| Montreal, 12/04/2005 – According to an independent report released today by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), the 15-member, trinational panel provided a "unique and important public perspective" to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and its governing Council the last ten years.
Created through NAFTA's environmental side accord to advise the CEC Council—the environment ministers, or equivalent, for Canada, Mexico and the United States—JPAC remains today a largely unparalleled mechanism for public participation in a multilateral trade agreement.
The report finds that "JPAC has been an innovative debate facilitator and point of entry for the public, providing public access to information about environmental issues in North America and the work of the CEC at the same time that it brings the public into dialogue with the NAFTA Parties.
"Typically, this is accomplished through public meetings, research reports, publications, and the creation and maintenance of an impressive public record on the CEC web site that includes a running dialogue with NAFTA Parties."
The report also observed some "challenges and frustrations" characterized by limited participation by indigenous, low-income communities and the business sector, but found that on balance, JPAC was a model for "positive engagement" with the CEC Council and Secretariat.
The report, authored by Eric Dannenmaier, director of the Environmental Law Institute at Tulane University, is based on input drawn from a Ten-year Review and Assessment Committee that authored a decennial report on the CEC last year.
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