| Montreal, 25/02/2002 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) today requested a response from Canada to the SEM-02-001 (Ontario Logging) submission filed with the CEC on 6 February 2002 by Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF) on behalf of several Canadian and US nongovernmental organizations. The submission alleges that Canada is failing to effectively enforce Section 6(a) of the Migratory Bird Regulations (MBR) adopted under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA), in regard to the logging industry in Ontario. Section 6(a) of the MBR makes it an offence to disturb, destroy or take a nest or egg of a migratory bird without a permit.
The Submitters claim that their research, based on statistical data, estimates that in the year 2001 clear-cutting activity destroyed over 85,000 migratory bird nests in areas of central and northern Ontario. They allege that Environment Canada, through its Canadian Wildlife Service, is primarily responsible for enforcing the MBCA and that virtually no action has been taken to enforce section 6(a) of the MBR against logging companies, logging contractors and independent contractors. They assert that despite the estimated widespread destruction of bird nests, an access to information request revealed no investigations or charges in Ontario for violations of section 6(a). The Submitters assert that the alleged failure to enforce section 6(a) of the MBR, in addition to the harmful impact on the migratory bird population, has negative consequences for wildlife biodiversity, tourism, respect for the law, fair competition within the logging industry and healthy wood stocks.
The CEC Secretariat has concluded that the submission meets the criteria set out in Article 14(1) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). Taking into account the factors listed in NAAEC Article 14(2), the Secretariat has determined that the assertion that Canada is failing to effectively enforce section 6(a) of the MBR merits requesting a response from the Party. On the basis of this determination, the Secretariat has requested a response from Canada. In accordance with NAAEC Article 14(3), Canada has 30 days or, in exceptional circumstances, 60 days following receipt of the request, to provide the Secretariat with a response.
Under NAAEC Article 14, 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.
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.
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