Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitters allege “the occurrence of failure to enforce several environmental standards related to hog production on the territory of the Province of Quebec. Specifically, that the Quebec Government has failed, for many years, to enforce certain environmental protection standards regarding agricultural pollution originating from animal production facilities, mainly from hog farms.”

Summary of the response provided by the Party:

Canada supports the process of submissions on enforcement matters under Articles 14 and 15 of the NAAEC. It considers that these are essential provisions of the Agreement. Canada refutes allegations to the effect that there has been a failure to effectively enforce its environmental laws in the agricultural sector contrary to the provisions of the NAAEC. It furthermore considers that preparing a factual record is not justified for the following reasons:

• Canada, particularly Quebec, effectively enforces the Environmental Quality Act and the Regulation respecting the prevention of water pollution in livestock operations;
• all the environmental measures put forward in the agricultural sector meet the objectives and obligations contained in the NAAEC, particularly Articles 2, 4 and 5;
• the government of Quebec has just adopted new regulations with respect to agricultural pollution and new measures to improve the enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act. In this context, it is not appropriate to prepare a factual record since the initiative is part of the process to improve the Act and the regulations in accordance with Article 3 of the Agreement;
• preparing a factual record would not produce any new information nor would it shed any new light in view of the elements and details provided in this response.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

Laws of the Province of Quebec:

1. Secciones 19(1), 20, 22, y 122.1 de la Environment Quality Act, L.R.Q. 1985, c. Q-2;
2. Secciones 3-4, y divisiones IV, V, VI y VII del Regulation respecting the prevention of water pollution in livestock operations, R.R.Q. 1981, c. Q-2, r.18.

Submitter(s):

Centre québécois du droit de l'environnement