| Montreal, 30/10/2001 – During its last regular session, held on 22-23 October 2001 in Montreal, the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) provided advice to the environment ministers of Canada, the United States and Mexico.
This advice was on two matters: the CEC Proposed Program Plan and Budget for 2002-2004 (Advice 01-06), and Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (Advice 01-07).
At the Council Session in June 2001, Council undertook an initiative to "continuously improve the quality, usefulness and accessibility of environmental information made available to the public," and asked JPAC to hold public meetings.
JPAC encourages all new initiatives to promote increased transparency and the development of appropriate steps to strengthen the capacity to acquire and share knowledge among all sectors of society in order to improve the ability of citizens to be informed and take part in the development of sound environmental policies.
JPAC will be very pleased to participate in this initiative and to make recommendations to Council. However, given the scope of the mandate and its limited human and financial resources, JPAC does not have the capacity to assume this responsibility and recommends that Council ask the CEC Secretariat to undertake this mandate.
Next JPAC Regular Session - 30 November in San Diego
Following the CEC Symposium on "Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of the North American Electricity Market," to be held on 29-30 November 2001, in San Diego, California, the public is invited to attend the JPAC Regular Session in the afternoon of 30 November.
Several issues will be discussed, such as a potential advice on the North American Electricity Market, the follow-up to the JPAC Advice on Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters under Articles 14 and 15 of NAAEC and discussion on the JPAC Round Tables and Council Public Session for 2002.
Suggestions for the JPAC Round Tables and Council Public Session
In preparation to the November Regular Session, JPAC is very interested in receiving suggestions from the public on how to improve the meeting formats of the JPAC Round Tables and Council Public Session.
Please send them to Manon Pepin, the JPAC Liaison Officer at <mpepin@ccemtl.org> or by fax to (514) 350-4314 before 26 November 2001.
Registration for the JPAC Regular Session is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. Please feel free to pass this message on to others who may be interested in participating.
The agenda and the registration form may be found on the CEC web site at <http://www.cec.org>. All advice to Council, other JPAC documents and the invitation to the public to attend to the CEC Symposium on "Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of the North American Electricity Market can also be found at this address.
The CEC was established by Canada, Mexico and the United States to build cooperation among the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners in implementing NAAEC, the environmental side accord to NAFTA. The CEC addresses environmental issues of continental concern, with particular attention to the environmental challenges and opportunities presented by continent-wide free trade.
JPAC is a 15-member, independent, volunteer body that provides advice and public input to Council on any matter within the scope of NAAEC.
For more information on these meetings, please contact:
Jocelyne Morin
E-mail: jmorin@ccemtl.org
Phone: (514) 350-4366
Fax: (514) 350-4314
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