JPAC holds its Fourth Regular Session in Montréal, Canada, to Review the CEC’s 2000–2002 Proposed Program Plan

An important item on the discussion agenda was developing an advice to Council promoting the involvement of Indigenous peoples in the CEC's work program and activities. Another primary purpose of this session was to review the CEC's proposed Program Plan for 2000 - 2002 and developing an advice to Council concerning it. The session was also organized in conjunction with a public consultation to provide input on the draft Final Analytic Framework for Assessing the Environmental Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Regarding Indigenous Peoples, JPAC approved Advice to Council 99-10: Promoting the Involvement of Indigenous Peoples in the Work of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. This advice recommends that Council "instruct the CEC Secretariat to build into its three-year program plan(s) practical and culturally sensitive ways and means for the direct involvement of Indigenous peoples in project planning and implementation with particular attention to developing new methods for facilitating communication among Indigenous peoples in our three countries." The JPAC chair, Jonathan Plaut, noted that "this advice responds to a long-standing interest within JPAC and marks a very important step for the CEC in partnership-building." The complete JPAC Advice to Council can be found on the CEC's Internet homepage.

The half-day plenary discussion with the attending public on the proposed Program Plan was focused and challenging. An array of issues and views emerged. Several of these issues received, if not consensus, very strong support. These included, for example, the need for the CEC to explore how it can contribute to the expanding interest in genetically modified organisms (GMOs); restoring the CEC's budget to levels contemplated at the first Council Session in 1994; pursuing trinational equivalency in pollutant release transfer registers, while recognizing the legal and jurisdictional differences between the NAFTA partners; and the importance of achieving institutional cooperation between trade and environment officials, as contemplated in Article 10(6) of NAAEC.

The public consultation on the draft Final Analytic Framework for Assessing the Environmental Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) yielded several ideas for identifying priority areas of investigation using the Framework. These could be useful as preparations are made for the first North American Symposium on Understanding the Linkages between Trade and Environment, to be held in October 2000. Participants also provided some very concrete recommendations on the process for selecting candidates for papers for the symposium.

JPAC is composed of fifteen members, five from each of the three NAFTA countries, and is responsible for providing advice to the CEC Council on any matter within the scope of NAAEC.

This was JPAC's last regular session for 1999. The next regular session will be held in March 2000 in Mexico with a Mexican JPAC chair for 2000 presiding.

The Summary Record of this session, the Report to Council on the plenary discussion, and the JPAC advice to Council will be available soon. For more information or to obtain other documents related to JPAC, please consult the CEC's Internet homepage <http://www.cec.org> or place a request with Manon Pepin at the CEC Secretariat: e-mail: <mpepin@ccemtl.org>, fax: (514) 350-4314 or telephone: (514) 350-4366.