In May, a Quebec teenager filed a complaint against Canada with the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (“the Commission”). The teenager claims that the government is not enforcing environmental laws in connection with the expansion of a hazardous waste disposal site in Blainville.
You too can file a complaint with the Commission for free. You need to be a citizen or a permanent resident to file a complaint.
A way to shine light on situations that worry you
Filing a complaint with the Commission can help bring public and government attention to an environmental situation that worries you.
Depending on the situation, the Commission can:
- ask the government to explain what it has done to enforce the law,
- investigate,
- publish an investigation report.
The Commission’s secretariat issues a press release at each stage of the process.
It’s important to note that the Commission does not deliver judgments. It cannot decide that a government is at fault, order the government to do something or impose a penalty.
Examples from Quebec
Environmental groups have used this complaint process to attract the attention of governments to environmental issues in Quebec. Here are a few examples.
Montreal Technoparc
Environmental groups filed a complaint against the government because it didn’t press charges against the owners of land that was leaking contaminated groundwater into the St. Lawrence River. After this complaint, Canada completed a project to clean the groundwater.
Quebec Hog Farms
The Quebec Environmental Law Centre filed a complaint against the government regarding negative environmental impacts of hog farms. After the complaint, Quebec announced a new set of rules for this industry.
Steps to file a complaint
There are things you must do before you file a complaint with the Commission. You must also follow certain steps to prepare your complaint.
Before filing a complaint
You must take these steps before filing a complaint with the Commission.
- Identify an environmental law that you think is not being respected. You must identify a specific section or subsection of a federal environmental law. For example, this could be the subsection of the law that prohibits releasing a pollutant into migratory bird habitat.
- Let the responsible government department know how the situation affects you. To do this, you can use the Government of Canada’s free environmental petitions process.
- Go to court to get the law enforced, if this is possible. If you cannot go to court, you’ll need to tell the Commission why. The Quebec Environmental Law Center or Ecojustice can help you figure this out.
How to file a complaint
Follow these steps to file a complaint with the Commission.
- Fill out the complaint form. You need to describe the situation you are worried about clearly and say why you think the law is not being respected.
- Gather documents that support what you say in your complaint. For example:
- Documents that make you think that the environmental law is not being respected. For example, you can submit photos, lab results, or notices of violation. It’s not enough to rely on news coverage.
- Documents that make you think that the government is not enforcing the law. To get this information, you can file an access to information request with the responsible government department to ask what enforcement actions were taken to address the situation that worries you.
- File your complaint with the Commission’s secretariat by email at sem@cec.org.
Visit the Commission’s website for more information about the process.