| Montreal, 10/10/2003 – The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) held a public meeting on 2-3 October in Montreal to begin its review of the proposed CEC Operational Plan for 2004–2006. Critical issues related to NAAEC Articles 14 and 15 were also discussed.
JPAC will provide an Advice to Council (the three environment ministers of North America) on both these issues in the near future.
Proposed CEC Operational Plan for 2004–2006
Following its plenary session on the planning framework that outlines the CEC's proposed goals, objectives, strategies and targets for 2004–2006, JPAC is requesting public input on the CEC's proposed Operational Plan for 2004–2006.
The JPAC review of this document is intended to be transparent, accessible and accountable to the public, and thus public comments are extremely important. Exchange of ideas and opinions on how the CEC can best contribute to the stewardship of our common North American environment as the organization matures will be greatly appreciated. The deadline to provide written comments on the proposed Operational Plan for 2004–2006 is 10 November.
Results of the JPAC public meeting on issues related to Articles 14 and 15 of the NAAEC
The meeting also dealt with two specific issues of concern to JPAC regarding the implementation and further elaboration of Articles 14 and 15: limiting the scope of factual records, and the review of the operation of CEC Council Resolution 00-09. These issues are addressed in a preliminary report for JPAC. The public provided many important contributions to the report and these will be incorporated.
The sessions were very constructive. This citizen submissions process plays a unique and indispensable role in fostering vigorous environmental enforcement; however, as the exchanges at the meeting made clear, aspects of the process' implementation remain a source of frustration for JPAC and the North American public. Given the importance of the subject, it was decided that the deadline for providing public comments to JPAC should be extended to 24 October. The final report will be submitted at the end of October and JPAC's Advice to Council finalized and approved at the JPAC regular session, to be held 4-5 December, in Miami, Florida.
Please consult the CEC web site for:
Written comments should be sent to Manon Pepin at the CEC Secretariat: by e-mail at <mpepin@ccemtl.org>.
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