| Montreal, 4/04/1997 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) -- otherwise known as the NAFTA Environment Commission -- has decided not to recommend that a "factual record" -- an inquiry to gather factual information -- be prepared in response to a petition filed by a non-governmental organization based in Alberta, Canada. The petition, submitted last fall by The Friends of the Oldman River, alleges that the government of Canada has failed to enforce environmental legislation pertaining to the Fisheries Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
In a letter to the submitter, the Secretariat noted that the matter is currently in litigation before the Canadian court and warned that "the similarity of issues presented in both the submission and the lawsuit at this stage creates a risk that the preparation of a factual record may duplicate important aspects of the judicial action." The Secretariat concluded that it is "reluctant to embark on a process which may unwittingly intrude" on the pending litigation.
Under Article 14 of the environmental side accord to NAFTA -- the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) -- any person or organization may file a submission with the Secretariat of the CEC alleging that one of the NAFTA countries is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. The Secretariat may recommend to the CEC Council that a factual record be prepared to explore such an allegation.
The CEC’s Council of Ministers is composed of Canadian Environment Minister Sergio Marchi, U.S. EPA Chief Carol Browner and Mexican Secretary of the Environment Julia Carabias. The CEC, based in Montreal, is equally funded by the three NAFTA partners. |
