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Media Release

SAVE THE DATE: CEC to celebrate 20 years of environmental cooperation at upcoming Council Session in Canada’s North

Mark your calendar today to join North America’s environment ministers live or via webcast in the far northern regions of North America for the 21st annual Session of the CEC Council

Montreal, 27 March 2014—On 17 July 2014, Canadian Minister of Environment Leona Aglukkaq will host this year’s Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Council Session, in the City of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the CEC and this Council Session will be the first to be held in subarctic North America.

Yellowknife is a fitting location for Minister Aglukkaq to welcome her colleagues from Mexico and the United States, since she has dedicated much of her life to improving the lives of residents in Canada’s North.

Each year, the CEC Council—cabinet-level environment ministers from the three countries—meets to discuss the joint agenda for environmental cooperation in North America. Joining Minister Aglukkaq for the Council Session this year will be Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Juan José Guerra-Abud and US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy.

As is customary, this year’s meeting will feature a public forum hosted by the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee on July 16, aimed at obtaining stakeholder feedback on shared North American environmental issues. This will be followed by the Council Session on July 17, which will include a public discussion featuring the three environment ministers. All of these events are open to the public and free of charge. A live webcast through the CEC website will also be available for those who cannot attend in person in Yellowknife.

Additional information and pre-registration forms will be posted online via the CEC’s website in early April. Be sure to follow the CEC on Facebook (www.facebook.org/CECconnect) and Twitter (@CECweb), where you can get updates on the Council Session, ask questions, or share your comments and ideas about North American environmental cooperation.

About the CEC

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations

The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.

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