| Montreal, 8/02/2002 – By notice posted on its web site (<http://www.cec.org>), the Secretariat of North America's Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is seeking information from the public for use in preparing a factual record on Canada's alleged failure to effectively enforce the pollution prevention provisions of the federal Fisheries Act in connection with acid mine drainage from the Britannia Mine in British Columbia (BC).
The alleged failure to effectively enforce the Fisheries Act was asserted in the BC Mining submission (SEM-98-004), filed on 29 June 1998, by Sierra Club of British Columbia, Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia, and Taku Wilderness Association (together, the Submitters) represented by Sierra Legal Defence Fund. The Submitters claim that ongoing violations of section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act at BC mines and evidence of the decline of salmon runs in BC reveal a consistent failure to effectively enforce section 36(3) to protect fish and fish habitat from the impacts of mining in BC. They claim that Canada fails to prosecute violations of Fisheries Act section 36(3) against the mining industry in BC due to a shortage of staff and resources and that Canada has devolved responsibility for enforcing environmental laws to the provinces, which has resulted in deterioration of transparency and accountability. The Submitters contend that the fact that the Britannia Mine and others have been allowed to continue polluting fish habitat for decades is proof that enforcement mechanisms other than prosecution have failed.
On 11 May 2001, in light of the submission and Canada's response, the Secretariat recommended the preparation of a factual record regarding the alleged widespread failure to effectively enforce section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act against mining operations in BC as well as specific examples listed in the submission, including the Britannia Mine. On 16 November 2001, the Council instructed the Secretariat to prepare a factual record with regard to the Britannia Mine.
Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat may consider a submission from any nongovernmental organization or person asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it takes further steps that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. A factual record seeks to provide detailed factual information to allow interested persons to assess whether a Party has effectively enforced its environmental law with respect to the matter raised in the submission.
Under Article 15(4) and 21(1)(a) of the NAAEC, in developing a factual record, the Secretariat shall consider any information furnished by a Party and may ask a Party to provide information. The Secretariat also may consider any relevant technical, scientific or other information that is publicly available, submitted by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) or by interested nongovernmental organizations or persons, or developed by the Secretariat or independent experts. In accordance with Article 15(7) of NAAEC, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote, make the final factual record publicly available.
The CEC was established under 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 (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. |
