Leah Lawrence, the president and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), has stepped down from her position following mounting criticism and a whistleblower complaint against the federal foundation.
“Given recent media reports, House of Commons committee testimony, and the surrounding controversy, it is clear there has been a sustained and malicious campaign to undermine my leadership,” Lawrence, who had overseen SDTC since 2015, said in a letter to the board of directors.
“This compromises my future ability to lead the organization and puts me in an untenable situation. And I want to see this organization succeed.”
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SDTC, entrusted with a billion-dollar budget for environmental technologies, is currently under scrutiny for its management practices. The foundation’s funding of small and medium-sized enterprises in the clean tech sector is part of a multi-year agreement with the federal Department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED).
The recent controversy emerged after a senior federal official, Doug McConnachie, expressed the government’s loss of confidence in SDTC’s leadership. This followed a whistleblower complaint earlier this year, leading to an investigation by the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, which revealed issues with conflicts of interest and problematic spending within SDTC.
Annette Verschuren, SDTC chair, faced sharp criticism during a parliamentary committee hearing for approving $217,000 in funding to her own firm. Despite protests from MPs, Verschuren justified her actions based on legal advice, insisting that similar funding had been allocated to all companies with existing agreements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada has initiated a special investigation into SDTC’s spending, intensifying the scrutiny surrounding the foundation. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for Verschuren’s dismissal on Thursday, labeling the situation as a deepening scandal.
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne has responded by emphasizing the government’s commitment to investigating the matter and ensuring the highest level of governance in agencies funded by taxpayers, and said that they “will continue to get to the bottom of this situation.”
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