| Montreal, 13/02/2007 – On 8 February 2007, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America received Canada's response to submission SEM-06-005 (Species at Risk), filed with the Secretariat on 10 October 2006.
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 (the “Submitters”), represented by Sierra Legal Defence Fund, assert that Canada is failing to effectively enforce the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) in regard to requirements for listing species for protection under the Act, recovery planning, and the issuance of emergency orders. On 11 December 2006, the Secretariat requested a response from Canada with respect to the assertions that (1) Canada is failing to effectively enforce the SARA’s recovery planning requirements as regards identification of critical habitat (s. 41) and mandatory planning timelines (s. 42), and (2) Canada is failing to effectively enforce the emergency order provisions under s. 80 with respect to the Spotted Owl in British Columbia and the Woodland Caribou in Alberta.
In its response, Canada explains that SARA is a relatively new and complex piece of legislation that requires extensive consultations and collaboration. Canada refers to court actions filed by environmental groups in 2006 citing inadequate protection of the Northern Spotted Owl and the Piping Plover. Canada states that in view of these proceedings, the Secretariat should proceed no further on the Submitters’ allegations concerning use of emergency orders and identification of critical habitat. Regarding allegations that the federal government posted only 23 out of 133 recovery strategies that were due in 2006, Canada asserts that this type of broad-based allegation should not be considered by the Secretariat.
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 North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), any person or nongovernmental organization may submit to the Secretariat a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law.
The Secretariat will now analyze the submission in light of Canada’s response to determine whether it will notify the Council, pursuant to Article 15(1) of the NAAEC, that development of a factual is warranted.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page. |
