| Montreal, 3/08/2001 – The Secretariat of North America's Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has recommended to the CEC Council that a factual record be developed in response to allegations that Canada is failing to effectively enforce its Fisheries Act in regard to logging in British Columbia.
The allegations were made in a citizen submission (SEM-00-004)
filed with the CEC on 15 March 2000 by the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club of British Columbia, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance and National Resources Defence Council.
The submission alleges that Canada is systematically failing to effectively enforce sections 35 and 36 of the Fisheries Act in connection with logging operations on both public and private lands throughout British Columbia. The Submitters claim that the federal government relies too heavily on British Columbia's forestry regulations which, according to the Submitters, allow
logging practices that harm fish and fish habitat and deposit harmful sediment in fish-bearing waters. The submission alleges
that these practice result in many Fisheries Act violations that Canada is failing to address effectively. Documentation submitted
to support the submission included letters indicating that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has scaled back its review of forest
development plans in light of provincial forestry regulations, despite concern among Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff that the
stream protections in those regulations are inadequate to protect fish. The submission also cites Canada's actions in connection
with TimberWest's logging operations in the Sooke watershed as a specific example of ineffective enforcement.
On 6 July 2000, Canada filed a response to the submission, claiming that it has taken appropriate action regarding the
specific examples described in the submission and that a factual record is not warranted.
The Secretariat concluded that a factual record is warranted to address several questions raised in the submission that the
Canadian response left unanswered, including questions in regard to Canada's reliance on provincial forestry regulations to ensure
compliance with the Fisheries Act. The CEC Secretariat informed the Council of its determination that a factual record is
warranted on 27 July 2001 and is now, 5 business days later, able to provide public notification of the determination and to place the rationale for the determination in the public registry. The full text of the submission, Canada's response and the
Secretariat's factual record recommendation are available on the CEC web site, at <http://www.cec.org/citizen>.
Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) provides that the CEC Secretariat may
consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to the NAAEC is failing to
effectively enforce an 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.
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.
For further information, please consult the Registry of Citizen Submissions: http://www.cec.org/citizen. | 
