 Under Article 14, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) may consider a submission from any nongovernmental organization or person asserting that a Party to the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) "is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law." When the Secretariat determines that the requirements of Article 14(1) have been met, it decides in accordance with Article 14(2) whether the submission merits a response from the concerned Party. In light of the response provided by that Party, the Secretariat may notify the Council that development of a factual record is warranted, in accordance with Article 15. The Council may, by a two-thirds vote, instruct the Secretariat to prepare a factual record. The final Factual Record is made publicly available upon a two-thirds vote of the Council.
On 2 April 1997, the Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now Earthjustice) jointly filed a submission with the Secretariat, pursuant to Article 14 of the NAAEC (the "Submitters' April 1997 Submission"). The Submission was filed on behalf of the following nongovernmental organizations from Canada and the United States: the BC Aboriginal Fisheries Commission, the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, the Steelhead Society, the Trail Wildlife Association, Trout Unlimited (Spokane Chapter), the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Sierra Club (Washington, D.C.) and the Institute for Fisheries Resources (collectively, the "Submitters"). (...) |
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