Update: January 31st, 11:27 am - Following publication of this post, the original article cited regarding the firing of Johanne Gélinas was substantially edited by the CBC, and the blockquote below no long longer appears in the source article. There will be an update posted on Ms. Gélinas firing later today.


Canada's environment commissioner Johanne Gélinas has reportedly been fired for her strong position on global warming.

Sources inside and outside Gélinas's office said Auditor General Sheila Fraser fired her following months of friction over Gélinas's mandate, the Canadian Press reports.

In September 2006, Gélinas released a highly critical report attacking the previous Liberal government's efforts to address climate change in the past 10 years, while outlining policies for the Conservative government to implement.

She also openly criticized the Tories' recent clean air plan, saying it did little to address the problem of climate change and greenhouse gases in the short term.

Meanwhile, the Harper government is coming under fire from Sierra Legal for allegedly withholding the results of two environmental investigations that would embarrass the Conservatives and conflict with their claims that they are in fact a legitimate option for green voters.

The investigations were conducted by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, CEC, the environmental agency established under the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

They focused on the destruction of tens of thousands of migratory bird nests in Ontario's forests and the discharge of toxic effluent from Canadian pulp and paper mills.

More Conservative accountability please!