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Environment Minister John Baird is facing criticism for skipping a key negotiating session on the eve of the last scheduled day at the Bali climate conference.

Senior federal officials have confirmed that Mr. Baird did not attend a lengthy negotiating session on Thursday night of the 34 countries that were chosen to resolve the thorniest issues at the Bali conference. Instead, he sent a bureaucrat to speak for Canada.

The officials said Mr. Baird gave instructions to the bureaucrat and was available just a few minutes away if the bureaucrat needed to consult him. Instead of attending the negotiating session, Mr. Baird attended a meeting of a bloc of several industrialized countries that have acted together at the talks, the officials said.

Environmentalists from around the world were unimpressed. They awarded a "fossil of the day" prize to Mr. Baird for skipping the negotiating meeting. "Mr. Baird is apparently so busy at the climate-change negotiations that he has no time for climate-change negotiations," said Ben Wikler, spokesman for a coalition of more than 400 environmental groups from around the world.

A day earlier, Mr. Baird faced similar criticism for stepping out of a negotiating session to attend a cocktail reception hosted by the Quebec Environment Minister. His officials said he was only gone for 10 or 15 minutes, but others said it was much longer.

Canadian officials have bragged that Mr. Baird is playing an important role in "bridging" the differences between the United States and the European Union at the Bali negotiations. "Minister Baird is directly involved in trying to achieve consensus for a post-2012 agreement," one official said.

"His No. 1 priority from the beginning of this conference has been to achieve a successful outcome. … He is focused on playing a bridge-building role to try and get all parties to agree to start negotiations and put in place the building blocks for a future agreement."

Critics scoffed at the notion that Mr. Baird was building bridges. "How can you play such a crucial role if you're not there?" asked Steven Guilbeault, of the Quebec-based environmental group Equiterre.

"He was invited to a select group of ministers to help the chair of the conference move forward the negotiations, and he doesn't show up," Mr. Guilbeault said. "What does it say about how seriously Mr. Baird is taking those negotiations? I don't think he takes them very seriously. I don't think he's here to help the negotiations come to a successful conclusion."

By leaving the negotiating session in the hands of a bureaucrat, Mr. Baird put Canada at a disadvantage in the talks, since other countries were represented by more senior leaders, Mr. Guilbeault said.

New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen said the episode showed a lack of leadership by Mr. Baird. "It totally contradicts Mr. Baird's claim that he cares about climate change. The Conservatives never wanted a deal here. I'm frustrated that this guy even pretends seriousness or concern."