| Montreal, 28/02/2007 – On 22 February 2007, SOS Parc Orford, Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada-SNAP and Nature Québec-UQCN (“Submitters”) filed with the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) a citizen submission asserting that Canada, and more specifically the province of Quebec, failed to effectively enforce Articles 1, 4 as well as 5 of its Parks Act (Loi sur les parcs) and its Sustainable Development Act (Loi sur le développement durable, by adopting legislation in June 2006 that removed a ski resort and golf course from Mount Orford National Park, with the intention of offering them for sale.
In SEM-07-002 (Mount Orford Park), the Submitters assert that under Article 1 of the Parks Act, Quebec national parks are established in order to assure the conservation and permanent protection of areas that represent Quebec’s natural regions or of natural areas of exceptional character. They assert that Article 4 of the Parks Act establishes procedures for modifying the boundaries of a national park, including public consultation requirements, and that Article 5 prohibits the sale or exchange of national park lands. They assert that Act 23 (Loi 23), adopted by the Quebec government on 13 June 2006, contravenes Articles 1, 4 and 5 of the Parks Act by modifying the boundaries of Mount Orford National Park without following required procedures and by allowing park lands containing the ski resort and golf course to be offered for sale. The Submitters assert that Act 23 also contravenes sustainable development principles established in the Sustainable Development Act.
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 where 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. |
