| Montreal, 1/06/2000 – The factual record on the Submission on Enforcement Matters known as the 'BC Hydro' submission (SEM-97-001) was transmitted yesterday by the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to the organization's governing body, the CEC Council.
The document was produced in fulfillment of the Council's instruction to develop a factual record in response to allegations raised by the B.C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission, et. al., that the Government of Canada is failing to enforce s. 35(1) of the Fisheries Act...to ensure the protection of fish and fish habitat in British Columbia's rivers from ongoing and repeated environmental damage caused by hydro-electric dams. Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to the NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter.
In accordance with Article 15(7) of the NAAEC, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote, make the final factual record publicly available, normally within 60 days following its submission.
The CEC was established under the NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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