| Montreal, 6/06/2001 – The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is pleased to announce today that it presented to the CEC Council its report on lessons learned in the Articles 14 and 15 submissions process under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
JPAC received a mandate from Council in June 2000 to develop this report in order to assist Council and JPAC in the implementation and further elaboration of Articles 14 and 15.
Drawing from two rounds of public comments, a public workshop, interviews with the CEC Alternate Representatives, CEC Secretariat Staff and JPAC members' expertise, the report provides an overview of the process, analyzes the two factual records completed by the Secretariat to date, taking into account the oral and written comments received from the public and, finally, offers a series of suggestions and conclusions.
As stated in the report: "The purpose of these suggestions should be to strengthen, not dilute, the Articles 14 and 15 process so that citizens in all three of the NAAEC countries can enjoy the twin benefits of expanded trade and healthier environments...."
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.
JPAC is a 15-member, independent, volunteer body that provides advice and public input to Council on any mater within the scope of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation.
This report and other document related to JPAC are available on the CEC's web site <http://www.cec.org/jpac> or upon request to Jocelyne Morin at the CEC Secretariat. E-mail: <jmorin@ccemtl.org>, fax: (514) 350-4314 or telephone: (514) 350-4366.
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