Leah Lawrence has resigned as head of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a funding agency for early-stage cleantech companies that operates at an arm’s length of the federal government. “There has been a sustained and malicious campaign to undermine my leadership,” Lawrence wrote in a Friday letter to SDTC’s board obtained by The Logic, in which she addresses recent allegations levelled against the agency. “This compromises my future ability to lead the organization and puts me in an untenable situation.” (The Logic)

Talking points: The resignation came two days after Lawrence and SDTC board chair Annette Verschuren defended the agency before the House of Commons ethics committee. They claimed former employees’ allegations of mismanagement and poor governance were false and that an investigation that found evidence of conflicts of interest at the agency was riddled with inaccuracies and omitted key information. Innovation, Science and Economic Development—the federal department that oversees SDTC—suspended the agency from granting money until it implemented corrective management, governance and human-resources measures. SDTC said it’s on track to meet the requirements by the Dec. 31 deadline. Meanwhile, auditor general Karen Hogan launched her own probe into SDTC.