Tuesday, February 05, 2002
By Associated Press
TORONTO ? Environmental groups are seeking an investigation under the North American Free Trade Agreement of what they say is Canada’s failure to enforce environmental legislation to protect migratory birds.
The Sierra Legal Defense Fund announced Monday it is requesting the investigation on behalf of eight environmental groups in the United States and Canada. They contend that clearcut logging practices destroy 85,000 nests of migratory birds in the province of Ontario each year.
Jerry DeMarco, acting executive director of the fund, said the group is using Ontario as an example, but the problem occurs across Canada.
Earthroots spokesman Richard Brooks said the problem derives from the fact that the Ontario provincial government’s Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for enforcing federal law. “They don’t do anything because the logging industry, the clearcutting industry, contributes US$15 billion to the provincial economy,” Brooks said.
There was no immediate response from the federal or Ontario governments.
According to the Sierra Legal Defense Fund, an international treaty called the Canadian Migratory Birds Convention Act obliges Canada and the United States to protect the birds.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation now will decide whether to set up an international panel to investigate the complaint.
A group of U.S. environmental organizations recently asked the commission to investigate a similar complaint in the United States.
