CEC Secretariat provides Council with the draft factual record regarding the Coal-Fired Power Plants submission
Montreal, 28 October 2013—On 25 October 2013, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) submitted to the CEC Council the draft factual record for submission SEM-04-005 (Coal-Fired Power Plants).
The governments of Canada, Mexico and United States (the “Parties”) now have 45 business days to provide any comments regarding the accuracy of the draft factual record. The Secretariat will incorporate, as appropriate, any Party comments on the document’s accuracy into the final version of the factual record. The final factual record will be released to the public if two or more members of the Council so decide.
NAAEC Articles 14 and 15 include procedures allowing private parties to make submissions to the CEC Secretariat, asserting “that a Party [to the NAAEC] is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law.” The CEC has published Guidelines for Submissions on Enforcement Matters explaining these procedures.
In appropriate cases, and upon instruction from the CEC Council, the CEC Secretariat may examine a submission further and develop a factual record.
For more information, please visit the CEC’s Submissions on Enforcement Matters webpage, and the registry of submission SEM-04-005 (Coal-Fired Power Plants).
The CEC SEM Process
The CEC Submissions on Enforcement Matters process supports public participation, information-sharing between governments and the public, and transparency and openness in the effective enforcement of environmental law in North America. If you have reason to believe that an environmental law is not being effectively enforced by Canada, Mexico or the United States, the SEM process may address your concerns.
As of 1 July 2020, the CEC’s SEM process is governed by USMCA Articles 24.27 and 24.28 of the Environment Chapter of the free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States (CUSMA, T-MEC, USMCA).
Want to learn more about the SEM process? Please watch this two-minute video for an introduction: