Invitation to the Regular Session of the Joint Public Advisory Committee

The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) invites you, as an observer, to its Regular Session to be held on 7 May 1998 in El Paso, Texas. Enclosed please find the provisional agenda and the registration form.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was created in 1994 by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) to facilitate cooperation and public participation to foster conservation, protection and enhancement of the North American environment for the benefit of present and future generations, in the context of increasing economic, trade and social links between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The CEC consists of a Council of cabinet level officials – composed of Canadian Environmental Minister Christine Stewart, Mexican Secretary of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, Julia Carabias, and US EPA Administrator, Carol M. Browner – a Secretariat and a Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC).

JPAC is composed of fifteen members, five from each of the three countries, appointed by the respective governments. It acts as a single, transnational body. Its members act independently of outside authority. Their responsibility is to provide the Council with their advice on all matters within the scope of the NAAEC.