| Montreal, 12/10/2006 – On 10 October 2006, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, representing thirteen Canadian and US nongovernmental organizations (the "Submitters"), filed with the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) a citizen submission asserting that Canada is failing to effectively enforce the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). The Submitters are Sierra Club (United States and Canada), Nature Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Conservation Northwest, Environmental Defence, ForestEthics, Ontario Nature, Western Canada Wilderness Committee, BC Nature, Federation of Alberta Naturalists, the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nature Nova Scotia and Nature Quebec.
In submission SEM-06-005 (Species at Risk), the Submitters assert that the federal government of Canada is failing to effectively enforce the SARA with respect to at least 197 of the 529 species identified as at risk in Canada, so as to frustrate the Act’s purpose: preventing wildlife species from becoming extirpated or becoming extinct and providing for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity. In particular, the Submitters allege that Environment Canada, Parks Canada, the Minister of the Environment and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are failing to enforce the SARA with regard to listing of species as extirpated, endangered, threatened or of special concern (SARA section 27); recovery planning, including identification of critical habitat (SARA sections 41 and 42); and national enforcement through “safety net” and emergency orders (SARA sections 32, 33, 34 and 80).
The Secretariat of the CEC will now analyze the submission to determine whether it meets the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The CEC citizen submission mechanism allows citizens to play an active "whistleblower" role in matters relating to environmental law enforcement. Pursuant to NAAEC Article 14, any citizen or nongovernmental organization may file a submission when it believes that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. After reviewing the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and publish a factual record of its findings.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page. |
