Performance Report on Sustainable Development April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010

2.0 Meeting Legal Requirements

The CRA is subject to Federal legislation and various regulations designed to promote SD and protect the natural environment. In cases where Federal legislation and regulations do not apply directly to the Agency, we take a due diligent approach to managing our operations in an environmentally responsible manner as a best practice. The following section outlines how the CRA managed its legal obligations in 2009-2010.

2.1 Alternative Fuels Act

The Act requires that 75% of vehicle acquisitions have alternative transportation fuels (ATF) capability, where cost effective and operationally feasible. All CRA vehicles purchased in 2009-2010 were ATF capable, where operationally feasible.

2.2 Auditor General Act (1995)

In addition to the requirement that certain departments and agencies table SD strategies in Parliament every three years, the Auditor General Act (1995) required that Ministers report annually on SD performance. The Federal Sustainable Development Act (2008) superseded these provisions of the Auditor General Act (1995) by requiring that SD strategies be tabled through departmental Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) and performance be reported through Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs). Until the provisions of the SD Act take effect with the tabling of the Federal SD Strategy in 2010, the CRA continued to report SD performance through our Annual Report. We also published a detailed Annual Performance Report on SD for 2008-2009 on the CRA Internet Website.

2.3 Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999)

2.3.1 Federal Halocarbon Regulations

The regulations prohibit the release of halocarbons into the environment and outline specific requirements for managing halocarbon-containing systems - from the purchase of the systems through to disposal. As of March 2009, the CRA had complete halocarbon inventories in 93% (127/136) of facilities, which include over 1,425 halocarbon-containing systems[Footnote 1]. We recorded two halocarbon releases originating from air conditioning units. As required under the Regulations, we reported one of the releases to Environment Canada, given that it was over 10 kg (22.68 kg). The other release (2.27 kg) was reported internally.

2.3.2 Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations

These Regulations require that all storage tank systems be formally registered and be maintained in order to reduce the risk of soil and ground water contamination due to spills and leaks from these systems. The CRA owns and manages three storage tank systems (nine tanks in total) that are used to store fuel for back-up electricity generators. Work is ongoing to ensure continued compliance with the Regulations.

2.4 Conclusion

The CRA maintained compliance with all applicable environmental legislation and regulations. In keeping with the principle of continuous improvement, we will strengthen our systems and practices to ensure that we continue to meet our legal obligations related to environmental protection.

Footnotes

[Footnote 1]

At the CRA, halocarbon-containing equipment consists mainly of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.

Date modified:

2011-03-09