auditor-general, had essentially replaced Gelinas months ago. Fraser has officially named him as Gelinas' interim replacement.
CTV's David Akin said that when the position was created, it was originally conceived to be an independent position that would report directly to Parliament. For various reasons, that didn't happen.
Canada is one of only two countries with an environment commissioner, and this firing will create more debate about the role, he said.
With files from CTV's David Akin and The Canadian Press
