| Montreal, 20/09/2004 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) received a submission on 10 September, filed by The Friends of the Oldman River, asserting that Canada is failing to effectively enforce sections 35, 37 and 40 of the federal Fisheries Act and section 5(1)(d) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA).
In the submission (SEM-04-004/Oldman River III), The Friends of the Oldman River assert that the federal government's 1998 "Decision Framework for the Determination and Authorization of Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction of Fish Habitat" is not authorized by or compatible with the Fisheries Act or the CEAA. The Submitters contend that between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was involved in 6922 letters of advice to project proponents that were unlawful because they were not authorized under section 35 of the Fisheries Act and because no environmental assessment was conducted as required by section 5 of CEEA before the letters were issued.
The CEC Secretariat is analyzing the submission to determine whether it meets the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The citizen submissions mechanism of the CEC enables the public to play a whistle-blower role on matters of environmental law enforcement. Under Article 14 of the NAAEC, any person or nongovernmental organization may submit a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner has failed to effectively enforce its environmental law. Following a review of the submission, the CEC Secretariat may investigate the matter and pursue a factual record of its findings.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. |
